My sister is advancing to middle school and needs to pick a band instrument. What instrument do you guys think would provide the most opportunities (competitions, etc)?
<p>Well, you don't see many oboe players</p>
<p>Doesn't matter, just make sure she works hard at it. :D</p>
<p>Cello? Be Azn!</p>
<p>Seriuosly - whatever interests her. I'd HIGHLY recommend string. So much flexibility for bands and stuff. Cello - good instrument. Arcade Fire uses it.</p>
<p>I wanted to play the trumpet so badly. And I never got to. Because my mother thought band was useless. man. My dad always thought the sax was cool</p>
<p>One word--Triangle; it holds the entire percussion section together.</p>
<p>CLARINET! Haha i'm just saying that because that's my main instrument. But for an instrument to start on i think: flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone..would be the BEST for an elmentary/middle school student.</p>
<p>BASS</p>
<p>'nuff said</p>
<p>Oboe, bassoon have the most opportunities for a good player to get scholarships. Flutes, trumpets, sax, clarinet have much more competition both within the band and at any type of contest. Most band directors will require good grades before they'll let you play those instruments that are only represented by one musician in their band. You can't afford to have your only bassoon sidelined by a failing grade in english.
A good band director will audition incoming students on a variety of instruments. Someone who desires to play the flute may actually sound better on the clarinet. I've had three kids go through this process, and it's amazing how different an unskilled musician can sound on two completely different instruments. Ask the band director to help decide.</p>
<p>definitely ask a band director. When I started playing in 5th grade, you chose 3 instruments that you would like to play, and then the director did some things with you and told you, from what he saw, what he thinks you would be best at.</p>
<p>/sax player
//learning baritone</p>
<p>Agree with Cal0302: D2 was one of 17 flutes in hs, she finally dropped to take econ, cause she hated playing to the level of the masses. Also for competitions like All State, Solo and Ensemble, way too many flutes. If going to a school that has marching band and concert band, flutes often played oboe even bassoon in concert band. Consider long term financially investment too. Consult the band director</p>
<p>"My sister is advancing to middle school and needs to pick a band instrument. What instrument do you guys think would provide the most opportunities (competitions, etc)?"</p>
<p>Concert band or marching band? </p>
<p>If it's concert band, I highly recommend bassoon and oboe because they aren't as common. Though your sister might have to go through some growing pains messing up in occassional solos at first, she'll most likely get to be 1st Chair eventually since there aren't as many of them around (some schools don't even have any bassoon or oboe players!). A lot of the popular instruments are competitive, as in, many musicians who play string instruments, flute, clarinet, etc. have years of experience under their belt already and are quite polished. </p>
<p>If it's marching band, I recommend consulting with the director. Usually, the marching band might be lacking in a certain section, and the director might need more instruments of that section. This will give your sister a chance to eventually take a leadership position in a less popular section. This varies at schools, but most marching bands are always looking for another tuba player or baritone player. Some of the more popular or competitive instruments would be trumpet, drumline, and possibly trombone. </p>
<p>I'm personally a bassoonist who didn't know what to do for marching band. My marching band was lacking in baritone players, so I decided to learn that instrument. I became 1st Chair bassoon my sophomore year (yeah we had a bassoon section LOL) and Section Leader for Baritones my junior year. But I play tuba in college marching band now.</p>
<p>BUT at the end of the day, make sure she enjoys the instrument that she plays, because that's what will keep her in band, keep her dedicated to improving, and make music fun for her.</p>
<p>French horn my friend. It's rare in concert and marching band. </p>
<p>I always wanted to play the french horn but my mom didn't let me. So instead, I chose clarinet. I love it and I got into Wind Ensemble for it, but sometimes I wish there wasn't SO MUCH competition, especially for regions/all-state band.</p>
<p>^^^^
oh yea french horn too!!! or flugelhorn for marching band if your school marches that. </p>
<p>baritone sax and bass clarinets are also somewhat rare too.</p>
<p>Alto saxophones are overrated. Depending on the situation, carrying the case around can get very old, too (especially when you ride an overcrowded bus and end up shoving the case up someone's butt, not that I'm speaking from experience or anything...), so I recommend something smaller. The clarinet's pretty fun, though there generally are a lot of them around.</p>
<p>Personal opinion:
french horn -- GREAT sound. I love it.<br>
Clarinet -- just b/c I'm playing it. It's a great instrument (if you get good @ it) You can also be the band's concert master by picking clarinet</p>
<p>As far as college is concerned (which I believe is a wrong reason to pick an instrument, but oh well)
Bassoon--practice, get good, get a good spot @ a good youth symphony orchestra, and it'll help IMMENSELY
Harp? THey are always in demand
Oboe -- GREAT instrument. Be good at it and join a good youth symphony, and you'll take 1/2 of the solos</p>
<p>my 2cents</p>
<p>the french horn is one of the most challenging instruments to play though...my friends struggled with it for sooo long!</p>
<p>The horn is challenging, but it's such an amazing instrument that very few people can play well. I just started playing horn this year (I'm a tubist/euphonist), and while it's difficult, it's an amazing experience. PLUS there are so many opportunities out there for horn players. It's easily the most versatile instrument of them all.</p>
<p>oboe, french horn, bassoon, english horn! My son has had amazing opportunities with the oboe that he started at age 7 and has always loved. He's playing this summer in a european youth orchestra and studying and travelling with them after auditioning, being on the wait list and getting off the list: if he'd been a string player his chances would have been mightily reduced. He's young for the group. But the best part, it's totally paid for!</p>
<p>Euphonium (baritone), definitely.</p>
<p>In my 6 years of band experience, euphonium is THE best instrument to play. There are not many euphonium players out there (a lot fewer than even the uncommon instruments like oboe and bassoon), and you can play it in marching band. Also euphonium players can easily learn to play trumbone. There are a lot of french horns and oboes out there, believe me. And the last chair oboe player generally plays English horn parts.. </p>
<p>In 6th grade, I chose to play the flute, and even though I made high school all-state and all that jazz, I quit band because of the hopelessly high competition. I really wish someone had advised me to play the euphonium.. oh well.</p>