The Saline Fiddlers are one very busy group of musicians. They perform an eclectic variety of music—everything from bluegrass to Cajun to Celtic—as often as 100 times per year in various venues, from summer park concerts in their hometown of Saline, Michigan, to extended international tours. Not bad for a group whose average age is fifteen. Aside from their youthful enthusiasm, another distinction is the Saline Fiddlers’ choice of instru-ments:  Yamaha Silent Cellos. They are just one example of a growing number of innovative school groups that are discovering the benefits of incorporating Yamaha’s electric string instruments into their music programs.

“We chose Silent Cellos for two reasons,” says Pam Phillips, the group’s business manager and wife of orchestra director Bob Phillips. “We were really having trouble amplifying the cellos in our group, so electric instruments just made good sense. But we also wanted something that would be easier to transport, since the Saline Fiddlers are on the road so much.”

“Silent Cellos have turned out to be a real boon to the group,” Bob comments. “We love the sound—it’s a

true cello sound which we couldn’t get with any pickups or mics. Also, taking them on airplanes or buses is much easier. We bought golf club cases for them for our tours, and they go right into the cargo hold of the airplane. They do just fine!”

The Saline school district is unusual in that more than 60% of the student body are involved in the high school’s various music programs. Bob starts fiddlers in the fifth grade beginner curriculum, so there is already a good deal of interest  from an early age. “Electric instruments are a great recruiting tool  for the orchestra,  because they give the strings a ‘cool’ aspect in the kids’ eyes," he says.

 “They are also invaluable for demonstrating the wide variety of styles open to string players, beyond the typical orchestral music.”

Like the Phillips in Michigan, Kuhn acquired the Silent Strings to allow school orchestra students to experience musical styles over and above the typical orchestral or string chamber music repertoire. “Primarily, we wanted our students to be exposed to all kinds of music, and thought that Yamaha electric instruments would help broaden their horizons with jazz and pop,” she says. “We have a senior Jazz Quartet at Chatham High School, under the direction of Rona Landrigan, and the kids really benefit from the experience of playing on the electric instruments.”

Kuhn and her colleagues have also found an added benefit: “When we do our recruiting in the spring with the second graders, we always take the electric instruments with us. We’ve been delighted to find that they’re a real draw among the younger kids.”

However, they are careful to stress that the electric instruments are for later on. “We make sure the students know that they have to learn to play the acoustic ones first, with the correct technique,” she says.  “To help maintain their program and keep them interested, we hold the electric instrument ‘carrot’ in front of them: after one year in the string program, they can then play the Yamaha electric instruments.”

Pennsylvania, utilizes Yamaha Silent Strings in a variety of classroom and performance applications, and orchestra director Walt Straiton likes to experiment with both the instrument’s silent and amplified capabilities. Using the Yamaha SX-6 Silent Ensemble Mixer, Straiton’s physical space can accommodate a full string orchestra rehearsal center-stage, while a quartet of Yamaha Silent String instruments rehearses simultaneously off to the side.

“These instruments definitely provide an unprecedented opportunity to multi-task during a rehearsal,” Straiton explains.

Kuhn adds she has also found electric instruments to be invaluable performance aids. “When we take our music department to Magic Music Days in Disney, our concertmaster will play his jazz solos on the electric violin,” she says. “This year the orchestra played a jazz composition called ‘Street Stuff,’ a Turtle Island String Quartet piece—they worked with us on this piece, in fact, during their visit. We’ve found that the electric instrument allows the concertmaster to project his solos clearly above the rest of the orchestra.”

Yamaha Silent Strings also come into their own in a rehearsal situation. The orchestra program at Williamsport Area High School in Williamsport,

I love the versatility these instruments bring to the mix!”

All three of these teachers have found very  innovative and rewarding ways to incorporate Yamaha’s Silent Series instruments into their music programs. Their experiences show that electric instruments can be not only great educational tools, but also great fun for their young players.