Marie in Oh Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Does anyone's kids participate in this? If so, I am wondering how it works? My 8 yo dd is doing this and the Federation Festival this year. I know that the child goes in with a list of memorized pieces and plays for a teacher and they are graded. How many pieces is normal to prepare? Dd's teacher is starting with 15 and says that she can go up to 20. That seems like a lot.Anyone have tips for memorization? I am nervous for her-- she isn't at all. She is the kid who would rise to the occasion. ANyway, just wondering if anyone has any experience to help us prepare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Does anyone's kids participate in this? If so, I am wondering how it works? My 8 yo dd is doing this and the Federation Festival this year. I know that the child goes in with a list of memorized pieces and plays for a teacher and they are graded. How many pieces is normal to prepare? Dd's teacher is starting with 15 and says that she can go up to 20. That seems like a lot.Anyone have tips for memorization? I am nervous for her-- she isn't at all. She is the kid who would rise to the occasion. ANyway, just wondering if anyone has any experience to help us prepare. My dd did that once, when she was about 8. She didn't do anywhere near 15 pieces. It was more like 4 or 5. There was also a written theory test. The event was held in someone's home (a piano teacher, but not our teacher). She sat at a kitchen table with a couple other kids to do the test. Then she went in and played her pieces in a private room. She did very well, and wasn't nervous at all. She prepared simply by playing through her pieces 5 times every day. They were pretty much perfect by the time she played for the audition. Her teacher was a stickler for theory, too, so she was well prepared in that area, too. Of course, she was tested at her level in both performance and theory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 My ds did National Guild auditions twice before his piano teacher switched to another organization. He LOVED it. Our piano teacher asks her students to maintain a repertoire of about 8-10 pieces as a part of knowing piano, so ds was already prepared. I think he played 10 pieces. Because the pieces are naturally maintained as a part of his practices, he didn't see it as memorizing. More like polishing pieces he hadn't played as often. To prepare, he just played them every day. The auditor(?) was welcoming and put ds at ease immediately. She was very encouraging. It was very clear that the auditions are intended to be a positive experience, to give children a goal to work toward without placing them in competition with one another, and for both student and teacher to get feedback about what they do well and where they might wish to focus to become even better. My ds looks forward to the yearly audition process, and so do I because it gives him a goal to work toward. If the teacher has been through this before then she (or he) will know how your dd needs to prepare. My advice would be to sit back and enjoy. :) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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