Musical Chairs: The Right Time For Kiasu Parents To Start A Child's Music Education
It is never too late to start!
Parents in Singapore are known to be ‘kiasu’ (fear of losing out), with many rushing to send their children for various enrichment lessons, with music lessons being one of the most popular enrichment activities in Singapore.
As an owner of a music school and a music teacher, I have had many enquiries for piano lessons for children as young as 2-years-old!
When Is The Right Time For Children To Learn Music?
Image source: Gresilda Tan Yin Xue
While there is no right age to learn music, children who are too young may have difficulty focusing on one-to-one instrumental lessons like piano or violin and would be better off going for group music appreciation classes where they can learn basic music concepts in a fun way.
Children from age 4-years-old would be more suitable to try out instrumental lessons as they are able to focus and understand concepts better, but it also depends on each individual’s personality.
One way to find out whether a child is ready to learn music is to attend trial lessons and get some feedback from the teacher.
On the other hand, there are also parents who are unsure about whether to send their kids for music lessons, or whose children may be already learning but are on the verge of quitting due to lack of interest or progress. To help parents decide, perhaps knowing the benefits of music learning could help.
Benefits Of Music Education In Early Childhood
Music not only improves motor, auditory and visual skills, but there have been many case studies where students who play classical music do better academically than their peers in school.
This is because as compared to any other arts activities, learning music provides the most benefits as it engages almost every part of the brain, and these benefits are greater for children who start young as their brains are still developing.
Research has also shown that playing the piano could even help improve mental health by relieving stress, provided the child is playing pieces they enjoy and do not find too difficult.
“It Is Never Too Late To Start!”
Image source: Gresilda Tan Yin Xue
Other reasons parents are on the fence include thinking that their children are too old to start learning or too busy to commit. But no! It is never too late to start!
I always use myself as an example as I only started taking lessons in piano, western flute and vocals at the age of 19 and managed to achieve diplomas in all in four years. So it is definitely possible to start learning at any age.
Also, parents do not have to worry too much about having to commit to long hours of practice as practice duration could be as short as 10 minutes, and increase over time based on the child’s level, age, and objective.
If they are preparing for graded exams, or if parents want their child to excel in music, then more commitment has to be put in. If they are learning for leisure or relaxation, then they can choose to commit to fewer practice hours.
Benefits Of Music Education In Early Childhood: Why Music Could Be The Enrichment Class For Your Child
Image source: Gresilda Tan Yin Xue
It is also common for parents in a competitive society like Singapore to overly focus on their children’s grading exams but sometimes playing the same pieces over and over again could be boring and can cause children to lose interest over time.
So it would be good for children to also learn their favourite music pieces concurrently with their exam pieces, making lessons and home practice more enjoyable.
Some students in my school choose to learn pop songs or popular kids’ songs like Baby Shark as their leisure pieces! Participating in music concerts or recitals are also useful in helping kids gain confidence and motivation to practise.
Many students in my school look forward to their next recital and are always excited to choose their concert piece for the next recital right after they finish one!
Besides performing, parents or guardians can also bring their children out to watch music concerts to further increase their interest in music.
Back at home, they can also set aside some time and provide a conducive environment for their children to practice as some kids may not have the discipline to practise due to many other distractions like toys, iPad, television etc. So apart from having a good teacher, parental support is vital as well.
As a music educator, I would definitely encourage students to continue learning music if they are able to. However, they should not be forced to continue learning if they really dislike it as everyone has different interests.
There are many other enrichment activities out there which they could explore and enjoy. But for me, my number one choice would always be music.
This article was written by VIP Parent Gresilda Tan Yin Xue for theAsianparent.
Lead image source from Gresilda Tan Yin Xue.
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