School and piano lessons Belgrade – Parents’ most frequently asked questions and answers

Is my child “musically talented” and does it even matter?

When we have a child, we have an important task before us – to help him realize his capacities, dreams and hopes. The road to success is long and requires perseverance but also recognition of the best direction to go. During that process, we are there to explore our child’s aptitudes, so we often ask ourselves: What is my child talented at?

In the case of musical talent, there are various theories about the types of (musical) talent we can talk about. Talent is a broad term that, in a narrower sense, refers to full inclination and predestinedness to engage in music. This means that someone has an excellent combination of musical and general abilities, a personality that is prone to public performances, creative imagination and charisma.

When we talk about children who go to music schools, a very small percentage are destined to become professionals in music, only about 2-3%. They stayed there to explore the world of music, to get an education, to learn the processes and to acquire the tools to make art a part of their lives and enrich it.

What is common for those who will be musicians, as well as for those who will not, is the degree of their motivation to take advantage of nature’s given predispositions through persistence and dedication. Talent without work means nothing, but work can replace parts of talent and teach children to think, play, perform, and enjoy and connect with art.

It is not rare that two students, one of whom is naturally more gifted but poorly motivated, and the other less gifted but more persistent, easily switch places on the success ladder.

Today we know that children’s motivation is complex and that we need to work on it in a targeted manner. The internal motivation of the child is not enough because it is unstable and depends on factors of maturity, environment, as well as success in performing the task.

Our goal as pedagogues is to, in cooperation with parents, externally motivate the child by adapting to his current condition and capabilities. If we support him, we will also help the student to better realize his potential.

The brain in training: How piano lessons shape children’s intelligence

Playing music has been proven to have a positive effect on the development of many abilities. It helps the child to increase focus, activate both gross and fine motor skills, gain experience in public performance, but also learn to relax with quality musical content.

The process of playing itself begins with the connection of the seen musical text and the reaction of gross and fine motor skills, followed by an auditory check of the accuracy of the performance while at the same time preparing for the music that has yet to be performed. In this process, both hemispheres of the brain are activated, and it is known that children who start piano lessons before the age of nine develop a special connection between the left and right hemispheres.

As music is an art that happens in real time, this process can last as long as the composition being performed lasts – from one minute for younger students, to dozens of minutes for older students. This way of activating our body and brain has a beneficial effect on children’s development.

The first thing that has been extended is the focus, then the ability to think on several fronts at once, and there is also the motor aspect that indirectly affects development.

Performing music has a positive effect on emotional balance as it encourages the release and awareness of emotions, as well as the construction of aesthetic norms and enjoyment of beauty.

Playing music, in addition to developing general and musical abilities, thanks to public performances also helps children to master performing in front of an audience, whether it is a musical performance or any type of public presentation such as presentations, answering questions or taking exams.

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience found that children who took music lessons had better working memory and sustained attention compared to their peers who had no music education.

How quickly do the results come and why does slow progress mean nothing bad?

The modern way of education, as well as modern pedagogy, shed new light on the progress of children. From several decades of research, we get the results that those who excel in elementary school are not necessarily successful people even when they grow up. Many other factors can lead to children’s development and influence their success.

Of course, we are talking here about aspects that are not affected by the level of general and musical abilities. For us as pedagogues, the focus here is on motivation, maturity and building work habits.

We cannot influence maturity and abilities, but we can influence children’s motivation and work habits. This process can be very slow, but if we are persistent enough, we will soon reap the fruits of this joint effort.

Even the slow progress in learning the piano can leave a positive impact on the student because through it he learned what patience is, how the process of work goes step by step, and there is a feeling of achievement when the result is finally reached.

Everyone progresses at their own pace, and slow progress does not mean anything bad, it is important to build work habits and love for music. Everyone will progress according to their abilities, discover their own world of the piano and enjoy it.

Will my child really enjoy piano lessons?

When a child learns, he psychologically leaves the comfort zone and enters the frustration zone. Physically, learning is not easy and enjoyment will not be the main feeling that he will feel in the classes.

What we as educators can do is to soften and refine that process. The most important thing is to find a balance between too high and too low expectations of the child.

If the standards are too high, the child may feel inadequate and lose motivation very quickly. On the other hand, if we indulge the child too much and do not push him out of his comfort zone, he will gain false self-confidence that will eventually lose the battle with reality, and children are usually aware of this themselves.

Enjoyment of the lessons occurs when a child who is thrown out of the comfort zone succeeds in the task to the right extent and feels the satisfaction of achievement. Then his motivation increases and with his newly acquired self-confidence he is open to new tasks that come his way.

What if my child drops out?

Despite our best efforts and best will, sometimes as pedagogues we have to admit defeat and encourage the child to give up piano lessons. This happens when all pedagogical and educational resources, as well as cooperation with parents, are exhausted. Sometimes the reason and the limit is in the musical abilities of the child, but more often it is the lack of motivation and the inability to start it from the inside in the right way.

When the child gives up, what is left for us is to question whether we, as parents and educators, did our best to make the child persevere and provide him with a healthy atmosphere in order to succeed. If, despite favorable circumstances, success is absent, then we can be sure that the decision to give up is the right one.

It is important that the child himself understands his role in the process and takes the responsibility that was his. This means that he has the right to openly declare his desire to no longer engage in piano lessons and to accept the consequences of ceasing this activity.

It is important to learn a lesson and apply the acquired knowledge to the next activity, monitor the child’s mechanisms and see if there is a pattern of giving up or if it is a matter of looking for another activity that would suit the child better.

Sometimes the reason for giving up is the bad “timing” of the start of studies, sometimes it’s early enrollment, and sometimes pressure from parents. Always give the child a signal of support if he later wants to return to the piano. Of course, with this support comes the responsibility to approach the activity with more motivation and independence next time.

From the above, we can also conclude that “failure” can be a good life lesson that we can always apply to the next similar situation and act better and more responsibly.

The piano as a superpower: How music strengthens emotional intelligence

Good music always helps us to open up emotionally and ease some emotional difficulty. Over time, we learn which music corresponds to which feeling, whether we want to relieve tension or “raise” our mood.

When we start learning the piano or another instrument, we become co-creators of music and our goal is to give our emotional contribution to what the composer wanted to express through his sheet music.

What the child will learn are expressive musical means and how certain feelings are expressed in music. For example, if the composition is cheerful, it will often have bright major colors, fast tempos and a certain cheerfulness in character. If some emotional tension is expressed, the harmonies will be imbued with dissonant tones that will tend to be resolved and relieved through harmonic and melodic processes.

What is characteristic of a performer is that when these emotions take hold of us, we cannot lose control. We must express the composer’s intention by reproducing the musical text in clearly agreed upon circumstances.

In this way, we strengthen our emotional intelligence because by recognizing the composer’s feelings and intentions, we build our expression according to the best model – the model of timeless art and absolute value.

This can help us to recognize similar situations in our daily life and apply with feeling the inspiration we have gained in the process. This way of working enhances our sense of connection to true source and the sense of purpose we all need for a meaningful and fulfilling life.

Music and school performance: Does the piano help better learning?

Playing the piano requires a high engagement of the entire system of thinking, motor skills, as well as our emotional body.

With so many activated centers, the child’s development accelerates and branches out, which certainly spills over into other parts of the child’s personality. In addition to this, the ability to perform multiple tasks at once is built, which also increases the quality of work when dealing with other activities.

Learning piano sheet music by heart, which involves memorizing different content for both hands, also significantly improves children’s memory. In addition, regular public performances make it easier for the child to overcome all future challenges such as oral answers, presentations or job interviews.

We can conclude that playing the piano has a very positive effect on the development of cognitive abilities, memory as well as the improvement of public performances in children.

Introvert or extrovert – how does the piano shape a child’s personality? 

It is known that artists are often introverted beings for whom art is a link with the real world. Through art, talented people communicate and draw attention to themselves more easily than they would in a direct relationship with people.

Art is there to help introverted children not only with communication, but art is there to comfort them and through it to get in touch with themselves.

Of course, this does not mean that art is reserved only for those who are more self-oriented. Introverted and extroverted children have equal musical abilities.

The only difference is that for introverts the world of art means much more in creating their own self-image as well as the connection with the outside world.

How much time is “enough” for piano practice and how to avoid saturation?

Practicing the piano at home can best be compared to homework. It is our daily obligation and it is best to introduce it into regular daily activities. In this way, working habits will create a routine attitude towards work and we will not get into a situation of “campaign” learning, and therefore oversaturation.

In addition to causing additional stress, campaign learning is also the least effective compared to regular work. This is a key reason why gifted children often fail to take advantage of their natural abilities. A number of them rely on the fact that they will master the content quickly, leaving everything for the last minute when it is often too late to achieve everything.

Talent is certainly an advantage when it comes to work, but regularity and persistence sometimes mean even more. That is why we advise that children regularly If they do not have the opportunity to work the same amount of time every day, let them introduce a daily minimum of work that they will try to always respect.

Is classical music boring to today’s children? 

One of the basic things that we as pedagogues and parents should not do is to underestimate children. Children are capable of understanding and accepting many things that we assume will not be interesting to them. One of those things is classical music.

Classical music is formally and musically very meaningful, and children, in addition to enjoying the musical content, also enjoy their performance skills.

Educators should always first interest children with their performance of a composition so that they would want to learn a piece themselves. Children respond to all elements of music: melody, rhythm and form, and a good performance can only highlight them.

In this way, classical music is brought closer to children in the best possible way, so that they themselves want to be its performers.In moments when it becomes difficult for them, the beauty of the musical content will encourage them to make an extra effort, and they should experience it in class, either by the teacher or by listening to a recording of the composition.

What is my role as a parent and should I know anything about music?

The parental role is very important in the teacher-parent-student triangle. The parent should, especially in the beginning, establish control over the completion of tasks on the piano and communicate both with his child and the teacher. The parent is equally important in encouraging the child’s motivation.

It is always useful when the parent is also musically educated, but we have many examples of musically uneducated parents whose children successfully played the piano.

The most important thing is that both the child and the parent listen to the teacher and follow what is written in the student’s notebook between two classes. There is usually information about class work and what the student is expected to do.

Although the parent himself does not know the musical terminology, it is usually a child who is familiar with his task, and it is always easy to remember what is expected of him following the instructions from a notebook or book.

The parent is not expected to be an expert but to serve as a support to the child and to communicate regularly and honestly with the teacher. It is also important that he trusts him and listens to his expert advice.

What when difficult times come… How to help a child not to give up?

As is well known, learning is a process in which there are ups and downs, both in terms of motivation and success. There are also thresholds of stagnation, as well as oversaturation.

Crises are normal and expected.

What matters is our reaction to the crisis and how to overcome it. Most often, more support from parents is needed, as well as more organized work in order to achieve results.

Children also give up when they no longer enjoy it or when there is no success despite the effort.

If children do not find satisfaction in playing and learning, the cause should be investigated. Is a change in approach required? Should the requirements be reduced or increased? Change the composition? Sometimes the solution is to change the teacher.

In the event that success is absent despite the effort, something should also be changed – is the selected composition level appropriate? Should the ladder be lowered until the student overcomes the developmental crisis?

Whatever the cause of the crisis, we need to return to the student-teacher-
parent triangle and strengthen connection and control within it. Determining the cause and working to eliminate it can sometimes only mean controlling work at home until the child’s motivation returns. Sometimes the process takes longer because motivation is in a major crisis.

Of course, we should always leave the possibility for the child to eventually give up, but it is important to exhaust all possibilities before that if we judge that playing is important for the life and development of the child.

Solo or in a team. Is it better for a child to play alone or with others?

The piano as an instrument offers numerous possibilities for playing solo as well as with other instruments. From the very beginning of learning, children play first with their teachers, and there is literature dedicated to group music from the youngest age.

The most common attitude of already established pianists is that chamber music, i.e. playing in an ensemble, is much more fun and brings more pleasure. The very collaboration and communication of musicians both during performance and during rehearsals can be the most beautiful experiences for most musicians.

But in order to play in an ensemble, in addition to basic pianistic knowledge, it is also necessary to develop the skills of cooperation with other musicians, listening, monitoring and dialogue.

Of course, solo playing also represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration because it is through it that we best build ourselves as musicians, and there is also individual work on technique. In addition, the solo piano repertoire is an inexhaustible set of compositions on which work and research never stop.

As a whole, we can conclude that it is best to combine solo and group music because each of them enriches the life of a young musician in its own way.

Can the piano help solve anxiety in children? 

Music has a powerful therapeutic effect on children’s mental health, especially when it comes to reducing anxiety. Its effects have been widely researched and validated in various therapeutic contexts, including music therapy, educational programs, and daily listening to music at home.

Music helps with anxiety in children as it reduces stress levels through soothing music. There is also the regulation of emotions, which we have written about before, because playing the piano helps children recognize and express their emotions more easily. If they feel overwhelmed with information, playing and listening to soft and gentle instrumental music is always there to help.

Depending on the type of child, participating in group musical activities – chamber ensembles with a piano, as well as singing in a choir – can help children develop a sense of community and reduce feelings of loneliness.

We can conclude that creative expression through playing the piano and music in general can help children who have difficulty verbalizing their feelings to become aware of them and learn to express them first through music and then verbally.