HEY....im 15 and play clarinet as my first instrument (im doing grade 8 next)...i've started piano 6 months ago and have taken my grade 3. The thing is ..i took grade 3 piano and grade 6 clarinet at the same time and had them both within two days.

Do any of you think this is stupid because i've been told it's silly to do as you end up with too much stuff and now my teacher's are kinda rufusing to let me do two (grade 8 and grade 4) together because they said it's too much....how can i convince them i can do it...and do you think i will be able to.

Also....i play drums (and am attempting the electric guitar although it's failgin miserably!!) and have no time to practise...how do you lot fit in ??? any advice on how to timetable my practise??

thanks...caroline xx

I also play several different instruments....its very difficult to fit in decent practises but u seem like a very ambitious person and also very determined so there should be no problem!

hi 36 degrees im 16 and currently play 4 musical instruments as well as singing in various choirs sounds scary when its written down!!!!!!!!!
however if you are dedicated to playing 2 instruments then why not take 2 exams together? after all practice time is down to the individual and only you know whether you can cope with the workload

by the way im taking my grade 3 piano in february (its not my main instrument) and have gcse music practicals in march so i know how you must have felt!!!!

I play the Flute, violin, piano and ive just started the clarinet. I have only done exams on Flute and Violin as i dont have teachers in the piano and clarinet. Maybe you could take the exams at different times of the year like i do. I do violin exams in March usually and flute exams in June. Maybe that would work for you. Tell your teachers that you are confident that you can do it and see what they think.

The secret is don't worry!You sound a bit like me - im 15 too and play flute piccolo piano soprano sax and and electric guitar. I set aside about an hour a day for music practice, sometimes far less, sometimes far more. Im sure it depends on how ambitious you are as to how dedicated to practise you need to be. Im currently working for grade 7 flute and 3 or 4 piano - i don't do grades in the others, i play piccolo/flute in my county youth orchestra, sax in my school sax band and guitar in a band with my friends. To be honest with you, i end up practising in the rehearsals of these groups anyway, which means i dont have to worry so much about practising at home. Its certainly more enjoyable when you rehearse with others!I wouldn't worry too much about timetabling, if you play for fun when you want then you'll progress far more than if you force yourself to do it at a set time. I sometimes feel like this, you're not alone. I find that because of my grades on flute and piano, the other instruments are a lot easier to play and i dont have to worry about practising them as much (in fact, the last time i practised guitar whilst not at band practise was about a month ago, and ive still got better!)So dont panic, prioritise - if your working towards your grade 8 and 4, do most practise on those instruments, but listen to your teacher - if they really think it will be too much they could be right - you sound really talented anyway - you can always split the exams up do one in the spring term and one in the summer after all, thats only a gap of a couple of months, so you'll have them both done by september. Im not saying that you shouldn't do them at the same time, but it might pay off by spliting them slightly. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.Anna x