So she wants to ply the Clarinet or Flute aged 6 WDYT ?

[Hideehi]

I'd like her to play something or at least have a try is this unrealistic to start at this age ?

If you go for a recorder first then she'll learn how to read music which makes learning any subsequent instrument a gzillion times easier. Then you progress with that other instrument really fast which made me, anyway, feel really good aboutthat instrument. (Started recorder, then piano, then clarient, then saxophone, then guitar.) The fingering for the recorder is also very similar to that of the clarinet (though obviously the clarinet has the metal keys for a slightly higher difficulty rating). I also seem to remember it being fairly easy to find groups to play the recorder with when I was little, which is fun and in turn motivates you to stick with it. Wind etc. bands were more difficult to find (until you reached your mid teens), probably 'cause of the cost of the instruments. Schools etc. love musical kids too.

feeling a strong aversion to the recorder although I don't honestly know why. Could have been those group lessons at primary school. Also think the sound of it gets on my nerves so never considered it for dd. I'm surprised to read so many posting recommending beginning with it. Interesting. Perhaps I should rethink my position on recorders...

Dd will start on cello in summer (aged 6) but her real dream is the double bass. Luckily she's a great strapping Viking type!

She'll have had 2 years of instruction with a first instrument by then (started aged 4). Don't think there is an English word for it. Sort of flat wooden instrument with 10 strings used in Bavarian folk music. Sounds nice, bit like a harp.

dd wants to play the Clarinet and we have been advised to wait until she is 9/10 because of the mouth and teeth,

She plays recorder and piano now and will change in year 5

DD started clarinet at 8,but had to be checked for teeth & fingers first. One nice thing about the clarinet is that it sounds nice even when you're learning, unlike ,say, the violin - that's if you can get any sound at all out of it... I have to admit I have never been able to get a single squeak out of DD's...

yes I like the sound of the clarinet too

dd loves the recorder. she is 7 and has taken her grade 2. She has individual lessons (group lessons went nowhere)

Can't you do a couple of trial lessons? See how she likes the instruments and what the teachers have to say, how her fine motor skills are etc.

I learnt flute and never got on with it. Just wasn't the right instrument for me. I think classical guitar or violin would have been more up my street, so I think you do need to try things out.

With cello we have the problem that dd would have to find the note, it's not like just say hitting a keyboard and getting the right note so I imagine that could be quite frustrating. I'm tempted to err in the direction of starting late rather than early. I don't want it to be so difficult that she just switches off and says "I can't do it" IYSWIM.

When my children were at primary school we were told that they had to be about 8 and have thier second teeth before learning to play the flute or clarinet.

Yes, that's right.
Earlier I said that dd3 was told to wait because of the fingering on the clarinet but I was getting muddled with dd2 and the flute.
DD3 had to wait to play the clarinet because her two new front teeth had only just come through.

On another note, about 3 months ago our county music service and a supplier of musical instruments got together and provided an evening session at the local library for children to come along and try out any instruments they fancied. There were music teachers on hand to give advice on how to hold/bow/blow/finger etc. It was fantastic. Something that all music service centres should supply because it saves a lot of wrong decisions and money!

As a result, dd3 now knows she wants to learn the sax and possibly the oboe but definitely not the cello or violin.

The fife is a great and cheap instrument to start with if your dd is interested in the flute.It is held in a similar way and the mouth technique is the same so a great start to the flute ,it only costs about £10!

wheresthehamster, that sounds like a really good idea. Wish I had the opportunity for dd to just try out a lot of instruments and see what she really likes.

Our current music school does offer 1 year courses where the dc spend I think 6 weeks on each instrument. They do trumpet, accordeon, guitar, piano, violin, percussion and flute/sax. The idea is that at the end of the course, they know which instrument they'd like to proceed with. I decided against it because there are some instruments there I just don't want dd to learn like drums and trumpet, so what would I do if she came home dying to learn to play say the trumpet? I also found a year a bit too long to spend on it.

I can recommend this book
but I also second the idea of the recorder

I second the idea of the recorder
I really don't think children should learn the clarinet until their second teeth are all through as it really is hell on the teeth. Also clarinets are quite heavy and the keys can be difficult to reach with small hands. The flute isn't so bad on the teeth but is also quite unwieldy, even with a curved head. I think both are quite hard for smaller children to get to grips with and it's a shame to be possibly put off so early when you can learn so much about music usefully on the recorder, or perhaps the piano. I am a (more or less) professional clarinettist and I didn't start until I was 10 - it won't hold her back progress-wise in the future.

However, if she continues to be mad keen on the clarinet in a year or so, there is something called a Lyons C Clarinet; it looks vile but is lighter and a bit smaller than a standard clarinet, but with the same fingering/reed etc. so all skills can be transferred to the clarinet later. They can play it up to grade 3 in Associated Board exams as well (after Grade 3 they do have to move to a regular clarinet to continue taking the exams) See here . They recommend it from age 7 upwards (but I would still take advice from a dentist before starting).

Just to echo many others.

My daughter started recorder at age 7, really got to play it well - I think in this country we often forget it is a proper instrument!

She started playing flute a few weeks before her 12th birthday and just picked it up so easily - she already had a solid grounding in music, reading music well etc.

She still loves the recorder though, she now has a collection of 4 different ones and regularly plays in ensembles, church groups etc.

It really depends on the child. DD1 started the violin aged 4, and did really well. DD2 started cello at 5, gave up at 7 having got nowhere. Now she's started piano and is doing much better. I think she just wasn't ready, although also perhaps it just wasn't her instrument.

The reason they started on stringed instruments is because they come in small sizes. Your hands have to be a certain size before you can play the flute etc.

Recorder is sensible price too. Plastic is fine for a beginner, but get an Aulos, they are tuned much better than the cheaper ones. The one you need at first is a descant.

of MrsJC being a professional clarinettist. I played clarinet from age 8 to about 18, but having the musical ability of a tone-deaf gnat just about scraped up to Grade 6 and gave up!

Recorder is pretty awful (DD1 - age 6 - has just started and I feel sorry for our neighbours), but good for learning to read music, control breathing, etc.