Hi all
I don't know if anybody could help but does anyone have any experience of teaching clarinet or any instrument to a child with cerebal palsy? I am currently teaching a10 year old little girl clarinet. She is very bright and seems to have a good grasp on music already but it's the physical side of things she finds difficult. The muscles in her arm go into spasm and this proves quite problematic when holding the clarinet, as her arms and hands "shake" , if that's the right word? This means she finds it difficult to hold the clarinet in the right position, therefore is not always able to get any sound out as it has moved from the correct mouth position. She also tends to hit other keys as she's playing and her fingers slip. I don't want to give up on her too easily as she has great potential and when she does get a sound her notes are perfect. Her mum and dad realsie that she may not be able to cope with it and just wanted her to give it a try. Is there anything I can do? She also gets tired quite quickly so I try and intersprese the playing with some rhythm games. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Sue
x

I don't have any experience of this but just wanted to say I think it's great she's giving it a go. Is she using a sling to take the weight of the clarinet off her right thumb?

She isn't no, but that's a brill idea! I'll ask her parents to get one for her. Thanks for that!
Sue
x

No probs! Hope it helps her. Jill x

It is lovely that she is having the experience of making music. Well done for helping and encouraging her. I wonder if she would find the recorder easier though? It is far easier to hold, and she would not have the problem of controlling a reed or of having such a heavy instrument to support either.

It is possible to get a kind of sling that rests against your chest, taking the weight off your thumb and keeping the clarinet in position, meaning you can play open G with no hands... Quite nifty, can't remember where I saw it though.....

If her speech is normal it would be good to find out what singing input she's getting, as that could be an excellent outlet for her musicianship alongside learning the clarinet, without needing physical co-ordination that she may or may not be able to master. Last time I saw Berkshire Youth Choir, which is a past Sainsburys Choir of the Year winner and has a very high standard, it included a girl in a wheelchair.

I'm currently teaching a lad with cerebral palsy at school. His hand control is too poor for learning an instrument, but, as one of the other people said, he can sing, and his voice and articulation are good. He really enjoys music and we are looking into involving him in some sort of percussion work as well(not sure exactly what, yet). I think it is great that these kids are encouraged to have a go - and music can actually help them.

I taught two brothers at school who both were SP sufferers.

The eldest learned the violin and the younger one the clarinet. Obviously they had problems but both enjoyed what they did and achieved a lot.

The younger one was particularly musical and sang really well with perfect intonation. He was in my choir and I have videos of him performing in big concerts along with all the others - you would hardly notice any difference except that he did not stand quite as straight as the rest.

This lad also had a dreadful stammer and it was normal to wait up to a minute or longer for him to be able to say what he wanted. BUT - as has often been noted with stammerers - if he sang, he had absolutely no problem.

So I would definitely recommend the singing aspect along with the clarinet!

I've never had a student with cerebral palsy, but do have an autistic boy, and have taught a very severe dyslexic and a blind girl (I teach clarinet, saxophone and some piano - the autistic boy does piano with me and cornet with someone else - I should add that his condition is quite mild). These students are so much fun to teach - they really seem to enjoy their lessons and the sense of achievement when they are able to perform or (where appropriate) pass an exam. Their joy makes me prouder than another distinction for someone to whom playing comes easily. It's good for us to be challenged as teachers and to think of new ways to teach too.