First Lesson: A Balanced Diet from the Start!
At the first lesson the child "makes music" without attention to symbols at this point, but not at the expense of acquiring habits which will be uprooted later.
— Dr. Robert Pace
The child first learns pieces by using what s/he can do -- singing, clapping, responding to high and low by "shaping" the melody in the air—and by following with his/her eyes the "picture" of the melody outlined by the finger numbers to be used.
—By looking only at the page and not at his/her hands when learning a new song, the child begins to develop the all-important tactile sense of the keyboard.
—Black keys as well as white keys are used from the first lesson. Why ignore the black keys for weeks or months? A child usually sees them first. (See "Why Multi-Key" and "Transposing to All Keys—Information Overload or Beginners' Building Block?")
—The first five notes in any key are quickly found, becoming the basis for harmony later on.
© Copyright By Robert Pace. All Rights Reserved.