There are a lot of great instruments to start with. Which one is best for your child?
Table of Contents
Why Should My Child Learn to Play an Instrument?
What is the Best Age to Start Music Lessons?
What Can Young Children Learn About Music?
What are the Best Musical Instruments for Kids to Learn?
Summary of the Best Kinds of Music Lessons by Age
Now is the time to get your child started playing an instrument! It’s best to start kids when they’re young, but no matter what age your child is, the time to start learning an instrument is now!
Why Should My Child Learn to Play an Instrument?
1. Lots of research shows just how important and beneficial learning an instrument can be
According to extensive research, these are some of the benefits of learning music during childhood.
1. Higher test scores
2. Better grades
3. Enhanced cognitive development
4. Improved social skills
5. Better memory
6. Boosted mood
7. Increased confidence and self-esteem
There are a lot more, but these few show just how impactful learning music can be for children.
2. Playing an instrument can create a lifetime of joy
As a musician myself I can truly say that I still have the same passion for playing music as I did when I started learning. It’s something that never went away.
The ability to play an instrument is a creative outlet and a skill we get to keep developing throughout life.
The instrument also becomes a friend in times of need and a way that we can express and even feel emotion that is inside us.
The earlier kids start learning to play an instrument, the easier it is to learn, just like language.
What is the best age to start music lessons?
In most cases, we recommend that a child start taking instrument lessons at about age 5 or 6, but they can start learning music before starting an instrument.
If kids are in a musical family, or simple show high levels of interest and ability at a very young age, they could start instrument lessons at age 4. This also depends on the instrument they would be learning.
You’ll know when it’s time to start lessons for an instrument when your child is ready to spend at least a few minutes, a few days a week, practicing the instrument.
When formal instrument lessons begin there will be an expectation to practice, improve, and stick with it.
As mentioned above, kids can start learning music before taking instrument lessons. They can start learning fundamental musical concepts that will enrich them while they’re young and help prepare them to learn an instrument later. We’ll discuss this more below.
Part of what we do at My Music Workshop is offer a simple and fun way for younger kids to start learning music, with or without an instrument. We offer piano, drum, ukulele, singing, and lessons for younger students that don’t require an instrument. We offer a free week to try everything. Start a free trial here.
What Can Young Children Learn About Music?
There are musical concepts that younger kids can start learning before starting an instrument. The first time I taught music to preschool kids, I was amazed at how much they learned and remembered.
Below are some of the foundational concepts that we introduce to children at My Music Workshop. They are very important to being a well-rounded musician and factor into playing an instrument later.
Pitch: (High and Low)
Tempo: (Fast and Slow)
Dynamics: (Soft and Loud)
Keeping rhythm and understanding simple rhythmic phrases
The expression of emotion in music
Instrument families and how they work
Intro to singing. Finding melodies and singing on pitch.
How songs are structured. Verse/Chorus/Bridge etc.
Identifying musical notes and clapping out the notes and measures of music.
Learning these concepts is a perfect way to prepare children to learn an instrument when they reach the right age, and create confidence around learning music.
When a child is young it’s the perfect time to build success and create excitement. If we can build a love for music from an early age children will be much more likely to stick with playing an instrument later.
Do you have a child who shows interest in music? We specialize in teaching musical concepts to kids and making it fun. Visit us and start learning for free at My Music Workshop.
Here’s a preview video of our instrument lessons. You can try them for free:
What are the best musical instruments for kids to learn?
In teaching music to kids for almost twenty years we have discovered some good, and not so good instruments to start with. Keep in mind, instruments are a personal choice, and children will gravitate to what they like. Below are some recommendations, but if you have a child who’s interested in something else, by all means get them started!
These are the best instruments for kids to learn
-Piano
-Ukulele
-Drums
-Guitar
-Violin
Let’s discuss why these are great and why you might not want to choose one of these instruments.
Piano
Why the Piano is Great for Kids
It doesn’t require as much finger strength as instruments with strings.
Kids can be successful quickly using just a few keys
The piano keys are laid out in a way that makes music theory easy to visualize
Younger kids can learn the piano
The piano works in tons of musical styles
The piano is great for writing songs
The skills learned on piano transfer well to other instruments
Beginner digital pianos and keyboards aren’t too expensive. (We have recommendations for a few that you can get on Amazon here.)
The piano requires rhythm and melody (it’s in its own category, that’s part percussion instrument, part string instrument, and part awesome!)
We believe the piano is one of the best instruments for kids to start learning. Discover the reasons why in our detailed blog post about learning the piano.
Some Reasons the Piano Isn’t So Great
Kids might prefer another instrument (that’s OK)
Pretty much nothing else 🙂
Watch our First Piano Lesson For Kids lesson on YouTube below!
Ukulele
Why the Ukulele is Great
It’s a great size for kids and smaller hands
It has four strings not six, like a guitar, so it’s easier to learn and keep in tune
Kids can learn songs quickly with a few simple chords
Some chords can be played by pressing only one string
The strings are lighter and easier to press than some other string instruments
Ukulele’s aren’t too expensive
Ukuleles are portable and easy to travel with
Why Ukuleles Aren’t So Good
Ukuleles aren’t super versatile. They don’t fit into as many musical styles as some other string instruments like the guitar
More advanced musicians tend to gravitate to other instruments
Learn your first ukulele chord quickly with our YouTube Lesson Below:
Drums
Why The Drums Are Awesome for Kids
Great for coordination and rhythm
Some kids just LOVE the drums. They’re constantly tapping on things and playing rhythms on everything they see!
Drums make it easy for kids to feel successful right away
Drums are fun to play. There’s instant gratification that comes from playing them, which can help kids stay interested.
There are a lot of variations to the drums as an instrument. The drum set, marching snare, marching quads, bongos/congas, orchestral percussion, lots more… kids can go a lot of different directions.
Drums and percussion instruments fit into almost every musical style
Drummers are the drivers of the band. They control the tempo and energy of most modern music.
There are nearly infinite variations of a drum set. Drummers can essentially make their own instrument.
Why the Drums Might Not Be So Good
Drums are loud (check out electronic drum sets to help this)
Drum sets are big
Drums can be expensive (they don’t have to be though)
They aren’t a melodic instrument, so you won’t be playing your favorite tunes.
The drums are not easy to move around
We offer drum lessons at My Music Workshop. Check out our First Drum Lesson for Kids on YouTube:
Guitar
Why The Guitar is a Good Instrument for Kids
Guitars are very versatile, they work in lot’s of different music
There are so many famous guitar riffs that get kids excited to learn
Beginner guitars are not that expensive
Guitars are fun to learn songs on
Acoustic and Electric guitars are very different and students can choose which they prefer
After learning just a few simple chords, kids can play thousands of songs (this is also true for other instruments like piano’s and ukes)
Guitars are not that loud (unless the amplifier is turned up to 11!)
Guitars are relatively portable
Why Guitars Aren’t So Good
They require more finger strength and bigger hands than the ukulele
Because of this the guitar can be trickier to learn than ukulele, piano or even drums
Guitars can be too big for younger kids (you can get smaller sized guitars though)
Guitars have six strings while ukuleles have four. Six strings are harder to play chords with and keep in tune
Guitars are bigger and harder to carry around than ukuleles or violins
Violin
Why Violins are Good for Kids to Learn
They are small and a great size for kids (especially 1/2 and 3/4 size models)
They’re a great instrument to pair with learning to site read as many pieces require students to read music
They are used in a large amount of classical and modern music
Violins are beautiful sounding instruments (when played by an experienced violinist 🙂 )
Violins play the main melody in many classical pieces
The violin can also be played as a fiddle. It’s the same instrument, fiddles just fit into different musical styles.
They are small and portable
Why Violins Aren’t So Good
It can be harder to find good violin teachers than some other instruments
Some kids prefer to play violin as part of an orchestra, and not as much by themselves. This is true for my son who plays the violin. He started in third grade and doesn’t like to practice at home. He also plays piano and drums and will practice those at home.
Violins don’t have frets (the little metal bars under the strings or guitars and ukuleles), that makes it harder to play the right note or pitch (this can also be a good thing because it trains their ears to hear notes that are slightly flat or sharp).
Violins require a lot of finger and bow technique. This makes them harder for kids to learn until they reach about 7 or 8 years old. I have known and seen kids who start violin younger but they are few and far between. I know a great violin teacher who doesn’t start teaching kids until they’re in third grade.
What About Wind and Brass Instruments?
We don’t recommend wind instruments like the saxophone, flute or clarinet (woodwind), or brass instrument like the trumpet, trombone or french horn for young kids.
They require a lot of technique and breath control to play correctly which makes them difficult to get started with.
There is nothing wrong with them, we love wind and brass instruments! We’ve just found that they aren’t usually the best instruments for younger kids or beginners, especially if they show interest in other instruments. But, if your child loves one of these instruments and really wants to learn, go for it! Their own desire to learn can go a long way.
What Kind of Lessons Should You Should Look for by Age?
Age 2-4:
Group music lessons and/or
Online music lessons that engage them. We do this at My Music Workshop!
Have some instruments for them to play at home. Start with some basic percussion, a ukulele and a small keyboard.
Listen to a lot of music around your kids. Learn their favorite songs and listen to them a lot! Sorry, I have kids, and their favorite songs are usually not my favorite songs, but it’s good for them 🙂
Age 5-6:
Usually the right age to start instrument lessons, can still be on the young side
See the instruments above for the best one’s to start with
If you aren’t sure which instrument is right for them, go to a local music store and let them try out different instruments.
Start either private lessons or
A reputable online music lesson program that offers lessons for the instrument they will learn. We have piano, drum, ukulele, and singing lessons at My Music Workshop. Start by trying our lessons for free and make sure your kids love them! We have lots of interactive activities, rewards for completing lessons, and more.
Encourage your kids to play their instrument, practice and support them in their musical endeavors
Play lots of music around the house and in the car
Let them explore other instruments
Age 6-7:
Children this age are usually ready to start learning an instrument
Choose an instrument
Start either private lessons or
A reputable online music lesson program. Online programs are a low risk way to get kids to start learning an instrument.
See the instruments above for the best one’s to start them with
Encourage your kids to play their instrument, practice and support them in their musical endeavors
Play lots of music around the house and in the car
Age 8-9:
Most 8-9 year-olds are ready to play an instrument. Kids this age can choose from a wider variety of instruments.
Can start violin
Might want to play a wind instrument
See the instruments above for the best one’s to start them with
Encourage your kids to play their instrument, practice and support them in their musical endeavors
Play lots of music around the house and in the car
Start either private lessons or
A reputable online music lesson program (check out My Music Workshop)
In summary, choosing the right instrument for your child is all about finding what excites and inspires them. While piano, ukulele, drums, guitar, and violin are some of the best options for beginners, each has its own benefits and challenges. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer—your child’s interests and enthusiasm are the most important factors. Whether they’re just starting or ready to take their skills further, supporting their musical journey with the right lessons, encouragement, and exposure to music will help them thrive. If you’re ready to get started, check out our free lessons at My Music Workshop and let the music begin!
About the Author
Elias Berlinger is the co-founder of My Music Workshop, a music education company for kids founded in 2009. Having taught music to hundreds of students ranging from toddlers to senior citizens, Elias has an understanding of what it takes to start playing an instrument at any age. Many of his students include sports and music celebrities and their children. Elias, along with his musical wife Lianna, who is also a teacher, started My Music Workshop. A world of learning music available conveniently online. Be sure to check it out here, if you haven’t already!
