Music Lessons for Kids: Helping Your Child Choose Their First Instrument
Learning to play a musical instrument brings joy and a sense of achievement to children. It also increases their cognitive skills, improves their coordination, teaches them to be responsible, exposes them to different music styles and enables them to express themselves creatively. There are more benefits to music training, which is why many parents do their best to encourage their kids to take up an instrument.
Often, children would already have an idea of what they want to learn - something they’ve heard on the radio perhaps, or something they saw on TV. But there are times when children express a desire to make music but are not aware of the options available to them. This is where parents can lend a guiding hand to help children discover the instrument that suits them best. Check out these tips!
Introduce different musical instruments
Introduce your child to the world of musical instruments by letting them watch musicians in action. As a tip, some of the most ideal first instruments for children are the piano, ukulele, violin, recorder and classical guitar, so you may want to start from there.
Check out online music lessons
You can also let your child take a look at how lessons go by watching free music lessons for kids online. This gives them a better idea of how instruments work and the kind of instruction to expect. It also helps children imagine themselves taking the class and internalize how committed they would be to learning how to play a particular instrument. You should check out some of the online reviews for the many paid-for programs for guitars and other instruments which tend be more professionally put together and see which ones suit your child’s needs best.
Consider your child’s music interests
One thing that motivates children to take up music is the artist that they look up to or want to emulate, or the genre that makes them happy. Ask your child what kinds of songs they want to learn to play, and let these be your guide in determining the instruments that work for those styles.
This is important because some instruments cater to a specific music style. For instance, if your child expresses a deep interest in classical music, the piano, violin or classical guitar would be more suitable instead of the electric guitar or the drums.
Provide a hands-on experience
Visit music schools and music stores and ask if your child can try out different musical instruments. There’s nothing like holding a real instrument to really know how you feel about it, so take note of how your child reacts to and interacts with every instrument.
Help them decide
When you and your child are done exploring the instruments that are available and accessible to you, help your child work out which instrument would suit them best by asking questions, such as: Which of these do you like the most, and why? How did you feel when you held it and heard it? Can you imagine yourself playing this instrument and taking care of it every day? Observe how your child answers these questions and you know when they’ve made the right choice.
As you help your child decide, it’s important to note that no musical instrument is better than the other, especially since children’s interests and abilities vary from one child to another. The best instrument for them is the one that appeals to them the most, the one that brings them the most joy and inspiration to learn as they grow.
Learning to play a musical instrument brings joy and a sense of achievement to children. It also increases their cognitive skills, improves their coordination, teaches them to be responsible, exposes them to different music styles and enables them to express themselves creatively. There are more benefits to music training, which is why many parents do their best to encourage their kids to take up an instrument.
Often, children would already have an idea of what they want to learn - something they’ve heard on the radio perhaps, or something they saw on TV. But there are times when children express a desire to make music but are not aware of the options available to them. This is where parents can lend a guiding hand to help children discover the instrument that suits them best. Check out these tips!
Introduce different musical instruments
Introduce your child to the world of musical instruments by letting them watch musicians in action. As a tip, some of the most ideal first instruments for children are the piano, ukulele, violin, recorder and classical guitar, so you may want to start from there.
Check out online music lessons
You can also let your child take a look at how lessons go by watching free music lessons for kids online. This gives them a better idea of how instruments work and the kind of instruction to expect. It also helps children imagine themselves taking the class and internalize how committed they would be to learning how to play a particular instrument. You should check out some of the online reviews for the many paid-for programs for guitars and other instruments which tend be more professionally put together and see which ones suit your child’s needs best.
Consider your child’s music interests
One thing that motivates children to take up music is the artist that they look up to or want to emulate, or the genre that makes them happy. Ask your child what kinds of songs they want to learn to play, and let these be your guide in determining the instruments that work for those styles.
This is important because some instruments cater to a specific music style. For instance, if your child expresses a deep interest in classical music, the piano, violin or classical guitar would be more suitable instead of the electric guitar or the drums.
Provide a hands-on experience
Visit music schools and music stores and ask if your child can try out different musical instruments. There’s nothing like holding a real instrument to really know how you feel about it, so take note of how your child reacts to and interacts with every instrument.
Help them decide
When you and your child are done exploring the instruments that are available and accessible to you, help your child work out which instrument would suit them best by asking questions, such as: Which of these do you like the most, and why? How did you feel when you held it and heard it? Can you imagine yourself playing this instrument and taking care of it every day? Observe how your child answers these questions and you know when they’ve made the right choice.
As you help your child decide, it’s important to note that no musical instrument is better than the other, especially since children’s interests and abilities vary from one child to another. The best instrument for them is the one that appeals to them the most, the one that brings them the most joy and inspiration to learn as they grow.