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Re: A question for teachers

Author: D
Date: 2007-10-27 07:54

Robyn,

Back to the questions on instruction and books.

Never under estimate the ability of small children to play from ear and to improvise. These are natural talents which are easily and quickly lost for most of us as we become dependent on the little black dots as a crutch. You have an advantage here in that your child is not under strict instructions from a band teacher whose goal has to be to get all the kids reading as quickly as possible. I would recommend that as part of what you teach your son, you ask him to pick a tune and then go and work out how to play it. And then a little later how to write that down, and then to work out a simple harmony and how to write that down too. Perhaps teach a couple of the easier scales and arpeggios as these make life vastly easier. As it is 'that time of year' Christmas Carols with simple descants in the last verse and simple accompaniments abound, and might be a useful tool. Also, as much as possible get him playing with you or with other music. It is very very important that he be able to keep going when there is other noise going on, and that he learns when it is an is not appropriate to correct every wrong note. I think a lot of method books that I have seen leave it too late to introduce this. You can play simple duet as soon as you can play one or two notes. Play echoing games on a couple of notes, with a metronome or something running so you both have to keep in time. It helps reinforce the requirement to make a noise on demand, before that starts to become an issue as we get more het up about the right notes. Improvisation to a chord sequence or just solo is also a skill which is not often taught early on and then we become too self conscious. You have an excellent opportunity here. I hope you both enjoy it and your son remains enthusiastic.

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A question for teachers new

Robyn_765

2007-10-20 14:25