When should you start learning to play an instrument?

I personally do not think that there is one ideal age to start learning to play the violin. However, there are definitely some major benefits to start learning an instrument young.

Within the Suzuki community, children are encouraged to start as early as possible, around 3 years old. Scary fact: a child's brain is 90% developed by the time they reach 5 years old. Children who start before this age pick up information more easily and have a much higher likelihood of excelling in their musical endeavors, granted that they are receiving high quality instruction and practicing regularly.

Although starting to play an instrument at a very young age is extremely beneficial, it is certainly not without its challenges. Since 3 and 4 year olds are just starting to go to school, or maybe haven't even started yet, their music teachers are also teaching them how to behave, focus, and follow directions alongside their instrument. Parental involvement is also crucial at this age. Children will need help not only remembering to practice but also practicing in itself. In my experience, girls also tend to mature faster than boys, so girls are usually ready to start around age 3, but boys may need to wait until age 4. And as I'm sure it goes without saying, every child is different and there's no one size fits all rule. If you think that your child is ready to start playing violin, take them to a trial lesson, see how they do, and go from there.

My favorite age to start violin beginners is 5-7. Kids at this age have already started going to school, so they understand how to focus, listen, and follow directions. They are also easier to communicate with. Parental involvement is still necessary, but not to the extent of 3 or 4 year old students. Personally, I ask all of my students to bring a notebook to their lessons, where I write down their homework assignments for the week. Then, it's just up to the parent to help make sure their child does the assignments, similar to their schoolwork!

I have never personally started a student from the ages of 10-13, so I can't fully speak on that experience. However, I would argue that if their goal is to play professionally one day, this is the latest age bracket to start playing and still reach that goal. Think about it this way-if Sally starts playing at 3, and Mark starts playing at 10, Sally already has seven more years of experience over Mark, which is a lot! The sad truth is that even at the very young age of 10, our brains are already much less malleable making it harder to learn new skills. Additionally, many students around this age have more homework, are involved with other activities, have a social life, and not a lot of extra time for practicing.

I have had a few students start when they were in high school, around ages 14-15. Learning the violin from scratch at this age is very hard, especially if the student does not have any prior musical experience. Music is like a language within itself, and if you've ever tried to learn a language as an adult, you know how hard it is! At this age, hearing the notes are harder, remembering where to place your fingers is harder, and learning to read music is harder.

Learning to play the violin for the first time as an adult is challenging but certainly not impossible. In my opinion, adult learners just need to have appropriate expectations for their journey. They will most likely never be the concertmaster of the NY Philharmonic (but hey, neither will I!), but they can play for joy, to keep their brain sharp, and share their music with others.

To sum up, in my opinion, the best age to start learning to play the violin is 5-7, but please let me be clear: you can learn to play the violin at any age.

Remember the Suzuki mantra: "They're rarely too young and never too old to Twinkle!"

When did you start learning to play the violin? Leave a comment and let me know!