Are music competitions necessary?

musicprnt
Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:04:26 +0000

On the violin and piano there are certain teachers that make a big deal about competitions as the last poster noted, and in part it is because winning competitions is a way to attract new students, to say “my kids won x competitions, etc”…this is especially attractive to parents whose notions of success are hierarchy, ‘being the best’ (common among, but not limited to, Asian parents) is the big deal, and competitions are one of the ways.

My S did only one competition his whole time studying the violin and will be attending a top notch conservatory in a very difficult to get in studio, and plenty of kids get into top programs who have never done one…on the other hand, he had the experience of auditioning and getting into competitive summer programs, orchestras, prep programs, which probably did a lot more for him, a lot of the kids who win those competitions disappear (in part because many of their parents see going into music a waste of time, they are playing the instrument and doing the competitions because the parents feel it helps get them into top notch schools, think the Tiger Mom and her daughters).

There is nothing wrong with competitions if taken in the right spirit, but I wouldn’t worry about them, I would worry about finding the right teacher and having the kid put in the effort, that is the only way to make it into a decent music program and then into a career:)