Can somebody explain music festivals to me please

[Fleurdelise]

My 8 yo DD plays the piano but as the lessons are private she doesn't get many occasions to play in public.

I have found a music festival in our area but I find it hard to get the whole picture of it. So I have a few questions:

First, is it a good idea or is it very competitive and likely to put her off playing in public?

What is the arrangement, children playing on stage and parents in the audience? Is the audience huge? I know each festival is different but is it likely to be overwhelming?

Are the prices/medals presented at the end or by post?

She plays at school in front of app 200 people and she seems to be fine but I do think she needs to perform in public more often.

Any other music festival info you may have would be appreciated.

Thank you!

It is meant to be a positive experience and open to all. Sometimes there are special beginner classes and sometimes not, so in some classes my kids have entered, there will be children playing 3-note tunes and others playing Grade 3 pieces, and all will get encouraging feedback. The idea is that the best performance will win, not necessarily the most advanced child. I think it is as competitive as I choose to make it for my kids - and we stress taking part and gaining experience. Not everyone can win a prize.

I think it would have to be quite badly managed to put anyone off playing in public. Last year, I took 43 children from one school, including complete beginners, to play in the Group Tuition class, and it really inspired them. They got a medal for each class, certificates and great feedback, plus their photo in the local paper.

Yep, the children play to a room full of people - just the other competitors and the parents. That could be 10 or 40 in the audience, depending on the number in the class. Or more like 100, in the unusual case of my group tuition class. Everyone gets an applause... and a re-start if needed. There isn't usually an actual stage. Prizes are presented at the end of each class. Each child gets a report and certificate, and in some classes a winner is decided and a cup or medal awarded.

Hope this helps - I am utterly passionate about ours, and have been planning groups and writing music for quite a while, in preparation for early February.

As you said festivals can be different, you can probably find out about the one you are thinking about. One of our local festivals has really low number of entries, with no more than 5 in each category. And of course children vary significantly - there can be a very young child playing alongside a teenager playing the same piece, or there can be a teenager playing simple piece alongside a very young child playing difficult piece.
Yes, parents and guests are the audience, therefore not huge, and they are rewarded places. And they get feedback on playing which is good esp before exams.
Good experience of public playing, I would definitely recommend.

Great thank you for your thoughts and explanations.

I will pick it up with Dd's teacher as I think it would tie pretty well with the current schedule. The festival I was looking at is taking place next February and she is working for her next grade exam in March session which would give her a good chance to play her pieces before the exam.

I'm late to the party.

My son has only played in one festival but as I understand it, it's the opposite of competitive. It's about how well you played, not how well you played compared to the rest of the people in your class. I think it's a good idea as it offers a safe environment in which to practise performance skills.

Sorry one more question: do the kids get to see all the performances? As in, in the audience?

One more question: does it take the whole day? Also do the children get to see the other performances, do they sit in the audience before and after performing? Can you bring guests?

You can stay for your child's group only (there could be just one entry in the class, or 20+) or you can stay for the whole session - usually half a day. Yes, anyone can go, including the public. Ours costs £1 a day for guests.

Thank you Waffle!

Apologies for the double posting, I wrote one and thought I lost it so typed another one, looks like both worked.

I would say that our local festival is a bit competitive, some of the children/parents certainly were too eager to find out the results. But not all of course.

If I might just chuck something else into this:

I don't know how much scope there is for this these days, but twenty years ago some music shops - particularly the larger ones - that sold pianos and keyboards, would put on 'demonstration evenings' where amateur players, and often children, would perform their 'party piece'.

I have no idea if anything like this still goes on, as obviously the economics of musical instrument sales has changed greatly since '80s.

We love our local festival. DD doesn't play solo classes any more but both DSs do, and they have also entered a wide variety of ensemble classes with school groups since Primary.

Fleur check to see what they need to play for the classes. In our Festival there are age classes for piano (8 and under, 9&10 etc) and there are set pieces for those classes. Then there is also a 12 and under class with a free choice, last year this ranged from G1 to G7. DS2 won it one year age 10 with a G4 piece beating the two G6s. The year before a ten year old won it who was working towards her diploma! You never can tell. At our Festival age is calculated on the first day of the week.

Lots of festivals have moved away from the set piece classes because there's nothing worse than hearing 15 kids play Top Cat...
Our local festival is especially lovely!
www.hmyf.org.uk
Runs on the first 2 Saturdays in March - we're in S Manchester.

Thank you all!

The festival I was looking at seems to have a graded section where you need to show that the piece is that grade even though it doesn't have to be current syllabus from what I gather.

Then they have a age related section, she'd come under 10. Then they have a free choice 20th and 21st century 14 years and under, then romantic composers, jazz, so there is something for everybody.

I have spoken to her teacher and she thinks it is a great idea and she'll look at choosing a piece for her (besides her exam ones that could also be presented under the graded section).

DD also seems excited as for some reason she likes certificates so this was the first question she asked (do I get a certificate?).