What Can I Do With This Child?, Musical boredom is it possible? Options

[notmusimum]

It started just another normal day, well if having relatives from down under staying can ever be normal.

Things were going quite well! until.......................... the music teacher arrived. nothing unusual in this she was expected and the girls were waiting. The first thing out of the ordinary was on wandering passed the door youngest was playing Bass recorder instead of Treble. not really a big issue. I even smiled nicely when teacher mentioned Bass recorder exams! I'd read the thread and knew miss music mad was a couple of grades away.

Well I thought all must be well for Grade 3 treble. I chatted with our visitors, he by this time was digging up my garden but I stayed calm. Still smiling I went to make a cup of tea (teacher moans if I don't).

Then it happened! The sound of Jingle Bells drifting through the wall!!! Something was a little odd and it was not the Christmas tune in June. I tried to sort out the sound in my mind. Not Recorder, definately not Violin.

Well I'm only the mother, with no musicality. Maybe it's one of our other instruments (there's enough of them lying around).

I opened the door cup of tea in hand, and then I saw it, silver and shiny, my daughters expression one I recognise, buy me one now. Being a bit green I did not know what it was. "It's a cornet"!!!!!

How very nice for it. My first thought was it's for sale and has designs on joining the rest of the band (no wonder the neighbours call our front room "the music room"). I was safe on that score it belongs to the teachers mother.

After lesson madam is on ebay looking at the price of Cornets. I wonder how many friends/relatives of her teacher own instruments? I know she's of the opinion madam is musically bored.

That night I dream Orchestral Instruments of every shape and size are chasing me, they want to live with us. I wake in a cold sweat to remember her mother sets the Recorder Syllabus for the local Music Service exams and wonder how long it will be before Bass Recorder is added?

What should I do ban all musicians from the house? Write a letter to High School asking my child receives no Music Tuition? Write a letter of complaint to LEA as the Head of Music Service has tried tactfully mentioning Double Bass? Lock up Daughter and hope she grows out of it? Run away!!!!!!!!!

Screams loudly.................he's digging up my garden again.

Please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[stevensfo]

Wow, I don't know what you were 'on' when you wrote that, but I'd sure like some of it! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

Sounds a pretty normal day to me. You're very lucky having a teacher who comes to the house.

The cornet is a great instrument. Not as strident or as loud as the trumpet but learning one will let you also play trumpet and flugelhorn as well. Far more interesting than a recorder!

But the question we'd all like you to answer is:

Who's digging up your garden?


The plot thickens! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Steve

[notmusimum]

Glad you enjoyed it!

My daughter also plays Piano, Flute, Oboe and Percussion as well as both recorders, Violin, electric and Bass Guitar and amuses herself with Sax and Clarinet (these are her sisters).

It's our visiting relatives digging up the Garden

[meerkat]

How old is she?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[elidatrading]

Ah but double basses are in serious demand (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[notmusimum]

She's eleven, starting high school in September.

Liz you are not surposed to be encouraging her!

I think it's a bit cheeky to accept another free lesson from the Music Service and I know to let her have the lessons would cause some serious rearranging on their part. She has two free lessons already Oboe and Percussion.

I'm on here so I can't see whats happening with the Garden!

[earplugs]

Wow - Cornet has no real similarity to any of her existing instruments in terms of how to produce a note or in fingering so to play Jingle Bells at her first handling of the instrument shows such natural apptitude for the instrument, she should probably ditch all the others and focus on Brass - maybe go for the Horn which is notoriously difficult.

Not sure I'm particularly impressed with a teacher who says a child is musically bored at age 11 and suggests taking up a different instrument. I'd be inclined to ask the teacher to inspire her with more of an interest in one of the existing instruments. Perhaps I'm just pushy.

Best of luck with the Garden

[Garkleine]

Wow! Free lessons from the music service - where is this?
Wouldn't happen round here. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[notmusimum]

Not sure I'm particularly impressed with a teacher who says a child is musically bored at age 11 and suggests taking up a different instrument. I'd be inclined to ask the teacher to inspire her with more of an interest in one of the existing instruments. Perhaps I'm just pushy.

Best of luck with the Garden

Her teacher is really good and was not suggesting that she gives up any other instrument. She had a bit of help with the Jingle Bells. But she has found everything else really easy and the teacher was trying out a challenge. At least I suspect thats what it was. Also the teacher feels a bit guilty about not entering madam for grade 1 Violin. When there is no need.

The free lessons were bid for from a central fund and cover five endangered instruments. I'm sure all the Music Services had the chance to bid. Our Music service is ecellent and very supportive.

[stevensfo]

The free lessons were bid for from a central fund and cover five endangered instruments. I'm sure all the Music Services had the chance to bid. Our Music service is ecellent and very supportive.

What on earth is a Music service? How many do you have?

What central fund? Which instruments are endangered? I bet they're the expensive ones! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Steve

[notmusimum]

What on earth is a Music service? How many do you have?

What central fund? Which instruments are endangered? I bet they're the expensive ones! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Steve
[/quote]

Hi Steve

The music service employs the Peri's that work in both the Primary and High school. They organise various bands, instrument groups, workshops bands and Orchestras to perform at local functions and on tours of Primary Schools, also a residential. Provide the pianist for exams, have their own music exams and enter pupils for AB and Trinity exams.

The endangered instruments as I understand them are Oboe, Bassoon, Double Bass and French Horn. They also offer Orchestral Percussion, but I'm not sure if this is under the same scheme or a different one. There is a Wider Opportunities Project, that delivers Instrumental tuition to whole classes of Primary children, but I'm not sure of the detail with regards to this.

I think I'm correct in saying that the Music Services are tied in with LEA's, ours is certainly in council offices.

I'm sure others will tell you more.

[stevensfo]

Wow - Cornet has no real similarity to any of her existing instruments in terms of how to produce a note or in fingering so to play Jingle Bells at her first handling of the instrument shows such natural apptitude for the instrument, she should probably ditch all the others and focus on Brass - maybe go for the Horn which is notoriously difficult.

Hi Earplugs, (love the name!)

I was thinking about this yesterday. My son is learning the trumpet and I can get almost 2 octaves out of it myself before I turn red and keel over. I also tinker with the oboe -though haven't started taking it seriously yet.

It dawned on me that in fact the two embouchures are very similar. In fact I'd go so far as to say that if someone has learnt the oboe, they will find it quite easy to produce sounds on a cornet. However, since the oboe requires more force from the centre of the lips, I'm not sure that the reverse is true.

Given the enormous effort required to blow through an oboe, perhaps it's not surprising that she found the cornet easy.

Sorry Notmusimum, better get back on Ebay! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Steve

[notmusimum]

[Given the enormous effort required to blow through an oboe, perhaps it's not surprising that she found the cornet easy.

Steve

I'm not sure how easy she found it. I just feel that her thirst for all things musical is starting to run away with itself. I'm not quite sure how to deal with it any more and am infact finding it a bit scarey!

I have to accept that she is a very musical person naturally and this has become obvious over the last year. The problem is that I'm not sure if it's being harnessed in the right way and I'm sure her teacher is a bit confused as well. It's not lack of motivation, she is easily motivated but not easily challenged. To the extent of learning the Grade pieces largely for herself and then polishing them up with her teachers

Should she continue to amass instruments and work towards exams on several at one time or do we look at specialist schools? It was quite funny when she took 4 exams at once and passed them all with distinctions (they were low levels). The violin was to slow her down, but 3 lessons and grade 1 standard! I know she can read music and this helps hugely as do excellent sight reading skills. The only thing she finds difficult is singing, but then she is due a tonsilectomy (one reason we got the violin to keep her amused when she can't blow for a while).

Her teachers sometimes feel that a little more maturity is needed now she is around grade 4 Recorder and Flute, and around Grade 3 Treble and Oboe. She enjoys taking back to back exams but I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. She does not just play exam pieces all the time either, today she got some new Violin material and played them quite well straight off and they are grade 1 to 2 standard but not exam pieces.. She does this with all her instruments, sight reading the pieces from the Grade above or the back of a book. She is also in a couple of bands, flute and recorder group and goes to a jamming session for guitar/bass. Her instruments are not her only source of enjoyment, and she is definately not forced, bullied or the like. Practice is equally like to be because she is asked to take one of her instruments(this only to say there is time available in our schedule) as to be out of choice.

Whilst I am very proud, what I do understand is that it is not usual. My other daughter plays a couple of instuments well, learns quickly etc but is not in the same league.

If any one has experienced this kind of thing before I would really like to know how the parents/teachers handled it?

[kerioboe]

Given the enormous effort required to blow through an oboe, perhaps it's not surprising that she found the cornet easy.

Steve

Actually Steve, when you can do it properly the effort is not that enormous. I felt it was when I first started and used to listen disbelievingly to my teacher who kept telling me that oboes are designed to be played and that I shouldn't feel I was fighting it to force a sound out of it. One day the penny dropped and I discovered he was right you just blow down it and it plays.

(Sorry this is a bit off topic)

[Chris H]

I am interested in your dilemma, and would like to know if anyone has an answer to your questions. I too am not musical (I did grade 3 piano, but was not very keen on practising), but my son (aged 12), although not in the same league, is similar to your daughter in that he picks up new pieces straight away, and is good at sightreading. He taught himself one of his Grade 3 pieces while he was doing his pieces for Grade One (because it was in the same book) and is now playing Grade 5 pieces even though he is doing Grade 3. There never seems to be much feedback as to whether this is unusual, but recently I asked his Head of Music at school about him, and got the reply that he is precocious and unusual for the school he goes to, but that such children are not at all unusual in specialist music schools.

Unlike your daughter (who seems much precocious than my son!) he shows no wish to play other instruments, but he does get bored with his exam pieces and constantly needs to play new things. I wonder if your daughter needs to play more pieces to avoid getting bored rather than more instruments? I think that it's great that she enjoys music so much, it is such a brilliant social thing for children. My son has gained a lot in confidence through playing, plays with 3 different bands and mixes with children of all age groups. he has been given the chance to go on a lot of school trips, and play in different venues, just through being able to play an instrument. Just a thought - if your daughter starts the cornet as well, she will be in demand for playing in a brass band as well as all the other musical groups she can play in.