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Photo by Mike Yoder Lawrence Journal-World

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo.Sara Ahmed 12, Lawrence, uses a computer program to practice sight reading piano music Friday, June 5, 2009, at the Lawrence Piano Studio.

When it comes to children taking piano lessons, choosing an age for them to begin can be a tricky decision. And if you’re thinking about lessons for yourself, the thought of starting a new hobby as an adult can be daunting. Is there a too soon or too late for learning piano?

Eric Sakumura, piano instructor of 28 years in Lawrence, says he isn’t sure if there’s a perfect age to start with lessons. But with students ranging in age from 3 to 70, he has some insight into what starting at different ages can mean for different students.

Sakumura says that for children, it can be best to start with lessons before they’re 9 or 10 years old.

“The reason being that if they’re starting later, they start to compare themselves to their peers,” he says about children who may not have as many years of experience compared with peers who are younger. “It takes a while. It takes years of study.”

Sakumura thinks that good readers are good at reading music.

“Reading language and reading music coincide,” he says. “My view of reading music is it’s just another language we learn.”

Jessie Habluetzel, a Kansas University senior from Olathe, recalls starting piano lessons early.

“Most start after they know their letters at 6 or 7,” she says. “I started really young — right before I turned 5 years old. My mom thought I was a prime candidate for piano and I was really interested in it. That’s why she started me so young.”

Habluetzel has also taught piano lessons for years. She thinks an ideal age for starting lessons for children is 7 or 8, but “it depends on the child,” she says. “If they’re ready and they know their letters, they’ll do well.”

Shari Anderson of Lawrence has two children, ages 8 and 9, who have been taking piano lessons since they were 5.

“I just wanted them to start early because music’s so great for a child’s well-being and the development of their mind,” Anderson says.

She says the group lessons have had a lot of energy that’s beneficial for her children.

“The little kids really respond well to the group,” she says.

If children wait until their junior high years to start lessons, Sakumura says, it may be more challenging for them.

“It’s difficult to progress so much in piano and catch up,” he says.

Adults who are thinking of taking lessons themselves, however, shouldn’t be led to believe they’re decades late.

“I think piano lessons for adults are a great thing. It uses both sides of the brain,” he says. “It’s a nice release.”

There are also adults who dropped the hobby years ago but have chosen to return to piano lessons later in life.

“It’s interesting to me because adult students who have taken (lessons) in the past ... I feel like they don’t remember anything,” Sakumura says. “A couple months later, they jump back to where they left off.”

Those were just the circumstances for Sakumura.

“I started with piano lessons when I was 7, quit when I was 14, started again at 21,” he says.

Besides age, Sakumura says he thinks ability and interest are two of the most important aspects of children advancing in piano lessons.

Habluetzel suggests parents find a teacher who their children get along with.

“I had four different piano teachers. The initial one I stuck with the longest because she let me play Disney songs but also things I needed to learn as well,” she says.

She also says parents should aid their children’s learning along the way.

“My mom would help me learn my letter names,” she says, “and let me play a song for her.”