Summer Term Music, Musicians and Music Exams thread

Good on you Scared...I was looking out for this result with anticipation

Raspberry

Are you by any chance quite North?
Dh has a student going, just done grade 8 and she has travelled miles for lessons and also had some skype lessons.

DD got a distinction in her gr 5 sax.

142 for my NCO challenge Gr1 piano!!!!
And a bit of money raised along the way which was the whole point of the exercise, so all good.
Might even pluck up the courage to have a few lessons now.

Thanks, I bought her a book with pop stuff in and that's what she has picked out to learn, doesn't sound remotely like anything recognisable yet but I'm sure that will come!

Woolleybear You must be very proud of your DD - well done to her! I like to play Lady Gaga when I practise, before tackling the dreaded scales!

Just had the good news that dd got merit and 125 for grade 1 clarinet, so pleased as is her teacher.

She picked up the clarinet for the first time after a two week holiday yesterday and is working on some fun stuff, mainly lady Gaga during the holiday apparently!

Rapidly just saw your post and hope you get results earlier than that - maybe from the teacher? I really think it'll be fine from what you say and hope your DD can relax now and enjoy the holiday.
DS2 has gone off to tennis lessons today with a big grin as he's taught himself a jazz piece (a very easy one from the first Martha Miers book).
Ishouldbe best of luck with the sixth form visits. We have open evenings for DS2's secondary school choices in September but we're pretty sure he's following DS1 as at least the school has GCSE music and enthusiastic teachers.
Unrelated, but does anyone know if the performance requirements will get harder in the new style of GCSEs? DS1 would have grade 5/6 pieces by that stage so I'm assuming that's about right for a reasonable grade? He was asking me yesterday. I know the written exam will be harder but as he doesn't know any different I don't intend to worry him about that! He doesn't choose options until after Christmas but music is definitely on his list.

rapidly that seems really late. Am sure its not as bad as she thought. Is it for weeks until the Centre is open, because results have been coming through in ten days ?

More than a girl in my DCs youth band is going to your DDs school having just done Grade 8 sax. Shes been travelling some way for the sax lessons.

It's possible to take A level music outside school by attending classes on a Saturday at places like Birmingham Conservatoire and Blackheath (?) in London - I didn't find anywhere further north that offered it when I looked a while ago

Seven weeks to go for miss 8's sax exam. She pretty much knows her scales but they aren't perfect yet. She's doing well with aurals but I want her to cram in as much practise as possible. She wants to get a higher mark than less time (142) but so far she isn't quite putting in the same amount of work on her scales - enough, but I suspect unless she raises her game she will lose a couple of marks in that area.

We have just started back after holidays. So all you over there enjoy your long summer holiday. I'm dreaming of spring.

Unfortunately schools will only offer subjects that are economically viable and 6th form funding has taken a massive hit under this Govt. it comes down to numbers - if not enough people want to do it, the course won't run.

It's something to think about for those choosing schools for Y7, A levels seem such a very long way away but they come around so quickly. It wasn't anything that we gave any thought to at ten (which is partly why I'm beating myself up so much about it now) but I've convinced myself that if I could go back now and talk to the younger me we'd still choose the school that we did. There was a window where there was a consortium arrangement for music but we missed the couple of years where it was in operation.

I was surprised about the local private school but I went back and looked at their prospectus again and no, music at A level is not an option. I looked at the results for the big sixth form college, the last time I looked there were 12 entrants for A level music but last year it was down to 7. There are 1500 students there, that means that out of 750 in the year only 7 took music. I can see that it would not be a viable option for smaller sixth forms.

I'm sure that it will all work out fine in the end.

IShould - I feel for you, a friend is having a similar battle over sixth form as the local sixth form does BTEC but not A level music and she's worried it will restrict options at degree level. The problem is that there other schools that offer it but their results aren't very good in music compared to their results in other subjects. Did your school give any reason why they'd dropped it?

That's awful Ishouldbe. Dcs school didn't have the numbers 2 years ago, but they facilitated a student doing it at a neighbouring school. They ran it this year with four and are doing so next year, (four being their minimum).

I hope you find a solution for your DS.

Ishould that's really shocking and sad. I am speechless. I thought music was untouchable as a subject. Even more shocking is the private school!

Sorry about that - I'm less miserable this morning. I'm on a downer as I found out yesterday that his school no longer offer A level music, I had a suspicion that they'd stopped doing it so I rang and asked. He will have four other choices, although it's not much of a choice as three of them are over ten miles away. I even looked at the local private school - they don't offer music A level either. He's very definite that he wants to take it at A level so it looks like I have a range of sixth form evenings to look forward to in the autumn.

DS has been away on a music course since Monday, if it hadn't been for photos on Twitter I wouldn't know he was still on the planet.

TheRachel

Well done to your dd, fantastic results. You should be very proud.

Waffle

I'm not sure what the remaining mark was for, iirc it was something of not much significance, just so they didn't have to say she was perfect.

I must add that reading my post back it doesn't quite read like the facts.
My dh doesn't teach for a living, he doesn't have many pupils as his methods are a bit unorthodox. He is honest with students though and will gladly recommend a teacher from the LA who teaches privately if they want just the graded approach. He has a teaching portfolio of over 25 years though, so there are some blinders in there, including dd of course
She is counting not only the weeks, but she has a countdown on her phone that is to the second.
Waiting for her gr 5 sax result atm, she took it July 16th so a wait yet I suppose. We are only expecting a merit though as exams are not her thing really.
Give her a new song and its up to performance standard in a couple of days. Ask her to sing back in the aural tests and she hasn't a clue

This is making me a bit about music lessons at school to be honest. Not the lack of 140s I hasten to add, more the feeling that not everything is getting covered that needs to be. However, lessons at the music centre do seem to go better so I think part of the problem is lessons at school get interrupted by school trips, illness etc whereas lessons at the centre seem to run smoothly! After year 6, school lessons stop anyway so we'll be switching for post-grade 3 piano and post 2 or 3 cello.
I'm sticking to the rule that computer time has to be earned in music practice this holiday! Also trying to sneak in some theory...

TheRachel - amazing result! Well done to her.
Which orchestra is she in?
Dd is in U12 and said a number of them at the spring course were hi fiving at having done their grade 8 (dd said she just kept quiet