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First instruments for youngsters

Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 4:38 pm
by imperialbari
A Norwegian tuba friend lives here on the Danish island of Funen, neighbour of Zealand, where I live on the west coast. He works as a dentist while his wife educates herself as a manipulator (= chiropractor). She plays the euph and they happen to bring their twins to some band rehearsals. Which may be deduced from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur2kwRp4iew

I have long ago bought two Kelly 12C trombone mouthpieces for a garden hose bugle project for them, but experiments with bells out of plastic bottles didn’t work out to my liking.

Within the last months I came by a British eBay seller, Neil, from whom I have bought the 1896 Boosey compensating alto horn, an antique cornet made, when I was born, and my newest bell front Eb soprano tuba made by R. J. Ward of Liverpool around 1900:

Image

Image

That descant flugelhorn arrived today with two spare trumpet bells, which I measured and supplemented with two sets of garden hose lengths. One set for Eb alto to play along with dad’s Eb tuba and one set for Bb tenor to play along with mum’s euph. I tested the set-ups with great joy, as the sound is very much like old style cavalry trumpets with rich overtones and a complex attack chiff.

As the twins turn two years old on Monday, I had to rush to the post office with the same box that the bells arrived in a very few hours earlier. Only the Ward was substituted with four lengths of hose.

Neil thinks the parents soon will curse my idea of early starter instruments. I hope not!

Klaus

Re: First instruments for youngsters

Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 5:05 pm
by iiipopes
Brass instruments are a natural for toddlers. All babies and toddlers go "bbbbbb" anyway, so why not give them a toy to start it with? I think it's a great idea!