Which instrument is right for me or my child?

A few years ago I bought this book. 

Of course I have know idea where t is now, because I lent it to someone and can't remember who.

I partly bought it because I thought it would be very useful as a music teacher to be able to advise parents, and partly because I, at the time, had been having a few questioning thoughts. I suddenly panicked that perhaps I had chosen the 'wrong' instrument (at the time the saxophone was my main focus). I thought maybe this book would give me some percipient answer. I thought that it would say, that due to certain personality traits...really my character, I should have learnt to play a specific instrument. I thought that I had perhaps missed out on the 'correct' instrument for me, and that if I had been exposed to it first, then I would naturally have picked it up every time I walked into my bedroom. I thought that if I had studied that specific instrument then I would have been an amazing musician from the get go. My nagging question was perhaps I had chosen the WRONG instrument and had been pushing against this current my whole life, and that if I had not been so mislead, then I would not have had to battle through practice sessions and force myself to play scales. 

While the book was interesting, it didn't really help me. I think it would be incredibly useful for someone looking to introduce their child to music. What did help though, was that is got me thinking that if I were to choose any instrument in the world, what would it be? Well, you guessed it, the saxophone. It was not purely because of my character or because it is right or wrong physically for me, (while these certainly can be contributing factors), but because I love playing the thing. I love the sound it makes and I love that I sound different to other saxophone players. I also realised that if I spent 6 hours a day practicing, I could be pretty darn good, but I don't want to do that. That doesn't mean I don't practice and it doesn't mean that I can't play the instrument. It also doesn't mean that I am any less of a teacher or a person for that matter. It's just that I have so many other interests in my life, that there aren't enough hours in a day for me to get through everything.

What I do know is that having a few struggles along the way has helped me to be a more empathetic teacher. I believe it has also helped me to be a more patient and encouraging teacher. It has also taught me that not everybody learns the same way or even thinks the same way, and sometimes you have to teach the same thing in 3 different ways before it makes sense to a student.

I have also been able to study the clarinet and recorder further because of my previous knowledge of the saxophone. This instrument has afforded m opportunities to do gives and be in adverts.

I have tried playing a bit on other instruments (non woodwind), but in truth very few excite me enough to want to spend hours with them. 

Yet on the other hand I have met people who were just handed an instrument at school and told that they had to play that one, because the one that they wanted to try was already taken and then they ended up being able to play that instrument so well that they forgot about the first one.

So when it comes to personality, I think you must consider if a child expresses interest in it and are willing to give it a go. Don't force them. Expose them to as many different instruments as possible. If they are able to try out different instruments before deciding, encourage them. Once they have picked something, encourage them to stick with it for a while. If they don't gel with the teacher, find another teacher (after you have given it some time), but let them go through all the steps to learning the notes, making music before switching too much. The most important thing is that your child has an overall good experience of learning music. Sometimes a student may clash personality wise with the teacher and not the instrument. Sometimes it may the be the instrument. Sometimes your child may be going through hormonal changes and just doesn't want to practice. I believe though, that if you expose a child to learning music with the correct person, they will not only learn more about how to play an instrument, they will learn how to express themselves as well as discipline and how to think in a different way, and my personally favorite, they learn how to appreciate listening to music. This may mean that your child might not end up playing music when they leave school, but they will be an informed audience member, and will their life may therefore continually be enriched by beautiful sounds.



(Disclaimer: please note that this picture does not belong to me)