Autumn term 2019 music thread

[thirdfiddle]

September is looming, the old thread is getting full - I think it's time for a new music thread. This is a support thread for parents of children who are into music or indeed just thinking about giving it a try.

Perplexed about starting the piano? Experimenting with ensembles? Concerned about college applications? All welcome here. Huge thanks to those lending their expertise and sage advice and particularly wafflenose for starting the threads.

So, new school year, what's new with your mini musicians?

One of DCs' teachers says the more instruments they do the quicker they learn. Two each is very much our limit for organising practise and lessons and ensembles though!

I think how many instruments a Child plays depends on the child’s nature and how much time they are willing to commit to practice. It’s so individual.
My DD liked to keep busy and managed 2 instruments plus national level sports training 6 days a week but that actually got harder as she got older as practice time needed to go up, homework increased (and I dare say teenage life kicked in) so she dropped the competitive sport first and then the training sessions too in favour of keeping up with the demands of music.
Ironically after she scaled things down her 6th form college insisted on piano lessons so she is now on 3 instruments again but the piano is definitely the underdog, only practiced when she has time. It will be a very useful skill to have in her career ongoing though and she does enjoy it.
I do think you need to be careful they don’t end up as a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ though if they add too many instruments too early as I’ve also seen that happen with children playing as many as 7 and then going to their 1st study lessons saying they’ve not had time to practice! Watch carefully and maybe drop an instrument with transferable skills if they want to start something new.
Multi-instruments are good if they only ever intend to play for fun and can also be good later in life for teaching, but if they spread themselves too thin there’s a risk they won’t get to that stage at all.

Yeah... well it looks like the new system is already in place... DC received results today one week after practical! Celebrations all round. Shouldn’t be long now PaddingtonPaddington x

All responses back from the auditions for DS and it's 3 reserves
(Just heard back from the two he did last week including Trinity)
So he has reserves from Welsh, Birmingham and Trinity.
A pity one of them couldn't have been a straight offer but we live in hope.
Any of these three would be an awesome opportunity for him I feel.
He likes all three almost equally though has slight preferences between them.
He quite enjoyed the auditions too and I feel in itself that was a good experience for him.
Maybe something will come through for him possibly in January after all offers have been considered by those lucky enough to have more than one!
Does anyone know whether he can respond putting all three reserves in preference order?
Just off to check out the website now

Well, along with the cello, flute and bassoon, DD2 would like v much to learn the piano. She has to content herself with being self-taught. She also does lamda classes, karate, guides and plays for a girls' football team. And there is just no time for any more. I agree about them going faster with several instruments though - they sort of feed off each other.

The bassoon has been a quick study so far.... but her teacher hardly ever gets 'first timers' - it's all children picking it up after another instrument, so she's used to going fast.

We are still waiting on cello results from December 3!

DS is hoping to buy a keyboard or more likely digital piano as 18th birthday present from grandparents and thinking learning to play this would be a useful project for the coming year (alongside A levels and possible ABRM diploma)
whether he's lucky enough to get a place at one of the conservatoires for next September or alternatively if he's back on the audition circuit next autumn.
Keep your fingers crossed for him please, as I have mine crossed both for him and others at this stage on here 🤞

Good luck juggling hopefully at least one of the reserves will come round for him. It’s tough if he has to wait over Christmas though... Best of luck to all the people waiting for exam results too! We had a fun day getting youngest DS his new 1/2 size violin... there was a surprisingly large difference in sound between the 2 he tried so we went for the more expensive one in the end but it does sound so much better than the 1/4 so I’m happy. Thanks for the advice folkmamma 🙂

Well done to all with exam results and conservatoire results - whether offers or reserves, it’s still a fantastic achievement.
Much further behind on the journey, DD is prepping fiercely for her school’s Nine Lessons & Carols service this weekend. She has 4 1/2 hours of rehearsal this weekend in the run up, helped by the fact that there’s very little Latin in this one!
She also got offered an Instrumental Award to the local indie this week which combined with a generous academic scholarship has really boosted her confidence. Her music prep for the audition was hard work (playing grade 5-6 repertoire only 6 months after taking her grade 3!) but she can relax back into it now and her piano teacher says she should find her grade 5 pieces fairly straightforward next term! I’m glad we’ve had no grades to take this term - it’s been a busy one! Home straight now though.

Hm. Just lost my post, so will try again. Just as few others were talking about recorders, agree about NYRO great to attend. Have got DC a sopranino. Not sure she will get to play it much but should hopefully complement her other recorders

@JugglingFromHereToThere
He'll have a good chance, I'm sure, as lots of people with offers from those three will end up going to RAM / RCM / Guildhall and freeing up their space.

They may also decide to go to university rather than Conservatoire, so that can free up places, too. I wish you the best of luck!

Juggling he can think about it until the end of January and by then there may have been some movement that makes it an easier choice for him. He can only pick two from the three, if his first choice changes to a guarenteed offer then the second will be automatically rejected. There is no rush, he has plenty of time to think about what order he would rank them in. I'm sorry that you still have this hanging over you but it's a far better position than three rejections would have been.

Thanks all for your lovely and helpful posts!

So, knotaknitter can you confirm he's OK to hold the three as reserve offers without responding or making choices until near the end of January and one or more could change to an offer during that time if he's lucky?

I'm unsure of when he needs to respond to the reserve offers as someone told me they thought a CO wouldn't be offered until you'd responded with the two reserves you wanted to keep ranked by preference. So slightly confused by things at present.
Hoping some folks may have done this all before?

@JugglingFromHereToThere Have his school dealt with conservatoire applications before? They may be able to offer some clarity on how it works if so. It does seem a bit confusing!
He is in a good position with 3 reserves and I’m sure something will come up for him :)

😁 im kind of getting the message that resistance is futile when it comes to this trumpet.....
Fingers crossed that one of those reserve places comes good.

The UCAS Conservatoires website explains everything in a nice, clear step by step approach, including what to do if you end up with a bunch of reserves. Have a good mooch around there, it should answer all your queries.

Thanks all, I think we're OK to sit on the three reserves for now and hope one comes through for him particularly in January or February, but remembering to respond to them by January 31st when we'll have to choose two in preference order and let one go.
That's as I understand it all.

I think it could be a little clearer on the website where it feels they've not absolutely considered someone in our position. The advice seems to fit more for someone with both offers and reserves. So I asked a question to clarify what we need to do and to give them that feedback/hopefully make them more aware for the next person.

If he knows absolutely where he wants to go then he can rank them now, forget all about it because he's done all he can and concentrate on the uni applications if he's going that route as well. If he's at all unsure about which one to drop then I'd say that he needs to ponder it a bit, this is going to be the next four years of his life and he needs to be certain that he's making the right choice for him. Part of me thinks that they are all good and there isn't really a "wrong" choice, he just needs to be happy that he's finished thinking about it.

The reserve list is open until the end of August, I'd think that there is a lot of movement in the Spring as candicates accept one offer and decline the others but the worst case scenario is that he's still hanging on into the summer.

DS went in on a guarenteed conditional so we were spared this, for which I was very thankful.

What's he thinking at the moment Juggling?

I don't know much about Trinity but I know Birmingham and Cardiff pretty well and they are both great.

Birmingham is in a slightly dodgy part of town but the area is on the up and it's a nice new building. Cardiff is in a great location and the facilities there are good too.

I know lots of people who teach at one or other and the courses and teaching at both are good. Cardiff has the drama course running alongside music. Good jazz at both. Orchestral opportunities in both cities if your DS plays an orchestral instrument. (Side by side opportunities with professional orchestras are often easier to find outside London because there are fewer people competing for them.)

Juggling, someone might know differently and correct me if I’m wrong but I thought it was responses required within 1 month of last decision, not the end of Jan across the board for all applicants. Might be worth checking with UCAS so you aren’t faced with a rushed decision mid-Jan.

Thanks for further interesting thoughts MangoStone. He's thinking Birmingham is his favourite but not sure which one to keep as his second between Welsh and Trinity, seeing good things in both. Any would be great!

You're right Freedobby about there being different dates you need to respond by depending on when you have all decisions but since we've had all our initial decisions of three reserves (and one no from RAM) I think our date to respond by is the 31st January.

Morning everyone. I hope your DS's reserves turn into full offers Juggling.

DD has finished now so we are just waiting to hear after last week's three auditions. She was absolutely shattered over the weekend. Finally heard back from the Scottish on Friday with a reserve offer. Fingers crossed here that she gets something from last week.

Good luck to all!

Well DD so far has 1 offer and 2 reserves and we are yet to hear back from 1 more.
Does anyone know, if you choose a reserve as 1st choice and the offer as 2nd if you can then change your mind at a later date and ditch the reserve/just accept the firm offer?
I am worried she may reach a point where she gets fed up of the uncertainty and decides she would rather just accept the offer and start planning / booking accommodation etc.

Sending the music college auditioners best wishes. Exciting and nervous times! They're doing brilliantly to be in a place to even think about it.

Yes, good luck to all! 🤞