Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Sir Caerdydd a Bro Morgannwg
Music Service Gwasanaeth Cerdd
The Friary Centre, The Friary, Cardiff CF10 3FA Y Ganolfan Friary, Y Friary, Caerdydd CF10 3FA Tel: Tel: 029 2064 0950/1 Ffôn: 029 2064 0950/1
Fax: 029 2066 6593 F-facs: 029 2066 6593
E-mail: E-bost:
www.ccvgmusicservice.org www.ccvgmusicservice.org
Welcome to Keyboard /Piano Lessons! – your child’s learning and how you can support.
Dear Parent / Carer,
Your child has chosen to learn to play a keyboard instrument. This is a wonderful opportunity for your child, one which, if pursued will lead to a range of exciting opportunities both in school, possibly in County Music Groups and in later life as well as helping to develop their all-round educational skills.
Playing an instrument has been proven to help a child with their
· memory, concentration and listening skills,
· social skills,
· coordination,
· multi-tasking,
· learning to work as part of a team and
· aids learning in all school subjects, particularly Maths and English.
This has been proven by recent world-wide studies. In addition, the Music Industry is now one of the largest employers in the UK and accounts for over 6% of GDP.
The members of the CCVG peripatetic team would like to offer some advice to help your child to make the most of the opportunity and enjoy the instrument fully.
Practice – essential!
Few parents are able to help their child directly with the instrument (if you can that’s great!). The most important thing you can do is
· find a convenient time and place for your child to do some regular practice.
· To begin with, 10 - 15 minutes practice a few times a week is enough to make progress – this amount really will make a difference. The more practice the child is able to do the quicker the progress will be.
· Practice is best done in a quiet space away from the TV, computer or other children.
· It is helpful if you can sit with your child (it can be a lonely activity and this might boost his/her interest in the early stages) and it is useful to ask them what they are going to practise and if possible listen to something that has been practised at the end of the session. Parental involvement greatly improves a pupil’s progress.
Work will almost always be set by the teacher at the end of each lesson – either verbally or written down in some way in the child’s book or school diary. If your child is not certain what to practise then the work done in the last lesson or for the previous week’s practice can be re-visited. Otherwise simply ask your child to play their favourite pieces. This may help to get them started and to refresh the memory. Some questions from you about
· sitting position / posture / correct hand position at the keyboard
· what skills, pieces, scales etc they have been asked to practise
will help the child to recall instructions given during lessons. P.T.O
After Autumn Half-term your child will be given a Targets form by their instrumental tutor which will set out what they are expected to achieve by the end of the academic year, based on their ability. Please make sure you read this in conjunction with your child.
Using the Internet and Apps as an aid to learning.
There are teaching tools available to all pupils / parents/carers who have access to the Internet.
· Practice / note recognition apps can be downloaded to a smart phone/tablet computer, usually free. Some are specific to the keyboard / piano
· Later on, performances of exam pieces and scales are easy to find on YouTube and help with Aural Tests is also available via dedicated Apps.
· YouTube also offers a vast bank of varied and interesting performances of all types of music specific to the piano.
Whilst some of this information should be treated cautiously it all adds together to help you to guide your child and to aid his/her progress
Staying the Course
· No instrument is easy and all instruments take time for a child to become proficient and start to play ‘real tunes’.
· Every instrument presents its’ own set of challenges. Perseverance will give your child a lifetime interest. Please encourage your child to ‘stick at it’ through the “hard times”. These are inevitable, especially perhaps after school holidays when the child is worried that they have not practised enough (at all?) during the vacation period.
· A full year of lessons is necessary to really begin to love the instrument and decide whether it is the ‘right’ instrument.
Joining in – school and county groups
Encourage your child to take part in a group activity. Some schools have bands, orchestras or groups which your child can join once the required standard has been reached by playing a school glockenspiel or metallophone (tuned percussion) as many of the keyboard skills are transferable. These groups add an extra dimension to the lessons and practice, are sociable, increase your child’s knowledge and expertise and improve listening and reading skills.
CCVG Music Service runs a multitude of groups and projects which provide a wonderful opportunity to play with children of a similar standard, meet children from other schools who share the same interest and allow the child to participate in concerts in wonderful venues such as St David’s Hall.
The importance of playing in groups with other children can’t be emphasised enough. Many children give up their instrument simply because it seems pointless as an activity alone – most instruments are designed to be part of a group! During the first stages of your child’s learning, groups such as the percussion section of the Junior Orchestra are available at the Friary Centre, home of the Music Service. Please see our website: www.ccvgmusicservice.org for further details.
Your child will need your help and encouragement every step of the way. However, a musical education will give your child an enjoyable set of skills which will be of lifelong use. Music provides an enriching experience, a positive impact on the child’s social skills and social life, stimulates the brain in unique ways to improve learning and thinking and promotes good mental skills.
Music brings a deep sense of joy and adds another dimension to life.
Head of Service: J. V. Davies, B. Mus. (Wales), L.T.C.L.