<p>I posted this in the Study Abroad forum and got no response...time is growing short, so here goes...</p>
<p>Has anyone had experience with a student spending a term abroad and taking an instrument with them? Were they able to practice in the host home? Were there practice rooms at the school facility? Any specific experience with Reid Hall in Paris?</p>
<p>Advice needed.</p>
<p>What instrument? A piccolo seems easier than a tuba. Not trying to be a smart@$$ but the instrument is a big deal as there can be issues other than those you mention.</p>
<p>You might repost this or provide a link in the music major forum [Music</a> Major - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/]Music”>Music Major - College Confidential Forums). Plenty of current posters with experiences of serious music students studying abroad, attending summer festivals with a variety of instruments. </p>
<p>Experiences probably range from cello through flute. Maybe even a contrabass. I’d wager you might even get a concert harp story. :D</p>
<p>Too late to edit.</p>
<p>Try the Columbia forum as well. If there is an administrative department dealing with study abroad, also ask directly. Lastly, I’d ask within Columbia music. Knowing the student mak-up, I doubt it’s the first time the question has been broached.</p>
<p>I’ll venture an opinion here. If your study abroad student is a music major studying MUSIC while they study abroad, chances are that there will be practice facilities at the school. If your child is NOT a music major and is taking their instrument for their own practice, you probably should contact the study abroad office sponsoring the program and ask them IF practice rooms are available for non-majors in music. If your student is staying in a private home, do they already HAVE the contact info for that family? If so, email them and ask if it’s alright to practice at home. They may say yes, and they may say no. </p>
<p>I would suggest contacting Reid Hall and asking them. If they have practice rooms, they are probably accessible by card key ONLY to music students (for security reasons). BUT if you contact them early enough, perhaps you can make arrangements for your study abroad student to use their facilities.</p>
<p>First hand experience here…DS did a study abroad IN MUSIC. There were practice rooms at his college (Royal College of Music in London) and there were practice rooms in his dorm which was owned by Boston University.</p>
<p>As far as being able to practice while staying with a host family-the answer could be just as far ranging as with any given family here. Regardless, my violinist D took her instrument on two Rotary exchanges, practiced in her homestays, and found studying and playing music to be a great cultural bridge. Taking lessons in Czech helped her learn the language!</p>
<p>One of my children spent a semester in high school in Xian, China and she took a violin with her and arranged lessons through the high school with a private teacher. My guess is that if you can do that in Xian for a high school kid, you can likely do as well in Paris.</p>
<p>Just a word of warning: you might want to investigate the need to have documentation as to the origin and purchase record for the instrument (particularly if is a high value instrument), both entering the planned country of visit and returning to the US. A rather amusing anecdote in the post here <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/4254946-post23.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/4254946-post23.html</a></p>
<p>Music performance-bassoon niece did semester abroad without any trouble I ever heard of.</p>