<p>I was just wondering how much of a help playing an instrument can be,
I played French horn for 5 years, passed my grade 5, then quit. That was over a year agao now, I'm trying to start again, but there are huge expenses involved, so is it worth it?
I have also just started playing the trumpet, but I'm not at such a high level with that, and I probably won't carry on with it if I start French horn again.
Besides these instruments, my music/arts/drama skills are really lacking, so will it be important for my application?</p>
<p>I guess doing french horn would be a better choice because in most places there are more trumpets than french horns.</p>
<p>True, but they’re quite a lot of money! do bs’ lend instruments out to students?</p>
<p>I’m not sure. You could always rent one possibly cheaper, but if you are going to use it a while then you should buy one, but if its for a short period of time I would say rent one.</p>
<p>Many of the boarding schools pour hundreds of thousands into their Arts & Music and want the facilities used. The french horn is a wonderful sounding instrument, by all means pick it up again and yes many of the schools do lend instruments. They want and need you to play. Its not about your level of playing as much as it is your desire to play and perform.</p>
<p>At Choate, we don’t lend instruments. To be honest with you, I don’t think schools would lend out instruments. As a musician, I’d think it would be hassle, to be honest, if a school loaned out instruments for several reasons. First off, buying instruments, in a large quantity is quite expensive. Second of all, you have to decide between buying an economical priced instrument (from experience, those aren’t good at all), to buying a Mozart quality instrument (those can be quite expensive, for ALL instruments). Third, if an instrument isn’t used for a while, they will sit in closets, and break down. This means they have to be repaired. Repairs are expensive. </p>
<p>However, if you are interested, just ask the schools that you are applying to that you play an instrument, but you would like to get an instrument on loan. The school would probably refer you to an appropriate dealer.</p>
<p>Thanks, if i do start french horn again it will be with a borrowed instrument (our local music centre has quite a good system for brass instruments) so I would need something from the school, but I’m sure I can sort that out.
I do own a trumpet though :)</p>