samsplace

I wrote my introduction post when I first joined this summer, but when the computer ate it, I never got around to re-writing. Since I still feel like I need some serious hand holding and musical mentoring, I thought I would try again (this time I will copy it before hitting post!).

I joined Trumpet Master because I have this crazy five year old boy that has now been playing trumpet/cornet for almost 5 months. He begged for a trumpet for nearly his entire fourth year of life, after seeing one on the wall at the music store. He had never held or tried to blow into one, he just insisted he wanted to play trumpet. Based on the advice the musical people we talked to that you don't start a child that young on trumpet, we bought what most parents of a four year old would buy--a toy trumpet. He was all but insulted! He managed to make his plastic trumpet sound pretty darn good and continued to ask for the real thing.

For his fifth birthday we decided to get him the real thing, thinking we were buying an expensive toy. But hey, it was cheaper than buying him a Wii!! Much to our amazement he was able to play it almost immediately, and quickly was able to start matching the tones on the teach yourself trumpet book I had also purchased. We found a teacher for him in August and at this point he can pretty much play everything in his beginner book, though he is not fluently reading music yet. I am not so worried about learning to read music because he is not even reading yet and I know both will come in time. He plays amazingly well by ear both on the trumpet and on the piano. He started piano lessons just two weeks ago.

Neither my dh or I are especially musical. I took piano lessons most of my childhood but never really enjoyed it or played well. I did play flute for two years and think it was a much better fit for me, but had too many academic goals to give all of my electives up for band. In retrospect, how I wish I had chosen differently. My dh had taught himself how to play guitar and comes for a rather musical family, though there are not any musicians.

Our oldest is ten and plays both piano and violin quite well. She has been playing piano since she was 6 and violin for almost a year. Her violin teacher recently informed us that she has perfect pitch. Our middle child was really struggling on the piano and after reading a book about raising musical children, we decided to let her try the violin. The idea somehow didn't work out quite as we had planned because she didn't want to give up piano and dd1 begged to also take violin. Two different sized violin rentals later, some really expensive lessons, three in piano and one in trumpet lessons, I think we are spending their college savings on musical instruction!! And now we own the cheap trumpet as well as a nice used student cornet. Thank goodness for my FIL who is letting us babysit his beautiful baby grand!! I am grateful for every moment of crazy, loud cacophony and more often in recent days, beautiful music flowing out of my home. My kids amaze me!!

Vulgano Brother

You are a cool mom!

Now the bad news. When you son starts losing his baby teeth, weird things are going to happen with his trumpet playing, as the airflow gets effected by missing/growing teeth. He is going to "suck" for a while. He might try to force stuff and "muscle" through these changes. Bad. Bad. Bad.

Did I mention muscling as being bad? Yup, it is bad, and might ruin him for life.

Now the really, really bad news. If he is determined (which it sounds like he is) he will try to muscle his way through. Bad.

OK, now the really, really, really bad news. I have a Masters in Brass Pedagogy and over twenty years experience teaching at all levels and don't have a clue what to advise you for a happy future for your son's career as a trumpeter.

Sorry! I like to give cool moms happy news.

BTW, I had to look up "dh" on the Urban dictionary (uhh, trumpeters can be pretty rank sometimes and my first thought was "d*ckhead" rather than "dear hubby," and the only thing I could find for FIL was "Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course.") Please keep in mind that some of the older and wiser minds at TM are inept when it comes to texting.

"BFF" brings the bass part of a German waltz to mind.

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Sofus

Very welcome to TM, samsplace!

Even if things will get tough for a while,
we must believe in the future. The fact
that your son has started this early can
be nothing but positive!

Why Vulgano Brother thinks that "dh" means
"duckhead" I can´t even begin to imagine!
What has ducks to do with trumpet playing
anyway (of course, I haven´t heard HIM play . . .)?

__________________
" There are no secrets to trumpetplaying - except Practice Your Head Off - and that´s no secret! "

Bud Herseth 1977 in Hamar, Norway


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Mouthpiece and Solidarity

muchan

My son, three years old, also wanted to play trumpet, because I practice cornet everyday.
So, I let him blow pocket trumpet, as long as he wish, while I practice... now he can make
sound. I was thinking may be he will develop to be a good trumpet player early...
(and I started to search for smaller mouthpiece for him. :)

It's good to know he will have difficulty, when the teeth begins to change. Thanks.
But I'd still let him try/play, and when the difficulty starts, I'd just tell him, to pause for a while,
may be playing other instrument mainly for that period, then when his new teeth will be ok,
he can resume playing brass as young "come back player"! :)

flugelgirl

Welcome!
A supportive family can mean everything to a young musician, even if they aren't musical. Just understanding that music is an important part of your kid's lives will make a huge impact on their musical careers, even if all they do is play for fun. Bravo to you for giving your kids the chance to choose their musical path, even if it means a few less $$ in your pocket- they will thank you for years to come! My mom took out loans to buy my first horns and found a scholarship to pay for some of my lessons- my grandmother paid for the rest. My mom is an artist with a musical background, but my grandmother has no musical ability. Because they let me do what was important to me, I now have a career in music, and I can never thank them enough for that!

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Marcienkewicz Rembrandt flugel
Schilke P5-4
French Besson Classic C
Weril Regium Eb/D

I am now a Marcinkiewicz Artist!
http://www.marcinkiewicz.com/artist/index.htm

SFPat

I can appreciate your crazy, loud cacophony. Over the years I've had my six children in piano (required two years for each, we have two pianos, a baby grand and an upright), choir (all six), violin, cello (2), flute, oboe, harp, guitar, drums, voice and now trumpet (youngest son). As for college, only one (out of four to date) has decided to continue with music in college (she has a partial scholarship in oboe which doesn't come close to the cost invested in music). But the benefits of music for youths far outweigh the cost and "cacophony". Enjoy the chaos.

nosray

FIL=Father in law
you have some youth in this forum too! :)
i think you should take it easy on him first, dont let him get serious until his baby teeth start coming out. vulgano brother's thoughts are very correct.

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I didn't want to get that ring around my lips from practicing the trumpet, because I thought the girls wouldn't like me. So I never practiced.

1981 Silver Bach Strad 37