Summer Term Music and Music Exams Thread

Sorry, miniwaffle, that should be DD1!

Oh Wafflenose that is amazing. Well done to them both.

(I bet it doesn't take DS1 2 years to Grade 6 though)

DS1 once got a result same day. It was at school, so when I asked him how his exam went and he said 'Great, I got a Distinction' I thought was just being confident.

Tonight is our final Junior School music concert. I cry just thinking about it, after 3 DCs through school.

Well done to the small Waffles, isn't it good that they didn't have long to wait? We once Trinity results on the day which rather spoilt it for every exam after that. We (and by that I mean "I" because DS isn't bothered) have a five month wait ahead for audition results. I'm not sure I can manage my usual standard of concern for that length of time, I'm a born worrier but five months is too long even for me to keep going over the same ground of will he/won't he.

This time next week DH will have done with his piano exam and I'll be able to listen to something else.

We should know in a couple of days. It used to take over a month and it's so quick nowadays. Kids these days...how lucky they are!

That's the grade 4 out the way.

My husband I am have been agreeing on strategies for diverting talk of marks and grades and ages. It's good to know that other people have equally competitive children. Mine love each other but argue a large percentage of the time. Other people seem to have such angelic children in comparison.

Stress gone!

We don't do anything for music exams as dd likes to keep it all to herself, hardly allowing anybody else any input and doing it purely for herself.
They are all different aren't they? If I suggested she had a treat she'd be
which is great as it saves me having to buy anything.

Wafflenose I started off by not doing anything, until DDs sax teacher said I hope Mum is going to get you a nice treat on the way home after all that hard work!

Shakyisles this causes upsets in our house.

I have DS1 who played brass from Y4 and was reasonably good, (G3 at the end of Y6 when the others in his group lesson were G2). He has stayed reasonably good, achieved distinction in 2 brass instruments at G5, plays in a lot of bands and gets away with minimal practice. For various reasons he hasn't taken higher grades but plays at about G8 standard now. Piano is a different story, he scraped through Grade 5 last year.

DD has always been a better musician, she went for strings and sax. She plays better than DS1, works harder than DS1, but worries too much in exams/performances and tenses up. She is also better than a close friend who always gets Distinctions. She gets Merit for all her exams.

DS2 is 5 years younger than DS1. He started piano 6 months after DS1 and obviously went more slowly at first, (DS 2 was older and Grade 3 on brass by then). But he still took Grade 5 6 months after DS1 and got Merit. There is a general recognition from his siblings that he is more talented. Plus he works hard and loves performing. We tried to get him to play clarinet, to be different, but he has ended up with a trombone like DS1. Ds1 just accepts it. He has achieved Distinction in G1 piano and G3 trombone

DD finds it really hard though, to be the only one in the circle without a Distinction, and feels under pressure, but the only pressure comes from her!

I only have the one child but I did once have both him and his father entered for G6 brass (different instruments but some pieces in common) on the same day. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it's not something I'd want to repeat.

We thought that having the two of them entered together would encourage the junior slacker to practise more often, which it did, but the competitiveness went too far. Maybe it would have worked better had DS been a bit older, I don't know.

Less than 24 hours to go for miss 7. How does everyone deal with competition between their children? I just realised that this is the first time mine are entered for the same session - different instruments and grades - but I know they are both hoping for distinctions.

Are your children ultra competitive?

I guess the reward for (hopefully) passing my grade 6 theory will be that I can finally take my DipABRSM, fifteen years after I should have :p

Hey, I never got anything for passing my exams! (apart from the certificates).

We reward the work and relief of new piece here too. Usually just something like cream cakes for tea!

I think DS1 will be hoping for something slightly more than that for the work he is putting into his GCSEs!

On that note, I do think being used to exams has helped DS1, and me too, through his GCSEs.

We've always assumed a pass so the reward is dished out on the day of the exam. To be honest the biggest reward is usually to be able to drop the pieces we're all sick of the sight of and pick some new ones but there's usually something else on the board as well.

We don't do anything for passing. But we do go out for a meal to celebrate having done all the hard work and been brave enough to go and sit the exam. We always try to go before results come out, to emphasise it's for their effort. ( I always got money for passing in my day.)

Best wishes to all of you who are going through exams this week, I'm thinking of you although mostly along the lines of "I'm so glad it's not me".

Well done to them both Wafflenose. Hope you had a lovely treat for tea tonight.

She really is, pavlova! She can't wait to do more on her vibrato. More bow skills, and just crack on with the end of her old technique books. She is back to my happy, smiley girl. She always has a melt down 24 hours before the exam. Today is the first time she actually kept her nerves under control, she reckons.

Miss 7 can't wait to show her stuff. Best bit is...normally they fight like cat and dog. Miss 10 has actually been lovely to her little sister ALL day. It's a miracle.