Piano is a great instrument for kids to learn! Let's discover how to find the best piano lessons for your child.
Why the Piano is a Great Instrument for Kids to Learn
Before we dive into the different types of piano lessons for kids, let's quickly mention why the piano is such a great instrument.
1. The piano is laid out in a way that makes the relationship between notes easy to understand. Press one key then the next key and you have a half step. Skip a key and press the one after that and you have a whole step. Half steps and whole steps are the building blocks to scales, melody and harmony, and these relationships can’t be seen as easily on some other instruments.
2. The piano is versatile and works with almost any musical style. Some instruments are more specific to certain styles of music. Take the violin for example. It’s a beautiful instrument but doesn’t fit into quite as many musical styles as the piano.
3. Kids hands can manage pressing the keys. Their hands might not be able to stretch far across the keyboard, but that’s ok! It’s a bit harder for younger kids to develop the dexterity to play string instruments like the guitar. The piano is an instrument that can get them feeling successful from the first lesson.
4. The piano is a great instrument to learn and even write songs on.
There are a million more reasons to love the piano. If you’re here, you likely feel the same way. Childhood is the best time to learn an instrument. For many, it’s the only opportunity to learn to play the piano. By the time most people reach adulthood they don’t have the time to dedicate to learning to play the piano. Kids are like sponges, they are able to learn languages (and music is like a language) much better than adults.
Those who learn to play piano as a child are able to play with more nuance, more fluidity, and simply grasp the instrument in a deeper way than those who learn to play later in life.
*Disclaimer: This is true in most cases, but not every case, there are some musicians who learned to play their instrument later in life who play at a tremendously high level.
How to Find the Best Piano Lessons for Your Kids
Now that we understand the importance of learning to play the piano during childhood, let’s talk about how to find the best piano lessons for your child.
There are so many different routes you can take when looking for piano lessons for your child. There are live in-person piano lessons, online one-on-one piano lessons, online, or in-person, group piano lessons, or online on-demand piano lessons. Within each of these categories there are many options. So, which is the best fit for your child?
The answer is that it depends on your child and your family. You will want to consider a few things when deciding what is the best option for you. Above all, make sure you look for piano lessons that get your child excited about learning to play the piano. When a child enjoys something, they are much more likely to stick with it.
Let’s talk about things you’ll need to know about each different type of piano lesson.
Piano Lessons Option 1: In-Person Piano Lessons
Covid-19 changed the way we interact, and music lessons are no different. For some people, in-person piano lessons are not an option. Either they are too risky, or they’re not allowed because of lockdown measures that are taking place in certain areas. We’ll get to the virtual options in a moment but assuming that in-person lessons are allowed and safe, here are the pros and cons.
Pros:
1. Your child can build a relationship with an instructor that can last a long time. If you find a great instructor, they can keep your child engaged and interested and learning the piano.
2. The instructor will be able to give feedback to your child in real-time.
3. The instructor can cater each lesson to your child and how engaged they are on that day.
4. Having a set-day and time can keep things consistent and keep up the momentum when learning to play the piano.
Cons:
1. Private lessons are expensive. They can cost $60-$100 per lesson or more.
2. They can be somewhat inconvenient. In most cases you must travel to the instructor’s home or music studio. When travel time is factored in, private lessons can be very time consuming.
3. It can be hard to find instructors who are engaging enough to keep your child’s interest, especially if your child is younger. There isn’t usually a correlation between a person’s skill on the piano and their ability to teach. Teaching is its own skill, especially teaching children.
4. Depending on your area there may not be many choices when in comes to piano teachers.
5. It will be up to the child to remember what was taught in the lesson. There is no way to go back and review a concept, slow it down or learn it again, other than from materials that were provided that accompany the lesson or by asking the instructor to repeat the concept in the next lesson.
These are some of the things you’ll want to consider when thinking about whether private piano lessons are the best option for you child and family. Let’s move on to the next type of lesson.
Piano Lessons Option 2: Online One-On-One Piano Lessons
There are quite a few options for online one-on-one piano lessons for kids. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these lessons.
Pros:
1. Online one-on-one piano lessons are more convenient than in-person lessons. Your child can have their tablet or screen on their piano at home and there’s no need to travel to the lesson, making the time commitment much less than in-person piano lessons. This frees up parents, while children are taking their piano lesson, to do other things instead of waiting at the piano teacher’s home or studio (that doesn’t apply if the piano teacher comes to your home, of course 😊)
2. You get an instructor who can assess your child’s technique and progress and can interact with them.
3. There are many more options than if you are looking in-person lessons in your local area. There is not geographic restriction to choosing instructor.
4. The consistency of having a set day and time for piano lessons can be good for many kids and families.
Cons:
1. Online one-on-one piano lessons are still expensive. They may cost slightly less than in-person lessons, but you are still paying for an individual’s time and that usually isn’t cheap. Lessons can cost $50-$80 each.
2. It can be challenging for the instructor to get a good look at your child’s technique or hear what they are playing. The technology needs to be set up in such a way that the sound is clear from the instructor to the student and from the student to the instructor.
3. The lessons must be done at the scheduled day and time, there is little flexibility.
We’ve covered the two types of one-on-one piano lessons. Let’s move on to group piano lessons.
Piano Lessons Option 3: Group Piano Lessons
Group piano lessons can be a good option to save money. There are in-person and online options for group piano lessons. Let’s dive in.
Pros:
1. Group piano lessons are cost effective. They cost less than private piano lessons.
2. Your child will get some individual attention but not as much as with a private lesson.
3. It’s fun to learn with others, and make music at the same time, which can be motivating.
Cons:
1. Kids don’t all learn at the same pace. This can cause more advanced students to have to hold back and less advanced students to have trouble keeping up.
2. Group piano lessons must be done at the scheduled day/time with very little flexibility.
3. It’s likely that your child won’t be able to review what was taught in the lesson by re-watching the lessons. There may be worksheets, or additional materials provided.
Time to move on to the last style of piano lessons.
Piano Lessons Option 4: Online On-Demand Piano Lessons
Online on-demand piano lessons can be a great learning tool for kids, they’re convenient and affordable and are great on their own or as a compliment to other piano lessons. Our program, My Music Workshop (www.mymusicworkshop.com) offers on-demand piano lessons, so I might be a little biased. But, I do think they’re fantastic, and we have gotten great reviews from parents since we started offering them. Let’s take a closer look.
Pros:
1. On demand piano lessons are affordable. My Music Workshop is less than $10 per month with the yearly plan or $15.99 with the monthly plan.
2. They are convenient. On demand piano lessons are available anytime and anywhere, making it easy to do the lessons when it best fits your family’s schedule.
3. The lessons can be repeated. Nothing is lost in the lessons, if your child misses something or needs to go back to understand something they can. They can even stop the lesson to catch up or practice little pieces of the lesson before moving on.
4. Your child can move at their own pace and do as much learning as they want. If they want to do one lesson or five lessons in a week they can.
Cons:
1. There is no live teacher to give instant feedback and guidance.
2. The lack of a set time and day for lessons can cause lessons or to be skipped or students to not be consistent.
3. The lessons aren’t customized to your child ability level or learning pace.
As you can see there are quite a few options to get your child’s piano journey started. But, don’t be intimidated. The key is to get your child started learning to play the piano. Get them in some sort of piano lessons. But, be as choosy as you can, be flexible, understand your child and what environment will best suit their needs.
As your child learns the piano, encourage them. It’s not easy to stick to learning an instrument over the long haul. They will need your support. But, with your support, some motivation and some of their own determination, they will receive the precious gift that comes with being able to play an instrument. An instrument becomes a friend in times of need and a tool of expression when there is no other ways to say what is inside. For those of us who do play an instrument, there is nothing that could ever replace that. That’s what I seek to share with my students and with people everywhere. Music is a gift and a blessing, and childhood is the best time to start learning. Good luck on your quest for great piano lessons for your child.
Be sure to consider our program, My Music Workshop as an option for your child’s piano lessons. We offer the ability to try the program for 7-days without paying, to make sure that there’s a good fit with your child and family. You can visit our program’s website here.
You can also watch a preview of our piano lessons on YouTube here:
Hi, I'm Elias Berlinger!
I'm the co-founder of My Music Workshop (with my wife Lianna) and I've taught music to kids for 15 or more years. I love music, I love teaching and I love sharing the joy of music with kids and families. Lianna and I have two kids. Jay is 8 and he loves music! He's learning to play the piano, drums, ukulele and violin. He's got a lot to work on, but I'm most proud of the fact he loves music and chooses to play all the time. Our daughter Lyra is 3, and she loves to sing and dance. She sees us play instruments a lot and follows along but she's a few years from learning to play an instrument.
We created My Music Workshop because Lianna and I both had musical families growing up, and it blessed us with a lifetime of playing and loving music. We want to share that with as many kids as we can. Our program is on demand and we have a lot of musical resources and lessons for kids on the piano, and even the drums and ukulele. I'm the teacher you see on screen, and I hope your family considers giving My Music Workshop (it's really YOUR Music Workshop) a try. Visit us at www.MyMusicWorkshop.com. See you there!
