November Music Thread

I've thought about learning a new instrument for a while now snowballs and your dad's amazing achievement has inspired me to get on with it!

Thank you for all the words of approval for ds & his friends - I'll let him know next time we speak.

Yes Druid that must be Trinity and yes a small amount although must be another few at Guildhall. One of DS's friends is auditioning at the moment. Really interested to see the results.

Great news snowballs!! Such a lovely story.

Amazing news snowballs; your brother must be chuffed to bits for your dad!

Great news on the positive outcome for your DD SE22, must be such a relief finally finding a teacher that gets your DD, even if temporary.

Hang in there waffle. Such an emotional roller coaster the teenage years...for them and for us!

Snowballs well done to your dad - he's a star! Exams are much more stressful for adults!

Thanks all who replied re tonguing and breathing (sounds so much more exciting than it is, doesn't it?) and yes, my dad was proud enough to ring me immediately - he is super chuffed. And so are we all..

Crikey, well done to your Dad snowballs! First of all I thought it was an auto-correct on your phone and you had meant to write DD - until I saw his age!

Well done to your dad, snowball!! Tremendous achievement - I hope he's very proud. ☺

( I've changed my posting name, for anyone wondering who I am.)

SE that’s great news
Snowball yes breathe at the top of you need to and lightly tounge the second top note in a 12th arpeggio . That’s what ds has always done for trumpet

---- for waffle.

I would like to thank everyone who urged me to get a new violin teacher quickly for dd who was not gelling with the teacher her music school assigned to her in September. Dd had her first proper lesson with a new teacher outside of the music school this weekend and for the first time in months came out of a lesson beaming and inspired. Yes I am now currently having to pay twice over for lessons (until Christmas) but it feels worthwhile. Practice was focused and detailed last night for the first time in ages. We both
Feel so much more content then we have done in ages.

DS2 sang in the remembrance service yesterday. It was wonderful. So moving, and to a full chapel. They sang Howells and Parry. They had to sing two anthems, one in the usual evensong and the other during the formal act of remembrance. It makes me sad to think of young men of the age of the students in the choir dying in such numbers, only 100 years ago.

The choir have had a rough ride recently with one thing and another, and it was nice to see that they did so well when it really counted.

Well done to remembrancers... My dd1 went to her local service with the Girl Guides - it was moving, but I also wondered what the men who went off to war over 100 years ago would have made of the girls at church that day. South London has changed so much since then and the role of the church too. Good that the girls named and remembered them.

In more musicy questions - can some flute people help? Dd2 (9) takes her Grade 3 next month. She's not a very big nine - in fact her teacher keeps remarking on how small she is - as if it will help her to grow. She's not quite got the lung capacity to do the two octave scales on one breath - when should she breathe? She can do the chromatic in one, and the arpeggios. Is that OK?

Also, on the arpeggios that go to a twelfth (I think) there are two of the same note together at the top (sorry, I'm not very technical). If she is slurring the arpeggio, does she tongue between the top two notes to separate them? She doesn't seem to know and won't see her teacher til next week.

In more musical news, my 70 year old Dad passed his Grade 1 piano (Trinity) with Merit last week. We're all very proud, especially my little brother, who taught him. He said that out of the three candidates waiting with them, two were retired. I'm wondering if it's part of a trend. He was TERRIFIED! Makes me realise what we put the children through. No pressure for DD1s grade three violin on Weds now....

Well done, Littlelad - wonderful.

My Dad's doing the battlefields trip next summer, Trumpet. It hope it affects her in the same way.

That’s amazing littleladsdad.
Ds went on a trip to the battlefields and cemeteries in France and Belgium the other week . It’s really made him think - he was insistent that he wore his poppy for the NCO concert this evening. It’s great when you realise that even as young teenagers they can step beyond their own worlds and engage and reflect

DS went onto the school field with 3 other boarders this morning. He played the Last Post & they observed the 2 minutes silence. I'm proud of them all.

Melting you did remember correctly, Ds2 did Grade 6 theory last year. He enjoyed it and I think will come back to it again in the future.

Thank you for the sympathy over the GCSE mocks. I think the actial GCSEs feel slightly less brutal as though there are more exams they aren't squashed into two and a half weeks!

DS2's report just before half term said his submitted GCSE music solo performance and his ensemble performance were nearly full marks and full marks were within range. In real life the teacher has apparently not actually marked them yet which is annoying.

Waffle . This parenting thing is tough.

Waffle . Sorry it is so tough.

Ah, maybe it was your DS I was thinking of druid - I remember reading about a mini on the thread doing Grade 6 theory. I think we'll take a look at some of the books and take it very slowly.