Frequently Asked Questions

What if my child doesn't like something about their ensemble?

We are very happy to receive feedback about how your child is going with our ensembles, so please don't hesitate to get in touch with our Director Jackie to discuss any problems your child may be having. Is it the songs they are playing? The difficulty of the music? Do they want to do more (or less) solos or more performances? We want everyone to enjoy our ensembles and we want to work with you to ensure your child gets the most out of their time with us. Please get in touch with any issues and we will do our best to resolve them. We want them to love playing!

What if my child is quite advanced musically for their age?

Once your child has a handle on the basics of their instrument and how to read music, we can accommodate all levels of musical ability. We are very happy to put your child in a higher group than normal for their age if they are up to it and it's a better fit for them.

What if my child isn't sure if they want to join?

We offer a four-week trial period for a very discounted rate of just $50.

We charge this small fee for the trial period as it can be disrupting for our regular members to have new players coming along if they aren't serious about joining. We recommend sticking it out for the full four weeks as find children get a much better feel for whether they like the ensemble if they give it a chance. It can take time to get to know the other players and the music and feel comfortable joining in. hat said, if there's another way we can accommodate your child, please get in touch and we will try to find a workable solution.

What if my child can't read music?

This isn't a deal-breaker, however it is highly recommended that children learn how to read sheet music so that they can progress in their chosen instrument generally. It's not difficult to learn and, depending on the instrument, can have a big impact on how quickly kids progress.

However, if you child doesn't yet read music, so long as they can keep up with learning the songs (some children are excellent aural learners, and drummers and singers in particular can often get away with not knowing how to read music), then this is fine.

If you would like your child to learn to read music but are not sure how to go about it, our Director Jackie offers private tutoring to teach kids how to read music for their chosen instrument. Between two and four sessions is often enough to allow a child to continue learning how to read music on their own. Jackie charges $60 for a 45-minute music reading intensive.

What if my child wants to play a particular song?

Great! We love to get suggestions for songs. In most cases, we are happy to write up the music for your child's ensemble so that they can play their favourite song! Of course, the song must be of an appropriate level of difficulty, be appropriate in terms of lyrics, and be generally acceptable to the other members of the ensemble.

What instruments are allowed in the ensembles?

We welcome almost any instrument to our ensembles - from guitar, drums and bass guitar to brass, woodwind, strings and even percussion. Of course, all our ensembles also welcome singers!

What if my child likes to sing but hasn't sung in a choir or band before?

We love and need singers in our ensembles and the best part is, you can never have too many singers! More singers mean more opportunities for harmonies and a stronger voice sound for our ensembles. So long as your child can hold a tune and is willing to learn, that's fine. If your child isn't quite hitting the right notes, we recommend getting some singing lessons first. They don't need to be able to sing perfectly, but they do need to be able to sing in tune. If you're unsure, they are welcome to attend a placement session to see where they are at. Once they are ready, we would love to have them!

Does my child need to be having lessons?

The short answer is no. So long as your child has sufficient ability to learn their songs and play with us, that's fine! However, many of our NSME kids (especially younger ones) do have private lessons separately to their ensemble rehearsals. Our ensembles are not meant to replace the huge benefits that come from getting one on one tuition specific to your instrument or singing. We recommend that kids take lessons at least for several years until they become proficient enough to learn songs on their own.