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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 188
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Joined: Mar 2009
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This may belong on another site, but I'll give it a whirl. Daughter= 7th grade. Wanted to quit piano lessons up until 5th grade. Now, she likes piano lessons, probably because it is getting a bit harder, and also now is involved with choir, guitar, and cello, with a bit of percussion mixed in. She wants to get more,and even has started crying before about me not allowing her to purchase a trumpet, trombone, etc. But back to the piano, she is playing Moonlight Sonata and Maple Leaf Rag on her own, while her lessons are only providing an abriged and simplified versions of those songs. She never practices those songs during the week, but still performs pretty well at the lessons. So her time at home is comprised of creating original compositions, figuring out and arranging songs of choice (without sheet music), and playing songs that she got the sheet music from from other sources. She LOVES soundtracks, and not the songs with words, just the ones without words. She has been teased about this before, and is starting to feel ashamed. She has expressed that she wants to compose soundtracks when she grows up, and some of her idols are john williams, hans zimmer, klaus badelt, and the list goes on and on. (these are all composers of movie music). But a problem she also said is that she wants to be a scientist, lawyer, doctor, anthropologist, author, and just about every other thing that you can think of, and thinks attending Juilliard might conflict with that. Any suggestions? Sorry for the long post.....
Last edited by Bassetlover; 03/22/09 07:38 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2008
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This was a good article about multipotentiality in the Duke Gifted Letter. Gifted individuals often possess the ability to do not one but many things at high competence levels. Students with this ability, however, may view their multipotentiality as a mixed blessing. When they hear that �they can be anything they want to be� or �they are lucky to have so many options,� the choices may overwhelm them, or they may feel pressure to become someone different from who they are. When speaking with children about career options, we should emphasize their individuality and help them chart their own career paths. While their intellectual ability may be high across the academic spectrum, multipotential students, like all students, have predispositions and preferences for certain subject areas.
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Joined: Feb 2006
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I would try giving her some composition lessons.
I do not know where you are, but in my state I would try to contact someone associated with with a state symphony orchestra for suggestions.
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Joined: Apr 2006
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I can�t say that my son is a musical genius, but he has also composed his own music on piano (which impressed his teacher). He absolutely loves the work of John Williams and listens to classical music by choice. He is never bored at the symphony, which he loved since he first went at three, while the rest of us fight to stay alert by the end. He had to give up piano last year due to expense of private school as well as commute time and homework load, but he has been practicing again on his own. He also plays trumpet fairly well considering he doesn�t practice beyond the bare minimum. He has been allowed /required to coast in band this year as he has more years of experience than most other middle school students and has lost interest as a result. Since the band director will not allow middle school students into any high school band, he will take next year (8th grade) off from school band.
Our daughter plays the flute quite well for a kid who never took a private lesson. She is in her high school�s advanced performance ensemble as a freshman and her teacher thinks she practices a lot. I would say almost never is more accurate-maybe a total of one hour at home the week before a performance. The music is advanced, but it appears effortless to her although she doesn�t seem to appreciate her musical aptitude and simply thinks it�s easy. She may actually get a partial music scholarship for college which she would consider desirable for travel and tuition help, but not necessarily to nurture her �passion�.
They each participated in a single school sports team and dd is involved in a couple academic clubs. They enjoy drama, but haven�t had the opportunity to try out for even one play due to conflicts with other commitments. Multi-potentiality or at least, multi-interest, is definitely an issue at our home.
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Joined: Mar 2009
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We have a really big symphony orchestra in our city- we'll check it out.
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Joined: Feb 2009
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This was a good article about multipotentiality in the Duke Gifted Letter. Gifted individuals often possess the ability to do not one but many things at high competence levels. Students with this ability, however, may view their multipotentiality as a mixed blessing. When they hear that �they can be anything they want to be� or �they are lucky to have so many options,� the choices may overwhelm them, or they may feel pressure to become someone different from who they are. When speaking with children about career options, we should emphasize their individuality and help them chart their own career paths. While their intellectual ability may be high across the academic spectrum, multipotential students, like all students, have predispositions and preferences for certain subject areas. As a side note, I read this awhile ago and just cried... it described my feelings about my own choices and "gifts" to a T!!! To the OP: Definitely look into getting a more rounded "education" in music for her... composition, music history, more advanced lessons (different teacher???). Maybe there's someone in your area who focuses on one type of music vs the other (i.e., with dance, you have so many options: contemporary, ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, etc). As far as her questioning her future education, I would highly suggest looking into other performing art schools with her as well. USC for example has a GREAT drama program, but it also is a good liberal arts college. Pick a few out with her, visit them, look over ALL the programs they have to offer. Jot down positives and negatives of each, etc. Good luck! PS. I hope DS5 & DD3 are that concerned with their futures in 7th grade! 
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Joined: Sep 2007
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DH and I promised one another that we would never tell our kids that they can be whatever they want to be. Maybe it was true, but it was still scary and useless to both of us. It gives a kid nothing to go on, no help with decision-making.
We plan to talk in specifics, giving a lot more guidance to our kids than we ever got.
But with that said, childhood is THE time to explore lots of potential paths. It's good that she has lots of interests. Some may become part of her career, some may become hobbies, and some may burn themselves out and fall away from her life.
I guess what I'm saying is that I think she's still young enough that it's okay if she has lots of ideas about what she wants to be. I would think that it's time to start talking with her about long-term goals so that she has some direction. Not every interest should be/can be actively pursued (unless she's going to be a life-long student). But having wildly varied interests is healthy and normal for a GT kid.
I have a friend from childhood who is a theater engineer. He created a totally individualized major for himself and built a very successful career out of it. Disparate interests sometimes work well together in unexpected ways. Just don't let her flounder around without career guidance, as happened with DH and me. My friend was very driven. I was not.
FWIW...
Kriston
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We have a really big symphony orchestra in our city- we'll check it out. In some cases the tickets are not much more expensive than movie tickets. We haven�t gone recently, but I have seen even more advertisements for �special� events due to the current economy.
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High school time will be very busy even for those who breeze through elementary and middle school. Honor/AP classes alone would consume a large amount of time. Then you have ECs and community services, the time for their friends, etc. It is a time to make tough decisions and life is all about choices.
I would suggest that your kid take the hardest classes that she can manage (maintain mostly A). On top of that, one sport activity and one art/music/band activity would be nice. A couple of academic related activities such as speech/debate, math club, writing competitions, science fair, academic decathlon, etc. would be helpful too. Then she also needs something for community service/leadership.
There is very little point doing many small things. But rather focus on a few thing that she really enjoy and do well on them. Colleges like to see commitments. So choose something she can do for multiple years.
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