instrument choice

[ksomom]

I noticed the mention of the violin often when it comes to teaching young ones a musical instrument.  I was wondering if any of you teach your kids this?  If not, do you teach any other instrument?  Why did you choose the one you did?  What are your experiences with teaching music- has it been noticeably beneficial? 

[linzy]

We are going to be teaching piano when Blaise turns 3.  Violin is the classical Suzuki instrument and as such is specifically mentioned in Doman's books.  One reason for it's popularity is that it is portable and can be brought to lessons, it is obtainable in small sizes appropriate for young children and it is easy to rent/buy whereas larger instruments (like the piano) many people may not have at their home and may be too expensive to rent/buy.

[texaslady22]

We teach violin using the Suzuki method.

Our music teacher (with a Masters in Ensembles) recommends starting children with the violin. For one thing, violins can be scaled down to child size. They have violins that are 1/32 or 1/16 size, so they're very small and perfect for a child to hold (and very cute, too). Violins are also beautiful instruments, and children can successfully learn to play from a young age (as early as 18 months). Violin teachers are easy to find and we've found a lot of music he can listen to, as well.

Some other instruments (like woodwinds) are impossible to play as toddlers because it requires such intricate mouth muscle control that is not possible until later. I don't know much about it, but it is what our violin teacher said.

Our music teacher also starts children on piano at three, but she said few people use child-size pianos and those that are out there don't have the best pitch. Children have to really strain their fingers to play an instrument that isn't sized for them.

Our son is only two, but I can tell you this--he begs his daddy to play violin, even though his daddy isn't that great. He appreciates music. He has great rhythm. He hums classical music. Those seems like benefits enough! But the biggest benefit is that our house is filled with music that we create--and that's a good feeling!

[tatianna]

we wanted to start with the violin
muse has been listening to suzuki violin school 1 for 9 months
and know most of the songs by heart
but we may have to switch to piano
as i can't find a suzuki teacher
ether way i can't wait for her to begin

[texaslady22]

we wanted to start with the violin
muse has been listening to suzuki violin school 1 for 9 months
and know most of the songs by heart
but we may have to switch to piano
as i can't find a suzuki teacher
ether way i can't wait for her to begin

You might take out an ad in the paper.

Even just a high school student could really help to teach your child early on. We live in a pretty small community that isn't very "artsy" so we were expecting to have to drive an hour or more for a violin teacher. Nope! It turns out that one lives right down the street (and she does Suzuki and she's awesome)! She wasn't listed on the Suzuki of the Americas site, though.

[tatianna]

in the town where we live in mexico there is a very large artist community
but no Suzuki violin teachers
does a violin teacher have to be Suzuki trained to start teaching a small child? 
i'm in the US right now and i would love to know before i buy a instrument
also in the book nurtured by love Suzuki says in the class you teach the parent first for 3 months before you start teaching the child is that what you did?
if so i need to buy two violins
and if i do go with the violin i am not sure what size to get
i want the violin to fit her now but still be usable in a year
she is 2 do you think a 1/16 would work?
thanks so much
tatianna

[texaslady22]

In the beginning, the teacher doesn't really have to be Suzuki trained--like I said earlier, even an advanced high school student who knows how to play would be able to teach holding the bow, rest position, etc.

My child is only 2 and our teacher doesn't start teaching kids until 3, so my husband started lessons about 9 months early. We found a cheap violin on eBay for under $50 and it works great for him. He's not musically gifted at all, but he's still been able to learn a great deal (he's on song 3).

She said we'd need a 1/16 for him...she said she doesn't really recommend 1/32 because they grow out of them too quickly.

[tatianna]

has your child started to play yet?
what should i expect in the first year of lessons?
very good to know about the instrument size
karma to you for your help

[texaslady22]

He hasn't started to play yet, but he loves to pretend to play (and it's so cute). He has really good form. He's learned rest position and play position.

Sometimes, as a special treat, daddy will let him come and carefully run the bow across the violin. He LOVES that. Right now, we're trying to keep it a special novelty (and it's working).

What should you expect in your first year of lessons? Well, my husband's never played an instrument of any kind, so it's difficult to learn! It took him over a month to learn Twinkle Twinkle. The violin is a really complicated instrument!! But he's so proud of himself. Just prepare to practice and realize you won't "get" things immediately.

[tatianna]

so for the first year the teacher focus is on the parent and not the child?
i read Suzuki's books but i'm still unsure about how long the parent takes lessons
when if ever does the parent stop taking lessons
and do you think it is even necessary?
thanks so much for all your help
i don't know any parents that have used the suzuki method so i really appreciate you answering my questions
tatianna 
 

[texaslady22]

The purpose of the parent taking lessons is the following:

1) Get the child interested in the instrument (I wanna do what daddy's doing)
2) Show you how to teach your child (you know cause you learned this months ago)
3) Expose your child to the sounds of the instrument in practice

I suppose the earlier the parent starts lessons the better, but our teacher talks like when the child reaches a certain ability the parents will stop taking lessons because the children will surpass them.

Of course, in the Suzuki books it says that some of the moms taking the lessons with their children got pretty good, but mostly it's about the kids.

I'm not sure it's essential. I know a lot of Suzuki teachers don't require this. But it's really been nice for us because my husband has a lot of time with the teacher and she'll tell him little games and things he can do. How will you help a child practice if you can't play the instrument yourself?

If the child's 8, he can articulate his questions to a teacher. At 2 or 3, though, he really can't.

[Baby]

Thank you for sharing the info.  I never think of a nine months old baby can start learning violin.  My son is almost two.  I think I should start looking for a teacher for him. 

[Haasini]

Thanks I was thinking of my putting my child on to a piano class but after reading this I have decided to go in for a violin

[KL]

One very big advantage of playing the violin over the piano is that it really trains your sense of pitch.  Whether you are in tune or not is 100% up to you, so you really have to listen carefully to make sure you are in tune, and that practice really helps to train the ears.

One big advantage of the piano is that you practice reading (and playing) multiple notes at the same time, and that also enhances musicality because you have to deal with getting many different parts to harmonize together.

[DadDude]

Well, it's not clear and I can see starting with either (or with something else entirely, actually).

I play both and have taught violin (though I've never taught tiny kids).  You can get a very suitable, reasonably good-sounding piano keyboard, suitable for learning, for a few hundred dollars.  Expense shouldn't be a reason not to learn piano, in my opinion.

I'd encourage everyone to consider that violin is very hard to learn, much harder than piano.  Piano is also an excellent first instrument (after voice of course ) because it is very easy and clear to explain the fundamentals of music, such as scales, keys, chords, and arpeggios.  I don't have much experience with little kids and violin, but I can say this.  With violin, the child has to master how to hold both the bow and the violin -- both are very difficult, even for adults.  The other difficulty is intonation, which is again very difficult even for adults.  I would also be concerned about the lack of positive feedback, because tiny kid violins sound awful and tinny.  The piano has none of these drawbacks.  Either you hit the right note or you don't, and if you hit it hard enough, it has a satisfying sound.  Good piano playing does require a good posture, but this is not a severe impediment to making any music (or even any sound) the way that holding the bow and violin properly can be.  The biggest problem with piano, I guess, is that a standard-sized keyboard is too big for tiny fingers.  This is indeed a big problem, but it still can be mastered (and grown into).  And maybe a small-sized keys would be OK to learn on (I don't know).  Also, from personal experience I know that piano is an excellent preparative for violin, and in fact this is often recommended by professionals.

So we've been giving our little boy (2 yrs 9 mos) the most informal sort of "lessons" on piano.  Violin is for later.  That said, we might soon actually give our little boy informal lessons on both.  And Mama kind of wants him to learn button accordion.  That would be fun.

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