Starting at a Young Age

My nephew, Asher, is two years old and loves music. He came to visit this week and had a mini-piano lesson. Because he is so young, five minutes is a perfect amount of structured lesson time. During the lesson Asher had fun playing on the piano while also learning one new concept-- making an "O" with his fingers and thumb.

Depending on a child's age and hand-span, in order to develop a rounded hand position, it is helpful to have them play the keys with their fingers and thumb connected, forming an O-shape. This way a rounded hand position is learned from the beginning. When very young, the natural tendency is to flatten the hands and "smash" on the keys. With a little practice and prompting, Asher learned to make O's with his fingers while playing! He's off to a great start in piano lessons!