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?

DD received rejections from Guildhall and RAM this morning. So just waiting to hear from RCM now.

Has offers from RW and Birmingham and reserve from Scottish.

Frayed nerves here.

Hi Truffle, it is all quite stressful isn't it? More so than when my daughter was applying for Uni as so many of her friends were doing similar and was an easier learning curve with more information and awareness from school too.
I think your DD must be quite hopeful of an offer from RCM after her audition there so fingers crossed for you on that one.
And she already has Welsh and Birmingham to consider too? That seems like a nice position to be in for her.
I guess we just all have to try to be patient and see what works out for them
Perhaps Christmas will be a pleasant distraction for some - my DS still looks forward to the Christmas holidays which start on Thursday after the school Christmas concert in the cathedral tonight - last one of those!

My goodness, following this is making me nervous for you all! Hope all DC's end up with a place they are happy with. We are a few years off yet but I know when the time comes I will be a complete basket case...

Well DD got her final audition results today and has made a decision. She is going to accept her place at Birmingham 😊 Facilities are amazing, she loved the atmosphere of it (not stuffy at all) and really likes the teacher too. We think it will suit her personality better than any of the London ones so have discounted those at which she only has reserve places anyway.
Aaaand relax! I honestly have never been through anything so stressful!
Fingers crossed for your DS Juggling and your DD Truffle. They’ve all done so well and worked so hard. I hope you can have a relaxing Christmas x

DD is very disappointed to get a rejection from RCM after being given a scholarship audition. Weird system.

She and we have been giving it some thought and, at the moment, she is thinking of taking an extra year and reapplying. She is very young in her year so this may be a good thing to do. Before she had her audition results she did comment that a lot of the others seemed a bit older.

We have started to put some plans in place and it looks more and more like a good idea.

Bindle well done to your daughter. Good luck to everyone else.

Sorry to hear that truffle. I hope to prospect of a year out to develop her music is starting to feel enticing.
And congrats Bundle's DD on place and decision-making.

Well done to folks with audition results, hope they all come before Christmas. Finally got Dds oboe exam, she got a merit so really happy with that. Need to to up the work on aural for future exams though!

Congratulations to bindle and horsey! Sorry to hear your DD was disappointed truffle it sounds like a very strange system at RCM. Sounds like you have a positive plan going forward though. Good luck to everyone else still waiting.
We had a surprise invitation for DD to go to the NYOinspire woodwind residential as someone turned down their place... I’m really pleased for her as she applied for NYO this year and had to drop out as she got a sickness bug the day of the audition. At least she will get something really positive out of filling in the long application form... it was a rather fraught afternoon for both of us 😂

Truffle, sorry to hear she didn’t get a place at any of the London Colleges but a year out can be the making of them and drive them to work harder if they really want it :) DD has a friend in the year above who did that and has now just got a place at a London conservatoire.
We thought about it too (and also considered switching instrument before auditions even started) but there was the danger she may not get anything next year and we decided ‘a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush’ as the saying goes. Particularly as she loved it so much at Birmingham and didn’t feel the same at many of the other auditions. Hence we have decided not to even hang around for any reserve offers to change.
I’ve been told the tuition is very much the same at all of them though with many tutors teaching at several conservatoires. It’s just the name.
Go with your gut feeling. You and your daughter know what type of conservatoire and environment will suit her personality. The most important thing is that she will be happy

Well done to @Horseymum ‘s DD on the oboe exam, which grade was it? and to @Lotsofmilkonesugar DD for the invitation to the NYO inspire residential! Hope she has an amazing time

Good luck to all those waiting for exam results and for those deciding on places or auditions - I'm finding the lessons bit so stressful at the moment I can't imagine the stress of auditions! My hat is off to you, ladies!

Despite dreading the trial lesson DD said it wasn't as bad as she was expecting so has still slightly reluctantly agreed to switch tutor. First tutor not terribly happy about it but I think it's worth it in the long term. DD slightly buoyed by receiving a school award for music (in relation to her normal school lessons - they have been unable, so far, to persuade her to bring her instrument in to play!) and she is getting a keyboard to play on too.

Well done to bindle's dd for making her decision. Exciting (and think how much better the cost of living is in brum too!)

Horsey. How funny -dd2 also got a merit (126) for her G3 cello through today and the aural let her down. She usually gets full marks on it (on higher grades in other instruments) so goodness knows what went wrong as she actually didn't pass that section. perhaps she's finally becoming self-conscious. 29 out of 30 on one of her pieces though - so pleased with that! Perhaps it will encourage her to actually attend her aural classes next term.

musicissues that sounds like good news. Stressful though. Hope it works out.

Good luck Juggling

Mine has this to go through, as well. I only hear good things about Trinity, but each college has certain instruments or genres where they excel over other colleges.
Dh sends most of his to Trinity as they are Jazz.

I haven't posted for a while as nothing to say really, finished first week of holidays with lots of GCSE revision happening. Hopefully there will be the few passes needed for conservatoire auditions.

A few concerts at school each half term, but mine has found a love of Jazz singing and managed to gain work over the summer on the B stages at music festivals, with leading rhythm sections. So hopefully will save some money as no way can we afford much as top ups if she goes to college.
I know one of the considerations is Berkeley, I have no idea if this is feasible as don't know anything about the American system.

@minisnowballs Yes, the cost of living is better by faaaaar haha!
Well done for your DDs merit too. Aural is a funny thing. If nerves hit you you sometimes just can't hear the obvious (I can speak from personal experience on that!!)

Not sure if this is allowed, apologies if not and I'm sure admin will do their thing. But given how many on here have kids about to go off to conservatoire it seems appropriate to share here:

chng.it/wg7hMHRzQQ

Truffle, Juggling, my DD has reserve from Scottish, which she will accept, but we are now waiting for the US Conservatoires. She has an audition in one in January, and will hear from one of the others on 20th Dec (in US time, so probably the next day). We have no idea when the other two will answer.
If the US comes through, she'll pull out of her Scottish offer. The information about doing that is less than clear, but it seems perfectly possible. In any event unless it converts to a firm offer as opposed to reserve, they can't complain if DD takes a firm offer from elsewhere!

It's all hugely nerve-wracking!

folkmamma

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I have been very active in promoting what this government intend to do to travellers, and whilst my main focus are Roma, Gypsy, Irish travellers, musicians also fall into this category.
I have info on my petitions thread, "Ethnic cleansing" please get your MP to sign up to "Travellers welcome here"

I bet you weren't expecting that when you posted I make no apologies.

Having a slight crisis of confidence here! Looking at league tables Birmingham scores really well except for ‘value added score’ which has dropped this year to 1/10 Does anyone know how significant this score is? It seems to imply they don’t come out much improved from when they went in With the cost of uni that’s far from ideal for DD. I’ve not said anything to her yet, just having a mild panic alone.
We were so confident in our decision yet I’m now wondering if we should plump for the reserve she has at Trinity as 1st choice.

I don't set much store by league tables. For me it's all about whether a place feels right to you. If I were you I'd go with your gut instinct. Worst case scenario she can always transfer if she hates it when she gets there. Plus she can always go to another Conservatoire for her Masters should she wish.

All the things you loved about Birmingham haven't changed, you've just read something that doesn't quite fit with your conception of Birmingham. I would let it go. When they do league tables for music the RAM and RCM always come way down. They're both world class conservatoires but because of the way the league tables are calculated they come out looking like second best, which is crazy. Hence why I don't get stressed by them. Your DD should do the course that's right for her.

Bindle I think your DD has to feel happy with where she is going. DD says everyone was lovely when she auditioned at Birmingham and they offered by personal email as soon as they could.

But at the moment she doesn't feel it's the place for her, having come so close at RCM. Further complicated yesterday when Birmingham have offered her a really big scholarship. It's still not made her feel excited about it.

We have a bit of time yet so plenty more chewing of the fat to come.

DH and I are standing back a bit. She has to make this decision herself.

Thank you both, that helps. She does feel it’s the best place for her and knows she gets on with the teacher. I just had a mini panic. I won’t even mention it to her as she is so excited I need to stop overthinking it all.
Thanks again for the injection of sanity!

I replied privately but I'll say it here. The tables are for BCU, unlike the other conservatoires the RBC is part of a larger body. They have courses in architecture, textiles and everything in between. How does that affect the data? I don't know but the comparison is between (music, just music) and (a wide range of courses, including music). Do the architecture students swing it in some way or is it the furniture designers? I don't think it's clear cut enough to be a source of worry.

Bindle have pm you.

DD got her audition at the second of the four US places. So happy.

Thanks everyone :)
Well done to @Hiding’s DD! So exciting, although presumably an expensive process? Does she have to audition in person?