Klarinet Archive - Posting 001022.txt from 2000/08

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Which one? (Uh-oh...newby alert!)
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 21:17:45 -0400

At 11:36 AM 8/30/2000 -0700, Tim A Zehr wrote:
>My school worked the same way, and they turned me away from the trumpet
because
>I couldn't make a sound on it. Well, I have an identical twin who exceled
way
>above anybody in his calss on the trumpet, and I am quite sure our musical
>abilities are exactly the same. This is why I believe turning away
students on
>the spot doesn't always work.
>
If only we had that much TIME!

>> 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.
>
>On the flip side, couldn't teaching a tone deaf person the french horn help
>improve that person's aural skills? Remember that the reason lots of
kids have
>trouble hearing pitches is because they were never exposed to it. It doesn't
>always mean they aren't capable of learning it.
>
The ear CAN be improved by training, but some people literally cannot
differentiate between pitches at all. You can play two pitches for them a
fifth or octave apart and they cannot tell you which one is higher. People
with weak pitch discrimination may still do OK on woodwinds, but hearing
the pitch BEFORE playing it is critical to brass, especially french horn,
where almost ANY note can be played with lip alone. You have to know which
note you are aiming for, and be able to adjust if you hit it wrong. If you
can't tell, you belong on something else. With woodwinds, if the fingers
are in the right place, you should be pretty close! From there training
can help.

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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