Summer Term Music and Music Exams Thread

[Wafflenose]

A new thread for a new term!

If you're a music parent, or music teacher, please introduce yourselves here. It was getting hard to keep track on the old thread.

I am a music teacher (woodwind, 90% recorders these days) and I have:

DD1 (aged 8) who is taking Grade 5 Recorder this term, currently working towards Grade 4 Flute, and also sings, plays the piano and one tune on the ukulele (no lessons on these three). She has completed a video audition for the South West Music School, but we won't hear yet, and quite honestly, I don't think she'll get in this year.

DD2 (aged 5) who is taking Initial Grade Recorder this term, started the cello a month ago, and can play a few tiny, baby tunes on the piano and ukulele (again, no lessons on these).

I only have one pupil doing an exam this term, other than my girls - a Grade 2 Recorder player. I'm doing 11 Music Medals though.

Good luck to your DH, and to you!

We are waiting to see what the new repertoire is for Trinity and ABRSM to see which way to go next for DS2. His teacher now does both boards depending on child and the pieces on offer. She is intent on DS2 being ABRSM Grade 8 on piano though.

Have fun with your trombone summer. With two trombonists here I am a big fan.

Well they are public domain postings so I can't see why I can't share. Audio not video so don't expect the pic to move lol

Firstly " the day job" as it were ( she's singing the 3rd part on the right in the photo )

Then... Um letting their hair down ( again she's hamming up the " bass" ). Blatantly stolen from her brothers barbershop group.

So, " hobby" music can still be great fun and good quality!

Those are lovely! Very beautiful, and great fun.

Gorgeous Theas. You are right to be proud of her.

Beautiful voice - loving the clips of all of your children Theas and Waffle!

Thank you Theas, that was a lovely way for me to start the morning.

DD2's cello teacher has just given her two of the Initial Grade pieces to learn. It was her 11th lesson. I was a bit

Maybe cello is going to be her 'thing' like recorder is DD1s?

She is doing well isn't she. Especially as she is learning a new clef too.

Mine have never done Initial so I have no idea what's involved.

Waffle it sounds like you two are naturally musical - DD started cello at that age and I think we were still on twinkle a year later - she completely refused to do anything outside lessons. She then suddenly got enthusiastic (that is actually agreed to practice) and took grade 1 last Easter at age 7 and will take grade 5 when she has just turned 9. On the other hand she did grade 1 clarinet this week after two terms of lessons. For a non-musician like me it's all a bit of a mystery. Dd now planning grade 1 singing and piano in dec, along with grade 5 cello, grade 2 clarinet and grade 2 or 3 theory. I, on the other hand, have no intention of agreeing to such a plan!

I know nothing about Initial or cellos so you're on your own there. Let's be honest I know next to nothing about music anyway so I'm not much use except in my supporting role as mother or wife of a musician.

It is a lovely evening here, mostly because it's been a day where I got to do some weaving (if I do have a specialist subject it's wool). The trombone has been dug out, greased and we appear to be capable of C Major (always a good start) and a half baked Blaydon Races from memory. I know I said he couldn't have it out until next month but we were just checking it over. Honestly. The husband and I have come to a negotiated settlement over the piano, he's got his pieces back to where they were a month ago and he's agreed that the worst thing he can do with two evenings left to go is to play them until they fall apart. They are as good as they are getting and instead he's treating me to something different that I haven't heard 15,000 times already.

I will film her in a few months if the pieces sound any good!

I don't think DD2 is naturally musical - she is going at a completely average pace on recorder (although at a slightly earlier age, due to starting at 4) and it's normal for the second instrument to go much faster, isn't it? She finds it hard to play in time - entirely age-appropriate I think. But including school orchestra, she put in 3 hours on the cello last week, so she's keen at least. I do hope cello becomes her special 'friend' - DD1 asked to learn, and DD2 wants to play the flute, and I have said a very firm NO. DD2 needs something of her own that her clever big sister can't play, and she also doesn't need a 3rd instrument right now.

It's DD's music exams this afternoon. I'm a bit worried about the accompanist, as he is rather scatty. Last time she was singing a 2 verse song and he left out the second verse - simply stopped playing. It'll be interesting to see how the examiner copes with practical musicianship, as so few people do it. It'll be so nice to have that obtacle to the higher grades out of the way.

Hedgehogs that's really unprofessional! Assuming you are paying him don't use him again unless today is a real success on his part.

Do hope you fill us in on practical musicianship - sounds interesting

Apparently practical musicianship went really well, but she messed up the scales in her 2 practical exams, and made mistakes in some of the pieces. GRRR...

With three exams on the same day I think she deserves a reward for sheer stamina.

Glad the practical musicianship went well. My elder 2 would say learn to fluff and act like you didn't do it or meant to play it like that!

Youngest very happy. Got into the next ensemble. Sneakily mastered a grade 7 piece very quickly for the audition buy the same steal practising that seems to rule in our house! Only the 2 really big orchestras above her now ( this is the highest tier ensemble with clarinets " en masse" now).

I sort of forgot NYRO audition in a week or so... but it's going OK with the set pieces. THey are hard and she's moaning ALOT about how crap our (MY I'll have you know) old as the hills , yamaha plastic bass is..

I'm interested in the practical musicianship. My daughter is currently working on grade 5 theory with me but it's slow going. I have been talking to her teacher about jazz grade 5 - as she loves improv and jazz and blues. Prac musicianship - how old is she? How long did she prepare? Any advice?

Shak - we also decided on practical musicianship because it comes a lot more easily to her than the theory, though she is slowly working at the theory because of course you need it. She is 12 and she went from zero to grade 5 in pract musicianship in half a dozen lessons (some of them were an hour long though), without needing to do any practice at home, and got a distinction in her mock. Not that it's an easy exam, but she's a good sight singer anyway and finds aural easy. The difficult part was finding someone who would teach it to her. I spent ages not being able to find anyone as almost no-one teaches it, but the person we finally found is excellent, which obviously helped a lot.

I taught one person prac musicianship many years ago when it was a very new exam. My daughter sings and is a pretty good sight singer and a get sight reader. Trying to toss up between jazz 5 and prac music 5. She is doing theory 5 but isn't finding it as easy as her sister did. We also think, being a jazz lover that those would be of more use than theory 5.

What did your daughter find the hardest to master? What took the most time to get to grips with?

I'd probably teach jazz piano as an 'instead of theory' option if I could get anyone to regard it as a separate subject - i.e. worth two lessons a week. As it is, I'm following ABRSM classical syllabus with my students and supplementing with LCM jazz piano materials. If I can figure out how to do the performance assessment DVDs (will trial on myself) then this will give them an option and perhaps when they're ready they could try an actual jazz exam with Trinity or ABRSM (LCM doesn't send an examiner here to the rock).

Of course, there are no exams available for jazz fiddle, which sucks. Totally teaching it, though - just did two jazz lessons with an adult student and he loved it, and it will suit one of the 8yos down to a tee once she's passed grade 1 level.

Actually, are there even jazz exams for double bass? I know that ABRSM doesn't have them. Always struck me as stupid.

I think DD mentioned the improvising a tune on top of the bass part being a bit tricky. But there was so much less work involved than in theory, and she enjoyed it too. She also now feels even more confident than previously about the aural side of the practical exams, as Practical Musicianship goes so far beyond them.

DD did Grade 5 Jazz sax and absolutely hated it, although she loves playing jazz type music. Trinity, so doesn't count as a substitute. She hated the improvisation part, despite getting 1 off a full mark for it.

She has since done regular Grade 6 and prefers it. She won't do ABRSM because of the singing anyway.

I teach Theory and Practical Musicianship, and have done Grade 8 on both.

Amazed at tiny children doing Grade 5 theory. DD1 isn't even a proper Grade 2 yet. Finishing Grade 2 will be our project for the summer, and then I want to get her up to Grade 3 Theory by the time she does Grade 4 Flute with ABRSM. If we can then keep it a grade behind her flute, we should be OK. She is very argumentative though, and hates to make mistakes or be taught anything.

My elder daughter took grade 5 theory having just turned 9 and it was okay. She narrowly missed getting a merit. Young 'un is 7 and was finding the theory tough. The jazz sax makes so much more sense - she is far more likely to improvise and play nice jazz licks than transcribe SATB from short score. Or we might just move over to trinity? Everything up in the air for her currently. She is wanting to do more jazz, so I guess that's the direction.