1. HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG - STARTING AT THE RIGHT AGE

For children, starting at the right age is a key element to the success of their lessons. Some people will tell you “the sooner the better.” However, this attitude can actually backfire. If a child is put into lessons too soon they may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop lessons. The last thing you want to do is turn a child off music just because they had one unpleasant experience which could have been prevented. Sometimes waiting even a year to start lessons can significantly increase their progress. Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well. Adults can start any instrument at any time. Their success is based on how willing an adult is to commit to practicing. The following are guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons.

3 - 4 Years Old

At this age, private lessons generally do not work as the child has not yet experienced the formal learning environment of kindergarten or school. These students learn best through the game oriented preschool environment.

At Academy of the Performing Arts, 5 years old is the youngest age we start children in private piano lessons. At this age, they have begun to develop longer attention spans and can retain material with ease.

8 years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons. Playing the guitar 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 and older.

The recommended age for private vocal lessons is 10 years of age. Due to the physical nature of voice lessons, such as proper breathing techniques, development of the vocal chords, and lung capacity, the younger body is generally not yet ready for the rigors of vocal technique.

Drums

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

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.

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.

The trumpet requires physical exertion and lung power. 9 years and older is a good time to start the trumpet.

Group classes work well for preschool music programs and theory lessons. However, when actually learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior. In a one-on-one setting, students can learn at their own pace and are much less likely to miss an instructor's suggestions. The instructor then is not required to teach a class at a middle of the road level, but has the time and focus to work on the individual student’s strengths and weaknesses. During that lesson, the student is the primary focus of the teacher making the experience more beneficial for both.

3. TAKE LESSONS IN A PROFESSIONAL TEACHING ENVIRONMENT

Learning music is not just a matter of having a qualified teacher, but also having an environment that is focused on music education. In a professional school environment, television, pets, ringing phones, or siblings cannot distract a student. With only 1/2 to one hour of lesson time per week, a professional school environment can produce better results by reducing common distractions. Students in a school environment are surrounded and motivated by hearing peers at varying levels and exposed to new instruments and styles. For these students music is not a hobby. It is a responsibility to be take seriously.

As we all know, making beautiful music takes practice. One of the main problems with music lessons is the drudgery of practicing and the fight between parents and students to practice every day. Here are some ways to make practicing easier:

Set the same time every day to practice so it becomes part of a routine. This works particularly well for children. Generally, the earlier in the day the practicing can occur, the less reminding is required by parents to get the child to practice.

We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners. For a young child, 20 - 30 minutes seems like an eternity. Instead of setting a time frame, we use repetition. For example, tell your student to practice this piece 4 times every day and that scale 5 times a day. The student does not pay attention to the amount of time they are practicing their instrument, but knows if they are on repetition number 3, they are almost finished.

This works very well for both children and adult students. Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful practice. In our school, we reward young children for a successful week of practicing with stars and stickers on their work. Praise tends to be the most coveted award. There is just no substitute for a pat on the back for a job well done.

There are some excellent materials developed by professional music educators that are made for students in a variety of situations. For example, in piano there are books for everyone from the very young beginner to the beginning adult student. These materials have been researched and are continually upgraded to make learning easier. These materials ensure that no important part of learning the instrument can inadvertently be left out. If you ever have to move to a different part of the country, qualified teachers and institutions will recognize the materials and be able to smoothly continue from where the previous teacher left off.