Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Music instrument suggestions

HK makes great suggestions, as always!

Leyla, you might have a look at the Royal Conservatory program here: http://www.musicdevelopmentprogram.org/teacher-directory

It is a system of testing/measurement that is nationwide in the US and Canada (I think). One of my dc's piano teachers was very interested in this, but we moved before she took it up. The site has a list of participating teachers. One of the features I like is that the program not only has annual (or perhaps semiannual) juries for performance testing, but it also requires a theory test.

The way in which DD ultimately found piano to "impress" come college time was the number of years at the activity, quite honestly. There's a lot to be said for a decade or more of sustained study like that, and college ad-coms seem to know it. It speaks of a genuine commitment, not window dressing, if that makes sense.

EVERYONE knows that piano or violin is a very common instrument choice-- so sticking with it (over the latest "hot ticket" scholarship sure-thing, whatever that looks like in middle school) says something about the student when they are teens.

DD was probably ready to give up formal lessons last fall, but we all agreed that there were some great reasons to sustain them through until she graduated from high school. Her heart hasn't truly been in it; we all know that. But it's the task commitment that's important at this point.

It sounds like you have a great understanding of what your daughter's interests and needs are, Leyla! Good luck.

HK, could you please let me know how you documented the decade of sustained study of the piano for college admissions? Was it through a letter from her teacher? Or did you have cerificates from exams taken over the years?

The thing is-- nobody is checking up on your claims (at least not that we're aware of, anyway).

Basically, you just list it as an extracurricular in with the rest of it. It's not that big a deal, honestly.

I could have gotten a letter from her teacher, of course-- and if someone has checked into the veracity of the claim, we certainly don't know about it... and I suppose that there probably ARE candidates that claim a dozen years of viola or something, without any basis for it. At least so far, your word that you've done it seems to be enough; there is surprisingly little "documentation" required to "prove" claims made on college applications. The only deterrent to lying egregiously seems to be the idea that if you get caught, you'll have massively torpedoed your chances of admission anywhere but the local community college.

For MIT, I think that she had to provide contact information for all of her listed extracurriculars; she gave her teacher's name, studio address, and phone number.

Realize that this wasn't anything like a major 'hook' for DD, though-- it was just part of her personal landscape, like a regular long-standing community service gig that she also listed. She had probably four other activities that were as long-running and significant. Music is just part of the big picture for her.

Thank you, HK!

Thank you all :-)

Leyla, I think your approach is very sensible. If my DD wanted to focus on music, I don't think I'd ever be comfortable with that idea until she is in college. Even then, I'd try to encourage her to not put all her eggs in one basket especially if that basket is music, art, dance, etc.

There are very few opportunities for kids to compete/perform in our area. The very talented kids from DD's school often busk for the performance experience. There's no pressure, it's good practise and they get to earn their performance chops. We have a 7 yo & 11 yo who take their keyboards to the local mall once a month for 2 hours (with parents of course) - maybe that could scratch an itch.
Otherwise, if she has the physical development for it then brass would be my suggestion. Then she can do jazz, pop, orchestra etc so much more in demand.

DS6 has been learning violin for a few years (at his insistence) because he loves classical music. He desperately wanted to learn piano at school last year (I suspect partly the excitement of skipping out of class for 1/2 hour had something to do with it). Having 2 instruments has been great though as there is some cross-over but also differences. He will do his 2nd grade exam in violin soon and does theory and more 'technical' stuff with that teacher, piano he tends to play for enjoyment, informal recitals at school, and for the challenge of working out the last song in the book when he is nowhere near that... Down the track he can join an orchestra if he wishes(invited already, usually starts gr 5) which may give him access to a different group of older peers. Apart from his enjoyment, music is the only thing he has to put in some effort with and it has been great (albeit taxing at times) in helping with perfectionism.

My 10 year old dd has been taking piano since she was 5 in kindergarten. She has participated annually in the National Piano Guild auditions since then and also plays at a number of festivals and local recitals throughout the year. Lately she has developed an interest in jazz and hopes to join the jazz band when she starts MS in the fall. In last few months she was expressing that she was tired of playing and wanted to quit.... I will not force her to continue but am hoping she will want to keep going with it because she enjoys it..otherwise there is no point really. She is quite talented, but not mature enough to see the long-term.

If your daughter is enjoying lessons and practicing diligently then just keep supporting her!