Determining Safety/Match/Reach for specific instrument

bass2022
Mon, 22 Feb 2021 04:23:51 +0000

@mom2amazingkids thank you for the welcome and the info!!

I do think we will be able to get a better sense of his playing skills by having a more in-depth conversation with his teacher, and school and community orchestra directors. We have some sense from his summer program, and his auditions but only a general idea.

The part that confuses me is how to know how competitive a particular instrument is at a given school to ensure he has some safeties, some matches and one or two reaches. I read a thread where a parent mentioned BU as the ultimate reach school for their child’s instrument (it might even have been the bass - I am not remembering). I think that comment, coupled with the understanding that students seem to choose the school in no small part based on the professor for their instrument, made me realize that we may need to understand how competitive a school is specifically for double bass, rather than the school’s music department as a whole. Is that right? Basically, I don’t want him to end up with mainly reaches by accident.

My kid has not dipped his toe in yet in terms of asking for virtual trial lessons, but I will encourage him to do that. I bet you are right that he can get substantial info from those sessions.

Thanks again!