When is my child ready to begin taking private music lessons?

- written by Mark Biesterfeld, owner Petite Musician, Wheat Ridge, Colorado
The answer that I hear from private music teachers all the time is: 5 years of age. I think this is much too generalized and I usually offer a more complicated answer. There are three factors to weigh when deciding if your child is ready to being private lessons:

1- Basic Music Competence
As a teacher of early childhood music classes, this first item is the most important to me. We describe Basic Music Competence as the ability to sing in tune and beat in rhythm.
For children who have a rich musical home life and children who have been involved in informal, play- based music classes, Basic Music Competence can come as early as 3 years old. In general, children usually gain basic music competence between the ages of 5 and 8 years old but it could also come much later depending upon the child’s musical experiences.
I find that it is already hard enough for a child to master the intricacies of an instrument without having to also struggle simultaneously with basic rhythm and tonality issues. I find that children who start private lessons before they have achieved basic music competence are more likely to get discourage and start resisting the process. On the other hand, children who can already sing in tune and beat in rhythm generally find more success with their instrument and consequently have more fun! If your child is enjoying their lessons, it makes learning an instrument easier for everyone involved.
2- Ability to focus
The next question you need to ask yourself as a parent is “Can my child focus for a 30 minute lesson?” No one knows the answer to this better than you do! Children who take lessons when they still have a limited ability to focus can struggle for non-musical reasons. If your child is not yet ready to focus for that amount of time then it is best to wait a bit until they are ready.
3- Inclination
Finally, it is a huge help if your child is showing inclination towards a particular instrument before they begin lessons. Sometimes this inclination comes naturally to a child. More often you can influence this inclination by letting your child see different instruments in action. If you played an instrument as child, dust it off and play it! You will be amazed how interested your child will be to see and hear you play.
Take your children to a symphony. Arrive early or stay late and walk to the front to look at all the different instruments and talk about them. Many symphonies these days have programs designed to get children interested in music and these can be a great starting place.
Are there other children in your neighborhood who already play an instrument? Arrange to visit their house when the other child is practicing or giving a recital. Seeing other children play an instrument can often have the biggest influence on your child’s desire to learn an instrument! Just by exposing your child to these musical experiences you will generally find that your child begins to have an inclination towards a particular instrument.
Two instruments that are good “starters” are the violin and the piano. The guitar can be a challenge because both hands are moving but doing completely different motions. The last thing you want to do is have your child get frustrated and discouraged because there’s a good likelihood they’ll give up the instrument completely.
It is absolutely still possible for your child to have success without all of these factors being in place but when these three factors come together at approximately the same time your child will have the best possible chance of success with private lessons.
A Final Note: To find a good teacher, ask your friends who have children in lessons. A good teacher will have a strong following and word of mouth is a great way to find these teachers. The other option is to find a standardized curriculum – the best example being The Suzuki Method, which is what my children started in. If you check the Suzuki website, they can actually help you find teachers in your local area.
About Mark Biesterfeld and Petite Musician:
Mark Biesterfeld has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Indiana University and a Master’s Degree in Music from the University of Cincinnati. He has performed with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Colorado, Utah Festival Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Sarasota Opera. He has numerous concert credits appearing as a soloist with Kentucky Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.
Mark and his wife Leah Creek Biesterfeld are the owners of Petite Musician in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. They teach classes based on the Music Together curriculum. From Petite Musician’s website “Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for babies, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergarteners, and the adults who love them.” For more information on the Music Together program, click here. The program is widely available throughout the United States.
Petite Musician locations include Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, West Littleton, South Littleton, Highlands Ranch and Centennial, Colorado. In the fall of 2010 they are opening two new locations in Arvada and Downtown Littleton. Petite Musician was recently chosen as the 2010 Family Favorite for music classes by Colorado Parent magazine! The awards are voted on by parents all over the metro Denver area.

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