Music classes for 9 to 12 year old children: more options and autonomy
Between 9 and 12 years old new options are open: winds, drums, electrical guitar and bands. We tell you what changes and how to come with them without being above them.
Between 9 and 12 years old the range of instruments will open up. With final forward teeth, more air capacity and longer arms, winds such as saxophone, trumpet, clarinet or trombone become comfortable and drums, electrical guitar and bass start to get attention. It's also the age of school gangs and first assemblies.
The other great novelties are autonomy: the child can already organize his or her practice, put his or her goals and speak directly with his or her teacher. Your role goes from sitting with him or her to accompanying him or her from a little more far.
To sum up
- Between 9 and 12 years old the winds, drums, electrical guitar and bass become comfortable choices.
- The gangs of the college and municipalities have been very motivated and the particular class strengthens the technique that does not get to work with at the essay.
- Classes usually last 45 to 60 minutes and practice at home from 20 to 30 minutes.
- The child can organize his practice with his or her notebooks, metronomes and recordings and his or her adult supervision without being above them.
- It's an age at which many think about leaving: concrete goals and repertoire that they love help to sustain interest.
What changes at this age
The body and head of a 9 to 12 year old child are at another time and the music class takes advantage of them:
- Body: final teeth, more force in his hands, longer arms and more air control. That opens the door to instruments that were previously uncomfortable.
- Understanding: you can understand why a chord or scale works, and how to play them. The theory stops being a game and starts to make sense.
- Goals: you can propose to prepare a piece for a presentation, get into the band or get a song that you love.
- Social Life: He wants to play with others and what his friends think begins to weigh a great deal about his choice.
Tools that get comfortable now
| Instrumento | What do you demand? | That's where we play. |
|---|---|---|
| High Saxophone | Hands that reach the keys and force to hold them with the strap. | Bandas, jazz, salsa, pop and tropical music. |
| Trumpet | Definitive forward teeth and constancy with an embocture. | Wind bands, salsa, orchestras and jazz. |
| Clarinet and traverse flute | Control of air and hands that cover holes and keys. | Bandas, orchestras and Colombian music. |
| Trombone | An arm that reaches far from the stick. | Bandas, salsa, orchestras and jazz. |
| Batteries and percussion | Coordination of hands and feet and a plan for noise at home. | Rock and pop bands, Latin and Caribbean music. |
| Electrical and low Guitar | A custom instrument and a small amplifier. | Bandas with friends, rock and pop and funk. |
If your child's already playing another instrument, it doesn't start from scratch: his rhythm, his reading and his ear get used to them. saxophone, trumpet or percussion To get an idea.
School and wind bands
In many schools and municipalities of Colombia there are wind gangs, martial gangs or music groups that get children this age. They are a very valuable experience: they learn how to play with others, how to follow a director and how to feel part of something.
The band and the particular class complement each other. In the essay, the director works as an ensemble: inputs, tuning of the group and nuances. What he barely gets to do is to put a detailed correction to his or her embocture, posture or reading of each child. That's where his or her particular teacher enters.
- He asked the director what tools the band needed. The less elected often had more quota and more opportunities to play.
- Find out if the school lends the instrument or we have to buy it and ask the teacher to review it.
- It brings to the particular class the scores of the band: they are an excellent work material.
If your son wants to get into a band, this guide about [wind gangs in Colombia]](/blog/bandas-de-viento-en-colombia-como-empezar) He tells you how to get ready.
To accompany monitoring: autonomy in practice
At this age, the goal is for a child to learn how to practice alone. That doesn't go from day to day. It's built with concrete tools:
- A practice notebook with what his teacher gave him and how much he did and how much his costs.
- The [methonomic]](/herramientas/metronomo) To work slow and get up and about.
- To be recorded with his cell phone once a week and to listen to his phone with his teacher.
- One goal a month: a piece, a scale, a song for the band.
What about you? Do you have to monitor: questions about what's at work, listen to a mini concert from time to time, check that practice (from 20 to 30 minutes, five days a week, and you have a good goal) and have contact with teacher. What's best to let go is note by note correction: now that's child and teacher work.
What a class at this age
Classes usually last 45 to 60 minutes and have more technique and more theory than before. A good class for a 10 or 11 year old child mixes exercises (scales, rudiments in his drums, long notes in his winds), reading, repertoire and some music that his child chose.
That last point is important. At this age the tastes are defined, and the repertoire can range from a bambucco or a cumbia to his favorite video game's fashion song or soundtrack. A teacher that negotiates the repertoire ("one that you choose, one that I propose") keeps interest far better.
What care should be taken at this stage
- The program. Between school, homework and sports, music can run out of practice time. Better less activities, well done.
- The noise at home. Drilling and trumpet at an apartment call for arrangements: schedules, a pad of practice for the battery, a studio satico for the trumpet.
- The ears. At the drums and at the band tests, the apes or hearing protectors are non-optional.
- The wanting to leave. It's an age at which many children have to leave. If it happens, read what to do if your child wants to leave the instrument before I decide.
Frequently asked questions
At age 10's late to start music?
No. It's an excellent age: a child quickly understands and can practice with more autonomy and has access to nearly every instrument. Many musicians started at this age or after.
What instrument's good to get into the high school band?
What the band needs and the child likes. Ask the director: claratoriums, thrombons, bomdines or percussion have a quota. If your child already plays sweet flute, traverse flute, clarinet or saxophone are natural transitions.
Can you learn drums living in an apartment?
Yes, with some adjustments: a pad of practice for the handheld technique, schedules agreed with neighbours and, if the budget permits, an electronic battery with hearing aids. The acoustic battery can be left for class or for a test space.
Can my 11-year-old boy practice alone?
Yes, and it's good that I do, but with a structure: clear tasks of teacher, a practice notebook and a fixed moment of day. Your role is to check that practice and show interest for what you are learning.