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What is the "ideal" way to help a 12 year old pick a musical instrument?


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My 12 yr old homeschooled son has been taking piano lessons for 6 years (he's really good) and we will continue this. Our church offers lessons on most instruments and I was thinking of using this rescource and maybe setting him up to cycle through all the teachers to discuss and try out the instruments. He thinks he might want percussion but I think its in his best interests to evaluate all options. I know next to nothing as I never played an instrument so I wanted to ask someone in the "know" what is the ideal way to help a child pick a muscial instrument? Thanks.

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This sounds like a pretty decent approach, actually. Especially for a kid who has some proven musical ability. The teacher does matter somewhat--it would be shame to invest in an instrument and find the teacher a terrible fit. And it will be more informative to hear about and maybe try an instrument with someone who knows it well and loves it.

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Can you let him try each instrument? In 6th grade, our band director had us come try the instruments one night. Then he helped guide us based on that. I came in wanting to play trumpet, and he steered me toward the trombone since I would be getting braces sometime (I ended up learning trumpet while I had braces :lol: ).

 

It's largely personal preference - what instrument the child likes to hear. It's also dependent on what they can make a sound out of. Woodwind and brass instruments are very different in how you make a sound. One might be easier than the other.

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There's a great book to help narrow the list of instruments. It's called The Right Instrument for Your Child. Someone else on the forum recommended it. It has parents go through lists of physical and emotional characteristics to weed out instruments. For example, a small child wouldn't do well on the tuba, people that have lung problems probably shouldn't choose the flute, etc. Does the child want to play mostly by himself or in groups? Very social kids probably won't like the piano, but they may love an instrument used in a band or orchestra. One thing that few parents realize is that some instruments can only be played properly after a certain number of adult teeth have come in.

 

The authors really put a lot of thought into the book. There goal is to help families choose the right instrument the first time. They are against the idea of parents making kids take piano because the parents want them to, or taking an instrument they already own, regardless of it being a good fit.

 

I used the list to help narrow things down for my 6 year old. Before I read the book, I was going to try and steer him toward piano (since I already knew he's too young for most band instruments). As I read the book, I realized that piano would be a horrible choice. He's expressed interest in drums, which is currently the best fit for him. (The authors says very energetic and wiggly kids do well on drums). Tigger also wants to play trumpet, which may work when he's older. He doesn't have enough adult teeth yet, according to the book.

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Check with music stores, and find out if any of them do preference testing-there's a timbre preference test that many schools use, and often they will arrange with a music store to come in, test the kids, and provide an instrument meet and greet, with the understanding that the parents will also be given equipment rental information. It's the Seashore test, but There's also a licensed version that instrument manufacturers provide for sales purposes to stores that is quite good. The combination of timbre preference and then physcially trying out instruments, has the highest 3 year retention rating as far as picking an instrument goes. If a store has it, they'll gladly give your child the opportunity to get a chance to try it out-either 1-1 or by letting you know when there's a public session available (my university used to have a couple of these a year for interested kids-our college students did the testing, meet and greet, and ensemble performances for the kids).

 

 

 

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I just had my kids listen to a lot of different types of music then each picked the instrument they wanted to play. Maybe taking an older child to some live music performances like orchestra, musicals, quartets, student recitals, etc... (there are a lot of low/no cost options in our area...finding out about them is the part that takes work) and letting him see/hear different instruments in action might help.

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