Music classes for children 6 to 8 years old

Between 6 and 8 years old, a great time to start an instrument formally. The child's learning how to read and write at school, can hold a class from 30 to 45 minutes and his fingers already respond with precision. Piano, violin, reduced-size acoustic guitar and sweet flute are the most common options.

The key to this stage is at home: a short practice, from 10 to 15 minutes about every day, with an adult close to the beginning. Here we tell you how to choose, how to get to read and how to organize that routine.

To sum up

From 6 to 8 years old we start up with nearly every instrument that suits the size of the child: piano, violin, guitar, sweet flute, percussion or cello.
Music reading usually starts with rhythm and a few notes and some approaches leave it after listening.
Classes last 30 to 45 minutes and leave concrete jobs for the week.
A practice from 10 to 15 minutes, five days a week, more than a long session at the weekend.
The instrument should be about the size of the child today, and not about his or her 3-year-old age.

Why is a good age for the first instrument

At this age a number of things coincide that make it easier to learn an instrument:

Reading at school: The child's decipher letters and words, and reading rhythms and notes looks a lot like that.
Attention: you can follow short explanations and concentrate several minutes on a task.
Fingerphone: fingers move more independently, something key with piano, violin and guitar.
You gain from showing what you know: you love to play for family, and that's an enormous engine.

A useful detail that few care about: between 6 and 8 years old their teeth fall from the front. With the sweet flute you can pass that for a few weeks the air and sound will get out and change and it's normal and solved as new teeth come out.

What tools work well from 6 to 8 years

First tools common between 6 and 8 years old
Instrumento	Why does that work?	To be noted
Piano	Each key sounds as you press and you can see the logic of the notes. That's a great basis for reading music.	At home you have to have a keyboard or a digital piano with full-size keys.
[Violin]](/clases/violin)	There are fractional sizes for each height and it's easy to transport.	The first few months call for patience with sound and tuning and an adult who goes with practice.
Acoustic guitar	It allows you to join with songs that the child knows soon and soon.	with guitar 1 / 2 or 3 / 4 and nylon strings and with yolks they have a little pain in the first few weeks.
[Sweet flute]](/clases/flauta-dulce)	It's light and economic and many schools use it. It connects fingers, air and reading.	He asked at school if they had Baroque or German digitation before they bought it.
Percussion	The rhythm's natural for children and the class's very active.	The acoustic battery sounds strong and a pair of practice in an apartment helps a lot.

If you're still unclear about what, this guide about what instrument to choose for your child It helps you to cross age, tastes and logistics from home.

When does she start reading scores?

It depends on the instrument and the focus of teacher. There are two common ways and both are valid:

To read from the beginning: Many piano methods for children have been shown with a pentagram in the first few weeks with great and few notes at once.
First ear play: The child learns his or her listening and mimicking pieces and his or her reading comes as his or her first play with some flap.

At this age, however, we have to start with rhythmic reading (black, clordes and quiet, sometimes with syllables to count them) and add a few notes. Don't expect me to read a complete score in the first few months.

A sign to be attentive: if your child learns everything by memory and gets lost as soon as he has to read something new, say something with his teacher. It's not serious but better to balance his ear and reading in time.

What a class at age 6, 7 or 8 looks like

A single class usually lasts 30 minutes at age 6 and 45 minutes at age 8. A typical structure would be:

A set or rhythm exercise to start.
To review what was practised throughout the week: teacher hears, celebrates and fixes a single aspect.
A new point of technique: a place of his hand, an arch blow, a chord.
To advance into the piece or song of the moment.
A while's reading with a card or a notebook.
A close with something that the child enjoys and his or her chores of the week listed.

At age 6, an adult should be in class, or at least in the last few minutes, to figure out what to practice. Around age 8, many children can already figure out what their teacher did.

A short practice routine that does work

For this age, aim at 10 to 15 minutes, five days a week. A 12-minute example:

Start (2 minutes): a song that you already know, to heat and get into the instrument.
Teacher's task (5 minutes): exercise or new fragment, slow, rarely and with attention.
Piece (3 minutes): the song of the moment, complete or by parts.
Free (2 minutes): anything from making up a melody to a mini concert for the family.

Some keys: that it's always at the same time (for example after the onces and before the homework of the school), that the instrument remains in sight and ready to play and that the adult is close to the first few months and goes back little by little. Find more ideas in this routine to practice music at home.

Common mistakes of dads at this stage

To buy a big instrument "to last." A violin or a guitar that's too big, they have bad postures and frustration.
To demand long practice. Half an hour at 6 years old usually end up with tears and 10 minutes well done are more valid.
Fill out the schedule: If the music class goes after school, swimming and english, the child arrives without energy.
A few months before you decide that's not his.
Comparison with brothers or cousins. Each child has his or her own rhythm.
Faltar to class often. Weekly constancy is what builds advance.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a 7-year-old have to practice?

Between 10 and 15 minutes, five days a week, it's a realistic goal. If a day wants to play more, perfect, and what's important is that practice be common and have a clear goal.

Is this better individual or group class at this age?

Both work. The individual class allows us to advance to the child's rhythm and to get his or her technique right up close and his or her small group motivates and teaches them how to play with them. Many children start with them individually and then add up an ensemble or the school group.

Can you learn two tools at once?

It can but at this age it usually works best to focus on one and leave the second for as soon as the first has firm bases. A common exception is the sweet flute of the school, that lives well with another instrument.

What do I do if my child doesn't want to read scores?

It's common, especially if you play well with an ear. He talks with his teacher to integrate reading with games, cards and pieces that his child already knows: reading something that he already knows how that sounds makes it so much easier.

Music classes for children 6 to 8 years old: the first instrument