When to start an instrument?

Parents sometimes ask the Symphony how early their children should start learning an instrument.

We asked the guest artists from our 2007-2008 Symphony Series and International Chamber Series when they started.

2 years

Janice Frehlauer, violin (piano at 4 years)  

3 years

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, clavier

Elton John, piano

Stirling Trent, violin

4 years

Shannon Lee, violin

5 years

Elena Dorozhkina, piano

Christina Kim, piano

Anton Mordazov, piano

John-Henry Crawford, cello

Rick Wu, piano

Anna McDonald, piano

Alison Chang, piano

6 Years

Sihyung Kim, violin

Wyndham Tsai, cello

Violetta Zharkova, piano

8 years

Grace Ho, piano, (cello at 9 years)

Its never too late to start.  Alfredo Arjona, who performed in one of our earlier International Chamber Series concerts, did not begin playing the piano until he was twenty.  Studying chemical engineering at the University of Veracruz in México he found he was more hooked on notes than molecules.  He has gone on to a distinguished career as a pianist after graduating from UNT's College of Music.

A while back we were contacted by a Dallas Morning News staffer who wanted to start her son on a piano before he was three.  However, her husband, who played for a well known NFL team, didn't want his son wimping around with musical instruments.  What to do? 

We recommended introducing the boy to a piano to see if he would he play it or tackle it.  Assuming he wanted to play, members of the Symphony orchestra said that around five was a good age to start piano.  Earlier for more compact instruments.

Symphony Board Member Prof. Pamela Mia Paul:

"Legend has it that when I was three, I began spending hours at the piano "improvising". When I was six, I walked up to my father and said 'I'm tired of my music. Can I learn your music now?'

 

"Its is NEVER too early to expose a child to music. Obviously, "private lessons" should wait until the child is old enough to sit still and concentrate for about 30 minutes. But there are MANY successful pre-school music programs that introduce children to the idea of singing, clapping, dancing, etc."

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