How to teach piano to a child with Downs Syndrome???

Question

My little brother is five years old and has down syndrome but is very interested in playing the piano. He has limited speech, he has tiny hands and cannot read but really wants to play. I want to teach him but am not quite sure how to start. I already tried using colors by taping color strips to the keys but he does not want them there......any advice would be great!!

Answer 1

Just keep doing what your doing,people with downs syndrome can learn to do the things we can do it just take them longer.

Can i just say well done for what your doing.

Answer 2

Downs Syndrome children often have remarkable artistic talent. If he shows an interest in the piano, try teaching him as you would a normal child, or see if you can get a professional teacher to give him some lessons.

Answer 3

Depending on his short term memory, you could try call and response type games for a few minutes at a time. Try the first few notes of a song he would know and see if he can repeat them back. With a familiar song, he will know how it SHOULD sound, and it will help with his recall. Build up a few notes at a time, and see if he can get a whole song down. REPETITION IS KEY! Don't move on to another song until he's got the first one, or it will confuse him.

The reason he probably doesn't like the paper on the keys, is that kids with Downs syndrome tend to like things the way they are. They don't like modifications per se....that is, they see you playing the piano a certian way, and they want to play it just like you.

By the way...that was an excellent idea on the paper....please consider teaching Special Ed.