<p>Part in fun (eg. share the strangest instrument request your child has made) and part in earnest:
I'm just curious whether this is a typical trait of most other music performance students or whether it is a more prolific trait in kids who want to compose, or conduct?
McSon is not precisely high-level in terms of performance even on his "main" instrument (trumpet -- although obviously sufficiently for his program, which is a mix of electronic composition, recording arts, multimedia within a school of music but did require a level of proficiency on an instrument to gain admission) yet is begging for a viola OR an accordion for his birthday.</p>
<p>He's never played a string instrument (apart from guitar and mandolin) in his life; and the whole accordion thing is striking me as kind of left field. So I welcome thoughts on this -- which, if either, would be a reasonable instrument for a "late start" in terms of future proficiency? Or is he just doing some 'trophy instrument' thing here?</p>
<p>And is this normal? I do believe him when he says he'll actually play it (did get him a piano after a similar request and he's gotten quite good). It just seems mildly impulsive to me.
Hi ho.</p>
<p>Mine is only serious about his violas, and the violin as secondary. The piano and keyboard see occasional use; the guitar and mandolin sit untouched, although he did pull the 'lin out of his closet a few months back and had fun annoying the greyhound. </p>
<p>And just for information, the Newfoundland has a marked distaste for Tchaikovsky. The dog has no taste.</p>
<p>Are you sure he doesn’t really want a banjo? That would complete the trifecta of instruments that account for the vast majority of musical jokes.</p>
<p>It seems that there are two kinds of instrumentalists - one sort that believes there is only enough time in a lifetime to master one instrument, and the other sort that wants to try their hand at as many as possible. In terms of instruments, my daughter is starting to compete with my wife. Wife is in the process of acquiring her umpteenth flute - this one a copy of a vintage pre-Boehm six keyed instrument. She also has quite a collection of early wind instruments (recorders by the dozen, gemshorns, crumhorns, tin whistles galore, a rackett…) Daughter, having recently gotten a banjo and a ukulele, is now in the market for a bass viola da gamba. Since gambas come in different sizes, I imagine she will eventually want some of the others, perhaps even a violone since her primary instrument is double bass.</p>
<p>Whether this is a late start or the beginnings of a collection probably depends more on your son than on the instrument. I have seen people pick up second (or third, or fourth) instruments in their thirties and forties and do quite well with them. Not world class, mind, but able to play fluidly and musically and keep an audience entertained. </p>
<p>If you decide to go the accordion route, don’t make the mistake of getting a huge 120 bass instrument for a beginner. Not only will it be harder to learn on because of the sheer number of options available, it will also be quite heavy and physically tiring to play for someone who has not developed the proper sets of muscles by working their way up through the smaller instruments. The sweet spot for most beginners seems to be the 48 bass instrument, which has enough bass buttons to be musically interesting even for reasonably advanced players yet is not so heavy that he will want to put it down after playing for 15-20 minutes.</p>
<p>My violist daughter (not the one I have posted about here) studied strings for 16 years but recently became obsessed with trumpet. She found an old one of her uncles (barely usable and for her birthday wanted nothing but a trumpet. I thought she would soon forget about it, but she brought it home from college and has been practicing about an hour a day. All of our neighbors will probably move. The cats are wearing noise-canceling earphones. She’s been listening to trumpet music, watching trumpet videos… So I’d say get him a viola; they are much quieter.</p>
<p>My 2 non-cellist sons have more instruments than I can count:
violins–1/2-size, 3/4 size and full size, all very good
2 acoustic guitars
2 or 3 electric guitars
an acoustic bass guitar
2 electric basses
mandolin
ukelele
several keyboards and synthesizers
amps and PAs of all sizes
One son is a circuit-bender–i.e. he creates unique instruments by modifying and enhancing old electronic children’s toys
plus my very wonderful very old piano
My cellist keeps it simple: he has a cello and a Yamaha electric cello
My house is noisy. They like to play on the roof overlooking the street. More noise.</p>
<p>You guys are a hoot. Thanks for sharing, and extra special thanks for the caveat re accordion. Long semi-sad story but as a child my mother bought me an accordion (huge one) to compensate for the fact that a) my parents divorced and b) my dad got the piano. I felt sorry for my mom, but absolutely hated the accordion (way too heavy for me – I was 9!) so avoided lessons but pretended it was cool.
So I am a bit blocked about accordions, and realize the advice from BassDad explains a lot!</p>
<p>And GlassHarmonica, I agree the viola is much gentler on the ear in terms of beginners than trumpet – been there done that ;)</p>
<p>PS Mom4 - That gives me a great idea. Years ago I met Bill Close who builds giant “Earth Harps” and created Mass Ensemble; we had talked about creating a “mini earth harp science model kit” at the time. McSon said he like the viola b/c he can get those kinds of tones out of it. Maybe I should buy him the components of an earth harp and say “Have at it” ;)</p>
<p>Violadad - No, actually I had missed that thread – just went now and skimmed through. Nice to know my kid is not abnormally OC. His list to date is very similar to many on that thread, but I see he’s branching out a little for a particular “kind” of sound ;)</p>
<p>So funny to hear about all the instruments! We have that here too. All 3 S’s are into music- oldest is a HS band director- was a trumpet major in college. He has 2 guitars, flute, 3 trumpets, electric bass. S #2 is an actor- loves music too though so he has a nice Yamaha keyboard, a french horn and 2 guitars- electric and acoustic. S#3 takes the cake though- he owns a banjo, 5 guitars ( 3 electric, a 12 string and an acoustic) , 3 basses, a Hammond Organ, drum set, bongos, all kinds of percussion instruments, and the piece de resistance- a didgeridoo. Plays it all regularly too.
The youngest 2 are home for the summer- we can barely move in the house with all the gear- never mind the dorm stuff stored everywhere there’s an empty corner.
Loving it - but is pretty noisy here too! Thank goodness for tolerant neighbors :)</p>
<p>We also have a large collection - many strings, plus saxes (alto and tenor) and an old trombone that DS is learning to play on his own, as well as amps, recording equipment, etc. Our collection isn’t unusual by CC standards. DS stumped us last year, though, when he expressed interest in a bazouki (no, it isn’t a weapon of mass destruction). Seems he was exploring on youtube and liked the sound of it. We couldn’t find one on Craigslist, and a new, decent bazouki is a bit pricey. So, we let that pass.</p>
<p>Last Christmas we surprised our D with an electric violin. My sons knew about it ahead of time, and I braced myself for their criticism, but they were ecstatic. Honestly, I think they were more excited than she was. Found out later that S1 (guitar, piano) has always secretly wished for a mandolin! Who knew?</p>
<p>S1 bought S2 a “how to” book and CD for yodeling - as a joke. Turns out that yodeling is done in “horn fifths” and it turned out to be more interesting to him than either of them expected.</p>
<p>I think when kids are so into music, all aspects of it are interesting to them. (Kinda like my engineering-H and anything technical.)</p>
<p>My eldest, has in addition to a full size practice organ and an upright Steinway, an oboe and an english horn (these are for “normal” lessons), also has a Celtic harp, a bowed psaltery, a bagpipe chanter she stole from me, numerous recorders, and over the years has taken lessons on violin and now steals her sister’s french horn to noodle on. (“Mom, I need a good grounding in instruments from all sections. . .”) She plans to major in organ, but uses the psaltery and harp with local historical recreation groups.</p>
<p>I keep wanting her to look at college baroque music programs, but hey, what do I know?</p>
<p>(“Mom, I like 19th century French composers, too!”)</p>
<p>There was a time when I would trip over instruments in our den: flutes, clarinets, acoustic guitars, classical guitars, electric bass, piano, recorders, drums…with 3 kids in music.</p>
<p>Now, after high school, only one is into music, mainly composing, and classical guitar. She really wants to buy a lute this summer.</p>
<p>The main issue with acquiring instruments, in most households, is expense. She babysat in 9th grade and earned the $2,500 for her luthier-made (used) classical guitar. Not sure how many hours she will have to work to get that lute.</p>
<p>For a composer, exposure to many instruments is a big plus, assuming they can reach a level where they really learn something relevant.</p>
<p>I wonder if any of the instruments could be rented, provisionally. We are looking into that. Maybe someone here can advise us on financial options!</p>
<p>I’m the OP on that other thread, enjoying this one too!
DH and DS are professional musicians and we have an eclectic mix of instruments strewn around our too small old house.</p>
<p>And TWO banjos, of course, doesn’t everyone?</p>
<p>DS has had luck ‘recycling’ his tubas, his main baby. As his mood, requirements, change he has sold and traded up. Uses Craigslist, tuba sites online, and a shop here in central NJ whose name escapes me just now. He has C and an F horns right now. Will see where he ends up instrument wise after he graduates from masters next May.</p>
<p>Ahhh, Dillon Music, I think is the store he frequents.</p>
<p>Compmom, I don’t know what parts you hail from but in West Michigan there is a great vendor (Meyer Music) who will “rent to own” and allow for instrument swapping, etc. for students, and at the same time trigger discounts if you want to buy it out at any point in time (so it’s not that usury loan shark style percentage or anything – the program is designed to let musicians progress with their instruments and to make instruments accessible to all p.s. students). We used that approach for a pro-quality trumpet acquisition b/c we wanted to make sure McSon loved it. (And now he owns it.) For the rest of the instruments, we often go cash and carry, but the rental approach is very nice when dealing in multiples or for the higher end selections.</p>
<p>PS You may wish to ask your local HS who their fav vendor is and call and ask about such a program. If you want to check into Meyer, give me a PM and I’ll connect you.</p>
<p>Son has collected a piano, keyboard, alto sax, tenor sax, flute, guitar, bongos, harmonica and just built an instrument for his senior design project for his engineering degree.</p>
<p>Awesome at two… respectable on the rest. Hoping to purchase an electric violin.</p>