Bowing by child?

[zdirector]

I have a small, fourth-grade daughter, who is also low-vision. She started on double-bass 1/8. The school was concerned on size of instrument and her safety in trying to get it around. The teacher said to get a cello and string as bass.

But, can an inexpensive electric upright be bowed? Can kids use it in an elementary school band/orchestra?


Thanks

[fretlessman71]

• Yes, it CAN be bowed.
• It will sound awful though.
• If she's in 4th grade, a standard upright is going to be HUGE for her, even an electric one. The scale length is at issue.
• A 'cello strung as a bass would be an interesting compromise. I suspect you'd have to put solo strings on it to make it fly.
• An electric upright just means you'd have to drag around an amp big enough to reproduce a good tone, which presents a whole new set of problems.

[HogieWan]

I have a 5-string cello strung with a low-F (D'addario chrome bass string - .105) and it works ok for bass notes, but it's not the same as a DB