Piano or violin, double bass or drums? Michael Kellyhas advice for parents of children who want to learn to play an instrument, and he meets two musical protégés
Few activities are more accessible and more rewarding for children than playing musical instruments. But parents face some tough choices when it comes to deciding on the right one for their child. Is there room in the house for a piano? Will the noise of a drum kit disturb the neighbours and drive you to therapy? Should you go for traditional instruments, such as violin or recorder, or opt for something a bit different, such as bassoon or oboe? Is a double bass too big for your child to carry around? And, above all, how much should you spend?
The advice from the professionals seems to be this: regardless of the instrument you are considering, bear in mind that children are fickle, so try to get them to show some commitment to an instrument before you spend a lot of money on it. And, if you can, try before you buy. "It can be a big investment, so it's a question of how much money you are willing to risk," says John Mardirosian, director of Waltons New School of Music, in Dublin. "A child is not necessarily going to like the instrument long-term, so it doesn't make sense to start with a really expensive one. A student or starter instrument is a good option for the first-time player, and there is good value in starter violins, guitars, flutes and clarinets. If the child shows they are serious about playing it, or are showing real aptitude, then you should get them a better one, because a poor-quality instrument would certainly hamper them."
The most popular instruments for children to take up are violin, recorder and piano - and with good reason, according to Mardirosian. "These instruments are generally easier to play than the others. We don't start young children on wind instruments, because they are very difficult to get any sort of a sound out of. And, for example, a child's arms just aren't long enough to play a flute."
Recorders are cheap, costing from €5 to €50, and although a really good-quality violin will cost up to €500, you should be able to find a student version for as little as €100. Given its size and the expense involved, the piano is the most difficult instrument to source for a child. "A quality acoustic piano will start at about €3,000, and a reconditioned one will cost roughly the same. Second-hand is an option, but you need to be really careful - get a music teacher or piano tuner to check it out first, to see if there is a good sound and good action."
Because of the cost of acoustic pianos, many parents are tempted to go for electronic keyboards, which can be bought for as little as €150. Whether that is a good idea depends on the child and his or her level of commitment to the instrument. "If you have a child who is serious about piano, then a full-size digital piano is preferable to a keyboard, because it has weighted keys, which have a more realistic action. These will cost about €1,200. I think eventually a good piano-player is going to want an acoustic one, because there is something very special about playing them. "
Many parents tend to steer their children clear of less formal instruments, such as drums and guitar, which is a pity given that these instruments create the music that children and teenagers listen to.
Br Ben Hanlon, who teaches music at De La Salle College in Waterford, says it makes sense for children to learn instruments they will get use out of in later life. "The guitar, for example, is an extremely versatile and portable instrument. It is hugely popular among kids, and, though most of them are not reading music to play it, the musicality and talent that some guitar players have is tremendous."
If you baulk at the idea of bringing a percussion instrument home, bear in mind that with the advent of digital drum kits, it need not mean an end to peace and tranquillity. Plug in a set of head-phones and your budding Ringo Starr's cymbal-bashing will be audible only to him- or herself. Digital pianos also come with headphones - a plus for people in new apartments, where sound insulation can be an issue.
The good news is that once the initial investment is made, the financial outlay on musical instruments is not significant. "With string instruments, it's about changing strings regularly, but these are not expensive," Mardirosian says. "Wind instruments may need a new reed every now and then, and you should get a piano tuned once a year, ideally, but this is not hugely expensive."
ELIZABETH COONEY, VIOLINIST
Musicians tend to talk about their relationships with their instruments as though they were relationships with other human beings - as if human and instrument are a match made in heaven, uniquely suited and perfectly matched.
"It's hard to describe the relationship that I have with it, but it's certainly a very strong bond," Elizabeth Cooney, a classical musician, says of her violin. "It's almost like it has a personality that I can identify with. It's the perfect size for me, and the sound is fantastic."
The instrument in question is an 18th-century violin made by a renowned Italian master luthier named Matteo Gofriller; it is worth about €400,000. Cooney acquired it last year with the help of a group of businessmen who acted as guarantors on a bank loan. "I felt slightly crazy to be contemplating it," she says of her purchase, "but I just loved it so much."
High-quality string instruments are like fine wine: they get better with age. "It has grown in quality over 300 years," says Cooney. "There are plenty of violin-makers alive today who are doing great work, but the fact that there is such a finite supply of these antiques makes them particularly special. This was made using maple and spruce from northern-Italian forests, so quite literally this wood no longer exists."
According to Madeleine Flanagan, whose company, Classicallinks, represents classical musicians, there are practical considerations involved in owning such valuable instruments. "They are unlikely to get checked-in as baggage when the musician travels overseas because they could get damaged in the hold of an airplane, given the low temperatures. They always keep the instruments with them. A cello requires its own seat and would be booked as Mr Cello."
"You do have to look after it," agrees Cooney, "but at the same time, you also just have to get on with playing it. You can't be thinking all the time, gosh, what if I break it? Just because it's old doesn't mean it's fragile - it has survived more than 300 years after all." A modicum of peace of mind comes from the fact that the instrument is insured against all eventualities. "The insurance is covered by the musician, and it is surprisingly reasonable and affordable."
So what do the investors get out of it? "At its most basic level, it's a shrewd financial investment. Historically, string instruments have done very well, and it is estimated that this violin will be worth more than €1 million by 2017. There's sort of a philanthropic element to it, too, in that they want to see this instrument played, rather than for it to languish in a warehouse. They have varying degrees of interest in classical music, but I think all of them wanted to support a young Irish musician."
BILLY O'BRIEN, PIANIST
At just 15 years of age, Billy O'Brien has been exposed to a broader array of musical instruments than most of us will have in a lifetime. The Waterford teenager has won All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil medals for traditional fiddle and piano, and he has also dabbled with the concertina, banjo and tin whistle. "I started playing fiddle when I was six," he says, "and then, when I was 12, my aunt gave us a piano, an upright Danemann which she didn't use."
Within a year of taking up piano O'Brien was able to play a Beethoven sonata, and his music teacher at De La Salle College, in Waterford, referred him to the Royal Irish Academy of Music, in Dublin, for a scholarship audition. He now travels to Dublin each Saturday to train with the pianist Thérèse Fahy. "The audition was the first time that I played on a grand piano. It was a Steinway, and I found it really hard to play. She has worked on my hands a lot since then, because my technique was really bad at that stage. My left hand was too strong, because of the fiddle. But it's easier to get the sound you want from a grand."
For his daily two hours of practice at home - "I do an hour from 7am until 8am, and then another hour in the evening, which is awkward because the piano is in the same room as the TV" - O'Brien now uses a second-hand upright acoustic Yamaha, which his parents bought from Jeffers Music, in Cork, for about €3,500. "The Danemann wasn't sounding great, because it was old and there was too much heat in the room, which was affecting the sound. The reaction on the Yamaha is better. You don't have to play as hard to get a good sound."
The problem with having weekly access to a grand piano is that the sound from his own piano is bound to suffer by comparison. "Before I played on the grand I thought the Yamaha was a great piano, and I still do, but it's just not as good as a Steinway grand."
O'Brien is reticent about which instrument he prefers - fiddle or piano. "At the moment it's the piano, but the fiddle is very loose, especially when you're playing trad. It's more like jazz, whereas classical piano is very strict. I would like to try classical violin at some stage, but I think I have enough on at the moment."
How much will it cost?
Expect to pay the following for starter instruments:
New acoustic piano, €2,500-€4,000 Reconditioned, second-hand acoustic piano, from €2,000 Digital piano, €1,200
Keyboard, €180 Violin,
€100- €500 Cello, €400
Flute, €260 Clarinet, €230
Saxophone, €700 Drum kit, €300-€800 Digital drum kit,
€500 Guitar, €120
Waltons New School of Music is at 69 South Great George's Street, Dublin 2, www.newschool.ie, 01-4781884