What musical instrument should we start with ?

[Greengrass1982]

My daughter is in year 1. She tried a piano lessons last term which she said she enjoyed and wanted to carry on... The feedback from the piano teacher was that she didn't feel she was 100% ready?

Can anyone suggest what musical instrument it would bra best to start with ?

I agree cat. In your case the children aren't really 'having lessons' once a week with a teacher though. Your way sounds much more enjoyable!

cat - Violin is a little different than piano (as I'm sure you know well) in the sense that you can start a child on a child-sized violin. You can't do that with the piano. The size of the piano is what it is, and the child's hand & fingers need to be of sufficient size/length or she will be frustrated.

The size of hands only really becomes an issue when they want to play chords though. At least, my two have big enough hands to play a 5 finger position on the piano at 6 and nearly 4, it'd be a while before they needed more than that. I have known a smaller kid who was started on a keyboard at 3 and moved on to piano.

Recorder. Descant easily leads on to treble and tenor; and treble leads on to the clarinet fairly easily. Clarinet + descant recorder is essentially saxophone. So it's a good route in to the more advanced woodwind instruments.

Piano is good but very tricky for small hands and requires quite advanced music reading skills.

DD was selected for exceptional musical ability into a special elementary school class in the conservatory where we live, where they train them very seriously from the age of 6. They don't start the children who have chosen piano at 6 but wait another year until they are 7. Violinists can start at the age of 6, if they so wish.

DS is now also selected into the same system, but he has always wanted to play the harpsichord (no, really) and was allowed to start his instrument at 6, because its keys are smaller, closer together, and softer to play and hence requires less force. He does practice on the piano at home, but I see a real difference when he plays the harpsichord at the conservatory.

Mine started violin at 6.5 and then added singing, saxophones, clarinet and piano.
Turned out she was very gifted and goes to a specialist school now.
I'd say go with what the child wants to play, neither me or dh had any knowledge of stringed instruments and certainly no interest.
I'd have recommended piano or recorder, depending on her ability at the time, but we went with what she wanted.
She only plays violin for fun now, but other instruments and singing are for real, now.

My elder daughter started Piano when she was 4.5yrs old, she was mostly having fun as there was fiddle time books and she was singing with the instructor loads of times instead. She never started learning for grades exams until nearly 7 years old. She also started violin at 6.5years old and playing grades now. Learning from her experience I am planing to start my second child from 6years old with piano then violin from 7yrs old instead. I think starting at 4.5 was too early (and expensive as we paid 1-2-1 1hour lesson a week by then and it was £45)

:o at 1 hour lesson at 4! DD has 20 minutes, and is likely to for the foreseeable future. Her lessons are as much teaching me how to help her practice as teaching her, I think that's often the way it works when teaching young children.

I certainly wouldn't want to rush DC into exams at a young age. Having fun is good, that's what we do hobbies for. I took my first exam at 8 having been learning since 3, I just started with grade 4.

I guess what I'm saying OP is if your DD wants to carry on learning piano, I'd stick with that. Find an out of school teacher who's known to be good with young children, and support practice if you don't already do so. 5 minutes a day is better than half an hour once a week.

That was supposed to be a not a .

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread, I've been wondering when/if/how to start my DC off with instrumental lessons and there is loads of good advice for me to digest :) Thanks all!

DS is year 2/age 7 and stated ukulele lessons last term. He is having great fun!

DS started violin in year 1 - he was the youngest pupil that his teacher had taught AND kept teaching. He enjoys practising, going to classical concerts etc. and had saved up his money to buy a violin.

I learnt to play recorder and would recommend it both as a main instrument or as a starter for other instruments such as the flute which have similar fingering.

Yes, I thought it was early too although she was more having musical fun time rather learn anything and we hardly practise between lessons until we started with grades.

My experience with violin was I found it was very hard to start as the sound wasnt nice after a while, its a difficult one to start with if the child isnt very very musical, piano is much easier

Whatever instrument you choose, the important thing is sticking with it long term, regardless of cost or interest levels. So many people can say they "used to play" this or that, but the moment it stops, the harder it woukd be to take up the instrument again in future.