When To Start Music Lessons Options

[Trebleclef]

What is a good age for a child to start taking music lessons? Is 4 too young? And what instrument is best to start them off on? Many thanks...

[karanb47]

Four is a definitely NOT too young to start learning to play an instrument.

Mozart was five years old when he composed his first minuets. I'll say no more!!

Does your child show any interest in a particular instrument? My Mum says that when I was four I would use the wire caging of the fireplace as a keyboard (while the fire was off, of course) and pretend to play while singing. So they bought me my first instrument (a Bontempi organ) and I've played keyboards/piano ever since. If your child loves to sing - why not consider the ABRSM singing programme, after grade 5 she'll probably still need to learn Piano anyway?

When I was at school they made me do tests to see which instrument suited me, e.g. they made me do arm tests and a blowing test to see whether I was more suited to bowed or a brass instrument. I failed the brass and ended up doing violin lessons - didn't last though - my family said I sounded like a cat crying. But I did stick with Piano.

[MCoe]

4 is not too young, but you will need to find the right teacher for one this young. Not all teachers are confident teaching very young students. Singing is a great first option, because it gives them confidence and the aural part of the AB exam involves singing no matter what instrument your child may decide to pursue later. Also, many schools offer to start children out playing recorder and then move them on to other woodwind instruments when they are a bit older. If your school doesn't offer a comprehensive selection of musical choices, check what is available in your community. A great place to start is your local music shop, they usually know what is going on in your local area and may be able to guide you in the right direction.

[jonathanshin]

Violin and Piano is the best

[technique_doc]

With the Violin, 4 is possible of course but the work done at this time may be more 'grounding' of basic techniques and reading/listening skills. I have some very small students with good posture and who play well in tune and make a good sound (for such a small instrument).
The lessons have to be fun and the stimulation different to 6 or 7 y.o's.
Piano is always good and a really skilled and dedicated teacher can do wonders with Violin also. The Violin particularly requires a teacher who has the right experience with small people - Suzuki teachers are (obviously) used to young pupils and other teachers make this age range their forte.
Find out who and where and try to see the pupils in action.
In know some lovely teachers who do an OK, but not excellent job with this age range - find a good one and the pupils love it and can set the groundwork for a lifetime of enjoyment
T_D

[Louise]

I agree with the others. Starting at four can work, but you need to find a teacher who is experienced with this age group and progress will probably be slow. What might take a year to learn at this age can often be learnt in a couple of months at the age of 7.

I really wish I had a good Kodaly class near me. I would much rather start teaching them at 7 after they have done a couple of years of Kodaly.

As for which instrument - again I agree with the others. Piano and violin are the main options.

BTW the recorder is much too hard for a 4 year old and they would probably find it very frustrating!

Louise

[bhmackay]

Hello

4 years old is really too young. I started the piano at that age long before I was ready and school work has to come in as well, at 5.

If the child is gifted musically, singing might be an option, but I would wait until the child starts school

[NarelleB]

4 is definitely not too young - but the parents need to be dedicated as well.

Of all the 4 y.o. that I have taught, only 1 has been a disappointment - because the parents were not inclined to help with the practice each day (a terrible waste of money).

[naja]

Louise mentioned Kodaly classes...What is that, if I may ask?

[CMORRIS]

Hi Naja,

For all those interested in the concept and teaching of Kodály - there is an article available in the News and Articles section of the website called "The Kodály experience" - worth a read to gain an initial understanding.

For those interested in finding out more, a link to the British Kodály Academy is given at the end of this article. You can also find this link in the Teachers and Parents section of the website by clicking on the Teachers or Parents section and then selecting "Links" from the left hand menu bar.

Hope this helps

Best regards

Christine Morris
Forums Moderator

[spikylady]

Four is a fairly young age to begin learning an instrument but good results are achievable. I think that each lesson should not last longer than 15 - 20 minutes because the concentration levels are obviously not as high as that of an older child. The important thing is that they enjoy the lesson. Piano and voice are the best options to start with. There are many very good tutor books aimed for teaching very young children. In my experience, however, it does help if the child can read.

[Mary Ann]

Four is either too young or ready. I started my two daughters at 3 1/2 years on the glockenspiel for one year. The idea was to develop keyboard recognition, mastery of right hand and left hand, motor skill development on the larger muscle group, ie, arms...so that both hands were used all the time for the beaters. One year later they progressed to piano, this time they focused on finger muscles and, ofcourse, rounding them. My first daugher, now 8 1/2 years has just passed her grade 4 ABRSM piano with distinction, and my little one took grade one soon after her 6th b-day, playing the A5 B5 and C5 pieces, and passed with merit with just a few points below distinction. Sightreading wtith this age is really hard...but she was really good with compared to others. She's a big 6 year old. At the end of her exam the examiner asked her if she was 7 or 8 years old....and she said "I just turned 6 years old"...with pride!

I have lots of little ones to teach, and sometimes 30 minutes is too short. We do a lot of clapping, which they enjoy so much...lots of singing....playing the piano, ofcourse, and rounding fingers are not too hard to do provided there are lots of stickers awarded on their performance charts. After a while rounding the fingers is just so normal that we forget about stickers. I also incorporate theory and writing in their lessons.

[purple pianist]

I think that the piano is the best instrument 2 start on. It was my first instrument and once i could play it well and therefore read both clefs then i found it much easier to pick up the recorder and violin.

[tedthegoldfish]

it depends what insntrumnet you want to play. Encourage your kid to play HOWEVER a bad experience now could put them off for life - something that definetly would be a bad thing! I think you haveto make the experience as fun as possible or at a young age they may lose interest for ever! :ph34r: :blink: :unsure:

[jiaoqi]

Is 4 Really too young to play the recorder? My daughter started violin at 31/2 and piano and recorder at 4.Out of these, she found the coordination of the piano by far the hardest. At the age of 9, she is now grade 8 standard on the violin, grade 6 on recorder, and takes viola, singing and clarinet exams 'for fun!' If she had not started until 7 - I cannot imagine she would have reached the same standard.