Music tuition for children in France

IT takes perseverance but psychologists say that learning to play a musical instrument helps a child develop their creativity, improve their co-ordination and boost their self-esteem.

In France there are a number of options available to children looking for musical training, with time requirements and prices that vary depending on how seriously they want to take it.

Music is used as a teaching method from the very start of école maternelle, but it is not until primary school (école élémentaire) at six that timetabled lessons begin.

At primary level, the French national curriculum sets aside about 80 hours of teaching time each year for art and music combined. Students in collège, from 11 to 15, have an hour-long music lesson in their timetable every week.

About 15,000 children each year with a particular interest in music benefit from flexible timetabling (classes à horaires aménagés) to take further classes and have personalised tuition.

If you are looking to take your child’s musical training further, there are dozens of écoles de musique in every department. Some are run by the conseil municipal and subsidised and regulated by the Culture Ministry, while others are run by not-for-profit associations or the local Maison des Jeunes et de la Culture. Check www.pagesjaunes.fr for your nearest.

The standard qualification for teachers is the diplôme d’Etat de professeur de musique, although it is not a compulsory requirement. Costs vary greatly. One school in Haute Normandie quoted just €63 a year for half an hour of tuition each week, but the average is around €200.

In the private sector, instrument manufacturer Yamaha has one of the biggest networks of music schools in France, with more than 50 centres dotted around the country. See the full list at http://tinyurl.com/yamahafr

They run special classes for children as young as three, in small groups of less than a dozen, starting with basic rhythm, harmony and singing. Pupils start with the keyboard and can choose to specialise in another instrument from the age of eight. Lessons cost about €85 a month for an hour a week.

For the most dedicated young musicians, there are the conservatoires, which operate at local, departmental and national levels and are all regulated by the Culture Ministry.

Entry to some of the most prestigious conservatoires is very competitive and pupils will need to give up about three hours a week of their time – half an hour of which is an individual tuition session.

Costs are in the region of €250 a year. For this, students get a rigorous grounding in music theory and reading notation and they choose their instrument from the beginning.

For a more personal – and more expensive – approach, many freelance teachers offer individual lessons (cours à domicile). The Institut de Culture Musicale (www.icm-musique.fr) can put you in contact with a local teacher, or you can find them listed in the Pages Jaunes.

An hour’s individual tuition will cost about €30. The standard form of payment is the CESU (chèque emploi-service universel).