appropriate age - music / ballet class

Hi,
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.

Regards
Jo

We started our first daughter in gymnastics at 3 and our second daughter
in a dance class at 3. Prior to age 3, most of the children I know do
not have the attention span to follow instructions for 30 minutes or
more. At 3, they seem to gain a desire to learn independently.

So far so good. The oldest in gymnastics has been at it for 18 months.
She still shows a great deal of enthusiasm and interest. She has asked
to continue the class when she starts preschool in the fall.

The younger girl has not been in her class as long, but she very much
enjoyed being a part of the spring recital. She sat through some very
long rehearsals (3+ hours) and enjoyed every minute of it.

Karen

In article ,
(Jean) wrote:

Hi,
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.

Regards
Jo


DD, now almost 7: Ballet age 3 to present, not continuing
Jazz dance age 6 to present, continuing (she likes it better)
Gymnnastics sporatically beginning age 4
Piano in house, formal lessons to start soon.

I think the age 3-5 period is mostly for encouraging motor development,
posture and poise. It seems that around 5, the kids really get into the
structure and body control (and have the patience to do it!) and get
into the dance. Our DD likes the different energy of Jazz Dance class.
Not to mention the costumes!

--Larry

--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care

The Eyecare Connection
http//www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at m a c.c o m

Kids who take the suzuki method to learn violin start as young as 2 to 2 1/2
http://suzukimusicacademy.com/indexpage2.htm

Started my son (now 8.5) with piano lessons at 4. NO, we aren't pushy
parents; the kid was and is a music-head and was/is also an advanced
learner and was always banging around on the piano and trying to learn
songs and wanted to take lessons. I looked hard for and found a
teacher with the same attitude as I had: that this was for FUN; that
no 4 YO needs formal music lessons; and that it would end when he no
longer wanted to do it. He thoroughly enjoyed the lessons for about 4
months, during which time he learned to play many of his favorite
songs (the teacher let him choose whatever songs he wanted to learn,
and then wrote the notes out for him). He was very proud of himself
for being able to play them, too. When he started resisting the
lessons (by being difficult with the teacher and refusing to ever
practice the songs at home) we promptly stopped the lessons and he has
ever since looked back on them as a fun experience.

I did, however, want him to take music lessons "for real" at some
point. He re-started lessons in the middle of first grade (6.75
years). he wanted to, but even if he hadn't, at that age (unlike at
4), I probably would have forced the issue. I wanted him to go back to
piano, but he insisted it be guitar lessons, and he is now highly
committed to the guitar, but also picks at the piano, the drums, etc.

We started my DD (now 5) with ballet lessons when she was 3.5 (it was
a 3-5 YO pre-ballet class, which was later revised into a 4-5 YO
pre-ballet class ). I think she was a bit young, but there were other
girls that age who did better than she did, so it might have been just
her. I stopped them over a summer, and when she started up again as a
young 4 YO, both the teacher and I saw a big difference. Those 4
months of physical development really mattered to my DD. YMMV. I had
to stop them again at 4.5 because of financial issues; I'm sure she
would have continued to love them, and I liked the
physicality/exercise/stretching aspects of it. Now, she wants to try
gymnastics. I think 4 and 5 YO is just perfect for ballet because
girls that age tend to be so into it. However, it needs to be the
right class. Not just any ballet teacher can manage to keep kids that
young *both* thrilled to be little ballerinas *and* focused for those
30 or 45 minutes on doing what the teacher says. I must say that my
DD's ballet classes were among the most adorable things I've ever seen
in my life.

(Jean) wrote in message om...
Hi,
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.

Regards
Jo

And it's a terrible pain for their future teachers to undo all that the
"suzuki method" does to the little minds.

My sister-in-law is a violin teacher of kids to adults. She's been a
concert violinist and has a masters degree in music. She hates teaching
kids that have been started on 'suzuki' and starts them just like they've
never seen a violin before - she says they're sometimes worse than kids that
have never had a violin in their hands.

Kim

K, T, E & N wrote:
And it's a terrible pain for their future teachers to undo all that the
"suzuki method" does to the little minds.

My sister-in-law is a violin teacher of kids to adults. She's been a
concert violinist and has a masters degree in music. She hates teaching
kids that have been started on 'suzuki' and starts them just like they've
never seen a violin before - she says they're sometimes worse than kids that
have never had a violin in their hands.


That strongly depends on the teacher. I've seen Suzuki method being
used and abused, and if used properly it can be a worthwhile addition
to learning young children play music. Most other methods are way too
focused on visual input (like reading sheet music) and translating
that into movement. Many musical kids that are taught like that will
turn into 'robotic' players. Suzuki is one of the few where the music
comes first and print comes later. If combined with proper technique
exercises (which are often lacking with the 'bad' teachers), it can be
an excellent method. Just for the record: I studied piano.

--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD

Jean writes:
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.

My b/g twins are not quite 3, and they like their dance class. As for
waiting, honestly, I'd rather send them to such classes when they are
younger than when they are older, because activities like ballet for
older children can sometimes turn into an obsessive competition to
"improve", where the other children are spending so much time practicing
that they have to do the same, interfering with the rest of their life.
Rather than just a fun thing to do, which will hopefully develop into an
interest but not an obsession.

David desJardins

In article ,
Jean wrote:
Hi,
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.


I have been taking my youngest to a (parent & child) music class
since just before he turned 2. This is a Kindermusik class intended
for children 18 mos. to 3.5 years, and I found it very developmentally
appropriate.

This child has always had a particular interest in music, and I think
he enjoyed the classes, though he didn't start participating actively
until near the end of the session. He clearly absorbed a lot though
and always seemed to enjoy going.

Was it necessary? Of course not. I have no idea if he experienced any
long-term benefits from it. But we enjoyed the time on different music
activities than I might have thought of on my own, and seemed to begin
to enjoy the social aspects of playing music games with other kids present
as well.

--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)

In article ,
Jean wrote:
Hi,
For those with experience, at what age did you send your child to
music and ballet class? Did she benefit from it or you think you could
have waited for another year. Thanks.

For instrumental music, we started both the older boys last year.

Matthew started piano at 6.25 years. He was in a group pre-piano class
that involved a lot of playing by ear and solfege, as well as work on
rhythm, etc. It was the first year of a two-year program. He was the
oldest in the group and has progressed faster than the others, so at
his teacher's advice, we are pulling him out of group lessons and going
to private. He learned a lot. The class was advertised for 4.5 - 7yos
but Matthew seemed to be at an optimal age for it. The younger kids
(5 to 5.75yo when starting) really didn't seem to get nearly as much out
of it.

Ryan started guitar at 9yo. He enjoyed it but we didn't have a great
match with his teacher, and we ended up terminating his lessons before
the end of the session. He wants to start again in the fall. He's
learned to read music on the treble clef and some basic guitar skills.

We don't have ballet or dance classes in town. Matthew did gymnastics
from 2.75 to about 4 years, and Ryan from 5.5 to 6.75, when the schedule
stopped fitting well with ours. They both enjoyed that. I'd take
Evan to a dance or gymnastics class if there were one available for him,
but right now there isn't anything.

For what it's worth, Ryan and Matthew started Tae Kwon Do at 7 and 4 years,
respectively. Matthew quit at 6, Ryan is still going and has his sights
set on a black belt. I mention this because TKD involves a lot of highly
choreographed patterns that often seem more like ballet than anything else;
I think many of the skills involved are similar.

--Robyn (mommy to Ryan 9/93 and Matthew 6/96 and Evan 3/01)