Musical homeschoolers

All of my kids are musically talented. My 13 yr old plays clarinet and oboe for her college, my 12 yr old plays trumpet, baritone, and tenor sax. Both play piano/keyboard and are learning organ. Our other 4 kids are under 7, and so, too young to start formal instrumental lessons. Everyone gets the instrument of their choice and instruction on how to play it on their eight birthday. Personally, I play clarinet and saxophone well enough to preform. I still have functional knowledge of flute, cello and bassoon. In the spirit of trying to fit in with this musical family he married into, my husband is teaching himself to play electric guitar- with our help.

Since my 12 yr old came back to homeschooling in January, she's been missing the daily band thing. Sure, she practices her trumpet every day and she pulls out my tenor sax a couple times a week, but there's something special about making music with a group of friends. So, we started searching for a homeschool band. The closest group meets 4X a week for an hour each day -- 2 hours from us.

That's to much driving for me.

So, we've decided to do a couple of things - first off we're forming our own trio. 12 year old on trumpet, 13 yr old on clarinet or oboe - depending on the tune, and me on either tenor sax or clarinet, again depending on the tune. We've got a handful of local coffee shops and town events where we can preform.

Finding music for our little group has been a challenge. So- we decided to write our own. I did a lot of writing in high school and college, I've taught my kids a bit of theory and this is the perfect opportunity to teach them to compose. I'm looking forward to this. I gave up performing when I had kids - couldn't make the time commitment anymore. Since the day my oldest was born, I've dreamed of making music with my babies and getting back in front of an audience to share our love and talent with anybody who wants to listen. And it looks like I'll get my chance. Both girls are excited by the idea of performing with mom.

I'm also thinking about starting a community band for other homeschoolers and parents in our area. We live in a small town, though and I'm not sure how much interest there will be.