RESEARCH DEBUNKS NOTION THAT IT'S BEST
 TO START MUSIC LESSONS WHEN VERY YOUNG

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 14 -- Children do not have to
begin playing musical instruments when they are very young in order
to become proficient, according to studies at the University of
Virginia.
	Jacqueline S. Johnson, whose research helped establish that
there is a critical period between the ages of three to seven for
acquiring language, is trying to determine if a similar sensitive
time frame exists for acquiring musical skill.  She and graduate
student Carol Antone have found no direct link between age of
learning and long-term musical proficiency.
	"What this means is it's not too late for a 10-year-old to
start a musical instrument.  The 10-year-old's potential for
becoming musically proficient appears to be no different than
someone who began learning at five," said Johnson, an assistant
professor of psychology.
	"Although our data disputes the widely held notion that it
is necessary to start playing musical instruments when very young in
order to become proficient, our research has proved the value of the
old saying `practice makes perfect,'" she noted.  
	Other factors that Johnson and Antone say contribute to
enhanced musical ability are playing more than one instrument,
having musically talented family members and being more
quantitatively than verbally inclined.
	The researchers chose 55 pianists who had at least five
years of formal training and who began lessons between the ages of
three to 10 years.  Their conclusions are limited to the age range
they tested.
	Johnson and Antone assessed the pianists' perceptions of
tone and rhythm and tested their ability to perform by having them
play unfamiliar music as well as well-practiced selections.
	The research, funded by a five-year National Institutes of
Health grant, also searched for other factors that could enhance
musical proficiency.  Johnson and Antone investigated the amount of
practice people had in the last year as well as the amount during or
after training.  They determined if participants played other
instruments and for how long and if they performed better on the
verbal or quantitative parts of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
They also ascertained the number and degree of musically talented
members in the pianists' families.  	
	Johnson and Antone also explored potential motivational
factors including if the pianists started musical training on their
own or at their parents' instigation.
	While some factors contributing to musical proficiency are
beyond a person's control, such as having talented family members,
most are influenced by an individual's actions, such as how many
instruments a person plays, how much the individual practices and
how many years of training and playing he or she has, the
researchers found.
	Age may play an indirect role in gaining musical skill,
Johnson noted, since those who begin earlier tend to have more
musical training.
	In a survey of 1,000 college-age students to determine ages
at which they began and ended their musical training, they found
that most people stop during high school.  The most common reason
survey participants gave for ending training was they felt they had
no time to practice.  

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October 13, 1994

	FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Johnson at (804) 924-0654.