New Year Music and Musicians Thread

Congratulations Schilke, did you breathe at all during his performance?

Congrats schilke you must be so proud! What a great achievement!

Waffle my dh teaches in private schools and I think he's spoilt by them! It's always a shock when he turns up to our dc's school. State school pupils are rare in the county youth orchestra.

I didn't mean to sound like I was knocking private schools. It's just such a shame that our local authority doesn't offer subsidised lessons to encourage more kids in to playing. £200 a term for 10 lessons here. We've got 4 dc. Dh does complicated lesson swaps with musician friends so we don't pay in money only dh's time - we're lucky. No way could we afford £1000 term on lessons.

howabout Absolutely! He needed the exam results to prove to himself that he could do it. I sometimes sit outside his bedroom door listening to him playing. He won't play in front of me! Well done to your dc too.

Well done schilke's DS2. Proud Mummy moments are to be savoured and beat any amount of exam certificates I reckon. I hope this will be the start of more performing confidence and success for him. Mine had the county schools concert last week. All of them did great and it was a lovely night out.

Just feel so proud I could burst. Ds2 (15) played a violin duet last night in his school concert. He got grade 8 distinction last term, so I know he's a good player, but since year 6 he has refused all solo/duet opportunities and will only play as part of an orchestra. He lacks confidence. County youth orchestra has helped him a lot I think.

Somehow his school music teacher persuaded him to play this duet. Oh my goodness. He looked like a totally different child. He looked and played so confidently. It was such a difficult step to take. I was so proud. He wasn't worried about the music as he said it wasn't hard. He just does not like standing in front of an audience. He goes to a bog standard comp. It's not an independent school with hundreds of ensemble opportunities and I thought the whole lot of them did wonderfully well.

I tend to browse this thread. Dd1 (12) has grade 3 clarinet on Saturday. She's just announced she wants to carry on. Aargh. Getting her to practice is a nightmare and this exam has been touch and go. Dh just rolled his eyes - he's a musician so things can get very stressy in this house when she doesn't put the time in!

*DD not DF

Loose Stormy Coast is in fact the one I don't mind hearing as it is the last one she's learnt so the less played on repeat piece. It is the Haydn that drives me insane, more so because it was perfect a week or so ago (as perfect as it can be for an 8yo to play however I don't think they have the maturity at this age to really do it justice) and now DF started to miss some quavers when she plays it. So 2 days before exam and the Haydn piece needs focus on one bar. Oh and because of this mistake DD decided to play that part (about 8 bars) without any dynamics as she is focusing on the mistake.

Good luck to all the DCs waiting for the results and those who are still due to take the exam!

Good luck to everyone waiting for exams or for exam results! Particular sympathy to Fleur and Green who I am sure never, ever want to hear Stormy Coast again.
Need to check with teachers but I think we have percussion grade 5 and cello grade 3 exams in May and I need to check dates before booking so DS2's exam doesn't clash with year 6 SATS. It's also occurred to me that as he's leaving primary school I will need to sort out lessons for next September - I am hoping to keep the same teachers somehow.
I have also paid for DS1 to go on a music tour in the Summer, which cheered him up slightly after he forgot to go to his bass guitar lesson - because he'd fallen asleep! I didn't have the heart to tell him off, he was so upset! He's about to start his grade 6 book and is very excited about it.

Congratulations to Waffle and everyone on fab results! Good luck to those waiting on results. Currently sitting in miniprada's violin lesson losing the will to live on correcting bowing technique on a Vivaldi piece... The teacher has the patience of a saint! We are planning on maybe entering gd5 special visit in April and Gd5 piano next term. Waiting on the G5 theory (we'll take any pass on that...) we are also in an 11+ area so hoping to get Music out of the way now to concentrate on the educational arms race that is the 11+.....

Fleur, I guess self learning pieces can definitely boost up sight reading.

sunnyday Your DS may find moving away from exams liberating. I think my teen pianist must be a similar age (she's 14) and she doesn't do formal exams. She's not the most rounded pianist ever (can't sight read piano music to save her life - it is the one musical task I can do better than her) but she is a very musical one. I did exams as a child/teen and got distinctions, but DD is far more of a musician than I ever was. Don't let your son believe that his exam performance defines him as a musician!

Good luck to the remaining exam-takers :) - not long to wait now.

Second week of DD's radio slot tomorrow - she has recorded an Ed Sheeran cover for tomorrow's show, we are not talking high brow music here ;)

Good luck musicmom, the mention of 11+ and secondary school entry exams gives me shivers. For us it is Sept 2017 but we do need to start seriously think about it once the summer holiday is out of the way.

Sorry to hear that sunnydayinmay it must be quite upsetting to see your DC in tears over something like that. I would do the same thing and stop exams completely at least for a while until the desire to play is back.

Today I suddenly realised that DD will have 2 weeks off piano after her exam, not sure what she could do, maybe start one of her "fun pieces" on her own.

Clarinet G5 done this week; end of exams on that instrument for quite while as we start with a new teacher who wants to do a lot of technical adjustments. DD seems up for it. G7 cello in the summer and then we will also put more exams on that into the distant future.

However we do have 11+ and entrance exams and music scholarships from sept this year to Feb next!!

Thanks. He had a complete block before hand, as he was dreading the sight reading. He woke up in the morning having a nightmare that he'd forgotten a homework, and he was so nervous.

He's definitely turning into a teenager with anxiety issues. He has a lesson today, so the plan is to turn piano back into fun.

sunny big hug for you and your DS1. The singing bit of the aural is only a few marks and fingers crossed he got enough of the gist of the sightreading. I still remember being in tears after every music festival as a child (my Gran used to have to take me out to tea to cheer me up) which is why mine have done very few exams. That said DD2 is pencilled in for piano in the summer. We are all already sick of the pieces but she needs a bit of exam discipline to progress.

Think we're done for now. Ds1 came out of piano grade 3 in tears. Messed up the sight reading (he just can't see it), and his voice is breaking so really self conscious during the aural. Not worth the anxiety - he is a super pianist, so we're ditching exams.

My ds is taking grade 2 piano on Friday afternoon, he is as ready as he can be I think so hoping he plays well on the day.

Anybody using "piano pieces for children everybody's favorite series No 3 ", it has got good number of pieces from Grade 1-4 with a very reasonable price.

Good luck chica and raspberry!

DS is Tuesday next week, DD Wed morning. Special school visit, Trinity. Last Exam at lunchtime Wednesday so they will know on Wednesday afternoon.

My DS has a piano exam (Grade 3 Trinity) on Monday. I think it is getting a bit boring for him now, so it will be good to go onto something else after that.
He has put off his violin,Grade 5 exam until the summer, as he didn't feel ready, but now I think that is too far away. Sometimes it is hard to get it right.

Thank you for the perspective drummersmum in fact I got tired of thinking about the exam by dinner time, started planning stuff for next week and suddenly realised that by next week (I'm planning a small family event mid week) we're past all of this and it feels quite insignificant.

Are we the last ones taking exams this session? Anybody else joining DD in the last few days?

I've realised the other day that the piano curriculum for 2017/2018 is published this July which gets me a bit excited as there will probably be a couple of exams DD will cover by the new curriculum.