to think that Learning An Instrument is a bit of a useless skill?

[morningpaper]

.... ?

It seems to be something that cheery middle-class mummies with too much time on their hands foist upon their (mainly female) children.

What is the point of it REALLY in this day and age? They don't need to trill something tuneful on the piano to snare a husband - is it REALLY worth the time and money for some very specific and probably fairly useless skills?

smurfgirl, now ... being a good dancer definitely gets you shags, has more opportunities for display if contemporary, and appeals to a wider audience, far more than being a cellist IMO. Dancers very sexy, ya know.

LOL all mine learn guitar.. for the boys this a very usefull skill.. to be lead guitarist.. in order to be able to pull as many girls as possable!! LOL

It looks cool and street cred point are doubled during teen years!

DD however likes to keep up with her big brothers LOL :;

I played the flute for years and maybe it is useless, but I loved it at the time, and being sort of vaguely musical gave me a bit of identity at school when I wasn't too good at anything else to be frank! I am very glad I did music.

Who asked about scales? Anybody who can play a chromatic scale or at least play in b flats can definitely compose a bond song. I might have a pop at it myself

sorry b flat I mean.

....useless?
I am gobsmacked that learning anything can be deemed 'useless'.
The brain is a beautiful tool that can be used to expand ones personality in many ways.
I 'play' the saxophone and the guitar for no other reason than the joy of it.

Given that half the world wants to be on 'X-idol' or 'pop factor' these days how can anything to do with music be useless?

...runs horrified from thread, to stroke her 'instruments'.

And yes, being able to play an instrument definately broadens your pulling power (from what I can remember).

I knew I should have bought that trumpet in Lidl...

DH started learning guitar at 13 and is now a record producer, guitarist and songwriter (and breadwinner) so it definitely wasn't a useless skill for him.
My father in law is also a professional musician and I've sung in various bands and although DS (6) has always shown a natural musical ability (ie. good rhythm and pitch) we didn't want him to be under any pressure to learn an instrument just because he's from a musical family. He started piano lessons in September, which was his own decision, and he loves it.
Anyway, isn't it a good thing for a child to grow up with an interest/hobby?
I hope that when DS is a troublesome teen he'll still have music as an interest and be down his dad's studio making tea for bands or playing in his own band rather than just hanging out on street corners.

So, yes YABU.

I agree with BCNS, DH was a lead guitarist when we first met. It definitely increased his sex appeal.

I have very similar experience to bexibooboo
My dh is a very talented guitarist and makes his living in music. My FIL was also a professional musician in his youth and continues to enjoy playing various instruments to this day.
I met dh when I was singing in a band run by my ex

Music is brilliant - playing an instrument is an amazing skill and a great way to meet people and show off build confidence!!

I was a very shy person but singing in public and being complimented for my singing definitely gave me a boost in all areas of my life (able to stick up for myself now!! )

I totally agree that noone should be forced to learn an instrument but it is not a useless skill!!

No more useless than playing rugby or hockey imo - surely we live to do things for the fun of it at times?

Threadworm - 3 5-10min practises a week sounds about what my ds did at that age. He migrated to doing a bit more when a visiting musician told him he should practise every day - I think the message gets across better from someone outside the family to be honest. The other thing that motivated him was getting involved in ensembles - I'd recommend you encourage your ds to join a band/junior orchestra/whatever as soon as he can.

Piano is the hardest instrument I think - lots of lines of music/notes all at once. Its ability to sound good on its own compensates for its relative lack of group music potential. Ds plays cello & piano: cello is far more sociable - orchestras, trio & quartets etc, but it's the piano that he's drawn to if he's feeling bored or wanting a break from homework.

I have a friend who bitterly regrets not being introduced to piano by his parents. He started as a teenager, and turned out to be quite talented. However, he said he never had a chance to turn professional without having started playing at 5 .

my mum always wanted to play the violin but my grandad dismissed it.my mum regrets never learning and is hoping to have lessons when she retires next year.
my dh taught himself to play the drums and guitar and is now a drummer in a very succesful band.

The point of playing an instrument is that it is a hobby. A very enjoyable one.

Wot Cali said

Havnt read the whole thread but I liked learning an instrument as a child. My mum paid for me to learn the flute, the one small issue is that I couldnt read music at at even after learning for 8 years but apparently this was down to having dsylexia. I can however play by ear. I can hear a piece of music and then by it by heart afterwards, its kinda werid really. I really enjoyed playing the flute and liked being part of the orchestra. I kept my flute as I wanted one of my children to be able to enjoy it when they were older, a few months ago I went to get it out and found the case was empty. My ex had pawned it and gambled the money. Im totally gutted!

lol - is this a joke op?

Ds [16] plays guitar is very talented.. self taught but does have lessons as part of his access to music course at school ..best thing he ever did