Music Gifts Under $50

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Under $50: first instrument · around $38 · ages 4 to 8

Donner Soprano Ukulele Starter Bundle

The one real instrument under fifty dollars. A 21 inch mahogany-pattern soprano with nylon strings, a clip-on tuner, gig bag, strap and picks. A child can play a two-chord song the day it is unwrapped, which is the whole point of a first instrument.

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Fifty dollars buys one of two things in music: a first instrument for a young child, or the accessory that makes an existing instrument playable. It does not buy a guitar, a violin or a keyboard that a beginner can learn on, and the most common gift mistake at this price is trying. Everything on this page falls into one of four groups: the two real instruments that exist under $50, the tools every player needs, the method books teachers assign, and the consumables that run out. Find out what the recipient plays, then shop the group that fits.

If the recipient has no instrument yet and is over eight, the gift that matters lives in our Gifts for Beginner Musicians guide, and the first instrument finder will tell you which one. For a sense of what a first year on any instrument costs in accessories, the beginner instrument cost chart lists them.

Real instruments under $50

Only two categories of instrument arrive playable at this price, and both happen to be excellent first instruments. The ukulele is the honest answer for a child between four and eight, because nylon strings do not hurt, four strings are learnable in an afternoon, and a soprano body fits small hands. The harmonica is the answer for anyone older who wants something pocket-sized. The kalimba and the recorder round out the group: neither leads anywhere in particular, but both make music on day one, and for a hesitant beginner that is worth more than a path.

Before buying the ukulele, check the best instrument for toddlers guide if the child is under five, and the instrument difficulty chart for how quickly each of these rewards a beginner compared with guitar or violin.

The tools every beginner is missing

Ask a music teacher what a new student turns up without and the list is short and consistent: a tuner, a metronome, a stand, and for keyboard players a sustain pedal. None is expensive and all are used at every practice session. These are the best gifts for someone who already has an instrument, and the safest, because they work regardless of brand or skill. The capo and the practice pad are instrument-specific; the rest are universal.

Our best guitar tuners and best metronomes pages compare more models, including pedal tuners and mechanical metronomes, if the recipient is past the beginner stage.

Method books teachers actually assign

A method book is the cheapest gift on this page that changes whether someone keeps playing. It gives a beginner a sequence, and a sequence is what the first three months are missing when someone learns from videos. The five here are the series most teachers use; if the recipient has a teacher, ask which book before buying, because a student with two competing methods usually follows neither. Our best piano books and best guitar books guides go deeper into each series.

Strings, sticks and picks: the stocking layer

Consumables are the gifts for someone who plays already, and they are always welcome because they run out. Match the item to the instrument and, for strings, to the gauge the instrument is already wearing; light acoustic sets and 10-46 electric sets are the defaults on nearly all beginner guitars. Sticks are universal among drummers. Picks are the one thing every guitarist loses faster than they can buy.

What not to buy under $50

A guitar. A violin. A keyboard. All three exist at this price and all three fail the same way: the guitar has action so high that chords hurt, the violin has a plastic fingerboard and pegs that slip, the keyboard has keys that do not respond to how hard they are pressed. A beginner blames themselves. If the budget is fifty dollars and the recipient wants one of those three, the right gift is a contribution toward the real thing, or a ukulele now and the guitar later; our best guitar under $100 page shows where the honest floor is for guitar, and the cheapest instruments to learn guide ranks the rest.