Singing or Piano with Violin

[JellybeansInTheSky]

DD aged 7 is about to do grade 2 violin. She has been learning for 18 months. She seems pretty keen on music. She is doing a children's orchestra on Saturdays and a choir and another orchestra (if you can call it that....) at school. Assuming she passes the exam as her teacher expects I thought it might be a good time to start piano. She is however keen on singing lessons which would be through the school. She sings well and in tune.

I guess i just feel it takes years to learn to play the piano well so it isn't something that is easy to pick up later on. I think she is quite keen on playing the piano but isn't so keen on the idea of practising two instruments.

She has non musical hobbies too and time and money aren't limitless.

[Ferguson]

It takes years to learn to play ANY instrument well!

But if she wants to concentrate on violin, she is obviously learning a certain amount about music. It therefore would not be impossible also to learn some basics of piano or keyboard from good tutor books, at least until she can judge how much time and effort she wants to put into an additional instrument, and how it fits in around other commitments. Then consider lessons later, if she wishes.

[JellybeansInTheSky]

She has gone with singing lessons at school for the moment. It's a shared lesson and to be honest I see it more as an additional musical activity rather than another instrument. I am sure a decent choir would be preferable and cheaper but that isn't an option at the moment as logistically we can't fit in any more out of school activities that we have to travel to. I will review after a term.

Piano she has become really quite keen to learn and she is doing quite a bit of experimenting on our keyboard. I do think though that practising two instruments properly would be too much for her at the moment.

What do people think the latest age to start the piano and learn it well is? It seems to me that as a kid learning the violin is fab and you get to play in lots of shows and concerts but that as a grown up it is nice to be able to play the piano.

I wonder though if playing two instruments well is an UK thing. Mainly I have found that violin teachers in my area, who are largely European, only teach violin or viola.

In any case if/when she learns the piano I will arrange a separate lesson.

[Ferguson]

Experimenting is great, and keyboard is the most appropriate instrument to experiment on, as there can be many different facets to it.

Keyboard is fun but the technique of playing is different from piano. Our DS started on organ (aged 2) then had his own keyboard, with a synthesizer facility, at 7.

Piano style and technique CAN be learned on a keyboard that has touch sensitivity, but only in a limited way. A good electronic piano or decent acoustic piano is necessary to start to develop any serious piano skills, and ideally I would think as soon as possible after age 7.

[JulieMichelleRobinson]

I'm a teacher of both violin and piano. I started violin at 7 and piano at the age of 10, when I was working on grade 6 violin. It might have been difficult starting much later (e.g. 14) because school work increases, but the difference in my literacy level and musical experience when I started piano meant I caught up a bit with violin and, though I took grade 8 a few years later on piano than on violin (17 vs 14), my marks were higher.

The other thing is that the two are completely different to teach, to the extent that while I'm a violinist I find it easier to teach piano. The pedagogy is way more straightforward. Many violin teachers will play the piano reasonably well - to at least grade 6 standard, say, and be able to accompany beginning students - but not feel competent to teach piano. My own first violin teacher was a first-study pianist. At conservatoire, students usually specialise; my degree is a university one, where piano was also a prerequisite for players of other instruments.

[JellybeansInTheSky]

Hi Ferguson the keyboard is an electronic piano. I did grade 5 piano myself a long time ago when I was 14 then carried on playing and having lessons until I was 18. I can still play well enough to accompany my daughter on the violin but never get a chance to practice.

Interesting what you say Julie. I also had 10 in my mind as a good latest age by which to have started piano. I do feel that the singing is likely to be an expensive distraction......

[surreygoldfish]

OP I could have written your post myself. DD nearly 8 started violin and then piano but really wanted to do singing. In the end (and against our better judgement ) we let her have singing lessons too but haven't dropped the other 2. She has to practice piano and violin more and we fit in singing when we can! Piano is quite hard going in the earlier grades - but both DS (14 and 13) now play piano for pleasure much more than their orchestral instruments so IMO it's been worth it - and was worth starting early so that by the time they are teenagers they can pick up and play a wide range of music of their own choice as well as graded pieces (both around G7).

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

I'd say piano too.
I see that she's started singing lessons at school but tbh I think singing in a choir is good enough at her age, although no reason to stop the lessons.

Piano is excellent for dexterity with both hands, and reading LOTS of notes at once (obviously not to start with but she'll probably progress quicker because she can already read music) - this is useful for many more things than just music, I've found.

Also, piano is a self-accompaniment instrument, iyswim - and is more useful for singing along to than a violin.

I started lessons at 7, and would say that is about the right age, although my first teacher was crap. My next teacher was far better! 8 or 9 would be ok, but I wouldn't want to wait much longer. I've really appreciated being able to play the songs I want to sing, and also to record my own accompaniment when I started playing the double bass (and later, the 'cello), neither to any great standard, although I achieved Grade 6 in double bass (and played in a school orchestra, but with an instrument like that, you're welcome most places! )

[JellybeansInTheSky]

I've put her on the waiting list for school piano lessons with a view to swooping over from singing when a space becomes available. This is likely to take a couple of terms. I have always been put off in the past by the fact the school music lessons are shared which doesn't strike me as ideal in the case of piano (fine for singing). However some children in her class have managed to progress in the shared lessons and I think it would be a relatively pain free (in terms of expense and logistics) way for her to try it out. I could also help her at home as I play the piano. DH thinks I am slightly bonkers as we are already paying for private violin lessons but I feel that she is a musical kid and so she ought to be given the chance to have a go at piano as well if she really wants to.