Klarinet Archive - Posting 000996.txt from 2000/08

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Which one? (Uh-oh...newby alert!)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 07:27:17 -0400

At 05:58 PM 8/29/2000 EDT, Joseph Hadley wrote:

> I wouldn't assume in every case that the director is being that
> self-concerned or arrogant about making recommendations as to what
> instrument a student might play. In many cases, students settle on an
> instrument which may be very difficult or nearly impossible to play. Many
> have chosen, for example, the flute because their friends play the flute,
> even though they may find producing a tone on the flute to be an almost
> insurmountable task.
> >>
This is why companies like ours will often go into the schools at the band
director's request to do "fittings." We allow the kids to try out several
instruments they might be interested in. If they can't get a sound out of
a flute, we and they can eliminate that as a choice right away, thereby
improving the child's likelihood of success. The directors may ask us to
suggest certain instruments they are short of (like low brass) or NOT
suggest those they are overloaded with (like saxophone) but you can't
really do much more than that without being too pushy. We can also assess
other factors, like the formation of the teeth and lips, to promote some
choices and eliminate others for an individual student, but the child's
personal preference remains a VERY strong influence in the process.
Another factor we use is an aural aptitude test we give which shows whether
the students can hear pitch and rhythm differences, so we can steer the
tone-deaf AWAY from french horn and trombone, and the rhythm-impaired from
percussion. The main object is to find an instrument that is likely to
give the child early success, which has proven to result in a greater
chance that he/she will continue.

Bill Hausmann bhausmann1@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://homepages.go.com/~zoot14/zoot14.html
Essexville, MI 48732 ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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