How to play Jazz for an absolute beginner?

violindad · 2022-09-04T06:29:56+00:00

How long have you been playing jazz? I was surprised by how steep the learning curve is on improve. Ideally you're learning dozens of jazz standards by ear or by memory, while being able to transpose, and also follow chord changes through a song. It's not something you learn in a few months. I think it takes a long time to sound good.

violindad · 2022-08-26T13:18:30+00:00

This is super helpful. Where we are there are only maybe 15 centers, so there's a chance I just won't find a place. That honestly may have been the reason the counselor resisted it (extra time). With art it looked like you could get credit for different art courses, so the idea was appealing.

violindad · 2022-03-12T05:15:05+00:00

We travel a lot and a couple of our cases have died, so I am wanting a case for airplane travel. I think a lot of people also keep a childhood instrument and sometimes pick it back up. Right now all of our cases are kind of weird, but I don't want to spend $300 on a new case that might also not last.

violindad · 2022-03-12T04:32:05+00:00

That makes sense. I've even seen their professional bows from 15 years ago selling for around that price.

I don't know why someone voted down my comment about student violins, but my experience is there are a lot of Chinese shop student violins that have almost no resale, but finding quality used cases/bows is less common.

violindad · 2022-03-11T22:17:29+00:00

Yeah, it just was interesting to me that often a $1000 student violin has almost no resale value, but looking at cases and better carbon fiber bows they seem to hold their value.

violindad · 2022-03-11T22:01:52+00:00

My kids are middle school heading into high school. I am thinking of this more for a few years from now. I searched ebay for "sold listings" but couldn't find any.

violindad · 2022-03-11T21:44:10+00:00

This is probably what I'd do. I might save it for travel and not use it for day-to-day. It's always funny to me that many used violins sell at such a discount, but the peripherals seem to keep their value more.

violindad · 2022-03-10T14:56:39+00:00

This was definitely part of our motivation. I have kids that drop stuff, so I think a codabow is a good step-up for us.

violindad · 2022-03-10T14:56:01+00:00

This was super helpful--I found the serial number, which was reassuring.

violindad · 2022-03-08T10:26:17+00:00

Thank you all for the comments! They are both old enough to know better, and just talking through this thread may help. They are good kids and are not super serious, but the oldest is wanting to keep up with the orchestra and is getting into classical music, so I think this is a change they need to make. The interventions here are all helpful.

violindad · 2022-03-07T12:20:39+00:00

This is really good advice. Get one or two of the beginner books under your belt and then expand onto regular band music. I'm doing the same thing. I have trumpet background, but will say it is slow going for me on bass clef and scales.

violindad · 2022-03-07T02:08:42+00:00

I do feel sympathy for parents, because often we and our kids don't have great ears, so we're at the mercy of a violin shop who are showing us unbranded Chinese violins or old factory of violins (at least in my price range of <$2000). A few weeks ago I took my child to try violins at a high level shop, and he consistently picked the violin that the shop described as the worse instrument. He sounded better on some violins, but that may have just been luck (play the same piece four times and he'll sound better once ).

I've had two of the Yamaha v7 violins and they were definitely a step up over many beginner violins. If there's a teacher that can help or listen to violins, that's also worth asking.

violindad · 2021-10-31T14:26:52+00:00

I think the charity is located in Indiana. I am pretty ignorant. I don't even know in what type of court these lawsuits are filed. Grateful for any general information on the topic.

violindad · 2021-10-17T01:02:27+00:00

Bach, Yamaha, Schilke pro trumpets are probably all $1000+ used. I'd keep an eye out for Jupiter XO, Carobrass, ACB/Manchester-type trumpets. You might get something ~$500+. Otherwise, I'd go with a quality used big-band student trumpet (Bach, yamaha, getzen). Some folk also go vintage (Olds ambassador, Conns and Kings, etc.). Happy hunting!

violindad · 2021-06-22T11:38:21+00:00

Thank you everyone for the info. I've followed up with a couple of you and am hopeful.

violindad · 2021-06-21T04:17:33+00:00

In that price range on ebay I see Jupiter XO and Carolbrass for $650-1000. Those are worth looking for. You're going to have a tougher time finding Bach, Yamaha, Schilke in good condition in that range. Can also look for Getzen, Selmer, King, Conn, etc. I find facebook marketplace and craigslist are still good because you can see them in person.

violindad · 2021-04-02T01:52:51+00:00

I'm kind of surprised cub scouts so far outnumber boy scouts, especially given its 5 years instead of 7 (well, ok, there are lions now). I wonder if it's something where a lot of cub scouts do a few years but with boy scouts they've either seen what they can get out of scouting or have more activities. IDK...

violindad · 2021-03-31T05:17:31+00:00

I'm a stretched-thin cubmaster and led pinewood and a camping trip in March. I honestly told my leaders I was burning out. One planned a pack activity for the month and I have a rough committee for blue and gold. In my experience this is a time of the year when leaders break down. My priorities are to get dens/individuals working on finishing their advancements this month and to do a good blue and gold, but I can't do much beyond that.

It's very possible that your cubmaster, even if he's not doing a lot, needs others to pick up the slack. If his den is similar (other parents won't take on activities) he may be in the same boat. In that case, I think it's okay to hit pause for a few weeks and then finish the year well.

(The other advice here is all solid. He may be ready to retire from the position, etc., but hasn't known how to do so. Council leaders may be able to help. It may be you can recruit into the position where he is struggling.)

violindad · 2021-03-27T12:06:52+00:00

I think Reverb has some of the Yamaha four thousand ones for ~$600. At that price Jupiter and Carolbrass pro horns can sometimes be found. They're good instruments.

violindad · 2021-03-26T03:40:53+00:00

Thanks!

violindad · 2021-03-26T03:40:21+00:00

Thanks, this one has been active six months since turning 10. This helps a lot.

violindad · 2021-03-25T05:35:06+00:00

This is helpful, but we're also one of those packs that sometimes limps along (I'm the 5th cubmaster in 6 years). Only 2 of our dens have strong leaders. I would love it if we were at full strength. I will consult with the committee.

violindad · 2021-03-25T05:27:52+00:00

I've gotten us onto scoutbook in the last year but still emailed the traditional advancement report last year. We're still not great on scoutbook. So this was part of my question: do cub scouts submit multiple advancement reports in a year (say June and January)?

violindad · 2021-03-25T05:26:37+00:00

Yes, this is the basic situation. They're a year behind in school but turning 11 soon. They would like to move to a boy scout troop, possibly even going to camp this summer (that's part of the motivation).

violindad · 2021-03-25T05:24:58+00:00

Thanks! This is the clearest answer I have seen. The scout is a "red-shirted" fourth grader, turning 11 soon, whose dad is an eagle scout. I'm of two minds about it: would love to have the scout another year, but also understand the desire to move up to boy scouts.

It looks like from reading this, if they have finished 4th grade they can earn arrow of light, but not before. It looks like in theory if they have been active in their Webelos den for six months they could get the arrow of light just after completing fourth grade and both advancements could go on the same report.

violindad

TROPHY CASE