how old should she be to start piano?

[boricuaqueen327]

I am wondering what age children can start piano lessons. DD is going to be 4 in April and she loves listening to me play and loves to sit on the piano and play her own things. I asked her if she wanted to take some kind of class (ie. ballet, horseback riding, piano, etc) and she said piano. Is she still too little to start?

[pigpokey]

I think there are Suzuki piano teachers. I would think you should just do some instruction at home because you know her the best.

[mamabella]

My mom is a professional musician (violinist), instrumental music teacher and does private lessons - my ds is OBSESSED with the violin - he will pick up any toy and make it into a violin and bow just like "ga ga" plays but my mom says to wait to start lessons until he begs and begs - like waaaaaay beyond just looking interested or asking.

That being said I started the violin at age 3, the cello at age 5 (because I wanted to sit down ) and the piano at age 6. I took piano for 8 years and took 18 years of cello (I still play - I just continued lessons through college). I think I was able to start early because I was raised completely IMMERSED in the musician's lifestyle - the symphony was my babysitter (I used to go with my mom to rehearsals and gigs and play backstage) and my mom was ALWAYS practicing or teaching lessons.

So one more thing - my mom never taught me lessons - she also teaches suzuki method and classical/traditional/advanced etc. lessons - but there was too much parent/child interference there - I am sure that she has a better reason for why she didn't teach me that is more technical (she has her MA in Music Performance and Education) but there was enough nagging from her for me just to practice.

And I have seen lots of her students start too early and quit - I think she told me that the child has to want it really really really badly and have enough patience to be able to listen to the teacher and follow the lesson plans one step at a time...

Sorry if thats not much of a direct answer....just thought I would share my experience...in our case I am trying to take ds to music shows around here that are free (like at the library), storytimes that are interactive, and our county parks and recreation dept has pretty reasonable group parent/child music activity classes...

[AuntNi]

Christine, your story is so interesting!

DH and I both were professional musicians, and we both feel like 9 is the perfect age to start structured piano lessons. There are several famous conductors who started piano at 9, and coincidentally, so did both DH and I. It's an age where the kids have a little more self-discipline and can be more focused. All my girlfriends who started piano before me quit by jr. high, but since I was sure about it before I started, I continued through college.

DD loves music and has perfect pitch. We have a piano and a guitar, and we just let her fool around for now. It's so fun to hear her "compositions."

[Doodlebugsmom]

The College of Creative Arts at the university here in my town starts lessons for pretty much all instruments at age 4. Dd started piano at 4 and she absolutely loves it. Her teacher is a college student, so it's pretty laid back and easygoing. I think it has been great for her.

[freestyler]

I think 5-6 is a perfect age for many kids to start structured lessons with a teacher. They can handle short amounts of practice every day---like starting with 10-15 minutes and gradually, over a year, increasing to a half hour or a little less. Our kids started at 5 and this worked well. For us, the key is really being intentional and disciplined about practicing every day. The teacher expects 45-60 minutes of practicing a day (they are almost 8 and 10 1/2). They get up early and practice for 45 minutes before starting the day. (Early is REALLY early on the 3 days a week they have school. 6:15. Ouch.)

The younger kids, and the older ones too, just benefit hugely from playing alongside an adult at the piano, every day, just messing around with rhythm and singing lots and lots of songs. It's good to use song books and scores, so they gt used to seeing the music there in front of them, even if they cannot read it yet.

I love hearing kids play piano. It makes me so happy.

[lolar2]

If she is requesting it, she's old enough. But you will need to help her a lot with practicing for the first few years, probably.

[timneh_mom]

Can you start by teaching her really basic stuff like fingering, notes and simple counting? Once she can start reading, you can teach her to read music. My mom is a piano teacher and she has told me that younger kids sometimes have a hard time because it's hard to sit still through 1/2 hour lesson and to practice. But, she started me on the very simple principles when I was about 4. I didn't start formal lessons until later though, like 8 or 9. But by that time, I already knew how to count, read music, what fingers went where, etc.

[gingerstar]

My DH taught lessons for several years, and while he based his decisions on the individual child, in general he felt 6 was the youngest starting age for standard lessons. (As opposed to Suzuki, which is different and begins very young.)
I would just encourage her to play around on her own, if she is interested she will lead you to teach her more, but better to start her later than to start too early and have her turned off, since lessons can feel like hard work to little ones; it is less fun than just making some music with mom!

[trinity6232000]

I feel if she is asking she is ready, BUT I wouldn't make it too structured, AND I wouldn't start outside lessons. Just my opinion.

I play piano and cello (nice to see another cello mama here Christine). I hated lessons, loved to play around. I started piano and cello around age 7/8. My dd plays around on the piano, and I give her little lessons here and there. Like I made a paper keyboard with the notes listed so she knows what key is what. I've shown her how to hold her hands. Just lately (she's 7 1/2) she has asked to be "taught" so I found my old instruction books, and we're on page 1. She likes to play on my guitar, so for Christmas I bought her own for her. She doesn't want to learn chords, so she plays her own music for now.

[DevaMajka]

My dp teaches piano and guitar, and his youngest piano student was 4yo when he started. Dp says at that age its more about music appreciation, clapping to the beat, and just having fun with music. (He teaches from the house, and I hear a lot of nonmusic from the really young ones- piano banging, really!). At young ages they don't tend to want to sit still for an entire half hour lesson (hehehe duh, right?) but he tries to make it as fun and interesting for them as possible.

If you're going to put her in lessons, I'd make sure that the teacher is going to be respectful of her desires, and not put any pressure on her to learn x, or be able to play Y or whatever. It would just be something fun for her to do. yk?

[pianojazzgirl]

I used to teach piano lessons (pre-dd), and I found the most success with kids who started around 6-7.

If you're really interested in starting her in lessons this young I'd look for someone who teaches the Suzuki method.

[RainCoastMama]

There are some systems specifically for the very young, like Kelly Kirby and Kodaly. DD is starting Kelly Kirby in the summer (it's 'fun' - combining the lesson with arts and crafts, that kind of thing) - she'll be 4.5.

I personally won't put her into something more formal until 6. I started piano really young and HATED the practising, the exams, the theory. It almost made me hate learning the instrument, although I played for 10 years. But then again, I had a string of mean and cruel instructors... :P