First Piano Lesson for a 4-Year-Old: Easy Lesson Plan
You've agreed to teach a four-year-old piano.
Now what are you actually going to do for the entire first lesson?
A traditional beginner piano lesson probably isn't going to work. Four-year-olds need to move, touch, listen, explore and change activities frequently.
The good news is that you don't need dozens of activities.
For this first preschool piano lesson, we're going to do just three things: move with sidewalk chalk, explore long and short sounds, and play a game with the black keys.
That's enough for a great first lesson.
First Piano Lesson Activity #1: Sidewalk Chalk
I love starting a first piano lesson with a four-year-old away from the piano.
If you have a sidewalk, driveway or other safe outdoor space, grab some colored sidewalk chalk. Draw a long line followed by a short line, and ask your student to continue the pattern.
Then it's time to move.
Have your student shuffle their feet all the way down the long line while saying, "Looooong." When they reach a short line, have them jump and say, "Short!"
They're already learning music.
We're introducing sound duration through a concept the child can see and physically experience. We're also working with patterns and using large-motor movement before asking the child to sit at the piano.
No sidewalk? Draw large long-and-short patterns on a whiteboard or big pieces of paper. Find a way to make the movement as big as you can. I've used washi tape or painter's tape on the floor as well. Works great!
Activity #2: Take Long and Short Sounds to the Piano
Now we're going to take that same long-and-short concept and gradually move it toward the piano.
I use the first lesson from my preschool piano book, The Little Red Piano. It introduces long and short sounds through a simple story and an idea young children understand: long sprinkles and short sprinkles.
First, the child draws long and short sprinkles. You can even have them draw and color their favorite doughnut on a separate page.
Notice the progression we've already made:
Big movement outside → smaller movement on paper → sound at the piano.
Now put the book (or your printable download) on the music rack and experiment with long and short sounds.
Press a key and hold your finger down. Listen to the sound.
Long.
Now play a key and release it quickly.
Short.
Let your student experiment. Ask them to play long and short sounds for you.
Then turn it into a listening game. Play a sound and have the child tell you whether they heard a long sound or a short sound. Then THEY get to be the teacher, and you listen. It's always funny if you intentionally "mess up". They love correcting the teacher!
You can also create little long-and-short patterns for the child to imitate. I did this yesterday by saying, "Can I play two sounds for you to name?" One four year old wrote the pattern for four sounds. First ear training for a preschooler!
Your four-year-old is learning to listen carefully, recognize sound duration and create musical patterns—all during a first piano lesson.
Get My Free Preschool Piano Lesson
You can try this exact long-and-short lesson without purchasing anything.
I've made the first lesson from The Little Red Piano available as a free Preschool First Lesson. Print it and use it with your own young beginner.
Activity #3: Get Off the Bench for a Black-Key Game
Maybe the long-and-short lesson fills most of your time.
Or maybe your four-year-old is finished with it much sooner than you expected!
That's why I like to have one more active game ready.
For this activity, you'll need:
A die
A few pom-poms, small erasers or other manipulatives
Your piano, keyboard or a floor piano
If you have a large floor piano, put it across the room.
That's intentional.
Your student gets to run to the keyboard, complete the activity and run back. We're not trying to eliminate the four-year-old's need to move. We're using it.
Find Groups of Two and Three Black Keys
Show your student the groups of black keys on the piano.
Can they find a group of two?
Can they find a group of three?
Now roll the die.
When the student rolls a two, they take two pom-poms, run to the piano and place them on a group of two black keys.
Roll a three?
Take three pom-poms, run back to the piano and find a group of three black keys.
If you're using a regular die, just keep rolling until you get a two or three. I also use a dry-erase die that lets me put twos and threes on the sides.
It feels like a game, but your student is beginning to recognize the visual patterns of the keyboard.
And that's an important skill for a brand-new pianist.
Need more activities for teaching keyboard geography? Try these piano-key activities for young beginners.
That's Enough for the First Piano Lesson
You don't need to teach finger numbers, quarter notes, the music alphabet, Middle C and five songs during the first lesson.
Think about what your four-year-old has already accomplished.
They've experienced long and short sounds with their whole body. They've drawn musical patterns, listened for sound duration, experimented at the piano and discovered groups of two and three black keys.
They've also moved.
A lot.
That's a successful first piano lesson.
A Simple First Piano Lesson Plan for a 4-Year-Old
If you have a new four-year-old coming to your studio, keep your plan simple:
Sidewalk chalk: Experience long and short through large-motor movement.
Long and short lesson: Move the concept to paper, listening and the piano.
Black-key game: Find groups of two and three while moving across the room.
Don't worry about getting through a certain amount of material. Follow the child's attention and spend more time on the activities they're enjoying.
Most importantly, give them opportunities to move, listen, explore and play.
That's plenty for lesson number one.
Want the Lesson Ready to Print?
Download my free Preschool First Lesson and you'll have the long-and-short portion of this lesson ready to use with your next young beginner.
GET THE FREE PRESCHOOL FIRST LESSON
If you’d like to go further - I provide help for teachers who want to do a great job with young students. Check out my blog here.
