Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
Hi, I gotta go with this side of the camp. I see no logical reason why a beginner shouldn't start on a double. Nor would I prefer to tell a beginner that they should start on trumpet and then switch to the horn in a few years. I seriously doubt that an 11yo is going to understand the logic behind such a request...all they know is that they want to play the horn, and someone is telling them they can't. What better way to set a kid up to fail? Same goes with oboes and bassoons. While I'm at it...what qualities do I look for in a kid that wants to play the horn? That's it right there. They want to play the horn. Whether or not the kid continues to play the horn, is good at it, wants to be a pro, or just plays for the hell of it is up to the kid. Part of your job as a teacher is to ensure that the kid is responsible for learning the horn. Don't EVER tell a beginner that the horn is the hardest instrument to play. Who cares? I really don't believe that the horn is any harder than any other instrument. Sure, horn players may make more mistakes per capita than other instruments (at least the critics pounce on horn players more than others...see Chapter One of Tuckwell's book: The Horn Player Missed A Note), but should this be a deterrent at a young and impressionable age? I think not. I was told from the word go that the horn was hard. Once I got it through the Kevlar enclosing my Brain Housing Group that it wasn't any harder than anything else, I improved. I would also add that if you are constantly drilling scales to a beginner, you're going to burn them out in a big hurry. Yes, scales are important at the beginning, but you must also understand that the reason a kid wants to learn an instrument is because they want to learn to play songs. So while you're assigning scales, teach them to play simple little songs like Mary Had A Little Lamb, and teach it to them without music. Have them push the right buttons and reproduce the right notes. Don't get too wrapped around the axle about tone quality; that's something that will develop over a period of years. Accuracy is more important than tone at the beginning; the child is going to want to play the right notes first. That kid's parent(s) will think you are the greatest teacher in the world when you send them home after the first lesson having learned a song, and that will be one hell of a happy kid, and the parent(s) will believe that their money is being well-spent, especially when you raise your rates. Teaching children is not about creating the next (insert your favorite horn-god's name here). It's about giving a child the opportunity to learn to create something enjoyable in a world that is obsessed with destruction. You're not just a horn teacher, you are a music teacher, and to teach youngins the joy of music is what all this smoke-filled, coffee-house, under-funded, non-existent National Endowment for the Arts crap is all about. Then you can hit them over the head with Kopprasch. Gary Get Firefox!!http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/central.html ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
I would have to say that for the most part, beginners should start on a double horn. There are many reasons: 1. Parents don't pay for a horn that is unusable in a year or so and pay only slightly more for a more usable instrument. 2. Students can acclaimate more easily and advance more quickly 3. Comfort with the instrument 4. Less frustration with the limitations of a single instrument( not all band directors pick pieces that are within range of a single for 5th and 6th graders - happens too often). 5. Makes instrutors happy because there is less stress of advancement ( private and ensemble) On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 Alan Cole wrote : >Here is some opinionated orthodoxy on the subject, to wit: > >Any student learning to play horn as a beginner -- whether switching to horn >from some other instrument or starting out on horn as the student's very first >instrument -- should always get started on a single horn in F. > >Starting on an F horn is important not only to keep matters simple for the >beginning player, but also so the student will form the correct concept of how >the horn is supposed to sound, how it is supposed to respond up & down the >scale, how it works, the orientation & response of the horn's characteristic >range & voice, etc. > >After an appropriate degree of progress, the horn student will be ready to >"graduate" from a single horn in F to a double horn in F & B-flat. Some >advanced students will be able to benefit from occasionally using a more >specialized instrument like a single horn in B-flat. > >-- Alan Cole, rank amateur >McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA. > ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
Here is some opinionated orthodoxy on the subject, to wit: Any student learning to play horn as a beginner -- whether switching to horn from some other instrument or starting out on horn as the student's very first instrument -- should always get started on a single horn in F. Starting on an F horn is important not only to keep matters simple for the beginning player, but also so the student will form the correct concept of how the horn is supposed to sound, how it is supposed to respond up & down the scale, how it works, the orientation & response of the horn's characteristic range & voice, etc. After an appropriate degree of progress, the horn student will be ready to "graduate" from a single horn in F to a double horn in F & B-flat. Some advanced students will be able to benefit from occasionally using a more specialized instrument like a single horn in B-flat. -- Alan Cole, rank amateur McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA. ~ At 11:05 PM 4/17/2005, you wrote: I'm one of those crazy horn players that has chosen to be a middle school band director. I have my own opinions on what types of instruments and mouthpieces should be used for beginning horn players, but I'm interested to know the opinions of everyone else out there. Perhaps another way to word it is what would you recommend a middle school director purchase for his beginners. If you like a specific make/model, please list it, if you just have general characteristics you look for, tell me those too. I look forward to your responses. Thanks, Rory -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.16 - Release Date: 4/18/2005 ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
For yourself: musician's ear plugs. Seriously. At those sound levels industrial workers are required to protect their hearing. Herb Foster --- Rory McDaniel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm one of those crazy horn players that has chosen to be a middle > school band director. I have my own opinions on what types of > instruments and mouthpieces should be used for beginning horn players, > but I'm interested to know the opinions of everyone else out there. > Perhaps another way to word it is what would you recommend a middle > school director purchase for his beginners. If you like a specific > make/model, please list it, if you just have general characteristics you > look for, tell me those too. > > I look forward to your responses. > > Thanks, > Rory > ___ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/herb_foster%40yahoo.com > __ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
Greetings - I will have a 4D for sale at IHS2005 in Tuscaloosa June 5-10. More than one if there's interest. I can ship from there. Please contact me privately for more information if you are interested. Regards, Carlberg Original Message: From: David Crane [EMAIL PROTECTED] Conn 4D single F horns, the older, the better! mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Equipment for beginners
Conn 4D single F horns, the older, the better! ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
