Cultivating the next generation of musicians

[sinfonian]

What can we do as parents to help our children grow musically? With my 10 year old (5th grade) starting French Horn this year I started to wonder what could I do to help cultivate his playing and give him the chance to be the best he can be. Having been a music major for 1 ½ years at college (20+ years ago) and currently still playing with my local band I feel I have an advantage over the average band parent and I want to make sure I take full advantage of that to help my son. I guess no different then the jock dad who wants to help his son develop his athletic skills.

So the questions boils down to what can I do in order to help cultivate his playing skills. I have been doing the following: Practicing myself 3 or 4 times a week (trying to set a good example), made sure he has the proper environment for practice (good chair, good stand, well lit quite area etc.), try to practice with him 2 or 3 times a week, purchased the tuba version of his book (Yamaha series) so I can play along with him and help him as needed, purchased the 2 or 3 part flexible instrumentation books so we can play duets (or trios if my wife joins on her flute).

What else should I be doing?

For the beginning band teachers out there what else would you like the parents of your students to do to help their students develop musically?

• At what point should I start him working on using a metronome?

• At what point should I start to teach him to use a tuner for reference purposes? Or should I have him tune to a drone? If I do get him a tuner should I get him a simple Korg 30 and teach him how to figure out concert pitch or should I find him a tuner that transposes to F automatically?

• If the school does not give him a lot of theory beyond what is in the band books, should I get him some music theory educational software geared toward children/pre-teens? This is similar to getting Math Rabbit to help a kid develop their math skills.

• If his talent progresses at what point do I start him with private lessons (hopefully before he learns too many bad “Tuba Habitsâ€

[Joe Baker]

Been there, done that. I have three words of advice:

1. Be VERY SURE that you are prepared for your kid to decide next month that he doesn't really care for band. Out of my three kids, only one has stayed the course in band. It happens.

2. Be VERY SURE your kid knows that music in general, band in particular, is something you love that you want to share with him, but that you won't be hurt if he doesn't enjoy it as much as you did.

3. I would suggest you get the kid into private lessons as soon as you can. I tried to teach my son on trombone (my main instrument for 20 years), and it just didn't work out. I'd say "you must practice your scales", and it was like me telling him to get his hair cut. His private lesson teacher tells him "you must practice your scales", and he accepts that as a necessary element of successful playing. For us, at least, the parent/child dynamic got in the way of our lessons.
_________________________________
Joe Baker, who DOES NOT question your motives.

[Lew]

As a parent of grown (20 & 22 yr old) children, I would second Joe's comments. All the things you are doing can be helpful, but only if the child still wants to do them. To use your analogy, you don't want to turn into the little league Dad who's kid wants to quit, but who's Dad is making him continue to play to help the father fulfill some sort of missed opportunity from his youth.

If he falls in love with music, and especially instrumental music, it will be something that he will need in his life. The best thing you can do is be there to provide the support he needs when he needs it.

I would also suggest talking to him about piano lessons. Learning to play piano provides a great foundation for music in general.

[Tabor]

I teach children of about this age. There are some things you can do to help a 10 year old get a jump start. Knowing basic music literacy up, down, backward and forward is a good one.

There are many ways to teach note reading and I use several. Don't be afraid to approach the "how" of teaching in different ways, because the more strategies a child has, the better chance that one (or more) might just "click". At this point, some theory will be good.

It is true that extra efforts to help won't do much good if the child chooses they don't want to be involved in music in any way, but by listening to great recordings, participating in music as a family and setting a good example / reinforcing positive messages ("I really like how much you've been practicing",Your sound is getting better every day!, it is fun to practice playing our instruments together") It is almost always better to be passive (sneaky) when you're trying to get children to practice.

When music is involved., you can almost be assured that music will continue to be a part of your child's life in some way. Parents are still the #1 influence on their children. I hope that he or she sticks with it!

good luck!

-T

[ken k]

I will second LV's comments about taking him to hear live music and not even on his own instrument. Try also to hear various kinds, classical, jazz, etc.

Obviously with you "living the life" so to speak it will certainly help.

ken k

[ken k]

I teach children of about this age. There are some things you can do to help a 10 year old get a jump start. Knowing basic music literacy up, down, backward and forward is a good one.

There are many ways to teach note reading and I use several. Don't be afraid to approach the "how" of teaching in different ways, because the more strategies a child has, the better chance that one (or more) might just "click". At this point, some theory will be good.


-T

What are some of the different ways you teach music note reading? I too am aan elementary instrumental msuic teacher and would be interested in some of the different approaches you speak of.

ken k

[Captain Sousie]

Where do I start? Firstly, The people who have posted so far have some great advice. Joe is one of those people and I would mark his words well.

Second, NEVER start a student with a tuner full time. If you do decide to, get them used to it occasionally but do not let them get to where they use it more than a few times a week. Developing the ear in a french horn player is paramount. I am an instrumental music sub with my teaching certification and I walk into some rooms where the students can play terribly out of tune and will not know the difference unless a tuner is stuck in front of their face. These are the classes that tune primarily with a tuner. Have you ever been at a rehearsal past junior high that tunes individually with a tuner on a regular basis?

Thirdly, get the kid piano lessons. Even if the kid doesn't stay with them, they will help in the long run. The piano teacher will also be able to teach the theory and ear training aspects. Make sure that the piano teacher is comfortable with teaching these if she/he is not, ask for someone who is.

Fourth, get the kid lessons when they seem to have reached the point where they are starting to 'get it' or if they seem really serious. If they are serious but still dont 'get it' this would be a good time to help avoid frustration. Any time before might only frustrate the kid and drain your pocket book.

Lastly, get involved. Follow joe's advice as well as the advice below...

Provide him frequent opportunities to hear live music that involve his chosen instrument. Along with a broad music education, including some keyboard study and private lessons on his instrument, this will have a great impact.

To Ken,

One way would be to lay out a staff on the floor with masking tape and have the kids stand on the lines or spaces to show the notes that you might ask them to. Then, let them make up melodies and learn to transcribe and play them. You can also use bean bags or something like them and have the students toss them on to the staff. They then have to name the notes where the bags land. This can also be used to make up a melody.

If you like these and want a few more, e-mail or PM me.

Sousie

[Rick Denney]

The first priority is loving music. You can't love playing music until you love music. Thus, having good music playing in the house frequently, and obviously loving it myself, would be a start.

Think of the jazz examples. Nearly every jazz great describes his youth as being one of fabulous listening opportunities. There was either personal contact and experience with jazz musicians, or there was always a record spinning on the player. This is just as important for orchestral music. My parents were not particularly experienced in music, nor were they well-versed in classical music, but they rewarded any interest I showed in the subject with recordings and listening opportunities.

Music should be considered an educational priority, just like literature, history, and math. But to earn that respect, it has to be treated like a subject of higher learning, not like a sport. And it has to be taught by people who love the subject, just as is true with language, history, and math.

Some people will still not fall in love with music even if they grow up hearing it, and even if they grow up with music-loving role models. Let them be--you can't push a rope and music has the ability to pull not to push. But if they do come to love music, they will then face a choice of loving as an observer or loving it as a participant. Again, you can't push a rope--both approaches are valid. Reward them for the interest they show, but don't force them to be more serious (as a participant) than they really want to be. Of course, if they commit to something, they have to be held accountable to live up to their commitments, but that doesn't mean we should live our lives vicariously through our kids.

If they express a desire to learn as a participant, I would reward them with high-quality lessons early on, from someone who can positively set them on the proper course, and the sooner the better in their playing experience. And I would expect them to be diligent in the same way that parents should expect their kids to be diligent in their other studies. But if, after six months, the kid loses interest in playing music, then it's probably time to back off. The seed has been planted, but it may take a while to germinate. After all, we need audiences as much as, if not more than, practicing musicians.

Rick "pulled by music" Denney