Not sure if this the right place to put this question but couldn't find a better place -shrugs- Anyway.
I have been playing for a few years now and my sister (younger of course) has always watched me and asked me to teach her. I finally gave in and started trying to teach her. Now I don't give her a lesson a day or make them long and I know she is young but it has been at least a few weeks now and she still can't produce a good Bb tone. Anyone know of a technique to teach a 6 year old to help them make a note?
It can't be a long lesson because at 6 her attention span is small and frustration high. I really want her to get a note out because if she doesn't soon she is going to quite playing and I really enjoy playing the flute and would hate for her to miss out.....maybe I am making too much of it... -shrugs- Any tips would be helpful. Thanks.
Question....
Moderators: Classitar, pied_piper, Phineas
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Flute/picc
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:37 am
I have tried that already. She sometimes gets the note and sometimes doesn't. After a while she wants to try it with the whole flute and I shrug and let her. I was just wondering if there were any techniques other than the ones everyone knows. I have a little book for beginners but until she can make a tone come out it won't help.
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fluttiegurl
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:05 pm
I agree that the best way to develope tone (especially with young players) is using only the headjoint. See if you can make it fun by inventing a game with it or something along that line.
I have started players at 6, but have found that they tend to not completely comprehend until around 8, which is the youngest that I will take on at this time. You may want to get her a cheap recorder to learn. It will help her learn notes, breathing, coordination with fingers, and other fundamentals until she is mature enough to play the flute. Some students simply can't understand how to produce a good note on the flute, but the recorder gives instand success for most, giving her confidence and gratification that should hold her interest for a while. Another thing that will help to keep her interest is to remind her that this is the first step and that when she is big enough, or set some other goals, she can play the flute. It is also a good way to instill good practice habbits (starting with 5-10 min a day four days a week - for example) that will stick with her as she gets older.
I have started players at 6, but have found that they tend to not completely comprehend until around 8, which is the youngest that I will take on at this time. You may want to get her a cheap recorder to learn. It will help her learn notes, breathing, coordination with fingers, and other fundamentals until she is mature enough to play the flute. Some students simply can't understand how to produce a good note on the flute, but the recorder gives instand success for most, giving her confidence and gratification that should hold her interest for a while. Another thing that will help to keep her interest is to remind her that this is the first step and that when she is big enough, or set some other goals, she can play the flute. It is also a good way to instill good practice habbits (starting with 5-10 min a day four days a week - for example) that will stick with her as she gets older.
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fluttiegurl
- Posts: 882
- Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:05 pm
I was in a hurry earlier and did not get to finish what I was saying 
The recorder is not intended to be a substitute to the flute (saying she can't play the flute) or as a beginners method (saying that it is anything like playing the flute). It is simply a way to instill good habits on a very inexpensive instrument prior to investing time and money on an instrument that she may not be ready for. In reality, the flute and recorder are not played alike, but it should be a good starting point.
Keep referring back to the headjoint and making an initial good sound, reinforcing it each time. When you see that she can do it consistantly, that would be a good time to jump back into teaching her to play the flute.
One last thing. Make sure you teach good habits early. For instance, bad hand position learned at a very early age is very hard to correct for most students. I have had a number of students who came to me from other teachers or from learning from parents who did not teach proper technique. Those students tend to struggle when asked to make any change, and get very frustrated when they are trying to advance to the next level without proper guidance. These things are often overlooked in the first few months because we see that they are trying hard and some issues don't seem that important. However, they may be more important than you realize, especially if that child decides to advance later on. Just something to keep in mind.
The recorder is not intended to be a substitute to the flute (saying she can't play the flute) or as a beginners method (saying that it is anything like playing the flute). It is simply a way to instill good habits on a very inexpensive instrument prior to investing time and money on an instrument that she may not be ready for. In reality, the flute and recorder are not played alike, but it should be a good starting point.
Keep referring back to the headjoint and making an initial good sound, reinforcing it each time. When you see that she can do it consistantly, that would be a good time to jump back into teaching her to play the flute.
One last thing. Make sure you teach good habits early. For instance, bad hand position learned at a very early age is very hard to correct for most students. I have had a number of students who came to me from other teachers or from learning from parents who did not teach proper technique. Those students tend to struggle when asked to make any change, and get very frustrated when they are trying to advance to the next level without proper guidance. These things are often overlooked in the first few months because we see that they are trying hard and some issues don't seem that important. However, they may be more important than you realize, especially if that child decides to advance later on. Just something to keep in mind.
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Flute/picc
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:37 am
Thanks for the advice I will go and try to find a recorder and start her on that. I had actually been having battles with her about hand positions and was wondering if I should let her be and try to fix it later. Thanks for telling me before I might have decided wrong. Hopefully the headpiece and recorder stuff will help. If anything I can put it up for a year or two and see if she still wants to play it when she is older.