[Closed] School music lessons and instruments

Let the boy choose what he wants to learn then he will *want* to do it. One of my girls plays the drums and *LOVES* it - she is always practicing and wanting to get better. We wouldn't have chosen it (for obvious noise reasons), but it was what she wanted to do!

Piano. If you can play the piano well, you can play anything.

The Mrs used to play piano and clarinet up to about level 8, as the kids have been given the opportunity through school to learn instruments they've been "encouraged" towards the clarinet.

The lad (age 13) is now on his third year of clarinet, and doing ok at it. He started in year 6 at primary when the lessons were free and we've paid each year since, I think it is about £180 a year. This summer he's bought himself an electric guitar (from Ayr Guitar - best shop-name ever), mostly to repeat the opening bars of Seven Nation Army continually (or so it seems).

In year s2 of high school, he's been encouraged to play instruments in music lessons and has enjoyed both drums and bass - he's got a bass guitar lined up for xmas.

From what I can see - if they like music, and are willing to practice then confidence in playing one instrument will encourage the uptake of others. Find one they want to play..... that is the trigger

I would go with letting him learn what he wants to learn.

When I was at school I have no idea why, but I was pushed towards learning an instrument when I don't remember ever having any real desire to do so....

I would have quite liked to have learned guitar, but ended up with recorder and then violin. I didn't really feel enthused by it & remember being forced to practice them every night. It was something that I really didn't enjoy doing.
I played both to quite a decent level before ditching violin and it being suggested to me that I could swap recorder for clarinet. Clarinet was better than recorder, but still not very cool....
I ended up playing for a borough orchestra, where I also played bass clarinet & then one day got asked if I fancied teaching myself saxophone over the summer & joining the borough jazz band the following September.

This was more like it, finally getting a 'cool' instrument and playing in a well respected band that seemed a lot more fun than the orchestral stuff.
I'd still rather have learnt guitar though.

Jakester - Member

Piano. If you can play the piano well, you can play anything.

huh?

Learning is best when people are interested in something, I'd ask him what he wants to do.

Guitar Teacher/Musician for a living here.

Just ask him what he wants to learn! The only students that will ever do well are those that enjoy what they're doing and want to do it!

Girls love a guitarist though 8)

I'm thinking he should pursue something that we couldn't expose him to, perhaps saxophone, flute or piano.

No reason you can't have a piano in the house if you have room TBH. They regularly come up for free or very cheap on local buy&sell groups.

We have an upright tucked away in the corner of our kitchen.

The advantage over one at school is that the kids can tinkle on it any time they feel like, rather than when they are told to. And it is "always on" and ready to use.

from Ayr Guitar - best shop-name ever

howsyourdad1 - Member
Jakester - Member
Piano. If you can play the piano well, you can play anything.

huh?

The grounding you get by learning the piano (ie seeing how chords and scales are constructed etc) helps with the basics for any other instrument, in my experience.

Jakester - Member
Piano. If you can play the piano well, you can play anything.

huh?

From age 6 I learned the Bb Cornet via school and am now a fairly accomplished player, but it's single note and single clef. Now learning the piano, and whilst I can read music, it's giving me headaches trying to read and play multiple notes from two different clefs.

theory is easier on the piano, but if you are going from guitar to piano or piano to guitar, both will have their learning curves and intricacies from transferring over.

I've played the guitar for years, recently started the piano. Which is all good, alot of things transferred over fairly easily, and tbh, it probably upped my understanding of the fretboard theory wise.. I find it incredibly easy to play all my scales and modes etc in the key of C on the piano, into different keys I really need to start thinking. (cause I learned everying in C firstly, piano doesn't transpose as easy as the guitar). the hand independence on the piano is also difficult for a guitarist to get

I'm willing to bet there'd be a similar learning curves for a pianist going to the guitar. ie the fact the hands work more in unison and simple fact of rotating the left hand would cause issues, the muscle memory is different. and the fact the guitar has multiple places to play the same note, that it's tuned in 4ths apart from the b string would probably confuse too.

I don't think it makes much difference either way.

Theory is more obvious on the piano though and sheet music was made for piano, not guitar..

Have you got a local brass band? If yes, then learning trumpet at school will mean he can then later on join the band and switch to whatever they need - eg cornet etc. That's what my lad is doing and he loves playing with the band.

Girls love a brass band.... don't they? 8)

The important thing is, what does he want to play?

Whatever they want to learn BUT they must practice 10 minutes every day.

Our eldest taught himself to play the recorder in year 3, then started school flute lessons, on that 10 minute rule recommended by a music teacher friend. He's now 14, about to take his grade 7 and playing at county level, as much through consistent hard work as natural ability.

He's also taught himself to play saxophone and keyboard - it gets expensive. Especially as his sister is taking grade 3 flute as well!

The only instrument taught at their primary school now is guitar, no one interested in anything else. Eldest looking at music teaching as a career, but the teachers he has are concerned it will have disappeared as an option by the time he graduates.

It doesn't matter, apart from logistics.

Our eldest daughter was offered Double Bass or Double Bass. Which I think was a deliberate ploy from the music service at the local council to end music lesson provision at our small village school. We have since had to fight to get the council to send a bus to pick her up when they invited her to join the local youth orchestra. Also looking forward to her taking the damn thing on the school bus when she starts high school next year.

I wanted clarinet at school, I got double bass.

Still play bass- because I like it. All the rest of my mates have violins and recorders tucked away in dusty cases.

Get him to choose, hes the one who will have to play it.

Tom B - Member

Girls love a guitarist though

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My lad is doing quite well with his guitar. He wanted to learn to play it and will go and practice without putting up a fight.

My daughter has chosen the flute. She makes a right bloody racket, but is happy enough.

We have an electric piano (Casio), which junior never even plugged in. However one day he picked up my accoustic guitar and asked how to play. He's now a guitar god. When I visited him at uni I noticed an electronic keyboard lying on the bed, I'd guess about 4 octaves rather than 7, "do you play", "yeah". I think once you've got to grips with one instrument another is no problem - if you're still young.