At what age can a child start violin lessons? Is there any real advantage in learning piano first?

Answer 1

A child will learn at any age that they show interest. My two year old saws away on my viola right now, but is she learning? Maybe, but she's having fun. Do I have her in lessons, heck no...but I'm keeping it an option once I think she'll get something out of it. Piano would be good, I had no piano background and I'm a fine musician. Again, if their is interest it might be a good idea, but don't force anything.

Answer 2

My second son took Suzuki violin lessons for two or three years at about age 4-6. He really wanted to learn, and because I am a musician also, I knew he had a really good ear. The Suzuki method starts out teaching by ear and later introduces reading notes. My only problem with it - and it could be just the teachers here - is it doesn't move them into reading notes fast enough. He eventually took some piano and now is learning clarinet (my instrument).

I always tell people that if a child wants to know music and doesn't have a preference for an instrument, the piano is the best place to start because it is an exact visual of what happens in music. Music is "math in the air", and the piano makes it easy to see the distances between notes that you cannot see as exactly on other instruments. Eventually, if they become serious about music they will have to develop at least a general knowledge and ability on the piano anyway. It doesn't have to be advanced - I never had the coordination to play very well on piano - but my knowledge of piano as a youngster helped tremendously when I went on to clarinet and music theory, and even helped out with math!

I would say that it is better to learn an instrument than no instrument, so if your child is asking you for a particular instrument, I would go with that rather than force him or her into piano. If not, the piano is a great starting point for any instrument especially if the child is of reading age.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Especially for a boy, I think five or six might be a better age to start, but you could check around and see if a teacher would take him. My piano teacher would not take any child under first grade. In kindergarten I learned the basics from one of that teacher's students who was a senior in high school. I think one thing at a time is also a good idea. Is there a guitar that will fit him? On a much earlier question I answered about Kindermusic, I said I saw it as a waste of time as when my son (now 15) and I went, it was a lot of stuff I thought I could teach him at home, having a musical background myself. However, they have more than the mommy and me classes and maybe some music-and-movement type of classes would get him started on a musical path. I'm not sure if there are teachers who would take 3-4 year olds in piano. Their hands might be too small to do much and they might have trouble concentrating. But look into it and more power to you if you can find a teacher. How nice that your boy is interested already. Make sure the lessons and songs he's learning are fun. The best musicians did start out young and thought of music as play, not work.

Answer 4

I would not start till 6 years. Research has shown that starting too early can damage the hands due to over working before they are developed. My piano teacher refused to teach anyone under 5 due to hand damage.

If the child wants to learn the violin there is no need to do piano aswell but an advantage later in date. If the violin is wanted then you would be wasting years making the child do piano when it could be further on in violin. It really should be the childs choice.

Answer 5

The right age to start music lessons is when the child shows interest, and the right instrument is the one the child wants to play.

To develop interest in music, let the kid hear good classical music at home for much of the time. All music starts with the ears. Nothing too heavy & romantic at first; little ears & brains don't cope well with the dense texture of a Beethoven symphony, but are fine with Mozart, Handel, Schumann chamber music etc. Sing to and with your child as much as possible from infancy & keep it going.

Yes, a harmony instrument is a definite advantage, even if the kid chooses violin, oboe or whatever. It need not be keyboard though; classical guitar is just as good. Any musician will sooner or later find his way around a keyboard even if he never plays it properly - so it doesn't matter if he prefers guitar. Also, a guitar is portable.

Grade exams? Sometimes useful, but don't let them become an end in themselves; the limited practice of a few test pieces can get obsessive & stand in the way of the music.

Good luck. Enjoy it - it's fun, and outlasts most pleasures (including sex, apparently).

Answer 6

I learned the piano from 5 and the violin from 6. These were both good ages to start (I'm now 28) I think as I was old enough to understand what I was doing but young enough to have the time to devote to studying them properly.

I would say there was a definite advantage in learning piano first because having to learn 2 clefs instead of just one meant that I learned them at the same time, rather than becoming very familiar with the treble clef first and running behind with the bass clef when starting piano.

It also gives you I think the chance to develop your understanding of melody and accompaniment better than simply learning a solo instrument first.

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

Children taught using the Suzuki method may start at 3 1/2-4 years of age. Keyboard skills are important, but I'd start the violin first and add piano later, if you're really aiming at learning the violin.

Answer 8

age child start violin lessons real advantage learning piano

Answer 9

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Answer 10

to become a virtuoso violinist it is best to start from the age of 3 and taking piano lessons at the same time is a good idea