Harp

When it comes to selecting an instrument for your child, knowing what would really fit your child is very important as different instruments would fit children of different sizes, capabilities, and preferences. With this, you first would have to assess your child and see what instruments could possibly fit him.

With that, there are several categories that can be used as bases for identifying what instrument would best fit your child.

Physical Capabilities

A good primary basis for judging what instrument could possibly fit your child is your child's physical capabilities for playing instruments. A child who shows potentially good finger dexterity could be fit to play the piano or a child who is considerably stronger than his fellows could be trained to play heavy brass wind instruments.

If your child's physical capabilities are not matched with the demands of the chosen instrument, this could end up in frustration, slow progress, and incompetency of the child in playing the instrument.

Your Child's Interest

While physical capabilities should be heavily considered for selecting the right instrument for your child, what really matters is what your child is interested in. That is why even at an early age, you should expose your child to different types of music. With right amount of exposure to different types of music, your child will sooner or later be able to know what kind of music he or she is inclined to.

Having your child know what music he or she likes is vital for him to identify what specific musical instrument he wants. If your child gets into pop music, your child is likely to choose instruments such as the drums, guitar, or keyboards. If it happens that your child is into classical or opera music, your child can go for the violin, piano, or the harp.

A deep interest for classical music could mean that your child is interested in playing the harp because unlike other classical instruments such as the piano, or violin which could be used in more than just the classical genre, the harp is almost limited to playing only classical music.

Is Your Child Fit For Playing The Harp?

Just as different instruments would have different demands, the harp has its own demands too. In order for someone to be effective in playing the harp, a considerably long reach is required as harp players would need to reach far to hit high notes. Extensive finger and hand dexterity is also required here since when playing the harp, one would have to quickly move their hands between different strings and strum these with their fingers.

With the harp, having your child learn how to play it at the right age is also essential. This means that your child must not be too young or too old when he starts playing the harp. The general rule for musical instruments is that children have to start learning them from the ages of 8 to 10. This rule applies in this case since your child has to be old and big enough to be able to reach the all the notes in the harp.

If your child is not yet able to do so, your child can start off with a harp that is fit for his or her size. Although smaller harps are not fit to be played in an orchestra, a smaller harp can allow your child to learn the basics while he or she cannot play the full-scaled harp yet.

Things Your Child Will Learn In Harp Playing

While a harp is to be played with an entire orchestra most of the time, it always stands out because of its profound tune and its visibility. If your child is the type that enjoys working with other people, loves to stand out, and loves to be seen, then your child will surely enjoy playing the harp on stage.

Having your child learn how to play the harp will give him or her more confidence. Other values that your child can learn is hard work since learning how to play the harp is definitely not easy and teamwork since your child would have to learn how to work with an orchestra to produce great music. While the creative skill that your child would gain from learning how to play an instrument would seem like the most visible goal, the most important thing parents would want their children learn by playing instruments is the values that are associated with it.