Deciding to Start Piano Lessons
1) No one is every too old to start piano lessons. Even if you had the horrible experience of having played piano in the past and were told that you "weren't musical", you can still take piano lessons now and succeed.
Believe me when I say that no one is "unmusical." That statement usually stems from either poor teaching or a mismatch in an instructor's teaching style and a student's learning style. This can be remedied by knowing what you want to get out of piano lessons and "shopping around" with different piano teachers.
2) It's possible for a child to start piano lessons as early as 3 years old. However, there is a lot more to keep in mind when starting piano lessons with a child that young. Starting a child that young on piano lessons can be incredibly helpful to their development and intellectual growth. If done improperly, however, it can lead to lots of frustration and disappointment (not to mention the dissolution of the desire to play musical instruments).
If you would like your child who is under 6 years of age to start taking piano lessons, your involvement as the parent is crucial. I require parents of children that young to be present at every lesson. There are several reasons for this:
1) The presence of a parent often helps the child focus. If they know that you are involved and interested, they will be more willing to learn.
2) The presence of a parent also helps with problems with discipline. Children are much more well behaved (generally) when a parent is there and this always makes the lessons more productive.
3) Young children have a hard time remembering what they did several days ago. They also don't have a good concept of doing homework and what it means to practice well. There is a lot to remember when playing the piano (right keys, right fingers, right hand, curved fingers, loudness, etc...a long list!) A parents that sits in on the lessons can help their child keep all these things in mind.
What's On This Lens?
My Opinion in a Nutshell
I have found that the best time to start a child on piano lessons is between the ages of 6 and 12.
They have already started school so they know their alphabet, how to count, addition/subtraction, etc. They have begun to understand that learning things takes some hard work.
Children ages 6-12 are usually less shy/embarrassed to try new things and to experiment. This lack of self consciousness makes the lessons more fun and productive for everyone.
A Book Worth Reading
I think that lots of students have quit piano because they had an instructor whose teaching style did not fit the student's learning style.
There are many problems that arise as a result of this happening that lead to a students disinterest in piano. Many times the students doesn't understand what is really going on at the piano (especially theoretically). Also, they don't understand why they are spending the time to work on the things that they are instructed to learn (ei: scales). This is what I call the problem of the "missing big picture."
This books can be read by students as young as 12 (or so...depending on the student, of course). While it's written for a student, many parents of children that I teach have read this book and have found it to be helpful. They are better able to help their child succeed and are always more involved in the learning process (a major factor in a child's success!)
The Piano Lessons Book: The Piano Student's Guide For Getting The Most Out Of Practicing, Lessons, Your Teacher And Yourself
Amazon Price: $29.99 (as of 01/01/2010) 
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When to Start Piano Lessons
Starting piano lessons with a child that is 3 or 4 is very hard (if not nearly impossible) to do if you don't have an extremely involved parent. Because very young children find it hard to remember what they did an entire week ago, I would also recommend that child that young have two short lessons a week (15-20 min.) This also is a pretty good estimate of how long most children that age can pay attention.
I would say that it's possible to start piano lessons with a child whose parents don't come to the lesson at the age of 6. However, I would keep the lessons to at most half an hour because longer lessons tend to cause frustrations.
Find More Information
I've found that it's best to get many opinions from parents (who have already gone through this) and teachers and really consider the reasoning behind what they are saying.
Ultimately, only you can decide if your child is ready to start piano lessons but it's best to make this decision with the best information possible.
- UCB Parent Recommendations
- This is just one of the many websites that has recommendations from other parents who have already started their children in various music lessons. It's a good place to find out what style of musical lessons who good for very small children (Suzuki method comes to mind), etc.
I think that the teachers in this particular "conversation" have very good things to say about music lessons. - Children's Music Lessons: What to Look For
- This is one musician"s opinion on how to tell if your child is ready to play the piano. It also highlights what you need to do as a parent to cultivate a good environment for your child as they start playing the piano.
- When to Start Piano Lessons for Children
- This article highlights the advantages of having a child start piano lessons after they are at least 6 years old. They gives reasons such as hand size, attention span, and basic knowledge.
- Piano World Forums
- This is a really good forum discussion about what age to start children on piano lessons. This is a great place to get many different view points--the various pros and cons are very interesting to consider.
It also has information on good method books to use if you choose to start your children early on piano (less than 6 or so).
Learning Piano On Your Own
Learning Piano Online can either be incredibly fun or can be a total nightmare.
I have spent quite a bit of time looking over these books/audios/videos to check out the their quality and was really impressed by their approach to teaching piano.
Although I will always recommend getting a private teacher (makes sense since I am one!), I still highly recommend this program.
What I really like about this program is the immediate gratification that it brings since you learn basic piano chords first (instead of single notes, as in most piano method books and the way most teachers teach). Once you learn these, you can experiment with them and immediately start to build songs. It also makes it possible for you to start to learn popular piano songs since chords as mostly what those songs use.
As you progress, you'll learn the fundamentals of pretty much any style you would like to learn. I think one of the best things about this program is the variety, since a well rounded musician must know something about each unique style.
To check out what I'm talking about and find out how to
learn piano and keyboard on your own, check out this program.
Interesting Piano Blog
This is an interesting blog to read whether you play piano or not. If
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