When you were a kid, did your parents ever force you to play an instrument that you hated?

Question

Mine forced me to play the accordian. I hated it. Now that I'm much older, I wish that I had learned to play and read music. At least I could have used that knowledge to play the piano.

Answer 1

Wanted the opportunity to play an instrument but living in a foster home, option wasn't available.
All 5 of our children picked their instruments. We were raising them on an enlisted military salary, which wasn't much.
The Saxaphone came from a Thrift shop ($25). Clarinet from a music teacher($30). We paid for 2 flutes, a piccolo and a piano.
Our school district had extra intstruments available so one of our children learned the French Horn also. I learned to play the piano during my 40s.
Only one of our children plays now---piano. Recently bought his own and his 4 and 10 yr olds are puttering on it. He loved to play but hated the practice. Lots of kids are like that. He has a skill for the rest of his life that he enjoys.

Answer 2

Yes, the guitar. I hated it. I put it away when I started band and learned the tenor saxophone. I wish I had never put either one down as over the last 40 years I try to pick it up again. Just recently I bought a cheap classic guitar and a cheap Clarinet. My instrument of choice was the drum, but in the 1960's everyone wanted to be Ringo Starr so I had to pick an alternate instrument.

Three years ago I learned to play the djembe and doumbek hand drums and love it. The hand drums are easier to improvise on but I still read music for the guitar and all. I am going to stay firm and this time get half way good.

The good thing is I have enough musical training that I have not forgot that I can teach myself now.
WR

Answer 3

I never played an instrument as a kid. I was always a huge music fan, as are my parents, and I've always conceived songs in my head. But I never considered actually learning to play any instruments because it always looked to difficult. And it was never forced on me. Then, at age 20, while at college I was constantly surrounded by friends that all had guitars laying around. So I started to learn and had my friends teaching me the basics and I discovered that it's not really so difficult after all (at least not the basics). HOWEVER, having no real/formal/classical training and having never dealt with playing music prior to age 20, my ear for pitch was completely undeveloped. I had never even considered thinking about notes, flatness, sharpness, half steps, whole steps. All of these things were concepts that my brain never touched on, so it's taken me years and years to get to a point where I can even come close to figuring melodies out by ear. And I still can't tune a guitar without an electronic tuner. It could be the case that I'm just naturally bad at distinguishing pitch, but I'm pretty sure it's largely in part to the fact that I never developed the skill during my brain's "growing years" of childhood and adolescence. So what I'm saying is: I wish I had played an instrument as a child. Since I was too afraid to try learning, I wish it had been forced on me.

Answer 4

kid parents force play instrument hated

Answer 5

No force from parents. My bro played the french horn, I was to dinky, so the music teacher said how about the clarinet--i played it and the oboe and sax, and a kettle drum, a snare and symbols and bass drum and bells all thru school. Couldn't blow my way out of a paper bag now but loved it when I was a kid. I could never practice at home either but was always first chair even when I changed schools when I was a Jr.

Answer 6

people have been struggling with this forever. your parents just want the best for you in the long run. once you grow up and mature, you'll want to have money and be able to do things - and rock and roll and guitars might not be so cool anymore, whereas, if you get accustom to 'high society' things now, you'll have an advantage on others. Do what you want, but know that if you continue to go against your parents, your bound to end up in an apartment complex known for drugs and violence, sitting on a torn, smelly couch, wishing you would have listened to your parents, because if you had, you might be on a vacation to some far away hot spot, being pampered by the locals... but do what you want.

Answer 7

I really wanted to learn how to play the piano like my dad. After having lessons at school and training on a cardboard keyboard, my mom bought a baby grand piano. After listening to me practice for a very short while , lessons were canceled. I drove my mom nuts practicing. Later they got me a triangle, which is NOT a COOL instrument. What rock band has a triangle player for Pete's' sake!?

Answer 8

Oh yes, and it was worse than having to pull weeds. (torture-my kids always told me I just wanted to torture them when I made them pull weeds.)

I took Violin lessons for 2 or 3 years.

My mother died when I was 8 years old and while on her death bed she told my dad to make sure I continued taking Violin and kept the bath tub clean.

After a year or so I was able to convince my dad to let me quit Violin but I paid dearly for it. I scrubbed the tub daily.

I'm no longer physically able to clean the tub, but my poor husband cleans the tub daily for me.

All kidding aside. I tried the guitar when I was 30, with the coaxing from my dad. I took guitar lessons for 2 years and found that I simply don't have an ear for music or at least the motor control to play very well.

So I don't feel so bad about disappointing my mother.

I definitely can identify with your wish.

It's really not to late to try playing around on the key board. It plays the different types of rhythm along with you. Maybe some of what you learned from the Accordion will suddenly come back.

Thanks for the question.

Answer 9

Mine too, made me play the accordion, I wanted to play the piano so I wouldn't practice the accordion. A guy from the music school canvassed the whole neighb orhood signing up the kids. If any kid was left out everybody felt that their parents were mean. it was a ripoff, they also sold you the accordion.

Answer 10

Hello DD, like you, my mother insisted I learn the accordion at 6 years old. Her reasoning was that, "If you learn to play the accordion, you will be invited to all the parties when you get into high school!"

Funny, but I never went to a party in high school, with an accordion player in attendance.

The only thing it was good for was when my friends came to the front door to tell on me. I would pick it up and jam so loud and hard you would have thought I liked it. I finally convinced her I needed to quit.