Helping a child with their musical endeavors can be overwhelming. This is especially true for parents that aren’t experienced musicians or aren’t familiar with a certain type of instrument. You may have found yourself here because your child has decided to learn a musical instrument. The Musical Instrument Selection Guide is great place to start. This article will empower you with knowledge about musical instrument types so that you can make informed decisions.
The goal of this article isn’t to force a preference on instrument, or brand, or material, etc. The intent here is to enhance your knowledge on the topic of musical instruments. That way, you and your student can make the right decisions. Continue reading the Musical Instrument Selection Guide to learn more.
Selecting a Musical Instrument
Choosing what instrument to learn is an important first step in your child’s musical journey. Kids typically show good instincts when it comes to instrument selection. One strategy might be to place your child in a room with no more than five instruments. Let him or her determine which instrument to play based on sound preference. The independence to pick an instrument is empowering and can help provide extra motivation to develop as a musician.
Selecting Based on Instrument Family
Each family of instruments operates in a fundamentally different manner. How the player creates the vibrations that create the music depend on the instrument family. For example, wind instruments including woodwinds and brass require air flow from the player to create sound. Certain wind instruments, like the tuba, require more air flow than others. Percussion instruments are struck, and string instruments are bowed or plucked.
Age and Physical Development
Certain instruments are more difficult to learn at a younger age before the child has achieved certain physical milestones. For example, playing a trumpet requires specific mouth tension and pressure against the instrument. Achieving this before adult teeth have grown in can be especially difficult. After the adult teeth have grown in, relearning how to play may be necessary.
Size may also be a factor to consider. A double (upright) bass or tuba would likely be too large for a young child. A smaller child would be better able to handle a 1/4 size violin or 1/2 size classical guitar.
Beyond physical combability, certain instruments require a longer learning period before results are apparent. Learning a brass or woodwind instrument first requires the development of the student’s embouchure. Embouchure is the use of lips, teeth, and muscles in the face and tongue in playing a wind instrument. Developing an embouchure could take three months to a year or more.
Instruments like the piano or violin may offer the student the ability to more quickly see results while also teaching fundamental musical skills like melody and pitch, reading music, and rhythm.
Personality Type
Personality can be considered when selecting an instrument. Young children, even at a young age, have develop specific personality traits. Those traits may better align with one instrument over another.
An introverted child may be more inclined to play an instrument that provides a supporting role, like the cello or French horn. Whereas an extroverted child might prefer an instrument that is featured more frequently like the trumpet, saxophone, or flute.
Specific personality traits like agreeableness also tend to correlate well with musical instrument preference. Those who are high in agreeableness and openness to experience tend to prefer more melodic focused instruments like guitar or French horn. Those who are low in agreeableness and openness tend to prefer more rhythmic instruments like percussion and bass guitar.
Selecting Based on Musical Genre Preference
Understand what genre of music the child enjoys. An instrument like the violin could be a great choice for the child fond of classical music. For a child interested in many musical genres including jazz and orchestra, consider the trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. Piano could also be a great choice for the child who loves all types of music.
Musical Instrument Families
The major instrument families include string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. Instruments are classified into the various instruments families by how sound is generated. Each family of instruments has a distinct method for creating the vibrations necessary to create a sound.
String Instruments
The sound from a string instrument is generated by a tightly stretched string. The string vibrates when plucked, or strummed, or played by a bow. The vibrations resonate within the instrument causing soundwaves to travel outward and to your ears.
The string family of instruments includes orchestral strings and the lute family of instruments. Orchestral stings include the violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp. The lute family include the guitar, mandolin, banjo, and others.
Learn more here: Orchestral String Selection Overview.
Woodwind Instruments
With reed woodwind instruments like the clarinet, saxophone, and oboe, vibration is also the source of the sound. The vibration is generated by the player blowing over a special, thin piece of wood called a reed. Vibrations from the reed travel to and resonate within the instrument.
Other woodwind instruments like the flute and recorder work slightly different. Instead of a reed, they have a sharp edge built into the instrument. The player blows over this edge to generate vibration that is then amplified by the rest of the instrument.
Learn more here: Woodwind Instruments: An Introductory Guide
Brass Instruments
Brass instruments are similar to the woodwind family in that the player blows into the instrument. However, instead of a reed, the player’s lips are the vibration source that creates the sound. The instrument resonates and amplifies the sound from the players lips. The brass instrument family includes the trumpet, trombone, French horn, and tuba.
Learn more here: Brass Instruments: An Introductory Guide.
Percussion Instruments
Instruments like the snare drum, timpani and marimba fall within the percussion family. Percussion instruments make sound when the player strikes the instrument, either directly with his or her hand, or indirectly with an object like a drumstick or mallet.
Percussion instruments can be further classified by if they have a drumhead that vibrates or if the entire instrument vibrates. Additionally, percussion instruments can be definite or indefinite pitch.
Learn more here: Introduction to Percussion Instruments
Piano
The piano has both string and percussion characteristics. The sound is generated by vibrating strings within the piano. However, these strings are stuck by a hammer connected to the piano keys. The player presses the keys causing the hammer to contact the string, initiating the vibrations.
Keyboard is played like a piano. However, the keys trigger electronic sensors rather than strings. The sounds of a keyboard are generated electronically and projected through speakers.
Learn more here: Piano: An Introductory Guide
Musical Ensembles
Instrument selection has some impact on the musical ensembles that a student can join. There is significant overlap of instruments within the various musical ensembles and settings. For example, a symphony orchestra typically uses strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and may even occasionally feature instruments like the piano and guitar.
However, certain instruments may not be compatible with every musical ensemble. For example, string instruments like violin and cello cannot participate in the school’s marching band as they are unable to generate sufficient volume and projection. Similarly, woodwind instruments like the clarinet would not be able to participate in a brass ensemble.
For a student interested in the jazz band setting, the instrument choices are especially important. The school’s jazz band may be the only opportunity to play drum set or electric bass guitar. However, the jazz genre typically does not include instruments like the violin, cello, or tuba.
Accessories
Common accessories include a tuner to help with tuning, a music stand for holding sheet music, and metronome for keeping time.
Selecting a Beginner, Intermediate, or Professional Instrument
In the 1950s, there were no student and intermediate instruments. However, the instruments on the market today generally fall into three categories: student, intermediate, and professional.
Investing in a beginner quality instrument is a solid choice. However, a better instrument can help provide a greater return on a practicing student’s effort. The better instrument may offer improved playability or may generate a higher quality sound. These characteristics may help motivate the student to practice with more focus and spend more time playing.
Purchasing a used intermediate or professional instrument may offer a way to start with high quality at a more affordable price point.
Renting an instrument may provide a way to begin the student’s musical journey at a lower initial investment. Renting also offers flexibility to change instrument types or quality.
Good Luck on Your Musical Journey!
Selecting a musical instrument is a small but critical part of the process of developing as a musician. Thank you for reading the Musical Instrument Selection Guide. Be sure to visit InquisitiveMaestro to learn more.