About when to start kids on piano:
I had always heard that kids need to know how to read before they should start piano lessons. Because if they can read words/books/whatever, then they can read music. Summer started taking lessons in 3rd grade (same age as I was). She did fantastic from the beginning but she could have started much sooner. Sierra wasn't even in kindergarten when she started so she certainly wasn't reading. she did fine as well. of course, she didn't progress as quickly, but in the end she will come out ahead. When Sierra first started I had some concerns and was actually afraid that had started too soon. It seemed that she was just memorizing the notes and that she wasn't really reading the music. I flipped out and went to the teacher thinking that my precious pennies were going to waste. The teacher assured me more than once that it was ok. She was learning ear training. She didn't know how to read (words) and she didn't know that she was supposed to keep her eyes on the music the whole time. It sounded hokey to me but I was patient and sure enough, she learned to play by ear and easily eventually learned to read music as well. It was so crazy watching it all develop. (But if you think about it, kids do learn to read in the very beginning by looking at the pictures as well as the words, so it's kinda the same, sort of...)
So, I am all about starting them early, when they are excited about it. Especially boys. I think of all the boys I took lessons with and most of them took for only 2 to 3 years and I never remember any of them ever playing for anything once they quit. I think they need to get in several good years of lessons before they hit that 4th grade time frame when they get more and more interested in sports and things and they start to develop the attitude that piano lessons are for girls.
Cole (age 3) has been taking Music in Me for 1 year. Mostly I started doing it because he needed help/support in training for his Nursery class at church. so, I did this class with him because it was once a week and the parent stays with the child. I thought it would be a good place to start. It was. But, Cole struggled. He wouldn't sing or do the hand motions or play on the keyboard or participate in any way. Now he loves it. Like I said before, he will sing, play the notes on the keyboard and do all of the activities. It's not a piano class, just as introduction to music. I did kindermusic with Sierra for a while and it has some similarities. Now that he has done it for 1 year he can move up to the next level where they spend more and more time on the keyboard. oh, and they do flashcards each week and Cole can identify things like Base Cleft, Treble cleft, quarter note, quarter rest, whole note, whole rest. Now, certainly he doesn't know what that all means, but it's all just introduction. We'll see how he does in this class. it's pretty flexible and he can repeat a semester if he needs more basics before he starts the lessons. Either way, he will be in a piano class by next fall or next spring. I'm pretty excited to see how he does. Either way, it's comparable to a preschool class once a week because what do they really learn at preschool? take turns, listen to the teacher, sing, listen. So, even if he doesn't come out of his little music lessons able to write a symphony he still is gaining valuable skills. So, I'm of the opinion, the younger the better.
Another thing they do is give you a CD with the music for that particular semester on it. Some times it's just the music, sometimes words, and sometimes it includes the solfege. So, we'll be cruising around town singing to our piano music. What a great use of time!
That's all. Maybe.
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