Ask anyone what instrument to learn and you’ll get one of two answers. Piano, because it’s sensible. Guitar, because it’s cool. Both are good answers — we’ve made the case for piano ourselves, at some length.
But there are seven other instruments taught at this school, and almost nobody suggests them. Not because they’re lesser, but because they’re not the first thing anyone thinks of. Which is a shame, because for a lot of people one of these is the better fit — and in several cases the easier start.
Here’s the case for each.
Of all the instruments on this page, the saxophone is the one people want to play and talk themselves out of. It looks difficult and expensive. It’s neither, particularly.
A beginner gets a real sound out of a sax faster than out of a violin or a flute — the reed does a lot of the work, and the fingering is logical. And it goes everywhere: jazz, obviously, but also pop, funk, soul, ska and film scores. It’s an instrument that makes you the interesting one in any room.
More on why the saxophone turns heads · Saxophone lessons
The clarinet is the quiet overachiever of the woodwind family. It’s forgiving for beginners — a decent tone comes quickly — and it has an enormous range, from Mozart concertos to klezmer to the opening of Rhapsody in Blue.
It’s also the instrument most likely to get your child into a school band or orchestra, because every ensemble needs clarinets and there are never enough of them. And the transfer is excellent: a clarinettist can pick up saxophone later with very little friction.
More on the clarinet · Clarinet lessons
The flute asks more of you in the first few weeks than almost anything else here — getting a note out at all is a genuine achievement, and some students take two or three lessons to manage it. Then it clicks, and it never un-clicks.
What you get for that patience is breath control, posture and a tone that’s genuinely beautiful. It’s portable, it’s quiet enough to practise in a flat, and it’s a staple of school orchestras and trad sessions alike.
More on flute lessons · Flute lessons
Here’s a secret every working musician knows: there is always a shortage of bass players. Always. If your teenager wants to be in a band — not eventually, but by Christmas — bass is the fastest route there.
It’s also easier to start than guitar. Four strings, one note at a time, and the early repertoire is genuinely playable. What it teaches is timing and groove, which are the skills that make the difference between a band that’s tight and one that isn’t.
The ukulele has an image problem it doesn’t deserve. Yes, it’s small and cheerful. It’s also the single fastest instrument to get from nothing to playing actual songs — four nylon strings, soft on the fingers, and three chords will carry you through hundreds of tunes.
For children under eight whose hands aren’t ready for guitar, it’s the obvious bridge. For adults who want to play something by the weekend, it’s hard to beat.
Everyone in Ireland has held one of these and most people stopped there. That’s a pity, because in the right hands both are serious instruments — the recorder across Baroque and Renaissance repertoire, the tin whistle at the centre of Irish traditional music.
They’re also the cheapest way into music that exists. Simple fingering, light breath, a recognisable tune in the first lesson, and everything learned transfers straight to flute, clarinet or saxophone later.
More on the recorder and tin whistle · Recorder lessons
Not quite an unsung instrument, but an unsung version of one. Most people who say “guitar” mean steel-string acoustic or electric. Classical guitar is a different discipline — nylon strings, fingerstyle, reading music properly rather than chord charts.
It’s gentler on the fingertips than steel strings, it builds genuine technique, and it opens a repertoire most guitarists never touch.
Wind instruments are personal — mouthpieces and reeds aren’t shared — so you’ll need your own flute, clarinet or saxophone. That sounds like a bigger obstacle than it is.
Renting is the normal route and costs a fraction of buying. Most Dublin music shops rent student flutes, clarinets and saxophones by the month, often with the rental credited against a purchase if you decide to keep going. It’s how the majority of school-band players start.
Piano and drums are different — those are in the room already, so there’s nothing to arrange before a first lesson. And the ukulele, recorder and tin whistle are cheap enough to buy outright without much thought.
Whichever you’re considering, talk to the teacher before you spend anything. They’ll tell you what’s worth renting, what’s worth buying, and what to avoid.
All of these are taught one-to-one at our schools in Tallaght, Stillorgan and Terenure, for children and adults, beginners through to exam candidates. If you’re not sure which one fits, that’s a normal place to be — tell us a bit about yourself or your child and we’ll point you somewhere sensible.
The three-lesson taster course exists precisely for this. It’s a short, low-stakes way to find out whether the instrument nobody suggested turns out to be yours.
