Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks...

But what I'm wondering is... Can you teach a 3 year old how to play the piano?

I wanted to teach Elliott how to play, but I wasn't sure if he was too young to start. I thought before I went out and bought a beginner's piano book I would see if the library had one that we could try out and see if it is something that Elliott can even comprehend right now. So, I found a beginners book and checked it out from the library and we got started.

I went about all the usuals: numbering the fingers, explaining how to hold your hands as if you were holding a ball, etc. And I have come to the conclusion that I don't think he's quite ready to learn from a book. He was totally cooperative, but I could tell that reading notes and numbers off of a page wasn't going to happen right now. He did enjoy the concept of the high versus low sounds of the piano. So, I'm thinking that I can instill in him a desire to play and an interest in it and then try to accommodate that by gentle instruction. He doesn't know his numbers yet, so that will be something we'll have to work on before following even the simplest of notes on a page can happen. But I have learned to never underestimate what a child
is really absorbing. So often it seems like its not sinking in, but a few weeks later, and they surprise you by demonstrating the knowledge you didn't think they possessed. So, I think I'll just keep trying--slowly, but surely.