Tuesday, July 8, 2008

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.






5 comments:

wrecklessgirl said...

BRILLIANT!!!! what a great system...keep it up :)

btw, loooove your new big pics!!!

ben said...

Our 1 year old Noah is interested in banging on the highs and lows too. Hopefully he'll keep that interest. It'll be fun to hear more.

(We moved to Santa Rosa in the fall, found your blog searching Santa Rosa profiles on Blogger.)

Corynne Escalante said...

thanks kristy! i finally started using a blog editor. blogspot was getting so frustrating for uploading photos or moving them around or even just editing text.

Anonymous said...

This is so seriously cute. Your little guy with numbers on his fingers. I remember doing that when I was younger.

Anonymous said...

Oh yah...I was also gonna say you named him "Elliot" that is so dang cute for a little boy!!

Awww...reminds me of my old preschool days.