When Should My Child Start Lessons?

During conference time, this is the most asked question. When considering starting your child in private lessons, I ask you as parents to use your best judgement. Can your child focus on a single task for more than a few minutes? Are they showing innate interest in learning a new instrument? Do they have obvious musical talent that needs honing at this time?

Small children, kindergarten age or younger, usually cannot sit for long periods of time and focus on a task without becoming easily distracted. Sitting at a piano for twenty minutes and listening to instruction may not be developmentally appropriate for them.

However, if your child is showing interest and enthusiasm, I leave it up to you to decide when he or she is ready to begin formal lessons. As I told one parent during our recent conferences, the worst that could happen is that you realize he or she is not ready, and you put private lessons on hold for another year or two.

In this instance, I encourage you to seek out less demanding musical experiences for your child where they can participate comfortably without individualized pressure. Taking them to Theater in the Park, The Coterie, church choir, symphony and opera performances, and even live performances on DVD are great ways to keep your child's musical interests alive.

If you are interested in the excellent private musical lessons that St. Paul's has to offer, please contact Christina Lenon at clenon@speds.org and she will be happy to assist you!

Mrs. Haskamp