Studying music is a wonderful activity for body, spirit, and mind. With the times we are currently facing through a world-wide pandemic, keeping children's minds occupied and doing something they love will give them a sense of normalcy and purpose in their young lives.
Learning to play an instrument early on gives children the ability to develop creativity, hand-eye coordination, critical thinking skills, and self-discipline. The positive influence of music education has the potential to enrich children's experiences, bringing the joy of music-making for a lifetime. Parents who give the gift of music education create the pathways for enriching their children’s lives into adulthood.
Many scientific studies have been done in the area of music cognition and many of them report that children who start piano instruction at the age of 6 had more brain growth and better motor skills than their peers. One common question we get from parents is “at what age should my child begin piano lessons?” The truth is there is no perfect age to begin music lessons.
Our advice is if your child shows interest in music, they should be given the opportunity to explore it. There are many amazing programs for very young children under five years old, such as Musikgarten and Kindermusik which engage them with appropriate content using singing and movement. These programs build their awareness for rhythm and pitch which are essential later on for learning any musical instrument.
In a nutshell, the best time to start piano lessons will be different for every child, but most will be ready between the ages of five to eight years old. So, how do you know if your child is ready?
Here is a short checklist:
1. Interest in Music and Desire to Learn: This is a key requirement because if the motivation to learn comes from the child it will definitely serve as fuel for their continued growth and progress. If you pair that with a caring teacher who knows how to bring out the love for music in each student, you will be setting your child for many years of successful learning and joy at the piano.
2. Focus for a Short Period of Time in Several Activities: Young children have a great amount of energy and sitting at the piano for 30 minutes is likely not going to happen. However, if they can focus on small class activities like singing with the teacher for a couple minutes, then doing off bench activities that allow them to spend some of their energy, and playing duets for another couple of minutes, then they are most likely ready to begin piano lessons. In fact, teaching younger children can be much harder than teaching older students and more advanced levels. It truly requires multi-level skills from the teacher, such as in early childhood psychology, well-prepared lesson plans coupled with the understanding to adapt to the child when needed. If the child is able to follow the teacher’s lead in these activities, then they are ready to start in their piano studies.
3. Practice Time in Smaller Increments in Between Lessons: Sometimes this step is overlooked, but it is absolutely essential in learning any skill. A student is almost always motivated to practice after the lesson, but they also have to set small victories and practice goals at home in between lessons to reinforce the skills learned. This is really a team effort between the parents, the teacher and the child. We find that for early beginners the ideal time is 5 to 10 minutes for four to five days every week. The songs are still very short at this stage and that is enough time to keep them focused and revisit what they learned with the teacher in the previous lesson.
If they are willing to practice regularly, then they are ready to begin lessons. However, we find that making it a piano-game-activity time makes it even more successful through fun week challenges given by the teacher. This is a sure way to keep them engaged and interested throughout their lessons and practice time.
So what is the best age to begin lessons? If a child meets these three basic requirements, then they are ready!
We hope you enjoyed this article and we look forward to educating our parents and students in the art of teaching and learning more about music and piano.
If you would like more information, contact us and we will be glad to set up your first free trial lesson!
"What Is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons?" by Piano Performance Arts Academy, LLC.
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