A child can learn a new piece in seven steps: listen to it, look it over, divide it into small parts, play each part at a slow speed, fix the hard spots, join the parts, and add loud, soft, and speed. Playing the whole piece from the top over and over is a slow way to learn. It gives the easy bars the most practice and the hard bars the least.
The seven steps
1. Listen
Hear the piece before you play it. Ask the teacher to play it, or find a recording. Listen two or three times, and follow the notes on the page with a finger.
Now your ear knows where the piece is going.
2. Look before you play
Spend two minutes with the page and a pencil.
- Find the time signature, and count one bar aloud. Read time signatures explained.
- Find the key signature, and name the sharps or flats. Read key signatures explained.
- Find bars that repeat. Circle them. A piece with eight lines may have only four lines of new music.
- Find the hardest bar, and put a star on it.
3. Divide
Split the piece into small sections. A section can be a line, a phrase, or two bars. Number them in pencil.
A good section is short enough to play well by the third try.
4. Go slow
Play one section at a speed that lets every note, rhythm, and finger be right.
- On the piano, play each hand alone first.
- On a string instrument, clap the rhythm, and then play it on an open string before you add the fingers.
- On a wind instrument, say the rhythm on “ta,” and then finger the notes without blowing.
Use the printed fingering from the first day. Changing fingers later means learning the part twice.
5. Fix the hard spots first
Start with the bar that has the star.
- Play only that bar, at a slow speed.
- Play it right three times in a row.
- Add the bar before it, and then the bar after it.
Do this at the start of practice, when the mind is fresh. Read practice games for young music students.
6. Join the parts
Put two sections together, and then three. Overlap them: end each section on the first note of the next one, so that the joins get practice too.
On the piano, this is the time to put the hands together. Read how to practice hands together on the piano.
When the whole piece holds together at a slow speed, bring it up a little at a time. A metronome keeps the steps small.
7. Add the music
Now look at the marks around the notes.
- Loud and soft. Read dynamics in music.
- Smooth and short notes
- Where the phrases rise and fall
- The speed the composer asks for
Play the piece for someone. A piece is learned when you can play it for a listener and keep going after a slip.
A sample week
This plan fits a short piece of sixteen bars and a practice of fifteen minutes a day.
| Day | Work |
|---|---|
| 1 | Listen. Look and mark. Divide into four sections. Learn section 1 at a slow speed |
| 2 | Review section 1. Learn section 2 |
| 3 | Fix the starred bar. Join sections 1 and 2 |
| 4 | Learn section 3. Review the starred bar |
| 5 | Learn section 4. Join sections 3 and 4 |
| 6 | Play the whole piece at a slow speed. Fix one weak spot |
| 7 | Add loud and soft. Play it for the family |
A longer piece takes more weeks on the same plan.
Five habits that slow a child down
| Habit | What to do |
|---|---|
| Always starting at the top | Start at a new section each day |
| Playing fast too soon | Find the speed at which nothing goes wrong, and stay there |
| Playing through mistakes | Stop, find the cause, and play the spot right three times |
| Skipping the fingering | Write the numbers in, and follow them |
| Playing only the part that sounds good | Do the starred bar first |
The parent’s part
A parent does not need to read music to help with this.
- Ask “Which section is today’s job?”
- Ask “Where is the star?”
- Count the three correct repeats on your fingers.
- Listen to the piece at the end of the week.
Read how to help with practice when you cannot read music.
After the piece is learned
Keep it. Play it once or twice a week as a review piece. To play it without the page, read how to memorize piano music. To choose a piece to perform, read piano recital pieces for beginners.
Print and play
Print the weekly practice chart and write one step in each box. Use the metronome for kids for step 6.
More from this guide
This article is part of Music lessons for kids: a parent's guide to starting, choosing, and practicing.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.