Music Education - The Downside

A friend who knows about my propensity to buy ukuleles sent me this. Sad but true.

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Looking on the bright side isn’t it good that you have the disposable income available? At some point you might even sell a sizeable proportion of your Ukes and recover some of your investment.

Personally I find music a distraction, sometimes too much of a distraction from what I should be doing and sometimes a distraction from the thorns of everyday life. Music can be whole lot better for you than a very long list of other things ...... just got to keep music in balance with the rest of life, somehow.
 
It really doesn't have to be that way. In fact it isn't like that for a lot of ukulele players. I know lots of ukulele players who only have one or two, but they probably aren't here every day. :)
 
I AM poor, but not because of the Instruments i bought. (was ist even before starting with music)
BUT my Music makes me RICH.

Thats how i see it.
 
I AM poor, but not because of the Instruments i bought. (was ist even before starting with music)
BUT my Music makes me RICH.

Thats how i see it.

It truly does. I think music is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and our children.
 
It really doesn't have to be that way. In fact it isn't like that for a lot of ukulele players. I know lots of ukulele players who only have one or two, but they probably aren't here every day. :)

It isn't that way for most people who play music. Can you imagine having a household full of pianos?
 
It isn't that way for most people who play music. Can you imagine having a household full of pianos?

I have to disagree. Most of my musician friends—and I know many—are dad burn friggen gear hounds. Yes, they're professional players and teachers so these objects are their tools but, yeah, a house full of keyboards ain't uncommon albeit not as common as a house full of guitars, basses, ukuleles and an infinity of sound processing gear, mics, pedals, lighting trees, etc. I tossed some most of my living room furniture to make room for more studio gear. Luckily my wife is a gear hound too otherwise I'd be out on my ear...
 
I've been through about a dozen ukuleles since I started playing 2 years ago. I now have 4 that I'm very happy with. Learning to play the ukulele, and becoming a "musician" for the first time in my life has been an absolute joy. I can't imagine being without it now. It's way less expensive than my whitewater rafting & sea kayaking hobbies that I've been into for the past 25 years. 7 different rafts & 2 different sea kayaks over the years, plus all the assorted gear that goes with them has cost me a pretty penny. But the memories that all my "stuff" has given me is priceless.
 
I have to disagree. Most of my musician friends—and I know many—are dad burn friggen gear hounds. Yes, they're professional players and teachers so these objects are their tools but, yeah, a house full of keyboards ain't uncommon albeit not as common as a house full of guitars, basses, ukuleles and an infinity of sound processing gear, mics, pedals, lighting trees, etc. I tossed some most of my living room furniture to make room for more studio gear. Luckily my wife is a gear hound too otherwise I'd be out on my ear...

This goes for so many hobbies. Photography, fishing, shooting, woodworking, automechanics, painting, mountain climbing.......its gear, gear gear. It certainly doesn't have to be that way but so many of us just love to have "stuff"
 
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I have to disagree. Most of my musician friends—and I know many—are dad burn friggen gear hounds. Yes, they're professional players and teachers so these objects are their tools but, yeah, a house full of keyboards ain't uncommon albeit not as common as a house full of guitars, basses, ukuleles and an infinity of sound processing gear, mics, pedals, lighting trees, etc. I tossed some most of my living room furniture to make room for more studio gear. Luckily my wife is a gear hound too otherwise I'd be out on my ear...

That's because they are keyboards, not pianos, but there are many types of instruments out there and I can guarantee you that the ones that play the most expensive and large instruments do not own many. They may upgrade, but their priorities are to get as good as they can and to own the best so that they can show their skill. Though it's small, how many violins do you believe an impresario owns? The best violins cost as much as many houses. People who play the popular (accessible to most people with less formal training), stringed instruments (guitar, banjo, uke) and keyboards are a different breed. Cheaper instruments attract more people who hoard, possibly because they are cheaper.
 
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I have to disagree. Most of my musician friends—and I know many—are dad burn friggen gear hounds. Yes, they're professional players and teachers so these objects are their tools but, yeah, a house full of keyboards ain't uncommon albeit not as common as a house full of guitars, basses, ukuleles and an infinity of sound processing gear, mics, pedals, lighting trees, etc. I tossed some most of my living room furniture to make room for more studio gear. Luckily my wife is a gear hound too otherwise I'd be out on my ear...

My violin and viola playing friends and acquaintances are mostly the opposite.... we all seem to own and rely on one main instrument, and then a "backup" one that we prefer to seldom use - in fact, besides having to play it when the main one is down for repairs, it only gets trotted out if we have to play in a blistering hot outdoor gig, wedding on the beach, etc.

I have lots of other instruments that are "personal enjoyment" ones (and that, of course, includes my ukes), but only have two violas and one violin. I'm acquainted with relatively few bowed strings professionals who are into other instruments at all, though.

bratsche
 
My violin and viola playing friends and acquaintances are mostly the opposite.... we all seem to own and rely on one main instrument, and then a "backup" one that we prefer to seldom use - in fact, besides having to play it when the main one is down for repairs, it only gets trotted out if we have to play in a blistering hot outdoor gig, wedding on the beach, etc.

I have lots of other instruments that are "personal enjoyment" ones (and that, of course, includes my ukes), but only have two violas and one violin. I'm acquainted with relatively few bowed strings professionals who are into other instruments at all, though.

bratsche
I have a nice concert that I play. I have a soprano that I seldom play, but I have it as a backup in case something happens to the concert and I need to replace it quickly. And I still have my original Makala that goes along on the bicycle when I'm riding the trails. That's all I want. I also have a violin, but I never play it. I don't know how to play it and I don't know if it is playable. My grandfather brought it back from WWI and I ended up with it somehow. I should send you pictures of it and see what you think.
 
Looking on the bright side isn’t it good that you have the disposable income available? At some point you might even sell a sizeable proportion of your Ukes and recover some of your investment.

Personally I find music a distraction, sometimes too much of a distraction from what I should be doing and sometimes a distraction from the thorns of everyday life. Music can be whole lot better for you than a very long list of other things ...... just got to keep music in balance with the rest of life, somehow.

I have to disagree. Most of my musician friends—and I know many—are dad burn friggen gear hounds. Yes, they're professional players and teachers so these objects are their tools but, yeah, a house full of keyboards ain't uncommon albeit not as common as a house full of guitars, basses, ukuleles and an infinity of sound processing gear, mics, pedals, lighting trees, etc. I tossed some most of my living room furniture to make room for more studio gear. Luckily my wife is a gear hound too otherwise I'd be out on my ear...

My Ukulele teacher says he has 20 guitar. I joked with him is that with air quotes meaning does he really have more.

And to judge someone's spending as having disposable income - the two are not necessarily correlated. You don't know how they purchased the ukes.

For me I find playing does make me richer emotionally, mentally and I'm poorer financially. So it's a win, win, eh :)
 
I was an orchestra nerd growing up and owned more violins than the fellows here seem to indicate! Sure pro symphony musicians tend to have one or two really good instruments but the rest of us were playing folky local made, Chinese and Eastern Europe violins, instruments just as affordable as guitars (I had one or two of each!). I even had an electric model for playing with my C&W and rocker friends on weekend gigs. I didn't own any megabucks Baroque era Italian instruments and it's not typical to own one save for a handful of very lucky or rich players. On the other hand, I'm itching to try the Fluke Cricket Violin and viola. Sounds like it would be a lot of fun jacked in and amped up (albeit my violin chops are rusty).
 
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+1. Playing ukulele adds a great deal to my life.

Thanks to Ukuleles I've spoken to people in multiple countries in Europe, Canada, Australia and many States of the US. The Ukulele has truly enriched my life. It has renewed my interest and listening pleasure in music. And added a new dimension to my relationship with my grandson and with my husband.

When I spoke about the Ukulele to my best friend who plays the violin with an orchestra, she declared I'd found my instrument. She has one instrument and one bow. She's planning on replacing those in the future. But I have many instruments. We're cut from different cloths. I think part of UAS is the love of variety. It adds to the zest of Ukuleles.

Like RafterGirl said, I've spent plenty on other avocations. When I practiced art it was costly and I played in the sandbox of different modalities.

It's wonderful that we're all different. :)
 
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