Klarinet Archive - Posting 000727.txt from 2000/09

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] 6 years old/Eb
Date: Sun, 24 Sep 2000 10:12:53 -0400

David Renaud writes,
>Is anyone starting clarinet as young as this?
>
>6 Years
>My daughter had been begging to try my "little clarinet".
>Why not, I shaved down a reed, and behold she can play
>it. Knew how to hold it by observation, and played a
>g-f-e immediately.
> It had not crossed my mind that she might be able
>to start at her age, but her fingers do cover the holes
>of the eb.

Why not, indeed?! If she finds out that she's not ready to play much beyond
g-f-e yet, fine -- she'll still have this preview of a "grown-up" experience
she can look forward to later. I think when a child begs to do something and
actually *can* do it surprisingly well for someone that age, it's a sign of a
natural gift. I'm so glad you encouraged her. It sounds to me as though
you're being flexible, offering her room to grow at her own pace. (IMHO,
letting a child try something she *begged* to do is totally different than
pushing a child to accomplish something *a parent* decided she ought to do.)

IMHO, some parents worry so much about the possibility they might shove their
kids along too fast that they actually hold them back and squelch their
talents. Naturally you can't let her do everything she might like to try at
age 6 (such as driving the car!), but letting her try the clarinet gives her
a positive message about herself and encourages her to be adventurous and
willing to attempt new things -- a good learning experience for her even if
she hadn't been able to play a note. You can reinforce that positive message
by reacting to her attempts as *progress*. In other words, when she squeaks,
you can interpret it as a good *first step* in learning how to play a note,
instead of as a *failure* to play a note.

Since she's so drawn to that "little clarinet," IMHO she'll make a stronger
start on that than she would on some disappointing substitute, but if she
gets discouraged, and decides that the clarinet is too much of a struggle for
her now.... Do you know how to play the recorder? As a clarinetist, you
can pick up the basics quickly, enough for simple tunes the first week, with
the excellent Trapp Family beginner books. If you happened to
accidentally-on-purpose play a C-soprano recorder in front of your daughter,
she might beg to try out that appealing little instrument, too.

A plastic Yamaha or Hohner soprano is nearly indestructible (so she can play
it without supervision), needs no developed "lip" and requires only enough
air support for a stage-whisper up to normal conversation. It's a good, real
instrument that can give a small child a start on embouchure for all the
beak-mouthed winds, along with a lot of the fundamental fingerings. It comes
naturally to add the "layers" of clarinet keys on top of those fingerings
later. The register break is an octave, but kids easily make the transition
back and forth between octaves and twelfths and (unless she's cursed with
absolute pitch) between instruments in different keys. I think that an early
start on doubling can help a youngster develop relative pitch.

What fun for a musician to find out that a child shares the interest!

Cheers--
Lelia

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