First Piano Lessons : Let It Go from Frozen Teaching Kids Let It Go from Frozen on the Piano “Please can I play Let it Go from Frozen? I really love it, and I know all the words! ” And here the dilemma starts… you want to encourage a child to be ambitious with their piano pieces and know that if they love a piece you’re more than half-way there because they’ll be very keen to practice and want to play it. But you also know that this piece is too difficult for them and that they will probably find it a struggle. Teaching Kids Let It Go from Frozen on the Piano *This post contains affiliate links, thank you for supporting us!* It’s great for kids to have a special piece that excites them and that they are proud to perform. So what to do? Well many teachers would frown upon this, but I usually come to a compromise. I’ll agree to help them learn the over-ambitious piece, as long as they realise that we are going to use some slightly different strategies (mainly memory and repetition) and of course lots of practice. It is really important that you emphasise that this approach can be used for special pieces, but it’s also vital to continue playing their regular standard pieces where they can actually read the notes and really understand the music. So this brings us to the choice of music. Piano music that says it’s easy isn’t always that easy. After all it’s all relative and young players have more challenges to overcome than older ones. Tips for choosing “popular song books” for kids to play on the piano 1. Choose the easiest piece available and don’t necessarily believe the reviews. 2. Look for the largest print and the fewest sharps and flats and for an arrangement which doesn’t have full chords, or middle harmony lines. 3. If the piece is too long, consider playing a shortened version by just attempting the main theme. 4. Depending on the ability of the child you could aim to play it as a duet by highlighting shorter parts of the melody and getting them to sit with you and play in their bits as they follow the music as you play. You could also try playing one hand each and taking turns to swap. This will make it much easier to learn to play hands together in the end. Teaching Let it Go from Frozen to kids on the piano [easy_responsive_adsense publisher_id=8488435643016457 ad1=2137495450:300×250 ad2=3614228653:180×150 wrapper_id=post-Ad] This version of Let It Go is the simplest version that I’ve been able to find. It’s in C Major, so fewer accidentals and has a simplified left hand and melody line. Having said this, the melody is still quite challenging. Whilst many kids will be familiar with the tune and the rhythm, this piece has got a significant range and requires a fair bit of hand movement so isn’t suitable for beginners. It depends on the age of the child, but I think it would usually be suitable for a pupil who has been learning piano for at least two or three years. However, if the child already knows the song (and who doesn’t?) then this will help them enormously when learning to play the correct rhythm of the melody line. Here are some tips on how you can break the piece down. 1. Use the video clip below to refresh your memory and listen to it as you follow the music together. In this video Let It Go is played in a different key so the actual notes played will be different to the printable copy. However, because the child will be relying mostly on ear and memory it will still help them to learn the tune. 2. Start by teaching the child the chorus ‘Let It Go’ but only attempt to demonstrate 2 bars at a time. 3. This will be a process of listening, memory, and repetition. All good skills to develop. 4. Aim to add 4 new bars at each lesson. You can use it as a note reading exercise at first, before you actually show them how to play each new bit. 5. Enjoy playing the song together, encourage the child to sing along and to play the part that they have learnt. 6. Gradually build it up, adding a new bit each lesson and always review the previously learnt bit too. 7. This is a slow process, but a good exercise. It develops memory, discipline and teaches a clear strategy for tackling difficult tasks in a controlled and systematic way. 8. These skills will be valuable learning tools in the future. Always make it clear that using the memory in this way does have a limit and while it doesn’t hurt to use this method with the odd difficult piece, it is still so important to learn to read the music properly and not to try to rely on memory alone. If you’re looking for more easy pieces for kids to play on the piano, check out our collection here. And if you’re looking for games and activities for early piano lessons, take a look at our First Piano Lessons series – lots of ideas for games and activities that can be done at home! If you enjoyed this post, come and join us on Facebook, Pinterest and Google + or subscribe to our free bi-weekly newsletter for many more musical ideas!
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 21:06:31 +0000