4 ms·

My wife had this idea that we had our kids learn less-popular instruments. Viola instead of violin, harpsichord instead of piano. Playing piano is super compete

My wife had this idea that we had our kids learn less-popular instruments. Viola instead of violin, harpsichord instead of piano. Playing piano is super competetive, you could put a lot of effort into it and still there are so many better players than you. In comparison the local harpsichord community is very happy to have a new member, everybody is supportive and it is much easier for the kids.

nicolas_t 4y ago
That's a good idea... One reason I mentioned piano is that as an adult I finally decided to learn piano and I guess at a young age seeing his dad try to also learn the same instrument might be more motivating... I do love the sound of harpsichord though :) But getting one at home is much harder whereas electronic pianos with good weighted keys are cheap and don't take so much space.
Aidevah 4y ago
Charles Rosen relayed this wonderful anecdote about the great musicologist Oliver Strunk (son of the William Strunk of Strunk & White fame); >His interests ranged over almost the whole of music, although his appreciation of the modern period may not have gone beyond Bartok. I remember he once told me that he used to own a harpsichord but had exchanged it for a piano, and when I asked why, he said that it was too difficult to sight-read the tone poems of Strauss at the harpsichord. The piano used to be the gateway to all sorts of music, both vocal, orchestral and chamber, via transcriptions. And enthusiasts would get to know pieces that are performed in concert by sight reading it on their piano at home beforehand. The harpsichord is less versatile than the piano in this regard. But then again the primary way of getting to know new music nowadays has been through recordings, and this has been the case for a very long time, so the practical deficiencies of the harpsichord compared to the piano may be less noticeable now. On the other hand, learning a continuo instrument like the harpsichord invariably involves some sort of training in improvised thoroughbass, which is an extremely valuable skill that is not found among pianists, so I think it's a pretty good choice in the end after all.
mwcampbell 4y ago
I'm not a parent, but I would be concerned about doing anything that's likely to get the kid branded a weirdo, particularly when they reach the social gauntlet of American middle school and high school (if that's applicable for you). I suppose I'm particularly sensitive to that because my disability (partial blindness) made me an attractive choice for other kids to pick on, and nobody chose that for me.

nicolas_t 4y ago

That's a good idea... One reason I mentioned piano is that as an adult I finally decided to learn piano and I guess at a young age seeing his dad try to also learn the same instrument might be more motivating... I do love the sound of harpsichord though :) But getting one at home is much harder whereas electronic pianos with good weighted keys are cheap and don't take so much space.

Aidevah 4y ago

Charles Rosen relayed this wonderful anecdote about the great musicologist Oliver Strunk (son of the William Strunk of Strunk & White fame); >His interests ranged over almost the whole of music, although his appreciation of the modern period may not have gone beyond Bartok. I remember he once told me that he used to own a harpsichord but had exchanged it for a piano, and when I asked why, he said that it was too difficult to sight-read the tone poems of Strauss at the harpsichord. The piano used to be the gateway to all sorts of music, both vocal, orchestral and chamber, via transcriptions. And enthusiasts would get to know pieces that are performed in concert by sight reading it on their piano at home beforehand. The harpsichord is less versatile than the piano in this regard. But then again the primary way of getting to know new music nowadays has been through recordings, and this has been the case for a very long time, so the practical deficiencies of the harpsichord compared to the piano may be less noticeable now. On the other hand, learning a continuo instrument like the harpsichord invariably involves some sort of training in improvised thoroughbass, which is an extremely valuable skill that is not found among pianists, so I think it's a pretty good choice in the end after all.

mwcampbell 4y ago

I'm not a parent, but I would be concerned about doing anything that's likely to get the kid branded a weirdo, particularly when they reach the social gauntlet of American middle school and high school (if that's applicable for you). I suppose I'm particularly sensitive to that because my disability (partial blindness) made me an attractive choice for other kids to pick on, and nobody chose that for me.