New Year Music and Musicians Thread

Misti the irony is that DD1 has small hands which make her good at fiddly notes but not so good on big chords. Average height DD2 has big flexible hands and can reach an octave plus 2.

The earlier conversation prompted me to google some of the stories surrounding famous musicians and hand size and I found this hand stretcher advert which made me smile. www.increasehandspan.com/historical-attempts

Definitely not adopting Schumann's approach

howabout yes being a parent to a teenage musician is time-consuming. DD is starting to get invitations to play over the summer season (local festivals, bars and restaurants that put on live music) and just the ferrying about and waiting for her to finish playing is timeconsuming.

I feel for you, re your tall DD - my son is 13, has the shape of a pre-adolescent boy, but needs the same length trousers as his 6ft+ dad. Thankfully I don't have uniform to buy!

Fleur I have no experience of the flute, but clarinet is a great multi-purpose instrument that can be used for lots of different musical styles and which opens doors for playing other instruments too. I played clarinet and recorder as a child and was able to pick up DD's sax and play easy pieces straight off. My pro jazz musician friend in the UK started as a clarinet player, now plays clarinet plus all the different saxes.

Waffle thank you! Can you pm the area where you teach? I would love to send her to you but I have a feeling you are not around us.

Fleur: best of luck with choosing a second instrument, the nice thing is they are normally slightly easier as they can read the note and understand the important of practising.

How: I have the book, it wasn't open though even bought a month ago, will have a look tonight, thank you( going out for whole day today so no chance)

Teacher, noteven: hope they will have a fun time today, it's nice and sunny in London today!

Waffle I wonder if you can help with some advice: I am looking again with DD at a second orchestra instrument for her to pick up just to make her music life social. We were looking at clarinet vs flute. She loves the sound of both.

Can you please give us an insight into which one is less costly, which one she could progress faster (she wants to progress quickly before secondary school), and which one is more suitable for her age: she'll be 9 in August.

We're thinking of starting after the summer holidays but doing some research.

Noteven Nice Work indeed

Green "First Steps in Music Theory grades 1-5" is a really good pocket sized reference. Each chapter finishes with a listing of all the musical terms so you can break down the task a bit. DD2's woodwind teacher has a really good technique of blending all the fancy terms into the lessons so she comes home and blinds me with science.

We will struggle for practice time for the next couple of months as rehearsals for the school show take over. DDs have 3 instruments each and have to practice before DD3 goes to bed at 7. Piano quite often happens in between breakfast and going to school. I have to be quite regimental about nagging or they would mess about and run out of time. For violin I think too much practice can be counter productive when they are young because posture is so important and fatigue sets in quickly. I tend to practice for longer when I can because it is my relaxation but DD who is working towards grade 7 does concentrated 15 minute sessions most days.

Mine are teenage hobby musicians but even so spend upwards of 6 hours a week at ensembles etc so it is hard to stop it from taking over.

DD1 is 5 9" and still growing. The never ending search for a decent length school skirt is challenging.

*choose

I don't time DDs practice, she does what her teacher asked her to practice daily, so now she has 2 studies to practice, a burgmuller piece, and she started fur Elise. Plus sight reading exercises and scales. I'd say it takes about 1 hour, sometimes less sometimes more, to practice all these properly.

I haven't got an issue with DD choosing a music path or an academic only path, I just think it is now a bit too early to chose.

We're in Mcr but only 1 of my 5 was a brass player, sadly, NCBF looks like a lot of fun!

Anyone else's DC at the NCBF in Manchester today? Seen DS off to the bus nice and early....

DS has never been a great practicer but he learned early on to practice efficiently which made a big difference! I'd done a CT ABRSM and he was a good Guinea pig for the ideas I explored there.
For us it was important that he'd done Grade 5 before secondary school so that he could play in excellent ensembles there with his violin and flute. He'd done singing too although his school choir is open to all whatever experience they have. Then he was able to enjoy a whole wealth of music in school as well as doing a fabulous choir and orchestra outside.

Thank you everyone!
I could nag, I could ask her to do more however I am not sure if she should do more as for now I am only planning for her to learn it as an amateur(with hope in the future she has choices and skills if she needs them). We are non musical so I am secretly scared of her entering into a world where we are foreigners of. During the term time then it could be 30 mins a day. She doesnt put her violin in the case anymore and we just put a hanger up so she could get her violin and the bow easily everyday when she practise

My DD spends a lot of time playing guitar - probably at least half an hour a day and several hours at weekends. But none of it is really "practice". The sheet music from her guitar class never comes out of her case!

She practices piano maybe 30-45 mins, 4-5 times a week (more often 4x30 than 5x45, tbh ...)

You see this is the difference.
My dd finds it hard to do anything else, it's her life.
She went out once this holiday with her friend, and was back a few hours later.
Music has taken over her life, she used to enjoy so many other thing.
She was always very keen from being tiny, but instruments and music were her toys and she'd ask to practice, or just get on with it.
We had every toy, game, you can imagine, lots from her brothers too.
She hated dolls, and girly things, and didn't like the toys.
When she got to 8 she decided school was getting in the way of "her music" and left school for H.ed, auditioned for school 3 years later and said she would never forgive us if we stood in her way.
I feel like I lost her then
We have a great relationship and occasionally if she knows its really bothering me she will talk about something else, but eventually it will come back to music in some way.

ha, oh, Greenleave. dd1 (just done grade 4) practised most days in the holidays, uh, not.
Schooldays, hm, maybe 4 or 5 days a week, 10min.This after a lot of nagging. Her second instrument she practises even less, because she has to take it out of its case...
But in all fairness, schooldays, on some days she is not at home till 9.30pm and then still needs to have supper.
I keep threatening to stop paying for lessons, or just suggest she stops 1 instrument but answer is always NO.

DS 2 certainly hasn't spent that much time practising!

Termtime he will average an hour a day spread between 3 instruments, with piano (working towards Grade 7) having the most. When his voice changes and his choristership ends he will have more time. Brass in particular could do with more.

Clarinet (working towards Grade 6) is played and trombone (Grade5/6) also get played in 5 different ensembles between them each week though.

During this holiday period while she was home most days then maximum she spends time on piano was 1hour, violin might be another hour and I feel like its not enough( and in total more than 2 weeks holiday then she had 2 good days like this). At the same time she has so much else to do(and play) and I wouldnt dare to ask her to give anything up to increase her practise time. I have read/heard people playing for couple of hours a day for each instrument and I am amazed. None of her friends, neighbors do grade instruments so I find it difficult to convince her that there are other people who also practise music daily!

Newlife: hahaha, that is good, then you never have a chance to carry anything heavy and/or reaching anything too high as you have tall people surrounding you. We had a gap because I was trying to conceive, we were longing for the second child so we are now very happy. I dont think I could/should have a third, I just know that I wont be a good enough mom when I have more( and even if I want to for me its not easy to conceive)

I will keep the grade 1 book and a few more that I bought such as easy Christmas carols, theatre piano works the books having the alternative pieces (and other nice ones). Thanks for all the advice.

But seriously, besides her other books (she has 8 music books in use currently, these are in her music bag, using around 4 at a time) about another 3 waiting on the side, I also counted 12 books that I really don't think she'll ever come back to. These I bought as easy arrangements for when she'd be ready but somehow she went past that level, so there is a fur Elise arrangement that I found while she just started complete Beethoven version.

I don't know how it got so out of hand with so many books (it is my fault of course), I guess I was a bit impatient and kept buying attractive arrangements even though Dd's teacher kept saying she prefers the originals.

I am 5'2 also and proud

DD's adult height (she's 13) is likely to be closer to me at 5 foot 7, maybe a little taller. As she has been dancing since before there was any idea of what her adult proportions might be, we are just relieved that she hasn't turned out to be quite as large in the chest as my DH's family all are!

Teacher: wow, he is tall! I dont mind if they are taller than us, I am sick of these heels I have to wear 11 hours a day at work sometimes. For a girl especially a dancer then 5'5 is just perfect, not too tall(long) to be carried-just perfect!

Green

My dh is 6ft4, ds1 6ft, ds2 nearly 6ft and dd about 5ft2/3.
In the land of the giants, me.

I know about gap with ds1 24, ds2 21 and dd 12
Never thought i'd have another, we thought next baby would be grandchild, obviously not at 13 or 9.