Brain Structure and Kid's Piano

Brain structure, age and kid's piano go hand in hand. Your child's experience of the piano is entwined with the development of their brain hemispheres. When the hemispheres are less connected, the child has difficulty. This connection is based on age. As a result, younger kids are at a tremendous disadvantage when reading music.

Most piano teachers do not take this brain development into account when they encounter a child having difficulty. They just assume the child is stupid or lazy. Given the difficulty of the piano, even trying to play is a victory.

Control Your Expectations

Piano teachers and parents have to decide what their expectations are. Do you want virtuosi on their way to Carnegie Hall, or kids who love to play songs on the piano? If your child has extreme talent, it will be obvious to everyone.

But the statistical probabilities are daunting. Almost no children will become world-famous pianists, but, with the proper guidance, they can become enthusiastic hobbyists. More important than Carnegie Hall is your child's experience of the piano, and you should do everything to ensure that it is a positive one.

How The Piano Brain Works

Let's look at the human brain itself to see how kids perceive the piano. The left brain controls the right hand, and the left brain controls the right hand. Depending on your child's age, the connection between the two hemispheres will be more or less developed. 

There is nothing you can do about a child's stage of brain development. It takes growth and time for this neural highway (corpus callosum) to grow. But the piano can help hasten this development process.

Get Brain Hemispheres To "Talk"

Playing music forces the two sides of the brain to "talk" to each other. As a result, musicians have greater mental capabilities. In younger children, the lack of the development of this connection produces profound discomfort and stress, especially when they try to read music. 

It is well known that the "corpus callosum" (the connection between the hemispheres) is up to 90% larger in trained musicians. The best strategy is to start the child early, and ignore early failures as their brains develop.

Talent Is Less Important

So it makes no difference if your child has historic musical talent. What you need to do is expose your child to the musical experience frequently, early and often, via piano lessons. Thus it makes no difference if they succeed, the brain is growing. 

Let's not rob kids of a positive experience of the piano just because their brains haven't grown quickly enough. Consequently, the solution is to design a curriculum that suits their particular stage of brain development. You need to start seeing piano lessons from the child’s point of view.