What instrument to start on and why, from a music lesson teachers perspective.
So an interest has been sparked, but what instrument is best to start with? A quick google search will give a list of common starter instruments depending on how old the student is: xylophone, drum, recorder, ukulele, piano, guitar, violin, flute, or trumpet. These instruments are either popular, have plenty visual cues to help with learning, or both. Every instrument is hard to learn, there are hurdles no matter which one you pick. Where to start? In my opinion there are two-ish ways to begin.
The first and best option is the instrument that sparked the interest. The hardest part of learning is finding the time and motivation to practice. Practicing can feel like a chore and making student want to practice the biggest challenge. The solution ended up being simple, ask students what they want to play. We have access to music like never before and there are awesome songs to be played. Lindsey Sterling has inspired many violinists. Hallelujah and Für Elise has inspired many pianists. Method books are important, but they are boring. Pair them with the music arranged to the skill level of the student and practicing becomes something to look forward to. There is the additional bonus of seeing progress happen. It’s a cool process to see a student start a piece with just the melody, then melody and counter melody, then with block chords, and finally with harmony.
Most songs can be rewritten on any instrument and if the student doesn’t know what they want to play I would start on the piano or the guitar. I am biased to the piano and in my experience it is the easiest place to start, but all I want is for people to play. Let’s break it down with a pro’s and con’s list:
Guitar
Pros
Visual Learning – 5 strings and Marked Frets
Can speak while play – good for note and rhythm learning
Old instrument – has a wide range of musical genres to pick music from
Portable – can practice/play almost anywhere
Tabs – Quick way to learn the guitar that does not involve reading music
Cons
Tabs – a quick way to learn the guitar that does not involve reading music, not being able to read music can limit what a student can learn to play
Hand size matters – Guitars come in tons of sizes so this can be worked around, but it may cost more money and eventually you’d need to buy another. Some styles of guitars simply wont fit in some hands.
It’s hard to pick up a secondary instrument – If the student learned tabs they wouldn’t be prepared to read the music for a different instrument. If you do learn to read the music the guitar is read in the treble clef, which would make switching to a bass/alto/tenor clef reading instrument difficult.
I think we can all agree that the guitar is the most attractive instrument. Remember that one person at school that would sit and play in the hall or cafeteria, the street performer that knows how to pull in a crowd, or the lead guitarist of a band just jamming away in their own bubble without a care in the world? It’s not a bad choice at all. This list is biased to my experience learning and teaching music. Depending on the goals of the student some of those pros don’t matter and some of the con can be good. Knowing how to read music isn’t necessary for guitar depending on the style, popular bands use chord based music and don’t read music note for note at all. I put it on the con’s list because I find that there is value in knowing how to read music. For example it can be difficult to write music later on or learning a melody/riff can be easier if it is written with music notation rather than learning it by ear (impressive, but time consuming). On the other side of that just because the instrument is old and there is a lot of music for it doesn’t mean all that music is interesting. The guitar is a very flexible instrument when it comes to genre and the learning experience can be tailored to the students goals easily. Now the Piano:
Piano
Pros
Visual Instrument – There maybe a lot of keys, but it’s a repeating pattern of 12 keys, 7 white and 5 black
Can talk while playing – good for note and rhythm learning
Huge Repertoire – This instrument is OLD and used in just about every genre in some capacity
Easy to switch instruments – There is no rule that you have to stick to the first instrument and Piano will teach you the basics of music notation and theory and make changing instruments easy
Learning Theory – Most piano books will have theory lessons tucked in with the pieces, this information will be useful to any instrument and genre the student wants to learn to play
Cons
It’s intimidating – It’s a big instrument and there is a lot that it can do. It’s easy to feel that being good at playing the piano is an out of reach goal
It’s expensive – An acoustic piano is not only expensive to buy, but it’s expensive to move and to maintain. There are really good electronic/digital pianos out there for a good price, but it can be hard to dig through the choices
Huge Repertoire – HUGE REPERTOIRE! This instrument is OLD and used in just about every genre in some capacity. Imagine trying to pick a movie from a streaming platform that had every movie ever made
I’m going to say this one last time, I’m biased to the piano being the first instrument to learn. Method books for learning the piano are plentiful and every kind of learner is accounted for. Slow paced books for younger students or students that don’t have a lot of time to practice, fast paced books for adult students, and book that split the difference in pacing. Most instruments don’t have near as many options when it comes to method books. Method books are a topic for another day. I think that the biggest advantage to learning the piano is that if a student wants to switch instruments they will already know the basics of music notation. On piano information is layered and knowledge is built gradually where other instruments have a lot to learn all at once. The piano is also a beautiful instrument if students want to stick with it. It’s an instrument that can do to all. Students will learn melody, bass, the stuff in the middle that makes songs sound full and emotional. I won’t down play that the piano can be trying at times. Learning can feel slow at times and sifting through all the pieces to play can be overwhelming. It’s also a lonely instrument and it can be hard if you don’t have friends to learn with.
The truth is that every instrument has its challenges. Student will get stuck and moving forward will be difficult. Getting over those difficulties and playing those sections that took forever to learn or learning a whole piece is a rewarding feeling. When I tell others that I’m a musician the most common response is, “I used to play [instrument]…” then something along the lines of “I wish I still played,” or “I have been wanting to pick it back up.” There is no such this as too old either, there’s a facebook group to help cheer you on I guarantee. If you’re thinking about it I say, “Do it!” I’ll cheer you on and answer questions.
American blues composer William Christopher Handy said, “Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed,” and I couldn’t agree more.
Happy practicing and I’ll see you next time.