Playing for Keeps : Music: Instrument lessons can be a lifetime gift for children. But today, as many O.C. schools make cutbacks, parents are on their own in finding a program that’s right for their youngsters.

The world is full of people who remember what their parents told them when they balked at music lessons: “Someday you’ll be sorry.”

“As soon as I could walk away, I did,” recalls Dan Martini, an Orange County sheriff’s lieutenant. “Now every time I see someone play, I wish I’d listened to Mom.”

Music can be a lifetime gift, but it doesn’t come easily, says Richard Cohen, a child psychologist and director of the Pacific Oaks College Research Center in Pasadena.

“Kids these days mostly get good at playing CDs,” he says. “They are divorced from the actual act of playing an instrument.”

Most children used to study music early in their public school years, but parents can no longer expect that.

“Some school districts have had to cut out the elementary school music programs, and that has eliminated the actual music teacher who would go from school to school,” says Jim Keltner, choral instructor at Bolsa Grande High School in Westminster and president of the Orange County Music Educators Assn.

That means that some school districts do not provide music instruction until the intermediate or high school levels. Parents who want their elementary school youngsters to learn to play an instrument are left pretty much to their own resources.

For the uninformed, the array of methods, philosophies and instruments can be daunting. Private lessons? Suzuki method? Should you start with the piano? How can you tell if the teacher is any good? Should you force a child to practice?

“There is such a need for information,” says Marienne Uszler of San Juan Capistrano, editor of the Music Teachers National Assn. Journal and a member of the USC piano faculty. “More than ever, parents want to provide music for their children, but they don’t have a clue about finding a teacher or choosing an instrument.”

Uszler, who is writing a book to help parents get their children started in music, joined several other music education experts in offering some general guidelines:

* What’s the best age to begin music lessons?

There is no consensus, although most experts agree a home where music is played is effective even for infants.

“It’s like a language--the earlier you start, the more proficient you will become,” says violin teacher Lorraine Fink of Sherman Oaks, who suggests starting children on violin at age 4. The Japanese Suzuki method enrolls children as young as 3 in group classes with pint-sized stringed instruments.

To play the piano, which requires more mature eye-hand coordination, the first grade is generally considered a good age to start. Band and orchestra instruments can be started in early grades, too.

“On the other hand, if kids start later--even in their early teens--they really focus,” says Ken Grayson, manager of Grayson’s Tune Town in Montrose, a music store that provides teachers.

* Should a parent insist?

“It’s devastating for a kid to be made to take music lessons if they don’t want to,” Uszler says. With a preschooler, the parents make the decision, but by the age of 6, the child needs to be consulted.

Music is also a commitment for parents. Joe Thayer, dean of the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles, says, “Our biggest drop-off in the introductory classes is the kid who didn’t want to come in the first place or the parent who didn’t want to give up Saturday morning. They hadn’t really talked it over.”

Music educator Nadia Lawrence of Santa Monica, whose doctoral dissertation analyzed children’s music practice and dropout problems in 240 families, agrees.

“No matter what instrument you choose, you should make a long-term plan involving the parents, the student and the teacher,” she says. “Agree that you’re going to stick with the child through all the ups and downs--and know that the roughest times will probably be early adolescence when kids start getting really busy.”

* How do you choose an instrument?

“Choose the instrument first and the teacher second, and in both cases spend a lot of time on the decision,” Uszler says. “Most parents spend more time buying a new car or television than a musical instrument.”

She suggests showing children tapes that illustrate what instruments look like and how they sound; attending a symphony or a band concert; sitting in on a rehearsal of the high school band.

All is aimed at determining what instrument truly interests the child--a critical factor for success, teachers agree.

Uszler says personality type should be considered. “If you have a little shy, retiring girl, she is not going to play the trumpet.”

There are other factors. String instruments require the player to produce his own pitch, unlike woodwind, brass or piano. That requires discriminating listening by the student.

And, Uszler adds, “you need to know what amount of care an instrument will take. Violin strings break, oboe reeds must be soaked, a harp is not only a huge financial commitment, you have to buy a station wagon big enough to cart it around.”

Good quality electronic instruments can be attractive, Uszler says, because kids see all the pop stars playing them. “The trouble with the electronic market is a short supply of really good teachers.”

“What we’re saying here,” Uszler emphasizes, “is that you should choose an instrument as carefully as your family doctor. Don’t have your son play the saxophone just because you’ve got Uncle Joe’s college saxophone in the attic. That’s like giving him any old sloppy food to see if he likes to eat.”

* How do you get an instrument?

Don’t make a large investment until you know the instrument is going to take with the child, and don’t buy any instrument until you have a teacher.

“I’ve had beginning students show up with violins that are too big and trumpets with the valves stuck,” says Ginny Atherton of La Crescenta, a flutist with extensive private and group teaching experience.

If the teacher suggests an expensive new instrument, find another teacher. What you want is “a good quality entry-level model,” says Atherton.

Rental instruments are a good choice for beginners, says Ron Leon of the Coast Music chain of music stores. Depending on quality and whether the rental instrument is used, an alto sax rents for about $30 to $65 a month, a trumpet for $15 to $30, a violin $15 to $20.

“A lot of time people would rather invest money in rental than buy something and have it just sit in the closet,” Leon says. “Generally it’s a good idea, but if the price of an instrument is fairly low, a year’s rental may have bought the instrument. I sell used trumpets for $200.”

Some stores offer plans in which all or part of the rental payments apply toward purchase of the instrument, Leon says.

* How do you find a teacher?

There are independent teachers for private or small group lessons and the group method systems like Suzuki and Yamaha. University programs and specialty schools provide performance opportunities. And many music stores provide studios for teachers and lists of recommended teachers.

Other sources are the Music Teachers Assn. of California (which operates a toll-free referral service at (800) 834-3340), college and university music departments and music conservatories.

“It’s still very haphazard at best,” says Howard Richman, a piano teacher who gets so many inquiries he is publishing “Guide to L.A. Music Teachers” through his Sound Feelings Press in Reseda.

Keltner says his music educators organization publishes a list of the public school teachers in its membership who also provide private lessons.

He suggests parents wanting private lessons consult the teacher at the intermediate or high school the child is or will be attending.

“They have an investment in finding you a good teacher,” Keltner says. “They’ll be getting your son or daughter in their program.”

If you have no success, consult the music departments of local universities and colleges, he says. “They may even have some students who are qualified to teach. Many of those students are very talented and need the money. It won’t be as expensive.”

Leon says that the cost of beginning instruction varies considerably, but that in Orange County the rule of thumb is about $15 for half an hour of private instruction. Be aware there are teachers who prefer beginners and others who work best with advanced students. Interview the teachers yourself, says Thayer. “Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know anything about music. Ask what their studies have been, how long they have been teaching and what kind of students they enjoy working with.”

Other starting advice: Although six-month packages (teacher and rental instrument) are popular at music stores, be willing to pay for a couple of introductory private lessons, to see that the child, the instrument and the teacher are well matched.

* How do you encourage a child to practice?

Richard Rintoul, a professional musician and staff member at the Colburn school, teaches a class to help parents support their children’s music education.

“This is an instant-gratification society,” he says. “People want to play an instrument. They don’t want to practice.”

He offers a few rules:

* Practice every day, if only for 15 to 30 minutes. The cumulative effect is much greater than blitzing before a lesson.

* Practice slowly and accurately. Take the piece apart for rhythm, intonation, sound and dynamics. “Kids don’t like to do that,” he says. “They are in a rush.”

* Listen to what’s being produced. For a more advanced student, it’s a great help to use a tape recorder.

All the experts agree practice is the major issue in most households, once the early glow wears off.

“What you want to avoid,” says Cohen, “is day-to-day arguments about practice.

“It shouldn’t be drudgery, but on the other hand, if kids don’t practice, they aren’t going to progress,” he says. “If the child plays in a group, that can be fun. There just needs to be some reason to practice.”

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Times staff writer Steve Emmons in Orange County contributed to this report.