May Music Thread

violinandpiano, how interesting.... I know someone who easily got to NCO (violin) but failed one of the JDs twice. Saying that this particular JD is one of the two most popular JDs (among parents ). This child was accepted in one of the two remaining JDs but parents declined.
This is all in London

Talking about JDs.... Does anyone have a child in RAM JD?

I don't suppose anyone remembers but I was once wondering if it is possible to get an opinion about child's playing/abilities without actually enrolling into JD or music school. So don't know what was with me today but I had quite a spontaneous idea to contact Menuhin school and ask if they do anything of that kind, and they do. They organise smth like play day where children are coming and everyone can have 20 mins with one of the tutors and a feedback after.

Paulweller11 cannot stop laughing at this as she's the second born, I'm not too fussed either.
It is so true! Cannot believe how different is my attitude towards my ds6' learning..... It is just like - whatever, you are not my favorite toy . Surprisingly second borns are doing pretty well even with the minimum input, aren't they?

Just wanted to say MomOfTwoGirls2-Suzuki seems to have such a nice repertoire.... All the best violin pieces can be found there. Last year dd played Suzuki piece during festival, we just discussed the plans for this year and the piece our teacher suggested is also included in Suzuki program....

Festivals... Out of interest ladies, what are the accompanist's fees you usually pay? It is around 40-50 in our case-performance+2-3 rehearsals

drummersmum, are there any chances to see Master Drummers Mozart performance? :)

Fleurdelise how beautifully you described the process of polishing a piece....

ealingwestmum interesting comment about harsh marking.... Just to remind-dd got her first merit for the spring exam. Even though I agree that she was not really distinction ready this time the examiner seemed to be very.... difficult one. One of the dd's teacher students failed grade 5 exam- unbelievable! I have no doubts that it has nothing to do with the teacher, but to fail grade 5?? Examiner seemed to be mad... But I remember our accompanist was saying - I recognise the examiner's face, he is so and so and he is a Dr (obviously not a medical Dr :)), so he may be harsh on marking. And it turned out to be true....

Talking about non-musical parents and VERY musical children....

Dd was practicing Bach's double violin today. All of a sudden she started to play the piece in a different key. Just like that - absolutely no effort and not a single muscle moved in her face.... I noticed only because the original key sounded more pitchy and she played it for few times before....

And how we poor non musical parents are supposed to get smth like that??

Helenluvsrob, oh, so sorry to hear about your parents.... Both of my parents were gone before my dc started music lessons and I feel so sad that they cannot be proud of dc and never knew that dc turned out to be musical....Esp that both children play violin which was totally my very stupid idea and smth totally non-orthodox for my family

Greenleave, just looked at Chopin Nocturne in C# minor on youtube-it is beautiful! Is it grade 6? I can see teacher's point though - it is almost like you hear a certain story behind it, and perhaps sad one too.... I had a wish - dd playing two pieces - Bach's double violin concerto and main theme from Schindler's list, she has done first one but I cannot see her playing second one yet, as it is such a story behind it! When she learns smth I try to make some story so that she can catch the mood of the piece but with Schindler's list - it should be smth really grand sad (she probably does not have the necessary technique for that too but it is a different matter :)))

On a piano front-our new Russian teacher said that we are not playing anything serious till her hands are fixed -so everything we do is working on her hands, surprisingly it is getting better, slowly but surely. We are basically working on this sort of things+wrists :)

So I was saying no exams......well gr 3 drums for little percussionist June 1st- the only exam she'll take.... a little sooner than I'd like, but she knows the songs, so should be fine - hopefully!

Sittinginthesun welcome to the thread! I would love my dd to do jazz piano, is your ds2 taking any exams?

I was missing you all so much that started to read this thread again! :)

Trumpetboysmum , how is your ds's arm?
MissyMew123, welcome! I remember when my dd was moving from grade 1 to 2 I also thought that it was quite a difference! And between grades 2 and 3. It didn't look that different between grades 3 and 4 though.....
irvineoneohone getting next exam book is ok, depends what teacher wants to do with it though . I personally like to have next exam book asap, but it does not mean we prepare fro exam. This time teacher suggested not to buy next exam book though- "not to be tempted".

Hi all! May already!!
Have any of you put in applications for Awards for Young Musicians? If so, have you heard anything?
I have a little miss 7 who's learning piano, clarinet and recorder. She's taking her g3 clarinet in 2 weeks time, her piano g2 in July.

One thing I learnt during our JD challenge was that you can do what JD does without going there. JD is like a holiday package - everything is there at one stop, and the service (and price) is top-notch. You can choose to be an independent traveller. It's more time-consuming and you need to know what you are doing, but in return, you can make a plan precisely for your needs and can be very much flexible too. I choose to pay for one stop service. Mainly because of my lack of knowledge in the area, but also I know DS would love the environment.

Maybe you can describe this home-ed vs school-ed too. The choice would depend on your circumstance/capacity as well as the personality of the child.

Fleur Two weeks in Italy sounds lovely. Isn't it nice to be able to see a treat waiting for you?

If we ever consider JD in this house it will be at secondary school also, not because of lack of interest but because there is no time to squeeze it in. Dd's Saturdays are full, by the time we get home from 1 music lesson and a sports activity she does is 4pm. Both activities could be rescheduled if we really wanted to but Sundays are free and I intend to keep it that way for a while which means Mondays to Saturdays we are on autopilot.

Until we feel like there is a need for it we'll keep it that way. Can't wait for the summer also, we booked two weeks in Italy and it can't come soon enough, I feel exhausted.

I totally understand Green. I remember thinking 'not until secondary' when DS's teacher mentioned JD first time. But things changed and the time came earlier than I expected. I'm still not sure if we made the right decision. Because, as you know, JD is not a must. But we will see how things go. Luckily (?), we are so used to being crazily busy on Saturdays due to DS's Saturday school (in my language) so there will be no huge impact on our family time. We always made up our lost time in summer. Every summer we went back to my country and spent the whole summer there (6-8 weeks) and just had fun. We are longing for summer already....

Green your weekends sound lovely !! I now look back on when my two were younger with fondness- our weeks (and weekends !!) are crazy as they both like to be busy but do different things. I try and keep Sundays free- but as of this weekend DD starts rehearsing for her show on a Sunday- I'm looking forward to the summer holidays!! when we can all take a well earned break

String, Kutik, all, thanks so much for your suggestions, will google it tonight, I must say I have never heard of RAMPA. Our teacher has been telling us to join JD, to go to weekend music school, he even dragged us to the Russian school of music couple if times. We did some research on Wandsworth music school last year. I still think a no for now until secondary if she wants to and can travel to the place by herself. As much as I want her to progress in her music, I also want us to have time with each other more. We dont have any family here, we both do long hours (not mentioning 2 hours travelling each day for both of us). Just last year I had a rule: do nothing over the weekend except making dinners as per family request(I love cooking), just spend time to play with them, catch up with their friendship stories, going to the park together, catching up with our social life. Then we started with our Orchestra, 1.5hours on Sunday, 2.5 hours including travelling. I understand that this might change as they are growing up, their needs will change, we have to let them go, just right now, while she is still in primary, I wont send her to a weekend school yet. Its just our unique circumstances. Each of our family is very different.

Kutik73, PA is for age 8-12, of course the entry level is much lower than their JD (age over 12). For every JD (if from age 8-18), when entry at different age, the requirement should be different. PA require grade 4&5 distinction level, I do not think it is much lower than other JD for entry at age 8.

I only suggested RAMPA to minigreen for the benefit of the compact schedule. Im sure she is technically ready to apply for any JD if that's what she wants to do.

violinanspiano I didn't mean to say JD is easy to get in. I meant RAMPA is more accessible than JD as it's designed for younger kids. Their guideline of playing standard is set much lower than JD because of that. Although I don't know anyone failed JD entry personally, I am sure plenty people are rejected. JD themselves says the competition is fierce.

I also think you cannot compare NCO and JD as they serve for different purpose. JD is a school whereas NCO is an orchestra.

Kutik73, I agree. I have never heard whose DC failed the audition for any JD. It looks NCO is harder than JD, because I know some DC did not get in.
My DD will try under 10 this year, it will be very helpful if some of you can give me advice what violin piece is good for audition NCO under 10. We don't want to be rush as last year. Thanks.

drummers, just to let you know I have also handed the acceptance form at last. I thought we agreed to turn down JD1. However DS told me at the last minute that he would like to go and see JD1 again. So we kept the acceptance form with us and went to the taster day at JD1. He enjoyed the day there but happily announced that he finally made his mind up and would like to go to JD2. Then..., I realised Monday was a bank holiday so the post office was closed... I had to hand-deliver the form on Tuesday. Phew.

double good luck with preparation. I share Kutik's admiration for your DD as I always understood bassoon to be a later instrument.
string wow your DD's jd day is long

Double, I couldn't quite remember whose DCs play bassoon. It was yours! Oh I love the sound... G7 bassoon at 10 sounds very impressive. Good luck!

Paulweller & drummers, the percussion festival sounds fun. This is another reason why I like this thread - making me aware of other instruments. I knew only what DS plays before. But now I discovered I love the sound of bassoon for instance!

Green, how about considering RAMPA? It's not a JD but similar. I heard it's not as competitive to get in as JD but the quality is the same and the children have to have a spark to be accepted. They are for younger kids under 12 so has compact time table. We went to the open day and were told they have a boy who is committed in a team sport in the morning, then come to them for music in the afternoon. This is only possible due to their compact schedule. We were also told that they wouldn't tie the children to their JD so children are free to go to other JD after PA if they want. They said they would consult each child where to go & what to do nearer to the end of PA. It seemed very caring. And the facility was just amazing.

I assume you are in London. I have visited three JDs in London and DS had auditions at two of them. Since our DCs play the same instruments, I may have some useful information for you. PM me if you need. I'm happy to share our experience and pass any information on to you.