EASY WAY TO EARN A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP - Money Instruments

There are many ways to qualify for a college scholarship, specially if you are a straight A student. But what if your child is not a top candidate for a college scholarship.  What can you do to improve his chances of being accepted by a good college.

Almost every college has a music department and they do give out scholarships for certain instruments that are needed to complete their band or orchestra.  They are called money instruments and if your child is interested in playing an instrument, there are a couple instruments you should direct them towards.  Trumpets, clarinets, flutes, saxophones, tubas and percussion instruments are a dime a dozen and it is rare for a college to give a scholarship for one of these instruments

The number one money instrument is the Bassoon.  the bassoon is a double reed wood wind instrument that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher.  If your child is going to start playing music in elementary school, possibly start him on a sax or clarinet for a few years and when he matures switch him to a bassoon early enough so that he can become accomplished enough with the bassoon to be in demand for college music groups.  Every band I have played in needs a bassoon player.

Another money instrument, but less in demand is the English Horn which is a double reed woodwind instrument and frequently called a Cor anglais.  The English horn is approximately 1 1/2 times the length of the oboe and the fingering and playing technique is essentially the same as the oboe.  Music for the English horn is written a perfect fifth higher than the instrument actually sounds.  the pear-shaped bell gives the instrument a more covered timbre than that of the oboe, being closer in tonal quality to the oble d'amore

The third money instrument is also a woodwind instrument called the oboe.  The oboe is probably the least expensive instrument to purchase out of the three, however you need to be very accomplished to earn an oboe scholarship because the competition is tougher because there are more oboists.  One of the uniqueness of the oboe is it has very little adjustment for tuning the instrument.  Therefore many bands tune to the oboe instrument 

The oboe d'amore (oboe of love in Italian) is also a double reed woodwind instrument.  It has a less assertive and more tranquil and serene tone and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family whereas the oboe is considered the soprano.  If your child likes music, learning the three oboe instruments would be a real plus towards a music scholarship in oboe.  The fingering technique and playing technique are all similar and all three employ a double reed which has its own unique techniques for playing.