Can a three year old learn piano?

 

What is the best age to start learning music?

Over the many years of teaching and engaging in children music journey, many parents have asked us this golden question,“what is the best age to start learning music?” 

To be honest, we can't give you a template answer because it varies from child to child and we believe that every child is different.

In AIM Music Academy, we are currently providing music lessons to students of all ages, ranging from three years old to adult students and even senior citizens. 

"Learning music is like learning another language" 

There are many researches and studies which show that the earlier a child is exposed to a new language, the easier it will be for him or her to pick it up. These are proved by scientific facts and real life experiments done by researchers in the past. Hence, when a child is given the opportunity to learn the language of music, most of them are fascinated with it and get engaged with it.

"Every student is different"

Each student is different and unique. Hence what might work for your three year old might not work with another child in the same age group. We have seen very young talents who amazed us by how fast they could master simple musical task and then we quickly step up the pace. Each level has different challenges for the kid. Most of them are good enough to overcome them.

Here are some questions to ask yourself before deciding to enrol your child in lessons:

1. Does he/she express an interest in music? 

If not, it doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t ready, but if you have a child who really responds to music, through dancing clapping, even banging in the table, that’s a sign that it’s time to channel that excitement into one on one music lessons. 

A teacher can show them how to clap on beat and sing songs, explore different percussion instruments, play simple piano notes and start to identify basic note reading and rhythmic patterns. By hearing and touching the piano can really stimulate the eyes and mind.

2. Did you notice your child constantly playing on your music instruments?

Do they gravitate towards other instruments? If you start noodling on your guitar, are they at your feet either listening or attempting to strum some chords? Those are pretty good indications that they might really benefit from more structured music lessons.

3. Is your child overactive at times?

Many times when a child is bored, they will become restless and start to overact at everything they come across. If we don't occupy their time with something useful, they will start jumping on your head. We have seen many kids who are hyperactive, once they start learning music, they start to clam down and learn to behave at school and at home. Studies have shown that music can give a soothing effect on the mind and train them to be discipline in life.

Four years old is an optimal age to begin a solid music lesson. At this point, children are usually pretty good at being able to sit and focus with a music teacher in their home. But if you have a curious four or even three year old who you know has the attention span for a music lesson, by all means, give it a try! 

In reality, there is no agreed upon “best age” to start music lessons. The typical age range given for starting structured music learning goes from 3 to 8.

At the end of the day, every child is different and only you as the parents know your child’s interests and abilities best. 

Expose them to a variety of music and instruments, attend trial classes, see what catches their attention, and consider what it is you want them to get out of their music journey. 

We have many parents coming to our music academy requesting to let their three year old to attend trial lessons for piano, ukulele and group singing class. They end up choosing the one their child loves the most. If they go back home singing the song they just learn in the group class and following the actions taught by the teacher, we believe it's a positive sign. 

Feel free to reach out to us for proper individualised music counselling for your child and of course arrange for trial lessons for their exposure.