 The Fingering Forum
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Author: Ali
Date: 2004-01-20 20:02
Greeting:
My 7 year old son wants to learn to play a wind instrument. Which instrument would be best to start with? He doesn't have any real preferance. I was thinking the clarinet? I have no experience with wind instruments.
Thanks,
Ali-
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Author: Theboy_2
Date: 2004-01-20 20:09
Ask your child what he'd like to play. i've seen a lot of people quit because they didn't like playing thier instrument. the standard woodiwnds little ones strat on are flute, clarinet, and alto sax. after that they branch off from their. but with those three does not mean he has to do that, he can start off an just about any instrument. with bigger instruments require more air then smaller ones, and wiht bigger instruments require the child to reach for the keys, which may be unfavourible. if your son still is undecided, the music director can tell you the details of the various instruments. hope this helps.
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Author: Gnomon
Date: 2004-01-21 11:31
The clarinet is a good instrument to start on. It is quite easy to get notes out of, so it is not discouraging at the start. It's not too heavy and not too loud. But the most important factor is what your child likes.
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Author: JfW
Date: 2004-01-22 16:51
Most people will say that it's easier to go from Clarinet to Saxophone. Having recently picked up the clarintet after years of Alto saxophone, I think they may have a point.
The Clarinet Repetoir is more challenging in speed, but more familiar being that it has the melody so often.
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Author: musichick
Date: 2004-01-24 20:25
Clarinet and saxophone are very good ones to start on. However... Most kids start on alto sax, Bb clarinet, or flute. They usually stick with thoes, with slight variations (tenor sax, piccolo, ect). You hardly ever see elementary or middle school kids with an oboe or bassoon. Some switch in high school, but there are still far less of those. If your son started with a double reed when young and stuck with it, he could be amazing, and would have less competition later on in life. There probably is a reason no one chooses thoes instruments, though. They are more expensive and somewhat harder to play. Even so, I personally really like them, they are great instruments. Just another idea to throw out there.
To help him pick an instrument, you should get sound samples of all of them and have him listen to them. He should play whichever instrument he likes the sound of the best. Theres nothing worse then playing an instrument you cant stand the sound of.
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Author: kelljo
Date: 2004-01-24 21:45
What you could do is have him go to a nearby music store and have him test out all of the insturments he might like to play. That is what i did. I could not decide between the flute or the clarinet so I went to Hume Music and tried both of them. They are both relatively easy to learn. Clarinet is a great instrument to start out with because the first notes have easy figuring and are not hard to get out. As you play the clarinet more the notes become more complex and the high notes take a strong emborchure, or mouth muscle, to get out.
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Author: Ironvic
Date: 2004-02-10 06:45
Hi Ali:
Also consider the soprano recorder, it fits youngsters' smaller hands very well. I play clarinet but started on recorder. I learned many basics of musicmanship on that old recorder and found it almost second nature to transition to the clarinet after years of playing on the my wooden tenor. The sound can be very bird-like and captivating. It was, in essence, the grandaddy to the clarinet after it became the hybrid chalumeau (sort of a cross between a recorder and clarinet).
Whenever Christmas rolls around, I still bring out a recorder as my first choice and you would not believe the effect it has on people, they love its gentle sound! Speaking of gentle sounds, it's a heck of a lot easier on mom and dad's ears when a child is learning how to play on the recorder than almost any other instrument.
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Author: Mark Lammas
Date: 2004-02-15 16:35
I began on flute. Children have small hands. A fellow player at school began on piccolo, graduating to flute when her hands could hack it. I recommend recorder; it was king of instruments in the Renaissance period, but modern school tuition is often not taken seriously enough. It's seen as a schoolkids' instrument, though Michala Petri's expertise destroys that nonsense. Listen, though, to what the lad wants to play. If he really does want to play something, he'll stick to it. If you think it's a passing fad, then smaller and less expensive makes sense. Piano is very important for those wanting to make a career out of music. My own lack of serious keyboard expertise is a major regret.
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