My daughter is auditoning for the one week Jazz Summer School at Leeds College taking place in July/Aug. Now she realises that it is a National audition for only 30 places she is getting cold feet. This is because she has no jazz exams on the piano and is G7 on AS. Or she feels she should drop out altogether as "Everybody will be miles ahead". How can I help her and is there any1 else going for this?

Not auditioning because I'm too old (have signed up for a non-selective jazz summer school for adults though) but would like to encourage your daughter to go ahead and audition - it sounds like a brilliant opportunity. I can understand why she'd find it scary, but encouraging points I can think of are

- don't worry about lack of jazz exams, I think exam standard tends to be much less of an issue for jazzers than classical, from what you've posted it sounds as though your daughter has plenty of experience in jazz and more importantly a real enthusiasm for it - that's bound to come across in the audition.

- look on the audition itself as a great opportunity, even if she doesn't get a place she'll still learn a lot from auditioning.

- if she doesn't audition she'll be left thinking "what-if" and may well end up regretting the missed opportunity, the worst that can happen if she gives it a go is that she doesn't get in.

- if she does get in she'll have a fantastic time

Best of Luck to her!

This sounds fantastic - yet I'm too young this year! Next year...

Thanks TS. Yes I think just auditioning will be a brilliant experience. I am trying to encourage her, but she hasnt had the opportunity to work in a small ensemble, just the big jazz band with the solo inserts.

She just played at the Spitz last week and did a very good improvised solo on her AS, but she has never had the opportunity to do anything near this on the piano, and piano is what she is auditioning on.

Guess we will have to approach it like we do with those AB exams. Practise and hope.

Hey, my son looked at this for guitar but decided it was too early for him (he's a recent convert to jazz). the keys/sax player from his band is auditioning though. He is pretty good, with lots of experience but there are no guarantees for anyone.

I think you are absolutely right to encourage her to audition for the experience. If she is thinking of applying for music college later, it will help her relax in those auditions and give her best. All you have to lose is the audition fee.

As for grades, my impression from the jazz musicians I've spoken too is that they are not so important as for classical musicians (only go up to Grade 5 and don't really test the core of jazz - improvisation(. Might be heresy on this board mind, so please don't shout at me people. It's only my impression

Good luck

After posting above that I didn't think grades were as important to jazz musicians as classical I started wondering why, assuming that they do test the core skills as well as they do for classical, and came up with the following theory - Jazz exams are a fairly recent introduction, most jazz professionals, teachers etc won't have taken jazz grades, so they know from personal experience that there's no requirement to do jazz grades in order to be a good jazz musician. On the other hand most classical musicians in the UK will have grown up with the grade exams and will have been taught in that way so will tend to expect potential students to do the same.

Yes I see what you mean. However, there is still always a question on the application form 'What Grade/level are you on your main instrument?' Or as with the another Jazz programme for young people last year, 'A minimum of G8 is required?'.

Despite the footnote that grades are not necessary, its clear it gives the panel some indication of the expected standard of the person they are listening to.

Furthermore there is the Rockschool and LCM Exams (Up to G8) that are also supposed to fill the gap of G5 - G8 non-classical genre that the AB board jazz exams do not.

she might as well have a go. if she doesn't try then she hasn't got a chance, has she?

The keys player from my son's quartet got one of the places (only 2 out of 30 female apparently). He is Gr 8 on piano & sax and has a fair amount of playing.composition experience.

Not sure what this says about the importance of grades in jazz or on the under-representation of females!

Umm yes. Well my daughter didnt get a place but she gained a great deal from the auditon. The very useful 'reject' letter said she needed morework on her rootless voicing and comping, plus the vocab of harmonic voicing and rhythmic ideas to generate a stronger comping role. However she had a good sense of time feels & groove! She was happy with that.

I do know that there were several girls who auditoned but one thing we are aware of is that girls do not go out giging/jaming the way boys do. Boys will v. quickly form a scratch band and get on with it whereas girls have to either come from a very strong jazz background or be very very pushy to be 'allowed' to jam with the lads (or bring a double bass!). The boys we met at the auditon were very forceful and assertive - slightly amused that my 15 year old daughter was bothering to auditon at all!

However she enjoyed the experience and for an approx G5 Jazz pianist who has never had the opportunity to play keys in a jazz group thats very postitive. We can only go forward

Sounds like the audition was a positive experience for her, which is great, and that she put in a good performance - well done to her for giving it her best shot.

There aren't many female role models in jazz, plenty of singers but not many instrumentalists, I can only really think of a handful - it would be great to see a few more coming up through the ranks.

great to hear she feels she benefitted from the experience - aren't boys horrible!

LCM are running an improvisation summer school for 14-19 year olds, which might be of interest:

http://www.lcm.ac.uk/courses/short-courses...mer-schools.htm

Details are a bit sketchy as yet but can't imagine there is an audition. My son is considering it as he felt he wasn't ready for the National Summer School.

the head of jazz at the royal welsh, paula gardiner, is also president of 'women in jazz':
http://www.womeninjazzswansea.org.uk/home/home.asp

there is definitely room for more females in jazz. your daughter might want to have a listen to diana krall's piano playing, even though purists might regard her style/packaging as far too commercial.