playing the cornet!

[LetLoveRule]

hello

Ds2 will be able to start learning an instrument at school in Sept (yr 3). He has decided he would like to learn the cornet. I have nothing against this, in preference to any other instrument. I'd just be interested to know how other children find learning the cornet as I know little about it!

Thanks

Hi, I played a brass instrument at school, the Eb horn, but I also played cornet for various brass bands when a teen.
The cornet is an easy instrument to learn, but like most instruments and beginners, can be noisy at first!!!

They are also quite small and light to carry around.

Playing brass is fun! I still prefer my horn to my flute to this day.

HTH

Does he have his 4 front 'big' teeth?

Thanks for your replies - sounds fun!
SSM - yes, all 4 teeth. Does this help?

My dd started in Y3 (now Y5)and loves it! She's just about to take her grade 3. Yes, it's loud but preferable to my other dd's violin!! HTH

Oh, yes! ANYTHING beats learner violin!!

Brilliant - thanks again. It sounds great. One more thing, the lessons are 20 mins (group lessons), which sounds very short. No experience of school music tuition myself - is this the norm?

I would think 20mins in a group is fine for a young beginner - the important thing is that he does some practice regularly at home as well. I always think trumpet is an extremely versatile instrument (can play in orchestras, wind bands, jazz band, brass bands, last post etc etc.) Cornets and trumpets are fairly interchangeable as far as I know (ie you can switch from one to the other easily).

thanks snorkie. Sorted!

Me and both my sisters did brass, and loved it. They each did cornet and I did euphonium. I would recommend cornet-lugging the euph about was no fun!

My DDs will be hopefully doing cornet from about the age of seven or so. (apparently the front teeth are vital though-does your DD have her adult front teeth?)

Yep, both front tooth just about fully through now!

I prefer front teeth through, but I know other teachers who start kids off without them. There is a worry (not proven) that the growth of the teeth can be affected by playing a brass instrument.
My ds (8) has just started the tenor horn!
My advice would be to practice little and often, and to get him into a group/orchestra/band as soon as poss. Good luck!!!!

If you can, I'd say go for individual lessons, as you get much more actual tuition as the teacher's just focused on one pupil.

I played trumpet until I was in my early twenties. I love brass instruments, though wished later I'd leaned the french horn instead as that has such a nice sound.

Go for individual lessons at first, but try to encourage that she joins a brass ensemble by the time she's about grade 3 level (earlier than that she might not be able to keep up with the music everyone else wants to play), but joining a group later can really help the motivation to practice.

The advantage of the trumpet over the cornet is that trumpets play in orchestras, cornets usually don't (and are off key from trumpets), but that said, the technicalities of the two are the same apart from that. It can be a be strange switching from one to the other though because of the size difference.

I played the cornet at primary school. I remember really enjoying it and diving my parents crazy with practising.
I learnt in a group and others were learning different instruments. IIRC, there was me on the cornet, 1 trumpet, 2 flutes, a trumbone and something I can't remember the name of

I played the cornet for a short while. The school offered a few options of instrument...I wanted to play the violin. Mum and Dad decided I could play the cornet as I could get extra lessons (and the loan of the cornet) from the salvation army.

Thanks for all your advice - might have to get some earplugs though!