By Kathryn Brunner, Founder of Musik at Home, LLC

Do you have a budding Mozart at your house?

You know, the child who constantly taps out a rhythm, sways to the music, or sings along to every song.

Or do you have a child who needs a new challenge and who would benefit from the discipline and structure of formal music lessons? 

Piano lessons are the perfect place to start!

Musik at Home is gearing up to begin offering LIVE virtual piano lessons. Find out more below! 

Piano lessons are incredible for growing children. In addition to learning how to play an instrument, your child will gain confidence, dexterity, and hand-eye coordination, plus, studies show there’s incredible brain development that takes place in early child music education. Truly, the rewards are endless.  

But parents like you need to know if your child is ready before you invest in piano lessons. 

How can you know if your child is ready to begin lessons? Let’s look at 5 great indicators of readiness! Click here to get your cheat sheet: 

1. Desire! It’s the first sign of readiness and it’s delightful to see. Does your child love to sing? Does your child ask you for more opportunities to engage in music? If she’s actively seeking out ways to create or appreciate music, she might be ready. Desire is also the first sign of talent.  
2. A Piano. Do you have a piano in your home?  This is essential for even beginning to entertain the thought of lessons for your child. A piano in the home will give your child the opportunity to explore what it can do prior to taking formal instruction. Children who have touched a piano and made their own music with it in advance are more prepared for music lessons.
3. Finger Independence. Can your child move each finger independently?  It doesn’t have to be perfect, but each finger should have the ability to move by itself. This is true for violin, clarinet, flute, guitar, piano, etc. Instruments require a child’s mind to tell their fingers what to do. To find out if your child’s fingers move independently, show her how to tap each finger by itself on a table. Is tapping each finger a simple or difficult activity for your child? If it’s relatively easy to tap one finger at a time, your child may be ready to begin lessons!  
4. Voice. When students come in for an interview in my studio, I check for the ability to clearly repeat rhythm and tonal patterns. Pattern preparation is an awesome way to improve overall musicality. If your child can repeat a tonal pattern (like do, re, mi…), he is on his way to instrumental readiness. If you’d like to help your child learn to accurately chant rhythm patterns and tunefully sing tonal patterns, you can check out mymusicathome.com, my online preparatory studio for early childhood music education. More info is included below! 
5. Musical Experiences! Is your child surrounded by music in the home? The best way to prepare your child for lessons is to engage your child in fun musical experiences as early as possible from infancy through kindergarten and beyond. Your child will associate the joy of learning music with the loving relationship you share together. As you lay the groundwork for a lifetime of making music in the early years, you’ll be ready to stay the course to help your child achieve success and freedom in musicianship in the years to come. 

One of the greatest rewards of musicianship is the life lessons it teaches children.

Learning an instrument requires dedication, practice, and tenacity.

No matter your own level of musicianship, you can help your child achieve success by carving out the pathway for lessons - be a cheerleader, an encourager, and a celebrator of their successes.

My own mother will tell you that music is not her thing (at all!), but she was determined to make it a part of our life at home and to provide lessons for her children.

Now, I’m a professional musician!

It can be done. You’ve got this, Momma! 

Musik at Home, LLC's early childhood music classes are the perfect onramp to piano lessons. Your child's foundation in music literacy grows with each class experience to prepare your child for instrumental study. Join our membership here. 

Is your child ready for piano lessons now? Musik at Home is gearing up to open up LIVE virtual piano lessons. 

Sign up for our free resource and learn more about Musik at Home virtual lessons. 

Do you need to purchase a piano for your home? Click here to find my top picks for a digital piano and a national resource for purchasing an acoustic piano.