How do you choose a musical instrument for your child? First you may want to find out which instrument your child may actually have an inherent talent for and where to go to find this out. Also, many parents may have an initial choice already worked out in their minds. Then there's your child - What does he or she want? All of this presupposes that your child wishes to play an instrument in the first place.
The first thing I think that you must do is to have an open mind about the choice. If you are a violinist, for example, you may have a desire for your child to follow in your footsteps. If this is fine with your child, great - But remember that he or she may have something else in mind. Let it happen naturally.
Most schools, unless they are experiencing unfortunate budget cuts, have music programs where kids get to try out various instruments under the supervision of the music teacher. But this can be imperfect. I remember this when I was a kid, and it didn't effect my choice in the end.
Many local music stores rent "student model" instruments and will let you try them out. This is usually for more traditional band and orchestra instruments. Instruments such as the guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard seem to be a bit harder to find as "rentals". But these instruments can always be tried out first before you need to make a buying decision.
Some instruments are inherently harder to play than others - Or so it would seem. Some kids have a hard time with brass and reed instruments, while others do not. Some kids can pick up a violin and get decent tone after a very short period of time, while others cannot.
Your child also may have other ideas no matter what you may think he or she has a natural talent for. If this is the case, don't try to enforce your will as your child may simply end up getting turned off by the whole thing.
The bottom line on this is that finding the right instrument is a process. Be patient with it.
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