Hi, Scott My MS colleague asked me about this and my experience with various horns is not that great, so I'm defering to the listserve. Thanks so much for all the thought and effort you put into this. Rebecca
Scott Hartman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Rebecca, Is there a reason your school wants to buy double horns? Just for banter, here are some arguments against it: 1) Many middle schoolers will not be physically large or strong enough to handle the horns. They will be dropped, smashed, bumped and not treated wtih the care that an instrument costing several thousand dollars deserves. 2) Double horns take more abdominal strength to play than a single horn. The additional weight and extra resistance takes more air pressure to play. 3) This is where I get really deviant - I recommend single Bb horns for really young kids. They are easier to play and lighter than F horns. Your student's batting averages will be much better with single Bbs than Fs. The usual argument against them is that the player won't develop the big orchestral sound without an F horn (or an F side of a double horn) but I don't know many middle schoolers who can make a big orchestral sound on any intrument. I'd rather serve them up something less frustrating to play. If you are lucky enough to have a student or two who are big kids for their age and you think they are ready, here is a list of horns that any middle schooler would be lucky to play: Holton 179 Holton 180 Holton H378 * Conn 8, 9 or 10 D Jupiter 800* Yamaha 567 Bach 1102 * I know that in many circles Holtons are out of favor, and in truth I don't know if I could play one, but for an 11 year old it's a fine instrument. ** It feels funny to recommend a horn named after a planet, but I played one of these and was quite impressed. For the money it was a good horn. scottito -- _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/rrwatters%40yahoo.com Rebecca Watters Davidson [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.davidsons.homestead.com 40 Woodlands St. 41 SINGAPORE 738547 H: [65] 6256-0214 W: [65] 6363-3406 M: [65] 9125-2614 Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] set your options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
