Klarinet Archive - Posting 000693.txt from 1995/06

From: Jim Freeman <collnjim@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Advice to new clarinetist
Date: Thu, 29 Jun 1995 02:08:51 -0400

On Wed, 28 Jun 1995, Bob Kreisa wrote:

> I don't think starting private lessons at 11-12 when you're just
> starting the instrument is wise. Why not try it and see if you like it
> first? If you find you don't like the clarinet (I don't see why you
> wouldn't, but to each his own....), then you don't feel so bad that
> you've spent your or your parents money taking lessons that you didn't
> like in addition to rentinguying an instrument. Or maybe I just feel
> guilty more easily than most. I also tend to think that private lessons
> make the already potentially stressful (and often frustrating) situation
> of learning an instrument more difficult, and pressureful. Why not wait
> a few months and see if private lessons are worth your time or if you
> just want to play at school for fun? If you want to play just at school
> for fun, why do you need private lessons? I think that going into
> private lessons right away puts to much pressure on a beginner and keeps
> playing from being fun, which is what it should be, especially at first,
> or you could end up hating learning music because you were pressured when
> you started clarinet. In case I lost my point somewhere in there, it was
> meant to be: Taking private lessons right away (depending on the
> teacher) can put to much pressure on a kid and stress them out or prevent
> music from being fun.
>
> P.S.- Also, some private teachers prefer more advanced students.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Abby Kreisa
> bkreisa@-----.edu
>
I have to disagree with most of this posting. Many good private teachers
relish the chance to start beginners well. What's fun about having no
guidance at the start of (perhaps) a very long and complex journey? For
most students, their greatest feelings of accomplishment come from
noticing their improvement. Students who never get a chance to develop
(and perfect) bad habits are much more likely to improve quickly.
Students who have been playing without appropriate guidance who then come to
private lessons have to spend considerable time unlearning their
bad habits before progress can be made. If a student is feeling
pressured, that certainly can be remedyed by changing to a teacher who
has a better sense of what beginning students require. All my opinion,
of course, but I've seen too many students begin lessons with vicious bad
habits caused by a few years of unsupervised playing.

Jim Freeman (collnjim@-----.edu)
note new address^^^^^^^