my neighbors daughter...?

Question

my neighbors, (were very close to our neigbors)

any way, my neighbors are planning to start their 3 year old on a musical instrument soon. i suggested piano, are there any other instruments?shes kinda small so this instrument needs to come in different sizes, they looked into violin, viola, and cello,but they might be too fragile for right now...

do you have any suggestions?

Answer 1

She is a little bit young, I would start by letting her choose, and making it more like a game right now, you never want to take it too seriously when they are so little, or she could end up hating music. Violin is fine, it is a great instrument, piano is also suitable.
Electrical Keyboards are fun for kids and they can learn the notes and start making up their own tunes.

Again, I just wouldn't force it on her. Little by litte.

Answer 2

I would go with piano. Once you learn piano, picking up other instruments is easy. She's too little for a woodwind, and I totally get the fragile violin thing. The most important thing is that they make it fun for her, not a chore. If it is a chore, she will lost interest in ALL instruments. Piano is a good option, because they can start with an inexpensive keyboard and upgrade later as she learns more and when they think she will stick with it. Also, piano has a lot of versatility, especially keyboards, with all the settings for different sounds most of them have. This will make it more fun, like any other toy, and help to keep her interested. Even if she plays the traditional way for her lessons.

Answer 3

My son is 5. He has just gotten to where he can press down the keys on a regular piano well. And he’s an average size boy. I would start with piano lessons, but get her an electronic keyboard with keys that are easier to push down. Plus, I could put stickers on the keys and not worry about it. My brother played violin and that is quite hard on the fingers and neck. I think that would be quite difficult for a 3-year-old. Another good option is a recorder. Inexpensive and portable.

Answer 4

First, "Which instrument?" is not nearly as important
as "What teacher?" Find the very best music teacher
you can and, regardless of the instrument they
teach, have the child study with them. You only get
one chance to make your child love the study of
music. Choose their first teacher carefully.

The second answer is "Whatever instrument seems to
excite them the most." Do they get excited when

Dad plays his guitar? Do they beg to take lessons with their older sibling's violin
teacher? If not, how about taking them to observe several teachers, each of a different instrument? When they walk out of one of those lessons saying "When
do I get my (insert instrument name here,) Mom?" you'll have the answer.

The third answer depends upon what you want the child's early music experience to be like. In one group are instruments like the violin and the viola.
They have the advantages of being very portable, and of giving kids the opportunity to participate in orchestral and chamber music programs. In the other group are instruments like the piano and the harp. These are both multi
voiced instruments, lending themselves more to solo work and to the teaching of harmony and counterpoint.

(Note! The following is a shameless plug for our beloved instrument.) One of
the reasons the guitar has been so popular over the years is that it has some of the best attributes of both of the above groups. It's very portable yet, being a
multi voiced instrument, provides ample opportunity to teach harmony and
counterpoint. It also lends itself well to both solo and chamber work.

Answer 5

They have music ed franchises, kind of like tupperware, called things like Kindermusic, and Music and Me, that are programs for toddlers especially that expose them to lots of instruments and singing. Id check around for a class like this first. Often a Y, or community education offers these kind of things too. Thats what we're doing for our 3 year old.

Answer 6

She could study violin, though four years of age is a better time, IMO. Violins come in 1/16 and even 1/32.

1/32 is hard to find, though. I know of one:

http://beststudentviolins.com/violins.html#KMEtudevl

Answer 7

They can start off with a mini keyboard, or a mini drum kit.

Answer 8

TELL THEM TO TRY A WOODWIND INSTERMENT
~FLUTE [[AWSOME]]
~CLARANET