The Music World

[Young Cellist]

I am a true music freak and I am having serious trouble advancing in my area and I feel held back because of my mother. In the school that I attend, I am so far ahead of the other cellist its like what have they been doing, this is extremely easy. Not only that, I am also ahead of all the violist and over half of the violinist. I have been studying all instruments so that I can further my studies to become a music educator. This is becoming so stressing, I am thinking about trasfering to another school with a better music program but thats kind of a tough call.

[piqaboo]

How old are you, what level school are you in, and what do you think your mother has to do with your lack of advancement?
And how do you define advancing?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

How are you with the brass, percussion, reeds, and keyboard instruments? You'll need those if you go for a music education major and public school teaching credential. Drama? Musical theater? <shudder> Opera? Choir?

Marching band? You get to go to the football games with friends. Pep band? Basketball games with friends. Also, you can pick up a lot of music theory as academic classes.

You might want to talk this all over with your cello teacher, band/orchestra director, counselor, as well as parents and maybe even grandparents, before you have the frustration fit and fly into the transfer routine.

Good luck and -- the eternal best advice -- Keep Breathing.

[piqaboo]

"Musical theater? <shudder>"

Oh Selma, do D#1 and Mikey the Red know you feel that way?

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I saw shuddering at opera.

BTW, Annie opens Friday. Mike plays Sandy.

[piqaboo]

Way cool for Mike. Who's Sandy? (I have never seen Annie. Should we make time for this production?)

RB Chorale, featuring the one and only OT, has concerts Friday and Saturday May 27 & 28.
On the 27th, he'll do a duet from Phantom, and on the 28th he'll do Mack the Knife. Both nights he'll do You Raise Me Up. Step right up, Getcher tickets here......

(I will be standing discreetly in the backrow, next to the basses and only a couple feet away from the drummer. It is safe to say that my voice will not be heard by anyone except the neighboring altos & one patient bass, to the great relief of paying audience members.)

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

<snicker> Sandy is Annie's dog. Melle and I assembled the puppy costume Sunday afternoon/evening, and it's adorable. I give the headpiece, complete with its adorable floppy ears, ninety seconds. He doesn't like hats.

He has a brief carry-on part, after which he'll be turned over to the crew of baby wranglers.

[OperaTenor]

Hi Young Cellist, welcome to the Pit?

Say, is your name Eugene?

[Young Cellist]

Piqaboo- I am currently in high school and I participate in school district and other area orchestras and our schedules don't always click right together she's not the timeliest person in the world.

Selma in Snady Eggo- I am a pretty good pianist, at least thats what everyone tells me. However, I feel that I should be at a higher level considering my age. I plan to learn about the brass and woodwinds and I believe that learning percussion is going to be a breeze. I would love to work in choral, but that seems like a lot of work.

I would like to thank all of ya'll for your advice and forgive me for not replying immediately, but I have so many rehearsals its kind of hard to log on everyday.

[piqaboo]

YC, have you considered catching a ride with other musicians in these groups? You dont say if your mom's got a job in addition to being your chauffeur, but heck, you're a big kid now. Go for it. That would give you some autonomy and your mom a breather.

Then there's bicycling or the bus. My old highschool neighborhood had something called Dial-a-Ride that filled in the gaps left by the bus services. It wasnt free, but it was inexpensive enough that my girlfriend and I could afford to take it to the mall.

[Young Cellist]

Piqaboo- I have never riden a city bus in my life and I wouldn't know what bus to take and besides I can't to much risk an accident with my cello. Now on the catching a ride thing, thats something I can do and I've never thought about it thanks for the advice.

[barfle]

Originally posted by Young Cellist:
I have never riden a city bus in my life and I wouldn't know what bus to take and besides I can't to much risk an accident with my cello.

I can't say what Beaumont's bus system is like, but DC's bus system publishes schedules, routes, and fares so not knowing is probably just a matter of not enough wanting to know.

I'm sympathetic to you not wanting to damage your cello. While I've never tried to buy one myself, I'm sure a second one would be beyond the budjet of most students. However, you could do a bit of research and see how much of a hazard riding the bus would be, by riding the bus (without the cello). Also, you might see how much a hard case for the cello would cost, and compare that with the cost of not advancing your career.

[Angie Parkes]

YC, my husband is a professional orchestra violinist, so I know most of the cello section. Many cellists take their instruments on public transit. I know one who bikes with hers, although I'm not so sure that's a good idea. These are professionals whose instruments represent not only their art, but their mortgage and groceries, too. If you have a hard case, your instrument will be fine. Cases can get expensive, but they're a worthwhile investment.

Most city transit systems have friendly operators that you can phone. You tell them where you're leaving from, where you're going, and what time you need to be there, and they'll tell you exactly when and where to catch each bus. Or you can check here: http://www.beaumonttransit.com/default.asp. If I can find the Beaumont bus schedules, I'm sure you can, too.

If you're not advancing as quickly as you think you should, ask your cello teacher about opportunities to compete in music festivals. Competing really advances your technique, you get to hear other musicians your own age perform, and the adjudication comments can be extremely helpful. Plus, if you win, there are often monetary prizes either in cash or scholarships.

You can also approach other musicians and set up your own chamber music group. It could be that they're as frustrated as you, and would welcome the chance to read string quartets with you, for example. When you're good enough to perform publicly you could hire yourselves out for weddings and the like. Leonard Bernstein paid for his piano lessons from the money he earned playing weddings and bar mitzvahs.

<small>[ 05-11-2005, 11:45 AM: Message edited by: Angie ]</small>

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Another vote in favor of hard cases here. Deb has three cases for her concert horn; the gig bag, the hard case, and the ProTek case for the road. Gig bag is good enough if you're carpooling, usually, but as soon as a bus is involved it's the ProTek. Big advantage of that one is that in addition to being indestructible, it's got POCKETS! The mello only has its hard case, and Ant's trumpet lives in the ProTek, the flutes are little and live in their original hard cases.

I know that it's all because I like brass better than strings, but I still think kids who play brass have more fun in high school. There's the whole social aspect of belonging to a decent gang. Orchestra kids don't seem to develop that.

[Angie Parkes]

Dunno, Selma. Rob had a great time in youth orchestras. Mind you, these were not school based orchestras, but provincial and national ensembles. Maybe that makes a difference.

[NateBrei]

YC...
With your attitude & desire, you could well be on the way to be the next John Williams (the composer...not the guitarist). I just helped my daughter do a report on him. He started the piano at age 8. By the time he'd finished high school, he'd learned (forgive me because I can't remember them all) the trumpet, trombone, cello, clarinet, and something else (violin, flute, I can't remember). He realized you can't play clarinet & piano from the same music so he spent hours at home studying transposing and orchestrations from books. He had his own band for which he was arranging and even arranged music for high school band.

If you can't get deep into your cello studies now, broaden your knowledge. You can always sink deeper cello roots when you get to college.

Nate

<small>[ 05-11-2005, 02:48 PM: Message edited by: NateBrei ]</small>

[piqaboo]

I had a friend who cycled with her cello - she had a hard case and a shoulder strap. she always said if she got hit, the cello would be the least of her worries. Of course, she lived in a low traffic part of town, and didnt have all that far to go.

Dial-A-Ride, if Beaumont has one, is even easier than the bus, but the cars may not be big enough to haul a cello.

Good luck, whichever tack you take!

[mmichaelson]

Young Cellist - I grew up in Bmt - what school do you go to?? Our school did NOT have an orchestra that included strings, but we had an excellent program when I was there and I excelled.
BTW- I went to HJ, so you are probably somewhat familiar with the problems I faced. Do you attend Westbrook at least, or is that too much to hope for?? If you do, who is the director there now???

It's frustrating that Bmt is trying so hard to be a big city. There is not great transit system though- which would be a huge help. The buses are a little scary and don't go into the outlying areas that need them most.

[mmichaelson]

On a side note - I can remember when Dr. Bullock was the director at Westbrook. HE was fun. A lot like our director back then: a total lit fuse.

Full of information though. He came and worked with us on a number of times.

I followed through with my music at Texas A&M, but not as a music major. I did have some wonderful experiences with the director here, Dr. Tim Rhea - who is a closet-study genius.
Do you have an idea of which college program you want to participate in?

Are you also involved in the youth symphony orchestra there? I played oboe and saxophone for them for a couple of years right when they were starting out. It was fun.

I'm sad I missed your original post now. It's fun to hear from someone back "home".

[Shapley]

Well, this is interesting:

This site reaches approximately 4,414 U.S. monthly uniques. The site is popular among a more educated, more male group.The typical visitor uses britannica.com, reads The Miami Herald, and attends the University of Michigan.

I guess I'm atypical, since I don't use britannica.com, read the Miami Herald, or attend the University of Michigan.