From the time your child is a baby, you’re always looking for ways to help her grow and mature. And for many parents, that path includes the gift of music.
Piano enriches their lives in many ways. Piano has been shown to increase intelligence, build up self esteem, increase hand eye coordination, and bring out the performer in your child. Its also been shown to increase brain activity, develop fine motor skills, and even increase subject comprehension and overall test scores as your child ages.
With all that going for it, why not start piano lessons as soon as possible? While it is true you can find child prodigy videos on YouTube depicting 3 year old maestros, there may be such a thing as introducing lessons too early.
Most three year olds won’t respond well to an adult imposed learning structure. They like to sing and dance and play. Which is where the love of music should begin. A great preschool or music class that allows a child to discover their musicality will make the thought of producing music that much more enticing in the coming years.
The best time to start piano lessons will be different for every child, yet overall we find the best time often lies between the ages of 5 and 8. Here are a few things to watch for.
How large is the child’s hand? A child should be able to comfortably be able to place five fingers on five adjacent white keys. That may be a big stretch for some petite 5 year olds. If they can’t comfortably play a song and reach the notes required for a song, frustration sets in and the desire to play decreases.
Do they have finger coordination? Piano playing and piano lessons involve a child playing individual notes together with each finger moving separately from one another. If they still play using the hunt and peck method instead of wanting to use the hand to create a multidimensional sound, its best to wait.
Will they be learning by the Suzuki method, or an ear based method of piano playing? Five or six may be a good age since its based on listening and imitating. If they will be diving into the world of reading notes and music, waiting until they are seven or eight and have a better understanding of reading may help eliminate frustration at trying to learn two major tasks at once.
Is it ever too late? No! People take up the piano at every age. As long as you have a desire and willingness to learn, you can learn to play the piano from the comfort of your home. Studying music is good for the body, mind and spirit at any age; its something you’ll enjoy for a lifetime.
