As my niece and nephew are 2+ years old now, and my sisters had always hoped that I can give some simple music lessons for them, and maybe for them to see if they will like to pursue music when they are older. And also, since my little girl will also be arriving soon. I thought would be a good idea to do some research on how to actually introduce music to toddlers.
Based on the advise given by most people, the best time for a child to start formal music lessons is 5 years old. And anything before that is actually play!
For 5 years old and above:-
When I went for my piano class, I notice that my teacher has lots of games, flashcards and magnetic board (very cute stuff) which is used to teach very young children. I found those games and toys very interesting. And can see that she puts in a lot of effort in planning for the lessons.
What I know from my friends when they learnt piano when they were young, there wasn't those fancy games and colourful cards, but instead, they were using those black and white scores, with BIG letterings. Nowadays, the manufacturers really know how to make money.
Something I found online (Piano for Little Kids 5 years old & above - as a start):
Level 1:
1. Right hand only includes the following content:
a. Location of keys
b. Middle C position.
c. Recognition of quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes.
d. Location of Middle C, D, E, F, and G (Learned by letter)
e. Playing Middle C, D, E, F, and G
f. Counting correct rhythm while playing.
2. Left hand and hands together includes the following content:
a. Playing C chord
b. Playing G7 chord (simplified version of G7 chord)
c. Applying both chords to songs.
d. Playing songs with both hands simultaneously.
Level 2:
This level continues to build on reading real notes, incrementally replacing all previous play by letters with real note recognition.
Level 3:
At this level, your child will be reading simple sheet music, applying rhythm and have a very solid understanding of how to read music. Basic music reading skills are used in easy songs with fun lyrics.
At the end of these lessons, your child will be playing simple songs with both hands, using two different chords, knowing how to apply rhythm, not looking at hands, and have a very strong foundation to continue to reading music.
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Ah ... i do believe you can do SO MUCH MORE with the little ones. Just exposing them to "adult" music instead of children music is quite good! Why should they be restricted?
Like my 22-month-old has been exposed to the Chinese classical & Western classical music all this while and through various instruments (violin, erhu, gaohu, jinghu, piano) bc all these exist in our house and are practised regularly by his siblings.
He's an Itzhak Perlman fan and loves the Vivaldi Four Seasons. He knows at least 90% of the Italian terms for grade 1 theory and he knows the different note values and the C-major scale! haha!
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