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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

Violin at 4.5yo?

62 replies

Worriedandlost · 18/06/2015 20:38

Does anyone have experience of dc starting violin at 4-4.5, traditional lessons, not Suzuki? Ds2 is quite keen to start lessons as his older sister is playing but my concern is that it will be waste of time and money at this age? I mean he can start later on and progress much quicker than he would now. On the other hand if he starts early he simply would not remember his life without playing an instrument and it will be easier in terms of motivation? And dd's teacher reckons that younger siblings are quicker to learn as they already surrounded by music. Don't know what to do...

OP posts:
Original poster
Worriedandlost · 19/06/2015 22:55

TheRachel, probably not... I read about pros and cons + already have an experience of classical method with the older one.... Rather wait till he is older if it does not work, just easier for me... Too tired of "learning" everything myself :)

OP posts:
TheRachel · 19/06/2015 20:57

Would you consider trying suzuki? Dd started suzuki violin and 3.5 and Ds started at 4. It's a commitment, but we love it!

Original poster
Worriedandlost · 19/06/2015 13:07

Thank you everyone for the answers!
Yes, I guess I just have to try and see, if I decide to. I really would not do it, but it is his enthusiasm I want to capitalize on :). I don't have any expectations right now, just try to keep the momentum going...
Stringbabies is a good idea, but I think it may not be available locally and there are two children so may be difficult to jump into a completely new venture.
Piano - he does not want to, saying that his fingers are not that long and he I don't think he is mentally ready, it has two keys and quite complicated... drums - yes, there was that idea once, but I feel it will be too hard for me :) - something completely new I will need to get familiar with, violin - I have done it before, so hopefully will be easier :)
Thanks again everyone Flowers

OP posts:
RedKite5004 · 19/06/2015 09:48

I think it's very dependent on the child but my DS took up traditional violin lessons at that age, loved it and carried on until he was introduced to the cello a year ago and decided that was the one for him. I'm sure it depends on the individual child but learning to read music at a young age, I think, is a really valuable skill.

JulieMichelleRobinson · 19/06/2015 01:10

You could look for a ?Stringbabies teacher. It's a method that introduces note reading skills in a basic way and is far less intensive than ?Suzuki. But don't expect crazy fast progress, violin is hard and young children don't have good coordination! Expect a lot of plucking.

littlehouseinthebigwoods · 19/06/2015 01:09

If the teacher is enthusiastic I'd say go for it. You can always stop and start again later if necessary!

Ferguson · 18/06/2015 22:50

Hi - wouldn't he consider piano, to start with, as DD could help him with that? Then try violin when he's a bit older.

And didn't you mention drums for DS at some stage, or was that my imagination?

Chrysanthemum5 · 18/06/2015 22:22

DD started lessons (Suzuki) at that age as DS was having lessons and we were there anyway. For her it's been good as she's quite shy so found playing in front of an audience hard - because she's been doing it for 3 years she's now completely used to it. However other children who started later have easily caught her up in terms of technique.

So I'd say it's good for confidence building if your child needs that but equally they could wait until 7 and be fine.

ReallyTired · 18/06/2015 22:16

I think that a reception child has a enough to do with practicing reading. dd was really tired in the early days of reception. She started violin lessons in year 1 at five and half years old.

BabyGanoush · 18/06/2015 21:09

My DS2 was keen but I made him wait until he was 6.

LOL, almost as in: If you are serious you really want to do this, you'll be allowed to at 6.

You can always try at 4.5, why not? I did not but DS2 is quite clumsy with his fingers and could not even tie his shoe laces or write at that age.

It depends on the child a bit

howtodrainyourflagon · 18/06/2015 21:06

Yes, I have experience of this, and I've seen kids do it at this age and earlier at our local music school. The young children do learn and progress. In 99% of cases I've seen, the kids who start a year or two later have entirely caught up after the first year, because even though the younger kids learn and progress, the older kids just pick things up that much faster. It's hard to play a little violin (tricky to get the bow angle right when the strings are packed together on a teeny weeny bridge) and it's hard to coordinate soft little fingers on the strings and reach to the other side.

So it can work, but the older children tend to be a lot more motivated as it's far easier for them. I'm on dc3 now, and we're waiting for y1 until I start them on violin, and we're a very musical family.

ReallyTired · 18/06/2015 21:03

I think a lot depends on how patient the teacher is. What is his coordination and concentration like? I think that the teacher and the concentration span of the child is more important than the method of teaching.