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I guess this is the right place to ask this? I am asking for serious education and study, not as in for someone looking for a hobby.
If someone wants to start their preschool age kid in lessons that they won't typically get in school- that must be pursued outside of school at other institutions....so they can get to a truly high skill level...how do you choose the best way and place to start them?
Specifically, my daughter (4) is showing an interest in music and ballet. I don't want to wait until she is in junior high school and can start band-- I would like to see about letting her choose an instrument she'd like and give lessons a try. Same with ballet, I want to enroll her in dance for her age just to see how she does and if she likes it, and if she does and wants to keep on, I want to make sure she's getting the best out of it. The reason I ask is I see girls who have taken dance for years on end and seriously like it, but they can't really do it too well, so I wonder if it's because their training was not good, or if it's just that they didn't put the effort into it. They have fun with it- which is great- and I think ALL kids who want to dance should be able to get into the dance class with their age group...and should be able to take part in the recitals (and not just in the background)...it's just that I also think that if someone is REALLY good at it and serious about it, they should be at a place skilled enough to take them to the highest level they can and help them do their personal best if they are willing to work at it, and train them properly (in classical ballet for example). So that should they want to pursue it more as an older teen or college student, they can because they got the background. It would take so many years to get to a level to do community ballet, and moreso if one wanted to try to gain acceptance with the major ballet schools- you can't just decide at age 15 that you want to start this. You have to start early.
I feel the same about music, be it piano, or violin...whatever. It's better to start young if you might want to pursue it more seriously later.
So how do you go about finding out the best resources in the community to get your kids lessons in this type thing? I called a couple local dance schools but I hung up wondering how 45 minutes a week, then later for teens, an hour and a half a week, would ever get them to a high level if they wanted to. All I found out was that girls think it's fun to go to these classes (and someone told me abot one of the places that their recital did not really demonstrate that they were learning serious dance, it seemed to be more of a modern, cheerleading and tumbling type of thing.....in that, they didn't exactly seem like the ballet students were going to dance the Nutcracker or Swan Lake or anything.
I'm no arts snob....I don't do any of this myself but have 2 daughters, one of whom is expressing serious interest in wanting to achieve some pretty strong goals...she wants to start piano lessons and ballet. Who am I not to try to help her get the best that she wants, if I can? I wish my parents had done this for me! They told me to wait for 7th grade band to learn an instrument, and neverlet me take dance...they would not put me in any lessons, then when I got up into junior high and high school and would have wanted to make the school's jazz band on an instrument that was not taught in band classes or would have wanted to make the dance team, I had no background, and it was too late to start. Want to do better for my girls.
For music, you can start by visiting or calling your local music store that sells the instruments your child is interested in starting with. Some of these stores offer quality lessons, and others can put you in touch with local, reputable teachers. Many teachers who work for the public schools also give private lessons, so if you can find out from someone who your schools' music teachers are, you can get in touch with them too. You might also look into seeing if there are any music camps in your state, they can give you references as well, plus be a fun activity for your children when they're a bit older (most camps are pretty intense lesson wise, but with "summer camp" stuff too). You also may want to look into the youth orchestras in your area, you probably have one if you are in a fairly large city. These are separate from the schools. Some of them are more for older children who are experienced already, but some have programs for younger children just starting out as well.
For dance look for schools that hold performances rather than just recitals. Keep your eye on local performance venues such as playhouses and such, take note of what ballet and other dance companies are performing & give them a call or a visit. In my experience the more serious schools are often multi age going up to adulthood, rather than just a studio offering kid's lessons. These schools are often a bit more expensive that what you'd find at the places you've already called, but reputable dance schools often offer need based financial aid, such as volunteer work (parents volunteering).
You might also have some good luck posting on your local craigslist http://www.craigslist.org , look in the community or classes section and write a post asking the locals their opinions / for referrals.
It's great that you want to give your child a whole education. At 4 years old you shouldn't be worried about her learning to do something at a high level. Just let her do it because it's fun. When she gets a little older she can pick the things she really likes and run with that to whatever level she chooses.
There are some instruments that cannot be played by very young children. They are simply not large enough to play instruments like saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, etc. Their hands are to small, the instruments to heavy, their breath not strong enough.
For instruments I suggest piano or violin for young kids. Violins are made in all different sizes and there are rote teaching methods for very young children. Piano is a fabulous instrument as it develops excellent overall musicianship.
If she likes to sing there are children's classes for music that incorporate singing for young kids. It's best that kids not take formal singing lessons until adolescence although participation in a children's choir or church choir is great for their voices and many kids find it fun. Choir participation usually starts around 4th grade in school, perhaps a little eariler in church.
If you do too much at 4 years old it becomes a chore and is a very fast way to burn out on what ever it is. There also has to be some physical and cognitive development that has to happen in order to be able to do certain activities and skills. Generally, for most things, staring a child at 4 vs 10 isn't going to make much of a difference in their outcome as a high schooler or adult. Some exceptions could be dance and gymnastics because of flexibility issues, however that can be overcome with some additional training.
What you will find more often then not is that a child that is pushed too much by their parents to be the best are typically the ones that drop out of the sport because they can't stand the pressure. As for kids that have taken dance, sports whatever forever and still aren't 'good' there isn't much you can do if a child doesn't have the natural ability to excel. There is only so much you can teach someone, the rest has to be natural ability. Not everyone is going to be the best.
It is very common for a 4 year old girl to show an interest in dance. That is great, sign her up for dance class but don't be surprised if by March she is bored with it. That is normal.
As for taking violin or band, it won't hurt them to start at age 4 but she probably won't be any further along then most kids by the time they reach their second or third year of middle/high school band/orchestra. The physical maturity that happens around that time plays as much of a role as years of practice.
Our kids started piano in 4th grade. By the end of 4th grade they were as far as, if not farther along, then the kids that started in kindergarten. They are ok piano players, nothing exceptional by any means but they were older and could handle more so they progressed faster.
As for taking violin or band, it won't hurt them to start at age 4 but she probably won't be any further along then most kids by the time they reach their second or third year of middle/high school band/orchestra.
4 year olds cannot start most band instruments at age 4. Their fingers are to small to cover the holes. They are not strong enough to strap a saxophone around their neck. They cannot get enough air flow to play a flute. Unlike violins, that come in different sizes, band instruments do not. Alto sax is always the same size.
4th or 5th grade is a great time to start band instruments.
4 year olds cannot start most band instruments at age 4. Their fingers are to small to cover the holes. They are not strong enough to strap a saxophone around their neck. They cannot get enough air flow to play a flute. Unlike violins, that come in different sizes, band instruments do not. Alto sax is always the same size.
4th or 5th grade is a great time to start band instruments.
That is true too. I didn't think about that. They could take up the triangle .
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Want to do better for my girls.
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