Teaching Music to Toddlers

Parents often ask, “What age is best for my toddler to begin learning music?” While the best age to begin music lessons for children will vary according to each child’s individual development, here are some of the best ways to introduce your child to the wonderful world of music.

toddler, music lesson

A child’s capacity to learn is immeasurable, and is often at its sharpest before most children are even old enough to attend school

A child’s capacity to learn is immeasurable, and is often at its sharpest before most children are even old enough to attend school. Foreign languages, art, and music are some of the subjects that early preschoolers pick up on quickly, and parents are giving their child a wonderful start in life by exposing them to the arts at such young age.

So what is the best age for a child to begin taking music lessons? The answer to this question will vary, depending on the teacher you ask and his or her experience with teaching preschoolers. However, new research shows that children as young as two years old have the ability to grasp the fundamental concepts upon which music instruction is based. The important thing to note is that music lessons for a child under the age of six should not be structured—rather, they should be fun, experimental, and the type of situation in which a toddler is allowed to play and explore.

Most teachers prefer their own type of structure for a formal lesson, and are not able to create this environment. For this reason, it is highly advisable that if you wish for your child to begin learning music in their preschool years, teach them yourself. Even if you know little to nothing about music, the important thing at this stage is to teach them to love it. That simple lesson will be a great foundation when they reach an older age and are able to grasp the more theoretical aspects of music.

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Below, you will find a list of suggestions for creating a world of music for your child, and ensuring that he or she will absolutely fall in love with that world

baby, hear music

Babies love to hear classical music, particularly the soft sounds of Mozart and Bach

• From the moment your child is born, begin to play music for him or her. Babies love to hear classical music, particularly the soft sounds of Mozart and Bach. You will find many CDs available on the market that are geared for “sleepy time” or “play time”, containing the best-loved classical works.

• Purchase (or make) different “play” instruments for your child to use. This could be something like a toy drum sold in the preschool-age section of your local department store—or something as simple as turning a pan over and beating it with a stick. You’ll also find many flute and toy woodwind-type instruments available.

• If you already own a piano or keyboard, it is often a great instrument for preschool-aged beginners, as it is durable and is one of the few instruments that can handle the roughhousing that is typical of a toddler. Be sure to set definite rules about the care of the instrument (“No crayons near the keys!”).

• Teach your child rhythm, by clapping along to music. There are multiple methods for varying your technique: stomping your feet, shaking your hands, patting your head—the list goes on and on, and the sillier is usually the better.

• Once your child learns to distinguish colors, begin by teaching the difference between the black keys on the piano and the white keys. Once your child learns to count, teach him or her to locate the black keys that are in sets of two and the black keys that are in sets of three. This is the first step to learning the location of notes on a keyboard.

• If you know how to play, purchase a songbook with popular children’s songs. Play through the book and allow your child to make requests. He or she will learn to associate that the marks on the page translate into the fun music that you are playing, and be curious about the process. Curiosity is the first step to learning!

• Above all, have fun! If your child learns to have fun through music, he or she will want to continue learning it throughout their lives.