Help! Little kids and music

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:48 pm

I was thinking about volunteering to teach some basic tinwhistle playing as a short (six session) minicourse for elementary school kids...then it occured to me that I have absolutely no experience with teaching music to complete beginners (in high school, I helped out with some elementary school band rehersals, but that was mostly just sitting and playing with the kids and showing them a few notes they didn't know) and I'm not sure six weeks would be long enough to even teach one tune.
So....
Do you think that teaching some basic music stuff to little kids would be terribly difficult?
Do you think six sessions isn't enough time to get anywhere, so it's a bad idea?

If the idea seems feasible at all but I'm not ready to do it at this point, I guess I can always hold off and do it later...

Sandy McLeod · Post by **Sandy McLeod** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:15 pm

You should try it if only to satisfy your own curiousity. It may turn out great, it may be a total disaster, or it could be somewhere in between. You'll never really know by reading what we have to say but I've always felt teaching is more of an art than a science, although there is a bit of a mixture.
Go for it,
Sandy

Tucson Whistler · Post by **Tucson Whistler** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:40 pm

I think teaching kids is a wonderful idea!! I'm sure it would be harder with a group of kids, but I was able to teach my 6 year old niece a couple simple tunes in one afternoon. Mary Had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (not Irish, but easy for her to recognize when she had it right). It took some time, but what I did was make drawings of the whistle with the holes covered on each note. I hope you do this, there's not much better than the look on a kid's face when they feel like they've accomplished something. Good luck

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:07 pm

Idea: Offer the class to homeschoolers.
Benefits:
-they usually have better schedules to work with
-they will be more able to redirect and replace interests with something else should you crash and burn, unlike school kids who could just be left with nothing after 6 weeks of work
-you'll have more adults to assist while you are learning the ropes
-they are more likely to be self-selective, meaning the ones who come will be more likely to practice
-you'll have a wider age-range, meaning you get built-in aides
-they'll probably be more accepting of your learning curve

Just an idea. Considering your post, I thought it was a good match for the circumstances.

jemtheflute · Post by **jemtheflute** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:43 am

Give it a whirl! I'd avoid under 7s though - too many hand problems/motor skills issues in an unselected group - not impossible, especially if you use say, F whistles, but generally better chance of success for them as well as you with slightly older ones. Better communication skills of slightly older ones will also make them more capable of understanding your instructions. Also suggest max group size of 10 - you can't watch and listen properly so you can give individual advice to more than that.

Sure you can teach at least a couple of tunes in 6 weeks/sessions, provided the sessions aren't too short - and (well chosen) real tunes at that, not just nursery rhymes.

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:51 am

Regrettably, I don't have any control over what kids will be taking the class. The community outreach/service organization at my college is just looking for people to teach "mini" courses to 5-11 year olds. All I know is that the kids are elementary school students, I will have some basic classroom resources/money to buy supplies avaliable and I will be working with someone else to teach the class (I haven't figured out who yet, I'm thinking of finding an acquaintance that can sing...).

I'm slightly worried at by the age range because the five year olds will probably know nothing while the fourth graders will probably know some basic recorder stuff. Anyway, I have until Monday to decide...

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:02 am

There have been exceptions but my overall experience in teaching whistle has shown that kids pick it up much quicker than most adults. This is largely, I believe, because they don't come into the class with any preconceived notions.
Just be sure to not set your expectations too high. Playing an instrument is not for everyone and not every kid in the class will take to it. For the rest, you may be planting a seed that will send them on a great musical journey so if you see one out of ten take to it then that is still a success. The rest of them should still come a way with a positive cultural experience.

evenstr · Post by **evenstr** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:03 pm

I think you should be fine. Just don't focus on dots too much or you might overwhelm the younger kids. The whistle's an easy instrument. I once knew a five-year-old who played violin. Just try to make it fun and relaxed. I've found little kids get turned off by too much structure in music. Good luck!

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 4:51 pm

i teach whistle to all types and ages of children. i find that 8 and older is pretty easy. six weeks would be fine for a few tunes, they learn very fast. i would start with some pretty easy tunes first like three blind mice, and twinkle little star. then for the last tune, maybe yankee doodle. soon they will be playing Danny Boy and Down by the Sally Gardens.

Jon

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 7:50 pm

Tell me if these tunes make sense:

To start:
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (If I can find the music...I don't know it)
or
Mary Had a Little Lamb (again, I need to find the music)

If they catch on a little:
Loch Lomand (at least the chorus, because they've probably heard it)
or
Bluebells of Scotland
or
The Foggy Dew

Tunes I'll stay away from:
The Wearing of the Green (because of dotted quarter note-eighth note patterns)
Danny Boy (high B on a D whistle...it was a while before I could even hit that)
Jigs/Reels/Hornpipes (requires greater level of dexterity)

Tucson Whistler · Post by **Tucson Whistler** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:12 pm

I think starting with the easy tunes is perfect. I have Twinkle, Mary, Puff the Magic Dragon, This Old Man, and and some others I can e-mail to you if you want them. They're not Irish, but they all work with a D whistle and kids usually recognize them.

KatieBell · Post by **KatieBell** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 2:17 pm

Tucson Whistler wrote:I think starting with the easy tunes is perfect. I have Twinkle, Mary, Puff the Magic Dragon, This Old Man, and and some others I can e-mail to you if you want them. They're not Irish, but they all work with a D whistle and kids usually recognize them.

I tried to make tabs out of a midi for each of those and they were ridiculously complex. I know it must have been the midi composer because there is no need for them to be. Is there a site with notes or tabs for the basics like that?

Black Mage · Post by **Black Mage** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:58 pm

A warning to be considered:

Children + Whistles (and/or Recorders) =

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:37 pm

Black Mage wrote:A warning to be considered:

Children + Whistles (and/or Recorders)

It is true that young children+instruments can be scary, but let us remember that a whistle is not a recorder and is not known for the same destructive power seeing as the simple fingerings make it harder to play a note that is not a note (ie. screw up the fingering).

Sandy McLeod · Post by **Sandy McLeod** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:47 pm

PallasAthena wrote:
Black Mage wrote:A warning to be considered:

Children + Whistles (and/or Recorders)
It is true that young children+instruments can be scary, but let us remember that a whistle is not a recorder and is not known for the same destructive power seeing as the simple fingerings make it harder to play a note that is not a note (ie. screw up the fingering).

But do the anime artists know that?