Teaching piano to absolute beginners?

Question

I'm giving my first piano lesson next week to an absolute 6-year-old beginner, and I'm kind of nervous that I don't know how to begin. I don't remember how my first lesson was like and I've never taught before. Does anyone have experience in a good approach to use, or if you're taking lessons, do you remember how you started? Do you start teaching a student to handle the instrument first, or do you teach them basic theory and music reading before they begin playing?

I would appreciate the advice:)

Answer 1

My first lesson was fun. My teacher gave me a beginner book and showed me the grand staff and told me where all of the keys were. Then she told me to locate all of the A's on the piano then B's C's and so on. Then she taught me the sharps and flats keys. I think my first song was Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Answer 2

Try Training Wheels

Like Colors

Make It Fun

Relate The Piano To Some Cartoon

Answer 3

you should teach the kid basic notes first thenyou can teach him harder notes and show him/her how to play them write him/her a few notes first you play it and then let him play it then do four notes then five notes ect. ect. after  that teach him/her simple songs then harder.

             hope i helped!

Answer 4

start off with fingers (12345) then CDEFGAB etc..

Answer 5

The age part of the child is what's the most difficult.

Depending on the character of the child you're going to have to be the one with agility in personality.

Some kids you have to be energetic and some you have to be more calm with.

My recomendation would be to let him/her sit at the piano and test out their level of patients. Then you'll see the type of personality he/she may have.

But then again you may be an excellent pianist. But the real question is how great of teacher you really are.

Think agility. This day an age, children are very diverse minded and free. It's up to you to harness that beautiful mind. and make define his/her skill.

Good Luck.

By the way i'm a musican too.

Answer 6

My favorite book geared to young music students is the ABC series by Boris berlin. There  is music theory on one page, and simple songs on the other.

do stuff like helicopter drops(have them put their hand straight above the keyboard and let the arm just drop)

teach them how to hold their hands.

teach maybe the Cmaj scale.

If they're six,teach them how to read music slowly, and do little bits of music theory.

Let the kid play on the piano/hold the instrument, otherwise they will get bored and not want to come to piano lessons anymore.

Answer 7

Make it fun and be creative.

I would start by doing sounds with my mouth , huming and whistlng and teach him about sounds.

Answer 8

just tell them every note the miss, it'll cost them a limb

just keep the knife on the table

Answer 9

For the first lesson, make the student feel comfortable, and let her get to know you.  The first step is to orient her to the piano (divided into black keys and white keys, grouped in twos and threes, can you play all the sets of 3 black keys? etc).  Orient her to "low" to "high" - - can you play "high" on the piano.  Orient her to middle C, good posture and hand position.  

Do you have a beginner's book for her to start with?  This will help both you and her have a direction for the lessons.  A good book will integrate both the instrument, and reading music.  She is six years old - can she read yet?  You might have to color-code her book a bit as you go along, if she doesn't read yet.