10 Easiest Elementary School Band Instruments to Play

If your kid has an ear for music, take a look at this list of 10 easiest elementary school band instruments to play.

When I was in elementary school, I had my fair share of learning how to play random instruments. Outside of school, I was enrolled in violin lessons, but at school, I remember learning how to play the recorder as well as a xylophone for one school musical performance. I guess the recorder was intended to teach us something about tune and notes, but I still cannot, for the life of me, figure out why we were required to buy and play those things. Not to mention, that they sound awful — especially when 20 of them are being played in a room of elementary school kids. However, I enjoyed the violin and thought it was so cool to play the xylophone for a school-wide performance. My chances were almost ruined when I broke my wrist days before the concert, but I somehow managed to play one-handed. When it comes to elementary school music, that’s not as impressive as it sounds because you basically just hit a couple notes every few seconds.

I’m not sure what musical curriculums look like these days, but I think it’s important to have in schools — even if it includes that annoying recorder. Also, studies have shown that children benefit in a lot of other areas when they learn how to play an instrument and are musically inclined. According to a study conducted by Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory, found that children who learned to play a musical instrument in class, had improved neural processing. Effective Music Teaching says learning to play an instrument increase math and reading comprehension skills, memory, concentration, and even relieves stress. These are all great habits and traits for kids to develop in those important, elementary school years.

If you’re many, many years past your glorious elementary school days, our list of 10 easiest instruments to learn how to play is probably a better fit for you.

To help you find the perfect instrument for your child, we came up with a list of easiest instruments to learn in elementary school. To create our list of easiest elementary school band instruments to play, we used sources like Music Time Academy and Quora, which provided guides about the easiest instruments for children to learn at different ages. Based on their reviews and user reviews, we ranked our list based on their difficulty, so the instrument at the top of the list is said to be easiest for kids to learn. 

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 easiest elementary school band instruments to play.

10. Flute

Just like the clarinet, the flute is also a great replacement for heavy trumpets and trombones, and easier on small arms.  It sound with the flow of the air through its openings.

9. Clarinet

I spent a few years in middle school playing this fun and odd-looking instrument. Since the clarinet also has a much smaller frame than trumpets and trombones, it is a good option for beginners. It is easy to carry and the kids would be able to enjoy learning a woodwind instrument.

8. Violin

Just like the guitar, the violin is also a somewhat complicated instrument to learn.  But having the right size, your child will enjoy learning how to play the violin. Also, tiny violins, for tiny kids are really cute.

7. Guitar

Learning the guitar keys would be a struggle but once you mastered it, you’ll easily play your favorite songs with your guitar.  You just have to choose the appropriate size of the instrument for your child so they can appreciate on learning how to play it.

6. Triangle

It seems like it would be the easiest on our list, but it surprisingly takes some skill. This aptly named, triangular instrument also has a metal beater that is used to strike the triangle and make a sound.

5. Tambourine

As probably one of the most entertaining instruments for kids, the tambourine comes in at the halfway point on our list of 10 easiest elementary school band instruments to play. It’s made up of wood or plastic and has small metal jingles. All it takes is a shake to make noise, and it’s a good starter for percussion instruments as it can also be found on a drum set.

4. Cymbals

Cymbal, the next one on our list of easiest elementary school band instruments to play are typically played in pairs unless on a drum set (even then they can be in pairs). It’s thin, round plates are usually made up of different types of alloy. Kids will enjoy slamming them together or hitting them with mallets.

3. Timpani

We are continuing our list of easiest elementary school band instruments to play with the timpani that ranks as one of my favorite instruments to play during my middle school band years, as they’re fun to play and make an awesome sound. If you’ve seen movies that bang a big drum to send out a signal during a war, then you were probably listening to a Timpani drum. While it’s no longer used as a military drum, it is now found as part of an orchestra.

2. Snare Drum

A common sight in a marching band is a snare drum.  A beginner may not at first understand the flow of making a decent sound with the snare drum but once learned, there will be no stopping them at picking up a pair of drumsticks and making some noise.

1. Piano

Just pressing the keys on the piano, will produce sound and that is what makes the piano an easy-to-learn music instrument. You’ll be able to blend and create melodies in due time.  Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are famous musicians who used the piano, where even up to this day, their masterpieces are being played around the world.

That concludes our list, and we hope you and your child found a new and fun instrument to learn with our list of 10 easiest elementary school band instruments to play.