 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: AmandaSmith107
Date: 2011-12-04 21:24
I have a student (a sixth grade boy) that wants to switch from clarinet to percussion after seeing the sixth grade percussionists play the gong. I want him to stick with the clarinet, but I want him to want to as well. I don't really know the midset of a sixth grader...does anyone know of any good videos or sound clips that I could give to him?
Thanks!
Amanda
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Author: Laurelin
Date: 2011-12-04 22:04
Clarinet gets to play the melody. Percussionists often don't have a lot to do. And there is only one gong, with multiple drummers, and you don't have a gong in every song. So if you are a drummer, you are going to be bored a lot, or counting the 56 measures of rest you have until you hit your cowbell.
Also you can't do awesome stuff like Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, or pretty much anything Martin Frost has done - I'd go with the Bumblebee video and maybe the 'Let's be Happy' Klezmer thing. There are also sme insane videos of Mate Bekavac playing violin pieces, in the octave they written, with growls and slides and all sorts of crazy stuff that I'd think would make a sixth grader go 'awesome!'.
Here:
Carmen Fantasy, Mate Bekavac:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrS-CanzAtU
Martin Frost: Bumblebee(absolutely cracks me up):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbQwQetKm2g
Martin Frost: Let's Be Happy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_JkhFuzEoo
Rhapsody in Blue, by a REALLY talented 16 year old, Matthew Griffith:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEdnfugmyBk&feature=related
If none of that is convincing, I'd also mention that you can't play the Star Wars theme on a gong... Or Jack Sparrow, or Harry Potter. Whatever it is he likes.
The Rhapsody in Blue thing woulda sold me at eleven. But I also would have started begging to learn how to bend notes like that, and growl, so be prepared if you show show him this stuff.
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2011-12-04 22:16
I've loved the clarinet since I was 9, and that was more than 50 years ago.
But if you're a sixth grade boy, and walloping stuff appeals to you...well, there you are.
You've said he liked percussion. What DOESNT he like about the clarinet? Too hard? Too many squeaks? Too many pieces to put together?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2011-12-04 22:25
Let the kid go to percussion ... After he finds out he needs to play marimba and vibes and learn how to read music anyway he might come back ... Or he might not. It's not like we don't have enough clarinetists already.
And - bumblebee on steel drums is awesome.
Let the kid do what he wants! You only get a few chances in any one life.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2011-12-04 22:31
My recollection from having once been that age is that every little girl wanted to play the flute (and more than a few of them did!), and every little boy wanted to play percussion (or, failing that, the trumpet). It's the "cool" factor, superimposed upon critical feelings about gender identity.
And from the same developmental period, I recall that the single most uncool instrument in the entire band was the clarinet. (Which, of course, is what I ended up being given to play.)
It's anybody's guess as to whether his innate love of music is strong enough to combat the powerful forces pushing and pulling him in the percussion direction. In my case, my desire to make music at any cost won the day, even though I continued to suffer from feelings of uncoolness and un-femininity until I grew up and got over it.
But it built character, not to mention musicianship, to have been a clarinetist in those days.
Susan
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Author: kdk
Date: 2011-12-04 22:32
The world also needs *good, talented* percussionists, maybe more than it needs clarinetists. The real danger is that he will, if switching is too easy and immediate, flit from one instrument to another as a beginner, when the level is very basic and undemanding. He may find one he likes that way, or he may get frustrated while his friends get more accomplished on instruments they've stayed with.
If he's really adamant about playing percussion, maybe you can get him to do both for a period of time (sell it as a trial to let him decide which he likes better). Depending on his parents' willingness and, maybe, their finances, he might even stay with both. They don't interfere with each other in any physical way. The greater rate of rhythmic development most percussionists experience could help his clarinet playing, while a sense of pitch and melody might strengthen his percussion learning, especially if he has a chance to work with mallet instruments. Sooner or later, he'll either choose one or decide to continue with both, and then everyone involved should honor his choice.
You need some support from his parents, but in the end, he's going to need to be the ultimate "boss" of this process or he may chuck the whole thing and never have the chance to succeed as a music performer at any level.
Karl
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-12-05 00:35
I switched to clarinet in high school because that's where all the cool people were. I do realize that this gives me a highly suspect definition of "cool."
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: davyd
Date: 2011-12-05 03:08
Indeed he might find percussion more to his liking. But there may come a day when he's unloading timpani in the rain, and wishing he had stayed with the vastly more portable clarinet.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2011-12-05 03:32
Why not let him bang a gong several times? Give him the part, make him count the rests...and BAM!
After he's counted 27 measures of rest 10 times to bang it, he might make an "informed" decision...and maybe he'll love it! And maybe not...
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2011-12-05 04:42
Why would you ever stop someone from playing the instrument they take interest in? I took an interest in percussion, and even switched my primary instrument for a few years in some ensembles while I focused on it. It gave me some fantastic new perspective on music, and improved my rhythmic abilities greatly.
Don't stop the kid, that would be insane. If he doesn't like it, let him find out for himself.
I can't believe some of the comments on here disparaging against percussion... it's really sad, and those doing so should rescind their statements. There is plenty of artistic merit to choosing to play percussion.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
Post Edited (2011-12-05 04:44)
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-12-05 19:33
>>My recollection from having once been that age is that every little girl wanted to play the flute (and more than a few of them did!), and every little boy wanted to play percussion (or, failing that, the trumpet). It's the "cool" factor, superimposed upon critical feelings about gender identity.
>>
Every little girl? When my band teacher tried to coerce all the girls to choose flute or clarinet, and wouldn't let me play my first choices of drums or trumpet because "Girls don't play the drums" and "Girls don't play the trumpet," I was so outraged I had a hard time controlling the extremely strong impulse to throw something at him. (I didn't control the impulse because it was unfeminine. I controlled it because throwing something at a teacher would have gotten me suspended and messed up my gradepoint average. The fact that I gave half a squeak about my GPA at age nine probably means I was just right for a clarinerd, come to think of it.)
I chose the clarinet because I wanted to play *something* and he obviously thought the flute was more appropriate for girls, so (contrarian that I was) I picked the other one. Brilliant band teacher otherwise, though he wouldn't let me switch to bass clarinet in 7th grade for the same reason: "Girls don't play bass instruments."
I say let the kid play what he wants to play. Otherwise he's likely to quit and / or hold a grudge forever, and believe me he'll remember your name when he's holding it. I didn't quit but I sure did hold the grudge. To this day (more than half a century later) I mentally thumb my nose (euphemism alert!) at Mr. Curatillo every time I play my bodhran, my cornet, my contra-alto clarinet or my bass saxophone.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2011-12-05 20:33
More power to you, Lelia! I, too, had percussion dreams, but it simply was not something that girls played, in my milieu. It wasn't explicitly forbidden -- we just knew not to ask.
I still would like to learn a little drumming, truth be told.
Susan
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Author: Dharma
Date: 2011-12-05 21:48
Carmen Fantasy, Mate Bekavac
Oh
My
God!
-----
A horse is drawn to water, but a pencil must be lead.
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2011-12-07 01:09
Do you know any snare drum rudiments? If not, do you know anyone who does? If he's introduced to the world of rudiments, he might decide that he wants nothing to do with percussion. On the other hand, he might really take to them.
I'd have him get a pair of sticks, and teach him matched grip (or find someone who can). Some kids have a natural feel for percussion instruments, and others look like they're hammering nails.
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2011-12-07 16:15
First of all - Girls don't play the drums - Ever heard (of) Karen Carpenter?
Girls don't play bass instruments - Ever heard (of) Jacqueline du Pre?
Joking apart, as some have touched on already, who decided that this child would play the clarinet in the first place? Him, his parents, a teacher, circumstances (eg there was only a clarinet available to borrow)? What is it that he likes about percussion or what has sparked his interest now?
What I am getting at is that, in the vast majority of cases, there are a few instruments which will suit an individual far better than the others. This may be for reasons of physique, personality or preference (which I suppose is part of personality). We on this board may all love the clarinet but we have to accept that some would rather play something else. Above all, we love music and would surely rather someone enjoyed making music of whatever kind and through whatever medium than hated it another way. As I may have said before, if someone really loves one instrument then that is what they should play.
It's a bit like with food. Whilst you would worry if your child would only eat white bread and peanut butter and nothing else, if they happen not to like one or two things it is not an unreasonable request to avoid them.
As far as the practical solution to this issue is concerned, if resources (time, money etc) permit, I go with the idea of letting the child try both for a while and see which he really prefers. If not, he has tried clarinet for a while and may be he could come back to it if percussion doesn't work out.
Vanessa.
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