My DD will be turning five in about six months. Her best friend is six, and she plays the fiddle, so of course DD is asking if she can learn to play the fiddle, too. Her friend comes from a musical family, and her dad began teaching her fiddle at age four, so they've encouraged us to start with DD.

Three things make me hesitate:

1. The fiddle is a difficult instrument to play. It's not like a piano where you push a key and it plays the note. It requires a lot of dexterity and music theory to understand how notes are made. It will take a lot of practice just to get past the nails on a chalkboard stage.

2. I had planned on our kids learning the harp, because that's what I know how to play. It's not that I want her to be a mini me, but I love the harp, I own a harp she can play already, and I could help her at home since I play it. Plus, the harp is like a vertical piano in that the strings are already tuned to specific notes and all you have to do is pluck them. I know nothing about the fiddle, by comparison.

3. She's probably just expressing interest in the fiddle because her friend plays it. At age four, she doesn't have a lot of discernment, so I don't know if I'm willing to jump into all the expenses of fiddle lessons just because her friend plays.

How did you decide what instrument to teach your kids? What age were they when they began lessons?

I can't decide whether to ignore her pleas to learn fiddle and then start the harp at age 6 or 7, or start harp right away so she has a creative outlet, or give in and do fiddle instead.