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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

What orchestral instrument to learn?

79 replies

tricot39 · 09/01/2013 22:29

Any suggestions for a primary school DS?

No idea if he is musical, but if he liked it it would be nice to have started on an orchestral instrument.

Are any better than others to learn? ie are there rarer ones that make it more likely that you get a place? Or do they tend to be more difficult to learn?

I am clueless as I was drilled for piano grades and got fed up after a few years, but learning to read music has been handy at times.

OP posts:
hardboiled · 09/01/2013 23:24

Yes, he def has to take part in the decision. What is he atracted to? Have you taken him to concerts? A friend's DS came back from a concert and told his mum: "I liked the flute so much." And that was that.

The family concerts at the Southbank center have "trying" sessions before/after the concerts.

Also be aware that some wind instruments are difficult to blow till the child reaches a certain age as they require powerful enough lungs. DH took a wind instrument for a while till he had to switch to strings. He just couldn't blow it!

If you're ambitious for him and are thinking music scholarship...choose a rare one every school needs!

Theas18 · 09/01/2013 23:20

Tricky. What does he like?

Agree wind/brass over strings for early progress that is obvious.

If you are looking at long term participation at a high standard I'd suggest a rarer instrument, my Dds both play clarinet as it was an easy transfer as they are recorder players at heart. However there are millions of clarinettists in the school ( ditto flutes) so lots if "snot fayer" toddler type foot stamping because the prized orchestral places ( one to a part, which they love), go to the upper 6th formers fir their last year, even though the girls think they are better ( and have high grades). If you like a wind or concert band though it ok.

Ds- probably because he was a strapping lad at primary and could carry a big instrument got a French horn and has never looked back.

Start something and see if he likes it!

duchesse · 09/01/2013 22:55

Many adult orchestras offer "taster sessions" for children where they can go along and listen to the individual instruments being played, and sometimes even play them themselves. County music services also sometimes offer this where they still exist. Can you get him along to one of these sessions and let him find out whether he loves a particular instrument.

Unless he is unusually biddable I would strongly caution against choosing an instrument for him. He's going to have to spend a lot of time practising and playing and it had better be something he really likes. So my advice would be to let him choose something he really loves. And respect his decision if none of them appeals- not everyone likes music.

Lonecatwithkitten · 09/01/2013 22:47

A causal observation of junior termly concert at DD's school children in general make a pretty sound quicker with a wind instrument than a stringed one. Caveat to that there are a very few children who practice like demons and do make lovely sounds with their stringed instrument.