I hope you enjoyed your summer, because, even though it's still summer weather and the calendar says it still is summer, the school year is beginning! It's time to get back to the books - hopefully that means piano books as well, because we all know that taking piano lessons has benefits just like studying the 3 R's (wow, that seriously dates me) does.
There's been a discussion on my piano teacher Facebook groups as to what is the magic number of years for a student to take piano lessons? Meaning, at which point do students have the ability to read music proficiently, and have good accessibility on the keyboard? On an average, I would say it's more like when has a student reached a certain level of expertise. For a student who takes lessons throughout the school year AND practices, I would expect them to reach that level after 4-5 years of study. That would place them at an intermediate level. At that point, they are able to play some of the standard classical composers, and perform them with dynamics and direction. If they walk away from piano at this level, I would expect them to be able to return to their studies in the future without too much loss, or to be able to read through a book of light classicals. But prior to that - I'm afraid it just hasn't sunk in yet, and if they walk away, they won't retain very much. That's a big commitment, I know. But the benefit of having endeavored to learn something that took long-term effort and perseverance is a reward unto itself.