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Getting started on a budget

Author: kc261
Date: 2008-06-25 18:47

My 11 yr old daughter is starting clarinet, and I want to do everything I can to get her a good start. Unfortunately we are very limited financially so something like private lessons every week just is not an option. So my question is, how can I get the most bang for the few bucks I have to spend?

Her soon-to-be band director (starting in the fall) did spend a little time with us to see what instrument she was interested in and seemed to have a natural talent for. So he did show her the very basics and she was even able to play "Hot Cross Buns". He uses SmartMusic, so we will be using that, but during the summer the director won't be available, so it will be just the computer program, without the direction and feedback of a human instructor.

I have researched and it seems like Essential Elements and Accent on Achievement are recommended method books which are on the SmartMusic system. So we will probably buy one or the other of those books and follow along with it using SmartMusic. Since she has been shown how to get a note and we can find fingering charts, we could in theory go with just that.

However, I am concerned that without someone to *see* what she is doing and give personal feedback, she might pick up some bad habits which will have to be unlearned later. I am thinking that even 1 or 2 lessons with a good instructor might go a long way towards preventing that. Is 1 or 2 lessons enough to be worth it?

Does anyone have any other suggestions?

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