Learning more than one instrument

[Qasd]

Hi

So dd has been learning the clarinet for a year, she has passed grade one and seems to be enjoying it, does need some coxing to practice but is fine when she actually starts playing.

She has recently expressed an interest in starting to learn the piano (her db has just started). I was therefore after opinions from those with musical children about adding a second instrument. Is there an ideal time to do this? Is she too early in learning the first instrument and should continue with just that for a while or would learning a second at this stage be helpful.

Any opinions gratefully received - I play nothing myself so have no personal experience to go on!

Piano always helpful I think. My DCs all started with piano and one other other instrument and worked out fine. Obviously more practice but if she wants to do it then great. It may be as she gets older she adds in other wind instruments but piano will help give a great musical base.

If your DD expresses her interest strongly and persistently then I would let her try and see how things go.

DS started piano first and as a more sport oriented family we didn't think of adding another instrument. But he wanted to learn violin and he was pretty persistent so when it was offered at school I reluctantly let him take lessons. Violin was a total alien and looked so complicated so I assumed DS wouldn't last. But now he's beyond G8 and still plays both instruments.

Violin was added just 6 months or so after he started piano so he was only G1 on the piano but there didn't seem any confusion happening. In fact it seemed more helping. Sure he had less practice on each instrument compared with those who played only one but it looked as if accelerating the progress by learning two different instruments, and I think being able to play piano definitely helped him understand some stuff on the violin easier and quicker. Violin becomes his first instrument. I am so glad I let him try when he insisted.

If it didn't work out at the first go, you can always stop and try again.

For me it comes down to whether they're going to be prepared to practice both or not. We don't stipulate time limits, but each instrument has to come out every day. We do have the benefit of a very low homework school 5 minutes' walk away, and kids who don't seem to sleep much, so finding an extra half hour to practice is not a problem. Do you have a good slot in the day where the extra practice could fit?

DD asked to take up piano when she was 5 but had been playing (or at least playing around with!) violin for a couple of years. She kept doodling tunes on it so I didn't think practice was going to be a problem and it hasn't been.

DS asked to take up brass after his piano grade 1, which i had more reservations about as he's a bit of a grumbler about practice, but we're giving it a go as it seemed mean not to when his little sister already had 2. And grade 1 is a good solid start to the first instrument I feel.

Both of them sight read really well on their second instrument from the start, and the starting again with easy pieces aspect has fed back into helping music reading on their first instruments. I'm also keen for them to both have piano at some point as it's so useful, and an orchestra/band instrument for the social aspect. There's definitely a lot of cross-pollination between the two. (Currently listening to DD working out by ear how to play her string orchestra music on the piano!)

From what I witnessed I don't think you need to think of making time to practice two instruments especially at the beginning if you think it'll be a struggle (or cause a fight!).

While we paid for proper 1-1 piano lessons outside school, violin was a totally casual affair happening at school. We let DS started it more to satisfy his desire to play the fancy instrument (for DS) so I didn't really expect him to practise at home. He was happily making some noise with friends at school. So he practised piano more often and violin rarely, but somehow he managed to progress well with violin and the easiness (no much effort yet getting positive results) kind of even more encouraged him to be loving the instrument. Once we all recognised violin was more important to him (than piano) and he really wanted to be better at it, we turned the table and he started practising violin more diligently (and piano was being pushed to the backbench).

I hear people tend to pick up 2nd instrument very quickly. I think what happened to DS was probably similar to the pattern. Although he started both instruments at around the same time (only 6-9 month apart), piano was his instrument and violin was a toy for a long time - not sure if it's a right word to put in but hope I'm explaining OK...

You never know where her innocent enthusiasm takes her. And it really doesn't matter which one becomes her most favourite or something else may be added later. If you can afford letting her learn two instruments at the moment, I would say let her try without planning or thinking too much. She will show you what she wants to do with it as long as you give her the opportunity and support.

Though I firmly said no to 3rd instrument... It was just out of question sadly for DS. He can pick up whatever he wants to learn with his money one day if he really wants to do it! Hopefully having learned two instruments, he can pick up 3rd or 4th relatively easily at older age!

Oh, I know people who rotate which instrument to practice daily and termly. That's another option to manage more than one instrument. I am not sure how effective it is though. I prefer our way - focus on one and have fun with another. Somehow the fun instrument gets the benefit of the serious study, like in DS's case!

Um, don't think your DS is typical patrick. Maybe not practising is the best approach when you have a super talented child learning at school group pace! For most kids I think it would result in frustrated teacher and a frustrated child. I'm a big fan of the 5 minutes a day approach to learning anything, then it just becomes a habit.

Of course, I'm not encouraging not to practise and if you can handle two instrumental practice regularly that would be ideal. But my point was you may not need to worry about fitting all in too much, at least at the early stage, just to keep it casual and fun wound't be harmful especially if the child is learning another instrument formally already. If a child expresses interest persistently, and if you can afford it, why not let her try even though she may not practise as much as another instrument. If she has desire to be better or simply wants to reach a certain target, practice will happen I think, and you just adjust the amount of practice and balance between two instruments accordingly.

You never know if it's time for a child to take up another instrument without trying. If it didn't work out, you can stop and revisit when asked again or simply ready. I have slight regret I didn't let DS start violin when he started asking me. I made him wait for quite a long time. But I think when a child asked that's the best time to let them try.

I do like the 5 mins a day approach, cat.

5' is more than enough up to about Grade 3, providing it's five proper minutes. Mine did their diplomas on a max of 30' on school days but it has to be super-focused.

The instrument they actually want to learn is often the one they carry on learning, in my unscientific sample of three.

Moominmammacat, passing diplomas with mere 30' (max!) is pretty impressive!

I am very much of the opinion that the playing for enjoyment is much more important than the grade slog. DD's both played Clarinet up to Grade 6 and just gave up due to frustration and boredom with the proscribed syllabus. Somewhere in the middle of their Clarinet playing I bought a piano, and it was the best thing I ever bought. DD2 in particular has taken it up as a recreational instrument, and plays for enjoyment. She did Grade 1, gave up and then self taught, and is doing really well. She picks pieces she likes, learns them, and moves on. She regularly plays for the school, and genuinely enjoys the music.

So, yes, take up another instrument, but perhaps don't insist on formal learning, or grades, unless they really want to.

Just for balance, both DD's did their Grades without practice at home at all - they used to get in trouble for it, but passed never the less.

5 mins everyday was actually recommended in Suzuki method, druid. But obviously we are talking about a lot younger age than your DS!

Everyone can have their opinion. But the message was 'little but often'. DS did 5 mins or so practice when he was younger and it worked fine for us. He didn't need to go through scales, studies and many pieces at younger age so it was totally doable! It was like, play 4 bars of the right hand or play open E with a couple of different rhythms sort of contents. Sometimes he played around more sometimes no practice for days.

Well we have a baseline of sit down with instrument and make something better. I doubt DS does much more than 5 minutes on his second instrument, he's a beginner so that's time to play through 2-3 pieces and work on a few bars. Not ideal but it's enough to keep him ticking over till the next lesson.
DD has always played for more than that time anyway.

I tend to find for myself if I make myself just get the instrument out, I end up playing for much longer than any minimum I set myself. We do do music because we enjoy it after all!

I don't mean 5 minutes time limit, I mean just make sure that a certain baseline 5 minutes (or whatever) happens every day.

Firstly, it's a simple rule to enforce as a parent. My balance between just leaving them to it and being full on pushy. Then it makes getting the instrument out a habit, and hopefully at some point or some days the amount of time spent will increase. And generally I do think a little bit every day builds skills better than the same amount of time all in one gulp.

catkind that’s exactly what I do! The older 2 kids now choose to do much more than that. Of my younger two one is keen and will do more at the weekend when he’s not as tired, the other not so much but as you say the 5 mins keeps up steady progress and they’ve usually covered what the teacher has set

Yup, increase of practice time happened here too. But I didn't certainly expect that kind of diligence from the beginning. I let him try many activities and he dropped some and kept some on the course. He absolutely loves violin now so no practice isn't happening.

We have also har a 'rule' that practise happens every day but havent specified a length of practise (so 5 minutes is certainly not unheard of). We mainly focus on quality of practise and as they get older then that clearly also sets certain requirements for quantity......

From personal experience of clarinet then piano much later (when I'd reached g5 and wanted to take theory further as well) I found it quite hard to add in the piano later because the left hand is so much more independent than on wind instruments. I would let her start earlier, it's not confusing switching between the two. The small and often "fun" style of practice sounds good :)