A piano or violin??

Philippines
December 21, 2011 4:32pm CST
I had a great time last sunday it was my first time having a reunion with my husbands relatives. And the youngest among them are my kids. The house we went to is the eldest among the siblings of my father in law. All his child are musicians including her wife... So her house is full of different kinds of instruments. My son upon arriving at the house as if he was old comer there rush in to the piano and make his own sounds without any hint that evrybody is looking upon the things he do. As the happiness flowing with the granny musician, she took the hands of my son and starting to teach him how to do it well. My son who really loves music also even he still dont know what to do with the piano he then started to sing the alphabet song while making sounds base upon the teachings her granny did. When i sat beside him he then grabbed my hand and starting to show me what his granny teach him to do and teaching me also the way he learned... My son loves music that when he see different instrument he will try it on. He even want to grabbed the violin his cousin has. But in no chance the violin is bigger for him to use.. As a result my cousin in law invited him (my son) to have weekend music session. My son is happy for the invitation and i am much excited for my son to see him doing the best he could be. BTW my son is just 28months old that's why im so excited... What would you think to start with? A violin or a piano?
1 person likes this
13 responses
• Calgary, Alberta
22 Dec 11
Piano is something you can learn in childhood, teenhood and adulthood but Violin is more meant for kids.Its hard to learn it as a teen or an adult. so You should start with violins. Violin should be your child's first instrument cos its hard to learn if your older. Its a skill that is easiest to learn in childhood. Your kid can try to learn piano later. Piano can be learned in a year but violin is harder to master. it took a half a decade.
@06MLam (620)
22 Dec 11
Producing good sound with a violin is definitely more difficult than with a piano. However, since her child is just too small and it will be very difficult for him to grab the violin at this age, I would suggest the violin instead. With the skills he acquired from piano playing such as score reading and musical theory, he can move on to violin or any other musical instruments much quicker than people who learn music from the beginning. One more thing to mention, piano require the same amount of techniques as violin and never ignore the complexity of the finger movements for playing the piano since it requires a lot of techniques to play with high accuracy and clarity under high speed with the fingers. (I am a pianist and flutist myself and therefore I understand how it works for learning multiple musical instruments.)
@06MLam (620)
22 Dec 11
Sorry, I mean I will suggest the "piano" instead.
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
@ Capt, I think that's the thing to learn violin..because it requires a number of years to familiarized and make it special. It is not only the hands that are teaching to make it happen but also for her ears to listen and heart to manifest the greatness of the art he is taking into...i do hope he can have both... @MLam is there any probability to learn both instruments at the same time? or it is not possible because my son is in his very young age..
@fsuma86 (364)
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
Hi There! Nice to hear your story. I'd also to learn how to play musical instruments. When I was in a band before I always asked my band mates to teach me how to play the guitar or the organ but I won't really learn. That is why I only sing in the band. Thanks!
• Philippines
27 Dec 11
we are on the same boat by that. though i dont have a band. i always sing since my childhood at the church. i tried guitar but guitar does not love me that much, i do recital also for playing a guitar but i guess nothing was add unto it after that..maybe the love to play will be continued by my son if he is willing to do so..
@fsuma86 (364)
• Philippines
3 Jan 12
Hello there! Whatever talent you see in your kid, nurture it. Make your kid feel that he/she has your support in all the things that he/wants wants in life. Thanks!
@manforum (135)
• Malaysia
22 Dec 11
i like piano than violin.
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
that's a great choice manforum. hope you could play well for that..
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
22 Dec 11
Wow...that is a wonderful invitation and it sounds like he will do well with either one he plays. He might be one of those people who can pick up most anything and play it. Maybe he could even try a little of both. It sounds like the piano might be easier but easier is not always better for an intelligent child that needs to be challenged. I bet that either choice will be the right one.
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
Thanks for the support jen, i do like for him to do both but unfortunately i really don't know if that is feasible or if that is fine with him. he is too young to have a divided focus for the two instrument. But if its feasible for him to do we can have a violin good for his age.. and smaller just like him to handle properly..
• United States
21 Dec 11
I'm more of a fan of the violin, ahh ... but for him, at that age, he would probably be better off learning the piano. It's a bit harder to work with the violin, and if he learns piano, he can use that as a basis to start learning violin later in life, should he so choose. Both instruments are gorgeous. I'd love to learn both.
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
i do love to learn also playing both instrument and also wants to see it for my son. and im pretty sure that i could learn also because at the first instance that he had a lesson he(my son) immediately teach what he learn to me.. i love piano but i can say that violin is same like a soul for its music. even i cant decide better...
• United States
22 Dec 11
Well, learning the piano would give him a lot of the fundamentals of music theory and could act as a stepping stone for any other instruments he may want to learn as he grows up. Since he's so young it might be hard for him to properly hold and use the violin and even work on trying to play it correctly - it's a tough instrument to master and having some knowledge and skills on another instrument can supplement learning the violin.
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
Piano!! because I believe it is the master of all instruments! ^_^
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
yep. piano is the master of all instruments. i knew that when we practice during my choir time. Our teacher use to make my guitar on a right tune using a key from a piano...
@lilaclady (28207)
• Australia
21 Dec 11
Oh if it was me I would want to learn the violin, so portable you could take anywhere, entertain people anywhere you went...it has a lovely sound and can be used is a lot of different genres...serious violin music or maybe country fiddle..You would be doing him a big favout to have him learn a musical instrument...
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
it would also give me a great favor if he learns because i love to hear a sound of an instrument also. i am dying to learn such.. but no chance that i have... maybe singing was my line, instead of playing instrument.. We will try to have violin and i love to see him also play an instrument for his great-grandfather and great-grandmother. as you say we could take it anywhere and its portable to bring..
• India
22 Dec 11
Any one or both....both make good sounds.
@youless (112108)
• Guangzhou, China
22 Dec 11
I chose the piano for my son. Although buying a piano is expensive. However, the child needs to change the violin frequently when he/she grows up. Namely when he/she is little, he/she should use a small violin. And after he/she grows up, the violin size shall suit him/her and therefor you need to buy him/her a new violin. This will be a big cost. Besides, playing the violin is not easy. At least at the beginning you will not play it well and therefore the sound is not nice. It is not like piano. Even if you are just a beginner, but playing the piano will not sound so badly anyway. And you have to spend long time practising to hold the violin everyday for a long time. I always wonder whether it will have a bad effect on children's neck. Considering all of the above reasons, I chose the piano for my son. I love China
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
23 Dec 11
I would start with the piano. It's sturdier than a violin, which you already said was bigger than he. After he has learned some music on the piano and has grown some in statue, you might get him a 3/4 size violin.
@vandana7 (98804)
• India
22 Dec 11
I prefer piano. For one, it seems the person does not have to struggle as much to create music, and for another, I truly like its sound. Very few play violin of the best standard. Average people can only make it sound as if the instrument is crying. I am also told Piano is a very comprehensive instrument. If you know how to differentiate the notes on it, you would be able to learn any other instrument at a later date. So my advise would be piano. :)
@06MLam (620)
22 Dec 11
Really nice to hear how a young child enjoys music. I think if you would like your son to become a musician in the future, he should start off with piano first and this can transfer him much better later on for other instruments. As you know, it is also quite difficult for him to grab the violin as he is too small now. Therefore, my suggestion is to start with piano first and then he can move on to other instruments quickly when he grows up because by that time he can read the scores and knows all the musical theory. He might also do some singing now. You can also ask for your relatives' advice as they are all musicians. Hope your son will enjoy learning music!
• Philippines
22 Dec 11
Liking things for my son is fine. But to enjoy things which he can enjoy well is something that will make him more successful. Really i am happy that he enjoys music well as i enjoy it also. Got a pattern now because i just met my hubbies niece who then start violin at the age of 3. now he continue learning the masterpiece he had in almost a decade now and its quite good.
• Jordan
27 Dec 11
I think I'm going to go with Violin. I really like the sound of Violin. I like that of Piano too. It might also depend on the other instruments playing, and the actual type of song being played. The vocalist's sound can also matter alot.