How old does my child have to be to take a private band instrument, e.g. sax, flute, trumpet, etc?
We recommend that the student be 8 to 9 years old to begin lessons on a band instrument.
Amanda C.
BRASS
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The Brass instruments taught at Joe Ferrante Music Academy include the french horn, the trumpet, the trombone, and the tuba. Students learn such basic techniques as: assembling the instrument correctly, how to hold the instrument, proper breathing techniques and body posture, how to use the reed and mouthpiece, and how to produce quality tones. Teachers focus on fundamentals like reading music, rhythms, dynamics, key signatures, and the different fingerings to play each note. Brass instrument students practice a variety of technical exercises to study how to produce quality sound, long tones, and to develop their breath support, tongue positioning, embouchure, and intonation. Additionally, students studying the brass instruments concentrate on how to smoothly connect the lower and upper ranges. Once our students have mastered music fundamentals and basic brass techniques, they progress onto more advanced techniques such as scales, arpeggios, tonguing, articulations, and hand and finger positions in order to gain both speed and agility in their playing. Students will continue to study the rudiments of the technique, master scale drills, study out of etude books, work on orchestral excerpts and more difficult brass instrument repertoires.
Learning specific repertoires alongside technical training, our teachers aid students in learning their school music, master a solo, or get into their varsity marching band. At their inclination, students can study jazz, pop or classically based music, music for their school band, and/or how to improvise on the brass instruments. At a more advanced level, students continue to study the rudiments of the technique, master scale drills, study out of etude books, work with speed and agility in the higher range and how to achieve flexibility in their playing.
At Joe Ferrante Music Academy, each lesson has three major components. The first segment is devoted to last week's lesson assignment where the student gets a chance to demonstrate what they've worked on. The second component is time spent on technical development and music theory training. Students are taught how to read music, increasingly complex rhythms, note interval recognition, ear training, and chord construction. The third component is introducing the next assignment and teaching the student the important elements of their new song(s). Students are tested for their level of achievement twice a year, we have 10 levels of achievement, and are given the opportunity to perform in recitals from a beginning level to an advanced.
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