<p>I primarily use CC to help my niece gather information on colleges, but I just realized that the great CC community might be able to help me with my younger daughter, too. My ten year old daughter has been playing the piano for 5 years now. She loves music and I can easily see her being a music major down the road. She would like to pick up a new instrument (and keep doing piano), and I'm trying to help her with her choice. She is pretty open to any type of new instrument. One thing that has surprised me here on CC is the "hook" element of college admissions. It seems that those who play a more "uncommon" instrument might have a "hook" and thus an advantage in college admissions. Do you think this is true? And if so, do you have any suggestions for what a good "hook" instrument to try would be? Her school offers flute, clarinet, and trumpet, but I don't think these would be "hook" instruments (am I wrong?). Of course, the final decision on what instrument to pursue would my daughter's, but it would be great if her decision can positively shape her future college search. Thanks:)</p>
<p>I would pick something she likes that is also not “common”. Every band I’ve seen has lots of clarinets, flutes, trumpets. Go with something like french horn or oboe, etc. Note that many schools have marching bands and some require band members to march to qualify for top bands. Neither oboe or horn are marching instruments but there are always marching options for these players. Talk to her school band teacher. </p>
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<p>Thanks for the advice. I will definately talk to her band instructor when school starts again next month.</p>
<p>When I go to my son’s concerts, the trumpet players tend to be boys. Perhaps being a girl trumpet player can be the hook. That will give chance to add to her activities list a number of bands - concert, marching, jazz. Actually, the percussionists tend to be boys as well.</p>
<p>I agree with others! An uncommon instrument is a good idea. I’d say oboe, french horn, and bassoon are not-so-common. I’ve actually seen marching oboists as well as (only once before) marching bassoonists in my high school experience! And french horns have their marching counterpart, the mellophone or sometimes just called the horn. =) There are plenty of options, but make sure your D likes what she plays, too. Make sure she keeps up piano, since it really is helpful to one’s musicianship! =)</p>
<p>In high school and such, there are plenty of options to explore! Often times, there are band kids that pick up multiple instruments while maintaining proficiency in their primary instrument. I have a friend whose primary instrument is flute (for marching and concert), but also plays the piano, the saxophone in jazz band, and then mallet percussion for our indoor percussion group. =) As you can see, plenty of opportunities for your D in the band world!</p>
<p>I agree with the others that you should chat with the band teacher, and maybe even shoot an email to the local high school’s band director and inquire about the programs there as well as the instruments involved. It’s great to see you’re thinking about it so early. =) Hope I was somewhat helpful haha.</p>
<p>Oboe, french horn, tuba, jazz drums…</p>
<p>Also, if your daughter is serious and you live close to a conservatory you could look into a precollege preparatory program for her.</p>
<p>I was actually thinking an upright bass would be really cool, but now that Esperanza Spaulding has won the new artist Grammy maybe that floods the market with a bunch of female upright bass players. Sometimes as a young musician you first have to start out on the common instrument (trumpet, flute, clarinet, …) because that’s what is available at schools and for lessons for a 10-year-old. If she takes off on it, then decide later if it makes sense to switch to a rarer instrument to be different. Good luck … 10-year-olds change a lot before their teens, so also enjoy the process!</p>
<p>Some instruments are more popular then others, but I would be a bit leery of calling any instrument a “hook” to get into a music school. Yes, instruments like Oboe/English horn, bassoon, french horn and so forth tend to be less popular instruments as the viola is compared to other string instruments, so compared to let’s say the violin the competition may be a bit less intense, even though they tend to admit a lot more violinists any given year then english horns (a school might admit 20 violinists in a given year, but only admit maybe 1 or 2 bassoonists, depending on needs; now for those 20 violin spots they might have 200 hundred kids auditioning, whereas for the the bassoon they might have 20 kids for 2 spots…same odds). Conventional wisdom, least according to articles I have read, claims that it is easier to get merit scholarships on those instruments, but I don’t have any way to say yeah or nay to that, others might be able to chip in on that. It also is a crapshoot, one year they may be desperate for good horn players, the next year they may need bassoons or oboes, so there is no guarantee that on a particular instrument the one she chose will be ‘it’</p>
<p>I think it would be better if she wants to play other instruments to find something she truly enjoys playing, is passionate about, rather then something that may or may not be an ‘easier admit’. To get into a top level, auditioned program takes a lot of dedication and practice and if she doesn’t really love playing the instrument, it may be impossible to have the discipline it takes to get to the level needed. Basically, it doesn’t matter what you play, admits to music schools are competitive (ranging from “wow” to “Holy Cow!!!”), and it continues to get harder and harder. One thing I would recommend is that whatever instrument(s) she is playing, that she get into a regular practice routine each day and make sure to use the whole time; whether it is 1/2 hour a day, or an hour, the idea is to get into the rhythm and accept the idea it has to be a regular part of the day. If she seems like she may want to head into music, then she should increase the practice time as she gets older (the optimal practice time is not scientific, and piano and string students IME can practice longer then wind and brass players, for physical reasons, but with students who may be serious about going into music, practice time is in the several hour range a day or so, which is too much at 10, but by the time they hit their teen years seems to be the rule.)</p>
<p>“I think it would be better if she wants to play other instruments to find something she truly enjoys playing, is passionate about, rather then something that may or may not be an ‘easier admit’.”</p>
<p>Ding…ding…ding…we have a winner. You hit the nail on the head, musicprnt.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of your thoughtful responses. My daughter will definately have the final say in what instrument she ends up trying. I mentioned the french horn to her, and she thought it sounded “cool.” I would never force her to play an instrument that she isn’t happy playing. It would be nice to have an advantage in admissions down the road, but it isn’t necessarily the end-all-be-all. I guess I was just hoping for my daughter to have her cake, and eat it, too:)</p>
<p>I’d like to pitch in a bit here, being one of the uncommon instrument players as a horn player, you really do get a lot of repertoire under your fingerings (whether band or school orchestra, or both). This is sort of a make or break deal. If you’re one of the few, and most likely the best if you’re planning on a music major, you will be dealing with all the solos, and all the exposed parts. I know personally for horns this is very hard, due to it being an inaccurate instrument, but it’s just something to think about when choosing an instrument.</p>
<p>There is nothing at all wrong with the young girl just sticking with piano and truly excelling at it… She could find accompanying opportunities in high school (and in middle school too!) by helping out with the different choruses. That was always the case in my kids’ schools.</p>
<p>Another (!) thing to consider is what kind of music your niece prefers. If she really likes orchestral music, she may not want to pick up the saxophone because of the lack of repertoire for that instrument. Playing the sax = very few to no opportunities for youth symphony participation. On the other hand, playing the bassoon = very few youth jazz band opportunities. What kind of music does she really enjoy? The nice thing about an instrument like the trumpet is that it is welcome in any ensemble.</p>
<p>I find it hard to swallow the idea of a 10-year-old choosing an instrument based on what is most likely to help her with college admissions. A child that age should choose an instrument because she enjoys playing it, not because it might help her get into college in 8 years. By the time she’s a senior in high school (or even before then) she may not even be interested in being a music major. 10 years old is WAY too young to start pushing toward college! Let her experiment with different instruments and if she finds one that brings her joy and sparks her passion, that should be the basis of her choice. I don’t mean to be confrontational or negative here, but I really think it’s important to let kids explore their passions and find joy from the arts and not be goal-directed at such a young age.</p>
<p>Really, people are right in saying that the only way it’ll be helpful is if she loves doing it.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, to me, bassoon really stands out as an instrument useful as a “hook.” There are just not very many high school bassoonists, compared to other instruments, even though an orchestra requires as many bassoonists as clarinetists (and a band needs more bassoonists than alto saxophones, and so forth). Bassoon players seem to be able to write their own ticket to where they want to play, in my experience. </p>
<p>There are actually quite a few female trumpet players these days (and I don’t think just playing a “traditionally male” instrument is going to get any attention; it happens frequently enough), and tuba is NOT a good choice if you’re hoping to game any college system. There are a lot of tuba players coming out of high schools, and not very many spots at most colleges (and only one in any orchestra).</p>
<p>As you said, ultimately it is up to your daughter. I know many people who were pressured into learning an instrument because it is a “hook”. Now, these same people haven’t picked up the instrument in years because they just never really liked it. I would suggest letting her try multiple instruments and see which she likes. Musicprint is absolutely right too. Just because not as many people play a certain instrument doesn’t mean that your odds are that much better. The instruments that are not as popular: bassoon, oboe, horn, trombone (depending on where you are), viola, etc… they are typically not as plentiful in orchestras or bands because simply not many are needed. </p>
<p>So when it comes down to it, just let her pick. I’m very happy to see that your daughter is looking to expand her musical background and that you are so supportive of her. The best thing is when parents really support their children’s musical endeavors because it just makes it that much more enjoyable. Mine never did, so I had to go do it on my own. Best of luck!</p>
<p>All of the above are great comments, but I do want to add one more. At colleges with football programs, marching band is a big deal. If you see her going to a larger college or major university, you might want to consider a marching band instrument. Even at some high schools marching band is a big deal. </p>
<p>My son took string orchistra in middle school and was about to drop out of music alltogether when he discovered band by accident. He switched from violin to trumpet between the 8th and 9th grades, taking private lessons during the summer to catch up, and in less than six months he was pretty much seriously considering a career and education in music.</p>
<p>The attraction to band over orchistra is that they do a heck of a lot more in band, and in marching band they perform in front of thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of people, instead of just parents. In hs marching band my son got to travel a good bit, going to competitions in our state but also neighboring states and half way accross the country. Of course band isn’t that big of a deal at every school, you will just have to scope out your particular high school band situation.</p>
<p>Anyhow, my son loves marching band so much he has decided on a career as a band director (possibly), and is on a 35 city 14,000 mile tour with a drum corp this summer. He is looking forward to being a member of a major university marching band this fall, performing a different show at every home game and in front of crowds approaching 100,000 people.</p>
<p>One of his hs band mates is going to his same university and she had origionally planned to drop out of music as she will be majoring in something else. When she started looking at the big picture, the fact that icollege marching band t doesn’t take up as much time as high school band, the fact that it’s the only college extracurricular activity that you can get PAID for (other than a real job), and that it counts as a class and you get credit hours for it, she reconsidered and is planning on participating.</p>
<p>While marching band isn’t for everyone, and a lot of music majors don’t participate in college, I wouldn’t want to rule it out too early.</p>
<p>Many marching band geeks (oops, I mean performers) play more than once instrument. My son also plays piano (and of course violin), but someone who is a french horn player would likely play melophone in marching band, someone who plays trombone in jazz or concert band would likely play baratone on marching band, a lot of piano players will be percussionists in marching band (and one to three keyboard players is typical in the “front ensemble” in marching band). </p>
<p>I know that I am likely going to be flaimed by some peopls saying that “marching band is not for real musicians”, I highly disagree though. It’s an opportunity to perform in front of very large crowds (more than any orchistra or concert band venue can hold), an opportunity to travel, and an opportunity to learn more than one instrument. Marching band is also pretty much expected, and possibly even required depending on the college, for wind or percussion music ed students.</p>
<p>At the college my son enrolled, they had intended on enrolling 8-10 freshman trumpet players, the trumpet studio professor said that trumpets were needed in almost all college ensembles. I recently saw the roster of new trumpet students, they only had 4. I can only assume that they didn’t have enough qualified applicants/auditionees for trumpet. As it turns out, my son just happened to already know the other three (from Allstate band) and has already communicated with them on facebook, one will be his roommate. All 4 recieved music scholarships, all four are also planning on doing marching band and will be getting an additional stipend for that. So I wouldn’t rule out “common” instruments at all.</p>
<p>For that matter, my “common instrument” playing son was offered a music scholarship at all four colleges he applied at, ranging from $1,200 to $14,000.</p>
<p>Even if your daughter decides not to be a music major, she can still do college marching band and recieve the same benefits as music majors who do college marching band. 75%of college marching band members are not music majors, although nearly 100% have high school marching band experiance.</p>
<p>Again, thanks so much for all of the wonderful advice!
I am looking forward to talking to her band instructor. It sounds like the most reasonable thing to do would be to let her start out with the flute, clarinet, or trumpet, and perhaps move on to a different instrument a while later. She still loves playing the piano, so that will continue to be a big part of her life. Before I ventured on to CC for my niece, I would have thought that anyone seeking college-related advice for their 10-year old was nuts. However, seeing how uber-competitive college applications can be, I am very grateful to have all of your help in nurturing my daughter’s interests, so that - if she chooses - she can be an exceptionally qualified candidate for college.</p>
<p>My son is a guitarist. When he auditioned for schools, there were zero girl guitarists. I know they’re out there - we just didn’t meet a single one. Just hoards of males. </p>
<p>My son, however, did get to audition with one female sax player, and she definitely stood out, booth because she was great… but also because she had the gender hook.</p>
<p>Just sayin’. A girl playing certain <em>non-hook</em> instruments <em>can</em> be a hook just by gender. But I agree, the girl should love the instrument.</p>
<p>Wonka,
Also consider that many beginning band programs will not let kids pick any instrument. They may determine that your kid has the wrong embouchure to play instrument “x” or that too many kids want to play instrument “y”. The fact that your daughter plays piano is good and may make it more likely that a band director will let your daughter play one of the “hook” instruments such as oboe or bassoon. Why not let your daughter listen to some recordings of the different instruments and see if one of them is appealing to her?</p>
<p>Also consider the costs of various instruments, especially if the school does not have an instrument that your child can use. Double reeds can be expensive, about $16 for each reed whereas a sax or clarinet reed may be $16 for a box of reeds. </p>
<p>If your daughter plays a less common instrument, will you be able to find a private teacher in your area? The band director may not be able to help with all instruments.</p>