By Monica Brewer – OPINION

In honor of learning another instrument (Flute), I’m recapping what my experience was like learning how to play a clarinet and what it’s like playing a flute now.

Learning an instrument can be rough when you first start out.  When I was in 6th grade, it was tough.  Sometimes I didn’t want to learn my clarinet and I just wanted to give up.  I was getting references from my younger brother (Matthew Brewer, class of 2017) that I was like Squidward from Spongebob SquarePants (he claims to play extremely well, but it ends terribly and everything ends up in squeaks and wrong notes).  I had others that did play better than me, but they came and went (just like a distant memory).  They didn’t have the patience and the passion for music and instruments like I did.  By the time I got out of high school, I exceeded my expectations I placed on myself.  From then on, I got better and better.

Freshman and Sophomore year went by with more effort to learn.  It was around the time 1st semester of my Junior year during my band final, when students switched instruments and played a mini concert, when I realized: I wanted to try another instrument.  My mind went to 2 instruments in particular: flute and oboe (2 members of the woodwind family, but with oboe being a double reed instrument).  When asking my mom which one I would try, cost played a major role in deciding which one I would get.  When I looked at instruments on Ebay, an oboe costed (according to http://www.riemanmusic.com/c-62-Double-Reeds.aspx) around $4,000.  My opportunity for playing an oboe was pushed out the window.  When my mom looked up flutes on Amazon, there was one that I loved that costed $99.  I got it at least a week after my mom purchased it (and it worked out great).

At first when I got it, I wanted to practice it immediately.  I got it right out of the box and out of the case (even though it was cold since most flutes are made of nickel, silver, or brass and can’t retain heat) and started to practice.  At first, it was rough like learning my first instrument, except I felt more excited to learn.  There’s a lot of effort you have to have in order to play an instrument, but it’s worth it.  It not only helps improve your time management,  but it improves your perseverance to overcome difficult sections and work through tough spots.  (To learn more about benefits of learning an instrument, go to http://www.effectivemusicteaching.com/articles/directors/18-benefits-of-playing-a-musical-instrument/).

I remembered playing my flute for my first time.  My problems were that I couldn’t get enough air to go through my flute (from lack of air support and blowing in one certain area) and where my fingers had to go (since fingerings for a clarinet are constrained and close, while flute fingerings are far apart).  Once you get past the first couple of fingerings, the rest of it isn’t bad.  Just take it day by day and you’ll end up playing better than you could ever hope.  For the people who quit learning an instrument, I recommend learning trying again.   For everyone that is wanting to learn an instrument, you should.  For those who have doubts, just do it.   You just might surprise yourself.