Spring / Summer 2026 music thread

[northerngoldilocks]

Time for a new thread as the old one is filling up and think we can claim its spring now!

Come and talk about music lessons, choosing instruments, exams, auditions, specialist schools, orchestras or whatever other music activities are going on. Everyone is welcome, from those with total beginners to those whose children are studying music at advanced levels. Ask for advice or share successes or struggles.

Mine went to Chets for 6th form- the bulk of the fees are covered by the MDS scheme. One of the biggest advantages was the school orchestra, they play at a high standard in school and that becomes the norm. He did get offers everywhere he applied but I don’t know if that’s down to the school although he really progressed well with the tutor there.

I had a chat with a Ukrainian lady whose DC attended JD, private school and specialist school in the UK. They were baffled by the lack of harmony teaching and general level of music provision even at JD and DC moved back to Ukraine...

I’m sure I know lots of people who’ve got into conservatoires without JDs. Would seem unfair otherwise…

You can get to art school just from doing art in the curriculum though.

Ooh, hadn't thought of art. I don't think I know anyone who's gone to full on art school. A couple who've gone to do illustration-type courses, but they also did a lot outside school.

I know you can get to conservatoire without JD or music school obviously; there are generally a small number from our local youth music groups, and they wouldn't be in that if they were at JD as it's also on Saturdays. I'm sure they do have good teachers. The local 6th form college I think is a lot better for music than the schools, they have some excellent teachers visiting or connected.

No JD in Wales anymore and it’s feeling more and more like a disadvantage. I remember kids there getting a lot of audition prep and chats re choices.

Hi all, I was wondering if any of the more experienced parents had any thoughts on whether my DS’s schedule is too full for next year/is this normal for a child doing lots of music plus other stuff?

He will be in year 4. Atm he is signed up for choir x 3 per week, swimming (30 min lesson), football (1 hour), cubs (1.5 hrs), plus morning practice (20-30 mins). He’s got 2 free weekdays after school. If it was up to me he would quit cubs - it’s after one of the choir rehearsals so will be a very long day - but he’s adamant he wants to do it. I suppose we can start and see how it goes?

One of mine had something on every day of the week for a while. It's what he wanted so we went with it.

I think that’s fine. See how it goes? Sounds like my daughter’s schedule at that age!

I agree with see how it goes. We found DD naturally dropped things over time.

its child specific - some cope well with lots on and others don’t. If he’s happy I wouldn’t worry about it. My youngest was in y4 last year and has more on than this and loved everything. Other kids would have been less keen. FWIW all my kids have absolutely loved beavers, cubs and scouts and got so much out of them. it can be a really nice change of pace from music and other activities that have a degree of pressure attached to them. From a personal development and sheer fun perspective they are brilliant.

Thanks all! DS is annoyingly inconsistent - will often moan about doing stuff but then will not contemplate giving anything up, and my mum is always saying she thinks he’s doing too much which makes me doubt myself.

@MockCroc I know you’re right and he has absolutely loved Beavers, but he’s moving to Cubs this term and it’s on a Friday night 7-8.30 (!) after a week of school and a 2 hour choir rehearsal…his bedtime is 8-8.30 normally. So I fear it could be challenging, but we will see!

Oof. That's quite an evening. Could go either way, either it'll be his favourite evening of the week, or he tries it and learns it's too much. Are there any alternative Cubs groups on different days?

@Compsearch I'd guess you need to look at what Saturday is like, after a Friday like that... DS9 (would be going into Y5 in the UK, starting Y6 work next term here) is finally learning the value of cutting down on non-essential commitments as the intensity increases for music and schoolwork. But we had multiple years where a few days a week were a write-off because of the number of activities the day before...

I think it also depends on the commute, if everything is close by then it's less exhausting. Going on the tube from the cathedral on a Friday night is no fun tbh. Also, I found it easier if there was a short break between activities, having a snack and hot choc always helps :)

I remember some days when I was little where I'd have a sandwich and change into sports kit sitting in the boot of the (estate) car en route between activities. Some parts of that might not meet with approval these days 😂 I think it lasted about a year before I decided I really wasn't very good at the sport and it wasn't worth the trouble.

Yes everything is local except choir, but that’s 30 mins on the tube+10-15 min walk, and it would be straight from there to cubs 😬. I’m just surprised the cub leaders are happy to be doing it on a Friday night! All his friends from school go so I don’t think he would agree to move, even if he could get in - waiting lists are mad. Will give it a go and see if we can all cope.

Hope everyone is ready for the start of term!

I’m mainly a lurker on this thread, but just jumping in to say to @Compsearchthat my Ds was (still is) a bit of an over committer in terms of all the things he wanted to keep doing at that age. The brilliant thing about cubs (which was a hassle for me also to fit into the weekly family schedule) is that it provides opportunities for residentials at a young age. Ds did nights away with beavers, cubs and scouts, which increased in duration and taught him packing responsibility, so now he’s utterly chilled at doing music residentials. He joined NCO at 13 (just after Covid) and didn’t know a soul - we are in the north and he goes to the local secondary and we’d never even heard of NCO. But he went off completely confidently and had a blast and I do think a lot of that was down to cubs and beyond. He’s been in NYOS this summer again not knowing a soul and being the only English player, and again had a great time. So I think the hassle of cubs is worth it for the skills it brings - they are more robust in their expectations of the kids than anything else they do at that age.

Starting here. Standards in the conservatoires are the same or lower - we said she had to get into one of the top five or she couldn't go (tuition is immense and scholarships a necessity). Universities will mean (in US) that you are spending less than 1/3 of your time on music. DD is a composition girl, not a performance one. I think performance standards are about the same, but that I don't know for sure.
I don't think the US does joint degrees as often, but we weren't looking at that. You can do classical and jazz, I think.
Job prospects...in the current climate, as good/bad as here. Depends on your instrument. Rare breeds are easier, as ever. Composers largely go for teaching with composing on the side.
If you PM me with specific questions, I'll see it sooner - I'm a bit here and there at the moment! Sorry for delay.

I think they did have a good appreciation - most applications required a list of what you'd done and what you knew. We had to curtail it significantly to fit the word counts - in the end there was so much from GCSE/A-level that we restricted it to A-level only, and the non-school stuff (instruments, singing, musical theatre) was summarised very hard. DD is a composer, so performance wasn't really an issue. Theory is much better taught here than in schools there!
If you have specific questions, PM me - I'll see it quicker.

She's a composer, so the proposal is a large piece (but she also wants to research composing for voice).
Thank you!

Thank you @hidingmystatus !

Thank you @horseymum for NYO audition advice- super helpful! Does anyone know how smartly they need to be dressed for the assessment day? Best of luck to everyone with auditions coming up. I will be happy never to hear the orchestral excerpts again!

No dress code for the NYO audition. It's a long tiring day, so something comfortable and 'them' rather than trying to be anything different. Mine will probably wear jeans, a t shirt and a hoodie. It's likely to be hot in a uni as well. I'm sure I saw kids with black concert gear, though that might have been for conservatoire auditions. Whatever suits you best.
We are also tiring of the excerpts, and hoping to be rid of them. However, what will probably happen is moving seamlessly onto the next set for other auditions. The pieces might get a rest and some new ones started. Looking forward to getting some concerts in the diary for the new term.

New thread

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/extra_curricular_activities/5573971-autumn-winter-music-thread-20262027?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share