My 9 year old son has started showing interest in playing a musical instument in school. He says he would like to learn the Clarinet, but because there are no boys having Clarinet lessons, He thinks that they are just for girls.
Can anyone help me convince him otherwise.
2007-12-18 01:28:10 · 12 answers · asked by ? 7 in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
Go to Google images (or even Youtube.com) and do a search for the following:
Pete Fountain
Benny Goodman
Artie Shaw
Larry Combs
and....
Anton Stadler (who was a buddy of W. A. Mozart and the person that Herr Mozart wrote the clarinet concerto for)
You'll notice something about them, these folks aren't girls and they play marvelously well. ☺
I'm also not a girl and I play clarinet. I was a flute major in college though.
Musical instruments don't have a gender. There is no girl instrument/boy instrument. What there is are good musicians/bad musicians. That's all that matters.
2007-12-22 14:07:29 · answer #1 · answered by CoachT 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm a very cool (questionable) guitarist and sound engineer, and I have a friend who plays Clarinet - he is brilliant and I don't think it's girly. There's no reason Clarinet can't be used on more popular music.
The most important thing is that you're showing an interest, whereas some people I've had experience with seem to have been pushed into learning an instrument. Give it a go and see how you enjoy it - if you put your mind to it you can be very good.
2007-12-18 01:36:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
This may be tough since it seems girls do favor the clarinet while boys favor the sax (in my experience growing up, anyway). I'm not sure why. Maybe find some concert videos on YouTube and show him that men also play the clarinet.
2007-12-18 01:37:46 · answer #3 · answered by Magpie 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think of clarinets as mainly boys' instruments - they need a lot of breath, and some girls aren't strong enough to play them well.
My son started playing the clarinet when he was about nine, and it's been one of the best things he ever did. He was in a marching band for some years; now he's travelling the world on a ship and plays his clarinet sometimes for the captain's dinners.
Here's a site that talks about some of the world's greatest clarinetists - and they're all men: http://www.clarinet.org/fests/1999/Cipolla.asp
And here's a CD at Amazon US, showing some of the clarinet greatest sons - again, all by men: http://www.amazon.com/Heritage-Tribute-Clarinetists-James-Campbell/dp/B00007BH3H
Hope that helps! My son is now 21 and very thankful he started playing when he did.
Clarinet is also a great starting point for anyone who ever wants to play saxophone (an instrument which is too heavy for most nine-year-olds)
2007-12-18 01:42:20 · answer #4 · answered by Kukana 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Playing the clarinet does not mean you are gay lol There was a boy in my middle school class that played the flute (he was the only boy), he didn't play it to meet other girls, he played it because he enjoys it. And he is 100% not gay
2016-04-10 05:48:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the world's most famous jazz musicians was Benny Goodman, a clarinetist. Look him up on Wikipedia. You may also find clips on YouTube. For many years the principal clarinetist of the London Symphony Orchestra was Jack Brymer. a very fine musician. Have you thought about taking your son to a concert where he can see that clarinetists are also men?
2007-12-18 03:39:05 · answer #6 · answered by Duffer 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You could always offer the saxophone. It's a similar instrument in many ways.
Clarinets are not just for girls, but he would have a point if he said that the majority of middle school and high school clarinet players are girls.
Then again, when he gets a bit older, he might like sitting with all the girls and practicing with them.
2007-12-18 01:36:26 · answer #7 · answered by Bob 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Benny Goodman, Acker Bilk are famous for playing the clarinet. My daughter teaches clarinet and 50% of her students are boys.
2007-12-19 08:04:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
some of the best clarinetists were/are men
Benny Goodman
Eddie Daniels
Frank Cohen
Larry Combs
John Manasse
John Bruce Yeh
Todd Levy
Steve Cohen
...just to name a few
2007-12-20 09:13:32 · answer #9 · answered by ktbird0111 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The clarinet is the perfect instrument to learn at his age, and then when he is big enough he can switch his skills to the saxophone.
The saxophone is by far the coolest instrument- tell him all the greatest saxophone players had to learn to play the clarinet first.
Show him some clips on youtube of the sax in action- certainly not a girls instrument:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt6FOeCyYt8
2007-12-18 01:36:52 · answer #10 · answered by billy 5 · 2⤊ 5⤋