Perhaps a little too young?
When people call to enquire about piano lessons, they often
ask me what age is ideal for starting piano.
And my first answer is invariably: it
depends on the child. There are a lot of
factors that go into determining whether the time is right for beginning music
lessons But in general, I can say that
earlier is better (up to a limit – three and a half is usually my cut-off on the
early end). Older children can learn
faster than younger children, and so will “catch up” quickly, but there is general
agreement among musicians and scientists that something is lost by waiting to
begin music lessons. As for learning
languages, there seems to be a window in brain development during which we are
more able to take in musical learning.
Windows in
development: sensitive and critical
periods
A window in development like this is known to scientists as
a sensitive period or a critical period. A critical period is a time window during
which, if the appropriate stimuli are not received, the brain does not develop
properly, and will never be able to correctly process that type of
stimuli. The classic example was provided
by the pioneering studies of Hubel and Wiesel in the 1960’s. They showed that if kittens were prevented
from seeing during a particular time window in development, the visual cortex
did not develop properly. Allowing the
kittens to see later did not reverse this effect: once the window was closed,
the visual cortex would never develop properly.
That time window is a critical period.
A sensitive period is a little more forgiving than a
critical period. If the appropriate
input to the brain is not received during a sensitive period, input at a later
date can have an effect, but to a lesser degree. Studying language is like this. There is a sensitive period that closes
around the age of six, but you can still learn French as an adult; it’s just
going to be a little harder and you might never be as fluent.
A window for musical
brain development?
The question with respect to musical training is: Is there really a sensitive period for musical
brain development? Scientific studies
seem to support the idea that starting music lessons earlier is better, but
it’s hard to separate out the effects of starting music lessons early from the
effects of studying for longer. After
all, if you start music at four, then by the time you’re twenty, you’ve been playing
for sixteen years, but if you start at twelve, you’ve only been playing eight years
by the time you’re twenty. So if
scientists compare twenty-year-old musicians, are they analyzing the effects of
starting early, or the effects of studying longer?
Researchers from Concordia University have tried to level the
playing field (so to speak) in a new study that compares two groups of musicians who have been playing on average the same length of time: one group that began lessons before the age
of seven, and one group who began when they were older than seven. Their results strongly support the idea that
there is a sensitive period in the development of the brain that responds to
musical training. People who had begun
musical training early in life had a greater connection between the two sides
of the brain, particularly the connection between regions of the brain
responsible for motor control and sensory input of the hands. The early-musical-training group had more
white matter in their corpus callosum, and (presumably because of this extra
white matter) was better able to synchronize their hands, as shown in a
behavioural tapping test. There was also
altered connectivity in the left temporal lobe, probably due to stronger ties
between the auditory cortex and motor cortex.
These connections are key for sensorimotor integration, which is
the way the brain forms links between the movements we make and the sensations
that the movements produce.
From a neurological standpoint, beginning lessons before
the age of seven is advantageous. Does
that mean that older children don’t really benefit from music lessons? That idea is clearly ridiculous. Many musicians (myself included) begin their
training after the age of seven. In
fact, it’s possible that people who begin lessons later are more likely to
truly enjoy playing music (and therefore are more motivated to practice): they
are learning music because they want to, not because their parents have decided
they should. In any case, musical training at all
ages has a multitude of benefits. But,
all other things being equal, why not start music lessons before the age of
seven to take advantage of that sensitive period?
Reference:
Steele, C.J., Bailey, J.A., Zatorre, R.J., and Penhune, V.B.
(2013). Early musical training and white-matter plasticity in the corpus
callosum: evidence for a sensitive period. J. Neurosci. 33, 1282–1290.
