Is My Child Ready For Music Lessons?

By Davonne Irion

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re visiting with a neighbor when your three-year-old wanders into the next room and discovers the family piano. He’s grinning from ear to ear as his little hands and fingers devour the keyboard, creating sounds—no, could it be—music? Wait a minute, you think, maybe we have something here. After all, wasn’t Mozart composing at six? When you tell your little one it’s time to leave, he screams, wails and clings for dear life to the piano. With many apologies to your neighbor, you bodily extract your kicking and screaming child and head toward the door. Your mind begins to race, contemplating the possibilities of a potential prodigy.

Well, before you come to any long-lasting conclusions, there are some things you may want to consider. As a professional music teacher, parents often ask me if their children are at the right age to begin music lessons. My answer is always the same: that depends. At that point I begin asking the parents for some information about their children. Along with asking their age, I may also ask about their interest level, previous musical experiences and for descriptions of their physical characteristics and temperament. I ask parents to describe what they hope to attain by investing what can amount to huge amounts of time, energy and money in the study of music.
Chronological age will only suggest when young children are ready to begin study in music and in what form that study should take place. Remember that there are always exceptions, and the following information is meant to serve as a guideline for the average parents of “average” children. In general, children should be able to understand and follow basic directions, and they must possess an ability to focus and attend to a subject for a given period of time. They must also demonstrate a certain amount of fine and even gross motor skills, based upon which instrument of study is chosen. Most importantly, they should be able to show some enthusiasm to learn. You may recognize that these are emotional and developmental skills that each and every child will attain at different rates. That’s why you, the parent, may end up being the best overall judge of your child’s readiness.

Many private music teachers prefer that a child be reading on a basic, functional level before beginning study (this refers to language reading, not music reading). This is because, most simply, a child who is reading will function more independently in practicing his lesson at home. Also, there are several parallels found in learning to read the written word and in the process of learning to read music. Many teachers find that learning these two skills at somewhat the same time is very effective. There are methods to teach music to very young, nonreading children. These are systems of teaching music that may utilize rote and memorization as a way of teaching musical skills. Individual music teachers may choose to use these methods together with symbols, pictures and manipulatives to teach the nonreader. Perhaps the most popular named system of this variety is the Suzuki method. This method was developed in Japan and is named for its founder, Shinichi Suzuki. The Suzuki method can be used to teach very young

At this point you may wonder how necessary it is to learn to read music when you can already play an instrument. Although there are professional and popular musicians who can play or sing wonderfully without ever learning to read music, this isn’t advisable. An inability to read music will lead to children who are severely handicapped in the world of music. In response, some teachers have begun utilizing a modified Suzuki method wherein the child is taught by the methods of Suzuki and is likewise introduced to music reading. If you’re interested in learning more about the Suzuki or modified Suzuki methods for your child, consult the music department of your local college or university and ask to be directed to teachers in your area who teach using these methods.
Note that some of the basic considerations for deciding when your child should begin lessons will depend upon exactly what instrument your child will explore. The younger the child, the more limited the choices. When considering lessons for a child ages three to 10, the choices are basically limited to piano (keyboard) and violin. The violin actually comes in various sizes to better fit the young student. Wind instruments can not usually be considered for study until a child is at least 10 years old or in late elementary school. This is because, unlike the violin, wind instruments are not sized down for younger children. Wind instruments include those referred to as woodwinds (including the flute, clarinet and saxophone) and brass instruments (including the trumpet, trombone and baritone). Again, you must consider the physical size of the child, but as a general rule, a 10-year-old is usually large enough and has enough lung power to play a wind instrument. At this age most children will only be able to handl

Hopefully, by the time children are 10 to 12 years old, they have had many opportunities to experience music in a variety of capacities. They may, by this time, have some ideas of the instrument they would like to explore. It’s a good idea to take these interests seriously. I would also suggest making a child aware of all of his age appropriate choices. You can do this by visiting your local instrument music store or by attending a concert and pointing out different varieties of instruments. Interestingly enough, studies have shown that your child is more likely to stick with and practice an instrument if he enjoys the sound it produces. Make sure that your child not only gets to see the instrument but also gets to listen to it. Keep in mind at this point in your child’s musical venture, the choice of instrument should be viewed as a vehicle through which to experience the world of music. Many students change instruments or play multiple instruments throughout their musical experience.
If you’re the parent of a child in middle/junior high or early high school, and he’s interested in private lessons, you should definitely encourage him. A student of this age has had enough exposure to music to know what type of musical experience he might find enjoyable. At this age a student can make rapid progress in musical achievement and reap the benefits of being involved in the experience of making music with others. Many students of this age may be involved in band, chorus and orchestra classes in school. This may lead parents to believe that their child is already getting the instruction he needs. If your child is currently involved in a group musical experience at school and is asking for private lessons, he is probably not getting all of his musical needs met through his school participation. This is most likely no fault of his teacher but rather an indication that you’re the parent of a musically gifted child.

This type of student should be exposed to the higher-level, individualized music instruction that a private teacher can offer. School music teachers do a wonderful job of providing an outlet for a student’s musical expression. However, because of the nature of the classroom setting, and inclusion of groups of many different instruments and skill levels, the class can become less than challenging for that gifted student.

Now that we have discussed various age groups for beginning private music lessons, let me point out a popular misconception. Today we tend to push younger children to learn skills and concepts earlier and earlier. There may be a problem when applying the-earlier-is-better theory to musical study. There is no proof that beginning a child on a musical instrument in preschool will assure a gifted adult musician. In fact, starting your children in private study too early, or pushing them too quickly, could be detrimental to their progress, and will most likely create a negative attitude toward music and music lessons. For the younger child who is craving a musical experience there are plenty of group musical activities available to provide a firm foundation for enjoyment and open the door for further study. Examples would be the local church choir or preschool music experience classes offered through your local community center. Remember to proceed with caution. Waiting a year or two to start private lessons with

This brings me to perhaps the most important question I try to ask parents: What do you hope to achieve by sending your child to a private music teacher? While I ask this question, I’m hoping not that a parent is expecting to create a miniature virtuoso, but rather that the parent desires his/her child has a positive experience with music and possibly will obtain a lifetime of enjoyment through the art. This is the goal of most music teachers. I feel it’s in sync with the fine art of parenting. Good parenting includes a desire to find and nurture the gifts, interests and passions our children possess. If we all work toward this goal, we will go a long way toward creating emotionally healthy, happy and hardworking adults. We may also produce future parents who will participate in and support the arts during their lives, and in turn, who will become positive role models for their children.