Setting Up Your Child to Succeed in Music Part 1: Equipment

In order to get the most out of your investment in music lessons, you will want them to be as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. If you or your child have the correct equipment, attitude to practice and practise space it will do volumes for you regardless of what your aspirations are. Here’s a rundown of everything that will help to set you for success.

Instrument

There is nothing more disheartening than playing on a crappy instrument. Even the best flautist in the world couldn’t make the worst flute sound amazing. There are also a few things that while fixable can make a flute temporarily unplayable. For example, if the pads under the keys don’t seal all the notes, from that key down won’t work. You really want a fully functional flute, that won’t fall apart and that’s capable of producing a reasonable sound. Anything less than this and instead of enjoying the process of learning your instrument you will find the process to be quiet frustrating and practising will turn into a chore.

Related Article:  The Ultimate Guide to Purchasing A Flute

Music Books

There is a number of reasons why It’s important to purchase whichever music book/s your teacher recommends:

1. Photocopies easily get lost.
2. Photocopies actually cost your teacher money and technically are a breach of copyright.
3. Teachers nearly always write reminders and explanations on their student’s music. When they are constantly pulling pages out of plastic pockets it wastes valuable lesson time.
4. If you go on to teach yourself, you will really appreciate having access to everything you worked on with your teacher.

Try not to be too precious with your music books. A good book is a well-used book. Every good musician will write on their music. Just remember to make sure the music stays neat and legible.

Related Article Coming Soon: Beginner Flute Books

Music Stand

A music stand is absolutely essential for any aspiring musician. Propping music up on cushions, books and chairs may seem like a good idea however, this leads to bad posture and poor technique which will then have to be unlearned later. Trust me it’s a lot easier to learn something the right way the first time.

I highly recommend a collapsible fold-up music stand. These are great because they don’t take up much room and they can be easily transported to rehearsals and concerts. Many even come with their own little carry bag. The only drawback with these stands is that they are a little flimsy and won’t deal well with holding up large volumes of music books. They are however quite durable and (depending on its size) may even fit into a school bag making them ideal for all school-aged musicians.

The solid stands are usually more expensive and simple because of their size, are more cumbersome to transport. They are however a lot sturdier, hold more music and look more profession on stage.

Practice Diary

While not essential they are highly recommended and used by most teacher. This way teachers can help their students to structure their practice sessions, students will never forget what to practice and keep track of how much practice they have been doing. You can just use an ordinary A4 notebook however there are books specifically designed as practise diaries which include manuscript paper and tables for tracking practice.

Emma’s Practice Diary Coming Soon…ish

Metronome

A metronome is a fantastic little device for every musician regardless of skill level. They help musicians to practise playing in time and allow them to work out the correct tempo (speed) of a piece. They are available as a standalone device or as an app for phones and tablets (see below).

Tuner

A tuner will be advantageous for all intermedia to advanced performers and essential for string instruments of any level. Unless you have perfect pitch (which isn’t always as good as it sounds) working with a tuner is the only way to learn to play in tune which is an essential skill for all musicians to develop.

Combo Metronome Tuner

A combo metronome tuner like the Korg TM-50 is a metronome and tuner where both can function simultaneously and are built into the one device. Of all the metronomes and tuners on the market, this is my personal favourite because instead of needing to pack two devices when I’m travelling its one small device that easily fits into my handbag. Because its two devices built into one it is more expensive than buying them individually however for me the convenience is well worth it. If your prone to losing things you may prefer to get the two individual devices simply because you will find that to be a cheaper option.

Link to product: https://www.korg.com/au/products/tuners/tm_50/

Instrument Stand

 An instrument stand is definitely not essential it can, however, be quite a useful device. Sometimes the hardest part of practising is simply setting up your instrument and starting. An instrument stand allows you to leave your instrument out and ready to go at all times. There are however a few things to watch out for. They’re not a good idea if you have young children or pets (cats and dogs) because instruments on stands can be easily knocked over and damaged. Conversely, they are great to take to ensemble rehearsals to use during breaks as it frees up your hands making you less likely to drop your instrument. They are also excellent for people who play multiple instruments and need to quickly swap from one to the other. You will notice that I use them in the majority of my YouTube videos for that very reason.

 iPhone/iPad Apps

If you’re on a tight budget or not sure if music is going to be something you pursue long-term there are some cheaper options to consider when it comes to metronomes and tuners. There are many apps on the market both free and paid that will do the job. I do however find the tuner apps to be less reliable than an actual tuner and the metronome app chews through your phone battery. Whereas I find the batteries in my actual tuner and metronome will last well over a year and I use them almost daily.

Epic Tune is the tuning app I recommend for Apple users. It is easy to use, relatively accurate and free.

I recommend MetroTimer as a metronome app to all my students. It works on both iPhone and iPad, is free, doesn’t have ads that are too in your face and comes with a timer function which for example allows you to set a timer so you could practise one passage for 10 minutes. I find this to be an excellent tool for students needing to fit a lot of different material into their practise session.

Android Apps

For Android users, I suggest Pitched Turner as a tuning app and Metronome Beats as a metronome. Unfortunately, there is a much wider variety of music apps available to Apple users, however, I suspect that over the next few years this will even out.