The 3 Determining Factors For Piano Lesson Readiness Of Young Children
Posted on: 21 February 2019
If your young child wants to learn to play the piano, then there are three things that determine when they are mature and developed enough to do so.
Does Your Child Have a Sincere Interest and Desire to Learn to Play the Piano
Though as a parent you may understand how learning to play the piano or another musical instrument will improve your child's ability to learn math and help in other areas of their learning as they get older and progress through school, your child is too young to understand this fact. Your child is still very young and simply wants to do the fun things they enjoy. They also will fight tooth-and-nail to avoid things they don't like to do. For this reason, your child needs to be the one pushing the issue to sign them up for piano lessons. If you are the one who keeps talking about it, then the chances are good that the lessons are more important to you and should probably wait until your child decides they want to learn to play the piano for the right reasons.
Has Your Child Grown and Matured Enough to Have Developed Finger Independence?
The medical term "finger independence" refers to a person's ability to move each finger on its own. Since this ability is necessary to successfully play the piano, you need to make sure your child possesses finger independence before they try to learn to play the piano or another musical instrument.
To test your child, ask them to hold up their hands and then give them verbal instructions to move various fingers. If they are able to move the fingers you ask them to, then they possess finger independence. If not, then they should wait before starting music lessons until they have developed this ability.
Can Your Child's Fingers Reach to Depress 5 White Keys at the Same Time?
To play the piano, your child's hand needs to be able to sit on the keyboard and depress five consecutive white keys at the same time. If this is a stretch and your child can only reach four keys, then their hands are not large enough yet to learn to play.
Where to Find Help with an Individual Readiness Determination
If you have read each of the factors listed above and are still not really sure if your child is ready to start piano lessons, then you should enlist the help of a local piano teacher. By spending a few minutes sitting with your child and talking to them, a seasoned music teacher can easily determine if they are ready to start piano lessons or if it would be better for everyone involved to wait for another year.
Share