You know how most people say the piano lessons they had when they were a kid were a nightmare? I had the opposite experience. But maybe it was the teacher.

Many parents know that playing piano even a few minutes a day has many benefits for children. Today we want to consider the youngest of the children, the preschoolers.

A clever kids piano teacher knows how to disguise the repetition of short passages so that the student is not fatigued by the repetitive effort. In piano teaching, a short portion of a piano piece is usually called a "passage." A passage has to be worked on, like tilling a field, until it is smooth and may be recombined with the rest of the piece. Younger children require more creative effort on the part of the teacher in order to make the repetition of passages palatable to their shorter attention spans. But first we should ask, why repeat passages at all? The answer is, of course, continuity. Music is most pleasurable when it is continuous, not broken up by the stumblings of the inexperienced performer. For example, if you listen to a pianist or a band or sing in church, the group doesn't stop if there is a mistake: that is musical continuity. And continuity comes from familiarity. If you are familiar with every part of a song, it is reasonable to assume you can play the music continuously, so that we, your listener, can enjoy it. So the object of repetition is to familiarize your brain with every little wrinkle of the piece. Think of it as driving a thought deep into your subconscious, into the BACK of your brain. Glenn Gould, famed concert pianist and iconoclast, remarked that sometimes he looked down at his hands and thought he wasn't playing: the music was so ingrained in his brain that he was not aware of the efforts required to play Bach fugues without really thinking about it! But that's what you're after, a kind of out-of-body experience where you know the piece so well that your fingers almost play it by themselves. So how do we disguise repetition for the younger kids? First, teach them the rudiments of six short piano pieces they know outside of piano lessons, like Jingle Bells. It doesn't have to be a whole song, it can be a passage or fragment. Then, write the names of the songs on a Post-It in a numbered list. Take a pair of dice and let the child throw and see which song they have to play. This takes the tedium out of playing one piece over and over. Besides, the dice make it a game. Second, bait and switch. Work on a passage a little, then say, "Oh, let's drop that for a while," especially when you see the first signs of fatigue. Work on something else for a few moments, and then suddenly come back to the first, abandoned task. It will seem fresher to the child the second time if there has been a break. Third, make a game of it. Ask them to bet their mom's sofa that they can't play that song again perfectly. Make the basis of your bet something utterly ridiculous, like their washing machine, but act very serious. They will play along. As they repeat it, maybe point out a thing or two, a fingering here, add a part there, and work on it a few seconds, then move on. Take all three of these ideas and combine them, and you have a child-friendly way of "practicing," repeating short passages over and over without the child feeling exhausted. Offering a child a piano game in equal measure to hard work is a recipe for a happy student who proceeds at their own, comfortable pace.

Johann Sebastian Bach was unique among the great composers in many ways. Not only did he teach his family music and harpsichord, but several of his sons became famous composers in their own right.

If you'd like to take your child on a stimulating field trip, may we suggest a trip to the opera? That's right, the opera, the one where the fat ladies sing and the music is as old as the hills.

What are some practical games a piano teacher can use? That's a frequent question that piano teachers and parents write me and ask about. I'd like to discuss a time-worn classic piano game that I have updated.

There isn't a kid around who doesn't understand the bases of baseball. Home plate, first base, second, third, and the final mad dash for home plate again. I often compare baseball and piano chords when I'm trying to give kids an idea of how chords work together in groups.

Here's a novel way for piano teachers and parents to eliminate some of the drudgery of repeating songs over and over. Take a pair of dice. You can use just one if the child is very young.

In the world of pianists, teachers and students, one hears the phrase, "My, you have great piano hands." What they mean, of course, is that your hands are shaped well for the piano. But what is the proper shape of a hand for the piano? Are there many shapes? The answer is, of course, there are as many hands as there are ways to play the piano. In history, great pianists have had both large and small hands. In practical terms, a pianist should be able to stretch ten white keys to navigate the principal piano literature. Rachmaninoff, a huge bear of a man, had giant hands that could stretch twelve white keys on the piano. Many pianists have trouble with his music for this very reason. But in contrast, there are pianists who specialize in Rachmaninoff, quite well, like Alicia de la Rocha, who has very small hands. It's all in the mind. Josef Hoffman had such small hands that Steinway built him a special grand piano which he used for concerts. Each key was a tiny increment narrower than a regulation ¾ inch wide key. Poor Hoffman was an amazing child prodigy who had a great career but soon descended into alcoholism. The pressure at the top of the concert game was tremendous. In terms of children, one runs across kids that have perfect hands for the piano. Long fingers, to stretch as far as possible horizontally, and general dexterity are natural elements of a "piano hand." The "piano hand" is naturally relaxed when put on the keyboard, and does not freeze into various postures, the most comical of which I call the "bug crusher." In this ridiculous posture, the child puts two thumbs on the keys while all the other fingers drape down below the level of the keyboard. There are many fun games we play to correct hand positions such as the "bug crusher," but the game with a quarter on the back of the hand is a good place to start. I've seen kids who did not have piano hands play very well, if not better than some who were more "properly" endowed. The reason for this is that playing the piano is almost all in your mind. If you don't know, or see, what to play, the greatest fingers in the world cannot bring the music to life. If you can imagine what your fingers will look like playing a certain song or passage, it's far easier to then get your fingers to bring that vision to life. Once again, it's all in the mind. The truth is that anyone can learn the finger patterns of the piano, even if they are not anatomically suited to it. Use your brain first and then your hand. The brain and hand have a way of finding workable solutions, individual to that person's hand alone, to a myriad of small fingering and technical problems that face the pianist in a constant barrage. You will find yourself fascinated by the finger patterns of the piano if it is presented to you in the proper way.

Famous piano composers each had their own peculiar way of grouping notes. This gives us some idea of what their hands must have been like.

There is a certain way that a piano teacher can act that a child will find delightful. This manner will inspire children to try things that they are sure they cannot do at the piano. Much like the film, "The Horse Whisperer," I believe I have found a way to gently nudge kids towards success at the piano by simply talking and communicating with them. The manner is warm and comic, as if the last thing you really wanted to do is teach them a piano lesson. You're just some affable guy that happens to be there at 3:30 PM every Thursday. First, race to the piano and play something funny, to break the ice and let them know that we are here to both learn and have fun today. Look at the child's face at the beginning of the lesson. Are they smiling? That child better be smiling when you're done, or you're fired. I sit on a chair next to them and always talk quietly while they play, praising every small victory, a fingering remembered, a note or three memorized. I offer them the option called BQWIP (Be Quiet While I Play) but we always both end up talking anyway. They know that I speak the truth to them, either good or bad, and that both good and bad news are delivered to them with the gentlest of velvet comic touches. If they make a mistake I smile and say, incredulously, like an English butler (or whatever character I am today) "Deeply sorry, sir, but that was completely wrong!" Laugh. Laugh at mistakes, and the child's fear is defused and they will want to try again. I'm serious about this. Laugh in a friendly, non-derisive way and they will listen to everything you have to say eagerly. But this mock bad news must be accompanied by a genuine smile, and often an explanation that to make a mistake is not bad, but a good thing: mistakes tell you where you can make it better, usually easily. Say this again and again to them, like a mantra. If they stumble, make it easier. If they still stumble, make it easier still. Find that child's comfort zone at the piano and guard it with your life, for in that zone they are really able to learn. No matter how inept they may seem at piano acrobatics, find something at which it is clear they are succeeding, and concentrate on that skill, clone it, add to it, embellish it, make a game of it. Find a way to base your entire curriculum, for that child, on that one strength they actually have, and have exhibited to themselves. With time, every damaged and reluctant, fearful "horse" will respond and first walk, then trot, then gallop, when they are confident and ready to go. I know it works. I've whispered to these "horses" and all they ask is patience and understanding.

Think of chords as three objects stacked on top of one another. Each object represents a piano key, and thus each chord contains three notes.