Pros and cons of starting violin before 3 years old?

[arvi]

I am interested in starting violin for my son in a few months. But I have read few stories here where the children loose interest after a few months of starting (especially when they've started before 3 years old). So the parents had to stop the lessons for about 6 months and had re-introduced the violin lessons when their children are a bit older.

So I am in a dilemma whether to introduce violin to my 2.4 years old son now or wait for a little longer. I don't want to waste money for the expensive violin lessons if he is going to loose his interest soon.

Can others, who have started violin lessons for their kids, share your experiences about it. What are the pros and cons of starting violin before the kid reaches 3 years old. TIA

[Korrale4kq]

My son will be getting a violin for his 3rd birthday. I would not formally introduce it before then. However I am already exposing him to violin music, watching children play violin on YouTube, and we talk about it. So when he does get the violin I think he may show more interest due to the exposure before he even plays it.

My husband did a process very similar when he  slowly, introduced my son to trains. He showed him videos, read him books and talked and talked about them. Then my son asked to see a real train and he now plays with his trains more than any other toy, he is a complete train nut. Just like his daddy.  Before hand he had a few wooden trains and had absolutely no interst when  we took him somewhere to play with a wooden train set.

I read somewhere that talking about dessert for a week makes it more appealing when you finally get to eat it. That pretty much sums up how we introduce new things to avoid burnout. 

[jane_dmitrova]

Tia, difficult question, do not know answer myself. I will tell you our story. Our first lesson was when my son was 2.3. Before that I was showing him cards/posters with different music instruments, pointing to violin, also some videos on youtube. But before this lesson he did not see violin in the real life. So first lesson was the complete failure, he holded it for a bit and that's it. Ok, then I rented a small violin and then every evening we were looking for violin (hide and seek) and try to hold and play. Also again cards, stories. It took something around 2 months untill he was ready for another try of a lesson. Then it was a complete success, we were taking a lesson once a week and my son was asking every day when we are going to a next violin lesson. I never was happy before as at that time   But in one month it all disappeared, he still played a bit at home but refused to do anything with the teacher. Luckily it was Christmas holiday and our teacher was away for a month. I was again preparing him during this month and again success when we started. I think it lasted something about 1,5 months and then again the same story. I tried again in several weeks but no success so now we are in a very very long break. I am planning to start taking lessons again this month but, frankly speaking, I doubt a lot that they will be successful and not sure whether to try again or wait........

[reei]

my daughter started violin when she was 2. Our violin teacher was willing to take her coz' she herself started violin when she was 2.
Pros:
Develop a practice habit,  (as far as she can remember, she has always been playing the violin, practice session at home is like having dinner, natural habit, no arguments , nothing)
Train concentration (when she was 2 we practise 20 minutes daily, , now at 3, she practises half an hour daily)
When she starts to be good at it, she develops interests in violin.
Good teacher is hard to come by, if you find one, and with good time slot , go for it. Otherwise waiting list might take forever.

Cons:
Felt pain in fingers when she starting pressing the strings, need some time to overcome. I guess the earlier you start, the more tender your fingers are, and painful, no matter how gentle you press the strings.
When she can't do something, you always wonder whether you started off too early, is it her ability or she is too young, or she just refuse to do?
Some ppl stare at you like you are some kind of monster parent forcing a child to learn violin at young age.
I hid her violin in a big back pack when she was younger. Now at close to 4 years old, I still get stared at.

Good luck.

[Mandabplus3]

The way I looked at music lessons before the kids are old enough ( sorry this age varies for different instrumentsand we don't play violin)  but my theory was that any lessons I paid for were primary to familiarize the child to the environment but at the same time teach ME what to go home and work on with them. I found that way I wasn't wasting my money. This is actually the practice mentioned in The book, Developing Talent in Young People. It talks about how parents need to sit in on kids lessons to know what they are expected to practice. As my kids now do lessons during school time I find it much harder to ensure progress is regular. I do attend a lesson at least once a term, taking the last 5-10 minutes to quiz the teacher, on things I don't understand. ( this term i am lucky enough to have the slot before lunch so we have extra chat time while she has her lunch   )
Also at this young age you need not assume lessons should go on once a week, every week for the whole year. Sometimes 3 lessons a week for 6 weeks and then some consolidation time/break may be needed. the trick to ongoing success is to keep the early phase of learning fun and full of games and successes in every lesson or practice session ( again Developing Talent in Young People!) the fun and games are really important but I do think the kids still need to know that it is a lesson and that they are there to learn to play. For a little kid this could be achieved through wearing a uniform, ( sparkly red tap shoes?   ) having a music room, space or music stand to be near. The designated time/space removes some of the silly behavior you are bound to encounter at times.
I also agree that making the instrument part of your family culture is important. A two year old will not be enthusiastic about a violin if they don't know what one is. Ensure that your child gets to hear other people ( especially other kids!) playing the instrument you want them to learn REGULARLY! The best way I know of to get my kids to want to practice is to start playing myself, they que up to kick me off the piano!  
Anyway these ideas have worked for us and others I know of, of course if they don't actually practice even for a small amount of time it'll be really slow progress.

[Mandabplus3]

Oh Reei, I am one of those parents staring at you! It is out of pure jealousy! I wish I had taught mine when they were younger!
 It was a combination of lack of knowledge, lack of culture and lack of access to a willing teacher. Boy did I hit the teacher wall ALOT! I still am, finding a flute teacher for a 6 year old is mighty difficult! They don't want them until 8, as they are too small to hold it. Most of the teachers havn't heard of a bent head to make it easier ( same theory as a smaller violin ). I can do a year of teaching without them, hopefully that will be long enough. Plus I have lied about their age before to get the skills they need taught! 

[Korrale4kq]

I had never heard of the bent head either Manda. I wonder what other instruments are modified for little ones. I payed clarinet but not until year 6 because I was small.

[Mandabplus3]

Well I only know of smaller violins, bent headed flutes, smaller guitars ( which from what I have heard are pretty useless as they don't stay in tune very well, but a 3/4 size is good for a 5 year old of average size anyway), you could start with a ukalalee? And piano keyboards can be bought with keys closer together.
I wonder if there is a mini Saxaphone? Oh drums come in smaller sizes but again I doubt the quality is there.
I don't know of any other adjustable string instruments or wind instruments either. I suppose a 3 year old learning violin will have plenty of years to master the violin and then switch to one of the bigger string instruments if they want to.

[aangeles]

In our Suzuki school, there is a 5 year old playing a small cello. It is so stinking cute!!! 

[Mandabplus3]

Oh I can picture that! Very cute! How awesome. So that's one more instrument you can teach

[Korrale4kq]

Yes cellos come in reduced sizes. I think violas also. Bass maybe?

[Korrale4kq]

I just found down sized brass.

http://www.artismusic.de/en/marken/kids-brass.html

[arvi]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. Korrale4kq, I like your idea about introducing violin informally before starting any lessons. reei, thank you so much for sharing your experienced views. I much appreciate it. It looks like pros outweigh the cons.

[ola]

Hi!
My son has started taking violin lessons what he was 2.5. Before that I used to participate with him in some music classes for babies and toddlers. He loved those classes especially because the teacher used to bring lots of real instruments for children to hear and play with. We uses to watch Tweedlewink DVD lessons as well. He was very excited whenever he saw any musical instrument in his flashcards. At 1.5 he new all the main instruments and seemed especially excited about guitar and violin. He used to take two wooden spoons or sticks and pretend he was playing violin.
When we started attending violin classes on a weekly basis he was thrilled to hear the teacher play her violin. There was lot of singing, clipping, fun exercises with the box violin and the wooden bow; what he especially liked was a picture book that I was making with pictures of him holding violin or an illustration to the song that we were singing. At that time he had a box violin. Suzuki CD was played lots of times during the day. We tried to listen to life music, especially Suzuki concerts as often as possible.
He used to come with his box violin at 6am and ask for his songs/practice

When he was 3.5 he got his real violin. He was so excited… and then... he refused to play it at all!  I did not know what to do… he just refused to play at all…As if he was waiting for it for the whole of his life and now when he had it, he was satisfied. So it took a lot of energy from me to make up interesting games and be as playful as possible, so he could enjoy our practice.

The routine was established pretty early – at the beginning he played once a day, then twice a day. The routine is very useful. However every now and then we get to the point that he is less enthusiastic. Then he needs more games and encouragement. Nice life concert is always a great incentive.

My son is almost 5 now. Couple of months ago he started suddenly playing anything that he could hear or sing. He has perfect pitch. It makes him very very happy and it is a great encouragement for further practice.

Too sum up, I think there is never to early to begin. Most Suzuki parents I talked to said that there are always ups and downs with practicing. However the most important thing for me is that the practice time is a lovely way to for us to have some fun together; a great bonding time. As long as the parent is enthusiastic and finds relationships more important then results anything is possible.
Good luck! All the best!

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