How can I tell when my child is ready for an instrument?

If you've read any of our previous blog posts, by now you should have a good understanding of the value of having musical experiences from an early age. Music can help children learn to read , as well as having strong connections with maths which also helps children's numeracy, and it can even be a great aid for children with additional support needs like dyslexia . So, how do we give our kids valuable and fun musical experiences? Here's a simple answer... Help them to learn through play! Play-based learning is an incredibly beneficial method of learning for young children, so much so that many countries leading in education, like Finland and Scotland , are making the move away from traditional teaching scenarios of children sitting at desks and learning from board work, towards free moving and open classrooms with structured play activities designed to teach concepts in a more engaging way, particularly in the early years. So, how do you teach music through play? Important in building an understanding of music, and an identity as a musician, is to develop a good knowledge of music theory . Here are 5 fun ways that you can teach your child music theory: 1. Rhythm Pairs - Create a fun matching game for learning rhythm where you match the note value name to it's drawn representation and the number of beats it lasts for.