Autumn 21 music thread

Morning!
Can anyone help with music stand recommendations? Dd has asked for a new one for Christmas so want to get her a good quality one.
Needs to be suitable for at home practice and orchestral use, ability to be short (she’s a cellist), but also portable as she has to take it with her sometimes. She doesn’t want a wire frame one and I’m a bit clueless!!
Thank you.

Hello Stanilin, Pro Corda do offer bursaries - am not sure what their criteria is but there’s no harm in asking if you haven’t already?

Congratulations! Try really local ones like rotary club administered ones or local education trusts. We got some small amounts from ones like that ( like £100), every little helps.

Good evening everyone! I’m a long time lurker on these threads but haven’t posted much as DC still quite young so not much to share. However, my oldest has just been accepted onto a ProCorda course (his first residential as NCO got cancelled). After the initial hurrah I’m now panicking about funding. They suggest a few charities on their website but I thought I’d ask here if anybody has any tips/ success stories/ dos and don’ts I should be aware of? Thank you musical hive mind!

Aw, that's great they have special days. There's something lovely about being together with your own instrument, where everyone 'gets it', the quirks, the joys, the challenges. Hopefully they happen again.

There are viola days at Guildhall. Pre-Covid I think these were in November.

My dds definitely love the rare breed factor of playing double reeds. It does make it hard to find friends playing the same instrument as it's just not taught round here. Hopefully they will get to a double reed day one day once these things happen again. I love going to double bass days, I'm guessing you don't get viola days ( maybe there are, is there a viola society?) Viola is beautiful but I can see why some are reluctant to try it.

DD quite enjoys the 'rare breed' element of playing viola. She's a first study violinist but is almost as good on viola and most of her big playing opportunities come on viola. She loves sitting under the conductors nose, she loves the sonorous tone and she loves being 'special'. She's in one of the top string quartets at her specialist school and they get super coaching opportunities. She wants to play in pit orchestras when she's older and being able to double is super sought after. As she's getting older and more accomplished, she's finding more like minded souls. I think for young kids (and parents!) the flashy virtuoso violinists are a hard sell. But not everyone can have a career as a soloist and those that are serious about a career in music start to see the value of instruments like viola as they mature and start to think about the longer term.

@ianthanum - take your point on the heavy. On the teacher though- dd’s first teacher was the local violin and viola teacher. Hugely popular, loads of pupils and had taught for ages. She was first study viola herself from a child. Dd was the first child she had ever taught viola - all other parents had requested violin.

@londonmummy1966 best bet is probably to get it to someone that goes in regularly-l and ask them to pin it up for you. I'd do it for you but DD has moved on. You could try emailing the JG admin team - they might stick it up for you. The boards tend to be in the corridors that access the teaching rooms,
So lots of parents hanging round!

@londonmummy1966 I’ve used Gumtree/eBay in the past.
Also try reverb.com/uk/
Final choice is music shops, who will sell for commission.

@doesanybodyhaveamap - thank you -do you know where they are and how I could access them? DD is a JG alumna so perhaps not as cheeky as it sounds?

1. You need a viola teacher, or at least a violin teacher who isn't scared of the alto clef.
2. You have to convince the child (and sometimes their parents) that learning a new clef is not that big a deal.

Oh, and viola is bigger and heavier, although possibly you can avoid youngsters realising that's a problem if they're young enough to be playing on a violin-strung-as-viola.

There are noticeboards in Guildhall where people stick up posters of instruments for sale.

Thanks horsey - I don't think that the teachers would be prepared to recommend a cello from a "random" - I suppose I was hoping that there might be some online resale scheme where I could advertise it. In the past i've sold instruments on ebay but was hoping to avoid the commission...

Could you drop a note to all the cello teachers to let them know, often pupils will buy on a teachers recommendation. We got our first oboe through the teacher, and hopefully doing same for second. I don't mind if there is a bit of " commission".

Can I ask all of you with DC at London Saturday schools if you have a secondhand instrument selling scheme? I need to get rid of a 7/8 cello - it was DD's "spare" for school to avoid taking the good one on the train several times a week. I know CYM have a donate an instrument scheme but I would like some of the £2500 I spent on this back really. ........

@thirdfiddle sorry I wasn’t clear. The string ensemble will be joined by all the other ensembles (brass etc).
@Trumpetdad thanks for posting.

If definitely going to look into this, wasn't much point during covid but they they are at least playing with some others I will. Thanks for the info and the reminder.

Thanks for posting - have gone for some vented ones for DD.

Thanks for posting that, I've just bought some for use at youth orchestra. DS plays in a concert band there and generally doesn't have any brass next to him, but does sometimes have a piccolo directly behind so think getting him used to the idea of wearing these is a good idea. Also probably for flute ensemble more generally.

Thanks for posting that Trumpetdad - very comprehensive.

NYO advice on ear protection
www.nyo.org.uk/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTcvMTAvMTgvN212cXFjN2VvMF9OWU9fR3VpZGVsaW5lc19vbl9IZWFyaW5nX1Byb3RlY3Rpb24ucGRmIl1d/NYO%20Guidelines%20on%20Hearing%20Protection.pdf?sha=c0029140bcffb21e

We have ER20 protectors. But very hard to persuade DS to use them as no one else is. The children music groups need to make it mandatory