The Ideal Age to Start

The ideal starting age is as young as possible, with a few major caveats! There are several advantages to starting young. The first is that piano study is a very long-term endeavor. Even though the goal for all students is life-long musical self-sufficiency and literacy, and not professional perfection, in plain terms, it takes a really long time to get good. Although it varies from student to student, a good guideline for reaching this goal is about nine years of study. It's important to note that this does not mean nine years of showing up and paying for lessons, but of consistent practice and energy on the part of both student and parent.

Students who start at age 9 or 10 usually loose interest at about age 12-14. With only two or three years under their belts, they are unlikely to have learned concrete skills that will stick with them after they discontinue lessons. Students who start at age 5 also often loose interest when they hit the teenage years, but there's a big difference: with six, seven, or eight years of study behind them, they're pretty good (if they've had a competent teacher with achievable, but substantive requirements.) If they do quit, they usually will have mastered some skills that will stay with them throughout their lives. And they're less likely to want to quit in the first place: we all are less likely to loose interest in something we're good at, compared with something that we've only recently picked up.

The best time to start is most often September or January of the kindergarten year, but there are almost as many children who are exceptions to this rule as those that fit it. Of course, it doesn't make sense to start a 5 year old with lessons if they lack the skills to succeed; teaching students that music is too hard and too complicated for them is a foolish, and all-to-common result of starting students too young. Many 4 year olds (and even some 3 year olds) have the readiness skills necessary to be successful at lessons. Conversely, it is not uncommon for children to lack the skills needed for success until age 7, or in rare cases, 8 or older.

The most important pre-lesson skills that students must have before undertaking private music instruction include:

Reading or pre-reading skills: Can they read? If not, do they have pre-reading skills? (Do they know their alphabet and numbers? Can they spell their name? Can they track visually? Students do not necessarily need to be reading fluently before beginning lessons, but they do need to have basic pre-reading skills.

Pattern identification. Are they able to complete basic exercises along the lines of "which picture is different?" Playing the piano and reading music is all about identifying patterns, starting with the groups of two and three black keys on the piano. If you already have a keyboard in your home, ask your child to find the groups of two black keys by covering them with a card. If, after two or three attempts, they still have trouble with this exercise, you may want to wait.

Attention span. Can the child sit and quietly and attentively listen to an entire picture book? Asking questions about the story is fine; asking unrelated questions is a warning sign. In order to be successful with piano lessons, it's necessary to sit down and work for a very long time, perhaps as long as 10 minutes in a row, without interruption! To adults, this doesn't seem like much, and for many kids it's not a problem, but for some it can be. While music study can and does build attention spans, a certain base level is necessary to start.

Ability to follow directions consistently: Perhaps this item should be self explanatory, but....

Parental readiness and dedication to lessons: at the younger ages, the parent is actually just as involved in lessons as the student, if not more so. The parent must be committed, able, and willing to practice daily with the student until the student is able to do so on his or her own. This varies from child to child, but in most cases, children should not be expected to practice on their own until age 8 at the earliest (often older), and even then will require off-and-on help and supervision. Parents do not need to have musical training, but they do need to put in the time day in and day out with the student, and to carefully observe each lesson.

You may have noticed that I left out "student interest" from the list of readiness skills. This is not an accident! Although student interest in lessons can be a wonderful asset and is desirable, most young children (under age 7 at least) are simply too young have their own well-developed "interests." Similarly, the typical 7 year old is simply unable—and should not be expected to—commit themselves to the routine and rigors of serious music study. We as parents must make these decisions for our children. This doesn’t mean that the wishes of the child should be ignored; it does mean that, at least at the younger ages, it is the parent, more than the child, who must commit to lessons. While there are a few exceptions, young students’ interest level is determined primarily by the interest level of their parents (which they often model), their relationship with the teacher, and of the many successes and achievements, which come with consistent practice. A supposedly uninterested student can do exceedingly well with positive reinforcement and frequent practice!

Special considerations: If your child has a diagnosed (or probable) learning, emotional, or physical disability, it's better to err on the side of starting to late rather than early. The most common stumbling blocks to the success of young students are: severe lack of small-motor skills or hand-eye coordination; reading disabilities; and timidity. If a student with one of the issues posses the basic readiness skills listed above, by all means, don't let the problem stop you from starting lessons at any particular age, just be sure that the readiness skills are very strong before starting. Lessons should be a positive experience!

Other options: While I do not endorse group lessons as a long-term approach to study, they can be great for young beginners. If you have a highly interested 4 year old who just doesn't seem to be ready for one-on-one lessons, you might still be able to stoke their interest, learn some basic skills, and have a lot of fun in a group piano class, or a general music class such as Kindermusik

(http://www.kindermusik.com) or Musikgarten (http://www.musikgarten.org). Beware that most proprietors of group instructions have a strong financial incentive to keep a group going once it has started, regardless of the best interests of the individual students. It's wonderful to enjoy lessons, but it's even better to learn skills that stay with you through your whole life. Because group classes are great for enjoyment but less good for skill building, be upfront with yourself and the group instructor or coordinator: look for introductory lessons for a few semesters and expect to transition to private lessons within the first few years, either with the group teacher, or with another instructor. The best group programs will have built-in transition periods and plans. Suzuki (there are literally hundreds of Suzuki web sites) lessons are another option which I do not endorse for children possessing reading readiness skills (I believe the Suzuki approach handicaps children by unnecessarily delaying reading instruction, though many disagree with me on this point); however, Suzuki can be a godsend for those with great difficulty reading.

The conclusion: Start them as soon as they're ready, because an early start makes for a more complete and successful music education!