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.

Yep, here to, Ishouldbeweaving. DD1 is going to do 20 minutes each of flute, recorder and theory, although she doesn't know it yet. If she does it without complaint or histrionics, I will match her in computer time. I would like DD2 to do 15 minutes each of recorder and cello. I expect DD2 will think I'm being very unfair, but there is a 2.5 year age difference, and DD2 is only at Initial Grade on both!

Actually DD2 won't notice. Of course, I meant that DD1 will find it unfair!

Same here. DS2 knows he is doing daily theory but hasn't realised about the piano, clarinet and trombone! I reckon an hour a day isn't too much to ask. DD has ASKED me to help her keep do regular practice as she wants to give Grade 8 her best shot for spring. Similarly DS1 has a lot of work to on his lip for his trombone Grade 8 and really wants to do it this year for his personal statement.

Wafflenose I'm not musical enough to know your DD had done that but it sounds amazing.

We usually do daily practice but I have enforced a fortnight off for ds after his exams. In the holidays ds will do about half an hour a day on recorder just messing about with stuff he wants to play. He'll be doing violin for a week at camp and I doubt if he wants to do any theory but I may try to tempt him.

Has everyone registered for the Birmingham Recorder Festival?

Herc DD1 interested in going, which means I'd be dragged along too as would be overnighting. Not sure about entering anything though.

Not been before, is it usually necessary to book this early?
Entry closing dates are September .

Morning all!
Just to thank you once again for your advice earlier this month and to let you know that DS passed with a merit :) (we don't have the full scores yet, just a text from his teacher)
School finishes tomorrow and I we aim for half an hour a day on each instrument- how successful we are at that remains to be seen :o

I will be lucky if any of my students do any practice over the summer. Was tempted to give them all theory homework but I don't want to make them do it with no help, so...

our girls piano lessons continue through the summer hols - 2 weeks off, one where we are going away, one where the teacher is... he winds it down a bit so they just play fun stuff through the summer (with some scales every other week)- Harry Potter, Tangled, Frozen this year.....

We've made it through the term: ED passed G4 piano, G3 violin, aced audition for county group, school exams, teenage issues. Phew.

Music teachers: please could you recommend a book of piano pieces to play for fun at G4/G5 level? I think we've lost our way with so much pressure all in one term and it has become work. When violin gets too much we pull out the folk tunes and have a singalong/playalong as a family but I can't work out what 'non-exam' piano book will be at the right level for her. Thanks in advance.

Look at the Jazzin' About series. There are books at all levels from at least 0-5.

G4/5 is the easiest to find fun music for.... The Harry Potter books, Lord of the rings books other film/Disney music etc all seem to be arranged at this sort of level. Since DD got to G4 she can find sooooo much more music she can dabble with.

Thanks

Exam results in, my grade 3 who went to pieces failed by three marks, with only 9 on his scales and 14 on one piece. All my others were high passes and merits though, including a merit for the girl who came out in tears. So now, forward to the theory course I am running in a couple of weeks!

Don't know if I'd mentioned it already, but this term's grade 1 piano got a merit (I'd given 118 in his mock) with pieces being not-spectacular (as expected) but good marks on supporting tests; the elder of my two first-year violin students has had her bronze music medal confirmed as of a few days ago...

And I scored 85(m) in grade 6 theory but an A, so distinction, in grade 8 practical musicianship. I always thought theory was over-rated past grade 5! Don't have the comments or certificates yet, though.

Next term is local music festival and just one grade 3 - transfer student. Possibly some medals for the fiddlers. I'm aiming for a few to skip grade 1 and go straight to grade 2 in the summer - transfer students who are currently nearly-grade-1 in standard.

Well done Julie!

DD2 got 128 for grade 1 piano which she was delighted with, and 117 for grade 5 singing which she was fine with in the light of the fact that her sight singing 'was a complete travesty'.

Well done rabbit's dd. We're still waiting.... It's annoying as dh's pupils who had exams after ds2 & dd2 have had theirs back. Dh was most surprised as one girl started crying in the first piece and didn't stop for the rest of the exam and she got a merit. Dh came out worrying whether she'd pass or not!

Just for your amusement:

Well done on all the great results lately. And commiserations to singinggirl's pupil - at least it's clear where the marks were lost. Is he going to try again.

I really enjoyed that, Julie. My youngest DD plays a 1/8 size cello and I play it sometimes, but I'm not as good as you, due to (a) not being a string teacher and (b) being far too big for her cello! I enjoy it though.

Hopefully he'll try again but we'll have to see; he starts secondary in September so may well not want an exam that first term. It's nerves with him, one small slip and everything goes.

Waffle Your DDs playing was absolutely lovely. Some interesting camera control too lol.

Well done to all on the recent results.
Just found out here that DD1 missed a distinction in her grade 8 by just a few marks. Not what she expected and being very hard on herself.

DS1 got a pass in his grade 5 violin, but his teacher wasn't happy with the marking in her 12 examx. His pieces were certainly marked very harshly - I was in there accompanying him and I would have predicted about 3/4 marks more on each piece than he got. And with his sight reading, the examiner seems to have marked his 30 second look through rather than his actual attempt, since she commented on him stopping in the middle section, which apparently only happened in his look through time.

singinggirl I think it happens all the time. Dh has been by so many marks in the past for his pupils and our own dc. He was surprised dd1 got a distinction for gr 1 - he reckoned a merit. Then the other way round when ds2 scraped a merit for gr 4, when the day before a friend (also an examiner) had reckoned, in private to dh, that he'd easily get a distinction. Dh was in there accompanying him so heard the pieces - the marks he was given for them were crazily low. Yet, the same examiner gave one of dh's pupils a distinction when dh thought he'd get a pass(hopefully). Dh's reasoning was, well the examiner was a singer - no offence meant by that!

It all just seems so random.

Are there any guidelines on how many marks get deducted?
DD1 agreed with the comments, but thought the marks deducted in relation were harsh. Especially as examiner not an expert in her instrument.