On Teaching Preschoolers

A couple of weeks ago I posted in the Art of Piano Pedagogy Facebook group seeking advice from other parents of special needs families on how to balance work and home life. Although most of the responses were supportive, I was surprised with the number of people who took the opportunity to advise me against teaching four year olds, as if that had a anything to do with the question. One person even went so far as to insinuate that I was doing something fundamentally dishonest by even offering lessons to any child under the age of eight!!!

Well, I just finished a lesson with my four year old who, after a couple of months of careful rapport building and general music ed, easily learned Hot Cross Buns without music in a week, started picking out Happy Birthday on his own, and has apparently developed a fascination with bebop!! With the right approach, you absolutely CAN teach preschoolers! They are no more stressful than any other age group, and a lot of fun besides.

What kind of piano student does every teacher hope to have, aside from talented? Dedicated, with music woven deeply into the fabric of their family life, and supported by the parents. Well, when do you think that begins? We have a unique opportunity to influence willing families in this regard if we get in there early. I'm not saying every kid is going to be ready to sit down at the instrument at 4, but there are many ways to engage with music, and it happens to be a perfect time for developing fundamentals like rhythm and ear training through dance and play. Is it a different curriculum than traditional see and play method books? Yes. Can you learn to do it? Absolutely! Is it difficult? Not at all! It helps to have a good sense of humor and to understand the particular delights of the age group, but it's ultimately a skill set like any other.

If this is an area that interests you and you don't know where to begin, feel free to drop me a line. My biggest influences in this area have been Irina Gorin and her Tales of a Musical Journey series, and Andrew Ingkavet and the Musicolor Method. But also: it’s the age of Google, YouTube, and ChatGPT. Anybody can learn anything if they want to. You can prompt Claude with “design me an early childhood piano curriculum” and instantly have a lesson template that you can then take into the real world and tailor to your own strengths and experience. Don't let fear of the unknown stop you. We're all learning on the job anyway!

It's a privilege to be adopted into a young child’s life. I firmly believe that if more adults knew how to interact with them effectively, the world would be much the better for it. Now go out there and put a big smile on some youngster's face!