Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

If you've decided to enroll your homeschooler in music lessons, are you wondering what is the best age for a child to begin? Today on Home School Heartbeat, Mike Smith talks about the best time to start.

Mike Smith:

Traditional music teachers may tell you that a child is not ready for formal music lessons until he is between 5 and 8 years old. But if you are interested in music lessons because they will improve your child's overall brain function, you can start introducing him to the world of music when he is an infant.

You need not enroll your toddler in formal music lessons to begin challenging him musically. In fact, the Kindermusik program has become very successful in America by using music to encourage early learning and creativity in children between the ages of newborn and 7. Programs like Kindermusik suggest that you need not wait for your child to ask you if he can take lessons. Your child started learning his native tongue before he was able to speak. With age-appropriate music lessons, he can pick up the language of music in a similar manner.

Obviously, a child can learn an instrument throughout his life, but his learning pace will be slower the older he is when he begins lessons. One study in brain function found that the amount of time spent practicing music over a person's lifetime had little influence on the brain's structure. In fact, it was the age at which the musicians began playing that most affected brain structure. Those who were youngest when they began playing had the most development. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.