Trying out cello

[EmBeck]

DD (10) does piano (grade 7), and really wants to try out the cello. I was wondering -- are there any holiday schools or clubs (maybe during half-terms or Easter/summer) for absolute beginners to try out new musical instruments? I don't want to sort out a teacher and look into buying/renting a huge instrument if she decides she doesn't like it!

Wow she is doing amazingly to be grade 7 at her age!
Where abouts are you… do you have a local music hub or county music group that might be able to help?
otherwise you could contact local teachers and ask if they would do a couple of trial lessons before you commit? This is quite common!

Your local music service, should be able to offer a free trial lesson. They will also be able to rent you an instrument if she decides to take it up. That would help you work out what size cello she would need!

I'm not musical at all and never learnt any so don't know how local music services work. Should I just email the county music service and email them? The website suggests they offer tution for a term. I'm thinking more about something like a beginners' music holiday camp where children can try out instruments. I seem to remember seeing someyhing like that ages ago, probably on here, but can't find anything like that.

Absolutely you could ask the county music team if they offer any trials at any groups. Or look at musicteachers website and see if any local teachers

Our county music hub is brilliant, you can hire a cello for not much for a term so she can try have a few lessons and see how she gets on. Also at 10 she is unlikely to be on a full size instrument anyway we didn’t buy until they were big enough to justify getting one that would last up to g8

I would have a word with her piano teacher about it. Then I would rent a cello and let her have a couple of lessons and experiment at home to see what she thinks. Has she got time to practice 2 instruments?

Where in the country are you? I feel like my niece went to a strings summer camp in south east London if that would be any use.

However I would be inclined to talk to the local music service and try it out through them. If your dd is musical then there will be all sorts of fun opportunities there for ensembles etc as she gets older and so it's good to start getting the feel of it now.

Mine tried a few wind instruments with a teacher then decided which one to take up. I'm sure a private teacher would do a trial. Join the autumn/ winter music thread on the extra curricular for more advice. People might be able to suggest someone in the area. Cello is great as lots of ensemble opportunities and knowing piano means bass clef will be easy.

Where are you in the country? We did a lovely music camp where my daughter got to try loads of of instruments in the summer holiday and decided from that she wanted to start cello.

I’m finding it much harder than piano as a parent tbh. It’s big enough that you have to think about transport and check boot sizes even at a 1/2 size. We also made the mistake of buying a really cheap instrument and it’s impossible to keep the bloody thing in tune and to avoid string slipping. We’ve already had to upgrade the strings and get a new bow. I wouldn’t buy a cheap one again but rent. A luthier also won’t touch the cheap instruments as they say it’s not worth their while.

My son was older (16) but we rented a cello on a hire purchase agreement - so we paid monthly and could either return the instrument and owe nothing or buy it with the money for rental taken off the cost. We did try the local
music service as others suggested but they had nothing available. He kept playing but now has no room in his uni halls for it - not the easiest thing to house/transport. It just about fits in his tiny car but it’s a squeeze!

https://caswells-strings.co.uk/product/cello-rental/

My local music school do one off try instruments out sessions.

Does she know anyone who plays the cello already who might let her have a go on theirs?

But tbh if she is interested in learning she’ll probably like it enough to do for at least a term, so the county music offering sounds good. Definitely need advice on what size as it varies so much depending on individual build - I started off with a 3/4 cello at 7 and needed a full size one by 11, but know some people who still needed a smaller one at 14.

The best thing about going through your local music hub is that it can then feed into the various orchestras and string groups. Ours does taster group courses and open days and evenings to try different instruments.

Hi @Bunnycat101 and @Ribidibidibidoobahday we're in Oxfordshire. The music camps you mention sound amazing where are they? Could you share a link?

Does her school offer cello lessons? You could ask the string teacher if DD could try out a cello??
I know a couple of excellent Cello teachers in Oxford/South Oxford if that helps?