Useful items for music students

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Everybody needs one of these! Posture is really important when learning an instrument, and a music stand helps students sit upright instead of slouching over a book of music. I tried out about 5 stands in this price range, and this one is the best quality. The cheaper ones tend to fall apart within a few weeks.

This amazing gadget will allow you to plug any string instrument into an amplifier! The circular part sticks to your instrument and senses vibration. This means you can plug your ukulele into an amplifier to make it louder for performances! You can also plug it into effect pedals, or into a computer to record the instrument.

This ability to play with interesting sounds can be a lot of fun for kids and will help keep the instrument “fresh” and exciting.

All of these items greatly enhance the learning experience on Loog guitar! The method book easily adapts for 3 string guitars. The capo allows students to play along with a larger variety of songs. The strap makes it easy to use perfect playing posture.

These two ukuleles are both Concert size, which can be comfortably played by most older kids and adults. The Kala brand ukulele plays and sounds excellent. This model is widely used in classrooms, and has been trusted and proven for years. The Cordoba ukulele is one I’ve enjoyed for many years, and has slightly more advanced craftsmanship and visual appeal.

These two ukuleles are ones I’ve seen give MANY kids a great start. Here are the differences between the two. The Makala Dolphin comes in many vibrant colors (green, pink, purple, blue, etc), and the body is made of a strong plastic. It is very durable, and sounds very good.

The Kala KA-15S is made of wood, and has a slightly nicer sound to it. In fact, it’s the best sounding instrument I’ve played in this price range.

How to choose between these instruments? If your child is very young and the colors could be a big factor in their motivation to play, go with the Dolphin. If your child is 7+ years old, I’d suggest the Kala KA-15 for it’s excellent sound and crafstmanship.

These items are things I constantly recommend to my students. The book is my favorite publicly available method for getting kids started. The Clip on Tuner is a good go-to model that works well and is simple to use. The capo (clamp for the strings) makes it possible for kids to make it easier to play along with certain songs, or bring a song into a comfortable vocal range for them.

This guitar is of excellent quality, and is usually the best option for kids who are 11+ years old. It’s just slightly smaller than a full-size guitar, which makes it a little more comfortable to play for kids and preteens. However, it’s also completely usable as a travel guitar for adults, so this guitar should get plenty of use.

Visually, it’s very appealing too, and comes in 6 + color options! Note, this guitar should generally retail around $150 – $170. Sometimes Amazon dealers boost the price on certain colors. If you can’t find the color you want on Amazon, you can always search for the same instrument on musiciansfriend.com or other music stores.

I’ve tried a lot of small amplifiers, and this is the one I’m most impressed with. It’s not big or heavy, is great for practice, and is capable of being loud enough for small/medium performance settings. One of the most appealing things about electric guitar is that you can put all kinds of crazy effects on the sound, which is a lot of fun. THIS amp is great because it has digital effects built in, so you won’t have to buy tons of extra equipment to have this experience.

To use an amp with an electric guitar, you’ll also need an instrument cable (also called 1/4″ cable or guitar cable). This current link has one included.

Levy’s is know for making great straps that last a long time, and now they’ve got one that fits kids! The color and pattern options are irresistible too, so be sure to check out the different options.

There are MANY options for first drum sets, including acoustic kits, digital kits, practice pads, and tabletop drums. These items below are not the ideal solution for EVERY student, but I do find them to be a good introduction to having fun with rhythm. Since they are portable and digital, students can wear headphones while playing, and they don’t take up much space.

The Pyle Pro PTED06 is the best tabletop drums model I’m aware of right now. It sounds good, has a lot of fun sounds, and includes a cable input for plugging a phone or audio player into the unit. This means that students can play along with songs!

There are MANY options for first drum sets, including acoustic kits, digital kits, practice pads, and tabletop drums. These items below are not the ideal solution for EVERY student, but I do find them to be a good introduction to having fun with rhythm. Since they are portable and digital, students can wear headphones while playing, and they don’t take up much space.

The Pyle Pro PTED06 is the best tabletop drums model I’m aware of right now. It sounds good, has a lot of fun sounds, and includes a cable input for plugging a phone or audio player into the unit. This means that students can play along with songs!

While there are MANY types of drumsticks, I like using these for beginners. They are “5A” size which is generally a good thickness to start with. These are made of maple wood, which keeps them light and manageable, even for young drummers.