October Music Thread

In other news DD apparently has 6 piano pieces to practice this week. All easy 32 bar jobs but 6 Plus a bunch of scales. She only has a 20 minute lesson!

Catkind - lots of county level schools and youth orchestras around where the standard is much more reasonable. Our county runs a schools orchestra up to 18 with guideline of around grade 7 and a youth orchestra up to 21 grade 8 and higher.

Yegods, that little violinist is incredible. And the standard for NCO is incredible too - u10s is the youngest age group isn't it? Perhaps I should get DD to take up viola if she ever wants to get into youth orchestras. There are so many amazing violinists.

Very good Romany. Not sure that version would catch on with West Ham fans :)

Reminds me a bit of Jacob Collier's Flintstone arrangement for which he got the Grammy

Patrick
I'm not even going to ask.

I'm procrastinating as really should be ironing this afternoon, so many of dh shirts for weekend.
He can and does do them himself, but I feel guilty not doing it when he's running around like a headless chicken, fitting everything in.

I'll leave this with you all, as it tickled me

Romany
I’m definitely a mum - not a stay at home one though but my career doesn’t really exist anymore - more like a job to fit around being ds’s pa and both of their taxi services!!

That young violin player was incredible !!
Floot I know that the standard in violins is higher Ds is currently in under 13s and said they are all at grade 8 / beyond grade 8 but that’s not true of all sections . Ds still hasn’t taken his grade 8 although had played at that standard for a while now . In fact none of the under 13 trumpets had got round to taking their grade 8 at the time of the summer concert . I don’t think this was true the year before though . I really think that what they are looking for is pieces played well with a good tone and musicality - not high grades. In fact Ds had only taken grade 5 when he auditioned for under 12s ( though he played harder pieces at the audition) . I have no idea if ds will get in again this year but he’s enjoyed it so far and that’s the main thing .

Thanks for the kind words for unwell DS. I just asked DS if he would like me to come to pick him up earlier as I have managed to rearrange my work for this evening but he said 'no, thanks'. So I assume he's doing alright.

Talking about dads and mums, I am currently a mum but apparently I was a male mathematician in South America in my previous life...

littleladsdad

Even I managed to work that out
I'm more surprised at myself really, as I don't presume these things on other threads.

greenleave 😂about the roisining! That’s exactly what my youngest does.... by the time he’s roisined, put on the shoulder rest and taken it off a few times and tuned there’s only time to play a few bars!!

This moniker is gender fluid but mostly male :)

Ha! Brilliant. littleladsdad you are awesome for braving the sea of oestrogen that is Mumsnet!!!

There's a bit of a clue in my name Romany

Sorry minipatrick isn't feeling his best. I guess it could also be adjusting to the 'new germs' of the new environment. Plus this time of year, there are always colds flying around. I hope he feels stronger soon. I think it is great that you can just pick him up. You are very much still needed Patrick and doing a great job.

Romany...I had presumed the same oops

Oh Romany - I work outside the home but feel mostly that my role as a university academic is my nice easy hobby, and being a music mum is my real full time job .

Feeling like a prize twit today.

Mentioning no names, but after a revelating pm last night when I found out we weren't all rich/poor sahm's and indeed some of you are indeed fellas I'm mortified.

I have absolutely no idea why I presumed this, and certainly no problem that some of you are Dads. Hoping I haven't said anything too embarrassing especially as i pm a lot.

Patrick
Hope mini Patrick is soon fighting fit, my dd said she's not the only one to have had a hacking cough, most have had a cold of some description.
I'm sure air con doesn't help either.

Don’t worry owlm - that little girl is not representative of the U10s! Mostly, they are about the level of DS2. Also, things will change this year because they are integrating in the younger players from the training orchestra age group.

As folk says, well played grade 3/4 pieces at your DD’s age is exactly what they are looking for. They are interested in quality, not high grades.

Oh dear Patrick! Hopefully seeing his friends might boost his energy. We always have cold beginning of any season as a family :(.

Exactly, the other day the roisining took 5 mins and she just did a scale and that was it. I said, is it it? “Yes, mom!”. Things have changed a little the last couple of weeks, she was given this study from our teacher and she seems to be on it. I have no idea what it is, it just mixed of extremely fast play and extremely slow play at the same time.

Yes, Folk, she needs to increase her practice time(I have always been wishing for 30mins:)). We used your chart Folk, she knows the bits she needs to focus on and love it xx.

So envious, Green! DS would take 10-15 mins to get ready (stands up, picks and opens the case, looks for music, checks what others are up to, returns to get ready and picks a bow, etc...). I must tell him by the time he's finally ready to practise someone else has finished one instrument and started the second practice!

DS still has runny nose and sour throat and feels a bit worse in early morning but fine otherwise so I took him to school today. Hope he survives!!! I'll pick him up tonight (as he tends to feel worse in nights) so I must catch up with all the stuff while he's at school!

Green that's incredible that she has got to that standard on 15 mins per instrument per day. Just goes to show, it's not always about the length of time you spend practicing.

Druid that sounds like the description of a prodigy to me... so that means she's only been playing about 4 years?? Wow!!!! (I think we bump into her from time to time too, although don't know them to talk to.)

Thanks Waffle for the usual lovely monthly thread, love to hear the girls’ updates.

I have a 10yrs old in yr 6 daughter and a 4 yrs old reception daughter. Yr6 one is in middle of 11+, she loves exam so almost no 11+ stress for me yet. Her first choice will be in Jan but she sits couple of grammars. We have always been struggling with so little practice, only 15mins or so week days on each instrument. We do better with exams and havent had one for a while so she might be sitting exams summer term next year. If so then it will be gr8 piano and gr7 violin. The 4 yrs old is doing 15 mins violin lesson at the moment(started for a month or so), no practice yet, main reason to start so early is sharing lesson with her elder sister and having fun. I hope practice starting soon, may be once she is 5.

Wowser! She's quite something!
That said, of course she isn't representative of every 10 year old or every DC who will be auditioning ( thankfully!).
I read a very interesting post by Steven Isserlis ( can't spell today!) about prodigies, and competitions and he is very much of the school if thought that there is a wider consideration, eg that people start learning and developing at different ages and stages, and that if he had not been supported when he was younger, he would not have got to where he is now because he was by no means a prodigy.
My wonderfully wise flute teacher used to have a metaphor about people who played pieces at breakneck speed - he'd say, " so you saved 30 seconds? What are you going to do with that time?". 😀