Comments on: When Should My Child Begin Music Lessons?

By: Zach VanderGraaff

Zach VanderGraaff

What an intersting perspective! As an elementary music teacher, I have my own reasons for when I suggest students should take private lessons. As a lesson teacher for young kids, I have different reasons, but they all ended up the same place as you. I agree that 7 is a good place to start. I usually suggest when the student can focus clearly for up to 10 minutes at a time. (Although this can disqualify some adults!)

By: Heidi

Heidi

We have 4 children and each of them showed interest in playing the piano “like Dad” and their older siblings, in some cases, at around age 5. My husband is a piano teacher and he has seen some kids ready for lessons as early as 3 or 4, but that is rare. Most of the time he recommends that kids start between 5-7, depending on their attention span. Let’s Play Music is a great program that we discovered too late for our kids, but it is a great preschool age music program just to introduce rhythm, movement and dance. I think I would have enrolled them in those classes had they been available. The thing that has helped our kids learn faster and enjoy learning to play piano more is technology! It is a huge part of their education in nearly every other area, and it’s the platform they are used too. We use Piano Marvel along with a private teacher and they are thriving!

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By: Derek

Derek

Hello,My belief is to let the child lead. We didn’t give our son a choice at the age of five; we followed conventional wisdom that piano first and piano early is the best. If I had listened to my son’s desires from the start we would have far fewer tears and perhaps a more accomplished piano player. Inlet my daughter lead and have a daughter completely in love with music.

By: Lucy Gibson

Lucy Gibson

It’s interesting that the Suzuki learning style will have children starting at the age of 2 or 3. I also like the point about how speech precedes reading, so playing will come before reading music. My daughter is very interested in learning to play an instrument. We’re thinking about maybe renting her something first to see if she likes it.

By: James Porter

James Porter

My family try to help our daughter start with piano when she is 10. By age 10, the child will have a variety of skills associated with their instrument of choice. They’ll also have the physical strength to try a different, bigger instrument, such as a brass or large string instrument that requires a higher level of strength and stamina. Around this time, the goal of lessons appropriately transitions from gaining experience with music to improving performance ability.

By: Samuel T. Cummins

Samuel T. Cummins

Thank you for this article. Music has meant the world to me both as a kid and as an adult. Now that I’m a dad, I’ve been trying to foster a love of music in my own children. So this is relly helpful. Me and my wife always consider that music is critical to the overall development of children !! Thanks again foe informative article..

By: Lora

Lora

Very helpfull thanks for sharing

By: rocio

rocio

I recommend you to also read about Rolland and the Music Learning Theory of E. E. Gordon. Very interesting.

The “instrumental training” as we understand as formal is associated to reading, that’s why seven is the age to begin with, but before that there’s a world of knowledge that you cannot let it pass away.

By: Vicky

Vicky

We started my now 16 year old son on piano when he was almost six. He did OK but was not overly thrilled about it. However, we had various sizes of guitars in the house since he was three and he kept playing with those. We eventually let him drop piano and focus on guitar which pleased him greatly. Today he volunteerily sits at the piano and plunks out a few chords. He plays guitar wonderfully and even knows his way around a violin and is learning trumpet. He also spent six years in a traveling boys choir.

My now 9 year old daughter began begging to play violin a few months shy of her third birthday so my husband and I gave her a four month trial rental of a tiny violin. She has always treat the instruments with the utmost respect. In fact she calls her violin her best friend. Today she plays in the third of 7 levels of the local youth symphony, plays flute and bsings in a girls choir. She is also taking piano lessons.

My belief is to let the child lead. We didn’t give our son a choice at the age of five; we followed conventional wisdom that piano first and piano early is the best. If I had listened to my son’s desires from the start we would have far fewer tears and perhaps a more accomplished piano player. Inlet my daughter lead and have a daughter completely in love with music.