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#1
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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 |
#2
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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 |
#3
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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#4
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
Kids who take the suzuki method to learn violin start as young as 2 to 2 1/2
http://suzukimusicacademy.com/indexpage2.htm |
#5
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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 |
#6
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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 |
#7
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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 |
#8
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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 |
#9
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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) |
#10
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appropriate age - music / ballet class
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) |
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