The average optimum age to start formal piano lessons seems to be six or seven years.
Much depends on your child's ability to focus and their desire to persevere with practising in between lessons. Learning the piano requires complex mental and physical processes and co-ordination, which demand a high level of concentration. Therefore, it is advisable not to consider lessons until at least two terms of full-time schooling has been completed, and reading is well underway. A young child is more likely to succeed if they have the support of a parent or carer who will help them with regular practising and fuel their enthusiasm with bags of encouragement!
Introduce musical play at an early age
However, it is never too early to begin to develop a feel for music. If you are keen to give your child a good musical foundation, start by singing to them and with them from the earliest age. Clapping in time and encouraging them to move to the rhythm of the music are also fun ways to introduce musical concepts from a few months of age. By making music an enjoyable part of every-day activities you can help cultivate your child’s natural sensitivity for rhythm and melody and, although it will be unconscious at this stage, a sense of tonal harmony, all of which will be a real advantage when learning to play any musical instrument later on.