My dd plays bassoon at a very high level, at a pre college, carnegie hall etc. It's an incredibly difficult instrument to learn and master. There is a reason it's rare. Good teachers are rare and it's very very hard to have a good sound. Plus it takes years to get good. I won't even get into the cost of a bassoon, my dd's bassoon was over 9K and that's not even close to the best bassoon. Her JKI reeds are $33 plus shipping. So thinking you can jump into playing the bassoon in HS is just delusional.

I’m the be careful poster. What I meant was that by the time it was a hook, for what I assumed was HYP, the child would be so involved that it would only be rewarding if they followed it for life. No denigration of conservatories was intended. We were hopeful our DD would actually pursue music, but she’s in physics and there is no time at all for anything else.

Harp.

Actually, OP. I wonder if you're really asking about a 'hook' versus wanting to know an instrument that would make your kid distinctive and help feather his resume more than violin?

A 'hook' would mean that your kid is so distinctive that the chair of the music dept contacts the admissions office to request that they admit your kid. That's not likely, and so unpredictable you can't plan for it.

But there are instruments that are relatively rarer (I'm thinking things like bassoon) that would make the kid more distinctive in high school. He would still have to become very good at the instrument, but it's possible that with a rarer instrument, he'd have a bit of an advantage trying out for the most competitive high school band/orchestra, all county and all state band, etc). Likewise, my old marching band teacher loved tubas (sousaphones in marching band) because the sound carried so far (and they are heavy, so kids don't particularly like playing them). So being good at an instrument like that may make you competitive for things like the McDonalds all american band, and having that on your resume would look good in college admissions.

All of this, of course, is predicated on the fact that your kid becomes very good at the instrument-- the unusualness only gives a small bump.

And with all of the practice time needed to become really good, you might think about whether his passion will be strong enough to make it worth while.

Even if you found the 'hookiest' instrument possible, the odds of this working out at a school your kid wants to attend years down the road are tiny. The kid would need to be great at the instrument and the school would need to happen to need one of those instruments that particular year. If your kid isn't passionate now, they may not even want to continue to play in college.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh - so distasteful to the child to tell them to get a new instrument just to get into college? Do you think they will love it enough to make a difference? I literally cannot imagine forcing my kid to play an instrument just for the college entrance.

--signed, mom of a musician whose child definitely wants to be good enough for conservatory.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was enough to be a hook, wouldn’t you then be applying to conservatories? Be careful what you hope for OP. What if your kid falls in love with the instrument after pouring his soul and every free hour of his life into what you think is a gimmick??

What is the problem with this?

Are you suggesting that a conservatory is a bad idea? Why?

Not the PP, but what kind of job opportunities are there after going to a conservatory?

There are job opportunities in the music world.

I have a friend who has a conservatory degree, and she is the director of the symphony in a medium size city. Fabulous job, she is very happy. Another friend who has a conservatory degree plays in a well-regarded German symphony-excellent pay, excellent benefits, and high quality of life. And she's doing what she loves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it was enough to be a hook, wouldn’t you then be applying to conservatories? Be careful what you hope for OP. What if your kid falls in love with the instrument after pouring his soul and every free hour of his life into what you think is a gimmick??

What is the problem with this?

Are you suggesting that a conservatory is a bad idea? Why?

Not the PP, but what kind of job opportunities are there after going to a conservatory?

This. My kid had state and national recognition in music, but one group DC was involved with invited in a bunch of national-level musicians who unanimously said, “Don’t go to conservatory.” Go to a good college with a great music program, so that if music doesn’t work out for you, you have a backup in the form of a solid BA.