So you’ve done your research on what it takes to start music lessons and now you’re faced with the task of introducing an instrument to your child. You’ve read every single article that insists the ukulele is the easiest instrument to start, and you want to triple-check the logic on that idea. I am here to tell you that the ukulele is, indeed, the EASIEST instrument for anyone to learn.
THE TOPIC
Ukulele : Easiest Instrument For Kids
1. The ukulele is small and easy to handle
People tend to forget how large an instrument can feel in the hands of a child. The average guitar could awkwardly take up their entire torso. This can make playing uncomfortable and take adjusting to. With the smaller size of a ukulele, that problem disappears. The petite instrument can sit comfortably on their laps, making strumming easy. It’s like ukuleles were made for kids!
History: This small, wooden instrument has history dating back to 1879 with cultural roots in Portugal and then later in Hawaii as the Portuguese immigrated there. The unique tones of this instrument paired with customary dances grew popularity with tourism and traveling music groups. Obviously, the ukulele wasn’t hard to travel with.
2. The ukulele isn’t painful
If there was one specific experience that unites all string players alike, that would be constantly rubbing out the indentations that form on their fingertips after jam sessions! The technique of playing a stringed instrument requires you to exert constant pressure on the rigid metal strings the entire time you play. The pain and annoyance of playing a stringed instrument can be a major turn-off at first. The ukulele is a little different, it’s strings are made of nylon instead of nickel, like a guitar. This makes their strings significantly softer and less painful to strum.
3. Quickly learn four basic chords
Chord shapes are something you have to memorize to play songs. The tuning of the ukulele makes it easy for beginners to learn 3 or 4 primary chords with which one can easily play hundreds of tunes without having to stretch their fingers too much. This jumpstarts the process of playing fluently and they can walk out of their first ukulele lesson equipped to play a few songs independently.
4. The easiest instrument to learn is also affordable
For some parents, enrolling their kids into music lessons is something they’re not sure their kids will thoroughly enjoy. Investing a few hundred dollars on an instrument only to find it dumped in the corner of your child’s room can feel wasteful. Lucky for you the ukulele only costs a fraction of the guitar.
In these uncertain times the increased demand of online purchases and virtual lessons has affected ukulele inventory for both web-based and brick-and-mortar stores. We found a good quality ukulele for under $100 on Amazon.
Wanna Learn How to Play the Ukulele?
Franklin Music Academy is a music school located in south Austin. We have taught hundreds of kids over 11 years in a relaxed environment with upbeat music instructors. We teach kids of all ages and provide music lessons beyond the ukulele.
Let’s schedule a meeting!
We look forward to meeting you. We offer free virtual consultations for those that can’t meet us in person.
