Jake Wakeman

[jeebustrain]

He just turned a year and I've had him at the piano since he was 3 weeks old. He's gone from banging to hitting individual keys (and pushing my hands down with him to play keys). I swear he's played a few melodies as well. He recognizes when I play certain melodies (mostly kid songs).

When I get him in the basement it's usually a dilemma if he wants to sit at the keyboards or play on the drums. The drums usually win out first, but he ALWAYS wants to play the keyboards. He likes to twist the knobs too and he knows that they make stuff sound different. He also fiddles with the pitch wheel when I play as well.

Kids are awesome.

http://www.viralmatrix.net/other/jakewakeman.jpg http://www.viralmatrix.net/other/jakewakeman2.jpg

[jared_tt]

Cute!
You're raising him well, I can see!
God Bless!

[Viperk88]

I see he is utilizing his feet and hands to play music in that first picture :biggrin:

[jeebustrain]

I see he is utilizing his feet and hands to play music in that first picture :biggrin:

those are his junior Taurus Pedals

[Mike Lydian]

i believe his feet are holding a C7#9 on the fusion, THAT is impressive!

[Yuperdo]

And the long list of "What you could use the Fusion for" has just been extended with:
- Children's playground
- Junior Taurus Base pedals
- A step-up if you just can't reach that top keyboard
- A children's toy (so it's like yer standard Casio??:confused:)

[Analogkid]

Ive done the same thing with my son. I bought him a tiny baby grand piano with little weeman keys.


BTW you just voided the warranty on your HD8. Alesis states in the owners manual. "In addition to being dropped, submerged, kicked, hit or allowing Pete Townshend, allowing any humanoids 36" or less to walk in the keys will void all expressed or implyed warrantys"

[PinkFloydDudi]

Playing with hands and feet?!?!?!

I think hes onto something very new.

Step it up Jordan!

[jeebustrain]

Playing with hands and feet?!?!?!

I think hes onto something very new.

Step it up Jordan!


at that moment he's playing the Watcher Of The Skies intro - organ with his feet and mellotron with his hands.

[StandBuilder]

Watch out GEDDY LEE!!!! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

This little guy is allready playing with hands and feet...
So, a couple of bass pedals and a Fender Signature bass and Jake can start..................

aluminumly,

P@

[jeebustrain]

hey - so I've been wondering... What's too young for actual piano lessons? I know he's really too young now, but I'd like to get him started off right and while I could teach him to be a hackish player like I am, I'd really like to make sure he gets a good foundation.

Does anyone know what to look for when you're trying to find a teacher for small children?

I'm not looking to force it down his throat, but I'd like to make sure he gets a good start with this stuff.

[St0rMl0rD]

6 years maybe? I don't know, I've never had any lessons...

-J

[jeebustrain]

6 years maybe? I don't know, I've never had any lessons...

-J

I have a 44 year old friend who started when he was 3, but I think that was a special case. His mom was a pianist in the Minneapolis Symphony and he pretty much had it pounded into him from birth. Then again, he was playing Tarkus at his 6th grade talent show, so I guess it was worth it.

[PinkFloydDudi]

I would think it really varies on the child.

I started when I was 5. Others I know started when they were 3. Others I know started when they were 13.

It depends on your childs desire to learn it, or at least accept it as a form of education. I never liked having to practice at age 6 or 7, but saw it as sort of a form of homework, so accepted it as such.

Never too early to try him with it.

Things to look for in a teacher? Good with kids. Very difficult to keep a child that young focused on 1 thing for a half hour. Do they have other things that incorporate music teaching? Example would be that not all music note stuff must be taught on the piano. Flash cards with a scale on them and things of that nature keep the kid interested while still teaching them what they should be learning.

Make sure they have experience with other children.

[fallingman]

Aww cool - how sweet !

Keep encouraging him - my little 3 year old boy, Jack, is the same : he was playing jazz the other day, I swear, and kept asking me did I like what he was playing, then would seemingly play it again !

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3280548307_5c468d312b.jpg

:-)

[Analogkid]

Aww cool - how sweet !

Keep encouraging him - my little 3 year old boy, Jack, is the same : he was playing jazz the other day, I swear, and kept asking me did I like what he was playing, then would seemingly play it again !

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/3280548307_5c468d312b.jpg

:-)


Most 3 year olds need an oasys!! :biggrin:

[Mantarkus]

hey - so I've been wondering... What's too young for actual piano lessons? I know he's really too young now, but I'd like to get him started off right and while I could teach him to be a hackish player like I am, I'd really like to make sure he gets a good foundation.

Does anyone know what to look for when you're trying to find a teacher for small children?

I'm not looking to force it down his throat, but I'd like to make sure he gets a good start with this stuff.

As a piano teacher I can seriously tell you that there is no difference for kids that start at 5 or one at 10 when they reach say 16. Very early lessons are about games and teaching them concepts that requiere a long time and believe me they have a very short attention span so this might go for weeks. When they are a little older and concious that they want to really learn to play they usually grasp it in one lesson, and they practice at home or more frequently.

David C.

[Omega Monkey]

Are you kidding? Theres a huge difference between starting at 5 or at 15. It's called 10 years of playing!

That 15 year old that starts cold is going to have a HUGE learning curve, while the one that has been learning things since he was 5, by 15 he is ready to tackle more in depth challenges, because by that point all the theory, technique, etc... is second nature because it has always just "been there".

It's like retirement saving. Sure, you could say, well, that 20 year old doesnt make much money, and it will take him forever to save much at all, while the 40 year old makes a lot more and things accumulate faster. Sure, that's all true, but if you start at 20, even with a trickle, by 40 you already have a lot, so that by 60 you have enough for the next 25 or 30 years to live on.

Anyway, jeebs, I would say 4-6 is a good start point in general for more formal instruction (but certainly keep him exposed to music and instruments between now and then). At that point, kids have become more or less conscious and self-aware and they are starting to think about concepts in coherent ways. The key thing is to keep it fun and engaging at that point. I started violin lessons around 5 or 6, but it was framed as something I "had" to do, rather than something fun that I should WANT to do. And it seemed I was always made to practice and have lessons specifically at times when I wanted to be doing other things. And even though I was pretty good at that point, I quickly gave up. I think my parents didnt understand how to present it as something fun and enjoyable. It wasnt until I was left to my own devices that a few years later I started exploring piano/keyboards and got more seriously into music.

So give the little guy all the opportunities, but just know he might not jump on them right away. And then just let him known you'll be supportive when and if he decides he wants to really pursue music as just a hobby or something more.

[Mantarkus]

Are you kidding? Theres a huge difference between starting at 5 or at 15. It's called 10 years of playing!

That 15 year old that starts cold is going to have a HUGE learning curve, while the one that has been learning things since he was 5, by 15 he is ready to tackle more in depth challenges, because by that point all the theory, technique, etc... is second nature because it has always just "been there".






I believe my exact quote was :

... there is no difference for kids that start at 5 or one at 10 when they reach say 16....

David C.

And never a 10 year of difference was implied, maybe I explained it wrong.
I ment that if you take two kids, one that started lessons at 5 and another one that started at 10, they'll almost be on the same level when they reach 15 or 16.

Kiddy lessons, as you mentioned are ment to be fun like coloring notes, drawing clefs, dancing, playing little songs with one finger... things that take days to work on (and money out of your pocket) check out the Bastien books to see what i mean. And older kids lessons are real songs and exercises that don't require weeks to learn or understand, but just a little explanation and they are at it.

Obviously if you ask a posible piano teacher they'll say that the younger the better (the sooner you bring us money...). This is something that I argued with the owner of the school when he tries to pull in students and some parent complaines that his little son isn't playing at the same level as the older kids even though they started on the same calendar.

You think Jordan would've been a better keyboardist if he had started at age 5 instead at 9? I think that when he did the Band-Aid commercial it didn't matter anymore.

David C.

[Athox]

The difference between "lessons" and what these kids are doing is that they're actually learning by doing. Not learning by being told.

[gylfih]

Haha that's very cute. You should get him one of these:
http://www.woodthatsgood.com/ekmps/shops/woodthatsgood/resources/image//ThePro%5B1%5D(1).jpg

[Omega Monkey]

Well, I disagree that 5 years of playing isnt going to a make a difference, even after another 5 years. That would mean starting at 10 you would have to work twice as hard as if you started at 5. Certainly an 8 year old is at a point where they are cognizant enough to internalize and develop what they are learning so that it sticks with them. Maybe concepts take longer to learn, but years are years no matter how you look at it. At 5 or 6 I could already play back what my violin teacher played (by ear) and harmonize while he played something else. That was pretty much right when I started playing. From about 5 onwards I would hear random songs and change particular aspects in my head that I thought could be better (changing a particular note or rhythmic accent for instance). So this assertion that younger kids are somehow incapable of musical progress is completely bogus. I was already capable of thinking musically at that age and I am certainly not that exceptional. If anything, I should have had MORE lessons and been MORE musically stimulated with more advanced concepts than I was. I already liked music at that point, but I didnt really know it because I hadn't yet been shown all it could do. SO I quit violin after maybe a year and didnt do anything else until I started messing with keys a couple years later.

What you are saying makes the assumption that everyone learns at the same rate, practices the same amount, etc... at a particular age. Obviously that's not true, otherwise everyone who is Jordan's age that started at the same time would be as good as he is. Whatever the actual rate of learning for a particular person at a particular age is, the earlier they start, they further along they will be down the road. Obviously if you take 2 10 year olds, and one started at 8 and one is starting this week, the one who started at 8 will be further along, even if they've barely done anything. Because anything>0.

And theres no law saying you have to have a lesson every week. It depends on the dedication of the person, their rate of progress, etc... Every 2 weeks or even once a month might be enough to get the ball rolling, especially if one or both parents are also musicians and can "fill in" inbetween formal lessons.

[fallingman]

Most 3 year olds need an oasys!! :biggrin:

Well I was gonna get him some toy piano thing at Christmas (his birthday), but when you've played one of the best synths in the world, where else is there to go ?

;-)