Best Instruments for Kids

Can you guess what Neil Amstrong, Charles Dickens, Einstein, and Edison have in common? You must be confused because there is nothing common and they belong to very different fields. But apart from being popular and brilliant, they share a similar hobby of playing musical instruments. 

You must be aware of what is a musical instrument but for a formal introduction, it is a device that is structured in a way that produces a sound, which falls under the category of music. We all are familiar with how the sounds produced by the instrument help add soothing flavors to our monotonous life. But the benefits just do not end there, learning musical instruments has a profound effect on an individual's personality and overall development. And indeed if the process of learning starts from a young age, a child can do wonders in every approaching aspect of his life.  

Benefits of learning a musical instrument

A musical instrument is not just a way of passing time (hobby), but it can also help enhance your child’s cognitive abilities with a speed you can hardly imagine.

Listed down are some benefits which children can gain if they start learning a musical instrument|:

• Memory: As mentioned earlier playing an instrument helps enhance an individual’s overall intellect by speeding up the cognitive abilities. It also enhances the power of memory and thus helps in better grades and overall academic performance.
   

• Relieves stress: Music indeed helps in releasing stress. If your child learns to play an instrument, its regular practice would produce happy hormones in his/her bloodstream, which would further help to combat stress with much ease. 
  
  
   
• Developing patience: Learning an instrument is not a difficult process but is definitely a gradual one. Learning and coordinating specific notes/keys/strings gradually develops patience in the learner, which contributes positively to their actions in the future. 
  
  
   
• Creativity: Musical instruments provide a platform for kids to create new content. And the creation of something not only inspires others but can also improve self-worth.
   
• Confidence and social skill: Playing an instrument and confidence go hand in hand because it attracts others towards the performer and in a way helps boost confidence because of regular social presence. This, in turn, enhances the social skills, encouraging them to be a part of more such interactions. 
   

Right instruments according to the age

Although anyone can learn any instrument no matter the age. But still there lies a preference of instruments according to the age for a better adaptation regarding the development level of an individual. Written down is the order which one can follow while choosing the best instrument as per their child’s age.

Toddlers:

At this stage, the focal point behind training the kid for a musical instrument is to induce more fun. It's all about exploration and self-expression at this point. Following instruments can be suitable:

• Percussion:  Drums, Xylophones, Rattles, etc are some examples of this type of instrument. 
• Piano: Small keyboards make the kids curious, and this way they peck at the keys which produce sounds that reinforce them to play with it again.

Age 3 to 5:

Still, the child is not mature enough to start with formal training. This stage also incorporates fun and exploration more than advanced training. But indeed the instruments used can be bigger in size and a little more complex. Following are the instruments that can work:

• Viola: Similar to the violin but bigger in size. The tones in this instrument are however deeper.
• Cello: It belongs to the string family, and uses bow and finger positions for the creation of notes.

Age 5 and beyond:

From age 5 a child can start with formal instrument training. They can go to specialized music classes, where proper guidance from a music teacher can be employed. Following are the instruments:

• Guitar: It comes in variations: Electric and Acoustic. It requires more notes clarity than other string instruments.
• Flute: The child should have big fingers and hands to be able to cover all the holes of the flute. They also need to have the ability to hold the instrument for an extended period of time.
  
  
   
• Trumpets: It has 3 buttons that the child maneuvers to create notes and sounds with the help of their lips/jaw/mouth position.
• Drums: A member of the percussion family, but for this age, drums can be a little more advanced and bigger than the ones that would work for the toddlers.

There is no limit to the list of instruments, but the main goal of every parent should be to induce fun and creativity in a child whilst they are learning an instrument. Parents should support and encourage them to learn new instruments while they are growing so that the children can hone different personal and social skills in a fun manner and master these abilities further in their lives.