What Is a Good Age to Start Piano Lessons?

My son takes Piano and my daughter.
My son started when he was 5, he is now 6.
But he loves it.
HE wanted to take piano.
He practices, without my even having to nag or remind him.
The Teacher they have, is great with kids, and specializes in teaching kids. She knows about age related development per kids, and their attention spans.
Practicing for my son, is only 15 minutes a day.
Which he does, with no problem.

You need to query potential Teachers. And see what their approach is etc.

Seven is a better age. Little fingers aren't strong, and the piano is not like a string instrument, that can be small and get larger as the child grows.

I would wait if I were you. And I would NOT use the Suzuki piano method. It's great for violin and cello, but not for piano.

Dawn

Can she read? The rule of thumb is if they have some basic reading under their belt then they should be able to understand the keys on a piano during instruction. My daughter is 7 and we just got started. You can try it and see how it goes...!

I started my daughter on piano lessons when SHE asked for them.

I started learning at 5, but not formally. We had an old book of my aunt's that was called "Teaching Little Fingers to Play" and I taught myself from that book. At 5, I might have had some help from Mom in terms of reading instructions? but I really don't remember.

I started my daughter at 4 1/2 and I'm so glad! At that age, though she wouldn't have thought of it herself, she was excited to start. Now at six, she's got two years under her belt, is very good, likes performing, and has been taking violin for one year which is a breeze since she knows how to read music. She has also performed a violin concert in a nursing home and it has boosted her confidence in other areas to be "good" at something so young. I figure, if she ever wants to quit she can, but she'll have a good foundation by then. I think waiting until kids are older can work very well, or it can backfire because they may be frustrated to be "just beginning" while other kids are further along at an age when they have more divided attention with other things and could lose patience easier. Just a thought, though any age can work. 5 is a great age imo! We do traditional, not Suzuki. Suzuki can start even younger.

its pretty young. no reason to push this unless she has tremendous interest.

if you do suzuki, her age is fine

if you do traditional, it's best if she can read simple books so that physically, her eyes are trained to read left to right and follow lines, etc.

also, she needs to have the stamina and patience to sit through the lessons (typically 30-45 minutes).

The teacher near us starts them at 6-7 yrs. Basically between 1st and 2nd grade.

I lucked out and got a fantastic teacher to come to our house a few months after my daughter turned five. There is so many articles re: brain development and learning an instrument. The article I read recently suggested four/five. I started my daughter on it to give her another outlet for her emotions. Pretty funny now I can tell her mood by her playing.

If she is showing interest. If she has the attention span to work one-on-one with a teacher for 1/2 hour. If you feel she will have the discipline to practice on her own (with your encouragement of course).

Otherwise, I'd wait. My daughter started at age 9.

Depends on your daughter, the teacher and the style of teacher. I'd get some names of local piano teachers and ask around. Those who teach with a traditional style and start right away teaching them to read music usually like to wait until about 1st grade. Those who teach by ear or what I think used to be called "Suzuki" style start them younger. My boys both started about the end of 1st grade and that's worked out well for them.

Depends on the kids -- I'm the youngest of 4 and started playing when I was 4 because I saw my siblings and my mom playing. But my kids weren't ready until much older. You can ask a piano teacher to evaluate her.

Maybe. Depends on the teacher and the pupil. Do you have a teacher in mind? Be sure you find a good one - with good references regarding whether she (or he) works will with small children. Then call that teacher and discuss it.

My daughter just turned 5 last month and has been showing interest and asking me about taking piano lessons, but she has a lot of other stuff going on right now - just started kindergarten, dance lessons, gymnastics once a week too. I'm holding off until she's 7, although I might reconsider when she turns 6 if she's still wanting to. I just figured I would wait until her hands were a little bigger and she was better at reading. I was 7 when I started, as well as my brother.

Children start the piano as young as age 3, so I would think age 5 would be great. Of course, it depends on the child.

If she wants to play it is a good age, but if she is not actually interested it might turn her away from music. Is there a fun music school around that you can take her too? I would suggest someone who has studied music education, NOT performance at this level !!! If she turns out great that will be important later, but at this level and age you should have someone who has studied teaching children. Good Luck!

My son started when he was 5. He really enjoys it, and it's amazing how much progress he's made in just eight months.

5 is not a good age for any instrument and especially one like this With very rare exception. Wait till she's at least 7or 8 or even older. The penatontic wooden flute/recorder is best at age 6 or 7, this fits for the child's hearing and manipulation of fingers much better, is far more natural.

Most piano teachers if they're honest or any good at what they do will not teach a child under 7. Of course there are rare children that are especially gited before this age, most of them are real prodigies.

My oldest started at 5 and my youngest started at 5 1/2. I thought the timing was perfect.
I think it helps if they know how to read when they start.