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What Do They Want To Play?

#21
DJ is a new bass player said:
My 13 year old daughter plays tuba as her main instrument, but she also plays bass in the jazz band and youth praise team. She has also played piano, euphonium, and clarinet. She is a natural with every instrument she has picked up.
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My 15 year old started on 'cello 5 years ago, has reached a very high standard already. 3 months ago, with no encouragement from me, she took up double bass and has also started dabbling with one of my fretless electrics... Talk about a duck to water.
 
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#22
I have four kids. All but one of them, with some firm but not mandatory prodding from us, took up a band instrument in school, generally at 5th grade in our systems around here. Eldest daughter (now 22) did clarinet, 2nd opted out, son did saxophone, youngest (now 10) trombone.

The older two also took piano lessons from my cousin; the 2nd later switched to guitar, but really was always reluctant about instruments (she's terribly introverted and doesn't like doing things people can hear her at). The oldest didn't keep up piano lessons forever, but the last couple of times she came home I noticed that the first thing she did after setting down her suitcases was to go to the living room piano and play.

My son (only boy, 3rd child) tinkered with guitar and took drum lessons for a while, but never really followed through with either. Sax is his instrument. He hasn't done too much with it lately but hasn't entirely lost touch with it either.

My youngest (the 10-year old) when she was about 7 heard my sister playing violin and was fascinated by it, so we bought her one for her 8th birthday and she had lessons for a year or two. Unfortunately we had to stop them for financial reasons, but she has expressed interest in resuming, and we should be in a position to do that soon. As I said, she has taken up trombone in school. I bought her a little Daisy Rock guitar and we had one session learning to play it, but it hasn't really captured her attention. She will also spontaneously sit at one of the keyboards in the house and figure stuff out on them, though she's never had a lesson.

Overall, I think my kids' experience with music is not too different from my own thirty and forty years ago. I had a bit of piano lessons, didn't stick with it, took up sax as a band instrument for five years, then let that go to focus on drama club. Tinkered a bit with drums and bass but never seriously. I picked up mandolin when I was a camp counselor my college years and that was the only instrument I banged around on for years, until at the age of 38 I was bitten by the bass bug and got serious about it. Bass also led to guitar a couple of years later that I tinker on casually and play in church.

While I can hear the generational implications in the question and none of my kids were sort of Beatles-on-Ed-Sullivan inspired, guitar-obsessed kids who ate, drank, and slept guitar... neither was I, in the 80s, nor most kids I knew. My son does have a good friend from high school who IS guitar-obsessed and now plays in a death metal band, though, so I don't think the phenomenon has disappeared.
 
#24
Oldest daughter took up viola and was quite good but her two best friends were exceptional and were invited to Juilliard so she didn't see herself as all that great.

Second started on cello, switched to violin and the to sad, got a degree in performance and masters in music education and teaches in elementary school.

Both were far better than me in every way but neither wants to join my band for a gig or two.
 
#27
My son is 28 and has never had any interest in playing an instrument. When he was younger I bought a guitar and later a bass for him. He never did anything with them. He loves music, especially classic rock but he doesn't want to play. He is a very talented artist and enjoys drawing.
 
#28
ZenG said:
Do you have a son or daughter between the ages of 5 and 20?
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Yep... 15 year old and 12 year old boys.

ZenG said:
Do they want to play a musical instrument?
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The 12 year old plays piano an d bass clarinet.

The 15 year old plays trumpet.

ZenG said:
Now ...WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM YOU PERSONALLY....what was their first choice of instrument?
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Piano for the 12 year old.

Trumpet for the 15 year old.

ZenG said:
I realize this might be a bit biased because if the son or daughter sees dad playing bass they may want to be just like dad.....but still..
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My wife (drums) and I (bass) have been playing in bands my kids entire lives - neither has showed even a tiny bit of interest in guitar, bass, or drums.
 
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#29
I went through the elementary/high school marching/symphonic band stuff (lower brass), then when I was 16, picked up the bass. I told my son all the band stories I could. So I was hoping he would become a musician. He didn't. He became a drummer....But to his credit,he is not only an outstanding sightreader, he is a drumline instructor for a couple of the local high schools. And just in the last six months, has joined the local highbrow symphonic ensemble. This group is made up of current and former music professors (Florida State University), as well as outstanding local musicians. I recently attended a concert of theirs, in the same music hall that I had attended concerts as a high school student. Watching him perform, while holding my granddaughter (his daughter) was a special treat.
 
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#30
My daughter took a few guitar lessons when she was 14 because her friend was, it didn't take. Her guitar is collecting dust in the basement. My son wanted to take drum lessons at 13, so I rented him a kit figuring the same thing would happen. Wrong, he's 17 now, plays almost every day and loves it. He has had two public gig already but mainly plays at home. He likes to play along to anything from Carly Simon to Japanese speed metal. It's quite entertaining listing to the wide variations in music he plays, I wonder were he gets his influences from because I don't listen to alot of the band's he plays.

I learned early to never push my kids into something they didn't want to do. Let them find their passion and then support the hell out of it.
 
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#31
I don't have kids yet however I can say from my personal experience growing up that I played the piano first and then the trumpet in 6th grade band before playing guitar in the late 90's and then moving to bass in the early 2000's. My parents were very supportive along the way, even when I would drive them nuts with turning my gain and volume up to 10 and just whaling on my guitar.
 
#33
sharkbait130 said:
Gatorbait (my son) started out in middle school on tuba. He played that for 3 years through middle school. The county opened up an arts oriented high school in the area the same year as his freshman year. He applied and got in for tuba. A month in and the bass player for the jazz band in school moved away. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to play bass in the band. Up went Gatorbaits hand and he started a double major in high school. Early the next year in the school , one of the stand up bass players moved away. The teacher asked if anyone wanted to play stand up. Up went Gatorbaits hand again. For the following 3 years he majored in bass guitar and stand up bass with a minor in tuba. Being an art school there were a lot of plays and shows. By the time he was into his second year of bass guitar , he could absolutely smoke me on the instrument. Since graduating , he has gotten highly involved in theater playing in several pit orchestras on both stand up and bass. He has also had acting parts in "The Buddy Holly Story" in two different cities and also had an acting part in "The Million Dollar Quartet" in Manchester N.H. He is currently out in California managing a coffee house , playing in a band and has been approached for some pit work. Nothing locked in yet but it's looking promising. He was also asked to play tuba in the orchestra there but not owning one at the moment , he had to turn that down.
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Right on! Tell him TB is pulling for him.
 
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#34
My eldest daughter is a woodwinds junkie ( has sworn to own as many woodwinds as I have guitars ) and is a a very fine flutist.

My youngest daughter as noodled on my guitars and basses but never really got the music bug. She is much more into books. Not a bad thing, all things considered.
 
#35
my two kids are in their 30's = i 'discouraged' them (by advocating other pursuits) from the life of a musician. still, they each had some interest (my daughter played violin in grade school and high school and was quite good). but they grew 'out of it' and are busy in other professions today. one is a high school math teacher (and a national strongman champion!) and the other is an interior design pro in a prestigious architectural firm. both enjoy 'their dad's music' but have better things to do with their own lives. :thumbsup:

i have two grandchildren (5 and 6 y.o.) who have 'fanciful' interests in music, but nothing serious. their parents are probably interested in the "well rounded" idea of "some music is a good thing"...but i'm assuming the peewees will become doctors or astronauts or presidents....;)

i bought them a keyboard. just in case. :D
 
#37
My three kids all played in school band and they chose their instruments with no input form me. Daughter played flute (and cello for just a year). Both of the boys were drummers and took kit lessons outside of school as well. My wife and I strongly encouraged them all to take piano and my dughter and youger son stuck with that from 3rd grade through high school. Despite all of that musical involvement, none of them play regularly now. :(

Maybe at some point, they'll come back to it.
 
#38
Daughter is 22. She played drums and flute all through HS. Son is 19. Has been playing guitar since he was 10.
ZenG said:
This thread inspired by "The Slow Death Of...."

Do you have a son or daughter between the ages of 5 and 20?

Do they want to play a musical instrument?

Now ...WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM YOU PERSONALLY....what was their first choice of instrument?

I realize this might be a bit biased because if the son or daughter sees dad playing bass they may want to be just like dad.....but still..
Click to expand...
 
#40
On their own, my daughters (6 and 9) want to sing, make slime, and watch YouTube videos of other girls making slime.

We have encourged them to choose one new thing per year to try (THEIR choice).

They have done tap and jazz dance, soccer, T-ball, cheering, and volunteer charity work.

The oldest has mentioned piano but we need to get our hands on one. I was in the piano business for a few years. A friend who still sells them is keeping an eye out for a deal on a digital.

I have nkt met a single teenager in my area who plays or wants to play guitar or bass.

I'll ask the local guitar teacher what age groups make up his students and report back.
 

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