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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

April Music Thread

970 replies

Wafflenose · 31/03/2017 13:38

We've managed to fill up the March thread, so I give you April's, around 10 hours early. Don't use it all up at once!

The music threads are for learners of ALL ages and stages, including beginners and adult learners.

My kids Goo (11) and Rara (8) break up from school today, thank goodness. Rara is off sick at the moment, in any case, but they both need a break. They did their music exams this week. Goo got a distinction for her Grade 7 Flute, and we are awaiting the results of Rara's Grade 1 Clarinet, plus a couple of my pupils. They will probably come on my birthday - the ABRSM ones often do.

Next term, we have a big community concert at the local high school - all the feeder schools take part. Goo could do Grade 7 Recorder and/ or Grade 4 Piano, but I don't think she wants to. Rara is doing Grade 3 Cello. My Year 6 Recorders have been asked to play in the local Festival gala concert, and I'm sure there will be primary school leavers' performances too.

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Greenleave · 12/04/2017 09:24

Waffle, make the most of your 30s and have a fab birthday tomorrow!

I have a couple of days off then Easter, only to run the chores then hope for few meals out and meet up few friends for a day out.

Have a lovely Easter easter everyone!

Trumpetboysmum · 12/04/2017 09:13

Happy birthday for tomorrow Waffle. I hated the thought of being 40 , but it was ok when I got there Smile

Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/04/2017 08:55

*common!

OP posts:
Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/04/2017 08:55

Yep, they don't give 99, 119 or 129. 118 is a commong mark (and good!)

I started learning the clarinet in Surrey with a retired chap in 1984. We moved away a few years later, but my mum and I have kept in touch all these years. He died at a grand old age last year, and we attended the funeral. I now write to his wife, who loves to hear about the girls.

It's the last day of my 30s today. I intend to make the most of it!

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foundoutyet · 12/04/2017 08:34

With 15 exams between 3dc I can't remember who got distinction/merit/pass for which exam. Well, I know dc1 got a pass for grade 3 which was his first and last ever exam, as he absolutely hated the experience.
Worse is that I don't even know where all the certificates are....

BeyondThePage · 12/04/2017 07:40

I think 118 is the highest pass you can get, they don't give marks within 1 mark of a boundary. DD has had 118 a couple of times (and a 102!).

So 118 is simply an indication that during those few short minutes of her life - she played at just below merit level.

JanetBrown2015 · 12/04/2017 07:40

The music does stay with children all their lives. I used to write to my piano teacher until she died, in the last few decades just once a year at Christmas. She kindly invited me to occasional concerts when I was 18 as my university was near where she moved to. I didn't really like them - 2pm with 4 old ladies etc but it was kind. After she died her daughter in law very kindly wrote to me to let me know and said how much she'd like to hear about how my own children were doing with their music as it was all built or part of it on the base of those music and theory lessons all those years ago in the 1960s and 70s. I didn't become a musician but it has always been a big part of my life.

Good luck for those waiting for results.

mooandmama · 12/04/2017 04:14

Well done to all those superstars of yours - very sweet photo of rara too xx

drummersmum · 11/04/2017 23:27

foundout it was you I forgot :)
rara is so sweet

se22mother · 11/04/2017 23:04

Woolley very well done to her. I had similar conversations with dd after her g 3 result a couple of weeks ago. She did amazingly to get 118, it's a great score

Greenleave · 11/04/2017 20:52

Woolley, that is a very strong pass, well done to her!!!

Doubleup · 11/04/2017 20:31

Woolley it's a very strong pass, not 'just a pass'.

Waffle - lovely picture of Rara. She looks very proud of herself Smile

Dipping in and out, so sorry if I have missed anyone's results. Still waiting for dd's 2 weeks on....... Sad

woolleybear · 11/04/2017 20:27

Thank you all,

Waffle, I read your post to her and she said it made her feel a bit better.

Fleur, you are so right, she has done so well this term with her playing. She was the only double instrumentalist playing in both bands at her band concert having done amazingly in the senior band and done two solos at school this term, the second one a couple of her non music teachers came along specifically to listen to her and she got amazing comments.

Fleurdelise · 11/04/2017 20:02

woolley please tell your dd that in 2-3 years time when she'll be grade X nobody will ever ask how many marks she got for her grade 3 exam, more so in 10 years time she'll be a confident player enjoying her music and nobody ever will even care if she's done any grade exams, what marks she's got and so on, all people will care about is how beautiful she plays.

I actually hate the fact that there are stepped marks in the exams, they do not reflect the full potential, there are so many different things that can affect the marks, confidence being one of them, that has nothing to do with the actual playing.

Well done from us for passing the exam, that is all that matters!

JanetBrown2015 · 11/04/2017 20:01

Well done to everyone. No exams for us this last school term ever but even so my son is in two concerts (which miraculously aren't on A level days) - in fact i think the school has fixed the last one for when he and his friends get back from a quick post A level trip abroad so I am trying to drum up family members to go to that one (oh and he's been asked to play the trumpet at a church service on Sunday (Easter) which is nice).

Cute Rara, how lovely on the photo and she looks so happy. Well done.

drummersmum · 11/04/2017 19:36

Just popping in quikly during work break to congratulate rara, witchend Woolley only nodoubt... I´m sure I've forgotten someone. I manage tor ad a bit but not write!

DS back from residential. RFH concert was fabulous. Very proud of seeing him seated at the timpani.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 11/04/2017 18:44

Woolley that's still a lovely mark, and I wouldn't be disappointed with that for ANY of my students. It's even above the ABRSM average mark, and on a different day could well have been 120. Tell her well done from all of us, and get her to repeat after me, "Success begins at the pass mark!" Indeed it does. This might be a good opportunity for her to realise that absolutely NOTHING happens when she doesn't do as well in a music exam as she would have liked - there are no terrible consequences, she will still get a lovely certificate, just not saying 'with merit' or whatever... and at the end of the day, does it really matter? She can learn some fun new music now. I recommend "What Else Can I Play?" Grades 3 and 4. They come up a little easy for the grade, so she will be able to play the Grade 3 book straight off, and the Grade 4 book has so many fab, famous things for her to get her teeth into. I've just finished it with a 10 year old who hasn't done her Grade 4 exam yet, and she loved it all.

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woolleybear · 11/04/2017 18:25

Well done to all on the great exam results, dd's have just came through and we had tears of disappointment at the pass of 118, me telling her it is only 3 marks lower than last time and it is still amazing is so far not working.

I will have a chat with her later about whether to still push for grade 4 so soon or not, partly it may also be the push that she actually has to work a little harder than she thinks at things.

Greenleave · 11/04/2017 17:31

Rara looks adorable! Many well-done with the certificate!
Only: we couldnt even so it, that is a great result, it is getting harder the higher grade. Our goal is to follow you next term. We are told that we sight read very well now so no need to practise on it for both violin and piano. I personally think that the abrsm sight reading requirement grows higher with grades not just in term of how hard the notes are but also the speed, technique, accuracy. We didnt do too well with g5 piano sight reading result either and it came up as a total surprise as she could sight read almost anything straight away my teacher gives to her even at grade 7 level. Well, whatever they throw at us huh!!!

Fleurdelise · 11/04/2017 17:24

My worry is now aural, we haven't done any, will start tomorrow with listening to different music periods and using the aural app. She got full marks at grade 1 and lost 2 points at grade 3 therefore her teacher is not very hot on it but the grade 5 one sounds more challenging.

Fleurdelise · 11/04/2017 17:21

That is such a cute picture!Star

Only well done to your dd, we had the same experience with grade 3 piano also regarding sight reading, since then the teacher is hard on it, she's put her on grade 2 improve your sight reading (so a grade below as she didn't want to shock her) and we went through all the books since grade 3, now doing the grade 5 book twice. You can work on it yourself, in our case the teacher just explains each new chapter, the piano Ones have 9 chapters, and Dd does 2-3 exercises a day with each piano practice, takes her about 2 months on each book. She is so much more confident, I can't wait to see what she'll get in grade 5 as there is a massive improvement in her sight reading.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 11/04/2017 17:03

Well done to your DD, only - that's a lovely mark. Rara got 17 for aural too, and knew she'd made a slip. Pieces were 25, 27, 26, scales 19 (she forgot the crescendo, except in the last one, but didn't make any mistakes) and 16 for sight reading.

Over the next year or so, she will be collecting Grade 3s! She has her Grade 3 Recorder from last year, Cello lined up for June, and Clarinet probably next March!

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LooseAtTheSeams · 11/04/2017 16:56

Waffle that is the cutest photo - she must be so proud!!

BeyondThePage · 11/04/2017 16:52

haha only ... my DD can only aspire to a merit.

Great at playing piano - both practise room and performing - just rubbish at playing when in exam conditions. (102 to 118 is her usual range... but to be fair she only does the exams to "see where she is at")

well done to all those who have results! Don't have ours yet, but the exam was only last week.

onlymusic · 11/04/2017 16:49

Oh, and her aural is max marks minus 1 - Aural Books app rules :)