Talk to me about music theory/practise for a five year old...

[BrittaPerry]

So yesterday I got a cornet. I used to be in a band, and a local one has roped me in, so I was practising to get myself up to speed. DH had a go and got a kind of note out of it, DD2 put her mouth near it and then cried because it didn't make a noise (she is only two ) Then 5yo DD1 had a blow and did a lovely long, clear note.

Now she wants to learn. I know that there isn't much point in her doing too much learning before her adult teeth come in, but I showed her some sheet music and she was very excited at the idea of learning to read it. She can already read words very fluently, so I think she likes the idea of learning another type of reading.

I don't want to be pushy, and it's not like she will be a child prodigy, but if she is interested in music, I don't mind teaching her. My entire family has been in brass bands at some point and I would love the DDs to be able to read music.

So, what do I need to be careful of so I don't tell her the wrong things?

She has also picked up our guitar and ukelele, but I will admit that I don't really know much than slow chord change...strum...peer at music...slow chord change...

If I were you I would get her some sort of tuned instrument and a book of tunes she knows and let her get on with it. One of the best things I bought for my two was a good quality glockenspiel. They taught themselves how to read the treble clef by picking out tunes.

Would an electronic keyboard be any good? I keep saying I want to start doing that again myself, and they can be put away fairly easily when not in use.

We have been doing rhythms using her little toy instruments (the usual little drums, tamborines, blocks etc) - should I start using the right terminology etc, and maybe writing down the notes?

My son started cornet just after his fifth birthday.

He did really well with it - he had lessons, used the new edition of "A Tune a Day". Slow progress at first but he was desperate to play and really enjoyed it.

A lot of people say that you can't/shouldn't learn before adult teeth come in; this is not my experience as when his adult front teeth came in age 8 he was Grade 2 and it did not make much difference to his playing.

His brace, otoh, caused a lot of problems!

He is now 11 and still playing, involved in a local brass band etc.

Guitars are tricky for smaller hands as you have all the chords; it's a more complex instrument as well in that as you get better it's not just one note at a time.

Re teeth - just keep an eye on things, and make sure she isn't pressing the mouthpiece too hard onto her lips.

I would encourage her to read the music, not just play by ear. I am a fan of using the correct language from the beginning, not 'dumbing down'. Kids manage fine.

My top tips would be - encouraging a strong sense of pulse
- Reading the notes
- Not stopping for mistakes too often

I would also encourage aural skills from an early age too!!!

Enjoy!

Right, I need to learn the proper words for stuff again then!

(I know what most of it means I have to play, but somewhere along the line I have started calling things "go back to the last sign" or "leave a gap this long" instead of the proper words)

I started recorder aged 5/6 (could already read fluently) and learnt to read music as if it were English. If she does start an instrument don't do the whole 'writing the note letters over the top of the music score' thing, just let her learn to read music as she learns the new notes.

Just get her one if you can, get a Tune a Day book or similar and off you go! I am a music teacher and normally I recommend starting instruments at 6 or 7, but if they are keen and ready and you are doing it in a fun way then you can't really go wrong. You might consider doing recorder first but I can see that the cornet makes a better sound! My DS is 5.5 but he's a little way off playing an instrument, his reading isn't quite there yet, and he's generally busy playing. Can see some 5 year olds are ready though, and a friend (also a musician)'s boy took his grade 1 piano aged 5 .

Tgger the cornet makes a better sound than the recorder?? Definitely not. Although I do agree a baddly played recorder sounds dire, I can safely say after DS1 played for a while so does a baddly played cornet .

Disclaimer: I used to be a semi-pro on the recorder