Piano Guidance
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What instrument should a child start with?

Think shakers, hand drums, bells, rattles, etc. These instruments are ideal; young ones can easily pick up these with their hands and start making music instantly. Benefits to children include coordination and learning how to keep rhythm.

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Playing and learning music benefits people of all ages, including children—and, it’s proven to be fun. The benefits of music education extend well beyond childhood, lasting a lifetime. Music education is shown to have a multitude of benefits, including abstract reasoning and creativity. Children who are musically trained have stronger every day listening skills. Music engages both sides of the brain and challenges children to simultaneously concentrate on multiple tasks.

Explore how making music can be part of your children’s lives below!

Top 10 Instruments for Children to Learn to Play Music

**List order is based on "recommended age."

The Xylophone

Recommended for young children

Children often recognize the melodies of songs before they understand the words. The xylophone is an instrument any child can pick up and play. Most xylophones these days are designed with bright colors and/or animation that your child will be automatically drawn to.

Hand Percussion

Recommended for young children

Think shakers, hand drums, bells, rattles, etc. These instruments are ideal; young ones can easily pick up these with their hands and start making music instantly. Benefits to children include coordination and learning how to keep rhythm.

Piano

Recommended for children in elementary school

Playing the piano offers advantages to players of all ages, including developing concentration, lowering stress, improving self-esteem, and enhancing fine motor skills.

Ukulele

Recommended for children in elementary school

You can’t play the ukulele without a smile on your face! Try it with your child- it’s a given that it will lead to smiles and liven up the atmosphere of any room. The ukulele is a perfect instrument to learn to play. Nylon strings make it easy to play and the instrument itself can be purchased at a low cost. Children will benefit from hand-eye coordination and be playing songs with weeks, or even days!

Drums

Recommended for children in elementary school, middle and high school

Parents may be wary of buying a drum set for their child because of the noise factor. It might not be the quietest of instruments, but children love this instrument they can play with all of their limbs.

Recorder

Recommended for children in elementary school

Playing the recorder requires breathing techniques and coordination. The recorder is easier than other wind instruments and is the ideal introductory instrument.

Violin

Recommended for children in elementary and middle school

The violin can be challenging. If your child is disciplined to push through the difficulties of mastering the violin, they can play anything they put their mind too! Benefits include tone, pitch, coordination and perseverance.

Guitar

Recommended for middle and high school students

Learning to play the guitar is easy! Kids also gravitate towards the cool factor that the guitar brings. This fundamental instrument teaches children the basics of music.

Flute

Recommended for middle and high school students

The flute requires patience! Kids should know that it takes hard work to make sure their hands and arms should be in a lifted position for extended periods of time. This is a great instrument to play to crossover into playing the clarinet.

Trumpet

Recommended for middle and high school students

The trumpet is truly the ideal beginning brass instrument. Like the flute, students need to have the strength to hold their instrument in position for a long period of time.

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Why is it called piano?

Cristofori, Creator of the First Piano The instrument was actually first named "clavicembalo col piano e forte" (literally, a harpsichord that can play soft and loud noises). This was shortened to the now common name, "piano."

Although the piano can be classified as a string instrument due to the fact that the sounds come from the vibration of strings, it can also be classified as a percussion instrument because a hammer strikes those strings. In this way it is similar to a dulcimer. The dulcimer is an instrument that originated in the Middle East and spread to Europe in the 11th century. It features a simple resonating box with strings stretched on top of it. Much like a piano, a small hammer is used to hit the strings, which is why the dulcimer is considered to be a direct ancestor of the piano.

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