Gifts for piano students: ideas by age and level

A good gift for a piano student does one of three things. It makes practice easier, it gives them music they want to play, or it marks what they have done. The ideas below are sorted by level. No prices are listed, because they change.

Ask the teacher before you buy books or gear. A two-line email saves a wrong guess.

For any level

• A lamp for the music. Many pianos sit in a dim corner. A lamp that clips to the music desk or stands beside it lets a child see the notes.
• A bag for lesson books. One bag, kept by the door, ends the weekly hunt.
• A pencil cup and good erasers. Teachers write in the music, and students should too.
• A practice chart and stickers. Print a weekly practice chart or a 100 days of practice chart and add a sheet of stickers.
• Concert tickets. Hearing a pianist play live shows a child where the work leads.

First-year beginners

• A footstool. Small children’s feet hang in the air at the piano. A stool under the feet steadies the whole body.
• A bench that goes up and down. The right height puts the forearms level with the keys. An adjustable bench fits a child now and in five years.
• A book of tunes they know. Most methods publish extra books of film songs, hymns, or holiday music at each level. The teacher knows which level fits.
• Note name flashcards. Print the note name flashcards and tie them with a ribbon.
• A keyboard chart. The piano keyboard chart stands behind the keys and names each one.

Students in years two to four

• A metronome. A plain one with a clear tick. The free metronome for kids works in a browser.
• A pedal for a keyboard. Many keyboards come with a small plastic switch. A pedal shaped like a real piano pedal stays put on the floor.
• Headphones for a digital piano. They let a child practice while a baby sleeps.
• A duet book. Music for two players at one piano turns practice into company. A parent who reads a little music can take the easy part.
• A notebook of music paper. Print pages from the staff paper maker and staple a cover on.

Intermediate and advanced students

• A good edition of a big piece. Ask the teacher which edition. The same sonata comes in editions that differ in fingering and in the notes themselves.
• A recording by a great pianist of the piece they are learning.
• A book about a composer they play. Read the composer pages on this site for ideas, starting with Chopin for kids.
• A piano tuning. For a family with an acoustic piano, a visit from a tuner is a gift the student hears every day.
• A lesson in a new style. One lesson in jazz, improvising, or accompanying.

For a student facing an exam

• The official books for the level. Exam systems publish their own. See RCM levels explained.
• An exam countdown chart. Print the exam countdown chart.
• Staff paper for theory. Print blank staff paper.

The big gift: a better instrument

A child who has outgrown a small keyboard needs 88 weighted keys more than any other gift. Read piano or keyboard for a beginner before you shop, and ask the teacher to look at the model you are considering.

What to skip

• Stickers of the note names for the keys. Some teachers ask students to take them off, because children read the stickers and not the music.
• Books far above the level. A hard book that sits closed teaches nothing.
• A second method series. Mixing two methods confuses a beginner unless the teacher planned it.
• Novelty items with piano keys printed on them. They are fun for a day.

A gift that costs nothing

Ask the student to play a piece for you, and listen to all of it without your phone. Ask them to play it once more. For a child who practices alone most days, a full listener is rare.

Print and play

The printables library has free charts, flashcards, and staff paper to add to any gift.

For more ideas, see gifts for kids who love music. For the teacher, see piano teacher gift ideas. For more on lessons, see music lessons for kids: a parent’s guide.