Asthma & wind instruments

[Janh]

I've mentioned before on asthma threads that learning to play the flute was hugely beneficial for dd2's asthma (she used to visit asthma clinic regularly and her peak flow got higher and higher as she got more proficient) and there was a whole page about it in the Graun yesterday (here ).

Definitely worth considering for older children - she started at 7 and the significant increase in lung capacity and improvement in breath control came later.

Thats brilliant, never heard of it before.
My dd (4) has asthma, so i will definatly try that when she is older.
Do you need to be 7 or can you start learning earlier ????

She possibly could start earlier, nutty, but 7 seems to be a good age - after they go into the juniors and are a bit bigger and can concentrate for longer.

They've used brass as well as woodwind in the Oldham project, she might be able to play something like a cornet sooner, but everybody isn't suitable for everything - ds2 was desperate to play the cornet and did start but his mouth was too wide. Are there any music shops where you are? They can usually give you some advice and point you towards a teacher.

Bit of a bummer my ds plays violin and piano, really, neither of which are likely to be much help! I don't know if the same "rules" apply for cornet and trumpet, but I know for trumpet you're not supposed to start until you have your secind teeth through. I agree with Jan that 7 is probably about right, I can't imagine a 4 year old managing much in the way of wind instruments just yet.

Did your dh get his parking planned, JanH?

Hi, tamum, started an email a bit ago and had to save it for later due to constant disturbances, while get back to it RIGHT NOW!

worked for me. I play the flute and have peak flow of 550 to 600

Well it's something i'd definatly consider for later on. My friend can play the flut too so i could get some advice from her.
DD did really want to play the piano (or pinano, as she calls it). Can't see that working in quite the same way.
I'd love all of my kids to be able to play a musical instrument as i can't play a thing. Dp can play the drums and guitar.

Or even the FLUTE

Nutty - you could try recorder earlier. Not making the high nasty noise is the way to improve breath control.

I personally would only teach a very tall 7 year old and only then with a curved headed flute. Try holding both your arms straight out to the side for 5 minutes and you will see how much load your dd will be putting on her neck and shoulders. A flute is quite heavy especially the student ones.

I learnt the flute in Oldham so it was nice to see them still doing musical stuff.

dd2 (quite tall) started out with a curved head, btb, and it still tended to veer downwards after a couple of minutes!

Would clarinet would be easier to hold and play? Do you need the same amount of breath control?

Clarinet is really hard to play until you're used to it, IMO, as your embouchure (oo, get me) really aches unless you practice all the time. But, there is a thing called a Lyons C Clarinet which is designed for younger children (normal B flat clarinets are usually recommended for 11 year olds). They're made of plastic, are cheaper, more robust, and have an amazingly good tone. They are so much easier to play in the sense of just being able to get a note out. The fingering's the same so you can move on to a B flat later without much difficulty. There's lots of info here if anyone's interested.

I am a singer and I have a good peak flow for my height and weight - so maybe an alternative to playing a wind instrument?

Clarinet is REALLY heavy as all the weight rests on a single thumb. I have seen kids play them with neck straps though. Definitely need second teeth for a clarinet though.

I think singing would be fantastic for asthma, I wonder if it's just that it is possible to sing a tune without breathing properly, rather than a wind instrument were, unless you breathe correctly, you don't get a nice noise.

DD has had asthma from age 2.she couldn't get to grips with a flute, so took up clarinet very successfully. I have two clarinets and a flute for sale now!

my friend, as a child, had asthma and she played the trumpet and saxaphone and it improved her asthma. I suppose it is like physio. My sister physio was lots of breathing exercises