"Isn't my child ready to start an instrument yet?"
The most important musical instrument for your child is the body instrument. Competence on a musical instrument is the outgrowth of mastery of voice and body. The instrument cannot teach it. Rhythm competence is manifest in movement and rhythmic precision in various meters. Tonal competence is manifest in tuneful singing in various tonalities. A child cannot apply to an instrument what he cannot yet do musically with his body and voice.
Learning to read music prior to starting an instrument is also recommended. Notation should be a natural outgrowth of your little one’s rhythm and tonal knowing. The more your child can read music through rhythm and tonal understanding, sing tunefully and move rhythmically, the more your little one will be able to apply those skills to an instrument. Any musical instrument introduces a host of technical issues, whether blowing, strumming, striking, or using a keyboard. It will be far easier for your child to master the technical challenges of an instrument when his own musical mind can guide rhythmic and tuneful performance on the instrument and music reading. The more your child masters the body instrument and music reading prior to starting a musical instrument, the finer instrumentalist your little one can become. More
