Music for Scholarship in Private School

[11PlusGirl]

Hi,
I heard music is required to get scholarship
Can you please advice, where to start on this
Tutor, Music Exam levels we need to cover
which instrument (Violin, keyboard)

Thanks

Every school differs. Nowadays the most they offer is scholarship covering cost if music lessons (in one instrument). You would spend more getting them to the grade appropriate for them to try out!
for example our closest school recommends grade 6 in Y6 to take scholarship music test.

There are often alternatives , music being just one. Academic , sports, drama, all round and art are some of the others but each school would differ. At 11+ for music you are looking at achieving grade 4/5 minimum on one instrument and having a second not far behind. It should state on the school's website what their expectations are. Do bear in mind music may not give you much discount on school fees, if any , more often it is related to music tuition on condition of participation in a number of ensembles and concerts.

The Head of Music at your target schools should be able to give you some idea of what they are looking for in a music scholar. The award might not give any discount from fees, but may well include instrumental/voice tuition (so that's quite a saving).

You also need to find out what they expect music scholars to do. A friend's DC has one, and as well as playing two instruments as a soloist, she is in the main orchestra and a couple of ensembles, plus sings in the choir and a madrigal group. She's also heavily involved in the music for various drama productions as well as taking part in concerts.

It sounds a really heavy load to me, but she genuinely loves it. And spends a lot of the holidays with youth orchestras.

I just found

There are mainly 2 music boards, Trinity College or ABRSM
I need to prepare her for exam/levels

Er, yes. But how old is your dd and how long has she been playing ? They would expect a higher level for a more common instrument such as piano or violin than a more sought after one like double bass. Grades are only part of the picture though, there would be an audition involving sight reading and aural during which they look for musicality and enthusiasm. You can only train so far.

Every school will be different in what it wants and the rewards for getting a scholarship. It's not just like tutoring to pass an 11+ for a year or so; getting to the standard required for a music scholarship is likely to take years and quite a lot of dedication (and talent!) on behalf of the child.

If your child has no prior music/instrument experience and is already 8+, I would suggest that it's a non-starter, unless he or she happens to be amazingly musical.

I agree with LIZS. It's more about the instrument your child plays rather than the level achieved. Violin, flute, trumpet are often the most common and therefore a higher standard would be expected. Trombone, tuba, French horn, bassoon, viola may be more desired as they may need to fill in gaps in ensembles. I would speak to the school about it. Friend of mine actively put his son on trombone in order to get him a music scholarship. I would also argue it's harder to achieve grade 6 on something like a French horn as it's a difficult instrument to play and requires good strength of the diaphragm to play well.

ABRSM is more demanding than Trinity.

OP -

Are you talking about a music scholarship?

Or an All Rounder?
What school are you aiming for?

How old is dc?

Do they play an instrument already?