Ok,assuming child is very able musically-what is next?

[Worriedandlost]

Dd1 is taking music lessons and considered to be good at it (piano/violin). Assuming that pattern continues, what is next? To carry on with private lessons as it is now or are there other ways? And what is about future, what are employment opportunities for the adult musicians? I have heard that music area is very competitive and low paid. The reason for the question is that dd1 is coming to the point where practicing takes too much of our time and this affects other activities, this is not to mention cost of the lessons, would be nice to know that there are at least remote possibilities to get something back out of it :)

I have very little knowledge of music, but being told to play 10 pieces through twice does seem a little unusual for a practice. Could you not ask if she could cut it down to fewer? Would you say there is a good structure to her learning? If she has not done any exams yet I would ask when she could do her first pre grade one exam as this will give an indication of her progress and require her to perfect only a few pieces.

1805- much better this time, very relevant information, thank you!

BeckAndCall good advice about singing, thank you! It is actually on agenda, but not right now, she is too young for it, I think they only take from 8yo, or smth.

Mistlethrush did you go to CYM?

Rockinhippy thank you, I just realised actually that she was put forward for the festival in November, I was confused by her orchestra, I thought it was the same, but actually two different events. How did your dd coped with her nerves at the end? And as a matter of fact how did you??? :)

MrsHoolie, thanks for advice, but still too young.

FrameyMcFrame :) - thanks!

Defo go along with singing too. It's a brilliant way to releave stress too and anxiety. I was classed as a 'troubled child' at school and when anger management and counselling didn't work, they let me sing with my old tutor. Help loads.

Don't go in the deep end though, let it be a fun difference from her instrument maybe?

mistlethrush, I feel somehow that with violin it is better to repeat the whole lot, as pieces are relatively small, mostly half a page, but with piano I narrow it of course, and will try to do it the way you described, as I am not musician I do not know all these methods but try to remember when someone shares! (I wonder, is it only our family-I am not a musician and deal with dd's practice, dh has good musical education and absolutely useless in helping dd! :))

And no, she is not learning suzuki, classical approach, so her sight reading is quite good, not ideal from exam point of view :) but good enough to play new piece outright.

I sort of missed it as I was working elsewhere at the same festival & due to a problem with the sound system, my organised break to coincide with DDs slot, didn't IYSWIM - probably did me a favour if I'm honest as I was more nervous for her than she was to do it & her left sat on stage in front of the crowd whilst they sorted out the equipment would have been too much for me - she coped brilliantly though, but I could hear the tremble in her voice, but she still pulled it off so well they've asked her back next year & she was even congratulated by the mayor & got a mention in the news :)

I thought the sound system problem might put her off as she was really thrown in the deep end, but she still loved it & it's fired her enthusiasm again, which is lovely to see - so yes, nerves big time, but it didn't matter - with hindsight I'm now glad I couldn't see her - as it meant she couldn't see me, which I think eloped her cope better :)

starrystarryknut, thank you for describing your day, you know guys, these small insider bits of info are the most precious!
Sorry, as I tried (unsuccessfully) to hide personal info I probably mislead quite a few of you, no, she is not 4, she started at 4.3, she is older now. And yes, you and 1805 spot on potential problems for someone who is autistic. Frankly speaking she is not formally diagnosed yet, so she must be sort of high functioning case, but she is watched by specialists , etc

Helped her cope - damn you autocorrect

Just to point out those are very valid problems for a person that is autistic OP. you might get some more advice on it if your DD is formally diagnosed

richmal, you see, we already had three teachers so I sort of have an idea now what good teacher is like and this is our best teacher who gives all these workload! To be honest, dd hated violin at the beginning, whilst she fell in love with piano almost immediately, but she prefers violin now, and I think it is all thanks to teacher!

The paradox is - the more dd practice, the easier it becomes. The easier it becomes-the more she likes to play.

Pre grade is a bit too late now, she passed that stage already.

Might not be relevant to your DD at all worried but always worthy mentioning just incase

There was a time that I worried a bit about DD as regards some sort of high functioning SN, she's always been very very bright, very much a perfectionist - her toy sets for example were never mixed up - always fastidious about what dolls went with what set etc etc, always pretty hyper, extremely sensitive to things like labels, seams on socks etc etc etc

Turns out the reason for this with DD is she has EDS - hypermobility type - this condition answers her other quirks & also makes playing certain instruments much easier for her too

Strumpetron, thanks, will definitely follow your advice, and yes, I do not think she is up to become a great singer of our time :), I think she does not have that sort of voice, so definitely for pleasure!

She'll be fab at karaoke

Rockinhippym, fantastic, well done to your daughter! Somehow I feel it is better not to watch-too nerves wrecking as you said, but then they would love to see their parents, at least little ones! I worry a bit about solo performance as when she was taking her first exam, she was so excited she played pieces with a huuuuuge speed and made quite a lot of mistakes. As a special child :) she was given about 5 minutes extra - did not need them at all, finished about 5 minutes earlier!
But your daughter, oooh, little hero!

Strumpetron, absolutely, I am aware of it!

teacher123 has it right I think. You also need to be sure that the current teachers are giving a realistic assessment - there's a big difference between the best player at a comprehensive with no musical reputation and a cathedral school or a private school which has high quality players and scholarships. I was one of the best players at my school and orchestra, but didn't even make it into the front row of the casual orchestra at uni and no way near the proper orchestra standard. Although if you pick an unusual instrument such as a cor anglais or one where orchestras have lots (violins) then you have a better chance of a spot in the orchestra. But avoid playing only instruments that are variations (like a bass clarinet, piccolo, as usually a Bflat clarinet/flute player will also play these, switching depending on the piece). You also shouldn't pick an instrument just for this reason - you need to love it.

I play a few instruments, have done since having private and LEA lessons as a child. 20 years later I still play (not very well) with a load of other people who don't play very well, but it's great fun and a good way to make friends at university and later in life. My parents consider the investment worthwhile as I still get a great deal of pleasure from music.

Rockinhippy, oh, this is relevant, thanks a lot! Apart from toys, mine has different play style, my dd is the same! But what exactly you mean by hypermobility? Hpmobile joints? My dd has it too :). I did not know about that side of hypermobility! Please, could you tell a bit more and what specialist diagnosed your dd? I also think about sensory processing disorder, she actually has second assessment now, so hopefully they will finally come with some result ...

Pollaidh, absolutely, this is why I said-there are a lot of assumptions here, she may turn to be not that good at the end :) Not to mention her autistic problems. And agreed with the rest, thanks for sharing!

I have hypermobility in some of my joints,I only discovered it a few years ago when I had some wrist problems during playing.
My fingers are ridiculously bendy but sadly I don't think it helps my violin playing!A colleague of mine has it too and it affects her in a bad way at work.

OK - in terms of getting things right, having got them wrong, you really need to get the mistake right a good number of times in a row (particularly if its always the bit to go wrong) - so its much better to just do a small bit - and then put it into a small context - then play the whole piece with it all right all the way through... otherwise you have the potential to play the piece through and get it wrong again - and then repeat and do the same....

My son's been singing in a choir since he was 5. Its hugely beneficial for violin playing as, if you can pitch the note as if you were singing it, you can then play it in tune... And its good for phrasing too.

(Stillenacht - no, 'fraid not...!)

I do think it's a bit odd (sorry) to look at your child's music lessons in terms of 'get[ting] something back out of it'. Music has a value just as an enriching experience, and it also teaches children a different way of learning. I believe it is well worth the investment of time and money for those reasons alone.

But that aside, what do her teachers say? In my experience, when teachers realise that they have an exceptional pupil (not me or my DCs, by the way) they do start making recommendations off their own bat. It was my brother's teacher who suggested that he should audition for one of the music school junior departments, who put him in for the concerto prize etc. Incidentally, he got absolutely loads of wonderful experiences out of it but decided not to pursue music as a profession. When he went to university (not to read music) he sailed into all the orchestras but found them rather dull. So he just stopped. He still plays the piano and sings, for his own enjoyment -- but that's it.