Wind instrument preferences.
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
Find out what he *wants* to play and get that. I was made to play flute for years in school and hated it. If I had been allowed to play the instrument I wanted, my life would've been very different (really).
You should save yourself and your company years of grief by shooting yourself through the head immediately. Believe me, in the long run it'll turn out better for everyone. - Tyto (at arstechnica) Awasu 1.0[^]: A free RSS reader with support for Code Project.
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
I've been involved in music for school bands for a few years, so here's my opinion. Probably the easiest wind instrument to play/learn is a saxophone. An alto saxophone is generally considered a good choice because it's cheaper than a soprano or tenor, and is fairly easy to play. Yes, they're expensive to buy (about $2000 australian for a decent one - not sure in US$), but they don't require a lot of ongoing maintenance. As long as he keeps his reeds safe and handles the instrument carefully, he shouldn't run into any problems. Every couple of years (maybe 3 or 4), some of the cork pads on the keys may need replacing, but they may not, either. If he starts early enough, he may enjoy flute. It does require a lot of patience to begin with, but it does not cause as much pain as playing sax (the standard method of playing sax requires you to bite your lip :), but you get used to it) Having played just about every wind instrument there is, these are the two that I would say are easiest to play. I would recommend an alto saxophone. Hope this helps Ryan He who laughs last thinks too slowly.
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I've been involved in music for school bands for a few years, so here's my opinion. Probably the easiest wind instrument to play/learn is a saxophone. An alto saxophone is generally considered a good choice because it's cheaper than a soprano or tenor, and is fairly easy to play. Yes, they're expensive to buy (about $2000 australian for a decent one - not sure in US$), but they don't require a lot of ongoing maintenance. As long as he keeps his reeds safe and handles the instrument carefully, he shouldn't run into any problems. Every couple of years (maybe 3 or 4), some of the cork pads on the keys may need replacing, but they may not, either. If he starts early enough, he may enjoy flute. It does require a lot of patience to begin with, but it does not cause as much pain as playing sax (the standard method of playing sax requires you to bite your lip :), but you get used to it) Having played just about every wind instrument there is, these are the two that I would say are easiest to play. I would recommend an alto saxophone. Hope this helps Ryan He who laughs last thinks too slowly.
Ryan Binns wrote: Probably the easiest wind instrument to play/learn is a saxophone Yep, I have an alto and a soprano and it really is an easy instrument to pick up. You also have the added advantage that it has the same fingering as the flute. I started on the clarinet but this has absolutely no credability when you are a teenager, believe me. Try renting an instrument (quite common for children learning in the UK) for a few months - you can always give it back and try something else. "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein
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Ryan Binns wrote: Probably the easiest wind instrument to play/learn is a saxophone Yep, I have an alto and a soprano and it really is an easy instrument to pick up. You also have the added advantage that it has the same fingering as the flute. I started on the clarinet but this has absolutely no credability when you are a teenager, believe me. Try renting an instrument (quite common for children learning in the UK) for a few months - you can always give it back and try something else. "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" - Albert Einstein
Matt Bishop wrote: Yep, I have an alto and a soprano and it really is an easy instrument to pick up. Soprano sax's are beautiful instruments. I wish I had one and could play it properly. :wistful_look_emoticon: :) Matt Bishop wrote: You also have the added advantage that it has the same fingering as the flute. Not quite, but very close. Flutes don't have an octave key, or some of the other keys that a sax has. Plus, flutes have a couple of extra keys, and a couple of keys that have the same function (as in, you can use two different finger combinations to get the same note - you use whichever one is easiest to go with what you're playing) Matt Bishop wrote: I started on the clarinet but this has absolutely no credability when you are a teenager, believe me. Been there, done that... :) Matt Bishop wrote: Try renting an instrument (quite common for children learning in the UK) for a few months - you can always give it back and try something else. Excellent idea. Why didn't I think of that before?? It's very common here as well. Ryan He who laughs last thinks too slowly.
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
I agree with Taka's comment, and I'll add a couple of my own. If you're son is undecided, or YOU think he's undecided, have him take some music lessons at a local music store trying different instruments. I found this to be inexpensive, and you usually don't have to buy the instrument up front, because you tell them you want to make sure that your son picks the right instrument. Instrument rentals might be the way to go too. What about acquiring an instrument through his school? Music stores also have good used instruments. Also look in the classifieds. I bought my son a concert quality violin from a fellow that played for the San Diego Symphony for $200US. I don't know a lot about violins, but I do have a good ear, and it sounds beautiful. I think you might be overrating the maintenance. I used to play the flute and the maintenance was quite simple--simply clean it after playing. For a full "tune up" I found it worthwhile to bring to a music shop and have a professional adjust it. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files" -
Find out what he *wants* to play and get that. I was made to play flute for years in school and hated it. If I had been allowed to play the instrument I wanted, my life would've been very different (really).
You should save yourself and your company years of grief by shooting yourself through the head immediately. Believe me, in the long run it'll turn out better for everyone. - Tyto (at arstechnica) Awasu 1.0[^]: A free RSS reader with support for Code Project.
I actually wanted to play the flute and what did I get... a trombone. (exit one musical career as 7 yr old lugging said beast to school thought '**** for a game of soldiers')
Technically speaking the dictionary would define Visual Basic users as programmers.
But here again, a very generalized, liberal definition is being employed and it's wrong
- just plain wrong - Tom Archer 5/12/02 -
I actually wanted to play the flute and what did I get... a trombone. (exit one musical career as 7 yr old lugging said beast to school thought '**** for a game of soldiers')
Technically speaking the dictionary would define Visual Basic users as programmers.
But here again, a very generalized, liberal definition is being employed and it's wrong
- just plain wrong - Tom Archer 5/12/02You wanted to play flute?!? I started in primary school and it was me and ten girls - the *last* thing I wanted to do was play flute :-) But I played piccolo for a while and after watching other people lugging cellos and double basses around, I was at least grateful for that :-)
You should save yourself and your company years of grief by shooting yourself through the head immediately. Believe me, in the long run it'll turn out better for everyone. - Tyto (at arstechnica) Awasu 1.0[^]: A free RSS reader with support for Code Project.
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
Although I personally enjoy the haunting tones of an oboe, it does have valves and requires a double reed - that could be difficult to maintain and master. For the simplicity of construction and the added bonus of really annoying the neighbors, though, bagpipes are hard to beat. :-D Start him off with a practice chanter while you save for the rest of the sheep. Ancient man conquered his rivals with the jawbone of an ass; modern man uses the jawbone of a politician.
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This being a place where everyone seems to have an opinion. :-) My son has been practicing a soprano recorder of late and is keen to move onto another wind type instrument. From what little I know a decent woodwind or brass is darn expensive and requires consistent maintenance. So for a child I really don't think its a good move to make generally. Since I'll be the one footing the bill I'll probably influence his decision. So I'll not be looking at an instrument with keys or valves. Also I'm not so sure if it's important that an instrument is orchestral or folk. Can any CPians give advice on this from experience ? Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote:
The most versatile of the horns would be the alto or tenor sax. Richard In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. Orson Welles
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I agree with Taka's comment, and I'll add a couple of my own. If you're son is undecided, or YOU think he's undecided, have him take some music lessons at a local music store trying different instruments. I found this to be inexpensive, and you usually don't have to buy the instrument up front, because you tell them you want to make sure that your son picks the right instrument. Instrument rentals might be the way to go too. What about acquiring an instrument through his school? Music stores also have good used instruments. Also look in the classifieds. I bought my son a concert quality violin from a fellow that played for the San Diego Symphony for $200US. I don't know a lot about violins, but I do have a good ear, and it sounds beautiful. I think you might be overrating the maintenance. I used to play the flute and the maintenance was quite simple--simply clean it after playing. For a full "tune up" I found it worthwhile to bring to a music shop and have a professional adjust it. Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"Yeah, I think the rental idea is good. I want to encourage him, but also not invest a fortune on something that he might not continue with. Regardz Colin J Davies
Sonork ID 100.9197:Colin
I'm guessing the concept of a 2 hour movie showing two guys eating a meal and talking struck them as 'foreign' Rob Manderson wrote: