Klarinet Archive - Posting 000003.txt from 2006/07

From: Oliver Seely <oseely@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Need some advice on teaching an 8-year-old.
Date: Sat, 01 Jul 2006 12:44:18 -0400

Thanks, Christy,

Your upbeat reply is much appreciated and I'll certainly share it
with the father this evening. Anyone else?

Oliver

At 09:33 AM 7/1/2006, you wrote:
>Oliver, It definitely depends on the child. I currently have a student who
>began taking clarinet lessons at age 8. For some reason, it was the only
>instrument she wanted to play at the time and the local music store would
>not even rent a clarinet to her parents. They said she was too young and
>they had a policy of not renting instruments to kids that young. Her Mom
>went to another city to rent a clarinet. This girl has gone on to take
>piano lessons from me, in addition to clarinet and when she started 5th
>grade, she starting playing saxophone in the school band. She had the
>saxophone for several years but prior to that time had been physically too
>small to play it. I have never regretted taking this student, since she
>will probably end up being THE most talented private music student I have
>EVER had! She is simply a "natural" and plays with a fantastic tone that
>I've never had to work with her on at all to develop. She just blows and
>produces that wonderful sound all by herself. Before one of my student
>recitals, she heard one of my high school (10th grade) students warming up
>and asked me why her tone was so "weak." I discovered a year after I began
>working with her that her mother has perfect pitch. We've had to work on
>rhythms but this kid is naturally VERY musical and a joy to work with. I
>say if the kid can hold the clarinet (this girl I speak of used a neck strap
>in the beginning) and produce a tone, give it a shot and see what happens.
>Her fingers do need to be large enough to cover the tone holes on a Bb
>clarinet but if not, you could try an Eb clarinet. Christy

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org