Recommendations for a musical instrument for my daughter

[FishFinatic77]

The link to her song isn't there anymore. I would love to hear it.
I too play several instruments, mainly the flute but I play a little piano and I like to mess around on the guitar and ukulele.
My brother is really good at piano. He mainly taught himself, and he has an incredible ear. Like your daughter, he can teach himself a song just by listening to it. He also has a lot of confidence and doesn't mind playing for people.
I am the opposite. I am very self conscious about playing or singing in front of people. Apparently though, I'm not the only one who struggles with this.
I also think you should let her choose her own instrument. I feel like people are drawn to their instrument in a way, and I think she will enjoy the instrument more if she can choose what she wants.

 

[dmpfishlover]

The link to her song isn't there anymore. I would love to hear it.
I too play several instruments, mainly the flute but I play a little piano and I like to mess around on the guitar and ukulele.
My brother is really good at piano. He mainly taught himself, and he has an incredible ear. Like your daughter, he can teach himself a song just by listening to it. He also has a lot of confidence and doesn't mind playing for people.
I am the opposite. I am very self conscious about playing or singing in front of people. Apparently though, I'm not the only one who struggles with this.
I also think you should let her choose her own instrument. I feel like people are drawn to their instrument in a way, and I think she will enjoy the instrument more if she can choose what she wants.

Hmm, that is strange, the link should still be there? That happens to me sometimes and if I refresh the page then it it there again. Maybe try that?

 

[dmpfishlover]

The link to her song isn't there anymore. I would love to hear it.
I too play several instruments, mainly the flute but I play a little piano and I like to mess around on the guitar and ukulele.
My brother is really good at piano. He mainly taught himself, and he has an incredible ear. Like your daughter, he can teach himself a song just by listening to it. He also has a lot of confidence and doesn't mind playing for people.
I am the opposite. I am very self conscious about playing or singing in front of people. Apparently though, I'm not the only one who struggles with this.
I also think you should let her choose her own instrument. I feel like people are drawn to their instrument in a way, and I think she will enjoy the instrument more if she can choose what she wants.

I agree, many have suggested to let her pick out what Instrument she would like to learn to play next, so I think that is the route I am going to go. As much as I would like to surprise her, I think that her getting the instrument she wants is more important.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Okay, when I refresh the page the link appears for a second and then disappears. After a few tries, I managed to click it in time. She's really good!

 

[dmpfishlover]

Okay, when I refresh the page the link appears for a second and then disappears. After a few tries, I managed to click it in time. She's really good!

Thank you, I will let her know!! I think sometimes insecure people need to hear something from many people and multiple times before they believe it.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I think she should work more on a couple instruments and her voice. There is a story Paul McCartney once told about why he played the guitar (he got stuck with bass but was really a guitar player) - he said his dad was in a local brass band and so he bought Paul a trumpet. He said he loved it but quickly realized he couldn't sing with that in his mouth on the trumpet so he traded it in for a guitar. Since your daughter has such a nice "folk" voice that leave drums, piano and guitars/bass to be able to sing and play or she could learn how to use recording equipment and put down multiple tracts of her songs - plus you can then adjust which instrument has more prominence in a song.

In the recording all that comes through is the rhythm of the guitar - nothing else- so it sounds too simplistic or, at times, over powers her voice. My ex-first husband is just like your daughter (and also shy) but he has a recording shop in his basement that he uses to add multiple sound tracks on it then sing to it with it. My second husband (now deceased) played keyboards and sometimes vocals for a local band and they often recorded stuff for fans. So how about starting her off on some basic recording equipment? She'll probably hate at first it but she'll be able to hear what the audience will hear and perfect it. There are also drum machines that plays various rhythms so you can keep it on the recording and use it to keep each track synchronized. It would also allow her to expand her work as a mucisian.

 

[dmpfishlover]

I think she should work more on a couple instruments and her voice. There is a story Paul McCartney once told about why he played the guitar (he got stuck with bass but was really a guitar player) - he said his dad was in a local brass band and so he bought Paul a trumpet. He said he loved it but quickly realized he couldn't sing with that in his mouth on the trumpet so he traded it in for a guitar. Since your daughter has such a nice "folk" voice that leave drums, piano and guitars/bass to be able to sing and play or she could learn how to use recording equipment and put down multiple tracts of her songs - plus you can then adjust which instrument has more prominence in a song.

In the recording all that comes through is the rhythm of the guitar - nothing else- so it sounds too simplistic or, at times, over powers her voice. My ex-first husband is just like your daughter (and also shy) but he has a recording shop in his basement that he uses to add multiple sound tracks on it then sing to it with it. My second husband (now deceased) played keyboards and sometimes vocals for a local band and they often recorded stuff for fans. So how about starting her off on some basic recording equipment? She'll probably hate at first it but she'll be able to hear what the audience will hear and perfect it. There are also drum machines that plays various rhythms so you can keep it on the recording and use it to keep each track synchronized. It would also allow her to expand her work as a mucisian.

I think that is an excellent idea!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

There are also drum machines

Come on people, make your own music!!

Whats funny, is that when drum machines first came out, they copied actual drummers. Now, actual drummers are coping drum machines. I am working on a song now ("Tom Sawyer" by 'Rush') is a really hard song. It has a fast high-hat and a steady base drum. In the middle the actual drummer (very talented) goes crazy on the toms. He was a really good drummer.

(You can YouTube "Tom Sawyer" and listen to it there)

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I think she is still young. Give her more time and I believe she will overcome her insecurity when she grows older.

Some people are very self-conscious of themselves which made them shy and feeling insecure.
Probably you can get someone to teach her how to overcome her fear and shyness.

I watched some youtube videos on the trainings for those candidates competing in the singing competitions.(similar to those American idols).
They were taught to overcome their fear and shyness.

 

[Perbud]

I am an accomplished jazz pianist and highly suggest an instrument that she chooses based on the type of music she likes to listen to.
If she plays the flute she will love the piccolo.

 

[LittleBlueGuppy]

French horn, now that will be a challenge. You could also get something like a contrabass recorder (Bass recorder), those are so neat.

 

[LittleBlueGuppy]

 

[Rodneyc]

My 15 yr old daughter has a birthday coming up in a couple months and I am trying to decide what to get her for her birthday. I am thinking of getting her a musical instrument, as she is extremely musically inclined.

Her first musical instrument was the Recorder in Elementary school, then she graduated to the Flute in Middle School. She has an ear for music and has perfect pitch. She can hear a note and tell you what it is... A, B... sharp... flat... you name it! And her voice is absolutely beautiful. She is a very talented singer. I have NO IDEA where she got her talents from, as it is certainly NOT Me!! I cannot carry a tune in a bucket!!

Anyway, she learned how to play the Flute so fast that it was like she already knew how to play it as soon as she picked it up, like there was almost no learning curve. It was amazing! She taught her self how to play Star Wars' Imperial March just by listening to the song and matching the notes. She has an amazing Music Teacher/Band Director who teaches both Middle and High School. She absolutely loves him and looks up to him. He had her help some of the other students as they were learning how to play the flute in Middle School.

Her Band Director encouraged her to pursue other instruments outside of school and to broaden her experiences with music, so we bought her a Ukulele for Christmas when she was in 5th or 6th grade. She taught her self how to play it by looking up songs on the internet and YouTube, and within a week of getting the Ukulele she could play three songs and now it is dozens. Two years later we bought her an Acoustic Guitar, and again, she picked it up and was playing songs within a week or two. She blows me away. Last year we bought her an Electric Guitar. A few years ago we had a friend of the family who was looking to get rid of their piano and knew that our daughter loved music, so they gave it to us. It was in beautiful condition and they even had it tuned for us before they gave it to us. Again, my daughter taught herself how to play the piano in record time, and although she is not a master, she plays beautifully. Our house is always filled with music. I LOVE it!!

So, as you can see, she already has quite a few instruments, but I know she would always love another one, as part of her passion is learning how to play the instruments and constantly honing her skills. But now my dilemma is what instrument to get her. I have brought up the Violin to her, and she didn't really seem interested at all, so I would say that one is out. So, I need suggestions for another instrument to get her. What instrument should I get her next?

The other thought I had, was possibly recording equipment, as most of the time when she is playing an instrument, she is singing as well (with the exception of the flute obviously!! lol) and she loves to record herself on her phone, so she can listen to herself play and sing, and make improvements. So if anyone out there is knowledgeable when it comes to recording equipment and could possibly make some recommendations that would be great and appreciated!

Bagpips

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I haven't had time to read this whole thread (I plan to later), but I'm a music teacher by trade so I'm very interested.

I don't know if you've made a decision yet, but how about buying her a Zoom H4n portable multitrack recorder, then a subscription to a decent recording software (I use Soundation--it's fairly inexpensive and does what it needs to do; Audacity is free, pretty limited in capabilities, but surprisingly easy to learn the basics on)? That way your daughter can start experimenting with arranging, composing, and recording with all her different instruments.

 

[GaryE]

The thread's from 2020, and by now, the kid could be pretty good on whatever the decision was. I wonder what happened with this story?