double bass - huge dilemma what to do...

[schooling123]

My DD is 8 and is now at grade 2 of double bass and it is so hard work to practise etc ( no motivation to practise at home but enjoys performing in the orchestras with other children)...would it make sense to switch to another instruments - still hard to work out which one she would prefer?

Why doesn’t she practice / enjoy it?

It is a crazy big instrument!

it is hard to press the strings she says - maybe requires a lot of concentration too

The cello? Maybe suggest no more grading and just lessons and orchestra. She's young and has time to find the instrument that suits her better.

My daughter plays cello and started when she was 8, now grade 7.

its still a hassle to transport though...

Bass/Bass guitar is an easy switch? Try recorder/flute for something the complete opposite?

But practicing on your own is never going to be as fun as playing with others, and any instrument is going to require concentration. As an adult I adore playing and it's a huge part of my life - and I'm still not that motivated about practice

So unless you get a strong steer from her about what she wants to play I'd leave it be I think. If she does have an eye on something, she will learn a lot quicker for having gone through that stage once.

Would she be interested in (and you have funding for) starting another as a second instrument and keeping bass going so she can still do orchestras in the meantime and see which she prefers in a year or two?

I agree with rememberthetime that a switch to 'cello is likely to prove fruitful. She could keep on with the double bass at orchestra until she's good enough on the 'cello to join the orchestra on that. Also, she might be able to have the same teacher for both instruments (i.e. do the 2 for a bit while she sees if she likes 'cello / to keep up the db level for orchestra). Good luck!

Pressing down the strings is painful on all string instruments; all I can say is that the pleasure is worth the 'pain' and that her right hand finger pads will get calloused over time through practice and that then reduces the pain.

The trouble with large instruments is transport and the costs as they move up the grades. One of ours did Bassoon from year 5 and was OK making County youth orchestra and playing in a professional musical - but that’s more about it being a shortage instrument than innate skill.
I found myself transporting it around the County far longer than with the other smaller instruments. The violinist, flautist, the oboist all managed to get themselves around with their instruments. The bassoonist not so. It was just impossible to drag into and out of secondary school with rugby kit and school bag as well. I was a virtual pageboy. If they’re boarding it’s much, much easier as instruments stay in practice rooms and concerts are on site to they get transport. In state schools storage isn’t usually possible so they have to carry them around. It’s the main reason he gave up. I would say if she wasn’t really keen and self motivated consider swapping for logistical reasons. If she’s obsessed then keep at it. Our elder violinist was driven about learning it from age four and never faltered (unfortunately).
Consider ongoing costs too. His second Bassoon set us back over £10,000 and that was far from the upper end of the range. My guess is a double bass as another shortage instrument would also cost a lot as she moves up - although he’ll always find it easy to get into orchestras and jazz groups. Many children enjoy the performance part of orchestral instruments rather than the actual playing of the instrument - there are much cheaper and easier options.

My DC1 plays bass guitar. Would that be of more interest? There'll always be demand for bass players and being able to switch back to fretless double bass is a genuine asset.

Thinking about her reporting it being painful to press down on the strings ...
On guitars, we talk about the 'action' of an instrument, which is an expression of the ease of pressing down. The degree of bow of the neck and the distance between the string & neck/frets can be adjusted using the truss rod that runs along the length of the neck. A good/well adjusted instrument has this distance as small as possible (but without the strings buzzing against the frets). Is similar adjustment possible on classical instruments?