Kids Musical Instruments

When should my child learn an instrument?
What instrument should my child play first?

Kids Musical Instruments is a tricky question and worth considering carefully. The thoughts on this and other pages in this section will help you.

I am often asked when should my child learn to play a pitched instrument, such as a piano or violin.

Children need to have well developed hand-eye co-ordination, the ability to focus and concentrate, and read left to right, to follow the written music. They also need the ability to hear pitch and rhythm accurately.

Sometimes in our society, children are introduced to the piano, violin or the musical notation at a very young age.

This may be appropriate for some children. However, many children benefit by waiting until they have matured enough to have developed these skills. This avoids making learning an instrument a tedious process, as the child learns technical skills, such as where and how to place fingers, ultimately finding it all too difficult and losing interest. About the age of 6 or 7 is generally appropriate.

There are certainly wonderful experiences available that can introduce children to classical music and orchestral instruments, their names, their family groups, the sounds they make, and the way they are played.

Recently, many of my students under 5 years visited the Toddler Proms of the Sydney Youth Orchestra. These are held throughout the year at various locations around Sydney.

Take your child to a Toddler Proms and see what huge variety of instruments there are, and have a GREAT time as well. You will never forget a Toddler Proms as possibly your child dances to the music or even gets to conduct the orchestra!



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