 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Carrie
Date: 2000-06-21 02:13
I was wondering I just discovered this on my friends computer in her favorite list and she said you guys give a lot of good advice.Okay here's the problem: my new teacher gave a ton of things to work on for my first lesson and I don't have all the time, she gave me the first movement of this mozart concerto the first ten fingering excercises a whole sheet of hard jumps and a duet from Rubank advanced 1. And she expects me to practice at least an hour or two a day. Well I did that today and after about half of that time, I realized I was bored with the concerto thing, and at first I liked it and it was fun. So should I tell her thats she's giving me too much, I mean after all I'm only 14 and I'll be a freshman, but I don't want her to think that I don't like to play but I work 45 hours a week and we have marching band camp starting next week! What should I tell her?
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Author: brian
Date: 2000-06-21 03:28
Sound to me like the "clarinet thing" isn't something you particularly care to do. If that's the case, why not find something to do that you enjoy.
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-06-21 05:39
Talk to her. She probably doesn't have a crystal ball and she needs to know. I have a couple students that only have about 30 mins to practice as they also have chores or in one case, a parent who comes home and sleeps 4 hrs then goes to a second job so practice has to be done in a very small time slot. I take this into consideration. Better a little practice than none at all. I practice sometimes only 15 mins at a time but try to do it several times during the day depending on my work schedule.
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Author: Pam
Date: 2000-06-21 12:41
You're only 14 and already working 45 hours a week??!!! Is that legal? No wonder you are probably tired!
Also, it is a good idea to let your teacher know how much you can handle in a week. Maybe suggest working on one page at a time of the Mozart and just part of the pages that are particularly hard.
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-06-21 13:20
Tell her what you told us. She is testing you to see how much you can handle.
Don't give up.
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Author: drew
Date: 2000-06-21 15:37
Carrie,
Apparently your teacher believes you have great potential, otherwise she wouldn't be pushing you so hard. You mentioned that you were bored with some of the work she gave you, maybe you need something more challeging?
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Author: SusieQ
Date: 2000-06-21 16:11
By all means tell her and ask her to work out a schedule you can handle. Being overwhelmed can be very frustraing. I have a 13 year old son and when he has a problem with his work in school, I encourage him to work with his teacher and take the initiative to ask for help himself. He took my advice and everyone of his teachers was more than willing to work out the situation with him and he also earned thier respect for asking for help on his own. Some of them even gave him extra time to complete his work. Good Luck!
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-06-21 16:12
Do you mean that your school attendance and homework take up 45 hours per week, or do you mean that in addition to school and homework, you have a 45-hr.-per-week outside job at age 14?
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Author: Kim L
Date: 2000-06-21 22:05
Yes, 45 hours per week is illegal, at least where I live. In CT minors under 18 are only allowed to work part-time, or 20 hours a week. I believe the United States has this in their labor law too.
If I was told I had to work 45 hours a week, I would, well you don't want to know what I would do!
As for the music, tell your teacher that she is taking it too fast and you'd like to slow down a little. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by my college instructor. When I am working on three pieces, the three sometimes turns to two! I'm sure your teacher would be more than happy to help you out.
Good luck.
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Author: Carrie
Date: 2000-06-22 01:56
Actuall, that 45 nours is part working at one job and part working at my moms restaraunt; she likes me to help out, and she's short of help. As for not liking the clarinet; I love it! Its the best. You can work up to 35 hours for people who are 14 if you have a work permit. I'll try and talk to her i hope she understands!
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Author: Willie
Date: 2000-06-22 03:40
Well its good to see a kid willing to work and help out their mom. I have no problem with this. If more kids stayed busy like this, there would be fewer hangin' on the street and getting into trouble. I see this a lot in West Texas where kids get up before sunrise, work cattle then go to school. After school, they go back out and work cattle till dark. No idle minds out there.
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Author: Pat
Date: 2000-06-22 04:48
I understand what you are going through. When I was in high school i worked at McDonalds (low point in my life), I had a bad band director that thought his band was life. I had to do those fingering excersies and boy did i hate. Luckily when it got bad, my teacher at the time laid off me on some of the stuff and we worked on audition stuff. You might try to state you have auditions if you have those where you are from. She might lay off.
Now since going into music school, i work 40+ hours a week waiting tables, practice about 5 hours when i can, and making up a ton work that i missed when i had mono the last 2 weeks of school. it doesn't get much fun when you get older. My advice is to do the best you can, but don't over do yourself, cause you might get sick, but don't do the minimal, cause it will get back to you. Good luck with everything, and i hope you do good.
pat
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-06-22 14:25
I hope your mom will find some way to let you focus more on school and spend less time working for a living. I started a small business (sign printing) at age 13, worked all through high school and college, and lived to moan and complain about it, so I'm by no means opposed to teenagers having jobs, but I think it's way too much for a fulltime student to work 45 hrs. a week between two jobs. It sounds as though the job with your mom's restaurant is at least partially "off the books." That arrangement could end up getting your mom in legal trouble. Better to work for a living than rob for a living, by all means, but I don't see how you can focus on school, music and *life* when you're on such a brutal schedule. Where does eating and sleeping fit in? The choice I had to make as a kid was to do without some stuff I wanted, and put some things off for later, in order to do a *good* job at my *main* job, which was school. If you miss out on too much of the school experience now, it's really hard to make up for it later in life when you have so many adult responsibilities.
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Author: SusieQ
Date: 2000-06-22 16:10
My husband and I own a business and we can legally employ our 13 year old to work in the state where we live, and can even get some tax writeoffs. You have to check within your own state about employing your children. There may be a restriction on how many hours a minor can work. Our son does work for us, but minimal hours and as needed, he also has plenty of time for friends and band camp. It may be perfectly legal for Carrie's mom to employ her in the state where she lives. I agree that 45 hrs. a week is way to much for a 14 year old, even during the summer months.
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Author: Kim L
Date: 2000-06-22 17:15
You think 45 hours is bad? Try working 30 hours a week and going to college full time. I don't do that, and never intend to. I don't know where students find the time to do what they want to! Plus, how can they study? Some even have kids. So, that's a full time job, full time student, and full time parent. Somehow, they manage. I don't know how though!
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Author: Sara
Date: 2000-06-22 20:11
I can see how, sudying and working can work, I work almost 25 hour a week and do marching band and take higher honors classes you just have to learn how to manage yur time, and do things like study on the road to marching band competitions or look at your notes when the directors not working with your section during concert season.
Sara
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Author: laur
Date: 2000-06-23 16:48
<< look at your notes when the directors not working with your section during concert season. >>
Funny.. I don't have a job, yet I still find myself doing that whenever I have a major test.
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