Let us introduce you…
to Monty the Maestro and some of his musical friends.
As Monty the Maestro’s adventure continues we will be adding
more of his musical friends to our Meet the Characters page.
So keep an eye out and be sure to visit us regularly so you
don’t miss out on meeting any of Monty’s new additions!
Monty the Maestro emerges from his life as an instrument repairer to fulfil his dream of becoming a world class conductor. Besides looking smart in his tails and bow tie, Monty’s new job as a conductor is to make sure that all the instruments he meets, listen to each other and play together as a team. Monty uses his baton to tell the instruments when and how he wants them to play. Sometimes Monty also uses his hands to help show the instruments when they need to play with more feeling and at different volumes.
Vanessa the Violin is the smallest member of the string section and she also plays the highest in pitch. Like all the other string instruments Vanessa’s body is made of wood and she is played with a bow. Although Vanessa is the smallest of the strings she has a very special job – to lead the rest of the orchestra when the maestro has to focus on other important jobs. It’s important not to get Vanessa mixed up with her big sister Violet – although they might look quite similar to some, they have their own unique sounds and qualities.
Violet the Viola is Vanessa’s big sister, making her larger in size. This means that Violet sounds lower in pitch and when the two instruments play together in the orchestra, Violet will usually support her sister and help glue the music together while Vanessa usually has the more tuneful parts of the music to play. Like Vanessa, Violet has a chinrest towards the bottom of her body. This is because they are both positioned under people’s chins when they are played!
Chip the Cello sounds even lower than Violet and he’s bigger too! Chip is played (like Digby) with his spike in the ground but he is played sitting down. Like the other string instruments Chip has a bridge that anchors his four strings to his body. Although Chip is one of the lowest instruments in the orchestra he often gets lots of solo moments and you might be surprised by how high he can actually play.
Digby the Double Bass is the largest and lowest instrument in the string section. Like Chip he has a spike, but Digby can be played sitting down or stood up. As the lowest string instrument in the orchestra Digby is very important as he usually plays the bass line, which supports the other instruments that play the tune. Like the other string instruments, Digby can be played with a bow or by having his strings plucked.
Are there any young, budding, creative writers out there?
The string section of books for the Monty series is almost complete and our author is now busy writing the next set of books about the woodwind section, but we require your assistance!
We are looking for a name for the Oboe…
If you can come up with the winning name for our oboe, you will win a signed copy of a Monty the Maestro book and a FREE trial music lesson on an instrument of your choice!
What you need to know: What is the oboe? Out of the four instruments in the woodwind family (flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon), it is the second smallest. It is not the highest in pitch and is lower than the flute. The oboe is a double reed woodwind instrument so it can make quite a shrill but bright sound.
Some competition rules:
Following the success of our recent Monty events (and parent requests) we will be starting to deliver Monty music classes from October. If you are based in the Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire or Wiltshire and would be interested in your child attending group or individual music lessons then contact sayhello@montythemaestro.com for more information.
