(Mostly) August Music Thread

Or any good sets of nursery rhymes generally - preferably with music, as i don't know the tunes to most of them? What I'd love would be a DVD/app/whatever of well-played/sung nursery rhymes with the music showing on the screen, something that we could sing along to but also show him the music and the people playing/singing.

i'd also love a DVD of someone doing Kodaly exercises. I remember being taught little bits of Kodaly back in kindy (it used to be part of teacher training where i grew up!), and loving it. It looks a bit intimidating to learn it all though. I am too close to dyspraxia to really cope with even solfege type hand movements.

Re lessons I was thinking about 4yo provided the kid is mature enough (3yo at a pinch but that's really unlikely). Little boys are probably a bit young & inclined to want to run around/ goof off/ make a spaceship out of the violin case, for any sort of formal teaching before that.

We do lots of glockenspiel- and piano-bashing (I play either side of him) and I play the violin to him for about 5 min a day. Difficult singing or playing with music at the moment as he desperately wants to eat the music. We sing and dance to the Putamayo Kids jazz cd (wish there were more like this - really good performances), and have Bach cantatas or whatever going in the background most of the day.

Can anyone recommend any music related apps or dvds that might hold his attention, or good jazz performances of nursery rhymes?

Schwan

Before school age it's important to build a love of music through play.
Singing, banging a drum, nursery rhyme actions, making your own instruments.
Immediately, without any formal teaching they are learning about time, pitch, rhythm, and realising it's all a game for fun.

Prada thanks yes it got better, went out with the work team and it was quite fun even though I wasn't in the mood for it.

Dd's guilty pleasures are Disney songs on both clarinet and piano. And since getting Guest Spot she played a bit of Beatles, and Moon River and she seems to want to play more of these. Also she prefers option C in her music when choosing piano pieces, jazzy pieces are her guilty pleasure definitely.

Thanks minimama!

Schwan how young are we talking about? I think a good reader, mature dc can be successfully started on music lessons at 5 and progress isn't extremely slow, but of course not as fast as let's say an 8 yo but does it matter? If it brings enjoyment and the dc enjoys it why measure against the progress of an older kid? I think (and I always say this to my kids even though it is hard in real life) you should always measure yourself against yourself regardless of what's going on around you. With music, as long as a child enjoys the lessons and practises without tears (that's not to say the parent needs to expect the 5yo to practice completely at their own initiative) it is a success and progress will be made.

If I would have played an instrument I would have probably started to introduce my dcs to music at 4/5yo without formal lessons, just teaching them something new once a week and then start them on formal lessons with a teacher at 6.

Dd started at 6 and did theory and practical from the beginning. There are some very nice kiddie theory books by Lina Ng which involve colouring in and matching pairs which 5-6 yo would enjoy doing. Her progress was good I'd say, 18 months to grade 1, under 4 years to grade 5. Of course an older child can progress faster (I believe Waffle was saying Goo is playing grade 5 pieces after a year of piano at the age of 11 after having flute and recorder lessons from an earlier age). But as I said why compare them with others? Dd had 4 years of music enjoyment regardless of her progress and she genuinely cannot see herself without her music lessons, they are now part of who she is.

Question for people on here who understand the inherent value of doing music — at what age would you start lessons for a musically-interested kid? Would you teach him at home first or start with a teacher, if you play the instrument(s) yourself? Can you ask a teacher to do theory from the beginning? Is starting young good because music is a good thing to be doing (my view) or should they start later as progress will be too slow early on (others views, which seem to be based on the 1 grade exam per year kind of mindset)

DS is too young but is clearly interested and made happy by music. I don't want to be a Tiger Mother but if it makes him happy and makes his life richer, and he's not too immature to get anything out of it, then I see little wrong with starting lessons before school age.

D plays clarinet pieces on her violin. Esp study in c

Ps green - I quite agree. Obviously I have a lot of black 'high heels'

Fleur - I hope your day got better!

Oh and, must count playing piano pieces on the violin. I suppose all multi-instrumentalists do this...

DS's guilty pleasure would be copying David Garrett's Pirates of the Caribbean learnt from Youtube, and also listening to the recording of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 (full...) played by his youth orchestra EVERY NIGHT. The whole family (though only three people) can sing the tune very well now thanks to his obsession...

So all these gorgeous music kids, with fabulous repertoire.... what's your kid's guilty music pleasure? My girl had High School Musical soundtrack on loud most of afternoon, driving me bonkers- then has gone to sleep with a Chopin Nocturne playing on repeat

fleur www.beaumontmusic.co.uk/shop/clarinetcleaningcloth
The selling point was the prettiness, I have to admit but they both seem good. I was keeping them for her birthday but she had chicken pox not long ago over school holidays and was thoroughly miserable so I gave her them!

Amazon brought a new clarinet book today. Much fun was had sight reading pieces. Beats yesterday 's arguing and strops

Niggle don't be too impressed - I think he'll do the computer stuff but the rest will be a rush job before he goes back! I think he's looking so much happier with doing music every day for fun!
It's a couple of weeks until our holiday, can't wait!

Green, nice to see the incentive scheme is working!

I'm impressed with the revision already! My DS, also doing GCSEs next year hasn't touched anything. He is so protective of his mental space I'm concerned we won't be able to squeeze any work in.

Thanks. I see. DS was supposed to order and stick his hundreds of chemistry notes and he hasn't even done that. I also think they need mental space and rest and.... music of course.

drummers some of it is revision. The comp sci is preparation or practice for something they're doing next term, which is fair enough. He's done a bit of that today. He's meant to do an English language paper and a load of geography questions as well.
I think he needs a break for a while. He worked very hard on his sciences this year and did well in the exams so I'm ignoring the advice to do past papers - he reads round the subject anyway. Past papers can be done as homework next term!

loose mine was not given any gcse homework! Is it revision?

loose love the teenage boy summer schedule...

Prada

Prada, Drummers

I remembers when I left Barcap years ago a male colleague offered to help me with tidying my pedestals. When I opened them he didnt look impressed. They are only shoes, about 20 pairs, all are black, no note, document, confidential papers. My husband once said "why you are buying the same shoes?". There isnt a point to explain to him that they are high heels and black dont mean that they are "the same".

I have changed my tactic recently, my reward is 1 sticker=€1 so someone can soon spends hers. It works wonder.

Loving the cymbal bag! Very smart indeed and well done to young drummer on teaching his first lesson. (Lucky G3 drummer!) hope he enjoys the residential, too.
Very quiet here. Every day midmorning, DS1 emerges in PJs and slippers with his drum sticks and laptop and heads down to posh shed to practise drums and then bass. I was invited in the other day to listen to his latest attempt to play Chick Corea's 'Spain' on bass. There is some way to go but hey! DS1 has an entire summer holiday to spend on this project! GCSE homework is just a minor irritant that he intends to ignore as long as he can! He then returns for food, disappears to his room and emerges in daytime clothing for lunch and computer time. To be fair he did go to a Japanese lesson yesterday.
DS2 only emerges at lunchtime, disappears again and when next seen is playing an electric guitar. He is meant to practise cello as well. I am tolerating the slothfulness since he is growing so fast - now 5 feet 7 1/2 inches and he's not quite 12 1/2 yet!
He's got a week's sailing next week so he'll have to relearn the art of getting out of bed then!

Prada I love you! I'm not having a great day at work so your post cheered me up.

Minimama a link to a good pull through? Ours doesn't suck up the condensation properly.

Waffle with my loads of posts a day it will be quiet here.

drummers teaching already? He must feel so grown up. Good luck to him.

prada you cracked me up.