What is the Best Age to Learn Piano?

JUNE 12TH, 2020

Am I too old to learn piano? Is my child too young to learn piano?

I get asked these questions all the time!  

Due to assumptions about a potential piano student's comprehension or attention spans, many piano teachers have strong reservations about teaching people of certain ages.  With all this confusion, how can you actually know what the best age is to start taking piano lessons?

What is the best age to start learning piano?

"It is never too early or too late to learn piano." The best age to learn piano is whatever age you are right now!  This applies to children as well as adults of any age. 

If your child is very young, cannot sit still, and does not know how to read, start them them taking piano lessons as soon as possible.  If you are a full-time student or an adult with very little time, start taking piano lessons as soon as you can.

I don't care if your child is 9 months old or if you are 99 years old, do not delay.  Get the ball rolling with the basics of learning how to play piano so that you will have a foundation to build upon. Waiting another day is only delaying the process of getting started and ultimately will not lead to you achieving your dreams of playing piano!

Why do piano teachers tell me my child is too young to learn piano?

Piano teachers typically base their opinions about the ideal age to learn piano on their own personal experiences.  If they were restricted from starting the process as a young child they are likely to view it as a good standard practice.  This is part of the "endless cycle" we tend to see that seems to be a part of a failed system for spreading the gift of playing piano to others.  If conditions are not "ideal", the student is either not accepted not expected to make progress.

Another thing you will notice about piano teachers that hesitate to teach a young child piano is that their concerns are generally not based on factual information.  Most of the concerns that I have ever heard are focused around the piano teacher's perception of a young child's incapacity to learn versus what they perceive the ideal student should be able to do. 

All of these are are "perceptions" that delay or prevent progress.  In the long-run they result in wasted time and loss of interest on the potential student's part.

Why it Makes No Sense to Wait to Start Teaching Your Child Piano

Piano teachers that tell parents to wait any amount of time to start teaching their children how to play musical instruments such as piano are sadly leading parents in the wrong direction.

No-one that denies your child piano lessons or discourages you from starting early can tell you a single harmful result that will come from you starting your child in piano lessons as early as possible.

If you listen to piano teachers that encourage you to wait any amount of time, you are missing a golden opportunity for your child to start learning piano early.

“If a child can learn how to walk and talk and hold a conversation, why wouldn’t he or she be able to play piano or any other instrument?”

“Why wait anyway?”. There is no sound reason to wait. Speculation and opinion are not rooted in facts.  The only real way to find out if your child is able to learn piano is to try teaching them piano, with an open mind.

With that being said, be positive! Go into the process believing that your child can do it.  Do not force piano lessons on them.  Allow them play, learn and experiment at their own pace. The bottom line is that you will never know if he is ready to learn piano or not until you sit him in front of a piano and see what happens.

I think your child can do it, here's why!

The question as to when a child should start learning to play piano has special meaning to me because in 2013, I was blessed to become father to a wonderful baby boy named Lynden. Like any parent, I am keenly concerned with every aspect of his life, including his physical, social, and spiritual as well as his mental development. Therefore, my feelings on the question of when a child should start learning to play piano is relative to how I feel about him starting to learn any useful skill.

My belief is that you should start a child learning piano or anything else worthwhile as early in the child's development as possible. In other words, if you can do so why not start immediately teaching your child to play piano, as soon as the child is born?

Scientists have proven that even the unborn child can learn things while still inside their mother’s womb. While I am certainly not insinuating that you can teach an unborn child to play piano, it is an ideal time to start training the child’s ear by intentionally playing music to aide in their development.  Classical music seems to be ideal for this purpose.  

Some piano teachers hesitate to teach older children and adults.

To complicate things even further, several piano teachers have told me that they do not want to deal with the complications associated with teaching piano to teenagers and adults.  This was exactly the scenario I experienced the third time I attempted to learn piano.  Imagine how surprised I was when I was told that I had been screened out and was denied the opportunity to learn piano all because I was deemed as being too old for piano lessons.

They explained to me that people within the adult age range suffer from lack of genuine interest in learning piano and have a lower ability to learn and retain their training. 

Lack of focus due to work schedules and other obligations is a major concern that student and teacher must address. Learning piano requires a certain degree of focus and to some extent, for piano lessons to be effective, they must become a part of your weekly priorities.  However it is faulty reasoning and extremely unfair to exclude people from learning piano due to their age and the ridiculous assumption that their interest in playing piano is not genuine.

Had I listened to the "negative talk" from these professionals I would have given up and never experienced the joys and freedom that I now enjoy as I play piano every daI said it back then, and I will say it again. 

"Anybody can learn piano, regardless of their age or circumstances"

As noted in my prior article on this site, the key is to find a proven method or system of learning piano that fits in naturally with your abilities and circumstances.

The best time to learn piano is now!

I run into people all the time that say they have always wanted to play piano.  They often say that they wish they would have started learning much earlier in life.

Do not let regrets of not starting piano lessons sooner prevent you from doing the things that you have always wanted to do. My thought is consistently that it is never too late to start learning piano. 

And what better time is there to start learning piano than now?  Due to this unexpected covid 19 situation that we find ourselves in today, most people these days have more time on their hands than they usually have.  Some will waste this time and the opportunity to start learning piano will pass them by.  

Others will make good use of the extra time we have now and prevent regrets later.  

So, what is the best age to start learning piano?

The answer is: "Right now! As soon as possible"

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