First experience as a teacher

[kerouack]

Hello,
I volunteering in a kind of NGO that teach music to kids. It is not only about teaching music, but also 50% social work, put some order in their lived and teach them that they can be what they want to be in life.

The web is www.vozes.org

We teach music to kids that, in general, can not afford to go to a private school and pay for the classes.
I have 13 students, some played for 6 months, others 4 years, others 8 years.
I also have one who just started with me.
I want to teach her in a very different that my bad old teacher teached to me.

I told her to do the limp clamp 5 minutes in the morning, 5 in the afternoon. Just that. And she did it.
After 2 weeks i told her to do the limp clamp and just put the trumpet in her lips.
A high G sounded, without pressure, without fear, and all the other kids, who are not doing limp clamp cause they don't want to do it, cause i also told them to do it ( and who struggle to play high notes and play effortlessly ) , were astonished.

Thank you Jeff Smiley for writing and selling the book, and share all this knowledge and thank you Bruce Lee from Northern Brass for talking to me about the book and guiding me through it.

I am ready to pass the torch.

[kehaulani]

Now the next step is to let her know that the lip-clamp is a good way to develop muscles (isometric) but clamping down on the lips is not the way to play high notes. It is a process to learn muscle support.

Playing high notes come from playing from an embouchure opening that is supple and minutely variable in opening-size.

BTW, I used to teach a class similar to yours; kids that were somewhat lost. After a while, I did the same thing you're doing. Do my best with everyone but concentrate on the few who actually show an interest.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[Andy Cooper]

I have not taught a beginner for 50 years. Never did I think of doing "conditioning exercises" before trying to play the first note nor did any of my teachers suggest it for any instruments.

Over the years I've become somewhat of a serial comeback player - I've got it down to an art. I always start with a few days of P.E.T.E. type exercises, loud whistling etc. a few minutes several times a day before I dig the horn out.

Logically, a beginner would benefit from having some general muscle awareness and strength before the first attempt.

[abontrumpet]

[trumpetteacher1]

Keroucak, congratulations on deciding to pass the torch!

BTW - it is lip clamp, not limp clamp. In English, "limp" means something very different.

For readers here who have never experienced nor taught BE:

In BE, achieving an easy G on top of the staff as a beginner is more about instantly eliminating the fear of high notes, than it is about satisfying some Maynard urge. Young kids typically would rather play easy tunes in the middle of the staff. Only when the tunes get more advanced and inevitably start to go higher do they typically begin to struggle, and become conditioned to believe that higher notes are difficult or even painful. This conditioning can last for a lifetime. Nipping that negative conditioning in the bud is the biggest reason for learning the exercise as a beginner.

Jeff

[kerouack]

Right !
Lip clamp

[kerouack]

Exactly, a high G was not that difficult for my student who was playing the trumpet 2 weeks, she does not even know what it is " too high " or " too difficult ".
She just put the trumpet on her lips and the high G was there.

[kerouack]

I created a music - trumpet blog to share it with the kids.


https://javiermanzanareshernandez.weebly.com/music-journalblog

[peanuts56]

I spent my last 13 teaching in an arts magnet elementary school. I taught band/string, African Drumming and some classroom music. My last year, I had a 3rd grade girl who easily played a G and could go up to a C.
Unfortunately, budget issues forced the instrumental program to be eliminated when I retired. It's been 8 years and still no instrumental program.

[kehaulani]

Jeff - as I understand it, much of your pedagogy is based on Callet's concepts. Do you summarize his teachings in such a way that BE actually contains all the Callet anyone needs? Thank you, K-
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn