3s Physical Development

Yamaha had the daunting task of figuring out how to teach keyboard and music to three-year-olds.  Here's where 3s are physically:

• The children are growing.  You might have noticed their upper body is stretching, along with their legs and arms.  Sometimes, they grow at such a fast rate that they don't realize how much bigger they really are and bump into things.
• Physical development and coordination develops from the top down and from the midline out.  Guess what's the last thing to develop?  The tiny fingers!
• They learn "hand to head"- if I can't touch it, I can't learn it.  
• They can walk and run, but still have difficulty jumping, hopping, and balancing
• Fine motor skills are not there.
• The wrist joint is not hardened yet.  This limits their ability to rotate their wrist joint (making keyboard playing very tricky!).
• Visually, they are far-sighted.  It is difficult for them to shift focus from far to near.
• The keyboard appears 1.5 times bigger than it does to adults.
• Their hearing is well developed.  They can listen and concentrate.  This is the point of encounter with the child of Music Wonderland.

Music Wonderland is designed to create an ideal environment where the child can express their own ideas through singing and rhythmic response (movement).  During class, the children can really concentrate and focus on listening to music, and we help them develop this skill fully.  It is through imaginative play in music that we can motivate the children to use the keyboard concretely. 

The first keyboard activities use gross motor skills (whole fist playing 3 black-keys) where the keyboard represents a car's horn.  Gradually, more fine motor skills are introduced as the child develops more muscle control.  By the end of Music Wonderland, they will be able to move their fingers individually and will be ready for the next stage - Junior Music Course!

Throughout the course, the child will have many experiences playing the keyboard together.  Even though they are not moving their fingers individually at this stage, they still are acquiring important skills of ensemble playing (playing together) and keyboard geography.  This gives these children a distinct advantage over the average 4 year old.