4 Year old - where to start?

louis_LLM

My eldest turns 4 soon and has expressed an interest in music - not really sure where to start her off, I didn’t pick up an instrument until 13-14 years old and have no real concept of music theory.

my head says get her a small piano and let her noodle on that, perhaps with some lessons if she takes an interest in it. I’ve looked at Loog and the mini Fender guitars but I think they could be a bit full-on at such a young age? 

Any advice from the parish? 

blobb

Drum kit. 

EricTheWeary

Melodica? Even a decent one isn't loads of money and you can learn one finger melodies or develop more keyboard skills. She might develop an interest in Augustus Pablo and a life long love of dub reggae. 

richh

Maybe a ukelele?  Relatively easy, and the right size for kids.  Then, if interested, transferable skills to things like guitar type instruments at a later stage.

Stratavarious

A simple drum and a uke and maybe a little keyboard… see which stick.  

Go to a music shop.. something might attract.  Charity shops often have some simple musical instruments or percussion too.

Sporky

I'd think a little keyboard with some interesting sounds and a basic drum machine built in.

https://www.casio.com/uk/electronic-musical-instruments/product.SA-80/

BenSirAmos

I had a full size keyboard on the floor available for our daughter from as soon as she could crawl - she did work some things out by herself quite early on. Then when when she was around four of five, we were out driving I said "whatever instrument you want, I'll buy it for you and teach you how to play it" - we were going around Hanger Lane Gyratory system when she said "Drum Kit" and I nearly crashed. I was as good as my word. The first lesson was "One, Two, Three, Four" and that has stayed with her - it's good to know where you are in the bar. 

Blueingreen

If I had a youngster that age I'd be keen to give her a music education but I think I'd avoid guitar.  I think @BenSirAmos idea of starting on a keyboard until she's old enough to have an idea what she wants is a good one.

roberty

The best thing I got from childhood group lessons was an adult stood at the front of the room bleating out the measures "1 2 3 4" constantly, that gets etched right into your brain. It's super useful to see time written out on the page too. Once it's there you'll still have that grounding if you never read another note

roberty

I'll add that recorder is also a good option. Being able to produce a steady flow of air sets you up for singing later on. Also woodwind teaches you naturally about phrasing which might not happen on keyboard or guitar

monquixote

Everyone is different, but with my kids they really couldn't get on with the guitar until they were about 10. 

They have enjoyed playing around with a Uke from about 8, but a keyboard is probably the best bet. 

Make sure it doesn't have a "Demo" button otherwise they will just drive you mental with that until you put it away.

Another option is a groove box. My kids have really enjoyed playing with a Circuit Tracks and MC707 from a very young age.

Blipbox make a specific synth for kids: 

https://blipblox.com/products/blipblox-sk2

The most fun with music we've had as a family has been Koala on the iPad or Phone. You can make any sound and turn it into music. 

Yorkie

My son tried when he was 4; he had one of these cheap half size guitars, an unplayable mess with only myself to blame for – shouldn't have bought anything at that stage. 

He's now practically 9 and has recently started borrowing my Epiphone ES-339 to practice some bass lines I've taught him. Even with a shorter scale and some light strings on, he's still struggling to fret notes without the occasional buzz, but he's getting better every night and working for it really hard. I laid some backing tracks for him so he's been keeping time since the beginning, which is something I wished I had started doing 35 years ago. 

We are (probably?) going to take him to G4M on his birthday so he can try and (maybe?) get a 3/4 Squier. 

sweepy

Ukulele ?, good starting point  I'd have thought 

Jfingers

A four year old? I'd go a poorly looked after Goldfish and a cheap secondhand Casio keyboard and stop trying to project my hopes and dreams onto a tiny child. Maybe it's just me...

Teach her about death and disappointment in one simple conversation.

Amigo

When my daughter was born, I bought a Yamaha arranger and a stand, in anticipation that she might find an interest in it, but which sat in the living room for about 5-6 years, with my doodling on it occasionally. I already had a dreadnought acoustic which I was playing very rarely. I also had a Yamaha DD60 drum kit, which was lying around being touched every so often. Oh, and a pan pipe, a proper Eastern European one, but that is the most fiddly instrument, blooming hard to get one good sound out of it, let alone play it.

When my daughter started primary school, she started the recorder, of which I bought 2, one for her, and one for me. She loved playing it, and we also played together. Then she wanted to play the violin, for which she took lessons. The recorder and the violin also gave her a start in music theory.

One day, when she was about 6, she started the Yamaha keyboard, which she hadn't touched yet, and she asked me what it's about. I gave her the basic idea of which keys are what notes, and she was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to produce sounds without the effort required even for the recorder, let alone for the violin. That day she insisted that we went to the local Waterstones to buy a beginner book for piano. We did that weekend, and I bought her the first two books from a series whose name escapes me.

In the following week she went through the first and half of the second one, at which point we decided that she needs proper lessons, which we arranged for her. She has been playing the piano to this day, from pop music to Disney songs to Tchaikovsky, without any grades exams, she does it for her own pleasure. She also took up a bit of guitar seeing me playing with it.

The conclusion that I extracted from all this, is that with children and music—or with any other areas—is that if there is a variety of instruments around the house, if the children are so inclined, they will take it up when the time is right for them. Seeing and hearing the instruments played will also help a lot. They don't have to be expensive, just something that is manageable size-wise for a child. Then, like agriculture, all you can do is sow the seeds and water the crops and let Mother Nature do its work. It may work, or it may not, you don't know. But having the musical instruments around the house and being played will certainly help.

louis_LLM

Thank you all for the comprehensive replies, it is all really helpful and serves as a great advert for TFB Community

Open_G

Uke. Cheap. One finger for first chord and 2 fingers for 2nd. 

Artsutanov

This looks fun.
https://prelaunch.com/projects/tembo-by-musical-beings-tembo-a-new-musical-instrument-for-playful-music-making

barrettisgold

We have the smaller Casio to what @Sporky recommended. The Casio SA-46. I think it’s discontinued now but you can pick them up cheap used. I paid around £10.

The whole family enjoy using it. With rechargeable AA batteries it lasts for ages. Good sounds, simple drum pads. The kids love the demo songs and used to whack the tempo to maximum and dance around the house like they were at a Gabba rave. A really fun thing.

I leave it lying around and it always gets picked up for a little play, myself included.

Small enough to take pack in the car for trips away.

Like this:

https://ebay.us/m/PZC0dW