"The Earlier, the Better"? That's Only Half True

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Mozart sat at a keyboard at four, or so the story goes. That may be why so many parents quietly worry, "Is my child already late?" After watching countless kids in the lesson room, I've come to a different conclusion. When you start matters less than what kind of memory piano begins with.

The Bright Four-Year-Old Who Walked In

A few years ago, a four-year-old came in holding Mom's hand. Truly bright — sharp, curious, the kind of child who made you think, of course they brought him a little early. Once lessons started, though, it was harder for him than anyone expected. He stuck with it anyway. Then, almost the moment he turned five, he became a different child. The same work suddenly came easier, and he looked like he was enjoying it.

Watching him, I thought: better to wait until a child is ready and learn with joy than to start at four-and-a-half and first store the memory that "piano is hard and no fun."

What is "fun" for a child? It's the experience that a little effort brings a real reward. A ready child gets that experience quickly — and that fun pulls the next effort along.

A Three-Minute Test You Can Try at Home

Wondering whether your child is ready? Try this tonight.

First, have them clap along to a favorite song. Do they catch the beat?

Second, have them tap the table one finger at a time, thumb through pinky. Can each finger move on its own?

Third, leave them at a piano or toy keyboard and just watch. Do they explore the sounds on their own?

Two out of three, and they're ready to start. The third one — curiosity — is the strongest signal of all.

The Late Starters' Plot Twist

An eight- or nine-year-old who begins later may, at first, look behind a six-year-old who started a year earlier. Children's memory has a funny quirk, though. What they learned at four, five, or six is often mostly gone two years later. What they learned at eight or nine — including how they learned it — they keep. So when they're eleven or twelve and helping a younger sibling or a friend, these kids have far more to draw on.

Mindset differs, too. Some early starters coast on "I'm already good at this" and ease up. Late starters often lean in with "I started later, so I have to work harder." Two or three years on, I have seen those later starters pull ahead — again and again.

There is no late age for music. There is only a different way to begin.

One Request I Always Make of Parents

After a first lesson, the question I hear most from parents is: "How long until they can play this piece?" I understand that completely. You're wondering about your child's future. But I tell them there's something to think about first — and that something is today.

Will our child practice today, even for five minutes? Those five minutes become ten, then fifteen, then thirty, then an hour. Six months and a year later, the difference is enormous. The distant future is built out of today's five minutes.

So the question I really want parents to sit with is this: "What can I do, as a parent, so my child practices for five minutes today?"

Chan Kim is the director of New York Music School in Tenafly, NJ.