Klarinet Archive - Posting 000041.txt from 1998/09

From: Martin Pergler <pergler@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Children and Clarinet Playing
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 09:57:32 -0400

There is a Kinder Clarinet (Klarinet?) available, which is pitched
in Eb and has a simplified key system (missing all but one
RH trill key for instance, I believe). Saw two of them at an all-ages
music camp where I was an assistant this summer. One was
played by a 9-year old who had no major difficulty, one was
played by a 7-yr old who was having tone and coordination
trouble, which he also had on recorder. One of them was
willing to lend out his instr to his young "friends" to try
(no girls, since they are inherently gross, of course) and there
was a wide variation in how kids could handle it after 10-15mins
first attempt. Some just didn't have the air or any control
over embouchure muscles, some quickly learnt to make at least a
power-tool-like sound more or less on pitch.

At these ages, the aim is hopefully to "train" an interest in music and
start to develop practicing habits and reading ability, not to jump the
gun to "train" a clarinetist sooner and faster. So, I'd go this path only
when the kid expresses an interest. In both of the cases above, the father
is a clarinetist and the boys are delighted to play a clarinet "too".
Of course, finding music to play is an issue (when not playing solo)
and you'll end up transposing parts to Eb.

On the other hand---the 9yr old had never transposed before, and I
and his father had forgotten to write out one piece for his
chamber music class (=hodge podge of all sorts of instr playing
from music specially published to work for all sorts of groupings
and abilities). Admittedly the part was easy, but his agile
young brain had less difficulty sight-transposing a recorder
part down a 3rd (when I showed him how) than I would have had...

Martin

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Martin Pergler pergler@-----.edu
Grad student, Mathematics http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~pergler
Univ. of Chicago

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