Thinking ahead to Y7 school applications...best instrument to learn???

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This is a particularly pushy mother question (sorry, in advance!)...my DS1 loves music and will be turning 4 very soon. I was always musical growing up and spent a lot of time practising and taking exams and I'm keen for both sons to take up an instrument.

Now, here goes the pushy mother part....I've seen in the application form for the local independent grammar school (which we would like him to attend) that there is a section for musical abilities. What would be a 'good' instrument to start, I'm thinking something less popular - oboe or trumpet? Any ideas??

TIA

My son plays the cornet........
Quite straightforward to learn and good for little hands. Leads onto the trumpet.
He started at six

my dds friend has just started to learn the basoon

Some instruments are hard to learn when children start loosing teeth. What would you be happy to listen to him practicing? Will he have to carry it around - think of size and weight. Does school have a band he can play with?

I'd think about starting him on piano. He would learn both clefs and to read music. DS2 started when he was six (I can be pushy but I didn't want him to start, he begged and pleaded). He is 9 now and picks up instruments very easily.

He started clarinet at 7, when he had front teeth, and trombone last term. Trombone is fab, and not as common.

Also consider recorder, it is great in its own right but leads on to other woodwind instruments as well.

Oboe, I believe is not easy to learn (and also very expensive to buy reeds for).

Another consideration, you may have ideas about what your DS could learn but it may not be right for them. Not everyone is a brass player for example.

I agree with RaspberryLemonPavlova about the piano, but wouldn't start formal lesons until 6ish.

Viola might be a good choice if you can bear to be near a beginner strings player. Not as big a logistic problem as the bigger string instruments (remember, you'll be the one lugging them about forever), but less often encountered than violinists.

You'll have to see what is on offer when he starts school, but a recorder group is usually worth it - chance to play in an ensemble, and to find out if there's enough interest in woodwind to transfer to clarinet/saxophone/bassoon/oboe/flute/whatever when he's a bit older (steady dentition and bigger hands), and by this time he'll probably have quite decided views on what he might like.

It might also be worth thinking about guitar (classical to impress the school, rock to impress his mates) or drums/percussion.

Right now, lots of singing and a general music class where he can get his hands on a lot of instruments and just learn to enjoy making music. That enjoyment is the foundation of all musicality, and without it it's unlikely he'd make good progress or keep it up willingly.

3 is very young to be thinking about formal music lessons.

The more obscure wind instruments are always in demand. I tried ibid for a while but it sounded bloody artful. Infact one day I was practicing in my room and dad asked me to leave the house. I ended up practicing in the garage instead... Reeds were prohibitively expensive too.

There's also a question of musical style. Violin and flute are both great for classical and folk. Clarinet gives you an easy transfer to sax and jazz. Brass is always good for jazz too.

How much do you want to spend on an instrument? A double bass or bassoon would cost a fortune and be a pig to carry too.

Thanks for all the quick responses.

BackforGood He is 4 in a couple of weeks but I know that it is very young, I'm just excited about it so thought I could start looking into it.

I started with piano so agree its probably a good place to start, I think I was around 7 and from memory progressed quite quickly at that age. Although I did have a very very strict teacher.

Sure my DH would approve of the guitar - my DS1 is obsessed with AC/DC already.

A music teacher I know said bassoon or French horn as something school orchestras were always short of.

Mine have all started with piano at 6 ish. Ds2 did recorder at school and at 10 has started oboe. We have yet to destroy a reed and he is picking it up really fast.

Ds1 got offered a part music place by a private school - think they were mainly interested in his voice, which you kind of have or you don't.

Bassoon, French horn, double bass and being a member of a good church choir.

Whatever instrument inspires HIM. Listen to pieces like Peter and the Wolf to see what he likes the sound of.

A bad french horn / oboe/bassoon player is worse than a good clarinet/flute/violin player.

really the main thing is that he likes the sound, otherwise frankly he won't practise much once the novelty wears off. My dd plays the violin and there are always plenty of violins and cellos, less violas and even less double basses around when it comes to strings ensembles so they are always in demand. However you would have to saw off both arms before she would give up the violin

If you're really serious about getting your DC to learn an instrument and be eligible for scholarships etc, then I would suggest trying out a musicianship class first. Some thing Kodaly based, or using tonic solfa/solfege would be great as it introduces musical concepts without having to specialise and select a particular instrument really early on. I don't know where you are but your county music service may provide classes, or you could try Colourstrings or similar type music groups, and some piano/vocal teachers also provide musicianship classes (I do).

Once you've a basic knowledge music it's so much quicker to learn a particular instrument as you've done the groundwork already.

As far as sought after instruments go, then yes, something like bassoon, oboe, double bass or viola are more in demand, but he has to like what he's learning (or as said above, he won't practise). But do also think about learning the piano as it is invaluable - virtually all the instrumental players I know also play piano or have keyboard skills.

Recorder, leading on to oboe or bassoon would be a very, very good idea if you want to go for scarcity! Also cello. But don't go down the viola route, it's very hit and miss - many local orchestras are now flooded with viola players because parents 20 years ago thought it would be a good niche instrument!!!

How about ukelele for fun in the meantime? Some-one musical I know just got her pre-school DC a ukelele for Christmas. She plays the chords and DC plays the strings.

The piano is perceived to be an easier instrument to learn compared to the violin for example. So, your DC needs to be a couple of grades higher than any competing violinist just to be considered equal.

I suggest the viola. That is my DD secondary instrument, the first being the violin. Every time she auditions for something she/we get told that they are always on the look out for good viola players. The instrument is a 'support' instrument so that is why it isn't usually that popular.

For a 4yo I'd definitely second a "musicianship" class - they often cover things like rhythms and tempo and general stuff that will be relevant to all instruments, along with singing, which is always a good skill. DS went to one and they also let them hear lots of different instruments, which might give your DS an idea what different ones are like and whether he'd enjoy them.

It also depends on your son's personality - a lot of the rarer orchestral instruments are ones where they will be more "in the background" of the music, not doing the "twiddly bits" and solos. Is he a person who would be happy to be in the background, or is he more likely to be happy with an instrument where he'll be doing lots of solos? And would he prefer an instrument which has most of its "use" in big groups, or would he want to play it while on his own, or only with a handful of people?

The rare instruments tend to be big and awkward, have less solos, and less you can play outside of an orchestra - while his chances in an audition would go up with a rarer choice, he has to enjoy it enough to stick with it and do well, so it may need a compromise.

If you're really really serious about starting DC now (and I think it's too young personally) then research the Kodaly and Suzuki methods of learning - both of which can start with preschoolers. Suzuki is best known for learning violin but the method applies with other instruments too. General musicality is worth thinking about this age but I wouldn't be pushing too hard for a particular instrument, unless it is something that the child is developing an interest in. For musicality, the recorder will do very well and is easy to play at a young age. While it obviously 'leads' on to woodwind instruments, the general sense of participating in music and of course the beginnings of being able to read notation will then be applicable to any instrument.

It is much more important to develop their interest in listening to all sort of music at this age. Perhaps take them to a few informal concerts (some places have free lunch time concerts in foyers so you don't have to pay and your DC doesn't have to sit still) and try and get an idea of what instruments they are interested in (and keep going as this interest might change) as they're much more likely to stick at it if they feel involved in the decision to start.

If you want to 'push' them towards a certain instrument, be prepared for them to rebel.

p.s. If you're thinking about actual music scholarships for schools most - but not all - require piano to a certain standard as well as another instrument, so as said above, piano may be as good a place as any to start.

Unless you are of an exceptionally high standard in your instrument then a scholarship panel will expect you to offer two instruments, normally both at Grade 5 or above. I have noticed no specific requirement for the piano to be one of the instruments being on offer.