Spring Term 2020 music thread

I’ll make sure she’s well hydrated before she goes in. She prob won’t manage water, music and clarinet!
4 weeks (just over) to go. What sort of practicing did your dc do at this point- don’t want to miss anything crucial. I’m such a beginner to this !!!!!!!

If it helps, my DC got offers, including a scholarship, from all the London conservatoires. Had Grade 7 piano at the time but they were only interested in their principal instrument, which was Grade 8 a couple of years on. And when they did musicianship tests at RAM as part of the audition process they were obviously pretty rubbish as RAM said they liked a challenge! They came from ordinary comprehensive, and with no junior conservatoire. Just to encourage the non-elite, it can be done, if that's what you want.

From what I understand she will stand a better chance of getting in to a conservatoire on the oboe than the piano if she is choosing between them for a 1st study. And if she is grade 5 now she has plenty of time to develop with a good teacher, don’t worry :) DD’s oboe playing friend got a Scholarship to RCM but only took grade 8 the year before. That’s not taking anything away from her or other oboists, more to say that the grade number isn’t important. They know what they are looking for in a player.
The flute is a very competitive instrument by all counts as it’s so popular. It can be hard to split them and there was a high chance she wouldn’t get any offers at all, so very pleased for her. It will always be the case in the working world too unfortunately which is a nightmare.
My best advice for your daughter is to get lots of orchestral experience, NCO, county youth orchestras etc it will give her good content for her personal statement and a better idea of if it’s what she really wants to do.

Thanks for that bindle. I think oboe is really her first study now, having a really good teacher and working really hard. Did grade 5 before Christmas so don't even know if she will be advanced enough by the time to apply comes round but she is pretty determined, especially if your DD is 5 years post grade 8 on acceptance.

Hi Horseymum, My daughters 6th Form insisted those on the specialist music course took piano lessons as they said the conservatoires like it, but you don't have to have grade 8. Grade 6 plus is enough to understand the harmonies and work on composition and they will keep improving as they use those skills even if not having formal lessons and taking grades. The only reason you would need to be post grade 8 on piano would be if she were applying for piano as first study. What is her first study instrument? My daughter is taking grade 8 piano next term and grade 8 harp this term but is off to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in September with flute as first study (almost 5 years post grade 8 on that one). I don't think the piano or harp skills influenced the decisions, if anything the harp particularly worked against her as she had discussions in audition interviews where they stated that they wanted a single focus specialist and were not keen on multi-instrumentalists at all and she only received reserve offers from both of those places in question. She won't be continuing with harp or piano formally once she gets to Birmingham and they have made it clear that she is there to specialise on flute, but she will have opportunities to play in ensembles if she wants to keep her Harp playing up to speed. She is very excited! Hope that helps.

Ah, thanks truffle, I should probably do a bit more research. I was basing it on when I briefly flirted with the idea of applying when I was at school and you did need a certain level of piano for some places I looked at ( I guess to cope with the harmony aspects). If she is grade 8 theory that will be easy for her. Feels odd looking at courses when she is only in first year. Obviously lots may change in the intervening years but no harm in getting a bit better informed I guess.

Hi all

I dip in and out of these threads. I am learning to play the piano and have two children. My son (8) plays the piano and trumpet and is in a couple of choirs. He is going to sit grade 1 in piano at the end of term. My daughter (6) plays the piano and violin and is in one choir.

Hi Horseymum, DD plays clarinet. She gave up piano lessons last year at about grade 7 standard. She has continued theory lessons and is working towards grade 8.

None of the colleges mentioned any need for further piano studies.

Truffle, I can't remember what instrument your DD plays? Congratulations on her place at RCS, it seems lovely whenever I have visited. Can I ask whether piano was a second study, and what kind of level she is at? Just looking forward for my DD who is grade 5 ish in first year high school, not sure how much she needs to push herself. Am thinking she might need to working on grade 8 during 4/5 th year. The reason for trying to work back is thinking about whether we need to change piano teacher to one who might just be a tiny bit more proactive at moving her forwards towards her goal of getting into RCS.

Belated congratulations mini @JugglingFromHereToThere and mini @Trufflethewuffle. Thanks for sharing your journeys and insight into the process with us.

@folkmamma sorry for the long delay and thank you for your reply. I’ve had a look at Guildhall and RAM and it seems their string course places for little ones are allocated by ballot, so we’ll give it a go and hope for the best when the time comes! If anyone else has any London recommendations for toddlers in love with music please let me know!

Thanks everyone!

Well done truffle must be a relief! 🙂

Well done mini Truffle. Congratulations what an achievement (and a relief I’m. Sure!).

Brilliant new Truffle

Congratulations Truffle. it's nice to see another one with next year sorted.

Congratulations to Truffle's DD

minisnowballs my dd is taking G5 theory this year too. June I think. She’s sort of working her way through a theory G1 book atm but her teacher seems to think it’ll all be fine. G5 piano in the summer.

PS He'll always be mini juggling to me!

Ooh, congratulations Truffle's DD!
Exciting times!

Well done Juggling's DS!

We have just had some fab news here. DD was all set to take a gap year and reapply but this morning her reserve from RCS became an offer so Glasgow here she comes!!!

She is so excited as this is where she really wanted to go. Just has to do a suitable email to RBC who have been nagging her to accept and throwing scholarship funds at her.

Just glad she held her nerve and it has come right for her.

Wow! Well done to mini(?) juggling. Fab news. Greenwich is wonderful (though the parking is an absolute nightmare).

Alakazam, as the parent of a woodwind player (dd plays flute) the only thing I would add is to take some drinking water. DD always gets hiccups before her exams - I think it's a stress thing!

We have a G5 flute this term, and a somewhat panicky run up to G5 theory in summer, which DDs Saturday school has suddenly decided she needs to do - after airily deciding there was 'no hurry' in September. So she's now in classes with children who have done the four previous grades and started the G5 classes in September. At the end of a long day, too, which means she's exhausted by the time she hits them. However, after going into Saturday's class white and shaking, she came out informing me she made 'less mistakes than most people' (and I managed not to just shout FEWER mistakes)so confidence is restored a bit. I still think there's no hurry. She's 10, and she doesn't need to do all the grades for any particular reason.

Bassoon on the other hand is a huge hit. Six lessons in and she's on her first two grade 2 pieces. I think the main problem with this one will be that she's very small - she's not even on a tenoroon yet so it may be a long time before her hands are big enough for anything full size. Sounds less like a foghorn now though - and we're still on our first reed, which is better than I thought.

I just thought of something else: the examiner won't ask to hear all the scales. Just a few of them. Worth her knowing so she isn't thrown if she's been diligently practising all of them and she only gets asked for two or something. DS is always surprised at how few they ask for.

Hello Alakazam, completely agree with all suggestions about the first exam. Although last time we had an after school slot so the post exam cake turned into fish & chips at the pub on the way home. It had the same effect though!
Before DS did his G1 he played his pieces at school for his classmates. Once he got to the exam room he realised he wasn't half as nervous as he'd been when he was about to play for his peers so it really helped him to feel calmer and confident. We do this every time now and he generally find exams much less nerve wracking than school performances. If your DD can get as many playing opportunities as possible this should really help.
She might want to be prepared that you won't be able to go with her to the exam room. You can be with her for the warm up but you'll be shuffled away to the waiting room once she's ready to go the the exam, and the stewards will show her into the exam room. If she has additional needs then maybe a dry run trip a day or two before just so she can meet the stewards might help (if this sort of thing usually helps her). They're usually lovely and friendly.
If she's practising well then she should be fine, good luck!

That’s funny how the thread has gone full circle then. Thanks for all the help. Not till March but will let you know how it goes.