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Christmas

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Original poster

Musical instrument for 7 year old dd??

15 replies

Marne · 05/11/2013 17:44

Dd2 is 7 with Autism, she loves music and has a few instruments, she has a keyboard which she plays a lot but it takes up a lot of space, a drum kit which is too noisy and a guitar which she's not as bothered about, at the moment she loves playing her toy saxophone which is similar to this. She refuses to have any music lessons due to sensory issues but can play most instruments ( apart from the guitar ) by ear.

I would love to buy her a instrument for Christmas, she finds Christmas quite stressful and often shuts down, music is the one thing that brings her out of herself and helps her relax ( not as relaxing for us as we have to listen to the noise she makes ), I would love for her to have a real saxophone but sadly she would not look after it and they are very expensive, any ideas on something not as expensive and more child proof ( but not babyish )??

OP posts:

Isildur · 05/11/2013 17:50

A flute, or maybe a piccolo?

A student's flute should cost less than a sax, and they are pretty easy to learn. They are not too shrill during the learning phase either

JackSparrow · 05/11/2013 17:58

tbh, there's not many child-proof musical instrumemnts. when you day she wouldn't look after a saxophone, what kind of mistreatment?

I know how you feel. I have a daughter with ASD who is very musical, and I would love to do similar for her, but the ont taking lessons, coupled with not looking after it, means she is limited as well.

would your dd be able to follow any teach yourself books?

I would be inclined to get her a decent (ie not bog standard cheapo) recorder. they are as childproof as it comes, have a variety of teach yourself books (if possible) and make a nice sound if played properly. I taught myself the recorder aged 7, using books, and went on to play for many many years. It can be a 'proper' instrument as well as a generic every-child-sqwawks type.

Original poster

Marne · 05/11/2013 18:03

She's likely to chuck it on the floor, leave it lying around or get water on it ( so needs to be quite tough ). She will follow instructions through a book, DVD or you tube, she copies a lot of music ( keyboard ) from YouTube. She loves playing drums ( if I ask her what her favourite instrument is she always says drums ) but her drum kit is so noisy and she won't play an electric drum, maybe bongo drums would be less noisy? I think it either has to be some kind of drum or something she blows .

OP posts:

Original poster

Marne · 05/11/2013 18:04

She has a recorder but we had to hide it as she plays it very badly , it's not my favourite sounding instrument.

OP posts:

JackSparrow · 05/11/2013 18:08

anythign with keys (flute, clarinet, saxophone etc) would be likely to be damaged by the chucking on the floor - lots of little pins and quite delicate keys.

what about a proper glockenspiel?

JackSparrow · 05/11/2013 18:08

or try one of the family of recorders, eg tenor (not as squeaky )

Phineyj · 05/11/2013 18:11

How about a soprano ukelele? I play various instruments but tried a uke recently and it is so mellow and easy to play. They start under £20 and come in a range of colours.

Original poster

Marne · 05/11/2013 18:13

She would love a xylophone but they seem to cost a small fortune for a good one, I might just buy her the toy clarinet ( same make as her toy saxophone ) as I know it is dd proof and maybe just a toy xylophone ( one of the bigger ones ). School are trying to encourage her to have lessons but I'm not sure if she ever will.

OP posts:

JackSparrow · 05/11/2013 18:16

we have the same (or similar) toy saxophone. we also have a trumpet. I htink I got ours in ELC.

know what you mean re: xylophones. I'd love dd to hve a decent one, but can't afford it to be an expensive mistake.

will have to have a look out for the clarinet version, would make a change.

Original poster

Marne · 05/11/2013 18:42

We got our from elc, the clarinet is on amazon for around £13, I think we will get her that as she gets a lot of use out of the saxophone ,hopefully she will like this just as much.

OP posts:

OneLittleLady · 05/11/2013 19:03

there's a glockenspiel for £30 on amazon at the minute, I actually want one myself! A harmonica maybe? they are pretty tough and not too expensive to replace if damaged

notagiraffe · 05/11/2013 23:21

I used to look after an autistic boy who played the accordion. It's a lovely sound, even if you aren't that skilled. John Lewis do a toy one that doesn't sound too bad, or you might be able to pick up a cheap or second hand one.

Ferguson · 25/11/2013 22:00

Hi -

Something that can make a very nice sound, playing sequences of chords, is the Autoharp. The first ones I just looked at are very expensive, but I found some on eBay and I'll give link.

(What else were we 'talking' about the other day? I can't find it?)

www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2051337.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.Xautoharp&_nkw=autoharp&_sacat=619&_from=R40

serin · 25/11/2013 22:10

A little diddy lap harp?

Impossible to make a bad sound with that!

raisah · 26/11/2013 03:57

My son has similar issues to your dd and I am considering buying him a little cd player for his bday. He loves listening to & playing music and picks up tunes v easily so this is a compromise. He is younger than your dd so havent tried him with lessons yet but he has sensory issues so am not sure how he would take them.

Would you consider a second hand instrument or an ex display which would be cheaper than buying brand new?

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