Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What musical instrument for my DS?

I would love for my DS8 to start playing an instrument. As a former tenor sax player (grades 6-12) I realize the importance of music to a child.

I talked to our (I'm a 7th grade Math teacher) band director today and he suggested either the piano* (said learning the piano would be the most solid foundation you could have for learning any other instrument as well as singing) or possibly the violin (since the instrument could be customized to the size my the individual musician, and we have an awesome orchestra program locally).

He said it was usually suggested to stay away from instruments that took a lot of breath to play until the child was in the 5th grade or so.

So, what instrument(s) does your DS/DD play and what advice can you give as far as choosing an instrument?

Thanks for any and all input.

TripleB

I told my wife that I would never love our children enough to let them get a drum set.

I think the band director gave you some solid advice. In addition to providing a solid foundation for musicality and learning other instruments, I think piano is the most pleasant classical instrument to listen to when played without accompaniment, particularly when the musician isn't yet skilled. Violins take up very little space, are portable, and much cheaper than pianos (for equivalent instrument quality).

Unless you are planning on your child's instrument mastery being the hook that gets them into their preferred school and can accurately predict which instrument will be in demand on the marching band ten years from now, I wouldn't bother trying to micromanage their choice of instrument(s) beyond the introductory piano or violin choice.

My son wants to play sax next year.

DD9 is currently making this choice but she has to pick a first choice, second choice, etc. She is currently taking piano and I thought viola would make a good alternative to violin, but then realized it reads alto clef. I thought that would be way too confusing since she's trying to learn piano, which reads treble and bass. We put violin as first choice, cello as second (cello uses bass clef). The teacher told her that way too many people chose violin as first choice and there are not enough cellos so if she doesn't get violin in the lottery she will be stuck with cello. I think it can be sized down but not sure how this works. I'm not relishing the idea of dragging a cello around.

I played clarinet and later on, trumpet, in school (clarinet in college as well). Clarinet is a "squeaky" instrument and so many people make it sound horrible. I would stay away from it unless your child really wants to play it. I always wished I had played oboe instead. Trumpet was Ok but takes a lot of breath and really strong lips.

They allow 4th graders to play strings, but no wind instruments til 5th grade. The lottery instruments (meaning too many people chose them, at least this year) were flute, violin, viola and percussion.

Oh, cello is so beautiful, don't say "she'll be stuck with cello". Funny that viola is so popular, folks must have realized that there was a shortage for so long that if you played viola you had a better chance of being a first viola or getting into the higher group.

Our music teachers check your emboucheur and musicality and experience and make recommendations for you, but of course the final choice is the family's. My older son was recommended for...I don't remember, because he wanted to lay percussion. The teachers said they strongly prefer piano experience for percussion (different clefs and for mallet instruments) but he wanted percussion, so he did. My younger son was recommended for clarinet or oboe and I'm so glad he chose clari, I don't care for oboe. He's doing vey well, too. He took summer trumpet lessons a couple years ago because "Mom, the cool kids play trumpet", but it didn't suit his emboucheur or his braces. And cool kids are throughout the band in high school, so there.

At 8 or any age, piano gives experience in playing and hearing more than one thing at a time, and can take you everywhere since you also learn clefs, rhythms, etc.

Have you considered also guitar?

We have piano, drums, and voice. Experimented a little with guitar, but not seriously. Piano because everyone should play the piano . Drums because better you hit something that sounds nice than the furniture and walls. Voice because you can't stop them from singing.

I love the sound of the cello, too, though I couldn't persuade any of ours to take it up.

And personally, I think there is no sound worse than a bad oboist!

Introductory bagpipes. I once had a problem upstairs neighbour who made noise at ungodly hours, so I attached sub-woofers to my ceiling and blasted bagpipe tuning in the a.m, just after it was allowed by bylaw. The problem stopped after one application. Enough said.

TripleB, the recorder is a forgiving wind instrument for a novice, even one with limited breath capacity, so there's no need to shy away from all woodwinds.

That being said, my vote is for the instrument your child is most interested in and most likely to persist in playing. It sounds pithy, but enjoyment is vital to sticking with an instrument and enjoying music.

Along with piano or another instrument for reading music, just sing. Folk songs, regional and storytelling songs, old songs, musicals, hymns, ballads. How about rounds? Excellent ear training! Leads to singing parts well. Do you play the piano? My dad used to play songs with us singing while dinner was cooking. I don't have a good voice, but I have a vast repertoire and I know all the verses lol! Voice lessons can wait...DS (my theater major) started in high school, though his "competition" started in middle school.

A church in our town has an amazing youth choir program, that spends a lot of time on development and theory. So at least half the choristers are not members of the church, they are there for the training (and it's free!) I wish I'd know about it when my kids were younger. The high school choir teacher can always tell who came out of that choir. But your child can also maybe do summer theater programs or a summer community musical. Our community theater does musicals with room for kids as well as adults, and the kids learn a lot just by exposure to the amazing talent.