These guidelines will help you to have a successful, rewarding experience learning an instrument.

1. How Young is too Young – Starting at the Right Age
Adults can start any instrument at any time. Their success is based on how willing they are to commit to practicing. It’s Never Too Late!

For children, starting at the right age is a key element to the success of their lessons. Every child is different so the "right age" is usually whenever they express an interest. Some people will tell you “the sooner the better” but unless a child has indicated a desire to play a particular instrument this attitude can actually backfire and be a negative. 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. If the child waits to start lessons until they ask for them their progress can be much faster.

3 – 4 Years Old
If a pre-schooler has a keen desire and wants to start music, a group preschool music & dance class will give them a good foundation in music basics, which will be helpful in later private lessons. At this age, some children do better in a group setting and the combination of movement and music helps the child internalize the musical concepts. Private lessons for this age group can work as long as the instructor has had experience working with pre-school aged children.

Piano/Keyboard: At our studio 3 years old is the youngest age that we start children in private piano lessons and the approach focuses on ear training and rhythm skills. At 5 they will begin learning to read music as they have begun to develop longer attention spans, have pre-reading skills, and can retain material with ease at this age.

Guitar – Acoustic, Electric and Bass: 5 years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons. Guitar
playing requires a fair amount of pressure on the fingertips from pressing on the strings. Children under 8
generally have small hands and may need to begin with a 3⁄4 size guitar. It takes a while to develop calluses on the fingers and so playing can be uncomfortable at first. Bass guitar students generally are 10 years old and older.

Voice Lessons: 8 years old is recommended as the youngest age for private vocal lessons. Due to the physical nature of voice lessons (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 drums student is 5. This varies greatly depending on the size of the child. They have to be able to reach both the pedals and the cymbals. Hand drumming can be taught as early as 5 years old as well.

Flute, Clarinet & Saxophone: 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.

Violin: We accept violin students for Suzuki method from the age of 3. The most productive learning in a private setting occurs when the beginner is 5 or older for similar reason as for the piano.

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

2. Insist on Private Lessons when Learning a Specific Instrument
Group classes work well for preschool music program, and theory lessons. However, when actually learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior since in private lessons it is hard to miss anything, and each student can learn at their own pace. This means the teacher does not have 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.
For that lesson period, the student is the primary focus of the teacher.
The teachers also enjoy this as they do not have to divide their attention between 5 – 10 students at a time and can help the student be the best they can be.

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 studio environment a student cannot be distracted by tv., pets, ringing phones, siblings or anything else. In a professional studio environment students are also motivated by hearing peers who are at different levels and by being exposed to a variety of musical instruments.

4. Making Practicing Easier
As with anything, improving in 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:

a) Time – Set the same time every day to practice so it becomes part of a routine or habit. 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.

b) Repetition – We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners. For a young child 20 or 30 minutes seems like an eternity. Instead of setting a time frame, we use repetition. For example, practice this piece 4 times every day, and this scale 5 times a day. The child then 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.

c) Rewards – This works very well for both children and adult students. Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful week of practicing. Parents can encourage children to practice by granting them occasional rewards for successful practicing. In our studio we sometimes reward young children for a successful week or practicing with stars and stickers on their work. Praise tends to be the most coveted award – there just is no substitute for a pat on the back for a job well done. Sometimes we all have a week with little practicing, in that case there is always next week.

5. Use Recognized Teaching Materials
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 very young beginners, and books for adult students that have never played before. There are books that can start you at a level you are comfortable with. These materials have been researched and are continually upgraded and improved 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, teachers and institutions will recognize the materials and be able to smoothly continue from where the previous teacher left off. In addition to standard music books, our teachers can create individualized learning materials for their students to enhance the lesson experience.

Have Fun!!!
Music should be something that you enjoy for a lifetime. So, try not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself or your children to learn too quickly. Everyone learns at a different pace and the key is to be able to enjoy the journey.