Willaim joseph school of music,bangalore

I've been learning Piano  for nearly a year at william josephs at koramangala,  bangalore. They trusted me and let me play a piece at their annual function. I think they are a very determined lot and encourage you to learn music right from the roots. I would not like to pin point but they have some really exceptional teachers among the lot. Since I come from a not so well financed family I find it really tough to pay the fees on time, the teachers there understand and cooperate.
There are some prerequisites before you join this institute.Any institute for that fact. If you are beginning  to learn the piano or any classical instrument the right way(which I think is through sight reading) you have to dedicate a lot of hours. Since its different and its probably a new thing, a lot of effort has to be put in it to get the best out of you. There are numerous pieces in western music(every genre, classical,jazz)where  its necessary to read music. I will just brief you out the benefits:
*Its easy to improvise on the theory, you can bring out the music inside you.
*Helps to play different part of a musical piece in a group. Not all music pieces can be memorized.
I have heard some of the sessions on music theory by a teacher at the school and I  felt  really impressed and its inspiring me to learn my lessons.
Its not a tough task, If you be regular in your lessons. Just keep in mind that the best musical pieces are on their way and these trivial things are just testing your patience and building on some of the basic skills.
Why do you need a tutor?
Well its a  simple logic. A mistake or wrong technique has to be corrected very early. It becomes tough later.
Most of the time when you are quite immersed in the musical piece you forget to analyze the piece from a listeners perspective.
So guys, work hard. Music is something that can cause a lot of difference in your lifestyle. If you have the money make an effort to join these classes.
 I have heard people say that its too expensive for the amount of hours they spend on you. But let me clarify that you can always approach these teachers anytime of the day. Try speaking and getting extra lessons from them,some of them are a gifted lot. There are a little loop holes in the system though. Saturdays and sundays, too crowded.  If you dont put an effort from your side , you may remain one of the stranded lots.
There are a lot of institutions in Bangalore as well, 50% of them are hunting down on you for the fees, the rest can bring out the best only if you are already into the instrument for sometime. Try searching.Most of them charge you nearly 500 bucks and make you memorize pieces.( Most of them being bollywood numbers and rock music(In tab and chords only format,with wrong fingering and wrong rhythm patterns).Its my personal belief if you don't learn new things, you get stuck on to the same style, It gets very boring afterwards.
Wouldn't it be nice if you play music that was within you.?
So think over it. There are some rare talents in bangalore, but unless you have crossed an intermediate level,its highly impossible they will accept you. Let me remind you they can charge you really high. So make small steps for the final stride.

 Be there For the love of music. 

IELTS 8/9. How I did it +information

International english language Test.
Well I gave My Ielts exam a week ago. I got a 8/9. This was possible without any preparations.NIL. I would have scored more If I would have  fared better at the 'accent section' or the speaking section. 
The speaking section mainly focuses on your ability to speak english in an understandable way to the 'FIRANGIS'(foreign). I only got a 6.5 in the SPEAKING SECTION. Well you cannot change the way you speak in a week or something but I recommend you the following.
* Speak slowly.
* The ielts listening section has some basic criteria that you have to cover when you are speaking about a topic. 
Like: Why, how,reason your points and Finally conclude. 
*Guys please conclude,very important.( I could see the acceptance smile on the interviewers face. PS: Most of them help you out as well while you are speaking by showing signs and some clues in a book right in front of you).
*There is no point in impressing the interviewer. She/He has not got anything to do with your points. 
Be clear and simple.
So the listening test is very simple and can actually get on your nerves if your expecting a little too much. 
*Dont ever think of comparing the IETLS with the CAT/XAT or the IAS( sorry if I hurt some feelings..)
My topic was Noise.
The questions were, do you like noise, why is noise created? 
Well it was a little irritating, but I sat through all of the damn crap. 
The listening exam takes place on the first day of this two day exam. 
The second day is a mere mockery of conducting an Exam in an utterly ostentatious fashion. 
They ask you to come for an exam that starts quite late. I personally recommend that even if you arrive 5 minutes before the real exam commences , you can go through smoothly.
For an exam that really took of at 1pm, I arrived at 9 in the morning. They have seriously some issues about maintaining a Que to keep your luggage and get your stuff verified(alloting seat numbers).They could have made a chart paper showing the assigned seats.
Recently I have come up with a doubt, is it the aussies who have framed the conduct for this EXAM.
You feel like you are in  a DAMN JAIL . 
A very showy and unneeded way to conduct an exam. But all of you who want to get a good score, please remain calm and dont pay much attention to what the instructor has to say. Its really kid stuff. The instructor would say the same set of instructions after every section(3 sections). (Dont do that, do this, please !!!). 
Well after waiting and forming straight lines like students in a class drill you finally get to enter the examination hall. 30 minutes of instructions.They Provide you with Pencils, pen and rubber.( They manage to take them back at the end of the test, you gotta sit back and wait for them to do so.)
-----------------------NOW THE EXAM-----------------PART of it---------------
Okay now the listening section. 
I got a 8/9. I could have fared better If :
The listening tests are quite simple. Dont get restless(IS the KEY). 
The speaker asks you to go through the questions before you he starts the actual conversation/passage. 
Well even if you dont go through the questions on the paper  you can still clear all of the questions. Al the answers are sequential. There are no inference questions or any main idea questions. Most of them are objective. 
Its not rocket science, as the speaker speaks you can get most of your answers. There are no tough words, and everything is crystal clear. 
The next section that commences after another 20 minutes of unbearing instructions is the reading section.
I got a 8.5/9 in this section. All questions are very simple and the questions are direct. It doesn;t matter if you havent even read the passage before attempeting the questions. 
Some of the question are like this:
Refer passage 2 and answer the following question.
What does a badger feed on in the winter?
So Its direct. 
But be a little careful a tricky question can follow, There are only a few of them, but its better to be a little cautios. Especially the humanities section. SCIENCE section are pretty easy. 
Well reading is pretty easy and if you want to really master the section I prefer you do the 1000 RC, available online. Its better,increases speed and challenging  than what comes on THE 'highly organised' IELTS exam. 
Finally the Writing section. 
The first essay is usually a thesis or summary you have to understand and essay it.I guess its better if you remain as concise and be to the point in this first essay. I did delete some of the topic while writing first.
I forgot to mention on of the unusual things about this exam.YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THE WHOLE EXAM IN PENCIL. Everything is PAPER based.
A lot of them worked out their outline and then started of with the pen. You wil have to face the grim face instructor who are doing rounds like its a highly secured area. The second essay is a more general topic. My topic was- should cooperation between countries be improved. Its a pretty simple topic. You can even ask for an additional sheet. I never did/ I dont think it makes a big difference. If you are trying for a 9/9, I guess you can concentrate on the following:
Legible and flattering handwriting
Use some of the words in the IELTS vocabulary syllabus. ( I still havent gone through that, but most of them say it makes a big difference). 
And finally conclude your essay.LOL.
Thats it folks. Go ahead. The exam is pretty simple compared to the TOEFL/GRE. Just dont get panicked and annoyed by the overly strict instructors. 
-----------------EXTRA LITTLE BIT---------------------------------
Well at the END of it, If any one of you are thinking of copying or making some one else write for you.I dont completely ridicule the idea at the first thought.
I dont completely rule out the fact.They dont check your identity once you have arrived at your assigned desk to write the exam. You can even change the name and Passport number on your answer sheet, when you are about to submt your answer sheet(Provided your friend should be in the same hall and should change his to yours),and since its in PENCIL it makes things simpler. But there is a small cliche to that. All the answer sheets are collected serially. So you can get caught there!!I havent thought about bribing the officials. Do make an attempt, I think its highly possible. lol!!!I have even heard that you can score better in the speaking module at places where the english speaking Indian Junta is less.(Hope you got my point). Don't risk too much, Its a simple exam and a score between 7.5 and 8.5 are equivalently good. Even if you get lost(in thoughts) in the middle of the exam you can come back and still score a 6 or 6.5.
Well its easier to copy and fudge at the Toelf exam , although I havent given it yet.


Take care