November Music Thread

Icould I should probably be a bit more vague about ds ( though some on here know who he is from nco) he knows I post though and I hope that nothing I say about him will come back to haunt him

Drspouse hi!
I think loose's suggestion is a good one . Definitely too young for trumpet ( i know some start v young but where we live the county won't offer school lessons until year 4 something to do with their teeth development) as a guitar player I would think 5 might be a bit little for that . dd got v frustrated when I tried to teach her at a similar age but she's picked up the ukelele quickly now she's older

drspouse it would be worth looking out for anyone running percussion or general music-making for little musicians! If you’re in London check with your borough music service; otherwise I imagine it could be a county music hub or local private one.

He does take tap which he loves!
I think it's possibly more for me - to be honest - as I'm the musician between me and DH and I wanted to have something we did together. So maybe a bit selfish really?

Hello, drspouse. Your son sounds so sweet. I am not an expert, but I think piano is always very useful to learn. So when you don't know which to start, then until he discovers his real passion, I'll start with piano. Trumpet def too early for 5 years old, I guess? I heard guitar doesn't need to start early neither. Having said that, 5 may be still too young for piano, I think depending on the child. Singing and recorder seem to be always great for younger ones. How about dance class if he likes dancing? It's great for developing good rhythmic sense.

I posted about this on my other thread, about parent participation in music groups, sorry just to leap in with this.

But it may be time to think about something different for DS.

He's 5, in Y1, really wants to be a rock star (he does a mean air guitar) or play the trumpet. Loves dancing, makes up routines, but I'm a classical musician so would like something we can share.
May have mild SEN. Not very coordinated and takes a while to settle in to activities. Also a bit small for his age.
He loved his singing group but it's folded and it's hard for me to take him to the replacement.
Very slow to settle in to his new recorder group but proud of learning new notes.
In an ideal world, what would you suggest we look for as an alternative group or lessons? A choir? Drums? Piano? Ukelele?
I have not had any success teaching him recorder or piano at home without lessons.

I prepared a short summary of DS's musical activities to send out together with required forms and references. I didn't need to make it into a file nor booklet as his musical history was short enough to fit in A4 paper (single sided!). It's like a cover letter rather than CV.

DS has a history of being bizarre in his answer to questions. For instance, when he was asked why he applied for JD at an audition, he started telling them his great interest in composition. He applied as a violinist. They had to double check if he applied correctly.... So hopefully, this short summary helps DS who is not brilliant at answering/explaining and fantastic at making people feel confused...

Feel silly to ask you such a question, but what shall I write for the title of the summary? At the moment, I just wrote ' Summary' with underline at the top. Any better word can you suggest? My DH is away this week so I can't ask him to check my English! I feel very much insecure with my choice of English...

trumpet you have been suitably vague enough to get an answer, yes these are for September 2018. I am all for vagueness as this is has now reached a point where DS is potentially identifiable. I'll let the other me report back on progress at a later date.

DS did an exam in a summer term in the past and it was a true nightmare. DH becomes (even more) out of control with his huge desire of doing lots stuff outdoor in summer, and he always wants to involve DS in. DS tends to represent quite a few sport events in the term more than any other terms too. Then those lovely summery events that are hard to avoid... So, no exam in a summer term, that's what I learnt from the experience!

DS is doing ABRSM grade 7 piano. One piece is already decided thank to miniearling.

Those who is doing the exam this term or next term, would you mind sharing your chosen pieces? Chopin is a nice piece but the piano teacher is not very keen on the arrangement. Apparently it's irritatingly different from the original, so she prefers DS learning the original to the one set for the exam (hence she wants DS to do other pieces for g7). I don't know the difference.

Icould are these his auditions for next year ? Good luck to him
Sounds a bit like ds and music theory full of good intentions but at the end of his list of priorities!!
Kutik that sounds a really good idea to get the exam done before the last term of year 6 ds did one in the spring if year 6 too which worked out well then he had the summer term to focus on fun stuff and the move to high school . Which exam is he doing?

DS has an audition on the horizon (two actually but he may withdraw from the second) so he's practising every day. It makes such a huge difference, he's sounding really good. I know that once he's on the other side of this his practise regime will drift back to what it was before, he's full of good intentions but it comes last in the line of things he wants to do rather than first.

After all the non-exam talk, DS decided to do it next term. His piano teacher suggested DS may want to take one before starting secondary - basically while he still has time! We wanted to avoid any exam in the summer term. Weather is nice, so many fun activities will be planned almost every weekend, sport commitments get heavier, and it’s the last term of his primary school so he wants to enjoy it without any exam hanging around. So it’s gonna be the next term! Wondering if anyone is planning to do any piano next term and which piece.

Double don't wait for parent's evening, talk to them now. Commitment isn't the issue, time constraints are. You will have other things to talk about at parent's evening, don't waste your precious time slot on this.

Double - my DD is also expected to be in choir as a music scholar and she hates singing. I agree though if she wasn't aware that is a bit rough.

Congrats to the successes of trumpet and drummers!

Oh, and DS2 practised his pieces on cello this morning but as soon as Scales were mentioned ‘his arm hurt’! He’s been informed it’s all scales tomorrow night!

drummers thanks! He seemed to be in a sensible frame of mind this morning - I hope it lasts!
Kutik I love the Victorian chimney sweeps image!

drummers, the thing that annoyed DD was that nobody had talked to her about it first and she hasn't even been in the choir for the last 3 years. Apart from the 4 ensembles at school, she plays in another 3 with the music service, so it's not as if she isn't showing a commitment to music. As it was she persuaded another couple of friends to go along too and she quite enjoyed it, but it was the letter and the laying on of guilt that are a little hard to take.

drummersmum Thanks for the suggestion; I’ll have a look. On another note, I first heard / saw the marimba played in Trafalgar Square many years ago and my eldest fell in love with the sound.

double yes schools usually expect scholars to be in choir. But everything can be negotiated. DS missed a few months last year because of work overload.
loose thank you, you're kind but we're not in pure revision mode yet because homework keeps coming! I like your DS A level choices btw. He sounds like he knows where he's going.

frigglet great news. Would this help. DS uses them for marimba playing (to help with callouses) you cut it to size. Amazon have it.

Just popped back to say that my godson had an impromptu lesson with his Sax teacher this afternoon. Apparently he’d practiced for about 5 x 20 minutes beforehand and the teacher was totally amazed at just how well he played. So calm has been restored in his mum. 😀

However, he says that the skin/bone between his thumb and index finger hurt a lot as he has to stretch to reach the keys. And his thumb hurts on the other hand, for the same reason. His mum wrapped tissue round his thumbs, which he said felt better. I’m thinking maybe a rubber thimble like I use for counting money/paper, but does anyone know if there is a proper attachment she can buy? He's quite small for his age and has to wear a harness thing to hold the Sax. Bless him 😀.

I’d quite like to perch over here in the corner, if that’s ok? By the way, I’ve been trying hard, without success, to find a steel pan band for my dd (age 7) to join. All suggestions very welcome.

Another Blue Planet fan here. It's a bit too late for DS to watch TV, so we usually record it and watch together at the following weekend. When we have busy weekends we can't watch it so we are always a few weeks behind.

DH and DS had a big bonfire at our allotment today. They came back like a Victorian chimney sweeper.

Wish I was doing that Loose I'm currently painting ds's bedroom ( 1 room down the rest of the house to go !!) I shall be having wine later ( probably much later !!)

Wish I was doing that Loose I'm currently painting ds's bedroom ( 1 room down the rest of the house to go !!) I shall be having wine later ( probably much later !!)

Doubleup definitely have a word with them. Their lack of choir members is not your dd’s problem. They shouldn’t be guilting a diligent child.
Wow to Drummers and Trumpet on your exciting weekend - I agree not a problem with children who like to do a lot. It’s a bit like the adage if you want something done, ask a busy person!
Also, from what I can glean, minidrummer has worked very hard on school stuff and is in the revision phase now, so I think he should be fine pursuing his music and getting stellar results! He is a very cool young person indeed!
I’m a bit jealous you saw Colin Currie. On the other hand, after we were both working yesterday, DH and I treated ourselves to a quick trip to Tate Britain and I’m now relaxing with a nice glass of white wine, so it’s all good! And Blue Planet is on later...