Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Refusal to practice musical instrument

I listened to her play last night and it was horrible. She claimed the instrument is badly out of tune but I think she must be doing something wrong. I could recognize that she was playing "ode to joy" but just barely. I was glad she didn't want to do clarinet because of of all the squeaking but I think this is just as bad. I'm going to call some private teachers, see if I can find someone who is reasonable.

So apparently DD went to orchestra practice (with the whole orchestra) today and was a little late. She sat down and played with everyone else, and the teacher stopped in horror and tuned the instrument. It was so bad that it had to be tuned again at the group lesson. So maybe that was the main problem. I don't know a lot about string instruments.

Sounds like your DD's school could use some new cellos!

They're not that easy to tune for an inexperienced person, so I don't think I would expect your DD to tune it herself. And if it had to be tuned twice, that suggests that it was either really, really far out of tune, or that it doesn't hold its tuning very well. If the latter case, it's a flaw of the instrument (or its worn-out strings or pegs). Rentals!

She accidentally left it in the car one day and it was cold...could that have messed it up and kept it messed up about 2 weeks later? (like I said she never practices, so it's possible she didn't play it for two weeks after she left it out in the car).

Yes, that could definitely mess up the tuning, and once messed up, it would stay messed up.

We keep DD's instrument in a humidity controlled room because a drastic change in humidity does a lot of damage to string instruments.

You might want to google cello & humidity.

Even if your DD doesn't want to continue cello beyond this year, I highly recommend private lessons, even for a handful of sessions. Getting the basics down (bow hold, bowing, tuning, posture, basic intonation/scales, etc) with the help of a good teacher would make a big difference, I promise!

My kids take weekly private lessons for viola and their teacher has insisted they always tune their own instrument. Maybe she can learn how to tune her cello?
There are lots of jokes about the cello though, namely that it is very hard to tune!

jack'smom--i don't know, the teacher would need to teach her since I don't have any idea.

I'm still planning on looking into private lessons, at least maybe for the rest of the year. She's also in choir 1X per week before school (and orchestra is also before school), so all of the music is adding up to a lot of time. She won't give any of it up, though.

If the teacher had to tune it twice in one day, then it is likely either the strings need to be replaced or there is damage to the fine tuners or the pegs. Of course, it is possible that your DD knock it out of tune or the cello experienced a temperature/humidity change during the day. Either way, you should have the rental company check the instrument and repair as necessary.

By the way, it is pretty easy to tune string instruments these days and students are expected to tune their own in class by 6th grade in our district. In the old days, you usually tune against the piano so it can be difficult if you don't have good ears. Nowadays, vibration tuners are popular and cheap or you can use a free app. You basically turn the fine tuners until the visual target lines up. If you are more than a couple of notes off, you may need to adjust the pegs, which can be tricky for a novice (you need to push in while you turn), especially if the pegs are not properly greased and you have a big instrument like the cello or bass.

Anyhow, you should really tune your instrument every time you play, particularly if you can't hear when it is just a little out of tune. Kids do get lazy but I would insist they tune at least once a week.

I'm supriced they did not teach them how to tune the instruments. It does no good to practice with out of tune string instrument. How will she know where to place her fingers?

My 8 year old plays violin and when she started I had a electronic tuner so I could tune the violin before she practiced. It will not be perfectly tuned that way but I never learned how to do it with my ear. Luckily DD has perfect pitch so I do not need to tune it anymore. You should get a tuner for her.



Do cellos really stay in tune that well? DD often needs to adjust her violin tuning in the middle of the practice or lesson and so does her teacher.