Metronome & books for reading music

I thought I'd start this week's blog with a Youtube clip. Sorry about the blurry image. That's a close up of a metronome, and the video is a short introductory presentation by my son on its uses - with a surprise ending! (To those who experience motion sickness, you may want to avoid watching.)

 Here's a better picture of the one we use:

Now I'm not going to claim to be an expert on metronome use. On reading around, it seems that there's a bit of controversy about their use. Do they help or hinder developing a natural rhythm? Do they destroy musicality? These are debates that you'll come across. Instead of giving my opinion, I've found you a good discussion on the history of the metronome and its pros and cons here.

We've only been using a metronome for a little while. My son is quite good with maintaining a consistent rhythm (unless he's fed up and in a hurry of course!) but I think his teacher has asked him to use one to help him keep going at a steady pace when he's reading music and playing. (For those unfamiliar with Suzuki method, the children learn to play by ear and they aren't taught to read music until later.) We're using it with this book:

Apparently this was written by Bartok to help his son learn to play the piano. It starts off very simply and takes the student through a variety of different playing patterns. The most useful thing about it is that it has the metronome speed marked at the top of each exercise piece. It's been fun using this book because my son loves the challenge of trying to keep pace with the metronome and it's provided a little variety in his routine practice sessions. (I should say, we do have to turn the metronome to face away from him or he's distracted by the moving hand.)

Other books we've used for reading are Alan Haughton's Play Piano Book 1 and Methode Rose. Methode Rose was quite difficult to source. If you're interested in using this book its ISMN is 979-05600-5019-5 and it looks like this:

We haven't used the three books in any particular order, completing one before moving on to the next. My son started with Methode Rose, but it gets quite technically difficult quite quickly, so then he went to Alan Haughton's book and worked his way through that. At the moment we're using both the Mikrocosmos and Methode Rose. One thing I would say is that it's been very helpful to really work on a piece and get it very good before moving onto the next one, while of course trying to maintain some kind of variety. Then it's also instructive to go back to the pieces you haven't looked at for a while to see if you can still read and play them well.

Our next book is this:

This is a most strange book and at the moment is completely incomprehensible, so I'm not going to say much more! But if you're looking for something interesting to study, look no further, Kurtag is your man.

More on books next blog

Seating

A quality noted in equestrian circles is whether a rider has 'a good seat'. In other words, do they sit well on a horse? Do they have good balance, posture and poise? All of these are important if you want to ride well. You may or may not be surprised to learn that such things are equally important to the practising pianist. To play the keys in order to make the most beautiful sound, the hands need to be in the correct position over the keys. To maintain this position and to be able to keep the correct balance and the range of movement in the hands without the arms and wrists from becoming strained or tired, the body also needs to be in the correct position.

There is a fairly good guide here, although I would say that in some of the illustrative photos those students look as though their hands aren't far enough over the keys. The principles are that the back is straight, the arms are held out in front of the body roughly at the level of the keyboard (a little above) and the hands are in front of the arms. The body should be relaxed, not rigid, as this will cause tension and strain, and as well as being physically stressful, this strain can be heard in the sound the pianist makes.

Unlike some instruments, it isn't really possible to get pianos that have been made specifically for children to learn on. You can't, for example, buy a quarter-sized piano in the way you can a violin. There are smaller than normal pianos, but you lose keys at both ends of the board. Also, if you want to buy the best piano you can possibly afford as I advised in my previous post, you want it to last throughout your child's childhood at the very least. You don't want to have to buy a larger piano as your child grows.

A child seated at a piano cannot possibly have the maintain the correct relaxed posture and balance without the aid of appropriate seating and a foot rest. You could use cushions to raise your child's seat so that their arms are a little above the keys, but cushions are unstable, and you don't want to waste time continually rearranging them during every practice session. Much better to buy an adjustable seat.

This is ours:

We've had it at its highest setting for quite a while now, just showing that it's mostly my son's legs that have grown! When we bought our piano the dealer agreed to throw this in for the price of the piano, so that might be an idea for your own negotiations (plus free delivery).

Just beneath the seat you can also make out a footrest, shown more clearly here:

This is an adjustable footrest with a pedal extension feature. The company that makes these can be found here. We've found this to be the best option available for providing a secure and stable rest for the feet that can also be adjusted to a fine degree.

These are the main items you'll need for your child to start lessons. In my next post I'll discuss other equipment and items that can also be useful.

What piano?

This is the first in a series of blogs discussing the equipment you'll need for piano tuition.

Piano

Of course, you need a piano if you're learning to play one. But it isn't quite as simple as that.

Many children get given an electronic keyboard as a present and turn up at their first piano lesson raring to go. That's fine if you want to learn to play a keyboard, but a piano is not the same, whatever similarities the two instruments share and even if the keyboard has a 'piano' option. Beware of a piano teacher that's happy to teach your child on a piano and have them practise on a keyboard at home. There are specific techniques required to play a piano so that it makes a beautiful sound. Without being able to practise these techniques at home your child won't be able to learn them. An electronic keyboard simply doesn't respond in the way an acoustic instrument does. If you've ever been to a live classical concert you'll know the difference between that and listening to a recording at home.

This isn't to say that there aren't lots of things you can still learn by playing a keyboard. In fact, there are many things that you can't learn by playing a piano. But please be clear that these are different instruments and if your goal is for your child to be able to play a piano, then you need to start with a piano from the beginning.

Here is our beautiful piano.

As well as using a keyboard, another option is to buy a cheap piano until you're sure your child is really committed to learning. I would advise against this, though. Children, especially young children, are creatures of the moment. They will almost certainly go along with lessons and practice for a little while then try to give up when the novelty wears off. The child prodigy who practices for hours for the love of it is a rare exception (and I'm always a little suspicious of just how much of the motivation to practice comes from the parent). It's best, in my opinion, to begin with your commitment. Your child will pick up on that. If you value the instrument your child is likely to as well. And if you buy a cheap thing 'just in case they give up', you're increasing the chances they will give up.

Also, there is a huge difference in sound between cheap, poorly tuned pianos and well-made, well-cared for ones. If you want your child to hear the difference between playing well and playing badly, they will hear it better on a good quality piano. Don't believe that children are too young to tell the difference. Children are very sensitive to sound, more so than adults. They pick up languages much faster than adults do. They may not be able to articulate what makes something sound bad or beautiful, but they can feel it at a deeper than conscious level. On a good quality piano they can practise to make the best sound they can.

Another drawback of buying a cheap piano is that you're likely to be buying secondhand. I'm not a piano expert but it stands to reason that this is a risky enterprise. How old is the piano you're buying? (Yes, they do have limited lifespans, unlike some other instruments.) Has it been regularly tuned? Do you know what to look for under the lid? Unless you know what you're doing it's wise to steer clear of this potentially dangerous area.

In short, take as much advice as you can, and spend as much as you can afford. It will give your child a great start and make them much more likely to succeed in their endeavours and enjoy making a beautiful sound. Our piano above is a Kawai, which cost us an eye-watering amount of money, but we're still going four years later and the sound of this piano lifts my heart.

Enjoy! Invest!