Music Lessons: Which Instrument?

[CrunchyGirl]

We are starting to look at putting LegoMan in music lessons probably starting next year (from what I can find the teachers around here want kids to be at least 7 years old). Neither of us has even an ounce of musical training--never had any lessons--so we don't have any sort of preference. I know piano is popular and I'm guessing that's with good reason. Could someone enlighten me? Is piano just the default? Are there advantages to any other instruments we should look at?

 

ETA: As far as we can tell, LegoMan doesn't have any preferences either. Music is sort of a foreign concept around here although we just started composer studies.

[Greenmama2]

Since he doesn't have a preference, do you have budget constraints? A piano would be a one-off expense (at least for a good number of years) but possibly a big one, a string instrument would be initially cheaper but he would need a new one every year or two as he grows (you can rent of course). What about carting it around? Will he need to carry it places himself as he gets older or will you be available to drive until he does? It isn't fun negotiating a bus with a tuba or double bass. Is he tall for his age? How long are his arms? What shape are his lips? Those can all influence choice of wind instrument.

The instrument a child is most likely to succeed with is the one they have chosen themselves IMO. The best plan would be to start taking him to concerts, especially children's symphony performances & letting him get to know the instruments. Perhaps something will catch his fancy :)

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

7 is a bit young for a band instrument -- usually that's 4th grade (9-10ish).  Recorder is a great first step -- Get "Recorder Karate"  book and recorder set from Amazon.  Another option is to go to a good sized music store that will let him try out several instruments to see what clicks.

[Dory]

Guitar is an ok first option and so long as he is taking classical guitar lessons he wills till learn to read music and should be studying some music theory. Piano is a great first option, but unless you already have a piano in the house it's not really feasible for a lot of families. Recorder is also a good first option. I wouldn't choose violin, viola, or cello for a first instrument unless there is a lot of music exposure in the family and the child has an excellent ear. My dh played trumpet and he says he wouldn't recommend a brass instrument for a child that young. Flute could be a possibility.

 

Really any instrument could work if the child likes it. Despite liking it, there will probably be days when you have to push them through their practicing, but if they liked it to start with, it does help a little.

[...................]

piano piano piano piano, if you are going for traditional instruction.  My daughter took piano and then flute, and piano was a million times easier.  You just sit right, get your fingers in spider position and bang away...  With other instruments there are so many tiny details to master that it takes a real love for the music and personal goal to push through.  With piano you can kind of keep on going even if you do not have a ton of personal ambition. 

 

For example with flute, it's the way you have your lips, your breathing, your posture, even how you breathe in and out of your nose, how strong your breath is, when to TAKE a breath, how to hold the flute, the fingering, how you stand with your legs, where your chin is, etc. etc.  You make higher and lower notes not just by your fingering but also by your breath strength or lack thereof.  and on and on.

 

With piano you just pretty much sit down and hit the keys, at least for the first 6 years or so!  LOL

 

UNLESS you can find a suzuki teacher ( a certified trained real suzuki teacher), then violin is very nice because they don't have to sit still. Suzuki is gentle, fun and amazing.  THe children progress little by little in such a fun and gentle way.

 

PS You can use an inexpensive electric piano for the first year.  Then you can move up to a good KORG with weighted keys for about 700.00.  

 

 

[CrunchyGirl]

Yeah, I was concerned since we don't have a piano but I was hoping a keyboard of some sort would fly. Sounds like there are at least options :)

[maize]

I would vote for piano, it is a great foundation for music theory and for learning other instruments.

[NASDAQ]

Eeek, my mother teaches piano and she _hates_ the "sit and bang away" style of instruction. Your son really wants to do music but has no preference on what music he does?

 

I started the kids in piano at four (except the third child who started at three, but he's an outlier. He could sing on-pitch at two and begged for lessons from the time he could talk), then Orff, then Suzuki strings. Suzuki works very well for a certain kids, but seven is on the old side for it. For a very musical child who is seven, I don't think it's a great choice.

 

Given the choice I would select the best possible teacher and put my child in whatever that teacher taught. If I lived near a large urban centre with an academy of music and I had unlimited choice, I'd go with Orff.

[MinivanMom]

If he has no preference (and money isn't an issue) then I would start with the piano.  Even if he switches to a different instrument later on, the music theory foundation you get from studying piano is invaluable.  I would start with piano, but I would also start going to music performances to help expose him to possible instruments.  Many symphonies have children's performances where they introduce the instruments or sponsor free "Instrument Zoos" where children can try out multiple instruments and talk with the symphony members.

[Dmmetler]

Orff, Kodaly, or Dalcroze would be my preference for a child who isn't set on an instrument yet. All of these will let the child move, sing, and experiment. Orff will have the most instrument integration, with Kodaly being the most vocally focused, and Dalcroze is the most movement focused, but there's a lot of overlap (and many teachers, including me, have training in multiple philosophies). Spend a year just making and enjoying music, and doing every instrument petting zoo, going to lots of concerts, and listening to a ton of recordings to see what the preference is. The single biggest correlation in longetivity on an instrument is timbre preference-a child who's timbre preference is soft, mellow sounds isn't going to stick with trumpet for long.

 

I'm not in favor of the "put everyone on piano" approach-mostly because I'm a wind player who, if I'd been forced to start on piano, probably would never have become a musician. Piano didn't speak to me and become a friend until I was older and more musically mature-but my wind instruments were a friend from the first time I picked up a recorder at age 5, and I ended up making many more friends through the years.  If a child is naturally drawn to piano and loves it, that's a different story,  When I was a school music teacher/beginning band director, I really felt like a music matchmaker. It was my job to find the perfect match for the child, where together they'd soar and have a long term, satisfying relationship.

 

For wind instruments, 10 is a good age to start-by then, usually the hands and body are big enough that there isn't any reason to not go with what speaks to the child, and even 12 isn't too old. Starting younger usually simply means that the beginning stages are stretched out, and it tends to put limitations on the instrument choice, which, unless a child's timbre preference is for higher pitches and brighter tone colors, can really, really turn them off quickly. (If you prefer lower pitched sounds and darker tone colors, beginning clarinet or trumpet or violin is often physically painful-and if your own playing is just plain noise to you, you're not going to stick with it willingly for long enough for it to stop being noise).  If you can find a good group class, that's a good way to go. If not, do a lot of experiences, provide a lot of instruments for exploration (recorders, drums, small mallet percussion, and yes, keyboard-especially one with good instrument sound samples so the child can try out instrument sounds that way), sing, and explore.

 

 

 

 

[Angie in VA]

ITA w/ piano for music theory. It's a great first instrument. That said, I have two violinists and ITA w/ what was said about finding a good Suzuki teacher for violin.  And a pp was spot on w/ rentals and sizing up (rent till you hit full size is a common piece of advice) being considerations. There are also things like having a humidifier and a dehumidifier in your home to baby the violin (viola, cello or bass). 

 

Also, where are the lessons? If you travel and decide to make a day of it, you won't want to leave the instrument in your car when the temps are extreme. We've shopped at many a store w/ my dc's instruments in tow. Just a consideration about schlepping the instruments w/ you. 

 

I puffy pink heart Suzuki violin!

[Korrale]

Piano or violin. You can start with a keyboard rather than a piano. And you can rent violins.

 

I would look at a music program like Little Musician so that he gets some good simple theory, music appreciation, and pitch and rhythm training first. It can be done comfortable at home. That I show my son started.

[Jess4879]

Yeah, I was concerned since we don't have a piano but I was hoping a keyboard of some sort would fly. Sounds like there are at least options :)

 

Research instructors before you get a keyboard.  A large majority of piano teachers will not teach unless there is a piano at home to practice on.  We learnt this the hard way.  LOL 

 

I would also research Suzuki vs. traditional and then ask the instuctors questions about how they teach.  We originally tried out Suzuki for a couple months, but our instructor was adamant that the kids not even look at the notes until they were much, much older.  It wasn't the goal we were personally after, so we are trying to find a traditional teacher instead.

[mytwomonkeys]

My first vote is for a recorder. My second vote is piano.