Twinkle in the ear
I've been reading a book called "with love in my heart and a twinkle in my ear" by Sheila Warby. Very interesting. It's about the Suzuki method of teaching piano to the young children. The traditional method of approach is to start learning piano from reading the music. But Suzuki method advocates listening. Just like the children learn their mother tongue by listening first, then speak, and after that comes in the reading and writing. The way adults learn a second language is different, usually reading and writing comes first, then listening and speaking. But try teaching young children a language by reading and writing first than listening! It would be a hard job. Same with music. Children have a high capacity of learning music if the order is set right. The procedure is quite simple: let them listen to the music over and over, until it flows out of their fingers. Learning to read music first can actually damage their listening ability and make the learning a frustrated rather than enjoyable process.
I have tried Suzuki method with Ellie, and it seems really good. Ellie is six(from November), and she's playing exam level grade 3 pieces. And Jamie just turned 4, and she's playing twinkles at the moment. She's really enjoying her lessons. I wouldn't think she'd be able to start with traditional method.
Anyway, just thought if you're interested in getting your children to learn piano, this book is well worth a read.
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
