One of my favorite memories as a child was learning how to play my favorite Disney songs on the piano. Do you want your kids to learn how to play Let It Go on the piano so it can annoy you in a whole new way? This post will tell you all the ways you can find piano lessons so your kid can be the next Beethoven. It will also give my suggestions on how to approach your child taking piano lessons online.
In-Person Piano Lessons
We’ll start with the traditional route – one on one lessons. There aren’t as many ways to find free in-person piano lessons for kids as there are free piano lessons online. One thing you can do is put those hard-earned tax dollars to work – band class! I know I shouldn’t assume every school has a band class, but if my rural public middle and high school in a town of 720 people can have a band class, your kid’s school probably does too.
We were allowed to join the band in the 5th grade. I had already had a few piano lessons and then quit (and then picked it up again but more on that later) so I picked the trumpet. I picked it because my dad used to play it and because I didn’t think the piano was an option. A trumpet and a clarinet later, I learned I could have picked the piano.
By the time I started playing the piano in band class, I was in high school and had returned to the piano by teaching myself. Had I started in the 5th grade when we started band, the band teacher would have given me free piano lessons with any other students that had picked the piano. Your property taxes go towards that public school, your child might as well get a free piano lesson out of it too.
Another option for free in-person piano lessons for kids is to visit a local music store. Some bigger chains like Guitar Center will offer free group sessions. It could be a very good way to rule out whether or not your child would enjoy playing the piano before committing to full-on lessons.
If you don’t have a big name music store in your area, see if a local studio or teacher offers free introductory lessons. You could also check with your local community center or recreation department. Some will offer free introductory piano lessons as a service to the community.
One last effort to get free in-person piano lessons kids is to pick a babysitter wisely. There are many qualified babysitters out there, many who even earn certification for it. If you are the type of parent who has one or two regular babysitters when hiring you could look specifically for someone who knows how to play the piano or is taking piano lessons. As long as you provide the books, you could ask them to help your child as part of the job. Two birds, one stone.
Online Piano Lessons For Kids
These days there are multiple resources online for free online piano lessons for kids. Thanks to youtube, there are channels with lessons, there are websites with lesson plans, and blogs and other internet resources with tips, tricks, and printable sheet music, diagrams, and even quizzes. Below I have gone through each medium where you can find piano lessons online and have recommended what I think are the best available options.
Video Lessons
Video piano lessons are a great way to teach your kids how to play the piano because actually seeing it, makes it that much easier. The piano is tough. Your kid is probably going to be learning to read music for the first time along with learning a very technical instrument. They will be learning the keys (there are 88 of those) and how to move their fingers correctly with the rhythm of the music while placing it on the correct key.
Also, make sure you pick a video that is for kids and not for beginners. Many beginners can be adults as well so you want to make sure the instructor in the video understands how to teach piano lessons for kids and pick the right kind of music to start them off with.
Hoffman Academy is my favorite YouTube Channel for piano lessons for kids. There are a plethora of beginners and kids lessons among many others as your kid (and maybe even you) advance. The Beginner Playlists, in particular, are a great starting point. The very first video goes over the basics and introduces the student to the piano and how it works. The second video introduces Hot Cross Buns which was the first song I learned to play on a plethora of instruments, including the piano.
Piano Lesson Websites
Some piano instructors have taken their business virtual and created websites to post guides and lessons specifically for children. Piano lesson websites with mapped out lesson plans are another great way for your child to take free piano lessons online. Some websites even include printable music, videos to accompany the lesson, and quizzes to help your child progress.
PianoLessons4Children.com is a great website that bypasses YouTube and posts video lessons on their own website. The lessons are so short and simple, they are guaranteed to keep your child’s attention. The first lesson starts with the basics of the basics – how to sit at the piano.
Unlike the Hoffman Academy YouTube channel that links the Hoffman Academy website in each video where you can pay for a premium membership for more in-depth lessons, Pianolessons4children.com has quizzes and sheet music in some lessons….for free! Isn’t that the goal here?
Piano Blogs for Parents and Kids
While I believe the websites and video lessons are the best options for getting your child started on their piano lessons, there are a few piano blogs out there that can aid the lessons further.
Let’s Play Music is an excellent blog to aid online piano lessons for kids because they categorize articles and lessons by age. It has introductory lessons and weekly lesson plans There is even a free resources tab with printables, sheet music, and practice games. I suggest starting with this article to see if the piano is really for your child and moving on from there.
Music Matters is Natalie Wickham’s blog who owns a piano studio in Kansas. Her blog has helpful articles for parents and resources for the students such as free finger scale diagrams to print off. The teaching subcategory of the blog is rife with resources for you to aid your child in their virtual piano lessons.
Kids and Keys are specifically for the teachers and parents of kids learning to play the piano. It is very easy to navigate and is full of information to motivate, inspire, and teach your little Mozart. The blog has fun holiday music games and lessons and tips to make practicing fun.
Blogs and Websites for Reading Music
Reading music is a crucial component for your child learning how to play the piano. Many of these online piano lessons for kids will address this but more focused lessons and resources will make it that much easier.
Let’s Play Music is one of the best piano lessons focused blogs I mentioned earlier. There is an article specifically for helping your child learn how to read music. There is plenty of learning to read music blogs and articles on the internet but finding one directed towards a child is the most important because they learn differently.
On Music Notes Now, there are tons of sheet music, some free and some not, but the reason I’m directing you to this website is that it has an article about learning how to read music.
Online Piano Lesson Plan For Kids
So with all of these options, what is the best approach to get your child started with their online piano lessons? These are my suggestions.
Step 1: Read Let’s Play Music’s Getting Started article to determine if piano lessons are right for your little one. Do they have enough interest? Are they old enough?
Step 2: Make sure you have the right equipment. Let’s Play Music also has an article for picking the right keyboard for your child if you don’t already have a piano at home.
Step 3: Now is the time to try and test the options for online piano lessons for kids we have proposed here – the website lesson plans or the video lessons. Both the Hoffman Academy YouTube channel and PianoLessons4Children.com have lesson plans that start with the basics. I suggest using the two in tandem with each other. If using both together works, that’s great but if you notice your child takes to one more than the other, start directing them towards what works best for them. Even if you decide to not use PianoLessons4Children.com, I would at least suggest using the free sheet music and the quizzes to further aid your child’s online piano lesson.
Step 4: Additional resources are necessary to help your child’s piano lessons, especially when they are virtual. Without an actual teacher, you will have to fill that role. Quizzes, games, and diagrams will be essential to help your child progress. You can use a number of the blogs recommended for these additional resources.
Step 5: It is very important for you to help your child focus on the basics during their online piano lessons for kids. Make sure they really understand how to read music and what notes are which keys on the piano. Children have short attention spans and their interest in the piano may fade. That is what happened to me. I got bored with the lessons so I stopped. Eventually, though, I came back on my own and ended up teaching myself to the level I am at today. I was only able to do that though because I had learned the basics first. If I didn’t know how to read music or understood the basics of the piano, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to try.
Step 6: Introduce music they like early. One of the first songs I ever learned on the piano was Hot Cross Buns and Mary Had a Little Lamb. These songs are incredibly simple and easy to learn for beginners and kids especially. Once they’ve mastered those, move on to music they know and really like. Do they have Baby Shark sheet music for kids? I’m just kidding.
I’ve always loved Holiday Music and we had an “Easy Christmas Music” piano book at home. I started playing those songs on my own and it really piqued my interest. I eventually quit the lessons though but one day my dad came home with a piano book filled with easy Disney music. I sat down to try and play Beauty and the Beast and I became obsessed again. I haven’t stopped playing since.
This post is about free piano lessons for kids but if you notice your kid’s interest fading, this may be the place to spend a few dollars for the special piano book full of music from Disney or Star Wars or Pokemon. Bringing in something they are already interested in will make the lessons much more fun for them, and even for you.
With all the online resources available these days, one on one instruction is not necessary to learn new skills. For the piano, all you need is the piano, internet or data, and a device to connect to that internet or data. I’ve learned how to play a multitude of relevant pop songs thanks to YouTube alone. Once you get started, the piano can be a surprisingly easy instrument to learn. I hope this post has laid out all the best resources available for free piano lessons for kids to get your little Mozart started.
