Do Your Children Play?

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:12 pm

My 11 yr old taught himself the whistle after I gave him a Lil Black. He plays tenor sax in band, just got a mandolin, can play Fur Elise on the piano, amd basic chords on the guitar. He's a natural musician but kind of a noodler as he doesn't have burning ambition to just play one thing. Oh yes, he also plays re#$%er. His thing is to play the same tune on every instrument and he figured out half-holing on his own. We have whistled together on a few easy tunes. A lot of fun, to be sure.

What I really like about it all is that he plays about equally by ear and by notes, so he has the maximum flexibility that many lack on either account.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 5:10 am

A lot of musically inclined youngsters here. That's great to hear. None of my daughters has the remotest interest in playing an instrument. It's unfathomable. My granddaughter seems to be a natural though. Last year she banged on the piano while singing Jingle Bells and added quite a flourish at the end. She also picked up a stick and held it like a flute once. The hands were even correct. I've been working with her on the whistle. She can get a sound from the flute as well but she's too small to hold it yet.

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 6:01 am

Me, wife, and three sons. Let's see if I can remember all the instruments played in our household.

Piano
Guitar (six string)
Guitar (bass)
Flute (concert metal)
Flute (wooden)
Cornet
Piano accordion
Bouzouki
Concertina
Fiddle
Clarinet
Mouth organ
Electric organ

Oops, nearly forgot, everybody plays whistle.

I daren't even think about the list of instruments the boys keep 'hinting' would be handy to have around.

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 3:50 pm

I like this thread. Fun to think of all of you playing together, listening to the kids and trying to figure out how to gift them with music without getting in their way.

My daughters, 11 and 7, play violin (and tuba) and ukulele. I still have warm fuzzies from the first time they played together without fighting!

Last week I asked Malaika, my eldest, what she thought of a tune I was working on. She gave a noncommittal "it's okay" and was about to disappear again, but then reconsidered and decided to tell me the truth. "Well, Mom, actually, when you play hammered dulcimer, all the tunes sound alike... and on the whistle, they all sound alike too. I mean, they're nice, but I can't tell them apart."

Then she headed off, whistling one of those very same indistinguishable tunes, note for note perfect.

Go figure.

Jennie

Danner · Post by **Danner** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 4:44 pm

My 13 year old daughter plays the whistle a bit, but not too seriously because it messes up her fingerings on the flute, which is her band instrument.

I'm a 13 year old kid who plays both concert flute and whistle very seriously. Maybe it's different for other people, but I've been fine doing it. The feel of the Irish flute, whistle, and concert flute are all very different to me. I do have problems when I mess around with my re******, because it is played downward and almost has the same number of holes as a whistle.

I take lessons on concert flute and piccolo. (I took them on re****** when I was still to small to play the flute.) My mom bought a Walton's Guiness to see if I liked music when I was in first grade. It got shoved around for maybe five years. I found it one day and tried to figure out fingerings etc. I looked online, found C&F, and there was no turning back. It's been two years (I think), and now I'm trying to teach my mom.

I think that it's awesome that so many younger people are learning how to play instruments (especially whistles)! If a kid is really interested in music, one of the best things they will ever get is a teacher (or at least a supporter). But if a kid is not interested now, forcing them to learn will make them hate music forever. (IMHO

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seisflutes · Post by **seisflutes** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:01 pm

I play whistle and wooden flute most often, but I played silver flute for almost three years playing whistle too,and I still get out the silver flute for playing in various keys and I do fine too.

-Kelly

alespa · Post by **alespa** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:48 am

I have two sons, ages 10 and 13. They live with their mother in Florida. We live in Seattle. My oldest son, Alec, plays the boehm-style flute at school. Last year, when he brought his flute with him and played for me, I was filled with joy! There's something special about seeing your own child play an instrument.

I started taking piano lessons in second grade, and my parents diligently, and sometimes in opposition to my desires, kept me involved in music until the end of my junior year in high school. BOY! am I glad they did. It makes it so much easier now.

Anyway, my sons stepfather berates him for playing music (the flute), calling him a sissy and other things (that's putting it mildly). Needless to say, my son has a strong dislike for his stepfather, and stays in his room as much as possible.

I keep encouraging him to play the flute, and we got him a Clarke Sweetone for Christmas last year, and my wife made him a purple velvet whistle pouch with drawstring (don't know which he liked better:), but he says he plays every once in a awhile. I have a feeling that becuase it is higher pitched than his school flute, he probably gets razzed about it. So I'm looking forward to him coming for Christmas so we can try to learn a song or two together. He seems to be looking forward to it. My youngest son who is 10, likes football, and seeing how his stepfather reacts to music, or anything "artsy", he tells me he wants to learn the whistle, but not to keep or take back with him.

So, I don't want to dampen the thread, I think it's great, and want to encourage every parent to nurture your childs abilities musically. No matter what anyone says, I believe that if you start early enough, ANY child can develop their musical part of their brain. The great thing about whistle, is that you can learn in your later years too. A big part of learning, at least for me, is knowing what the song needs to sound like.

And for any of you that do pray, I would appreciate you keeping my kids in your prayers, at least once. It makes me sad sometimes to think of how much they are missing out, in regard to developing their creative side . . . but I trust in God to take care of them, especially when I'm not around (I have seen amazing things in their lives)!

Thanks,
Matt

srt19170 · Post by **srt19170** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:12 pm

My daughter (8) and my son (6) both play violin (Suzuki). My daughter plays about a half-dozen Irish tunes at this point and took 3rd place in the local Feis playing "The Butterfly." My son is just starting to play some Irish tunes -- Egan's Polka and Britches so far.

We play together fairly frequently, and they occasionally come play their tunes at session.

Neither has ever showed any interest in the whistle. This year my daughter started doing recorder in school. I showed her how the tinwhistle was really a "simpler" recorder, and about an hour later she was playing Irish tunes on it! It's great, albeit humbling, to have a kid with some musical talent.

-- Scott

alespa · Post by **alespa** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:24 pm

I think it would be great to have everyone in the family playing different, but complimentary instruments, so you could have your own "sessions" at home.

Jennie · Post by **Jennie** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 12:37 pm

alespa wrote:I think it would be great to have everyone in the family playing different, but complimentary instruments, so you could have your own "sessions" at home.

That was my thinking, Matt. I truly love fiddle music. But I was relieved when my younger daughter said she'd like to try mandolin or piano instead (her sister plays fiddle) because of the competition factor. This way they can each be the best at something.

And I am praying that your sons get lots of joy from their music, and encouragement for their playing. How could anyone attempt to squelch such beauty.

Jennie

rodfish · Post by **rodfish** » Wed Nov 17, 2004 11:27 pm

alespa wrote:I think it would be great to have everyone in the family playing different, but complimentary instruments, so you could have your own "sessions" at home.

What a wonderful thought! My son will be home from college in a few weeks and I think my daughter and I may be able to talk him into accompanying us on his guitar. He's played around a bit on the whistle, but I think if all three of us began to play whistles, my wife might just run from the house screaming!

But I would love to play some tunes with both my kids.

I have really enjoyed reading all your responses! Thank you.
My heart goes out to you Matt, and I will pray for your boys.

Rod

mvhplank · Post by **mvhplank** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 7:27 am

My own "darling daufter" (archaic pronunciation) noodles about on the whistle. In fact, I gave her an Elfsong D/C combo for her college graduation. We don't play together too much, though ... I'm in Gettysburg and she's in San Jose.

If you went to the West Coast Whistle Gathering, you may have met her--Leslie a.k.a. "ancatsidhe," who had to keep explaining that she was "mvhplank's daughter."

I hope that having a few new friends to swap tunes with will encourage her to play more often.

M

DarnTootin · Post by **DarnTootin** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 9:24 am

My son (now 10 years old) started playing the clarinet in school last year, just before I started with the whistle. I think that my own sudden epiphanies about learning music have helped me support him. I try never to refer to his playing as "practicing"; I always call it playing. I don't press him to play (but, over time, this has evolved to the point where I do find that some nudging is required. What do the rest of you think?). And here's one I think is quite important: You know how whistle players and teachers emphasize the importance of listening? I purchased a few clarinet CDs (classical, jazz, and klezmer), and play them regularly. I think that immersion is a big part of learning an instrument (ties into the whole music-as-language theory). When I was in my early teens, I studied flute at school (and private lessons). But I almost *never* listened to flute recordings (except for Jean Pierre's Rampal's and Claude Bolling's Suite for Jazz Piano and Flute). In retrospect, my chances of success seemed quite limited that way. Along similar lines, I think it supports my son simply that he witnesses my joy in playing the whistle. It seems that most great musicians report that "music was always being played in the house" when they were kids. Not so in my case. But I think that having the joy of musicmaking in the house delivers unparalleled inspiration!

Anyhow, both my son and I are a bit frustrated that whistle and clarinet don't go well together. And since his Mom's family is from Ireland, he's come to recognize that the music is part of his roots. But that's a small point. Based on the way our relationship is, I think it's good that he's developing his own musical identity. And he's got the rest of his life to explore other instruments and music, if he chooses.

My daughter (now eight yrs old) plans to take up the violin at school next year. So, I do hope someday to be able to play music with her. I'm already planting the seed in her head: Every time she says she's gonna play the violin, I say, "The fiddle? Great!" Sure, it's manipulative, but that's what parents are for.

Hils · Post by **Hils** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 10:37 pm

I never thought about this but come to think about it I think I am rather blessed. All my (3) children play the whistle and so do all my (3) grandchildren and my 3 nieces.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Thu Nov 18, 2004 11:46 pm

mvhplank wrote:My own "darling daufter" (archaic pronunciation) noodles about on the whistle. In fact, I gave her an Elfsong D/C combo for her college graduation. We don't play together too much, though ... I'm in Gettysburg and she's in San Jose.

If you went to the West Coast Whistle Gathering, you may have met her--Leslie a.k.a. "ancatsidhe," who had to keep explaining that she was "mvhplank's daughter."

I hope that having a few new friends to swap tunes with will encourage her to play more often.

M

We jammed a bit on a Christmas carol or two!

Redwolf