My Musical Adventure

Every Monday night the children's librarian at the branch hosts Family Fun Night. They do different stuff each week - board games, making stuff out of pipe cleaners, Shrinky Dinks, etc. Marra's Family Fun Night tonight was Instrument Playground where the Friends of the Philharmonic come with different instruments and kids get to try them out.

I had mentioned to Marra's volunteer Hwa earlier in the evening that I used to play clarinet. As it turned out, the person who normally comes to demonstrate the clarinet was not here, and apparently Hwa revealed my secret to Marra, so Marra came running out and pretty pleased me into sitting at the woodwind table and helping kids with the clarinet. So instead of sitting at the children's desk signing kids on to the computer, I got to go play the clarinet and help kids try to make noise with it! :)

It was lots of fun. They had a table of percussion with all different kinds of special effects noisemakers, a flute and clarinet at the woodwind table, a cornet and trombone at the brass table, and some violins and a cello at the string table. Some of the kids came back several times to try an instrument again. One little boy was so serious, just concentrating very hard! Some kids had trouble getting the clarinet to make any noise, but some got it right away and a few had good sound quality. I tried to encourage everyone and the ones who would come back to try again I would trill notes for while they blew through the clarinet. They really seemed to like that.

Marra said one little boy told her the clarinet was his favorite. The first time he tried to blow he let out this gigantic squawk that made him jump, and he thought that was cool. :) A lot of kids left rubbing their lips because the vibration felt funny. And we doused the mouthpiece in Listerine between kids, so they all hated the taste. I told them it doesn't normally taste like that. :)

It was fun!