Many people learn to play their instruments from a young age. Countless lessons and hours of practice lead to mastery of an instrument, but sadly many people feel that they’re simply too old to get started with an instrument.
There’s a common misconception that you have to start learning an instrument when you’re a child. It’s completely false and misguided advice that has stunted the growth of talented musicians who weren’t able to realise their full potential due to the horrible advice that was given by their peers or false online “facts”.
Kindle that burning passion in a friend or family member and give them the gift of musical freedom. Here are some of the best present that you can give to someone who’s forsaken their musical past, or to someone who wants to learn an instrument regardless of their age.
Guitar
A Yamaha acoustic guitar is a relatively inexpensive item to purchase. While it’s not quite the kind of guitar to give to a metal or rock music enthusiast, it’s a great way to start because it doesn’t require external equipment such as an amplifier or an effects pedal to get the most out of it. Replacement strings are easy to source and inexpensive as well, and they are usually built with excellent quality—even the cheap models!
Make sure to include some accessories as well. A guitar stand is a great item that can turn the instrument into an iconic piece of furniture that would spice up any room. Most guitar sets come with guides on how to get started, but getting a book to teach your recipient how to play would be a useful addition. Guitars will also need to be tuned. The strings might deform or loosen while in storage, so the first thing you’ll want to do upon opening the box is to tune the guitar. A portable tuner can help with this, and they are fairly cheap accessories to add to your present.
Flute
A flute is usually the instrument of choice for many beginning musicians because they’re cheap, personal, and easy to learn. Flutes can cost a lot, but they can also cost a fraction of the price and it really depends on what you’re willing to spend. This makes it a cheap stocking filler style of gift, but it can also be a very personalised and expensive gift for a loved one as well.
Flutes are light, portable, and they don’t require much maintenance besides cleaning. There are no extra parts you have to buy, and it doesn’t need to be tuned like a guitar which makes them ready to play out of the box.
Keyboard
Many people confuse the word “keyboard” with a computer keyboard, but it’s also the name given to a digital piano. Keyboards can be quite pricey and it’s hard to replicate a full-sized piano with a cheap keyboard, but digital pianos can be a unique piece of furniture that doubles as a musical instrument. They usually have lids to cover them so that they can be converted into reception tables—but you probably don’t want to buy a digital piano to use as a table!
The piano is fairly straight forward to learn and it can form a basis for learning other instruments in the future. They’re usually portable if you get electronic models, and they can be paired with a stand so that you can play them while you stand up instead of putting it onto a table.
