How Do I Choose Which Instrument to Play?

How Do I Choose Which Instrument to Play?

Ed Dumas

Instrument choice is an issue that plagues music teachers almost daily, and is not well understood by students and parents. When young students begin in a band class, they have little knowledge of musical instruments and will need plenty of careful guidance to help them choose an instrument that will lead them to their best success.

I have started more beginners on band instruments than I can count, well into the thousands somewhere. During that time, I have seen far too many students make decisions on instrument choice despite my objections which far too often led them to an uncomfortable place later on. These uncomfortable places too often, later on, turn into an “I Quit” which is a really sad thing to happen.

Here are some practical guidelines that students and parents should consider before settling on a specific instrument to play in your music class.

Consider The Type of Performance Group

First and foremost, students and parents need to consider the type of group that is being offered to the students, and therefore the type of instruments available in that group. If your music teacher is offering to run a guitar class, it does very little good to want to play the sousaphone in a guitar class! The two are so completely dissimilar that it is practically impossible to teach them both at the same time.

The reality is that the range of available musical instruments is SO wide that to make any group effective, the types of instruments need to be narrowed down. Most beginning music classes, whether it be guitar, voice, band, ukulele, or whatever, will begin with some kind of instruction book that is limited in the types of instruments that this book is written for. Asking to play the violin in a beginning concert band class means that there is no book available for the violin student, and asking the student to use a different book, like an oboe book, means that they do not have a fingering chart for their instrument that would work.

The first five notes for beginning violin players are usually D-E-F#-G-A which are the first five notes of the D scale. But the first five notes for wind players are usually Bb-C-D-Eb-F which are the first five notes of the Bb Concert Scale. The accommodations, then, required to play violin in a first-year wind class are so extreme that the violin player would be lucky to survive that experience to the third class before announcing the dreaded “I Quit!” Yet, I have used violin in concert band classes successfully many times, but ONLY after the students have played for a few years and can make some big fingering changes on their own.

So, when I am seeing new students making some choices for musical instruments, my first expectation is to make sure that they understand what kind of group is being formed, and what the instrumentation is within that group. In an entry-level concert band class, I would limit the instrumentation to flutes, clarinets, saxes, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, maybe tuba, and percussion (not drum set).

Someone would surely ask, so I would inform them right away that there is no guitar, bass guitar, piano or drum set. There would always be some disappointed faces, especially with guitar and piano, but they would find out soon enough that there is no book or music written for guitar and piano with a concert band class, which means these students would be “left on their own” and would be simplifying something else that now barely works for them in a concert band class. For a piano player, this would likely look like a bass-line reinforcement part which means for someone who has likely taken years of lessons beginning very young, this is a significant underutilization of their skills, and to put it bluntly, they would be bored!

As for electric bass in concert band class, I have to say that I am not a fan. I understand the desire to reinforce a bass line, but I have mostly found that the electric bass produces a sound that does not blend well with acoustic wind instruments. I prefer to take the long view, which is to develop some tuba players and later some upright string bass players for a truly wonderful sound.

Finally, when students ask to play drum set in concert band class, I have to admit that I am also not a fan of this situation. I have long said that I believe drum set is as difficult to learn as is piano, but it seems that few students these days will take private lessons as part of the deal to play drum set in a concert band setting. So, the result is usually a rock pattern (which is the most common visualization available to the student) stuck behind whatever type of music the concert band is attempting to do, and the result is completely inappropriate. It is far more appropriate to learn percussion beginning with a snare drum and/or mallets set and later add in the remaining percussion ensemble pieces when students are able.

Consider the Student’s Physical Needs

All of the wind instruments in the concert band class do NOT play the same nor have the same specific challenges. In the same way, all of the students are NOT equivalent, with each student having specific assets and challenges to bring to the class. These assets and challenges must be considered carefully when a choice of instrument is made for a concert band class so that students can achieve their best success as soon as possible. Here are some of the issues for students to consider.

First, consider any dental issues including upcoming dental corrections such as braces. When I began teaching the standard rule of thumb was that if a student was destined to get braces now or later on, then this student should completely avoid flute and trumpet. Playing flute with braces was difficult for students with protruding teeth because the braces meant the lips had to extend out even farther to reach around the teeth and also the braces to make that flute seal on the mouthpiece to focus the air. The reach with the lips was so far that for many of these beginners, they just could not get a sound until the braces came off.

Playing trumpet with braces was extremely painful because the trumpet mouthpiece would squeeze (pinch) the lip between the mouthpiece and the metal components of the braces which meant it was just far too painful to play. These students were automatically encouraged to go elsewhere in the band, such as clarinet or low brass.

In the last 10-15 years, though, I have seen more and more students become quite successful with flute and trumpet while wearing braces on their teeth for dental corrections. It took me a while to figure out that the new more modern braces were becoming smaller and less intrusive while still being able to complete the job of dental correction. As a result, more students have been able to carry on as normal despite the dental corrections. At this point, I would suggest that students that have dental corrections happening and want a flute or trumpet should try a mouthpiece to see how it works. If it does not work well or feels uncomfortable, there are always other instruments to choose from.

As a sidebar, note that larger brass instruments played with braces, such as trombone and euphonium, have not been much of a problem for most students. That is because the larger mouthpieces do not rest directly on the braces, but rather above and below the braces and more on the jawbones than on the teeth. As a result, the uncomfortable pain is usually avoided with bigger brass.

Students and parents should also consider the physical size of students when choosing that first instrument. Young students that are almost as large as an adult have no disadvantages in choice, but the usual difficulties here lie with students that have not yet begun a growth spurt and are physically small for their age. This can lead to a few challenges, such as reaching out too far for large instruments such as trumpet, trombone, or flute which can cause great arm fatigue. Smaller students can also have trouble holding up heavy instruments such as saxes which can be painful on the spine. They may also find difficulties spreading the hands too open for open-holed instruments such as the clarinet.

Some solutions that I have found for very small beginners include using a flute with a curved head joint which brings the hand reach in closer. For small clarinet players, consider using a neck strap to transfer the weight of the clarinet to the body instead of the hands. For this, though, be aware there is little that can be done for very small arms and hands that cannot reach the bottom holes of the right hand. Here switching instruments might be a better option. For small brass players, using a cornet instead of a trumpet to bring the hands in closer to the face alleviates some of the weight and reach problems. For extremely small trumpet players, using a pocket trumpet will give even more relief to the arms.

Note that very small brass players should still avoid trombone and euphonium due to the arms reach issue and weight of euphonium issue until they have grown some. Note also that I am not advocating for starting students younger than say grade 6 or 7, but rather recognize that some of our students today are still just small when they hit the upper intermediate grades and could use some suggestions for better success.

Finally, teachers should consider the students with physical air issues, such as asthma. As per an earlier article titled “Asthma and Wind Instruments,” I would limit choices for asthmatic students to those instruments that require less volume of air, such as clarinet and trumpet. Avoid flute and low brass which require a greater volume of air. For students with extreme asthma (or dental) issues, maybe consider percussion instead and avoid the entire problem altogether. Careful discussion with students and parents here is needed to be mindful of their privacy as well.

Consider the Student’s Personality

In talking to students about personality and instruments, I have often used myself as an example to be mindful of student sensitivities. I have often said that I consider myself to be the most introverted person in just about any collection of people that you can put together. Yet, I was selected to be a trumpet player which is something that is not well suited to my personality because the trumpet is always an “In Your Face” kind of instrument. I had to learn how to be not so introverted to be more successful as a trumpet player. The only part of my personality that made this possible for me was my even higher level of persistence, which is far, far greater than most young people today would be able to comprehend.

I actually would have made a better clarinet player according to my personality. Clarinet allows the introverts to blend into the section more and therefore not have to learn how to tolerate a level of “sticking out” that trumpet demands. Introverted students could also consider sax or low brass and feel more comfortable while developing their musical skills.

Extroverted, or outgoing, students may be more successful on trumpet, flute and percussion, which all require a level of “sticking out” in sound. Flute players that later want to get into playing piccolo should understand how much this instrument “sticks out.” Extroverted students sometimes also do not tolerate the blending instruments well, such as clarinet, sax or low brass. For them, these instruments may not give them enough opportunity to shine, and so they may find themselves “bored” and want to quit. Steer extroverts towards instruments that allow them to shine, but teach them how to tame that need some to not be a constant disruption to the class.

Other personality issues that students should consider are things like persistence or “stick-to-it-iveness.” Some instruments have a difficult start-up, such as flute, French Horn, low brass, and even percussion. Students that begin on these need to make sure they have the persistence to work through the initial challenges that will inevitably come their way. Some instruments, such as clarinet or sax, have a very quick start-up and are good for students will low persistence. These students, though, need to be warned early and often that the challenges will come for them, but they will just come later which means they need to use the extra time available with this choice to work up some tenacity.

Consider the Student’s Family

Students and music teachers also need to consider the needs of the family when students are choosing an instrument. Over the years of parents talking to me, I have learned that family needs are quite varied. Most often, parents of new band students will not know about these problems until well into the school year, and now it becomes a challenge to have to change instruments because of a need which is “external” to the student.

First, consider the challenges posed to families learning large instruments such as tuba or string bass. These instruments can create a transport problem right away, and parents and teachers need to be aware of this from day one. Most often students that play a large instrument use a loaned school-owned instrument. Parents will need to be considered if they are available to help drive the larger instrument home and back to school regularly. If the school has an extra instrument available, the student could be assigned two instruments, one for practice at home and the other for school use. In cases like this, the student then is only obliged to carry a mouthpiece or a bow back and forth, and this eliminates the problem.

Transport of musical instruments can also be a challenge if the student is using a school bus on a daily basis. Mid-size instruments such as trombones, euphoniums or even saxes are often still too large to be allowed on a bus, and I have even seen situations when bus drivers would not allow even a trumpet case on a bus. Teachers and parents should check with the bus company ahead of time to determine which instruments are allowed to be transported on the bus, and which cannot be. The “two instruments, no transport” mode can also be used to alleviate bussing issues.

Another common issue facing families is the rent of a musical instrument. Parents should be made aware that the larger instruments are more expensive to manufacture, therefore the rent will be higher for those choices. Students that are interested in a large instrument such as tuba can be steered towards a related smaller (and less expensive) instrument such as trombone to start, with an eye to working down to tuba later when secondary school can provide one. Students whose families cannot afford the rent of an alto sax can also be encouraged to begin on clarinet with the same plan in mind.

Another common problem for families is that of providing a practice space for the beginning musician. The student's bedroom is most often used, but sometimes even this is still inadequate, especially in townhouses or apartments that are small or crowded. Most often these issues boil down to sound interference with other family members, or even with other families nearby.

To solve sound transfer issues, I would first remind parents that a small instrument does not equal a small sound! For example, the piccolo, the smallest of them all, creates a very intrusive sound that few people can ignore. When faced with sound transfer issues and practicing, I suggest that students stay away from the open-holed woodwind family and instead consider trumpet or trombone in the brass family. These instruments can be muted quite effectively to solve the sound transfer issue. See the article “Best Instrument for Quiet Practice Spaces” for more information.

Finally, families that are struggling to provide a home practice location due to space or sound issues can look at more creative solutions to find a practice space. Most often this can be a practice room in the secondary music complex, but I have heard of all sorts of creative solutions once the problem is identified by parents. Mostly it is just important that parents know of the physical requirements for space so that they can at least try to solve the problem before it becomes a huge issue.

Consider the Band’s Needs

The reason that a concert band has a large selection of types of instruments is so that the sound of the group can be varied by blending different combinations of instruments to create different effects. It is these varying sounds and effects that make a great concert band such a wonderful group to behold!

The needs of the entire group, then, are such that a wide variety of instruments is needed to help create that sound. Put bluntly, it is simply not a concert band when everyone in the group plays alto sax! I have usually found it most effective to present to students that “in This Class, this is roughly how many students we should aim for on these different instruments.” I would then list a target size for each section to see if it can be achieved.

Keep in mind that in a beginning class, many of the harder or more advanced instruments will not be used right away to maximize student learning and success in the first year. But, by making sure the remaining “starter instruments” such as flute, clarinet, alto sax, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, & percussion are all covered and some balance is achieved, future growth of the remaining more challenging instruments is possible in future years.

As an example, I would consider a beginning concert band class of 30 students to look something like this: 4-5 flutes, 8-10 clarinets, 3-4 Alto Sax, 6-8 trumpets, 3-4 trombones, 1-2 Euphonium, 3-4 percussion. You may experience different numbers in each section just based on your total class size, but it is important to have in mind an idea of what that “ideal” group would look like in future years to guide instrument choice in the early years.

Consider the Students’ Future

Finally, I would ask the students to consider early where they want to go with their musical progress in future years. Students that want to play in the school jazz band in the future should consider this in their instrument choice in the beginning class. Many students, then, choose to play in concert band an instrument that more easily leads to a related instrument in the jazz band. For example, clarinet in a concert band is often paired with one of the saxes in the jazz band.

I have seen, though, many more combinations that students have been successful with, such as French horn in concert band and trumpet in the jazz band. Others include flute to sax, Euphonium to trombone, violin to piano, percussion to drum set, acoustic bass to electric and/or acoustic bass, percussion to guitar or piano, and so on. The choices are many, but most importantly students should begin to think of these ideas early, to best chart their progress through the music program.

The more varying the opportunities that can be provided to the students, the more fun they can have at trying out different instruments in other settings. For example, providing an extra-curricular clarinet choir for students to play in means that non-clarinet students might also pick up a clarinet just to “check it out.” Also consider brass, flute, sax and percussion ensembles or other concert band groups outside of the school system. All of these opportunities can be very valuable for students even though they would not be graded on them as such.

When choosing which musical instrument to learn to play, students must consider the type of group being formed, their own physical needs, their personality, their family’s needs, the group’s needs for balance, and their future development desires to name just a few. Beginners must think about the many push and pull factors in advance as much as possible to have the most enjoyable time in the band class with the fewest disruptions possible. Once they begin to understand these issues, this plan should take them well beyond the often repeated statement, “I just want to sit beside my friend.”