Very Young Student

[jjtrumpet]

Hi Everyone,

I have a young student, 6 years old, who is very excited about playing the trumpet. While I don't expect amazing leaps and bounds from week to week, I would like to see if anyone has any advice regarding preventing bad habits from forming at such a young age.

I have him doing as much mouthpiece buzzing as possible. His ability to produce a (for his age) good sound is pretty inconsistent, and he really struggles with anything above a D below the staff, so we have a very limited range. Ideally, I would be able to have him be able to play up to second line G within the next month or two, but progress has been incredibly slow. His embouchure setup appears to be fine, and we do work on breathing and consistent air streams, which does help. I'm 100% sure some of the things we talk about regarding air go over his head.

In addition to production, if anyone has any advice regarding his lack of finger dexterity (D fingering always takes a couple moments to figure out), I'd gladly take it. I've determined that this is primarily due to his size and developmental stage, and not necessarily lack of practice. He plays a trumpet, and switching to the smaller and more manageable cornet isn't an option.

Motivation doesn't seem to be an issue- he loves playing. I just want to make sure I am utilizing all the resources I have to make him as successful as possible.

Because of his age and his non-existent previous musical experience (I'm teaching him to read notes and rhythms as well), I've been writing basic exercises for him myself, as all the lesson books I have access to move too quickly.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

[Billy B]

Stop buzzing the mouthpiece.
Forget the breathing exercises.
The finger problem is most likely due to tension from thinking about fingerings.
Forget reading music and teach him to play by ear; the same way he learned to talk. There is plenty of time to learn to read later.
_________________
Bill Bergren

[Andy Del]

Developmentally, he/she will not be anywhere near a pa,ce where they can work on 'exercises' or other formal concepts. Far wold be to introduce such things as games, so they are playing as they practice.

Play can include length of buzzing (there is nothing wrong with buzzing, apart from making it a chore. It will do more good than harm if taught well), trying different pitches, imitating short phrases, creating their own phrases, writing them down as notation, reading pieces as a challenge, etc. etc. The list of things to 'play' is endless and is not limited to playing by ear, or aiming at precipice goals.

the bottom line is the kid needs to learn to love playing and enjoy 'working' where they chase after a goal as an enjoyable activity.

cheers

Andy
_________________
so many horns, so few good notes...

[EBjazz]

Here's how I get young beginners to get a sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=YvAsxJmWxJ8

Eb
_________________
Eric Bolvin
http://bolvinmusic.com/product/the-modern-jazz-trumpet-method/
www.bolvinmusic.com

[Rod Haney]

This is my opinion and I don’t expect everyone to agree so

Try the Windworks course for free (a link is on the forum somewhere.
I can only say I wish I had been taught to play this way. That’s about all you can say about any method. I’m 60 years past 6 years old but almost every lesson I’ve really put time into (very fundamental) have taught me things and all too often the error of my ways. I truly feel if I had been brought up with this that playing the horn would be like breathing or walking all these years later. Takes a bunch of effort from playing trumpet. Could be the best $.00 you ever spent🙈🙉🙊
Rod

[Denny Schreffler]