My first orchestra experience- point of view from an adult beginner who only played for 3 months

April 11, 2008 at 7:21 PM

I don't think I have ever been that lost before. I'm a pianist, why can't I count correctly?? Why???

I emailed one of the junior college community orchestra group's director about sitting in the first rehearsal. Told him honestly that I've only been playing for 3 months, playing towards the end of Suzuki book TWO, and am interested in joining in the FUTURE. He insist that this year he will be doing some chamber music group, so he'll be assigning maybe just one movement of easier pieces to different groups depending on their level, and that I should come in with my violin.

Alright, so here I went with my violin. Staring at the section wondering which is the last chair of the second violin section. I sat down, praying that no one will sit next to me. Then a nice college kid sat next to me. We exchanged greetings, and I told him i'm very new. He said he's been only playing for a few years. I said, that's great, I've only been playing for three. Three MONTHS. You should see the look in his face, it was priceless.

We started off playing Haydn's Symphony No100. Ehmmm... you mean I have to sight read this thing? (thank goodness it's in G major). I can play the slower passages, only when I can find my place in the music. It's not like the music is in complicated time, why do I have so much trouble following the music? I pretty much count the best I can, watch my stand parter to see where our section suppose to be at. And try to play the first note of each bar if I can. Quickly, I realize my goal for the nite was not to play any notes during our rest.

Since its the first rehearsal, everyone was sight reading. The first violin section was of course quite good. There were alot of giggling going on in the second violin section because we're either playing out of tune or we enter wrong.

I almost pee in my pants when the director wants each section to play their section alone.

Will I go back to this orchestra? Probably, but not now. I'm not ready. I think it's a great learning opportunity, but I should not be wasting their time. If they do indeed have the chamber section, and they can really find someone my level, I would be delighted to join. I took the music home, I just can't do this. At least for now. Nonetheless, it was a GREAT learning experience!!!

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 8:25 PM

You're doing very well,playing Suzuki Book Two after only three months. Playing music with other people is an entirely different skill. You have to hear yourself, the rest of your section, and the whole group, without losing your place. For now, I strongly recommend playing pieces with two parts, one for you and one for your teacher. This will start building the skills you need. There are a lot of easy duet books, including one book with harmony parts for some of the tunes in Suzuki Books 1 and 2.

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 8:51 PM

Pauline, thanks for your encouragement. I LOVE playing duets!! All my sightreading assignments are done in duet fashion, and I do play both sections. I will suggest to my teacher to play more duets!! Thanks! Did I mentioned that I was completely lost? :)

From Karin Lin
Posted on April 11, 2008 at 11:26 PM

I love your enthusiasm and humility, PM! You're right, maybe it's a bit early for you to be trying to join an orchestra, community or otherwise, but your excitement and dedication will help you progress very quickly and it won't be long. (To answer the question in your email, yes, your experience is probably typical of what you'd encounter in my former orchestra.)

Pauline's suggestion was an excellent one. If you're yearning to play with other people, try some smaller duets and ensembles. Heck, when summer comes, I'll be happy to jam with you a bit myself. :)

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 12:45 AM

Karin, thanks!!! Yeah, it was a hilarious experience, the only thing that made me survive the night was because my stand partner and our neighbors are quite clueless. They had to ask me if the notes have sharps or not.... basically, the 2nd violin section all giggled thru the nite. Would love to jam with you when summer comes. Just be careful of what you asked for, remember newbie violin player = cat killer?

From Benjamin K
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 1:36 AM

PM, that sounds like a great experience though. If you say that the director wanted you there and the others in the 2nd section didn't have much of a clue either, then perhaps it is worthwhile hanging in there for a while and see if you gain anything from it. Never mind the awkwardness not being able to follow. Ask the director, tell him you can't really follow yet, whether he still wants you to hang in and if he's got any advice.

In any event, well done. I take my hat off to you ;-)

From Mendy Smith
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 4:10 AM

DONT GIVE UP!!!! I played viola for 30 years, and played with an orchestra for the first time in nearly 20 years and was in your shoes.

Getting totally lost is normal if you haven't played with an orchestra before. Stick with it. Your first season will be the hardest. After that, you will start to develop the "follow the leader skills" and be able to keep up for the most part. Then comes the fine art of "faking it" for passages you can't quite master.

Next thing you know, this will be easy.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 11:49 AM

I really enjoyed reading this. It reminded me a bit of my first orchestra rehearsal on the viola after I'd been playing the viola for less than a year. Good for you that you tried it! I also like Pauline's suggestion to play duets. If you feel comfortable, tell your teacher about your experience. Maybe s/he will have some advice about when it would make sense to go back to the rehearsals.

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 12, 2008 at 3:12 PM

Karen, thanks!! I was thinking about how to tell her. I wouldn't be able to hold it back since as funny as it was, I learned alot and want to share with her. But on the other hand, i don't want her to think that I'm a lune that with only 3 months experience did this!!

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 13, 2008 at 7:40 PM

You're not a lune. You're just a beginner, and you need some training.

Maybe this will make you feel less like a lune. It's a true story. One night at my community symphony orchestra, I shared a stand with someone brand new to the group so I could give him some guidance. He played classical guitar and then tried to teach himself violin. He was very proud that he could read music. When the orchestra tuned up, he tuned the only way he knew -- with his electronic tuner, which told him when he had the notes in tune. I listened to him play all four strings, and they were tuned to G, D, A, and E , but exactly one octave below the place where they should be. He left quietly and never came back.

From Bernadette Hawes
Posted on April 13, 2008 at 7:58 PM

PM, well done for going along! That kind of go-getter attitude along with the opportunities you have there will carry you a long way. And lucky you with Karin's offer to jam with you. I would bite off anyone's hand that offerred me that opportunity!
This was the best bit for me: " Three MONTHS. You should see the look in his face, it was priceless." Ha ha ha ha ha
That was SO worth it!

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 14, 2008 at 4:06 AM

Pauline, that was quite funny!! At least I did pretty well during the tuning time!! I did see a girl pull out an electric tuner during tune up, and then one of her string broke... and half the time she just sit there with her violin down. I think I will go back this week, stay way in the back, pray that no one sits next to me. ANd I'll play what I can so I can train my ears to playing with others. I downloaded the piece from itunes, and found the full orchestra score on the internet, I can follow the music now with the first violin line written out. I'm hoping he'll have a beginner chamber group soon. Stay tune for more funny stories!

From Karin Lin
Posted on April 14, 2008 at 9:46 PM

Please don't bite off my hand, that will make it hard to play!

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 15, 2008 at 12:00 PM

Yes, Karin's hands must be preserved!!

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