What instruments are easiest to teach a child (8) to play?
What instruments are easy to teach an 8 year old to play?
To answer this question, you must be logged in.
Already have an account? Login.
By Signing up, you indicate that you have read and agree to Sage's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Answers ( 2 )
For many budding musicians (and their teachers), the logical starting place is the piano. Unlike most other instruments, the notes are laid out in a linear fashion from left to right, which means it's great for teaching basic music concepts such as relative pitch and chord progression. Even if the child is interested in other instruments eventually, the piano makes a great foundation, because it makes music concepts and structure easier to understand, and even creates a basis for learning to read music.
Piano is also an instrument that is well suited to a variety of musical styles, being instrumental (see what I did there?) to classic, jazz, rock, country, and many other styles of music. Many other instruments are tied much more strongly to one or more specific genres, such as violins and cellos to symphonic music or saxophones to jazz and soul.
With a young child, it can often be very important to have positive reinforcement early in the process, and piano is also good for this reason. Creating a note on the piano only requires pressing a key. Some other instruments can be frustrating early in the learning process, because even getting a decent sound out of them can be a challenge. This is true for many wind instruments in particular.
If your child has never played any kind of musical instrument before, why not start on the piano and see if they take to it. The piano is a fairly universal instrument that can provide a lifetime of challenges and entertainment. And if they decide something else seems more fun or inspiring, they can always apply what they've learned to the next instrument and use the piano as a logical stepping stone.
I'd try a harmonica. They're relatively inexpensive and easy to carry. Just be prepared for the process that will start with often shrill noise and hopefully progress to actual music.