The best instrument is one they choose. As much as you want your child to be a virtuoso violinist, concert pianist, or rockstar, your child may be utterly fascinated by accordion, or xylophone. Letting your child have some autonomy in selecting an instrument will make them invested in learning, and will motivate them to play and experiment more with their instrument. This increases the chance of them naturally developing a passion for and motivation to make music on their own terms.
Of course there is no harm in suggesting instruments or exposing them to ones you would like them to play, but be wary of what they gravitate to. Let them make music their own way and have fun. Below are some general guidelines for you to help your child discover musical instruments for the first time.
Disclaimer: the following age ranges are only SUGGESTIONS. As the plethora 3 and 4 year-old instrumental wizards on youtube can attest, sometimes we are born with innate talents that fall outside of “what is expected” for a child. If your 3-year old can hold a beat, or carry a tune, nurture that ability!
Musical instruments for Toddlers and Pre-schoolers
Children in this age range will typically only be able to handle percussion instruments, singing, and dancing. They learn by mimicking and generally have to be “shown” how to move with the beat. This helps them to feel the beat, and implicitly learn that music consists of regular and predictable rhythmic patterns. This is an essential skill for instrumental performance later.
The music of children’s entertainers like Raffi, The Wiggles, etc is a fantastic way to get your child engaged with music by singing and dancing.
Young Children (age 5-7)
Most music schools’ curricula generally recommend beginning instrumental instruction around this age on piano, violin, xylophone, or guitar. These are simple instruments on which a pleasing musical sound can be made by a young child. Around this age, children can generally identify a pulse and remember and replicate simple musical patterns on these instruments.
There are numerous affordable high quality instruments available for purchase. So long as you purchase an instrument from a music shop, you can be certain that you will get a quality instrument that has good intonation and will respond like real instrument. Any major music retailer will carry good electric pianos, and other child sized instruments.
8+
At this point, brain development is typically at a point where a child can handle almost any instrument. (Brass instruments might still be tough for some, they still are for me!) This is also the age when conventional one-on-one lessons are recommended for most children. Once your child has had time to play with and explore an instrument on their own, then it is time to get them into lessons. Even if your child is not settled into one instrument, most music instructors will be able to provide instruction on multiple instruments until one is chosen.
Conclusion
Percussion, singing and dancing for toddlers; guitar, piano, violin for 5-7 year olds; and kids 8+ can generally handle any instrument. Take these suggestions as guidelines, and always consider your child’s preference. If your 4 year old wants to try drumset, go to a music shop and let them try out a kit; who knows they may have a natural drumset gene?
If you want help deciding on what to have your children learn, or help on getting your children interested in leaning an instrument, find my email at the bottom of the page, and reach out.
Bonus Tip
If you are a parent with little to no musical training, one of the best things you can do is to explore an instrument together with your child. It is crucial for children to see their parents participate in music. They will forever have the impression that music is important and relevant to their parents and, by extension, to people in general.
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