What is the best age to start flute lessons?

 

A common question for parents of young children enthusiastic to get them started on the bansuri journey is ‘What is the right age to start flute lessons?’. The answer is simple -- A child can start learning bansuri when they are able to show excitement for learning the flute, are able to sit and focus for 20-30 mins in one go fairly consistently, and most importantly, when they are comfortable spending one on one time with an adult outside of their family.

 

Unlike many other musical instruments, the physical size of the person learning is not important. There are different versions of bansuri that can be chosen to adapt to the small sized hands of children. What are more important are the interest to learn and the ability to sit still for at least 30 minutes and follow the instructions. Like everything else, children pick up skills very quickly and you will be amazed how soon your little one will be able to turn the humble bamboo into a musical instrument.

 

Younger than 4 Year Olds

 

Children who are younger than 4 years do not feel comfortable in a one on one setting and do not yet possess the coordination skills needed to hold the bansuri steadily for a prolonged period of time. If you are keen on flute lessons and to see if your child’s ability is gifted or not, we suggest you gather a small group of children of similar age and test.

 

4 - 8 Years Old

 

Children this age begin to get curious and are able to do a lot more things independently. They are still very young children and we urge the parents to hand hold them and leave them to explore the joy of discovering music freely. If you want your child to pick up learning bansuri, you should start having them listen to a lot of classical music at this age. You can also test with the free lessons online for beginners that we have on our website.

 

8 - 10 Years Old

 

Children this age are typically at the right age to start flute lessons. They usually meet their developmental milestones needed to start their journey and it is also easy to identify genuine interest. To play the Bansuri, it needs to have long capacity and regulated breathing techniques. Children at this age are ready to understand these techniques. Start slow and focus on regular practice with a lot of encouragement at this age. You should be able to see children of this age comprehending the flute lessons online for beginners a lot better.

 

Adults

 

While children from 8 - 10 years of age are typically ready to begin their bansuri journey, there is really no right age to start your journey. Sometimes the interest in pursuing something as meaningful as classical music shows up much later in life. A number of people start their training post 40 years and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact a good starting point is to have a look at the online flute classes for beginners on our website.

 

The same rules that apply for identifying children apply for adults of various ages who want to learn flute. Clear interest and enthusiasm to learn the instrument, ability to learn in person or online, and commitment and will power to focus for 30 mins to 1 hour at least to play without distractions.

 

The number of students over the age of 40 who want to learn bansuri has been rising and it may be due to the awareness that the Internet allows to create. In our experience, the challenges that children and adults face and the way they overcome them is similar. It is a joy to see a student interested in the art realize their potential and discover themselves through this medium. This group also quickly moves to flute lessons online for intermediate, when compared to children.

 

If you are interested in learning bansuri or want your child to explore, we recommend checking out our flute lessons online. Our guruji Shri Himanshu Nandaji has curated the course keeping in mind the different age groups who would be interested in learning and we are sure you will enjoy them.

Read more 5 Steps on How to Learn Flute at Home Yourself.

 

 

Author

Kalpana Behera