<p>I agree with much of the wisdom posted here - that she needs to like it, etc…</p>
<p>A couple things I want to mention (I skimmed; forgive me if this is repetitive) – It’s not just choosing something she “likes” but also choosing something she can do. Our band director was wonderful at fitting students to instruments. If getting a noise out of a horn is difficult for her, she won’t like it. Same goes with a flute. Can be frustrating if you pass out every time you try to practice. If holding a violin up for hours on end is agony for her, that’s not a good choice. If she has a tiny mouth and thin lips and small lungs, I’d skip the tuba. Physical features she has no control over might make or break a certain instrument’s suitability. Hopefully the band director has some ability to recognize this, and is able to see past his personal goals of filling what is most needed currently in his band.</p>
<p>Then, look not only at what instrument appeals to her, but what kind of music appeals to her. If she prefers orchestra over band music, might not want to play sax or baritone. If she has her heart set on marching, horn and oboe (and strings, of course) might not be the most practical choices. (Yes, I know horn players use a mellophone to march, but if she’s serious about horn, blasting away can wreak havoc on her embouchure.) If she just really loves pop or jazz, there are a number of instruments such as percussion or trumpet that slide easily from one to another.</p>
<p>In looking down the road to what is or isn’t a hook - it really depends on the school. You’re not looking for a conservatory, just a college with a music program. Some years, they are flooded with “rare” instruments and need more common ones. My D got a nice scholarship because her school needed violins. They were overrun with violists. While viola is more rare, it was the violinists getting the edge on scholarships.</p>
<p>The other deal, is, of course, that she has to be somewhat good at it for anyone to care. Lots of medicre musicians out there.</p>
<p>Binx, I agree pretty thoroughly, though I just to note that the dangers of marching on horn playing are the same for all brass instruments. If you don’t play irresponsibly, it won’t be a problem, but the temptation is certainly there.</p>
<p>There is a lot of good advice and information in this post. I would like to add a few things…</p>
<p>My daughter is an oboist and I will say that it certainly has been to her advantage that she plays this specialty instruments. She had three applications, three auditions, three acceptances and three scholarship offers. </p>
<p>I would agree that other instruments, like the french horn, could possibly/probably have similar successes. My understanding is that viola and cello are also instruments that are in high demand, and low inventory, in music programs.</p>
<p>I can speak from my D personal experience that the oboe is not a beginners instrument. The oboe is very difficult to develop a good tone, but in addition it requires a very good ear. There are some people who could probably can play one of the more advanced instruments as a beginner, but since it is do difficult, it can be frustrating. I honestly do not recommend it for a new musician. (My daughter’s firs oboe teacher did teach beginners…and some did okay but many did not stick with it.) Oboe reeds are very expensive and best if made by an instructor for the specific oboist. The instrument itself is very expensive. It takes a long time develop a good tone and a bad tone sounds bad! So it is very costly to “give the oboe a try and see if it works”.</p>
<p>All that being said, I love the oboe and love what oboe has done for my daughter and I could not be prouder. But it is a buyer beware thing…know what you are getting into before you take the plunge. There is a reason why the instrument is so sought after…it is difficult, and expensive, to do well. </p>
<p>I can only speak about oboe, because I do not know enough about the other instruments to discuss them, but I suspect there are (similar) reasons why the other instruments are in higher demand also.</p>
<p>Also, I cannot agree more with what other posters have said, the instrument and the type music played has to connect with the musician. My daughter loves classical music and loves the oboe. The oboe is most certainly her passion.</p>
<p>Double reed instruments like the Oboe and Basson and english horn are very difficult to play, compared to a single reed instrument there is a lot more overhead with them, and it is very difficult to maintain tone and not crack with them, as compared to the clarinet (which I played, badly, and also at one point attempted the Oboe). With the double reeds, they have to obsess to the point that Oboists and Bassoonists spend a lot of time from what I can tell perfecting making their own reeds (read this piece about an Oboist I believe in the Philadelphia orchestra, about how they have their special sources of supply of reeds, etc:). There are commercial reeds, but they from what I can tell are generally the realm of starting musicians and amateurs:).</p>
<p>All the points on here are valid, this is a solid discussion IMO. One other point is what is the point of the hook, is it in a musical student wanting to enter a music program to study music? Is it for a student who wants to major in something other then music, but wants to play music while in college? Is it, as frankly too many parents IMO believe, a tool they envision will help their kid gain admittance to a high level college (take it from me, a lot of the kids swarming to play the piano and violin these days are doing so because the parents believe this, the kids in high level pre college music programs and youth orchestras and such are often there in this belief as well). If it is the third reason, as a hook in admissions rather then a love of music, I personally would recommend looking elsewhere for a hook, in part because there are a ton of kids with high academics, top SAT scores and the like who also have played piano or violin or other instruments, and I kind of wonder what kind of hook that can give them if so many others are doing the exact same thing (and it isn’t like they loitered in front of the instrument, many of them have achieved high levels of mastery, if not musiciality or love).</p>
A lot of schools will push you to do this, anyway. In this respect, I will put in a plug for clarinet, because it gives quite a few options for moving to other instruments later, of different types, such as bass clarinet, double reeds, and saxes. A lot of clarinet players are able to later pick up sax in addition to clarinet, and then they can play both orchestral/band music and jazz.</p>
<p>String bass is also always in demand–and a kid who plays string bass can also learn electric bass, and thus will always be able to play in rock and jazz groups.</p>