Klarinet Archive - Posting 000044.txt from 1998/09

From: Lee Hickling <hickling@-----.Net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Children and Clarinet Playing
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 10:48:21 -0400

For what it's worth, I have had only one student who was too small to
handle a Bb clarinet, although he was 11 years old. The store where I teach
rented him an Eb, and he got along with it very well. A couple of years
later he moved to a Bb quite easily.

On clarinet, sax and piano I am very reluctant to take students younger
than eight, but it's more a matter of attention span than size. I also want
them to be able to read at a second or third grade level, because I have
found this to be an excellent predictor of their ability to learn to read
music. That usually fixes the lower age limit at eight or nine years.

Of course, I make exceptions. I have a six-year-old piano student now who
is progressing more rapidly than most students two or three years older. I
had reservations when I took him on, but I'm glad now I did it.

Lee Hickling <hickling@-----.net>

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