Music Is Not for Insects

Below is some information I’m sending out to my instrumenal parents this week. Maybe you’ll find it helpful…

Life after week one of Instrumental Music

Congratulations! You got the instrument, you got the book, and your kids managed to make it to their lessons this week. As a new instrumental parent, this is an awesome achievement…at my house, just getting the kids up and out the door dressed and fed is an achievement. You sent your kids to school with food, clothes AND an instrument in tow (even if you did bring it by school later in the day…)  BRAVO!!  Here are some practical ways you can help your child this week:

• FLUTE PARENTS- holding the flute is tricky at first. You are bound to see all kinds of weird things and some confusion and frustration…remind your kids about these steps (refer to the pictures in the red book on p. 3): 1) before bringing the flute to your mouth, sit with proper posture in a straight back chair- feet on the floor, back straight, chest high, shoulders relaxed; 2) hold the flute “clarinet style” with the head joint resting on your left shoulder, and the foot joint on your left knee, right hand near the bottom and left near the top; 3) then without moving your head or shoulder, bring the flute up into position.  This last step is important: if you move your head or chin before bringing the flute up, you’ll get twisted.  The arms need to be up holding the flute…some new muscles will come into play. AND if making a sound isn’t happening right away- be patient!  Use your head joint only and use the “pretty” trick.
• CLARINET PARENTS- putting the clarinet together is tricky. Time your kids on how fast they can put it together (use p. 3 in the red book to help…). Put cork grease on those corks to make it easier for little hands to put the parts together. After putting it together, getting the reed on the mouthpiece is a trick. The more they practice, the easier it gets. Even if they don’t blow any notes, putting it together with confidence and by themselves is important.
• SAXOPHONE PARENTS- are you not amazed at how loud this instrument is? Before you invest in earplugs, make sure they can put the instrument together with confidence. Putting the reed on the mouthpiece is the trickiest part.  Use cork grease to make the mouthpiece easier to put on the neck joint. No puffy cheeks when playing! This will cut the volume down considerably. At have them sit with proper posture (see p. 3 in the red book) then adjust the neck strap. No droopy shoulders or humpback positions. If they look uncomfortable, the neck strap is probably not adjusted properly.
• TRUMPET PARENTS-  I would suggest not taking the valves out of the trumpet to be oiled. They can be mixed up or put back in wrong making it impossible to blow the trumpet. The easiest way to oil valves is to turn the trumpet upside down and put ONE or TWO drops of valve oil in the hole at the bottom of the valve. Encourage your trumpet players to blow without puffy cheeks.
• TROMBONE PARENTS- No puffy cheeks when playing. Use lots of air to get a good tone.
• PERCUSSION PARENTS- Playing with an even tempo is important and using the right sticking is key. Let them show you how it’s done.

• GUITAR PARENTS- ask your kids how to read a chord diagram. And for those of you that play guitar, don’t worry, we will be doing full chord shapes later on…

• VIOLIN, CELLO PARENTS- many of your kids have been asking about using the bow. We introduce that in week 3 or so.  Right now, we want them to hold the instrument properly and pluck the string. The musical term for plucking the string is called pizzicato. Throw that word around at the dinner table.