
How young is too Young? – Starting at the right age
Adults can start an instrument at any time. Their success is based on how willing an adult is to commit to practicing. We have a number of beginner students that are retired and many that are working adults. Our teachers are available late in the evening to accommodate work schedules.
For children starting at the right age is a key element to the success of the lessons. Some people will tell you “the sooner the better” but this attitude can sometimes backfire and be a negative experience for the child. If they are put into lessons too soon then they can feel overwhelmed and frustrated and dread coming to lessons. The last thing you want to do is turn a child off to music just because of one unpleasant experience, which could have been prevented. Sometimes if a child waits a year to start lessons their progress can be much faster. Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well. The following guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child should starts taking music lessons.
3-4 Years old
If a preschooler has a keen desire and wants to start music, a group preschool music class will give them a good foundation in music basics, which will be helpful in later private lessons. At this age, private lessons generally do not work as the child has not yet experienced the formal learning environment of kindergarten or school and learns effectively through game oriented preschool environment.
Piano/Keyboard
Guitar – Acoustic, Electric and Bass
Voice Lessons
Drums
Flute, Clarinet & Saxophone
Violin & Viola
We find that age 5 is a good age to start violin. However we do have a couple of students who are 4 and some schools will offer lessons as young as 3 years old (we do not have a program for such a young student) but experience has shown us the most productive learning occurs when the beginner is 5 or older.
Trumpet
The Trumpet requires physical exertion and lung power A good age to start the trumpet would be 9 years and older.