My mother considered that it was important to have the BEST
instruction, and as early as reasonably possible. Her mother's
siblings all either sang or played an instrument or both. But her mom
couldn't afford the "best" instruction until she was older, so she
didn't start to take lessons until she was older (probably 9 or 10)
and she took violin.

I never heard my mom play nor do I think she felt that she could sing.
She could read music - my dad had a nice singing voice, but he
couldn't read music. His parents did have a piano, but I doubt he
took any lessons..

Consequently, when my dad was a relatively poor professor, my sister
and I took group lessons where we played paper keyboards in a group.
The group lesson teacher later came to our house to give us individual
lessons.

Later we took lessons all the way up through high school from the
daughter of the head of Peabody in Baltimore. Sometimes he would be
teaching upstairs while we were having lessons downstairs and we could
hear him stomping on the floor to keep the pupil on time.

I went to Oberlin College, but I took lessons right through the 4
years from teachers in the Oberlin Conservatory.

My sister supported her husband in grad school by giving piano
lessons, and she taught in a system which was geared to younger
children. She sent me the materials and I started my older two
children when they were about 5 and 7. My oldest child still takes
lessons along with her youngest son.

When we moved to Baltimore, my two older children (who were in 1st and
3rd grade at the time) started to take lessons with my old teacher.
She had to be hospitalized for an operation and her dad took over her
students including my two girls. He was a crusty old German, and not
exactly used to teaching little girls.

I remember once when he was trying to explain to dd#2 why she should
hold a whole note for the entire measure.. He started out asking
whether she liked pie. She said yes. Then he said, would you rather
have a whole pie or half a pie. She said "If I ate a whole pie, it
would make me sick." [I think that dd#2 knew what point he was trying
to make BTW.]

grandma Rosalie