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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 11:05:19 GMT -5
Did/does your kid take them? When did they start? What instrument? Was it worth it? I just signed up DS for a few piano lessons so he can try (he's four and a half) but I'm wondering how much he'll actually get out of it. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) I started at 3 and remember enjoying it but I'm thinking I was just slamming the keys.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 11:07:39 GMT -5
My daughter started "Happy Piano" at 4 and a half. She likes it, but she is not going to be actually playing piano any time soon.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Apr 12, 2013 11:13:17 GMT -5
DS is in kindermusik. We started him at 1.5 because he just loves music in general and it uses music to teach other things as well. We'll probably start his sister in kindermusik classes at 1 if she shows the same love of music that DS does. We'll probably hold off on actual lessons until he is in kindergarten if he wants. That is when I started actually lessons, but my sister taught me some stuff the previous year. So, I did get quite a bit out of it (I was 5.5). DS has a keyboard in his room (actually his closet) and he plays on that a lot.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Apr 12, 2013 11:15:24 GMT -5
All 3 of my kids too music lessons. I really believe that music is an important part of life. My son started the trumpet at school in 4th grade. He took lessons at school and also summer lessons. He did take bass guitar lessons for awhile. He played in the band until 8th grade then decided to quit. He never really did practice his bass lessons so after a period of time i realized he simply was not going to play so i dropped those. Now he doesn't play anything. I believe in giving kids the opportunity, but over time you will know whether the child truly has any interest in it or not. If not, then i think it is fine to realize that and move on. Same with my younger son. He took a few years of private drum lessons from 4th grade and played in the band. But, he NEVER sat down to just play for fun. So, i know he really had no passion for it even though he was a competent drummer. Too bad and that makes me sad but it isn't who he is. For DD, 11, however, i started her on piano about age 7 with a private teacher. Then , she took up clarinet in 4th grade. I have since moved her to another piano teacher who has Doctorate in Music and is a highly trained and accomplished pianist. She is doing great. AND, the real key is that she will sit down and play for her own enjoyment without me telling her to do so. She will sit and play around at the piano. She has gone on to youtube to learn new songs. She taught herself parts of the Peanuts theme song through youtube. And, because she liked it, her piano teacher got her the sheet music and she can play the whole song. For her, it is worth the expense of private lessons because i can see that it is something she enjoys and probably will her whole life. But, i recognize that for us it is simply a Hobby. She isn't going to make a living playing the piano. I just believe it is something to enrich her life.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Apr 12, 2013 11:25:48 GMT -5
DS played trumpet starting in 4th grade and stopped in high school when they were required to be in Marching band (conflict with his soccer). His favorite was jazz band. He has hardly picked the trumpet up since high school graduation.
DD started on cornet, got her braces and quit. She did do several years of choir.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Apr 12, 2013 11:27:07 GMT -5
My kids are just starting piano - 3rd and 4th grade. My daughter will be in a school next year where an instrument is required.
I was a pretty decent musician, and I started piano (sucked at it) in 3rd grade and flute (pretty darn good) in 4th grade.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 11:46:14 GMT -5
My son started trombone this year in 5th grade and we were thrilled to find out he really likes band. He has zero interest in any sports and we wanted him to take part in some kind of extracurricular. Because he happily stuck with it all year, I'm looking into private lessons for him over the summer to keep him going until Fall and if he enjoys them he can keep on even after that to supplement the school lessons (well, maybe...I haven't priced them yet!)
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Apr 12, 2013 12:02:05 GMT -5
I teach private music lessons. My students range from 4-60.
I don't think my oldest is going to play an instrument. We've elected to not push the issue. My oldest likes the results of putting in the effort for something, but does not like the actual putting in the effort part. He also doesn't deal with boring, mundane, things very well, either.
My middle child is 5, and I'd like to start lessons with her. She wants to play the same instrument I do. I'm lucky enough that one of my mentors is one of the best teachers in town. I'll be paying an arm and a leg, but, I think it will be worth it.
I didn't start taking lessons until I was in Jr. High. But, I also had a strings program in school starting in Kindy, which is when I started playing.
I've alluded to the fact that growing up, my home life wasn't always stable. I think my music kept me really grounded and provided me with a safe outlet. I didn't understand it at the time, but reflecting back on my childhood, I can see what music did for me.
So, obviously for me it was "worth it." Not only emotionally, but also financially. 1/4 of my income comes from teaching. I make enough that I can cover our mortgage with the money I teach. It's nice to know that even if I lose day job, I can at least have housing covered without dipping into the EF. I can retire from my day job in my mid-late 50's, and still draw an income from teaching.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Apr 12, 2013 13:08:19 GMT -5
I started piano lessons at 5, and took lessons until I graduated high school (plus a couple of summers while home from college). I have a piano now and like to occasionally sit down and play.
I started the French horn in 6th grade (did summer lessons right before school started) and took private lessons most every year through high school. I played one semester in band and then stopped. I still played at home over the summer (my hometown has a community band that I participated in). I occasionally play now - if I'm back visiting my mom when they have a community band concert or my mom convinced me to play for offertory at church while I'm home .
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 13:12:56 GMT -5
My daughter started piano in first grade, but she only had an average teacher and really never progressed very far. Then we took her to the local university's program, where she had really good teachers. She used it as her talent in the county Junior Miss program and was first alternate. She was actually a better pianist than the girl who won, but she played her "own" arrangement of Dixie. You can't lose with Dixie in Alabama. Classical music just doesn't strike up the same enthusiasm. My uncle gave the piano that my sister and I learned on to my daughter when she was three. He signed the inside. I think that is so sweet. She still plays and is planning on all of her kids learning. I hope she got the genes I didn't.
Is practicing on a keyboard the same as a piano? I almost never see a piano in anyone's house these days. When I was growing up, everyone had one . . . at least everyone I knew.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Apr 12, 2013 13:22:53 GMT -5
DS started taking "music therapy" classes in preschool. He learned a little keyboard, & how to read the music staff "Every Good Boy Does Fine" and F-A-C-E. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png) DD started taking band lessons in 4th grade. By the time DS was older, then they were starting kids in band in 5th grade, but he got into the band program too. Turns out kids who have studied piano get preference on some instruments. Both have stuck with it. DD is now studying music in college, & wishing she'd learned piano at a young age. It does seem the younger the child, the better they do with piano....
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Apr 12, 2013 13:30:25 GMT -5
Busy, I may be the exception to your piano rule. My grandmother taught piano and I never could get the hang of it. I remember it ticking me off and frustrating me a lot. I quit but did join band and never did have the frustration issues with playing the flute. I enjoyed it but haven't played since I got out of school. Then again, my youngest sister did inherit the flute since she was just starting beginner band. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/wink.png) I haven't done private lessons with any of my kids, but DD wants to play guitar and none of my musical family does so I may have to fork out some cash so she can learn.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Apr 12, 2013 13:53:14 GMT -5
Not really. I grew up using a piano and now I have an electronic piano which is different from a keyboard. Basically a keyboard, electronic piano, and a piano all have slightly different feels. The quality also makes a difference. I just don't have room in my house for a piano...or the money. I bought my electronic piano off of Craigslist for $150. The keyboard DS has in his room was his cousins and they gave it to him.
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Bob Ross
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Post by Bob Ross on Apr 12, 2013 14:50:22 GMT -5
If I had a kid, I'd force them to play the keytar.
Call me crazy, but I'll be the one laughing all the way to the bank once 80's tandem-dance bands make their inevitable resurgence.
![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/raspberries.png)
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Apr 12, 2013 16:03:46 GMT -5
I played piano at a very young age. I quit when I was forced to entertain my moms friends and I was shy. That being said, I started both my kids on piano very early. Both quit around middle school but both learned music and an appreciation for it, which was my goal.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2013 16:55:48 GMT -5
Just trivia, but I did learn that knowing how to play music is as close as most of us will ever come to being bilingual. When you "read" music, you don't stop and translate every note according to the acronyms. You know what it says as automatically and as fluently as most of us read words.
I just thought that was really interesting. Music is also related to math. So if you want your kids to grow up and be good in math, give them music lessons.
That being said, my son never wanted to learn to play anything (he did one year with the bad piano teacher), and he is a math whiz.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 12, 2013 17:47:10 GMT -5
Did/does your kid take them? When did they start? What instrument? Was it worth it? I just signed up DS for a few piano lessons so he can try (he's four and a half) but I'm wondering how much he'll actually get out of it. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) I started at 3 and remember enjoying it but I'm thinking I was just slamming the keys. All four of us siblings took piano lessons-three of us hated them after a few years. The oldest sibling took 8-9 years of piano lessons. Fifty years later, he still plays in a band and makes money on Sundays playing the organ for several churches.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Apr 12, 2013 17:50:52 GMT -5
"The metronome. The metronome. Oh the horror. Tick..tick..tick.. The sound haunts me still."
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Apr 12, 2013 18:05:04 GMT -5
I can keep rhythm with no metronome. No metronome, no.... Wait, what?
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violagirl
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Post by violagirl on Apr 12, 2013 18:05:53 GMT -5
I taught music lessons for a long time. The advantage to starting a child of 4 or younger in music lessons is that music becomes much more internalized for them. I did do some students that young, but I think most of the benefit before 5 or 6 years old lies in building a more general music foundation - singing, dancing, keeping a beat, learning some notes. I found with boys in particular, waiting to start individual lessons when they were 6 was a good age to start individual lessons. Piano is a good instrument to learn and most university music programs require at least a rudimentary ability to play the piano. It also helps to have a teacher that is not all old school Leila Fletcher. I incorporated movement into the lessons. Like, a staff on the floor and they used their whole bodies to run to the different notes. They liked that. Occasionally, I would resort to getting them to just take a lap around the room. In retrospect, it was their parents that were harder to deal with than a couple of energetic kids. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
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2kids10horses
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Post by 2kids10horses on Apr 12, 2013 18:25:35 GMT -5
My daughter is a Music Performance major (French Horn) at a Conservatory of Music. She never took any music classes until she started band in 6th grade. She has had to learn to play the piano at the college. At first she hated piano, now she loves it.
We started her on private lessons after her 7th grade year, and she played in Youth Orchestras, and summer band camps, and Music Institutes during high school.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Apr 12, 2013 19:01:42 GMT -5
I just thought that was really interesting. Music is also related to math. So if you want your kids to grow up and be good in math, give them music lessons.
That being said, my son never wanted to learn to play anything (he did one year with the bad piano teacher), and he is a math whiz.
![](http://images.proboards.com/new/smiley.png)
I was going to post something about the music and math connection, but chose not too. I nearly flunked business calc in college. Must have been because I was spending 4-6+ hours playing/practicing a day. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
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