When Should My Child Begin Lessons?

The following guidelines will help you to have a successful, rewarding experience learning an instrument. These are practical tips that we have discovered from years of teaching and our experiences with teaching hundreds of students each year.

How Young is too Young? - Starting at the Right Age
Adults can start any instrument at any time. Their success is based on how willing they are to commit to practicing. We have taught many beginner students in their 60's and 70's.

For children, starting at the right age is a key element in the success of their lessons. Some people will tell you "the sooner the better" but this attitude can actually backfire and be a negative. If a child begins lessons too soon, he or she may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop lessons. We don't want to discourage a child just because of one unpleasant experience that could have been prevented. Sometimes if the child waits a year to start lessons, progress can be much faster. Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well. The following are guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child should start taking music lessons. Bear in mind that these are general guidelines and there are exceptions to every rule.

Before Age 5:
If a pre-schooler has a keen desire and wants to start music, a group preschool music class will provide 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 more effectively through the game-oriented preschool environment.

Piano/Keyboard:
At our school, 5 years old is usually the youngest age that we start children in private piano lessons. At this age, they have begun to develop longer attention spans, can retain material with ease, and have developed the manual dexterity to be successful.

Guitar - Acoustic, Electric and Bass:
Eight years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons. Guitar playing requires a fair amount of pressure on the fingertips from pressing on the strings. Children under 8 generally have small hands and may find playing uncomfortable. Bass guitar students generally are 10 years old and older.

Voice Lessons:
We recommend students begin vocal lessons at age 10 or older. Due to the physical nature of voice lessons (proper breathing techniques, development of the vocal chords and lung capacity), the younger body is generally not yet ready for the rigors of vocal training.

Drums:
The average age of our youngest drum students is 8 years old. This varies greatly depending on the size of the child. They have to be able to reach both the pedals and the cymbals.

Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone (wind instruments):
Due to lung capacity (and in the case of the saxophone, the size of the instrument), we recommend that most woodwind beginners are 9 and older.

Violin:
We accept violin students from the age of 5. Some teachers will start children as young as 3, but experience has shown us the most productive learning occurs when the beginner is 5 or older.

Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn (brass instruments):
The brass instruments require physical exertion and lung power. Nine years and older is a good time to start.