At what age should your child start taking music lessons?

A common question parents ask is, “what age should my child be to start taking individual music lessons”? The answer to this question depends on the child and the instrument, but we recommend starting at the age of six or later. By this age, your child will have developed the fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination needed to begin playing an instrument. If you’d like to prepare your younger child for music lessons, try our popular Intro to Instruments group music classes! These classes for 4-6 year-olds introduce your child to a different instrument each week, such as piano, voice or guitar. This class is a great fit for children who have participated in our early childhood music programs and are curious about what comes next. Our Intro to Instruments group music class will help your child decide which instrument they like best as they transition into private instruction.

For 7-9 year-olds, we offer Intro to Instruments group music classes with a focus on one particular discipline, such as piano, voice or brass instruments. These classes are aimed at children who show an interest in a particular instrument, and are looking to explore that before committing to private lessons. In these four-week introductory group classes, your child will spend time playing with others, get introduced to note reading, and make music in a small group. This class is intended to explore musical and instrumental options in a little more depth to support later individual study.

Once your child is ready to move into individual music lessons, we offer an assessment of your child’s needs to match them with a faculty member for a free consultation to help you find the perfect fit! If you have a specific music teacher in mind, please call our office at 204-988-7650 to find out more about available music lesson slots in their schedule.

Individual instruction is available for virtually every genre and instrument, including piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, fiddling, voice, guitar, ukulele, drum kit, percussion, saxophone, flute, clarinet, recorder, french horn, harmonica, accordion and mandolin, just to name a few! If we don’t have an accredited instructor for the instrument you wish to study, we will seek to find one for you.

If your child is between the ages of four and six, you may be interested in our Musical Foundations program. These 30-minute private lessons are aimed at children who are ready for private lessons, but they haven’t chosen an instrument. This option provides exposure to singing and percussion instruments while developing skills in an individual setting.