Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Instruments for kids w DCD hypotonia/vision prob

As most of you know we moved in to homeschooling this week and my son says he wants to take violin (his father was a violinist) or guitar (his uncle teaches but lives in another state). I don't want to invest in something he will be unable to do.

I'd love to hear some of your experiences. What instruments have been successful for your children and what were a disaster due to disability related issues?

--I wouldn't assume "can't" before trying.
--I would suggest going to a music store that allows kids to try out instruments. See what feels good to his body before making a choice.
--find a private teacher with a reputation for patience and good teaching.

DeeDee

I would think that a string instrument would be FAR harder physically than either a keyboard or woodwind instrument.


It all depends on the individual manifestation of the hand strength, I think.

DD really struggled physically with violin when she was 7. I now think that this may have been because of a lack of stability in her hands and wrists. While we never noticed any particular difficulty with piano that way, what we have noticed (and only started to note about four years into things) is that she has sharply limited pain-free practice time. That will eventually be limiting, and it's why I'd recommend choosing something which minimizes the conflict between instrument demands and disability. A physical disability isn't going to go away after so many years of instrument instruction, KWIM? And at that point it becomes a barrier and a source of deep frustration because of the limits that it imposes.

(We're there, with piano, in fact.)

I went to one violin lesson when I was 8, and small and skinny for my age. I found the method of holding it uncomfortable, and never went back. If those are the only two options, I'd recommend guitar, since it's more of a fine-motor instrument, and you don't have to support the weight.

I recommend you avoid the mistake we made, and get a quality instrument. We bought DD a cheap, kid-sized classical guitar, because we didn't want to spend the money if it would be a short-term interest she drops. Well, it turned out that the poor quality of the instrument was a major reason WHY she dropped it... where's the reward in playing music if it doesn't sound good? Each fret down the neck would be further off key than the one above it, so it was impossible to play anything in tune, and there was nothing that could be adjusted to correct it. We've since remedied it by buying her a high-quality instrument (we didn't break the bank, but by this point I knew what I was looking for), and she still picks it up from time to time and goofs around, but she has yet to recapture that previous passion.

In your case I'd also recommend an instrument with low action (action is how high the string hangs over the neck), which would pretty much rule out a classical guitar. Low action means less hand strength needed to press down a string.

To give a ballpark estimate, our DD's acoustic/electric would probably meet your DS's needs. We found it for about $230. It comes with a built-in electronic tuner, which is great for her.

I think your bigger problem here, depending on the nature of it, is the vision issue, because that's going to make reading music more difficult. That could be another point in favor of the guitar, because tablatures.

My ds with DCD plays piano and loves it - even though his finger joints bend totally backwards and inside out and all that while he's playing He's also playing a band instrument, but it's too early on for me to tell you how successful he'll be at it.

I'll second the advice to go to a music store and let your ds try out any instruments he's interested in. We also rented the band instrument rather than purchase at first, so we could be sure he liked it and was able to play it. FWIW, we also rented our non-DCD kids' band instruments at first too, to be sure they liked them and were able to play them :)).

FWIW, our dd who has vision issues started playing piano at the same time as ds, and she struggled tremendously at first because she couldn't see the music and she also became lost every time she moved her eyes from the music to the keys. None of us knew at the time she couldn't see well.... but once she'd been through VT she made major improvements in her piano skills almost overnight

If your ds wants to learn violin, I'd let him start with it. He may find it difficult, but even NT kids at his age might find it difficult. Don't overthink will it be a problem until it is, and also give him that freedom to try things out without the expectation that it will have to be something he enjoys long-term, just as you would if he was a nt child without challenges. He may find violin is a natural instrument for him and he is passionate about it and it will be a life-long source of pleasure for him. OTOH, maybe he'll try it out and he just won't be able to play it due to his DCD etc. OTOH, maybe he'll try it out and he'll be able to play it a-ok and after a year or so he'll be bored and just won't care. It's just (imo) not possible to predict for any young child that an instrument they choose now is going to be "long-term".

One thing you might do now that you're homeschooling is spend some time listening and learning about all kinds of instruments - or going to listen to an orchestra or band play etc. And if his father is willing, have his father show him some of the technical side of how to play a violin before you actually invest in a student-sized violin, things like that.

I hope he has fun learning whatever instrument you choose!

Best wishes,

polarbear

ps - almost forgot to mention - my DCD ds plays ukulele too (all my kids play) - they got started on it at school, and then found a local group that was specifically for kids learning to play ukulele. It's been fun, and it's been very "doable" for my ds - and ukuleles are a lot smaller and much less expensive than guitars I think our ukes cost around $45 for a beginner model, and for kids who care - they come in colors lol. So that might be something fun to learn for awhile before moving on to guitar.

I also wonder if you might find a beginner's instrument type group like ukes or recorders etc through a local homeschool group?

Also look into the possibility of renting a nice instrument for a few months before you buy.

I don't know about my kids (haven't tried instruments), but I am low tone with hypermobile joints in my hands. As a 9 year old kid going into 5th grade band, I picked clarinet, and played up through college. It ended up being hard for me at the higher level because I couldn't really hold the clarinet up properly. Since my thumb was "double-jointed" (as my clarinet teacher pointed out), and I had a very awkward hold on the clarinet, it was very difficult to move the fingers on my right hand.

I'm not sure if DS will ever be coordinated enough to play an instrument, but I'm planning on steering away from instruments that are heavy or hard to hold up.

There are now hand-braces that make a clarinet more ergonomic. But I agree-- particular instruments can be deal-breakers for particular bodies.

DeeDee

Was not aware of that. Very cool! Too bad it wasn't there when I needed it.

So glad this was mentioned about the clarinet! It has been suggested for my DD who has extreme issues with her hands (not because of her hands, but in ignorance of those issues).

Flute was eventually hard on my hands for the same reason.

Piccolo was easier-- less mass.

Mum3, you'd want to talk to a professional about the ergonomics if there are hand problems. There is something called Alexander Technique that works on ergonomics for musicians-- very useful.

DeeDee

DeeDee - thanks for that! I know of the Alexander technique in other contexts, that's a great suggestion. But I think we will just avoid clarinet and probably even flute for a while yet. She's currently picked up a second sport anyway, so does not have time for a 2nd instrument unless she gives that up.

Thanks for all the feedback and thoughts. I do need to get him to a good music store to check things out.