[Dixielandjazz] Question !

[Elazar Brandt]

Hi Bob,

To tell you the truth, when a 20 year old comes to me and wants to learn to play
something in an OKOM band, I'll get him working on whatever the heck he wants.
In my experience, the serious ones can be playing at least written parts in a
band in 3 - 6 months. I taught one young fellow banjo and he's been holding down
his part since 4 months into his "career", and now has 3 hours of material
memorized, also sings, and is starting to work out solos, after less than 1 1/2
years. I have another guy started on trumpet -- your trumpet as a matter of
fact! -- and after a month he is playing songs in 3 keys, with over 1 1/2 octave
range. He's not very solid yet, but I'd bet I can put him in the mix in another
2 months playing written lead parts that I can work around and make it sound
like jazz.

We play on the street a lot, and often enlist people to play washboard. I'd say
about 1/3 can actually pick the thing up and play decent rhythm with it. Maybe
another 1/3 can at least keep a steady beat, and the others we let their friends
take their picture and them get the thing away from them as quickly as possible.

I have a 9 year old girl learning on a pocket trumpet (she was already playing a
ram's horn, which is harder), and within 2 months she was picking out songs she
likes on her own without sheet music!

I am about to start another young fellow on trombone, so I'll have more data
soon. Tuba might be overall among the easiest to teach basics to someone so he
could be independent in an OKOM band, not requiring written parts.

I have no experience with reeds or keyboards.

Elazar
Misrad HaJazz
Doctor Jazz Band
Jerusalem, Israel
<www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz>
Tel: +972-2-679-2537



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Romans [mailto:cellblk7 at attbi.com]
> Sent: Saturday, 22 February, 2003 17:26
> To: DJML
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Question !
>
>
> If a twenty year old person, man or woman, came to you and wanted to learn
> an instrument so that he/she could play in a jazz band, (OKOM), and that
> person had a very good ear and sense of rhythm, which instrument would be
> the easiest to learn to play and perform at a respectable level??
> Clarinet
> saxophone
> cornet
> trombone
> banjo
> piano
> tuba
> drums
> Other