By: Aaron Zimmerman
Ever wonder if you have a budding Mozart on your hands? An early interest in music is common and leaves parents wondering, “When is the ideal age to sign my child up for piano lesson?” As a parent, this answer shouldn’t come as a surprise: it depends on the child. Here are a few tips to help you determine if your child is ready.
1. Can they wiggle their fingers independently?
To be physically ready to play the piano, your child needs basic finger independence. A good way to check this is to have them rest their fingertips on a flat surface and lift each finger off the table and tap it, trying not to move any other fingers. Chances are they will not be able to do this with the pinky and ring fingers, and that’s probably ok, as long as they can achieve at least a little independence.
2. Can my child focus for at least 5 minutes?
Having the mental capacity to focus on one task at a time can be hard for young brains. Learning how to play the piano is challenging and a good teacher will aim to make it fun with piano centered games and activities. For example, I have my young students imitate animal sounds on the piano, but even this game requires mental focus. If your child can only sit still for a few minutes before moving on to the next task, you may want to wait.
3. Are they interested in music?
This question is the most important. If your child truly desires to play the piano, a teacher can work with their level of physical and mental preparedness. However, if they simply aren’t interested in the piano, it won’t matter how hard they concentrate, or how developer their fine motor skills are. If your child asks about piano lessons a lot, if they show an interest in music, singing or clapping along, then sit them down at a piano and see what they do. If the desire for them to learn piano comes from you, or your spouse, then enrolling them will only be frustrating for you both as they likely won’t practice willingly, and their progress will be slow.
If your child is interested in music but seems too young to start piano lessons, that doesn’t mean they can’t find an outlet for their musical interests. Kindermusik is a fantastic program for very young children. It is a wonderful way to learn to enjoy music while preparing for more formal study.
What signs are you seeing in your child?
Aaron Zimmerman is a passionate musician who brings a unique approach to music education. Aaron earned a Master’s degree in Music Composition from The University Of Missouri at Kansas City while studying piano with Jane Solose and Michael Pagan and composition with Chen Yi. Connect with Aaron on Facebook or Google+.
photo credit: Manuela Hoffmann via photopin cc
