Hi! I can my child to learn notes and eventually learn how to play the piano. We can’t really afford a keyboard (well…the one that I want…) right now. Would a Glockenspiel be good for learning notes (or should I stick to a keyboard)?? I don’t know much about them and there isn’t much on the internet that I’ve found. Does anyone have any insight? If so, any recommendations on a particular one? They range in price from $20 to a couple hundred. Are the notes more accurate on the more expensive ones?? Also, are there any good books for teaching kids notes?? Thanks for any insight!!
I bought a 25 note lyons glockenspiel on amazon to teach my daughter perfect pitch and note reading. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VO7FPC/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
Although a keyboard would be ideal, I found the glockenspiel more portable and much cheaper. I found the notes to be fairly accurate. I will probably need to buy a MIDI keyboard later on though as I plan to start my daughter on Soft Way to Mozart once she is old enough. Hope this helps.
Thanks! That’s a great value if it has accurate notes! Do you play songs? Do you have a book or anything that you follow?
I am currently doing 2 things to teach music to my baby:
-
Perfect Pitch - I play 3 notes on the glockenspiel and name them 3x a day and after 3 days, I retire one note and add one new one (Doman style). After I finish with all the notes for perfect pitch, I will proceed with note reading and I am currently preparing flashcards for these.
-
Classical Music - I play 1 classical piece 2x a day for 1 week. I printed out some portraits of classical composers and I show this to the baby and tell her the name of the composer and the piece before and after playing. I currently get my pieces from Beethoven’s Wig vols 1 and 2 which I loaded on iTunes. So it is easy for me to play the piece from my iTunes library after I do a session of Little Reader since I already have my computer turned on already. Then I choose a different piece from a different composer for the next week.
I recently ordered Themes to Remember vols 1 and 2 so I will probably be getting my pieces from these once they arrive. They also have enlarged composers’ portraits (41 composers!) which I also ordered so I can stop printing my own and save on printer ink!
I don’t follow a book or anything but read on what other parents are doing and just improvised / adapted to suit my baby.
Hi aangeles,
Thanks for sharing how you teach your baby music. Using a Glockenspiel certainly makes teaching notes more fun. We currently use the tuning forks in class to teach perfect pitch. The children love it, parents enjoy the simple process too. Oh and Softway to Mozart is really interesting. When do you plan to start your baby on Softway to Mozart? As a piano player yourself ( I believe you must have been educated in the traditional way as I was), do you think introducing toddlers to piano playing through the Softway to Mozart system is more effective in comparison with the traditional lessons?
Thanks in advance for your insights.
Hi Victoria,
From what I have read, you can start Soft Way to Mozart as early as two years old. My daughter is 15 months old now so I won’t be starting till next year. As to whether it will be more effective or enjoyable compared to traditional lessons, I don’t have any definite answers. I posted on a thread some time ago asking people to review their experience with the program but no one has really responded. Maybe because only a few people are doing it (or none)?? The main reason I am considering Soft Way to Mozart is because I want to introduce instrument playing early and I can’t imagine a 2 year old sitting still for traditional lessons. Are you also considering it for your child?
Hi aangeles,
I have not heard of Softway to Mozart until this post of yours so I wasnt considering it until now. I’ve always thought I’ll send my kids to Music Kids and Junior Music School at Yamaha music school as that’s where I went as a child. There are not many good music courses for toddlers in Malaysia. Yamaha only takes toddlers 3 years and above. I’ve checked with them a few times but they keep telling me that toddlers younger than 3 learn nothing and it’ll be a waste of time to start music lessons this young.
I’m open to exploring as many options as possible. My objective is to cultivate interest in music in my kids for pleasure rather for qualifications.
I just googled ‘Softway to Mozart’ to find out exactly what it is and how it works. The first website that came up is:
It seems like a great way to teach young children play the piano. Thanks aangeles for mentioning it. I just hope I don’t forget about it 2 years from now. lol
There had also been a lot of discussion going on in this forum several months ago on Soft Way to Mozart. There was even someone who I think was affiliated with the company giving online introductory courses to forum members. Type in “Soft Way to Mozart” in the forum search box on top and you’ll see the previous threads. I was wondering what happened to the lady giving the courses. I don’t think she is active in the forum anymore - which is a pity since I have a few questions to ask her.