Are you looking for a hobby for your child? Why not learn an instrument! Picking up music as a hobby can help with brain development and other cognitive functions. In this article, you’ll find the best instruments for kids to learn on.
From drum sets to keyboards, we’ve got you covered with a comprehensive list of our instrument recommendations for younger children, children who are just beginning to play, and children who are ready for more challenging instruments. Take a look!
Best Instrument for Kids to Learn
Let’s start with the best instruments for children to learn on. Some instruments are easier to pick up than others, like the Ukulele or Harmonica. Others, like the Guitar and Violin, are more challenging. We’ll go over a few of the easier instruments to learn, as well as some of the more challenging instruments. The instrument you end up choosing will likely depend on your child’s age and musical experience.
- The Ukulele is a relatively easy instrument to start with if your child has never played one before. The chords are easy to learn and your child can take what they learn with the Ukulele and later apply it to a violin or guitar. Another nice thing about the Ukulele is that it produces a nice quiet sound, perfect for parents who want a quieter instrument!
- Xylophones are a great option for really young kids! Not only will they learn some of the basics of music (counting, melodies, etc.), but they will really hone in on their hand-eye coordination, motor skills, and other cognitive brain functions.
- The Recorder is one of the best instruments for kids. Most kids have at least a little experience with the Recorder from elementary school music classes. This is another great starter instrument. Once your child has mastered the Recorder, they can take those skills and apply them to a more challenging instrument, like a Flute or Clarinet. Additionally, the Recorder is a very inexpensive option.
- Another great option for kids is the Harmonica. This is a great option for children to start out on because you don’t need to know a lot about music in order to start playing. Also, it’s very hard to sound bad on a Harmonica – that’s how easy it is to play!
- The Keyboard (and Piano) is one of the most popular instruments for children to learn. The Piano is one of the best instruments to start out on because it helps your child understand the fundamentals of music while learning to play an instrument. Pianos can be very expensive, so Keyboards are a very similar, and less expensive, alternative.
- While Drums are very noisy, they are a great instrument for children to learn on. This is a very different type of instrument, one where everything is built around rhythm rather than harmonizing. The Drums are great for kids who aren’t looking to learn the in-depth fundamentals of music but just want to play for fun.
- After the Piano and Keyboard, Guitar is the most popular instrument for kids to learn on. This is another instrument that helps children to learn the basics and fundamentals of music. They will learn valuable skills on the Guitar that they can use later or on other instruments.
- While the Violin is a bit more challenging than other instruments, it can provide invaluable benefits to your child. If your child can get through the initial stage of learning to play, they will have skills and knowledge that will help them not just in music, but with learning in general.
- Because the Trumpet only has three valves, there is a misconception that learning to play is “easy.” However, playing the Trumpet requires a lot of air pressure from the player, which can be hard on your lungs. You can find “beginner” Trumpets for your child (one option is linked here) on Amazon and other sites.
- Lastly, the Saxophone is another one of the best instruments for kids. While it is one of the more challenging instruments on the list, your child will learn a lot through playing it. Playing the Saxophone teaches kids about identifying patterns that can help with math and science, as well as playing other instruments.
Styles of Music to Consider
Now that we have gone over the instruments that are good for kids to learn on, let’s talk about the best styles of music to use when starting out. The easiest songs to learn are ones that have repeating sounds and melodies. Children’s songs are the best music to start out with because they help you learn the basics of music and how to play on your instrument.
Songs like Hot Cross Buns, Happy Birthday, and Itsy Bitsy Spider are a few examples of good starter songs for your child. Other songs or nursery rhymes that they are familiar with would be good start songs, as well.
Once they have mastered some of the more easy kids’ songs, you can find more challenging songs for them to master. The key to finding songs that they can play is to not go beyond their skill level. The music should have simple chords, only a few chords used and repeating patterns or melodies. This will prove very helpful for them in mastering different styles of music. A few examples include: 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, You Are My Sunshine, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, and Let It Be by The Beatles.
There you have it! A list of all the best instruments for kids to learn on, starting with the easy options and concluding with more challenging instruments. Selecting an instrument will depend on your child’s age and ability level. But whether they are just starting out, or continuing on their music journey, we’re sure that one of these instruments will be perfect for them.
Playing an instrument has many benefits aside from just being a fun hobby; kids learn cognitive functions, they learn skills that they can use with them in school, and they learn patience, too.
