Toy pianos for children are great for helping their development, not only musically, but also in their education in general. Playing the piano, even a toy piano, helps to promote creativity and also provides the child with a self confidence that enables him or her to easily interact socially with others.
There is a wide range of toy pianos online, from the very small suitable for little toddlers to multi-octave spinets that are not so much toys as genuine musical instruments. But why a piano? What is it about a piano that is specifically effective in promoting these important educational benefits and socially acceptable skills?
It is generally accepted that if a child learns how to play the piano, and is able to play in front of others, her or she will also be more able to stand in front of others to make a presentation, present an argument and generally be confident in front of a crowd of people. This is an important social skill that is frequently ignored in a general school education. In addition to that, the hand-eye coordination needed to play helps to develop and enhance motor skills that will help the child in other fields such as sports and the play essential to the development of any child.
The development of creativity in a child is also an important part of development, and young children like nothing more than making sounds that they have created themselves. Have you ever seen a child banging away on a drum, perfectly contented with simply making a noise? With a piano, that noise can have varied tones that provide the child with an opportunity to be truly creative.
If a child is provided with a real musical instrument that has been designed and built as a child’s piano rather than as a toy, then this creativity can be developed even more, since it will produce the same sound every time from the same key, or combination of keys. This dependability on the sound achieved through specific actions is important to children in their learning that the same actions will give the same effects. Consistency in results provides the trust in, and understanding of, cause and effect. The same actions give the same effects time and time again.
Children’s pianos of all styles are available on the internet, and typical among them are the 18 key table top models by Schoenhut that are complete in every detail, including the black keys. The tuning is perfect and the sound obtained by small hammers striking carefully crafted and tuned metal rods. This type of piano is suitable for preschool toddlers who will have great fun just making a sound. However, they will soon begin to recognize that certain keys provide them with certain sounds, and while as yet unable to create or even distinguish tunes from random sounds, will have favorite keys for their favorite sounds.
Once your toddler is able to knock out the same sounds consistently with a bit of help from you perhaps, you might want him or her to graduate to something a bit bigger to provide them with a bigger challenge. They can have their own 25 key 2 octave piano with its own little piano stool that will delight them since they no longer need to have their piano on the table. It is free standing, just like mom’s or dad’s.
That would give them a great boost and make them feel like they are growing up. If you have any aspirations for your child to be musical, then this is the way to go. Impress on them that they have a musical instrument and not a toy, though this can be hard with a three or four year old!
However, as they improve, there is no reason why they should not progress to a full three octave keyboard. With 37 keys, this is probably about as much as a young child can handle, but if you don’t keep your eye on them, they will be trying to get at your full sized upright or even baby grand!
There is no doubt whatsoever, and the vast majority of educational experts agree on it, that introducing a child to a piano from an early age is very advantageous, not only to their future musical abilities, but also to their education and development in general. However, this is particularly true if the piano is a real working model with consistency in tone and tuning, and more than just a toy.
So take that step to give your young son or daughter a push up the ladder. Toy Pianos that were designed just for children are available at under $60 online.
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