<p>Maybe this is just the musician's form of senioritis: my DS has not practiced at all since receiving his conservatory/college acceptances, with the exception of a few 20 minute sessions here and there squeezed in between campus visits and revisits before a solo gig he played with a local orchestra. I've heard other kids say they stopped practicing after college auditions so I'm guessing this is not so unusual. But part of me is worried (especially since he chose college over conservatory): will he ever play again?</p>
<p>It is hard to get going on new things when the old things were at such a high level. New pieces take awhile to get in the comfort zone. It is also the time of letting go, moving on, and as you suspect, senioritis. Unfortunately, motor skills deteriorate and the down time will prove to be more trouble than it was worth! If he would do 2-30 minutes a day, he would be fine…erratic practicing, and then pushing for a performance causes injuries. He is more likely to play again if it is a group situation…perhaps he could get friends together and read chamber music…make it a party???</p>
<p>Well…my kid did NOT stop practicing. He knew he would have a seating audition when school began and EVERYONE in his program would be a top player from their high school and region. He started preparing his solo audition rep immediately. He also was still taking lessons on two instruments and played in youth orchestra which didn’t end until mid-June. </p>
<p>He will occasionally take a day “off” after a big concert if nothing else is pending immediately. Other than that…it’s practice daily and always has been. </p>
<p>Does the OP’s kid know he will have a seating audition when school starts? Does he care where he is seated and which ensembles he is placed in? Maybe he hasn’t even thought of these things.</p>
<p>Perhaps contact the new teacher and see if there is something he might work on? When D was a freshman, she was given a pile of music to work on in the summer before school started.</p>
<p>musicamusica–thank you, that is a brilliant suggestion! his older teacher is focusing on the senior recital which is mainly the college audition rep from this past year.</p>
<p>lorelei-thanks, he is in two string quartets and another string ensemble and is rehearsing with them, plus he was rehearsing with his orchestras and played the year end concerts. in fact, he does go over the music for the ensembles, but he is not practicing his solo rep. </p>
<p>thumper–yes, he does know about his school auditions come fall. he’ll have to audition for everything-orchestra, chamber, etc. and he has received the orchestral audition excerpts already. i think the impending auditions are really my main concern, especially as he is also talking about doing a lot of travelling this summer. i understand the need to take a break, but he seems to be pushing the limit. (to be fair, we have both been sick–again!–with a very nasty flu he brought back from yale). </p>
<p>i guess this brings me to a subsidiary question–yale, like many other colleges–offers a one week pre-frosh orientation program right before school starts, with options of camping trips etc. This all sounds lovely, but for most of DS’s life, the idea of taking a week off from from his daily 3-5 hours of practicing was preposterous and in the past six years, he has only done that once as a result of injury. i’m wondering how he can afford to take a week off practicing right before he has auditions.</p>
<p>Is he going to Yale as an undergrad? If so, he SHOULD do one of those trips. The Yale program, as you know, is a BA program. It is not a performance major. He will not be competing with music performance majors for seats in ensembles (those are all grad ensembles…my understanding is not too many undergrads are IN those ensembles). He chose Yale for all that Yale has to offer and that includes these excursions. If it were me, I would encourage him to go.</p>
<p>thumper–i know what you are saying and i agree about the yale opportunity. however, i think that the auditions for orchestra and chamber music at yale will be highly competitive, (as will the top a capella groups and glee club). we know several outstanding incoming violinists who turned down juilliard to attend yale as well as many more who didn’t apply to conservatories but could have done, all of whom hope to participate in the orchestras. if you don’t get in, you don’t have an orchestra to play in. (this happened to my son’s father–a clarinetist–at harvard and it really soured his undergrad experience)</p>
<p>stringkeymom- This summer will be the bridge between you anticipating what he has to do and his responsibility to think on his own next year. Hard to do but a new phase.
If music is his passion he will miss it on his own in short fashion.</p>
<p>Playing in all those ensembles is enough to keep his chops sharp. When the semester ends, his friends are dispersing, he will renew his private practice time. It is what it is. If he does not have enough interest in his violin to keep him working, it is good to learn it early, so he can dedicate his education to other pursuits. He has a good base, however, and his playing will be fine. Those competitive instincts will start flowing, or they will not…</p>
<p>My son’s teacher brilliantly suggested that he prepare full new repertoire for a “pre-college recital”, which he performed in August. He prepared the new pieces from March on (along with a concerto, which he performed before that). Having a focus such as this really gave a shape to the post-audition season.</p>
<p>He plans to do another summer concert, because now that juries are behind him, he needs another performance objective. This concert was decided of his own volition. For ensemble players, a concert may be more difficult to pull off, but it is a good idea to get a new set of repertoire in the works.</p>
<p>Musicmom1234 is absolutely right though. Now the amount your son practices is his responsibility. I am sure he will rise to the occasion shortly. Getting ready for auditions is exhausting, but there is life after that, and the kids do realize it!</p>
<p>thanks, allmusic–i think that your son’s teacher is a genius! i’m sure i would welcome not having to worry about another senior recital right away (he’s got his senior composition recital next week).<br>
lorelei–thanks! I do think the lack of new rep compounded with the winding up of all of his musical groups (saying goodbye to people who have been close friends, teachers, mentors) has something to do with it? </p>
<p>and thanks everyone, i do know it’s my son’s responsibility to practice and it’s his life etc, however, this is a new phase, right? there is so much focus in these threads (understandably) on auditioning and acceptances and not much on what happens next. it’s an interesting time of transition and i thought it would be interesting to hear other parents’ and students’ experiences.</p>
<p>have a listen to some of these audio clips from yale’s various musical performance groups, esp. the symphony:</p>
<p>[Yale</a> Department of Music > Our Showcase > Audio and Video](<a href=“Welcome | Department of Music”>Welcome | Department of Music)</p>
<p>My son’s coming prof informed him that he will be sending out a package of summer prep work and the pieces for ensemble seating auditions during the last week in May. My son is performing here through June 13th so no stopping playing allowed.</p>
<p>Yes, he needs to practice over the summer. Preferably a lot, but at least a normal amount.
But a substantial break is predictable, unproblematic, and an important anti-burnout tool. I’ll use myself as an example here. After the months of 5-7 hour practice days prior to grad school auditions (in which I was successful), I have been very happy to back off a lot and take many days off, although I haven’t been able to stop practicing altogether, as I had to play a jury at the end of the semester, and have important concerts in June. My friends and colleagues who are going to grad school are mostly doing the same. These are people headed to Rice, NEC, CIM, RCM, McGill … there’s nothing wrong with it.
I have a rigorous routine prescribed for me for the summer by my future teacher, and have significant projects from my undergrad teacher as well. I don’t think I’d be ready to step into it if I had been practicing at full steam for the last month. The audition process is almost inestimably wearying.</p>
<p>As long as he’s active musically, I would not see a short interval without practice as a major issue. I assume he’s still continuing private lessons throughout the summer. If he’s not, think I would seriously rethink that aspect.</p>
<p>Remember, most of our kids can’t live without this. He’ll be back. He’s probably taking a well deserved break.</p>
<p>But, I wouldn’t push it even if he doesn’t seem interested for a month or two. Not saying this is true, but maybe he thinks since he’s “in”, he can slide a bit. Perhaps there might be a bit of cockiness? (It’s a BA program, and he did nail an NEC acceptance; he might feel he might be able to slack off; I have seen this mentality on occasion.)</p>
<p>Make sure he hears those Yale clips. I know the quality of Yale undergrad instrumentalists. If he does choose to back off the practice, he might well be disappointed with his orchestral or ensemble options. </p>
<p>In the absence of a summer program, chamber sessions, reading groups, are an excellent way of keeping skills honed.</p>
<p>Yes, stringkeymom, I have to agree that the quality of the Yale undergraduate ensembles is very high–there might not be a performance degree, but nevertheless your S will be competing against many students who are definitely at conservatory level. Regarding the pre-orientation programs, my S elected not to do one and instead used the time to prepare for auditions, entrance exams, packing, etc. He never felt that he had missed anything, as he was able to build a large group of friends right away from the musical ensembles he made it into. I’m sure the pre-orientation programs are great, but not absolutely necessary for the Yale experience. But, a little break is always needed, especially after the stress of the college application process–so perhaps that is what he needs right now. If I remember correctly, the undergraduate ensembles might put online audition excerpts required?? not sure. But, seeing those might also provide an incentive to get back into practicing.</p>
<p>stringkeymom - If the ensemble and orchestra auditions aren’t for at least 2 days after the FOOT trip/Harvest ends, your S should be able to be ready for the auditions, as long as he prepared well before that. (I do have some background in high level violin playing - my S did pre-college conservatory on violin, studied with a Juilliard teacher for 4 years, and was planning on becoming a pro for a while.) My older S did not do any pre-frosh trip and my younger S did the 4 day FOOT trip. I would highly recommend doing a pre-frosh trip if he feels he has time to get back up to speed afterwards. He’ll have a blast, he’ll make friends, and he’ll begin school feeling like he knows lots of people. I think it made the beginning of freshman year much less stressful socially for the one who did it. It was remarkable how many people he said hi to walking the streets of New Haven the day we moved him in!</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone! It really helped to hear a variety of perspectives on the pre-frosh trips. S’s case complicated because his string quartet is participating in another national program the week before, and although they will be performing there, the main point of the program is academic so there won’t be practice time then either.</p>
<p>S is meeting with his teacher on Thursday to plan out the summer course of study and we scheduled a session with his orchestra music coach (who has helped him with his seating auditions for years) to go over the YSO excerpts. He did start his practicing routine back up last night and made a sober assessment of how much ground he lost by the layoff. (Maybe this was instructive, as it is going to be a challenge to keep up his usual routine once he is at school, and he needs to know the costs).</p>
<p>Fiddlefrog, congratulations to you and good luck on your juries! S has no juries, just his senior recitals (composition is this Saturday and he is playing in two of his ensembles so has to get ready for those!) it’s helpful to hear from someone who has been through it twice that being exhausted (maybe even burnt out) after auditions is normal.</p>
<p>violadad, thanks–I do think there was a hint of coasting going on. setting up summer ensembles is a great idea. His quartets wind down in June, one will pick up again for a bit in August; will work on what happens in July. (Maybe a music festival). And yes, his private lessons will continue through the summer with both current teachers. </p>
<p>Clarimom–it was really helpful to hear your son’s experience at putting the auditions and placement exams on top priority, thank you! And bless you for mentioning packing. I don’t mean to complain, but when the kids go off to do these programs, it means the parents have to do the packing and moving in for them. It seems a shame not to enjoy the program, but really, it’s the time at Yale once the school year begins that really matters and as you say, participating in performing ensembles and other ECs will.</p>
<p>Yalemom2, the pre-frosh trips do sound great. But I think they bring you back to campus the morning of mandatory orientation sessions and then the meetings, placement exams, auditions and all the other busy-ness-- getting to know roommates and shopping for classes all start up right away. I liked hearing about your two sons and their different choices. Is your older son still playing violin?</p>
<p>^^ stringkeymom - It’s true that the first few days are a whirlwind. Do you know when the auditions actually are? To answer your question about my older S - he did DS freshman year and decided that the YSO required too much of a time commitment, so he played in a residential college orchestra - he did that through junior year. He spent this last year overseas on a leave of absence and didn’t take his violin. 
This summer he will be playing some - there is a musical component of an academic program he’ll be involved in. I don’t know what he’ll do senior year. I do believe (hopefully not wishful thinking) that he’ll end up playing in a string quartet as a hobby as an adult. No matter what, he has certainly gained a love and knowledge of music he wouldn’t have had otherwise, and was provided with a place full of beauty and excellence to grow up in.</p>