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If you require instrument lessons


  

53 members have voted

  1. 1. What age do you require children to take up an instrument or start music leasons

    • Age 5 or younger
      9
    • 6
      15
    • 7
      7
    • 8
      9
    • 9
      3
    • 10
      5
    • Age 11 or older
      5


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What age do you require your children to start?

I have a child who started violin but who is not interested at all at age 6 (almost 7) we are contemplating letting her drop it until she's older, but do feel learning an instrument is valuable for the benefits to brain development.

She's really into gymnastics and would much prefer to direct all of her attention there.

Edited by someonestolemyname
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At first I thought, How interesting that everyone else also agrees that 8 is a nice time to begin!  Then I realized I was the only one that answered so far.  :)

 

We had all our kids begin piano lessons around age 8.  It just seemed like a nice way to begin learning about music, how to read notes, etc.  Our rule was that they could quit as soon as they learned how to play a specific song.  I forget which level it was (and it wasn't very high!), but it was a level where we felt they had some kind of a music foundation.

 

Some continued longer, some added or moved on to another instrument at that time, and some even added another instrument earlier if they had a strong interest.  None of them regret it, even if their only real interest in music is listening to it and appreciating it.

 

I probably began music around the same age.

 

However, my dh never played one note of any musical instrument, and his brain developed very well!  :)  So I certainly don't think learning an instrument is critical.  

 

 

 

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My hubby started clarinet at 7th grade in school band and was good enough for navy band. His only music lessons before that was the public school recorder lessons. So very basic sight reading and theory.

 

My extended family from my age onwards have all started group piano lessons at 4 years old and then allowed to not continue with formal one to one lessons. Most end up picking another instrument as teens and play the piano as recreational (as in good enough to play the wedding march for church weddings).

 

My kids did gym to improve their motor skills as they are behind their developmental milestones during well baby checkups. Gym and musical instruments teach similar things of discipline, perseverance, hand-eye coordination, left-right side co-ordination/synchronization. I won't say gym or music is better for brain development.

 

We require basic music theory knowledge and trying out musical instruments to see what our kids like the same way we require them to try out different sports. However we do not require formal lessons until older. My kids love singing but not interested in choir. When they know which instruments they want, we can do formal lessons for that instrument. DS11 has tried violin, piano, flute, cello and might try the brass instruments next. DS12 does not want anything that requires blowing so he has only tried violin, piano, cello and might try percussion next.

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I required they start at 5 or younger. 

We had just moved to this house, and knew no one. The next door neighbor was a piano teacher. :) Since I wanted to get to know people, and have my kids know people I started them at that age. She offered to teach both boys, one after the other for about 10 to 15 minutes each and charge me a very low rate. After the lesson the two of us would sit and visit. 

 

The boys were so cute walking to lessons by themselves. Youngest would carry a little thing to sit on so he could reach the piano. If that situation wasn't available I would not have started them so young. 

 

After that my rule was the basic family rule I have:

 

Everyone must have two weekly activities that involve other people. One must be mental and the other physical. For my boys piano counts at the mental activity. 

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I voted for age 5. Previously, I waited for oldest to show interest. I'm hindisight, for her personality especially , that was a mistake. She ended up taking guitar at 11, but by then the frustration as things got more difficult were harder for me to push her through. We let her stop after 12 months. For the younger two we have changed tact.

 

We're requiring two years of piano for each, beginning at age 5. If I had the money and time, I would do Suzuki violin, but that didn't pan out right now. After two years, our plan is they can move to the instrument of their choice- my son is dying to take violin and guitar. I think at this age, it's good for them to deal with the struggle and frustration of learning to play, and to learn things require effort and practice. Oldest has perfectionist issues and had we made her start lessons sooner, I think it could've nipped some of it in the bud. I also have seen it do awesome things for hand eye coordination, counting, concentration and attention.

 

It's also amazing how much my 4 year old has picked up just from watching her brother practice.

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I voted age 6, but my kids started piano lessons at the same time when DS was 8 and DD was 6.   We had a hard time finding a teacher with a schedule that fit until then.   My grandmother was my piano teacher growing up, and she always said she wouldn't start teaching a new student until they were reading fluently, but generally no earlier than age 6.   Piano lessons were mandatory (as was 5-10 minutes of practice, 3-4 times per week) until middle school, and at that point I let my kids decide if they want to switch to a different instrument, but want them to continue lessons through at least one year of high school.   

 

DS switched to guitar in 7th grade, then for 8th took both piano and guitar, then in 9th dropped piano for just guitar.   He would love to continue guitar in 10th grade and beyond, but it might not fit in the schedule with his other obligations.

 

DD is finishing her 7th year of piano, 2nd year of guitar, and 1st year of voice lessons.   Obviously she loves music!   Ironically, she was the one who absolutely HATED to practice a few years back.   I'm really glad I made her stick with it when it was tough (although you can see my expectations for amount of practice weren't very high then - but now she sits down at the piano before her other school work and will voluntarily play piano and/or guitar for more than an hour per day).

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I wanted to add- I would never force a child to play sports. But I would push through a lot of resistance to ensure they're competent at at least one instrument. I have never heard an adult bemoan that their parents forced them to learn to read music and play an instrument, but I have heard more adults than I can count say they wished they had learned to play something as a child. It tends to stick with you. I only took two years of lessons from ages 6-8, but can still play well (when I am consistent) even having lived a decade without a piano at one point. It's like riding a bike. You never lose it- you might get rusty, but it always stays with you. So for that, we've chosen to make it a priority for our kids. At least for a few years.

Edited by texasmom33
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Not an age requirement so I did not vote. When they are reading and tracking smoothly, when they have patience to sit for a 30 min lesson and 15-20 min practice sessions, and when there is room in the family schedule for it. That ended up being 7, 6, 5, and one who is 5 and has not yet started in our house.

 

ETA: perfect pitch runs in the family, along with incredible aural talent, which made me avoid Suzuki and it's young children/early ear training methods - I know it isn't always the case but I have seen many people with innate aural talent not progress beyond their 'ears' because as a youngster it was so much easier to use their ears than decode the music, only later in life to find they'd hit a wall in their aural capacity and have to start back over with reading music. And most of them just don't because it is so remedial. So we definitely wait until they are ready to learn to read music.

Edited by Targhee
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I'm curious for those who require fluent reading- why? A child doesn't have to be able to read to read music. Neither of my young kids can read past basic CVC words, but they're both able to read letters and have no problem picking up the music in the lesson books. So I was just curious as to why that's a requirement. Is it a maturity thing?

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I'm curious for those who require fluent reading- why? A child doesn't have to be able to read to read music. Neither of my young kids can read past basic CVC words, but they're both able to read letters and have no problem picking up the music in the lesson books. So I was just curious as to why that's a requirement. Is it a maturity thing?

See my ETA above. They don't need to be reading "fluently", but have the eye tracking skills and the understanding of encoding, left to right top to bottom organization, etc
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Everyone must have two weekly activities that involve other people. One must be mental and the other physical. For my boys piano counts at the mental activity.

What a simple and reasonable way of managing outside activities- love it!

 

I would add that music isn't a sport, but very physical! Breath control, muscle development, small motor coordination, and training, training, training... there's been a lot of Hannon and burnt forearms at our house lately 😂 I'd stil have them do a sport besides 😉

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What a simple and reasonable way of managing outside activities- love it!

 

I would add that music isn't a sport, but very physical! Breath control, muscle development, small motor coordination, and training, training, training... there's been a lot of Hannon and burnt forearms at our house lately 😂 I'd stil have them do a sport besides 😉

 

Lots of activities can count as physical or mental. This is how it currently works out in our family:

 

Kids: Physical activity: Running club, Mental activity: Piano

Me: Physical activity: Running club, Mental activity: Dancing

Dh: Physical activity: Dancing, Mental activity: Japanese Lessons

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A music teacher once said that children shouldn't start music lessons until they are pretty good readers. So, we start piano in second grade. It is not optional. None of my kids are overly thrilled, but I think it is so important and we don't over-do the practicing (20 minutes daily, which is entirely doable) that I don't care if they aren't thrilled. I have never met an adult who regretted that their parents "made" them take piano.

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I think you should follow SWB's advice. Start at 7 ish. Make them get through about a year, say When they finish level two in the books.

 

At that point you can tell if they hate it or love it, what they'll make of it. It's ok to not want to practice sometimes, but they should be excited about the music, excited to see their teacher, talking about it To grandma. If the child shows no real personal love for it, IMO it's not worth it. You'll just waste thousands of dollars.

 

That's my personal opinion after wasting thousands of dollars. 😊 About a year is enough, you should know for sure after two years.

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A music teacher once said that children shouldn't start music lessons until they are pretty good readers. So, we start piano in second grade. It is not optional. None of my kids are overly thrilled, but I think it is so important and we don't over-do the practicing (20 minutes daily, which is entirely doable) that I don't care if they aren't thrilled. I have never met an adult who regretted that their parents "made" them take piano.

I do. I know three adults, and they're all type A pereseverant and well educated. One of them, a very focused, calm, accomplished individual (masters in education and science) says she remembers actually feeling dread and anxiety, not understanding why her mother thought she should do this, and feeling utter joy when her mother finally announced she was finished in 8th grade. She had 8 years of piano.

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I do. I know three adults, and they're all type A pereseverant and well educated. One of them, a very focused, calm, accomplished individual (masters in education and science) says she remembers actually feeling dread and anxiety, not understanding why her mother thought she should do this, and feeling utter joy when her mother finally announced she was finished in 8th grade. She had 8 years of piano.

Well, I don't know any. I'm sure there are some. It was a generalization. And if i felt piano was causing my children trauma I would probably not make them do it. Edited by KrissiK
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around the 4/5/6 age - depending on the child. Child #1 was bright, eager and intuitively capable at 4 (suzuki violin). That was the start of a family culture so child #2 was asking when he got to start lessons by age 4. Child #3 started at 4 but it was mostly just a play 12/18 months. Now at age 6 (and a different teacher/method) he's making real progress - he is a different personality and needed the extra maturity time, not just in music either.

 

I require it like a school subject and they can drop once they reach a certain proficiency or convince me otherwise. It becomes part of the routine so they just do it. I don't base the decision to do music on their feelings, they might whine at practicing but they love the feeling of playing well. If nothing else, a 17 year old accomplished musician can earn a lot more per hour, teaching or performing, than in a typical teenage job...

Edited by LMD
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Not a "requirement" since I believe they all started at different ages to to availability of inexpensive or accessible lessons, but I would say age 8ish or third grade. I required they start with piano and work through the level 2 book in he Alfred series. After that quitting or adding/switching instruments was an option.

 

All three played in the handbell choir at our former church. One went through Alfred's level 4, another switched to voice and is currently learning to play the ukulele.

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I'm curious for those who require fluent reading- why? A child doesn't have to be able to read to read music. Neither of my young kids can read past basic CVC words, but they're both able to read letters and have no problem picking up the music in the lesson books. So I was just curious as to why that's a requirement. Is it a maturity thing?

I don't have a good reason why we waited until my kids were reading well. I just didn't want to deal with frustration of learning to read words and music at the same time.

L

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We waited til they were 10ish, which I know some people consider "late". But I felt they could make quicker progress if we waited til they were older to start, which I hoped would make it more enjoyable and less if a chore because they could play "real" songs more quickly and feel that pride in accomplishment more quickly. I hoped to motivate them to play because they liked it, not because they had to. :)

So far it's worked. I've never had to nag the oldest 3 to practice and they are all still taking lessons at 13,15, and 17. I'm sure others have other experiences and I'm definitely not saying they can't learn to love to play if they start early, but waiting was definitely the right decision for us.

 

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I think it depends on the instrument. Playing a big instrument like the clarinet, bassoon, trombone etc is best left until 10/11yrs old IMO, but most percussion, piano, violin, piccolo etc can be started much earlier. I don't actually remember learning the piano - I played as a tot on my mum's lap and it went from there. My nephew started violin at 5yrs old.

 

 

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I started older DD in piano in 2nd grade and plan to do the same with younger DD. It's not optional. I require a 15 minute daily practice session. I have not decided what the criteria would be for stopping yet. A few years at least or switch to another instrument.

 

We do swimming in the summer and tennis fall and spring. We also do Hebrew school at our synagogue Sunday mornings, though next year in third grade older DD will have to go Wednesdays as well.

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I don't think that there is one perfect age to start music lessons. Some children start gentle programs, such as Suzuki method, as young as 2 or 3. A lot depends on the child's interest and the parent's willingness to be involved.  From my experience, the more involved a parent is in the lessons and practice the more success a younger child will have.

 

For the OP, if you as the parent value music instruction, then get involved as much as you can. Sit in on the lessons, assist with practices, play classical music or the specific music CDs at home and in the car, bring family to the recitals. If one instrument isn't a great fit, then try another instrument. The violin is a very challenging instrument.  

 

There's nothing wrong with participating in gymnastics, but it shouldn't mean a young child cuts out everything else. Are you also planning on cutting out math, science, etc. so she can REALLY go for one activity at age 6? Unfortunately, I suspect some people actually do fall into that mindset. Young children should have as many opportunities for trying out things as possible. Age 6 and 7 is not the age to start specializing and cutting out everything else. 

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I don't think that there is one perfect age to start music lessons. Some children start gentle programs, such as Suzuki method, as young as 2 or 3. A lot depends on the child's interest and the parent's willingness to be involved.  From my experience, the more involved a parent is in the lessons and practice the more success a younger child will have.

 

For the OP, if you as the parent value music instruction, then get involved as much as you can. Sit in on the lessons, assist with practices, play classical music or the specific music CDs at home and in the car, bring family to the recitals. If one instrument isn't a great fit, then try another instrument. The violin is a very challenging instrument.  

 

There's nothing wrong with participating in gymnastics, but it shouldn't mean a young child cuts out everything else. Are you also planning on cutting out math, science, etc. so she can REALLY go for one activity at age 6? Unfortunately, I suspect some people actually do fall into that mindset. Young children should have as many opportunities for trying out things as possible. Age 6 and 7 is not the age to start specializing and cutting out everything else. 

 

 

To the first bolded paragraph, I have a 10 year old who started instruments at 4, so I'm well versed in parental participation.  He started drums at 4 and Suzuki double bass at 5, and Suzuki is big on parental involvement. We play all kinds of music, go to the orchestra, etc. My oldest is super musical and talks about almost nothing else so she is basically surrounded by music. She started on piano and switched to violin. (Her twin was flying past her and the teacher thought it was a good idea to pick a different instrument for her, and DD was really exited to play violin.)  My oldest is taking piano now after drums, then bass.  We aren't afraid to switch, with the counsel of the music teacher being a very important piece of this.

 

As to the second bolded paragraph, that is a pretty slippery slope statement to make.  I'm not Bela Karolyi.  Why are academics even being brought up? It's not about cutting out EVERYTHING else. However, she is wanting to add in a second gym day and we are very against over scheduling. 

 

**There are other things at play here, her brothers are both very musical.  Her twin is sitting for a level 2 scholarship audition this Friday after starting the piano less than 5 months ago.  Both of her brothers can play songs by ear, they got my husband's musical bend. (He's one of 4 boys, all play multiple instruments, my 62 year old FIL currently plays in a few bands.  It's in their blood.)  She's feeling frustrated.  I am all about persevering but not to the point where it starts destroying the kid's self esteem. Further, I'm not talking about giving it up for good, just maybe taking a year off. We talked about getting a Ukulele and learning online or looking for a group class.  She just might need something more gentle right now.  Her brothers are also a little more academically inclined than she is and it's really important to me that I help her find and nurture her strengths, and one is gymnastics.  We don't have Olympic dreams here. Just healthy kid dreams.

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 There's nothing wrong with participating in gymnastics, but it shouldn't mean a young child cuts out everything else. Are you also planning on cutting out math, science, etc. so she can REALLY go for one activity at age 6?

 

There is nothing wrong with a 6 year old specializing on one activity and doing other activities like music and art as recreational.

My children's public school neighbor does gymnastics three times a week and swimming twice a week since kindergarten after school. Academics were not neglected. Her dad tutor her math after dinner.

 

She's feeling frustrated.  I am all about persevering but not to the point where it starts destroying the kid's self esteem. Further, I'm not talking about giving it up for good, just maybe taking a year off.

My younger lags my older so I get it. The self esteem aspect is tricky.
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I haven't started at the same age for all of my kids. 

 

I do consider some music a requirement, just like math.  I've tended to start around the time I felt they could sit through the lesson and also when they were ready to read.  This was for basic theory/piano.  If they were interested in other instruments that might wait a bit depending on the physical requirements.

 

My girls started choir and piano around 5/6 when they began K.  One started guitar later on when I thought she could manage the strings.  When I've seen younger kids (4/5) in piano at the recitals, I've not overall thought the outcomes were great for the time and effort, even in a program directed to childhood learning - I felt like dance was perhaps a better introduction to music and more in line with their body skills.

 

My son has been a late reader, so he just started choir this year at 6.5 and we didn't do the same music program as the girls - his reading skills don't line up quite right with it.  He may start with the private teacher when he's a bit older.  He's interested in dance too though, so he may go more in that direction.  He's been learning a little ukulele at home which he enjoys.

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I'm curious for those who require fluent reading- why? A child doesn't have to be able to read to read music. Neither of my young kids can read past basic CVC words, but they're both able to read letters and have no problem picking up the music in the lesson books. So I was just curious as to why that's a requirement. Is it a maturity thing?

 

I kind of feel that the readieness to read music and text are similar developmental skills.  A child unready for reading text isn't going to be ready to read music either.

 

Now, if the program is desgned that way, they can learn them at the same time and that's what my girls did, but I know I've wanted to spend more time on text with my son before dividing our focus. 

 

My second daughter as it happens plays really well by ear, she'll often learn her older sisters songs that are well above her grade level.  It's made learning to read music a slower process for her, and her teacher had to really emphasize it early on.

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To the first bolded paragraph, I have a 10 year old who started instruments at 4, so I'm well versed in parental participation.  He started drums at 4 and Suzuki double bass at 5, and Suzuki is big on parental involvement. We play all kinds of music, go to the orchestra, etc. My oldest is super musical and talks about almost nothing else so she is basically surrounded by music. She started on piano and switched to violin. (Her twin was flying past her and the teacher thought it was a good idea to pick a different instrument for her, and DD was really exited to play violin.)  My oldest is taking piano now after drums, then bass.  We aren't afraid to switch, with the counsel of the music teacher being a very important piece of this.

 

As to the second bolded paragraph, that is a pretty slippery slope statement to make.  I'm not Bela Karolyi.  Why are academics even being brought up? It's not about cutting out EVERYTHING else. However, she is wanting to add in a second gym day and we are very against over scheduling. 

 

**There are other things at play here, her brothers are both very musical.  Her twin is sitting for a level 2 scholarship audition this Friday after starting the piano less than 5 months ago.  Both of her brothers can play songs by ear, they got my husband's musical bend. (He's one of 4 boys, all play multiple instruments, my 62 year old FIL currently plays in a few bands.  It's in their blood.)  She's feeling frustrated.  I am all about persevering but not to the point where it starts destroying the kid's self esteem. Further, I'm not talking about giving it up for good, just maybe taking a year off. We talked about getting a Ukulele and learning online or looking for a group class.  She just might need something more gentle right now.  Her brothers are also a little more academically inclined than she is and it's really important to me that I help her find and nurture her strengths, and one is gymnastics.  We don't have Olympic dreams here. Just healthy kid dreams.

 

I don't think it's a problem if some kids don't do big things with music.  But I think wintermom's point may have been that many people consider it a school subject like math - kids here have to do music in school through grade 9. 

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But I think wintermom's point may have been that many people consider it a school subject like math - kids here have to do music in school through grade 9.

My kids music lessons in public school for k-2nd was a class period (approximately an hour) per week of choir. My kids spent more time than that at home tinkering with my piano without formal lessons. 3rd grade onwards was school band for a class period per week but OP was talking about her 6 year old daughter who would be in 1st grade for my local public schools.

 

Math on the other hand was at least two class periods daily from Kindergarten onwards.

 

ETA:

My pitch perfect kids has vision issues. My younger boy has tracking issues while my oldest find enlarged scores easier to learn from before switching back to normal size scores.

Edited by Arcadia
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I don't think it's a problem if some kids don't do big things with music.  But I think wintermom's point may have been that many people consider it a school subject like math - kids here have to do music in school through grade 9. 

 

I think music in school is once a week and younger grades aren't learning to read music or anything. I am with everyone that music is important, which was why I qualified my question with "If you require music.."  It's just these dang kids not fitting the molds I thought they would. :lol:

 

ETA:  Yes, she is in first grade, and a young first as her b-day is in July.

Edited by Runningmom80
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My kids music lessons in public school for k-2nd was a class period (approximately an hour) per week of choir. My kids spent more time than that at home tinkering with my piano without formal lessons. 3rd grade onwards was school band for a class period per week but OP was talking about her 6 year old daughter who would be in 1st grade for my local public schools.

 

Math on the other hand was at least two class periods daily from Kindergarten onwards.

 

ETA:

My pitch perfect kids has vision issues. My younger boy has tracking issues while my oldest find enlarged scores easier to learn from before switching back to normal size scores.

 

 

I think music in school is once a week and younger grades aren't learning to read music or anything. I am with everyone that music is important, which was why I qualified my question with "If you require music.."  It's just these dang kids not fitting the molds I thought they would. :lol:

 

ETA:  Yes, she is in first grade, and a young first as her b-day is in July.

 

Well, sure, music in school may be pretty rudimentary, but offering something a little better is a reason many people choose to homeschool.

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Well, sure, music in school may be pretty rudimentary, but offering something a little better is a reason many people choose to homeschool.

 

Right....someone was using PS music to imply that music should be a required subject, or rather using it as a guide for when to start.  I was just pointing out that PS music isn't usually anything in depth in the younger ages.

 

 

I guess I don't hold music in the same regard as things like math and writing. I'm also not a rigorous homeschooler so that may be where the disconnect is here. I'm not even classical. :leaving:

Edited by Runningmom80
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Right....someone was using PS music to imply that music should be a required subject, or rather using it as a guide for when to start.  I was just pointing out that PS music isn't usually anything in depth in the younger ages.

 

 

I guess I don't hold music in the same regard as things like math and writing. I'm also not a rigorous homeschooler so that may be where the disconnect is here. I'm not even classical. :leaving:

 

Yes, that was me.

 

I would never treat it as an extra in elementary school.  That doesn't mean it gets as much time as core subjects, necessarily, but it is required.

 

And if we're going to spend any time on it, I'd rather it be time well spent.  Not a tick in a box.. It doesn't have to mean lessons but that is an effective way to get basic theory.

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To the first bolded paragraph, I have a 10 year old who started instruments at 4, so I'm well versed in parental participation.  He started drums at 4 and Suzuki double bass at 5, and Suzuki is big on parental involvement. We play all kinds of music, go to the orchestra, etc. My oldest is super musical and talks about almost nothing else so she is basically surrounded by music. She started on piano and switched to violin. (Her twin was flying past her and the teacher thought it was a good idea to pick a different instrument for her, and DD was really exited to play violin.)  My oldest is taking piano now after drums, then bass.  We aren't afraid to switch, with the counsel of the music teacher being a very important piece of this.

 

As to the second bolded paragraph, that is a pretty slippery slope statement to make.  I'm not Bela Karolyi.  Why are academics even being brought up? It's not about cutting out EVERYTHING else. However, she is wanting to add in a second gym day and we are very against over scheduling. 

 

**There are other things at play here, her brothers are both very musical.  Her twin is sitting for a level 2 scholarship audition this Friday after starting the piano less than 5 months ago.  Both of her brothers can play songs by ear, they got my husband's musical bend. (He's one of 4 boys, all play multiple instruments, my 62 year old FIL currently plays in a few bands.  It's in their blood.)  She's feeling frustrated.  I am all about persevering but not to the point where it starts destroying the kid's self esteem. Further, I'm not talking about giving it up for good, just maybe taking a year off. We talked about getting a Ukulele and learning online or looking for a group class.  She just might need something more gentle right now.  Her brothers are also a little more academically inclined than she is and it's really important to me that I help her find and nurture her strengths, and one is gymnastics.  We don't have Olympic dreams here. Just healthy kid dreams.

 

Your OP was very vague and didn't include any of this information. It's pretty hard to guess just what you had in mind, and I gather I missed the boat completely. I don't see the point of a general poll when you already have all the answers you need and want. 

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Your OP was very vague and didn't include any of this information. It's pretty hard to guess just what you had in mind, and I gather I missed the boat completely. I don't see the point of a general poll when you already have all the answers you need and want.

I made the poll to answer my actual question, which was "at what age do you require your child to begin an instrument?" I didn't ask for advice on how to make lessons work, and while I usually just appreciate the sentiment when the advice is not needed, I felt like your first reply was a tad condescending. If I misread your tone, I apologize.

Edited by Runningmom80
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While I can't say that I 'required' my kids to begin an instrument, we did encourage it.  DD started at 8 when she was offered free piano lessons for a term by a 4th year music student at a local university and she has continued until now and probably will for another year at least.  DS had no interest in piano but did want to try guitar so he started shortly before his 8th birthday and has also continued (he's anxiously awaiting his 10th birthday since he was apparently told he would get a full size guitar for that birthday by some irresponsible parent).  He would have started earlier but I just felt the guitar was a bit tougher to pick up when you are young than some instruments so I wanted to give him an extra year to mature and be, hopefully, less frustrated.

 

As for me, I took piano for many many years and although I don't regret learning the piano at all, I do regret taking it for as long as I did.  In the end, my parents felt my piano trumped volleyball and I had to quit the volleyball team.  I think I would have been a pretty decent, possibly university scholarship material volleyball player given that I started playing again after high school in fun leagues and have done very well in those and had I not taken those last two years of piano, my volleyball trajectory might have been very different.  Oh well, at least I'm still playing (both volleyball and piano) and having fun!

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One child wanted to learn to play piano, so we had her start when she was interested at age 6. She didn't want to continue after age 9/10, and she regrets that now.

 

Ds was never interested, and I worried that allowing dd to start so young was part of the problem. I wanted him to have an exposure to music and playing the piano, so I made him take lessons starting at 12. I wanted the maturity to be there to practice without complaining. We just stopped lessons because of financial reasons, but he was happy about it. 

 

 

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