People of all ages take up musical instruments and some always seem to progress better than others. It’s true that we are able to learn things more quickly at different ages, so this will probably affect our ability to learn instruments too. I’ve looked into this topic in more detail to see if I can identify particular ages where learning ability on instruments is more successful than others.
It’s thought that around 7-8 years old is the best age to start learning most woodwind instruments. You are then usually big enough and have a good enough lung capacity, as well as being at a very good age for taking in new information.
If you’re thinking of learning an instrument, or you have a child that wants to, you might want some more information on what age is the best for learning. If you’re an adult and you’ve missed the optimum age, it’s not a problem, but it can be nice to know that there might be a reason for it if you’re not progressing as quickly as you’d hope to.
What is the optimum age for learning in general?
It’s widely accepted that children find it easier to pick things up than adults. The older you get, the harder it is to learn something new. For this reason, adult beginners often struggle to get to the same level that a child might. This is not specific to musical instruments, but applies to pretty much everything. It’s also particularly obvious with learning languages and this is where most research has been carried out on the subject.
According to research, a child has the ability to learn a language with native proficiency until around the age of 10. Between the ages of 10 and 18, it’s likely that someone would be able to learn another language well, and pick up the grammar easily. Over the age of 18, most people that take up a new language find it very difficult to pick it up and will likely never become fully fluent.
Below the age of 10, children are learning new things all the time. They learn to walk, talk, read and write and many other things. There is so much new information to process that it’s unsurprising that children are more able to do this than adults. There will still be different ages that are more suited to learning different skills though, as a two year old child who can’t read and write, for example, will not be able to learn a skill that requires these skills already.
What factors determine the age at which you should learn an instrument?
There are quite a few factors that determine what the optimum age for learning an instrument is, and it won’t be the same for everyone. One very important thing to consider for child beginners is whether they’re actually big enough to reach the keys. Some instruments are large and unsuitable for small children. If a child is really keen to learn an instrument at a young age, there may be some limitations on which instrument they can take up.
In terms of woodwind instruments, if you’re learning as a young child (under 10), there are really only three that you should be considering, unless you’re particularly tall for your age. These are flute, clarinet and soprano sax. A lot of 8+ year olds are big enough to play these three. However, children even younger might still find it difficult. The optimum age to start learning a woodwind instrument is then likely to be around 8 years old.
If your child is really keen to learn an instrument, and is younger than this, it might not be a problem. Sometimes children younger than 8 can have big enough hands to play these instruments. If not, there are some things you can look into. The flute has the option of a curved head joint, which makes it shorter than the standard flute. You can also consider getting a C clarinet, which is smaller than the standard Bb clarinet.
It’s also likely that if your child is going to learn an instrument, they’re probably going to need to learn to read music as well. This can be difficult for really young children, say five year olds, who are only just learning to read. They will likely progress a bit more slowly if this is the case, but it doesn’t mean they won’t get to a high standard in the end. The progress a child will make is also dependent on their ability to concentrate. Different children are able to concentrate for different amounts of time and this can make a big difference.
The other important thing to consider with woodwind instruments is whether the child’s lung capacity is fully developed. It requires a lot of air to play a wind instrument, and young children often struggle with lung capacity for this. You can see how well they do with blowing up a balloon to get an idea of whether it would be too difficult for them to learn any wind instruments yet.
In my opinion, the perfect age to learn a woodwind instrument is around 8 years old. At this age, you’ve already got the basic skills of reading and writing and have been learning at school for a few years, which tends to help improve concentration. You’re still really quick at picking up new things, and you probably won’t struggle with the size of the instrument. You’re also getting to be able to plan out things like practice schedules, which would be very difficult for a younger child.
How old is too old to learn as an adult?
If you’re an adult, it’s very likely that learning a new instrument will be harder work than for a child. It could be a very long time since you’ve tried to learn a new skill and you might be out of practice at any kind of learning. The older you are, it’s likely the more difficult it will be. This definitely shouldn’t put you off if you’re keen to learn though. There are some things you can do to make it easier for yourself.
Probably the most important part of learning an instrument is practicing. As a child, it’s easy to remember what you’ve been told lesson to lesson, so you can do fewer practice sessions that last for longer. As an adult, you’ll probably find that you forget things sooner and you need to practice more often to make up for this. If you’ve got the time to put in, you can still progress, it just might take a bit longer and require a bit more planning of your practice schedule.
Summary
To sum up this post, it’s important to wait until a young child is old enough before you get them a woodwind instrument. “Old enough” varies between children, but it’s likely to be around 8 years old. At this point, they’ll probably be big enough for the instrument, their lung capacity should be developed enough and their ability to concentrate will usually be good enough.
For adult beginners, the practice schedule becomes more important and they will need to practice more often than children to retain all of the new information. This shouldn’t put anyone off, as if you want to learn an instrument, it will be a good experience for you, no matter how far you progress.