What instrument for a child?

Choosing a musical instrument for a child is not the easiest thing. First of all, it should be adapted to the age of the child and its capabilities. Keyboards and guitars are undoubtedly the most frequently chosen instruments in recent years. 

Both the first and the second instrument require appropriate predispositions. It is worthwhile before we make the final decision to buy a given instrument, it is worth consulting a specialist in this matter. We can, for example: go with a child to such a trial lesson of playing the guitar, keyboard or other selected instrument. This will allow us to discern whether our child is predisposed to this instrument or not. 

When it comes to guitars, we have several types. And so we have classical, acoustic, electro-acoustic, electric, acoustic bass and electric bass guitars. There are two schools of which it is best to start your education. One part of teachers and active musicians believe that learning should start immediately on the instrument that you want to play. The second part believes that, no matter what, learning should start with classical or acoustic guitars. Each group has its reasons, of course. The latter option is mainly supported by the fact that an acoustic instrument, such as a classical or acoustic guitar, forgives far fewer mistakes. Thanks to this, during the exercise, we are in a way forced to be more concentrated and precise. There is a lot in this, because even professional electric guitarists often use an acoustic guitar to strengthen their fingers and improve their playing technique. 

Another very important factor that should be taken into account when choosing an instrument for our child is the right model selection in terms of size. We cannot buy a 4/4 size guitar for a six-year-old, because instead of encouraging the child to learn, we will have the opposite effect. Too large an instrument will be inconvenient and the child will not be able to handle it. Therefore, guitar manufacturers offer various sizes of their instruments, ranging from the smallest 1/8 to the increasingly larger ¼ ½ ¾ and the standard size for older teenagers and adults of 4/4. Of course, we can still meet intermediate sizes, such as: 7/8. Guitar for a child – which one to choose? – YouTube

And what if our child would like to play the guitar, but after a few attempts it turned out that it is very difficult for him. Then we can offer him a ukulele, which has become a very popular instrument in recent years. Ukulele is an instrument that is very similar in sound to the guitar. However, since it has four strings instead of six strings, the chord-catching technique is much simpler. Here it is enough to literally hold the string on the fingerboard with one finger to get a chord. So jokingly it can be said that the ukulele is such a guitar for sloths. A very nice, well-made model is the Baton Rouge V2 SW soprano ukulele. Baton Rouge V2 SW sun ukulele sopranowe – YouTube

This instrument is characterized by a pleasant sound and which many ukulele fans will surely be pleased with, it is relatively inexpensive. 

In addition to ukulele and guitars, keyboards are very often chosen instruments. For people who are just starting their adventure with this instrument, budget models of educational keyboards are specially dedicated. Such a keyboard is equipped with an educational function that will guide a beginner student of musical art through the first stages of learning step by step. Yamaha and Casio are such pioneers in the production of this type of keyboards. Both producers compete strongly with each other in this segment of instruments. Therefore, it is worth comparing the sounds, functions and performance of both manufacturers and then we will make the final purchase decision, and there is a lot to choose from, because both brands have a considerable offer. Yamaha PSR E 363 – YouTube

One such ambitious instrument that we cannot forget is, of course, the piano. So if our child has ambitions and this instrument is close to his heart, it is definitely worth investing in such an instrument. We have acoustic and digital pianos available on the market. Of course, the former are much more expensive, require appropriate housing conditions and periodic tuning. It is a very good proposition for learning and later playing, but unfortunately not everyone can afford such an instrument. Therefore, digital pianos are an excellent alternative to a traditional piano. In the budget segment, the cost of such an instrument ranges from PLN 1500 to PLN 3000. Here, as in the case of keyboards, the richest offer will be presented by Casio and Yamaha. 

Summation

Of course, there are many other musical instruments that are worth learning to play. We have only mentioned some of them, which are currently the most frequently chosen ones. We still have a whole group of percussion or wind instruments, although in the case of the latter, such as a trumpet or a saxophone, due to the way the sound is produced, they are not the best proposition for the youngest. On the other hand, the harmonica can be such a great beginning of a musical adventure.