Give a Kid a Trombone
It's Brass Week in my music therapy clinic.
What does this mean? It means that everyone who wants to gets to play a trombone or a trumpet. It amazes me how many of my students can get a good, full sound on the instruments with just a small bit of instruction - blow a raspberry into the mouthpiece.
Of course, I am sure that there are people who will be complaining about the noise, but who cares? This happens once per year and is something that I love and that my clients seem to enjoy. It's a chance to make some noise and use an instrument other than the handheld percussion that we usually use (that most of the classroom staff members refer to as "toys" - shudder!). I wish I had enough instruments for everyone to play simultaneously, but I just plain old don't.
Next month will be woodwind month, probably. That's a bit less satisfying than brass month because of infection control, but I do have some instruments that can be played and easily cleaned - harmonicas and recorders. I just wish that there were better ways to clean reeds and mouthpieces so I could hear my clients squeak and honk on the instruments. Some of them are craving the saxophone and the clarinet, but I just cannot accommodate them. That reminds me, I need to order banjo strings, ukulele strings, and reeds. I also need to get my flute (new to me) refurbished.
I love the opportunity to introduce instruments to my clients. Many of them have never played an orchestral instrument in the past, but they seem to want to. They aren't really all that interested in practicing or learning how to actually play, but they want to use the instrument.
What they really want is a violin. I've submitted information for a grant to get a violin, but I'm not counting on that. I have a violin, but it was my Poppa's, and I just cannot bring myself to take it to a place where it might get hurt. It needs new strings as well. Something else to order. It might be good to get that refurbished as well.
I am going to work to introduce the wonders of the brass family to four other classes of students. After today, I only have four more classes for brass exploration on Wednesday and Thursday. Then, I can put the brass instruments away for a time.
What does this mean? It means that everyone who wants to gets to play a trombone or a trumpet. It amazes me how many of my students can get a good, full sound on the instruments with just a small bit of instruction - blow a raspberry into the mouthpiece.
Of course, I am sure that there are people who will be complaining about the noise, but who cares? This happens once per year and is something that I love and that my clients seem to enjoy. It's a chance to make some noise and use an instrument other than the handheld percussion that we usually use (that most of the classroom staff members refer to as "toys" - shudder!). I wish I had enough instruments for everyone to play simultaneously, but I just plain old don't.
Next month will be woodwind month, probably. That's a bit less satisfying than brass month because of infection control, but I do have some instruments that can be played and easily cleaned - harmonicas and recorders. I just wish that there were better ways to clean reeds and mouthpieces so I could hear my clients squeak and honk on the instruments. Some of them are craving the saxophone and the clarinet, but I just cannot accommodate them. That reminds me, I need to order banjo strings, ukulele strings, and reeds. I also need to get my flute (new to me) refurbished.
I love the opportunity to introduce instruments to my clients. Many of them have never played an orchestral instrument in the past, but they seem to want to. They aren't really all that interested in practicing or learning how to actually play, but they want to use the instrument.
What they really want is a violin. I've submitted information for a grant to get a violin, but I'm not counting on that. I have a violin, but it was my Poppa's, and I just cannot bring myself to take it to a place where it might get hurt. It needs new strings as well. Something else to order. It might be good to get that refurbished as well.
I am going to work to introduce the wonders of the brass family to four other classes of students. After today, I only have four more classes for brass exploration on Wednesday and Thursday. Then, I can put the brass instruments away for a time.
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