[Dixielandjazz] FW: Trombones/reeds

[Gluetje1 at aol.com]

I always assumed that parents, school music ed, availability of rental  
instruments impacted this.  More students begin on tonettes or recorders,  if 
affinity, move on to flutes or reeds, or maybe if a boy, a trumpet.  At  least 
that's how it went once upon a time when I got to 7th grade etc.   Music ed bands 
seem to also encourage band students to take up instruments  relational to 
orchestral instrumentation; i.e., clarinets = violins, 1st, 2nd,  3rd, (a dozen 
of them at least), trombones = cello, so four is fine, etc.   Thus just based 
on probability there are apt to be more musically apt adults who  play reeds 
than trombones.  And to find adults with tubas, well, good  luck.  It made a 
difference in my entire life because a band director said,  "You read bass clef 
(I had taken many a piano lesson), take this school  bassoon home this summer 
and learn to play it."  He handed me a Baldwin  Book I to take home also.  When 
as a 50 year old adult, I decided I wanted  to pick up the bassoon again and 
study this time with a professional bassoonist,  I discovered there is of 
course a dearth of bassoonists available for  amateur community groups--all the 
better for me as I am more likely to get  an opportunity to "play up" than if I 
played flute or clarinet.
 
One final plug before signing off.  I think the best way for music  theory, 
especially chord structures to make sense, is for the individual to  learn, 
really learn in depth, the fingerboard of a fretted  instrument.
Ginny