What is the best age to start learning music?

musica

Music is one of the most popular fine arts in all societies of the world.

It surrounds us all, affecting and influencing us in many aspects of our daily lives.

 

Learning this discipline not only gives us access to a higher cultural level, but also helps develop our brain capabilities.

In addition to these two benefits, many people work professionally in the music industry which can often be extremely lucrative.

 

For all these reasons, it is of the utmost importance to promote musical education in children.

Why should you musically educate your child?

Although not a universal rule, a child who receives musical education tends to develop more fully than one who does not have that opportunity.

In addition to this, the following are benefits that your child could acquire with this training:

  1. Their creativity and imagination will increase.
  2. Their vocabulary becomes richer and broader.
  3. They become more independent, and they can assess themselves more objectively.
  4. Their socio-emotional skills are enhanced.
  5. Their retention skills and ability to analyse abstract situations is improved.

As we can see, the advantages and benefits are many.

It is worth looking at how children acquire musical knowledge.

Musical intelligence in children

The brain of a healthy child is an incredible knowledge-absorbing sponge.

Each day in a child’s life offers different immense learning opportunities.

This accumulation of learning would be difficult for an adult to acquire with the same speed that an infant does.

música

Musically speaking, children are often more receptive than adults. This is because their sensory organs are fully activated, which is not always the case in adults.

Below we can explore many examples of how a child can naturally better assimilate musical knowledge.

  • Identification of melodies.  Children, being children, do not need many explanations to understand the difference between a major or a minor key. It is enough to expose them to these and they will be able to identify them by association. An adult, on the other hand, requires detailed explanations and examples that could slow down their learning process.
  • Metric acquisition.  The metric is associated with motor development. An adult, in general, already has fully developed motor skills. Therefore, the need to learn new skills often complicates their learning and motivation. This does not happen in children, as their motor skills are developing and can be shaped to their requirements.
  • Musical memory. This ability, as it involves remembering things, is likely to develop more readily in children than in adults. This happens because adults tend to forget information more easily than children.

música

What is the perfect age to learn this discipline?

So far, we haven’t looked at music education for adults. This is not as simple a task as it seems.

Although adults possess a great deal of knowledge that can help them achieve their goals, it is surprisingly not always helpful when learning new musical skills.

First of all, it must be taken into account that studying a musical instrument requires an extremely high level of commitment.This amount of discipline can be acquired more easily by children, since they are in the formative stage. This is an advantage they have over adults who may find it harder to become disciplined.

Knowing that learning is usually a simpler and more natural process in children, let’s look at which age would be optimal to start this process.

In general, we can consider the following stages:

  • Musical initiation stage.Although it can develop at any time in childhood, it is recommended that children aged between 4 or 5 begin to identify sounds and how to combine them to form melodies.
  • Best stage to start learning instruments. This should be between the ages of 6 and 7. During this time, the child can be exposed and try simple, easy to play instruments so they can become familiar with the basics of how musical notes are produced.
  • Learning specific instruments. This period can begin at age 8 and continue through adolescence.

During this time, the child is able to understand all the elements that make up music.

How music is composed and also interpreted and they will develop the techniques and skills necessary to play their chosen instrument. They could even explore and try other instruments to complement their education.

Music education is of paramount importance to our children. Not only will they be able to participate and enjoy a beautiful and fulfilling activity, but it will help them define themselves as individuals.

Ultimately, these skills will help them gain a deeper and more analytical appreciation of the world around them.