When shall kid start to learn piano lesson?

[liuhao]

my kid is about 4 years now. currently with yamaha music school to do some simple music enrichment course like music wonderland. in last lession the teacher there said the next lession would be yamaha junior course which will last 4 years. it's still kinda enrichment class. there might be some playing of keyboard together with singing nd dancing but not formal piano lesson. for the yamaha piano school for children, it starts from 6 years old.

i am wondering if 6 years old is a bit late to start formal piano lesson for children? anyone can advise? thanks.

 

[17wil]

actually, IMO , as long as the kid has interest, can learn at any age.
who knows, he maybe a prodigy
but if ur kid has no interest, learning it wud be a waste of time becuz he may just give it up when he gets older.
its the same as learning any other instrument.

 

[liuhao]

practially a 4 years old child is interested in virtually everything. however it's hard to tell and judge whether that interest will persist or last. when you buy a new toy for kid, he sure die die wants to play with it with great interest. however few days later, he gets bored with the toy and loses interests.

i think same thing applies to adult as well. when u got a new car, it's like you got the whole world with you. however it wont take more than 2 years before you got bored and think to change.

of course panio is a bit different. it's a toy but a very complicated toy. the more you master it, the more you can play with it. so basically it keeps creating new interests. of course dicipline is important too. it's kinda control which prevents a child from giving it up too easily especially when got stuck with certain difficult skills.

anyway a bit off topic liao. i started to learn violin from 12 years old by chance which i think a bit late. so very much would like to know the optimal age to start piano. you guys are experts in keyboard and piano so i am sure you know more than i do.

 

[Cheez]

This thread might interest you since Kiasuma and many of us were engaged in a lot of discussions re: kids and music -
http://soft.com.sg/2006/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=12360&highlight=

Back to your question: no, 6 year old is not too late for formal lessons. Starting "formal" lessons too young kills interest. As you probably already know, nowadays we do things like play learning, even in kindergarten. I guess there are pros and cons to it, and it should be a balance. As I work overseas, my son is now studying in an overseas kindergarten. He is in a Montesorri class - which I think actually makes things worse. Everything is so relaxing that it is difficult for him to sit still and finish one thing at a time. So at home, we make sure he learns to sit down and learn discipline. What woke us up is when we enrolled him in a recreational class for the holidays. Other students in the usual class was able to sit down very still - but my son couldn't. He's too used to self-motivation/learning etc. So now we use both methods.

Back to music, creative methods is good. But when it comes to formal lessons, it can go both ways - kill interest or build discipline leading to learning a skill. I started my son at 4 (me teaching). I had to balance making it fun and making it serious. At that age, attention span is very short - so my lessons never went more than 15 minutes. Anyway, my son is now 5+ and progressing slowly. I don't dare to force him because I remember my experience when I was young (I started when I was 4-5). I just try to encourage him and build his interest, then go slowly at his own pace.

But then, I think starting at 6 is OK. You can help now by teaching him simple notes and notes reading at this stage, since you know the violin. There are many colourful fun music books out there (not like in my days - black and white and totally boring).

 

[liuhao]

hi cheez, thank you very much for your valuable advise. it's the advise which i exactly expect to have. i think you answered my question beautifully, just like last time.

it's perfectly fine for me to buy a piano and get a teacher and things started. however i kinda feel he is not fully ready for that. in the past year, i have been trying to playback rubinstein/chopin nocturnes CD record as background music when he is playing. just try to give him an impression what piano sounds like and what piano is capable of. it does make him quiet sometimes, although he still prefers those kids songs more to rubinstein. haha...

sure lots of more things can/should be done and prepared before starting formal lesson. i keep your advise in mind. cheers.

 

[boomdoom]

start at 5, finish by 14.

 

[Cheez]

Liuhao, I find playing solo piano CD during bedtime before they fall asleep very helpful. Nice quite ones like Nocturnes are good, but there are others. Sometimes I play slow chamber music during bedtime, and while lying down with my son, I ask him what instruments are playing. He can now tell me violins, cellos, double bass, flute, piano, harp, etc.

 

[nysk]

i started learning at 7... but yea 4 yrs is already a very good age to start as kids that age digest info better and learn more easily... sigh i wish when i was 7 i started on guit instead... then by now i'd be a master shredder lol

 

[Guest]

i hated playing the piano/keyboard. :?

 

[boomdoom]

i hated playing the piano/keyboard. :?

guitar is fun to play but keyboards have production value