Getting your kids interested in music

With the fast-paced environment that people have today, it is only common for parents to have lesser time for their kids. Not because they want to, it's just that the busy and competitive office or corporate world forces them to. Little do parents know that their office environment is not the only one that is getting more and more stressful�it's also the school.

To avoid their kids getting all stressed out, parents should think of ways on how to relieve this. One effective way is if they engage their kids to playing musical instruments. Experts say that aside from selecting the musical instrument for your child, one tough thing to do is get them interested in playing any of it.

With so many distractions brought by technology such as gaming consoles and PSPs, kids would not prefer to play a musical at all. But, if you give them the chance to get involved in music by selecting a musical instrument for him or her, then maybe they would reconsider.

Fun could be the key

For those who would really want to get their kids into playing musical instruments, they should find ways to be more creative. If the kids see that playing musical instrument is fun, they will be more cooperative. If parents want to get their kids play any musical instrument, they should:

- think out of the box. It would be best if you use different approaches so he or she won't be bored. You can present the topic in a different manner that he or she will enjoy. Out of the box would mean that you are willing to go out of your usual way just for the child to pay attention to what are you teaching.

- exert more effort to engage. Kids�especially those who are very young�enjoy activities that are fun-filled and engaging. If you want them to play any musical instrument, make sure that your attention is one hundred percent with the topic so the child will pay more attention. Remember, if the child sees that you are not really into what you are doing, he or she will also think of other things. When the child is distracted, it will be more difficult for him or her to absorb any information or learn anything.

When selecting a musical instrument for your child, always consider his or her interest. The things mentioned above could help you to make him or her see the beauty of playing music through musical instruments. However, if the child still doesn't appreciate it and is forced to play any musical instrument, then you can try other alternatives that might work.

Getting Kids Started To Play The Bass Guitar

If you are among those parents who are selecting a musical instrument for your child, then you might want to let them try to play the bass guitar. Through the years, the bass guitar is one instrument that has continuously gained many followers. Whether it is the classic acoustic bass guitar or an electric bass guitar, this specific instrument has been preferred by many people�especially the young ones�because it would take a lot of practice and nard work to be able to good at it.

Many people would say that there is really no need to learn to read music when on is playing any instrument. But for those who have been playing instruments�such as the bass guitar�for so long, they would agree that learning to read music would mean that one is really serious in his or her craft.

Knowing how to read music is essential for those who are playing the bass guitar regularly because it would enable them to recall their notes without having to record it. If you are a parent and you would want to save some money by not recording your child's notes, then it is a must that your child learns at least the standard music notation.

This technique has been present for so many decades already since the monks in Europe have discovered it and since then, it has become a universal guideline used when music notation. Many beginners are intimidated to do this because they feel that it's hard to do. But if they put their mind to it, reading music could be really simple. All they need to do is to indicate what note they are going to play and the duration.

- keep TAB in mind. One of the best options to get your kids get started with playing the bass reading is to read music through learning Tabulature or "TAB".

- the time signatures. This prepares the musician how one song is created and the time values of each note. Here, there is a top number that tells measures the counts or beats there are and there is also the bottom number which says which note will be receiving one count or more.

- the staff. To organize sounds that are pleasing to the ears, the staff for certain notations. The staff is used to indicate what tone that needs to be played. This is a musical chart composed of five lines and four spaces and being used in representing particular notes in a certain musical piece.

- the measures. Any musical piece is divided or separated into measures wherein each of these measures is separated usually by a bar line.

An Overview about Brass in Selecting a Musical Instrument for Your Child

While you are in the process of selecting a musical instrument for your child, you are eyeing more on the brass types such as trumpet, trombone, horn and tuba. You cannot understand, but it may be due to the experiences or lack of experiences that you've had as a child. It is possible that you wanted to learn same pieces when you were your kid's age but you were not given any chance to pursue it. Before you push your child to make your childhood dream a reality, you have to hear out their opinions.

They may have other dreams with regards to musical instruments, which do not include any brass pieces. Allow them to voice out their concerns and what they think about the venture. You don't want them to regret anything as they become older, that is why it is important that you allow them to make their own decisions. As parents, your role is to support them and tell them about your opinions so that they can weigh the pros and cons of the matter before they become dead set about anything.

If they have agreed to learn how to play brass instruments, the next step is to shop around for the right pieces. To be sure about this, you can ask for tips and recommendations from your child's music teacher at school. They may even lead you to people who are selling second-hand materials that will be perfect companion for your kids as they embark on this learning experience. You can always buy them brand new materials after they have proven that they can enjoy the process and enjoy handling the brass instruments that you have both chosen.

Brass is categorized in three types. Yellow brass is 70% copper and 30% zinc. This creates pure quality of sound and holds up well even at high volumes. Gold brass is 85% copper and 15% zinc, which is popular because of the complex quality of sound that this can create. This complexity sounds more attractive to the ear, but can get harsh when played in high volumes. Red brass is 90% copper and 10% zinc, which may be too complex and is not recommended to be used by music students.

This is just an overview of what constitutes your choice of brass instruments for your child. Aside from the construction, it is more important to pay attention to what your child really wants to learn more about. This way, all your efforts may be reciprocated with good results in the long run.

Saxophone

One big concern for most parents is if the saxophone is too difficult to play. This might be because of its sophisticated appearance and the equally pleasant music that it produces. Fortunately, the saxophone is not that difficult to play. In fact, it is noted to be very accommodating especially during the early stages of musical development in children.

This is because in a saxophone, notes respond easily; that means even someone with no music experience at all can make a saxophone sound. Other things to learn when playing the saxophone such as the correct positioning of the lips to produce a tune and the correct breathing technique is also relatively easy to pick up. Unlike instruments such as the trumpet or the clarinet, the saxophone is not prone to produce senseless noises. The focus points that would need attention in playing the saxophone would be manual dexterity, correct posture, support, breathing technique, and embouchure.

Choosing a Saxophone for Your Child

When considering some of the more popular instruments today, the saxophone would inevitably be in the picture. Because it is such, it is important that you deserve the best option when making a very important investment for your child's first saxophone. With that, it is very important to seek advice from experts while making decisions.

With the wide variety of options you have when it comes to details of your child's saxophone, it may be very difficult for you to make the necessary choices so that your child would end up with the saxophone that would fit him or her best. Therefore, you have to know how different each option for selecting a saxophone is from another.

Here are some details that you have to choose from when picking a saxophone for your child:

The Ideal Student Saxophone

Because of a significant increase of people getting interested in playing the saxophone, manufacturers have been taking great effort to produce student saxophones that would be affordable but satisfying in terms of musical performance. For beginner saxophones, these produce considerably pleasant tones and are easier to play than the advanced models. If your child is a little too young, make sure that your child would not find it too difficult closing keys.

A student horn is very much ideal if your child is still young or if his or her commitment is still unknown. If your child shows good signs of firm commitment in playing the instrument, you can have your child move to a better and more advanced model. For this, try to wait at least 3 or 4 years.

Choosing Between Plating or Finishing

Most saxophones have lacquer for their finishing. Lacquer comes in a lot of different colours which would give your child the opportunity to have a saxophone with the color of his or her choice. While that is so, finishing has no effect at all to the tone produced by a saxophone. The primary purpose of finishing is only to make the surface of your child's saxophone more durable and resistant to scratches.

If your child prefers a louder and clearer tone, you can opt for a saxophone with silver plating. This is widely used by those who play saxophones in the military or in marching bands. Gold plated saxophones have the best performance when it comes to enhancing the tone of your child's saxophone however, the price cannot be afforded by almost all saxophone players.

Brand New or Second Hand

Although it cannot be denied that your satisfaction is surer with brand new saxophone than it is with second hand saxophones, the price gap between these two options will still have you thinking and reconsidering. If you are considering second hand instruments, you would have to be more careful in purchasing.

If possible, you should have an expert with you when making a second hand purchase. When purchasing a used saxophone for your child, make sure to check all areas for dents or scratches. While looks are important, what really matters is the performance capacity of the instrument. Since that is so, have your child try it or to even increase the chances of satisfaction, have an expert whom you trust try the instrument.

Selecting a Musical Instrument for Your Child - Different Instruments for Different Folks

If you think that parenting is hard, you can make it even harder by selecting a musical instrument for your child. This may be difficult at first, especially when the kid is not that enthusiastic about the idea, but you can make it happen. Just think about it this way � you are helping them in a way to develop certain skills that can become useful as they get older. Even if they won't be that good in the long run, this is still something that they will treasure and look back with fond memories when they are more matured.

After you are done in selecting a musical instrument for your child, it is imperative that you also look for the best teacher that can help them succeed with the venture. Here are some more instruments that you can look into if you still haven't decided on anything yet.

1. Cello. This is inexpensive, especially the starter set, and you can look at music shops to find good deals. You have to bear in mind that this instrument may be awkward to carry because of its size. If you will let your kid pursue in learning this instrument, you have to be prepared to provide transportation for your child and the equipment at times when they are not in the mood to carry it on their own, which may be often.

2. Violin. This is also inexpensive and it can produce a wide range of music, from popular to classical. There are music shops that allow replacements with additional charge to upgrade the starter piece that your child first had to something that is more suitable for their age as they get older.

3. Viola. Those who can play the viola are actually very in demand these days and this may be due to the fact that only few children choose this instrument over something like violin. There are some kids who become interested to learn this after they have mastered the violin or when they are already a bit older. This is bigger and also heavier than violin, but it produces rich and beautiful sound.

It will make the process easier if you will look beyond the present in selecting a musical instrument for your child. What do you want them to become in the future or how do you envision them to be in the coming years? You can base your decisions on their interests as well as their own choices and preferences.

Trombone

Choosing the right instrument for your child is very important. If you fail to do so, this could result to having your child skip practices, neglecting the instrument, or having your child's performance in playing the instrument stagnate somewhere in his or her learning process while playing the instrument.

Your Child's Musical Preference

Before anything else, it is important that you spend some time in knowing what instrument would best fit your child. The most evident basis for this would be your child's musical preference. For example; a child who is into pop or rock might not appreciate classical piano lessons likewise, a child who is into marching band music might not like a guitar. Since a significant lack of interest of the child to his chosen musical instrument can creative unproductiveness later on , it is important that your child begins with an instrument that he is interested in.

Considering What Best Fits Your Child

Another basis for choosing an instrument would be what fits your child best. As a parent, you know what your child is capable of, what he or she is good at, as well as his or her strengths and weaknesses. Considering that each different instrument would fit different personalities, you should know what best fits your child. For example; a child struggling with fine motor skills might not be very comfortable with the violin or a child that is considerably thin and small might find the sousaphone too heavy and big.

If it so happens that your child is into marching band music or jazz and is fit for handling challenging wind instruments, then the trombone may just be perfect for your child. However, there are also a lot of things to consider when choosing a trombone for your child.

For a trombone, as well as other brass wind instruments, a typical child would be capable of playing it at age 10 if they are well built. For this, you have to wait for the right time for your child to be able to play the trombone to avoid having your child become unproductive during trombone practices. Typically, because of size, children would start with tenor or baritone trombones since these are the lighter types.

Considering Your Child's Physical Capabilities

While the violin may require extensive finger reach, and the piano with notable finger dexterity, the trombone would require its player to be able to manage lifting the considerably heavy instrument while playing it. Since this is so, the physical capabilities of your child have to be taken in consideration.

Another physical aspect of your child that would have to be taken in consideration when choosing the trombone would be your child's dental health. Since playing the trombone would involve a lot of direct contact between the mouthpiece and your child's teeth, your child's teeth should be healthy enough to absorb the strain of that direct contact that happens whenever you child plays his or her trombone.

Another reason as to why your child's teeth would have to be considerably healthy would be because the formation of your child's teeth would have a profound effect on your child's capability to make the instrument sound. A child with unhealthy teeth might not even be able to make a trombone sound at all.

Your Child's Awareness

A very important aspect that you should consider is that your child should be aware of what would be coming his or her way once he or she has chosen his instrument and that your child must be appreciative of what activities would be going his way with his chosen instrument. In this context, a child who has chosen a trombone should be aware that he or she would be attending practices regularly. Most likely, a child who has the trombone as an instrument would not get individual attention but group attention with the other kids in a band; this means that through your child's experiences with his trombone, he also develops a lot of other values such as teamwork.

Ultimately, if your child gains a deep interest in playing the trombone and would really show it, he or she will get that well deserved college scholarship in no time.

Consider Drums For Kids

Almost all kids are naturally inclined to music. This is because music was a stimulus to them even when they were still inside their mother's womb. Their interest in music would greatly depend on their parents. If you are among those parents who want to get their kids inclined to music, now is the best time to research what could be the best musical instrument for your child.

One of the most popular instruments that are recommended for kids is drums. This is because kids are fond of just banging everything and creating sounds from it. If you see your child is interested in making music out of banging tumbled pails or cups, then you can try buying him or her a drum set to start with.

Finding the best drum set

When you consider drums for your child as a musical instrument to play with, now is the time to start finding that best drum set that you could find. When searching for a drum set for your child, you should:

1. Research first. You can research about drums, how it is played and what are the benefits that your child can get from playing it. Research can be done through the Internet where you could find almost all the answers to your inquiry. You can learn what the kinds of drums available are out there so you could find out the ideal type for your child. Here, you can also check out price ranges so you wouldn't be confused when you get to music stores.

2. Ask your child to go with you when you canvass for the drum. Your child's participation in finding that drum set would serve as a gauge how interested he or she is with it. Granted that your child is into playing drums, it would be a great opportunity for him or her to be exposed to various drum sets so his or her knowledge would be wider. It can also serve as a bonding activity for the parent and the child.

3. List down what are the options that you have. When selecting a musical instrument for your child such as the drums, make sure that you jot down the list of options that you have. Aside from the type or the brand, make sure that you consider the one that would suit your budget and would be comfortable for your child. You should also assess the place where you will place the musical instrument so you or your child won't have any problems when playing it.

Clarinet

Because of the versatility to play in different music genres, the soothing tune, the portability, and the growing popularity of this wonderful instrument, it is no wonder why more and more parents want their children to learn how to play the clarinet.

If your child has shown some signs of being interested in a clarinet, it could be that you as a parent would be thrilled by this show of interest and confused with which and what instrument to buy. If that is the situation, here would be some tips on how you can get the right clarinet for your child.

Know the Seller

With clarinets being available on music stores, pawnshops, online selling sites, and many other similar sources, it might be difficult for you as a parent to choose where to buy your child's first clarinet.

Asking for opinions from reliable sources such as your child's music instructor, local musicians, and experts would be very helpful in making a decision as to where to buy. As much as possible, try to stay away from pawnshops or 2nd hand sellers unless someone who is highly reliable has given you advise to do so.

Choosing Between Different Types

One of the most common questions that parents would ask is if there are different types of clarinets. Just as most wind instruments would be classified according to range that would include, tenor, baritone, soprano, and alto, the clarinet is also classified according to different ranges. With that, you have to choose what range would best fit your child.

For beginners, the most common type that they should start with is the Bb soprano clarinet since it has the features that are fit for a beginner however, this can vary depending on what the instructor would think is best for your child.

After your child has mastered on type of clarinet, the instructor may want your child to move into another clarinet with a different range. This would allow your child to know more about clarinet playing and be better at it.

Choosing Between Different Sizes

Clarinets also come in different sizes so that people of all ages can play it. For your child, you have to choose a clarinet that is reasonably small so that your child can manage.

When it comes to choosing the right size of clarinet, it is very important that you pick a size that is right for your child; more importantly, the clarinet must not be too big or heavy for your child to manage. Another reason as to why the Bb soprano clarinet is best for beginners is because this type is lighter than most other types. However, your child can start with a larger type if he or she can manage.

If your child ends up with a clarinet that is too big and heavy for him or her to manage, this might make practices big burdens for him or her. Furthermore, his or her productivity and skill in playing the clarinet would be very much affected. For more information on this matter, make sure to coordinate with your child's instructor and the seller of the clarinet.

Choosing Between Different Materials

With so many materials that can be made into clarinets, it might be difficult for you to choose which material would best fit your child. With that, here are some things that you should consider when choosing between different materials.

Different materials would indicate different levels of skill, different types of music, and different tones produced when referring to the clarinet. Just like choosing between different sizes or ranges, your child also has to have a clarinet that has the material that would be fit for him or her.

First, you have to know if your child's instructor has any preference for any material. Usually, competent schools will give out this information. Since the instructor knows best when it comes to these matters, it is best to take the instructor's advise.

Some materials that your child can choose from would be the ABS plastic body, polyblend composite, and the Grenadilla wood body. Typically, the ABS plastic body is what beginners would start with and the Grenadilla wood body is what is preferred by most expert clarinet players.