Paino Lessons Getting past a Hump

At six years old, it is a SHAME that her teacher is using letters and numbers on the notes. She is fully capable of learning properly. She will have to "unlearn" this bad habit, and her learning will start ALL OVER AGAIN once he "promotes" her to real music.

My suggestion would be to find a teacher that will teach her classical piano and isn't afraid to do it properly. I feel qualified to say this, considering I have been playing piano for 27 years, and need to quit typing to answer the door because I have a piano student here and it's 2 degrees below out!! ;)

I'm sorry she's had so many teachers, but I think another switch is in order. My daughter is 7 and can read real music and play with both hands. We all get discouraged, but with the proper teacher, she will easily overcome. If you have any more questions, please feel free to PM M..

Frustration is good for kids. Things come easily for my daughter and I'm ecstatic that this is a challenge for her. She experiences frustration, continues and gets the pay off of hearing herself play and we get to sing along.

You daughter has been playing for a such a short amount of time. Patience and delayed gratification, for both of you, is another wonderful benefit of music.

My kids are 6 and 10 and take piano.
They love it.
They started with "basic" songs like your daughter too.
That is typical.
And they have progressed since then.
But each child, is different.
My 6 year old son, does not compare himself to his 10 year old sister's ability or finger coordination. AND with the Teacher, she teaches them both differently, per their age and per their hand size and per their coordination etc.

Per your daughter's reaction when she does not play "perfect."
Well, that is the other life lesson, in all of this.
It is not J. about playing piano, but it also works on the child's or person's, overall.... character.

My son, also plays tennis.
The Coach, does NOT only teach, tennis or the technical aspects of actual playing. BUT... he also teaches the kids... attitude about it all and good sportsmanship and how GOOD players, are good because of their attitude and attitude toward playing their, best. He does NOT teach them... about "winning" or how many trophies you get. That is not, the point.

No matter what a child takes, the "lesson" is about, the character building, as well. Not J. the technical ability of doing it.
Some kids can play very well technically, but they do not have, the proper attitude, about it and about... learning.

My son who is the same age as your daughter, has been taking piano for less than a year. ONLY recently, has he begun to have more complex songs to play.... using BOTH hands and by reading the notes.
So you see, your daughter for 2 months, has been playing piano. That is not long.
My son hasn't even been playing for very long.
2-handed coordination... takes time, to learn. It is fine motor skills and doing multiple things at once.

I am seriously cringing that a piano teacher would put the number of each finger that she has to play. I was "taught" that way and it is so wrong on so many levels. My daughters J. turned 5 when they started playing and they were more than capable of learning to read notes. (They are not gifted pianist either and don't have a natural ability)
My youngest has been playing for 5 years and she still gets frustrated with each new song but then she gets it and has a great sense of accomplishment. As long as a child is progressing they will always have to get over the next hump otherwise they will never progress.
FYI... My daughters piano teacher lives in Doylestown and gives lessons out of his home or will come to your home. He is an absolutely incredible teacher. I suggest you call him and discuss your daughters needs, what you want out of lessons and finally his method of teaching. Although I am sure his method is not the only way to learn to play he gets great results and I am quite certain he would not advocate teaching a child to play by finger number. PM M. if you want his name and number.

I can't remember how long it took and of course every child is different.
This is where your intelligence comes in to play! You have to figure ways to keep her practicing while her brain learns.

Do you have a keyboard? If you do she can play the same songs in different sounds and it keeps them from being bored. It's not good for the feel of hitting the keys but good for practice in other ways. We have an electric piano and the boys would even have their headphones on with it sometimes.

You can tell her that her brain is growing new pathways every time she does it. Like brushing your teeth with the wrong hand!
You can set a timer for her or a little hourglass.
You can invite other people to listen to her. She might enjoy an audience or not.
She can teach it to you.
One of my boys liked to practice in the morning before going to school. He would get ready quickly and play, while the other liked to practice in the afternoon. Give her a choice. Good luck!

At 6 my son was playing with both hands and reading the notes, but it was really not fun for him. I guess it depends on the kid. I would love for him to love it, but it J. didn't happen.

Sorry to say that this won't end... She will get over the hump with this song, but each new - more challenging, that is - song will bring new challenges. It may be new chords, new rhythms, or more challenging combinations. She will get frustrated, the key learning is how she deals with it... One of my boys has the ability to push through while the other one avoids the songs he doesn't "like" until we deal with whatever challenge is bugging him. Some days are all out battles (the ones that the parenting books tell you not to have) but most days bring new and more creative rounds of negotiation ;)