Choosing the right instrument for your child
Choosing the right instrument for your child is important and sometimes difficult! I have often spoken with parents who ask 'what should my child play?' The best place to start is probably 'what instrument do they like?' They may have friends who play an instrument, do they like that sound? Go to a concert , point out the different instruments and try to identify each individual sound. Use YouTube, etc to listen to music, particularly concertos, which focus on one particular instrument. Listen to 'Peter and the Wolf', and 'Carnival of the Animals' to identify particular instruments. Go to a good music shop and look at the different instruments.
Practical considerations are relevant too. The harp is gorgeous, but incredibly expensive and very difficult to cart around! Do you have room in your house for a piano? Is the trumpet going to be too loud in a mid terrace house? Obviously there needs to be a good teacher available for the instrument you want. Try to talk to parents of people who already learn with that teacher. How are they getting on? And perhaps more importantly are they enjoying it? A trial lessons may be available to get an idea of how teacher and pupil get on.
I keep a fairly extensive list of local teachers and would be pleased to suggest people you could approach.
Making music with other people is a great pleasure for many musicians, old and young. There will be more opportunities for this with some instruments than others.
Guy Saunders
Practical considerations are relevant too. The harp is gorgeous, but incredibly expensive and very difficult to cart around! Do you have room in your house for a piano? Is the trumpet going to be too loud in a mid terrace house? Obviously there needs to be a good teacher available for the instrument you want. Try to talk to parents of people who already learn with that teacher. How are they getting on? And perhaps more importantly are they enjoying it? A trial lessons may be available to get an idea of how teacher and pupil get on.
I keep a fairly extensive list of local teachers and would be pleased to suggest people you could approach.
Making music with other people is a great pleasure for many musicians, old and young. There will be more opportunities for this with some instruments than others.
Guy Saunders