PhatmonB6

I posted this at TH but wanted to hear from the TMasters....

My niece and I take lessons once a week, I am a comeback player and she is 11 and just started around July of 2004. I bought her a Olds Ambassador because I felt she had potential when after she watched me play the c scale she copied me note for note with never even playing anything before. I got us signed up for lessons and the instructor was very impressed with what she knew on her first day. She told him I taught her everything she knows which I thought was sweet. Here is were I need some advise from others that have dealt with this. She never practices, but when lesson time rolls around she plays the asignment like she has been playing it all her life. When I sit outside the practice room and her and the instructor are playing a study together she is right there with him. I was practicing out of my Rubank Advanced method Vol.1 (pg.50 #15) and she told me all trumpet players know how to play that and I told her well show me then. The timing was not right but the notes were there even the g above staff. I was really surprised and happy!!! Yesterday we had lessons but she did not want to go.(Homework,being hungry, and XBOX) I went and was able to talk to our instructor about her practice habits and how she can pick up the horn and still sound great at her level( I keep telling her if you practiced 1/2 hour a day how much faster you would improve.) He agreed with me and says she has alot of potential. Kids at that age have other things they would rather be doing especially girls, but need to have some consistancy with there practice. He told me he has 7th and 8th grade students that cant play what she plays or have as nice a tone. He told me if she seems to be going thru a slump play some Trumpet Cd's and that will motivate her, only thing is she already does that Chet, Arturo,Wynton are her favorite. She will listen to these before she even thinks of listening to Britney or Snoop Dogg. I dont want to force her to practice and "scare" her away from trumpet. She is just a kid and has other interests but I dont want her to give up. Is it best just to leave it alone and when lesson time rolls around if she wants to go then fine. I guess at her age let her go at her pace or should I be somewhat strict and persistant in a good way. Thanks for "listening" and for the advice.
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bigaggietrumpet

Just a quick question: is all that she plays nothing but fundamental studies? If so, I'd take her to a music store and let her pick out some stuff that she might enjoy. Let's face it, Arban's and such are great, but after a while, you get kinda tired of hearing something like that. You want something more lyrical, pleasant upon the ear. Just something taken from my experience, as well as my little brother's.

MUSICandCHARACTER

My kid has been playing for two years, and is probably the best player in the county at his age. To help him practice, I went and bought several CD play along books. Those are challenging to keep in tune with and to play up to tempo.

I also bought some duet books. Simple things with cartoon and movie themes he knows. We play together. He loves doing that and will practice the more mundane things and then ask if we can play together for the last half of his session. It has worked wonders.

Jim

Bear

Heckyeah,
Get some Aberseold's or something. Everytime I have a student, they always rather play with that instead of workin' on allstate crap. lol. I be she'd dig some play along stuff...

Tootsall

If you are a player yourself (and you must be if you're reading this), I can recommend some of Rich Willey's duet books. He has a couple available that are really quite nice and provide a range of difficulty. The tunes are all based on standards as far as the chord progressions are concerned.

Pop on over to http://www.boptism.com if your child prodigy is into the jazz thing. And have FUN!

PhatmonB6

Thanks for all the response. We do practice together and play some of the duets that are in back of Rubanks. She plays the recorder in school and she likes to take that music and play it on her trumpet. The majority of the time if I am practicing and she hears something she likes she will ask me to show her how to do that. I tell her, "watching my fingers and listening for the matching note is easy,you know how to read music so follow along with me". We slow it down her eye/fingering coordination is still a little slow but improving. This Thursday at lessons I will have her pick out a playalong book.

alanbach

Take her to a concert(s) where the trumpet is featured a lot. I'm sure this will motivate here. I was at a concert recently featuring the Buy As You View brass band, one of the UK's top six brass bands; in the audience was, I believe, a teacher accompanied by six or seven youngsters around the age of 9 to 11. Believe me those youngsters didn't take their eyes of the band throughout the performance. It was a pleasure to see the delight on their faces. I'll bet 10-1 when those kids got home the first thing they did was pick up their instrument to practice.

Hell! I don't know where that Afghanistan flag came from !!

PhatmonB6

I have taken her to see Kermit Ruffins and Arturo Sandoval. She has also seen alot of top mariachi players in San Antonio when we visit my parents. I am wanting to take her to the Minnesota Orchestra in the near future.

dizforprez

http://web.utk.edu/~gwynne/maslow.HTM

maybe this will help.

Trumpet Hobo

Hey PhatmonB6,(I'm his niece ) you know I practice more than you say I do .