Nine in ten children want to learn a musical instrument, survey finds | Discover Music - Classic FM

Research into children’s interest in learning a musical instrument finds that young children are keener than ever, but interest among older children is dwindling, observes Maddy Shaw Roberts, Content Editor - Classic FM Interactive at Global. 

Only 2 per cent of children want to learn the trombone.
Photo: Getty

A new piece of research by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) reveals nine in ten children want to learn a musical instrument.

The survey, conducted by YouGov for the RPO, asked children aged six to 16 around the UK about their interest in learning an instrument.

Band instruments like the guitar (45 per cent), piano (36 per cent) and drums/percussion (35 per cent) proved the most popular. Meanwhile, 75 per cent of children opted for an orchestral instrument, such as the violin (10 per cent), flute (8 per cent) and saxophone (8 per cent).

At the other end of the scale, children were least interested in learning the French horn and double bass...

The information follows a study revealing the gender imbalance in orchestral instrument sections, which found there were no women trombone or tuba players in the world’s top 20 orchestras. It also found the majority of double bass (95 per cent) and timpani players (96 per cent) were men.

The RPO’s survey also indicates that the older a child gets, the less interested they become in learning a musical instrument.
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Source: Classic FM