trickg

I have a son who is your age and while he plays trumpet in school, his real interests in music lie with the electric guitar. He, like you is taking lessons. He, like you, probably doesn't practice as much as he could or should.

But here's the thing....

Love of music and a desire to play an instrument have to come from within. I am not going to force him to practice, especially not when I talk to his teacher and find that he is making steady progress. (although on occasion, I do offer up a reminder by asking how much he has been practicing during the week)

There will come a time when he's going to want to learn more and faster, and then I can help him structure his practice. I just figure that at this stage, the best option is for the most part to step back and let him explore it on his own, and be there for when questions come up. From time to time I'll give him a pratice tip or two ("try not to pick so hard" or "slow it down to a tempo where you can play the whole line in time without having to stop or slow down") but for the most part, his learning guitar is something that goes on between him and his teacher and I stay out of it.

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

W Scott

Uh-Oh---do I sense a family melt down coming?

I'd say, Hobo and Phatmon, that maybe a lot more variety would help. Play along books, duets, sometimes just some fun stuff like listening to a tune and transcribing it into standard notation.

Also, check and see if she isn't really swamped (temporarily) with school work. Hobo---is your mouthpiece rim comfortable for you? I started on the standard Bach 7C and that darn Bach rim HURTS! I didn't progress as a player until I was an adult and tried about thirty mouthpieces. I found a comfortable one, threw out the Bach and it's been a steady progress since then.

Just a few random thoughts from a middle aged comebacker........

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Gabriel is NOT a woodwind player!

mike ansberry

My daughter is the best highschool clar. player in the county and one of the best in middle Tennessee. I do make her practice here horn. It's homework, just like math or science. My experience is that if you don't make kids do constructive things, they will sit around all day and play video games and waste time. Now I'm not opposed to video games or having fun, but I don't think they need to be goofing off all the time. I did the same with my son, and he was wanting to continue trumpet in college and try to become a "weekend trumpet warrior" like me.

The play along cds and fun books are a great idea. Also learning songs that you like by ear off of other cds can be really cool.

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"Music is a fire in your belly that has to come out of your mouth, so you'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt" (paraphrase of Bleeding Gums Murphy)

Trumpet Hobo

I was playing a Bach 7C, but I changed to a Mt. Vernon #7, and Manny L. said it was fine when I took my 45min. lesson from him, and it is the most comfortable mouthpiece I have and I will continue to use it .

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'66 Olds Ambassador
Bach Mt. Vernon 7 mpc

trickg

When was the last time doing homework brought you joy? I want my son to love music for the joy it can bring and while there may come a day where we both decide that he needs regular, structured practice, I'm not going to do that now when he is really developing his love for the instrument and exploring the joy that playing music can bring. By turning it into homework you make it akin to doing chores and for me at least, chores are no fun. If they were, they wouldn't be called chores.

If my son never advanced past where he is right now, but continued to love playing the guitar and it brought him joy, that would be fine with me.

However.....

If he ever expressed an interest that he wanted to be better than any of his peers, or to effectively play in a real band, that brings a completely different aspect into the equation because then the joy of playing is also tied into having a competitive spirit and real life goals. THEN, I would completely structure his practice and see to it that he practiced certain things every day in order to give him the tools to accomplish HIS goals. I have to be careful that I don't mix up my desires for him as a musician, and his own desires as a musician.

__________________
Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius