September Music Thread

Niggle I don't have experience of pro corda personally but someone we know goes and his familiy speak very highly of it

fleur that sounds promising! Thinking of her

waffle sending Goo hugs but also hugs and to you, hard work for you at the moment.

We've just added a little video to brighten dull Monday mornings!

Fleur sounds like she's really ready! Good luck for Tuesday and then the audition.
A lot of the schools near us have that dress code for sixth form. I think it's daft because when I did A levels we were allowed to wear jeans and it didn't affect anyone's results! Plus it's what university students wear, so why not? Some are a bit more relaxed, though.

Raspberry no other requirements with regards to books so I am wondering if that was it and the expense it's over. Can't believe a normal student book would cost £30+!!!! It is a book!

DS keeps emptying my account though, turns out that they're not easing off on the sixth form dress code, it is indeed always formal (suit, shirt, tie and office shoes) which meant that today we went and bought another suit and a couple more shirts and ties. I was hoping a few days in they'll ease off to just trousers and shirts (whithout the suit jacket) but no. They do look amazingly smart but it must be uncomfortable besides being bloody expensive.

Well, we're on test number 7 where dd didn't get lower than 48 on the music aptitude tests so fingers crossed she will get through to audition. The exam is on Tuesday so hopefully she won't have a bad day and do the bad score exactly during the exam! No other music till Tuesday, focusing just on MAT.

DD has been twice (aged 9 and 11) and been beautifully looked after and had a lovely time but they are very expensive. She's received a bursary which has made it possible though and the application process for that was very straightforward.

Thanks Trumpet, I will look out for some Jan dates so we an go and have a look around.

I just received an invite for DD to go to the Pro Corda courses next year. Does anyone have any experience?

Green, I would say Jean Christoph. There are 10 books and they are a bit didactic in some parts so it won't be everybody's cup of tea. But I loved it and re-read many times. Tolstoy was (and still is) my favourite novelist. When I read Jean Christoph I didn't know their friendship. As I enjoyed his books so much I researched about him a bit and I was very pleased when I found out his admiration of Tolstoy and it made sense why I liked Rolland's books! Anyway I should stop boring people by talking about him (I can keep going on and on...).

weekend ( I really can't type on my phone !!)

Niggle i think ds's intro day was in January and it was after that that he decided to apply. I think the taster day is a really important thing to do as it gives a flavour of what AYM is about. The audition process is in 2 parts a formal audition ( in march) and then if you get through another whole day where you take part in a variety of activities and are observed taking ise by the tutors and other music professionals. All of the AYM staff and students seem great and ds is really looking forward to his second visit at the weejwnd

Kutik, Loose: I feel very curious too, which book should I read?

Foundout: I will plan for it as your advice, I have registered to Bond now, will get my head around which books.

Drummers: starting from today, I asked for new words to be written down and here was what I have for this week, what a nice idea, thanks so much. The whole family could then learn too.

Kutik Jean Christophe sounds fascinating. Lovely to have a recommendation! I'll report back when I've read it!

Hope goo settles soon. Dd loves prelude too and is currently trying to master guantanamera.

Loose, he is French, yet my well-educated French friends didn't know him so he must be a forgotten gem in the Western world... He really is a fascinating human-being. He had an interesting friendship with Tolstoy (they never met but a pen-friend). Their shared political and philosophical views are evident in their work (in the peak of their friendship). Rolland studied and wrote about Beethoven and his famous (to me...) Jean Christophe is said to be written based on his deep understanding of Beethoven and his life story. Sorry, totally off topic. But seriously, I've never met anyone who I could talk about him so I admit I'm a bit over-excited!

Hi all. Just checking in as I have no " right" to be here any more as I don't have a school age child !

Waffle I'm sure she'll settle down. Year 7 transition is so challenging for some kids - a complete gear shift - for a start they can't remember ever not being amongst the oldest / biggest / cleverest in the school . Being with what seem like grown ups is terrifying. Not surprising it's reflected in her practicing / opinion of her playing etc.

Hope September improves soon!

Kutik I'm afraid I had to google Rolland but he sounds fascinating and I will investigate! Thanks for the recommendation.
Y7 is so tiring isn't it? Last year, DS2 used to nap on the sofa when he got home from school. The combination of that mini heatwave and school exams totally wiped him out! I think they have so many new lessons, more teachers, new friends and the effort of not getting lost in the building or leaving their stuff behind.
I'm sure Goo will bounce back!

Back in my country parents have to buy ALL the text books every year. It's scandalous. But when I was a child I loved having new books and smelling them and wrapping them in protective covers. Girls...

Fleur it's been my turn to be shocked over school books. DS2 has been asked to buy the GCSE music anthology, it's either £23 or £33 depending on whether you have the CD or not, I've asked him to check what's required.

Also just written cheques for £33 for DD to have some AS papers back to see how they were marked.

This has made buying 3 organ books for DS2 at £26 total seem a bargain. Incidentally Ackerman music has 10 percent off sheet music for September (free delivery).

Waffle I'm sure Goo will settle down too.

Loose, you are a 19th century literature specialist..., wow. I love Romain Rolland. He may be more of 20th century, though I just wonder if you studied his work, or knows anything about him. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature, yet I haven't met many people in London who knew about him well. Perhaps it's due to my pronunciation of 'R' and 'L' (don't have these sounds in my native language and I seem to have an eternal problem with them!), but wonder if he really is not so known in UK...? Jean-Christophe was my favourite in my youth.

Green, actually we pay a bit more for piano lessons. I forgot we still pay for August even though no lesson happens. We pay a fixed rate monthly regardless of the number of lessons (so sometimes two lessons, sometimes five lessons, or zero like in August). So it's a bit complex to work out the hourly rate. Anyway, it's still a bargain price!

foundout, although our first choice is a lovely state secondary (I hope it's lovely, we will find out later this month..), we decided to let DS sits a couple of 11+ exams as a backup. So some practice is 'must' this term. We won't hire a tutor (no time and no money!), so I'll get the bond books you mentioned. DS has a crazy schedule so 10 mins here and there appeals a lot! Thank you for the great DIY tip.

Waffle, to Goo and Rara.

waffle Year 7 comes as a hard one for lots of children. The Head of Music at DS school makes a point of not asking too much from the music scholars that year, he wants them to take it easy and get used to the big changes in their lives (he told me so during a chat in which I was asking him whether DS could be more involved in more school ensembles - ha ha).
green you seem in control of the situation. In terms of vocabulary, I created little cards with new words - every day a new card would go on the fridge. Before he could grab the milk for breakfast, he had to learn it...
loose they're at an age in which they start narrowing re instruments. I think it's normal...

I agree with ICould - it's really not the end of there world to audition for NCO for one year; lots skip the year 7 period in all sorts of orchestras - if it's better to take that pressure away and just have fun, then possibly they have more chance of not dropping music altogether (which many seem to at this point)?

Green, I have mentioned this before, but we didn't use a tutor, but I got the 10 min bond books. Started with a level below her age so to get used to it, and ended up with book beyond her age. Didn't need to do whole books (in fact 3 children have been able to make use of 1 book). Then just before the exam I downloaded some longer tests from different companies.

The 10 min rather than 1/2 or 1 hour could much better fit in with all other activities. They wouldn't be interested to sit down for very long anyway, but 10 min could be just before going to school/away activity/ after supper before brushing teas (I always tell them to wait 10 min after eating before brushing teeth, and it's a good time to get them to do practice/packing school bags etc).

Thanks Loose, I havent had time to look for your recommended scale tool either, will do it this evening.

We have never done any online maths, the reason was we didnt have time at home(childcare issue) or I dont trust her during the day time using internet(time will mostly be on youtube eventually without our supervision). We havent been on any maths practice, I will need to buy books to start. We brought her to a tutor centre back in June for an assessment and she isnt behind. We just need to spend more time with her(however my husband is moving job and my management is changing so it doesnt seem easy at the moment). I will take 1 step at a time. She still could read her favorites although I asked for a compulsory read before she could move onto her favorite.

Green my goodness you have a lot going on! Your plan with English tuition sounds like the way to go, though. MiniGreen doesn't need to drop her beloved science books altogether as the vocabulary she learns there is just as valid as classic literature (and I'm a 19th century literature specialist!). Do you use Khan academy for some extra maths? They have science courses, too. I gather it's just been revamped to make it easier to find everything.