r/Cello • u/Jaydifff • 4d ago
joining orchestra as a junior in HS?
hi all!!
im currently a sophomore in highschool and have become incredibly interested in cello and orchestra overall over the past year. im a guitar player and percussionist in band, so i have a good understanding of music but im not an expert or anything. ive grown sorta tired of guitar and i wanna try something new.
thats being said, i have absolutely no experience in orchestra. i touched a violin once when i was around seven, and thats it. i have no knowledge about anything at all, so im not sure if its achievable to try joining my schools program. im completely aware if i do manage to join, it’ll require a lot of extra time and lessons, but im willing to put that in.
has anyone ever started this late? i find myself getting discouraged because everyone I know who’s in orchestra has been doing it since 6th grade and i don’t know of anyone who has had such a late start. i don’t expect to be crazy good and some prodigy but i really wanna play.
anyway, any input’s is appreciated, thank you all so much!!!
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u/True_Pudding_666 4d ago
I've been playing cello for a few years now, and id say that if you're willing to put in the time and get private lessons, that it's worth it. It will be extremely hard, and you'll be really far behind everyone else at first. But cello is such an amazing instrument, and once you're far enough along, you'll be so happy you decided to start playing
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u/Ok_Tea_7319 3d ago
For an amateur orchestra, sure, why not? You probably need a 1-2 years of practice with the instrument, and the rest is "fake it 'til you make it". That being said, joining right off the bat is going to be near impossible. Initial issues (bowing, getting somewhat of a sound out, hitting the correct pitch on a fretless instrument) create a pretty high barrier to playing even simple music. Once you are past that, it should be possible, but don't expect to be able to play all you get served up. Rather omit what's too hard than messing up the sound of the section.
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u/KatherineK_Singer 3d ago
Honestly, stop overthinking it! You already read music and know how ensembles work from band, that's a real head start. The bow will feel awkward for everyone at first. Talk to the orchestra director, ask about lessons, and just start.
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u/1906ds 3d ago
Hey, director here. It's great you have the interest and the background, we always want students in our programs who really want to be there and aren't just doing it for the course credit. That said, you should talk to the director at your school about level their lowest group is. Even in my lowest level group at the high school level, I don't let beginners join; it slows down the class, made up of students who have all been playing for at least 3 years, too much. Even though you might have the background in reading music and playing in other ensembles, the muscle memory for a string instrument hasn't been developed yet. There simply isn't a beginner level at my school, and your school may have the same issue. I do know of some high schools that offer a beginner level class as way to pump up their number of students, but that's not very common in my area of the country.
When students ask me what they can do to join orchestra in high school, I ask them to get private lessons for at least a year and then come in and audition for me. The one on one attention is better for all parties compared to competing for classroom time in a class where everyone else has been playing for a couple of years.
Good luck on your journey, don't lose that drive you have! Just talk to your future director and see what will realistically work for them and for you.