Autumn 23 Music chat

Welcome to the thread @FlightoftheTumbleBee . Just looking at your list of JDs I think that RCM is missing from the main ones in London. I always think of them as RAM /RCM and Guildhall as the main JDs and then Trinity and CYM (the latter is now a division of Junior Guildhall).

I know that Guildhall do advice pre auditions that you can book and pay for so might be worth considering - otherwise definitely go to the open days to see how he finds and to help him work out what it is as a pianist he's looking to get from it and which might fit best.

On a slightly less positive note - the instruments he plays are two of the most over subscribed and so the standard that they might be looking for especially on piano at 14 could be above Grade 8. Its hard to tell though - if he hasn't been playing long and shows amazing potential then that could also be enough - but it might be worth managing expectations in that he's obviously doing brilliantly but the competition on popular instruments is intense. Its good that he's discussed with his current teachers though as they obviously know him and should be well placed to advise.

Hello all, I'm new to this thread, and a new mumsnet poster generally!

I'm non-musical myself but my 14yo son is keen to apply to the junior conservatoires... is this what's referred to as "JD" on here, as in Junior Dept? We're in London, so the options on the table seem to be Royal Academy of Music (this is RAM, yes?), Guildhall, Trinity, and... any others? Main instrument is piano, also plays flute but much less enthusiastic. Just wanted to kind of get in on the music-chat as I have no idea about these things and don't really have other piano-mums/parents to talk to!

So, he's done G5 flute, and he's preparing for G8 piano, but he's one of those who hasn't gone the traditional route, kind of started up in lockdown and has skipped grades, which means his sight-reading and theory knowledge are a good bit behind his playing. (He's done the G5 theory online test, we're awaiting result.)

Piano is the passion, and he's very keen on somewhere like RAM, but we haven't visited anywhere yet. Open days will be in late January, from what I can tell, does that sound right? And then application deadlines are around March; have to send in video recordings in the first instance, and then fingers crossed come in for a live audition. I think I've got that right?

His current music teachers are supportive and offering guidance, but it's always good to hear the view from other parents' perspectives also. I wondered if anyone else had been through the process lately, and might be around for a chat?

@thirdfiddle that's interesting, I didn't realise that cadenzas were mostly written out these days - presumably by the soloist though? My background is actually rock/blues/funk guitar with a smattering of jazz, so very much from an improvisational background. DS started sax and as the classical sax repertoire is so limited (read, virtually non-existent) the jazz syllabus was the obvious choice - his first instrument is rock/pop drums which is heavily improvisational and he has excellent internal pulse. We are currently into a deep progressive rock writing phase so it's all about polyrhythms and setting ourselves challenges to use obscure modes (hello Lydian Dominant...) to make actual listenable music. If you consider "Debussy-Black Sabbath fever dream" to be listenable 😆

@PinkGrapefruitSorbet that sounds brilliant - DD is also doing the Fasch (but then Elgar Romance, and some Weissenborn or Saint Saens I think - she's got some Pierne too but that's come off the syllabus). She has only ever had a seat strap, but she is also still very tiny and on a short reach, so I think it would have been tricky before now. I can see she will really have to build stamina to practise standing up

Great ideas about creating performance opportunities @horseymum, thank you! I will have a think about local options we can exploit!

@minisnowballs DS always practises his bassoon standing up, in fact he only sits in orchestras etc. He has a shoulder harness thing (rather than a neck strap) which makes the posture much easier and supports the weight evenly, and he uses that for standing or sitting. He's playing Fasch, Schrek and Grovlez for his exam (I think that's right) and those are all pretty solid. It's the scales and aural that still need plenty of work, but he's got a couple of months yet.

@PinkGrapefruitSorbet shame re performance I'm sure that prepping for the NYO audition supercharged his performance skills though. What's he playing for the exam?

DD, bless her, still hasn't learned how to stand up with a bassoon (she hasn't had a harness, and so hasn't had the chance) so I think she needs to master this before she actually takes the exam.

Maybe some people take it sitting down, but new teacher was a bit startled that she couldn't, I think!

Yes, @minisnowballs, it's definitely hard getting the balance right for everyone! I'm glad it's not just me who sometimes insists that family comes above (yet more) music. DH is very musical too (runs choirs, has two music degrees) and I think he and DS get caught up in a musical vacuum sometimes. Your canal boat trip sounds fab - hope you enjoy it!

Thanks @horseymum, that's really encouraging and I'm sure your DD is really proud even though she wasn't expecting to get in. A possible Blackpool residential sounds fun, so hopefully we hear something about that soon.

No, there's no chance for DS to practise performing before his exam unfortunately. His school only has two concerts per year: mid December and late March and his exam is before both of those. The county and regional things he plays in only let leavers do solos (year 13s), so he's many years off that at the moment. He's playing in lots of things and has fortnightly lessons, but performance opportunities are very limited sadly. I think that doesn't help the audition situation really.

@PinkGrapefruitSorbet I completely get why!

Dd's was in Brighton - easy on the train from home and she's good at travelling, but we'll be on a canal boat in Oxford - at least in the evening.

Not only can music not take priority over all other family commitments but her sister probably needs to feel her needs come first occasionally (not to mention our new f 16 year old Ukrainian guest who also obviously has plans and projects she needs support with too). It is hard finding the balance.

@minisnowballs I can see why you don't want to lose a day with DD for the Unite thing, given how much of her time now is music and how much you must all miss her. It's an odd time of year to be offering it because loads of people must have overlapping half term plans. Technically the day that DS has been offered falls on the one day between his school trip to Germany and our family half term trip to Rome (this makes us sound like jetsetters, but DH and I haven't been abroad since before Covid!), and I just can't face driving from the north east to Lancaster and back in that day. I'll need to be washing, packing, sorting getting the dog to her homestay arrangement etc, not schlepping across the Pennines. I do feel a bit guilty, but music can't always override everything else.

@PinkGrapefruitSorbet I think he did absolutely amazingly to get to the audition day. He must be super talented.

I think a full day off for Grade 8 is probably not too bad a thing to be honest - DD2 absolutely fell apart after her flute one in summer. It was psychologically gruelling apart from anything else. It was in the afternoon so I didn't take her back to school, just filled her up with syrupy bubble tea and let her spend the rest of the day scrolling mindlessly on tiktok.

We are also on holiday for the Unite day we were offered... I wonder whether it's a common problem. Selfishly I really don't want to lose DD for a day of our hols, even though it's in the UK and she could travel (and her sister is taking a day out of it for some Oxford Uni access day she wants to do)- I just don't have enough time with her at the moment for that.

Thanks @Alsoplayspiccolo and others for kind comments on DS not being successful with NYO. It's reassuring that some other DC have needed multiple attempts, and I'm hoping we get some more info soon on what Inspire sessions he might be offered. All we have so far is along the lines of: your journey doesn't end here, there's Inspire and the Unite day in October (when we are on holiday sadly). I'm hoping for a little more clarity on what Inspire will offer him, so we can make plans around those arrangements.

He was youngish to go for it (he's 14 and is only sitting his grade 8 later this term), but his teacher really encouraged him to apply for experience. I feel we got his hopes up unnecessarily really, but he did enjoy the Manchester day and threw himself into bassoon practice last night ready to improve for next year.

Good luck to everyone doing recorded exams - we've just booked DS's grade 8 for December and it is live but all the locations are miles away (we are north east so there's nothing much handy and central in our local provision!!!). He's hoping for a full day off school!

Commiserations to your DS.
Please tell him not to be downhearted - it’s taken DS three attempts to get in, and each time he got offered more and more from NYO.
Inspire is a great launch pad and the Unite days will be a great way of getting to know what NYO is really like, and for them to get to know players better.

Thank you for educational post about recording @thirdfiddle! DS will try to audition for NYSO (thanks to @Alsoplayspiccolo for mentioning it) in a month's time with a video recording. I've taken your advices onboard as this is our first audition/recording. I'm going to do it at a lesson with the teacher there (because he often plays his best when the teachers around 😂). I've booked two dates first one at the music centre where we normally have lessons, then the 2nd one at teacher's house which is where DS likes most. I may have over planned it . Do people normally record at your own homes or with teacher in a lesson?

Great advice @thirdfiddle thank you. Yes @northerngoldilocks the ticking clock could easily disrupt the performance.

Massive congratulations to @horseymum @Alsoplayspiccolo and @Pollyanna8844 ! Commiserations to @PinkGrapefruitSorbet , I'm sure your son will love inspire though, it was brilliant for dd last year and she can't wait to go again. The standard of bassoonists was so high, he's done brilliantly to get to the final round.

@horseymum you cracked me up with the description of videoing performances, I felt very seen! DD had to do a video audition for JD, and it was painful. We managed one take by pretending it was a practice run, but after that I think we were all in tears at one point..worst bit was the Q&A bit, rather than the playing!

@minisnowballs sounds like your dd is settling in wonderfully. It must've settled your mind to see her so happy.

Congratulations to all those with NYO places, fantastic news. Also commiserations to your DS @PinkGrapefruitSorbet but hopefully the Inspire days will be great and provide really good experience for next year.

On recorded exams @StuntNun i think that the reason the teacher suggests recording before entering them is that you can upload virtually instantly but once you've entered the online exam the clock is ticking and there's a time limit by which you have to have uploaded, so doing it the other way round means you only enter when you have a recording you're happy with.

Mine haven't done performance exams but family members have and found piano the worst as allowed their perfectionist child to have loads of retakes of it - whereas their other instrument was accompanied (by their mother) and they said 2 takes and that's it so would echo what others have said re trying to cap the number of recordings.

My dd does performance grades. She did both grades 5 and 6 piano that way. It takes stamina that's for sure!

Dd has hers recorded at school but her piano teacher has always said for recording any performance to decide on advance how many runs through to do, do them and then pick the best one.

2 or 3 is normally sufficient. No re-starts allowed!

Not ABRSM in particular, and more auditions than exams but generally - work out your setup for camera/phone and test for sound quality, visibility, and no lag between video and sound. We recorded some on a phone tied to a music stand, and later on a laptop on an adjustable stand.

I would say still assign an 'exam day' to give it a sense of occasion, take 2 recordings and pick the best. (With maybe a secret backup of try again next weekend if it's a disaster). Horsey dramatically describes the drag than can ensue if you don't set an end point on potentially perfectionist kids. 😂

Congratulations for @horseymum, @Alsoplayspiccolo and @Pollyanna8844 for DC's success in audition. Well done.
Unlucky but well done for getting to inspire @PinkGrapefruitSorbet's DS. Wish him better luck next time!
Exciting to hear what's going on！

OH WOW!!! Amazing news @horseymum @Alsoplayspiccolo @Pollyanna8844 ! And @PinkGrapefruitSorbet brilliant that he had a go and got as far as the audition day... he's still young isn't he, so hopefully next year? (bassoons are such tricky beasts too... so I'm so sorry his let him down).

Is there just one day for NYO Unite (sorry that is probably a stupid question)? DD2 has a place for it on the 25th (we finally filled in the Inspire forms this week since they said she would still be eligible) but we're supposed to be away.