Klarinet Archive - Posting 000395.txt from 1999/10

From: SDSCHWAEG@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Lyons C clarinet
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 12:05:30 -0400

In a message dated 10/13/99 11:31:17 PM Central Daylight Time,
david-patty@-----.net writes:

<< As for using it to teach small children how to play, this is certainly a
possibility worth exploring. I, however, have no intention of teaching
anyone to play any instrument without teaching them how to read music. >>

Sorry, couldn't let this one go by! My three children are all Suzuki-trained
violinists, and they read music just fine! Yes, in the early stages, Suzuki
learning is done by rote (and does a marvelous job of training the ear), but
a competent teacher introduces note-reading games early on, and gradually
relies more and more on printed music. If a Suzuki-trained child cannot read
music, it is not the fault of the approach. That would be like saying
someone cannot read words because they first learned to talk. One thing I
really liked about the Suzuki approach is that my kids were playing "real"
music right from the beginning - pieces by Bach and Handel and Mozart instead
of lines from a method book. I don't know that we're suggesting, even with a
Lyons C clarinet, that we begin clarinet training at the age of 3; and if a
child were as old as, say, 7, I would probably introduce note reading right
away. But I think there are many advantages to the Suzuki approach that are
worth incorporating into traditional early wind instrument instruction.

Susan Schwaegler

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