Age for piano lessons

[KateandtheGirls]

What is the best age to start lessons?

What age did they start Iloveromance? I would like my boys aged 8 and 7 to start playing an instrument, preferably a piano so we would have to buy one and I could play it too (I learnt as a child). I can't say they have shown any interest in playing an instrument, although I taught ds1 basic recorder last summer, but i do feel as parents we have to introduce our children to new experiences which they may not come to otherwise.

Would you sy your children are talented musically then? If your ds stated at 6 and is grade 4 now aged 10, that sounds like quite fast progress to me.

Lonelymum, I would say 7 is an ideal age to start something like piano. I'd also like to really really emphasise the need for regular practice - 10 mins a day is better than an hour the night before the lesson. Kids of that age will make really fast progress - it is really obvious to me when a child has not done their practice, and it really does make the next lesson difficult. Generally, once the practice is in place, they get on so fast that they are really inspired to do more.

Gwenick - I do lots of freelancing with choirs, and also play at a really big church (but don't want to say where, as it would identify me! ).

Really tortoise - oh go - cna't you CAT me and tell me?? I'm really intrigued now!! A profressioinal (can tell I'm only amateur can't you as I can't spell it LOL) organist who plays at a big church, and also has kids.........

Can I ask (sorry slight hijack) how much a piano teacher would charge for a lesson?

I charge £10 for half an hour. That's on the low side I think.

Quite pricey then?

Have just come back to this and realise how bad this sounds. £7.50 or £10 is very reasonable for a piano teacher's time, it's just pricey from my perspective at the moment because DS1 is already attending swimming lessons but if he wasn't already having the swimming lessons it would be reasonable.

I would think that was very reasonable. I expect that I'll have to pay more than that here in the US. I'll let you all know what this teacher says when I call her.

NZ wage rates! I charge $16 for a half hour lesson, which is a bit more than a fiver.

Tortoise - don't know where in the country you are but for a professioinal musician £10 is nothing to charge. I've got no 'qualifications' apart from music school and gd8's but I charge £10 1/2hr!!

I remember 13yrs ago before I went to Edinburgh my parents paid about £25 for a 1hr lesson. I was 'lucky' COUGH COUGH COUGH (Not! I hated the guy) enough to have Timothy Byram-Wigfield as my teacher in Edinburgh, which was payed for by school but I seem to recall hearing that his private pupils payed around £40hr!!

Message withdrawn

I pay a fiver per fifteen minutes

I know Gwenick, but I'm soft! It is about time I put them up really, but 10 is such a good round number!

LOL tortoise - I know what you mean - I'm tempted to charge £12.50 1/2hr - £25hr - but that means that I'd have to have change available as some of my pupils pay weekly (I know I'm soft and should charge them x weeks in advance LOL)

£11 per half hour, billed monthly in arrears.

At one point DD1 and DS1 were having piano lessons and DD2 flute, and the monthly bills were well into 3 figures, esp if there were any exams booked or music to buy.

We have this, JanH. DS1 does oboe, DS2 clarinet and DS3 piano. We hire the oboe and clarinet and also have to buy books, etc. Apart from the piano lessons (paid weekly on the day), everything else is paid termly - so I have to find about £200 for music lessons on top of all the other things at the beginning of each term. Hope the children all have some sort of talent, or it's going to be a lot of wasted money!

What an encouraging thread! I'm very musical, dh is very musically talented but never had opportunities as a child.

I have been devastated (honestly, seriously) but not shown it - that ds1 has the musical talent of a cabbage. He cannot sing a tune, cannot clap a rhythm, cannot sing back a single note played or sung to him ... absolutely no way it's worth pursuing music lessons for him.

This has been a real disappointment to me. (I used to dream of having choristers as children )

But now at least I can think of all the money I'm saving!!!

Btw I think these tuition rates sound very reasonable, I'd assumed they would be rather higher these days.

We pay £10 per half hour for violin (qualified, practising teacher) and £7.50 for piano (student). They both come to the house, and both are fab. This is for ds, who is just 10- dd is 6 and I'm not planning to start her on any instrument for a year or so, and then only if she's keen. She does however go to a P2 music group where they learn the basics of reading music and do lots of singing games, which she loves. They also get to hear lots of instruments being played to them, to give them some ideas about what they might want to learn in future.

Gwenick, Timothy B-W played the organ at our wedding

roisin, ours are all incredibly musical (though have wasted it rather as they get older - NB, Freckle! - so we do wonder now if it was worth it... ) and we have no idea where that comes from as DH and I are both musical cabbages.

DS1 can dance too, he and DH are going to be in My Fair Lady locally (DH has a nice voice but can't read music and has to stand next to somebody singing the same part or else he turns soprano) and DH has been amazed at his performance at rehearsals!

Ooh, that sounds good Janh!

at your dh turning soprano

Forgot to say DH has 3 left feet and finds the simplest dancing terribly hard. DS1 has to do one of those incredibly complicated dustmen's dances.