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.

Not too much on this term for my younger two except school stuff where they have music scholarships. One has passed grade 8 trumpet so not much pressure with that this term. The other is working to grade 8 horn but that will not be until Christmas.

One is doing grade 3 electric guitar this term (ugh, but he likes it and it's an extra - it's fine, he's a teenager I can just about endure it). They passed grade 7 singing before their voices broke and I have the grade 8 singing pieces here, now they've settled down, but did not make the effort to grab one of them to have a go at those over Easter - too much on. I might try to get him started this term. He seems to have a nice bass voice. I accompany them in exams as I play the piano.

Good luck to everyone else doing exams this term.

I wrote a cheque for the recorder exams today - £88!! Very grateful that we decided not to do a flute exam in the same session.

Indeed morethan!

DD1 thinks she's definitely decided on Consider Yourself (which she also did for her musical theatre just now), To The Sky, The Dormouse Carol, and Danny Boy for the unaccompanied folksong. I think she's tried them all out in her lessons / school group at various points so nothing too much is brand new. But there is of course the lovely sight-singing which brings her out in a cold sweat! I'm hoping that now she's singing regularly in the county children's choir she will find it easier because she'll have been doing more of it more regularly.

Thanks for all the comments on number of instruments etc. I think the school were a bit worried because the idea is that she learns them all in school, with ensuing missing of lessons (and having the confidence to stand up and leave lessons to go to a music lesson). But they said that if she wants, she can. We are supposed to be going in for a pre-meeting / bassoon try-out soon after which we can make a decision. Have any of you with older children had the experience of other teachers in school not being supportive of DCs leaving for music lessons??

Has anyone else been reading the worrying articles in the press/blogisphere about cuts to Music Education funding? The most clearly laid out one I've found so far is here

There is an ISM petition / campaign about it at www.protectmusiceducation.org

Bramshott Non-statutory services are the first to fall when times are hard and when politicians are proclaiming about education being the key to making this county great you know it's not music they have in mind.

On your other point about school supporting music lessons in school time, it affected us in Y8 with his one half hour instrument lesson a week. "School" can be supportive but the individual teachers less so. Ours is a state comp, no music specialism, few children learning instruments. His peri lesson is the same time every week and the affected teacher was becoming very vocal, "not being supportive" doesn't come close. We'd already moved the lesson once because the alternate slot was with MrsEnglishTeacher and she'd put her foot down two weeks into term. It came to a head three weeks before his G8, I phoned the head of music and the head of performing arts Had Words. After that it's all gone beautifully. The subject affected is one that is going to be dropped like a hot potato at GCSE so I don't worry about him being left behind in lessons and older pupils get their peri lesson over lunchtime so hopefully it will be less of a problem for us in future.

It's a reflection of the view from the top really, the line may be "music is an important part of the curriculum" but it's seen as icing on the cake, optional, extra-curricular, easily cut.

Sorry to be very gloomy this morning (can I blame the weather?)

Non-musical mum joining from the end of last thread.

I have a 10yr old daughter that is sitting G4 piano and G6 violin this term, though desperately trying to separate the entries to not clash and make practice less stressful…

Successful result (merit) from last term on G5 theory, though now I know better, would start theory earlier alongside practicals as cramming all in one term was not ideal (mixture of self teaching with workbooks and support from her teacher), but credit to her for rising to the challenge

Wow ealingwestmum. That's a lot of work. My 10 year old is taking grade 6 violin this term too. She does about 1- 1 1/2 hours a day practise plus other commitments. It's hard to fit in! She had to stop piano because she hadn't time to practise:-(

I'm tempted to send ds to a g5 theory summer camp when he gets to that stage (probably next summer). I imagine his attitude to me teaching him theory will be similar to wafflenose's dd but he tends to behave himself for other people. He quite likes the theory he's done so far but generally won't take my advice.

Thanks Ishould. For those whose DC learn several instruments - how many of them do they learn in school?

Bram - DD1 learns her second and fourth studies at school, and her first and third studies outside school. DD2 currently doesn't learn anything at school (although she has her second study lessons in school time, at another school, since her school didn't replace the peri who used to teach her when she retired last summer). When she changes school in September she will learn her second and fourth studies at school and her first and third outside, just like DD1 (same instruments). They also do dance (DD2) and drama (both) outside school.

They could both do third study (singing) at secondary school too, the school would allow it (and it has been suggested) but they like the person who teaches them and don't want to swap teachers.

DD has decided on Matchmaker from Fiddler on the Roof for list C of her grade 4 singing (ABRSM), and a Serbian lullaby as her traditional song. Still to decide on the other two, there are so many she likes. She's done a bit of sight singing practice and seems OK at that, it's the aural tests she's less confident on. Her violin teacher wants to put her in for her first violin exam last minute as she reckons it will help to have an exam on it should we opt for independent schools for secondary and we put her in for a music scholarship- DD is currently year 5. Her mum and I aren't convinced as she also has dance exams coming up and it seems a bit much.

Bram - dd (y5) learns violin at a conservatoire and started cello in September 2013 at school. She took grade 4 cello two weeks ago and we are currently waiting for the results. She has been lucky to receive individual lessons at school as she was too advanced to fit with a group.

Bram Dcs secondary school allows up to 3 lessons in school time each week.

DS1 has 2, and learns piano outside. DD had 2 until Christmas, plus piano (she stopped one instrument then).

DS2 currently has lessons on his second study at primary school, (15 min shared lesson with a different brass instrument), but will go to a different specialist teacher in September. He has piano and singing outside school. The singing lesson is part of his Chorister training but is still an extra lesson to get to. He will learn clarinet in school but am not looking forward to managing the extra lesson outside school!

Secondary school subsides the music lessons, but has a policy that you must play in a suitable level wind band/string group as well which is still an after-school time.

Obviously therefore the school is supportive of music lessons, but individual teachers aren't always as supportive. Mostly it gets sorted, but it one of the reasons DD gave up cello. It helps if the teacher has a lot of slots available. The woodwind teacher is full time so lessons rotate over a much wider selection of lessons. Cello teacher was only there one morning a week when she had double DT, which was a lot more difficult.

Next year DS will be in Sixth form so his lessons will be fixed slots based round his timetable so he doesn't miss anything.

My youngest two did grades 1, 2, 3 theory one term after another with me teaching them at home just because I wanted them to have exam practice and having an exam and certificate seems to motivate them. They then did the grade 4 book over the summer holiday and grade 5 at the Christmas or something like that. I did all the theory grades to 8 as a teenager as I liked it but most people stop at grade 5.

Hmm, I think I'm possibly being pessimistic then, expecting DD1 to take 3-4 years from here to Grade 5 Theory! But it would really help if she actually learned all the scales she has to know about, before writing and manipulating them. Likewise, bass clef.

I am a music teacher, mainly piano plus theory and teaching recorder and class music in school. (I am also a qualified primary teacher, plus having taught secondary music part time for a bit). Not sure how many exams this term yet, definitely a prep test, five grade 1's, two grade 3's and a grade 5. Some yet to decide on finally!

DS1 is taking grade 5 violin this term and DS2 may do grade 2 jazz piano, but for both of them music is only a hobby, not something they will study beyond GCSE.

Waffle, I did a theory grade a year from about age 7 or8 as a child the year I did the equivalent piano exam as that was the way my teacher did it. My older 3 children did grade 5 theory only at one with their father and one got almost full marks at age 10 (or may be grade 3 too?). I did those various grades with the youngest 2 one a term just because I wanted to keep momentum and they did a grade 6 and 7 at a fairly young age so had to have the theory grade 5 for that. When the younger two were getting towards the grade 5 exam I asked their school brass teacher to give them a theory lesson once a week in addition to their music lesson - they are twin children so they shared the lesson and that definitely helped them pass as well as what I was doing at home. Children tend to pay more attention to a teacher than a parent.

On children learning at school mine have one lesson at school and another at home out of school time. As GCSEs near leaving 2 lessons a week in school is perhaps a bit much? I think one of mine who learns 2 in school at present fixes one lesson (electric guitar - yuck) for lunch breaks and schools try to do that for more lessons as children get older where possible.

Just had brilliant news dd got a good distinction in grade 4 cello that she started in September!

Maria, I thought a grade a year would be fine... so she did Grade 1 Flute and we completed Grade 1 Theory... all fine. For one reason or another, we ended up taking a break for a year, during which she has managed to start on Grade 4 Flute pieces!! I think we will persevere, but maybe not this week because she is being horrible.

Ours don't have any lessons in school. We pay for DD1's flute lesson and DD2's cello privately, I teach them recorder, and they ask for a bit of help with piano when they want it - it's their "just for fun" thing. DD1 does half-class singing lessons at school (the PTA funds it for Year 3) and goes to school choir and band.

I have sent off the application for Grade 5 and Initial. The hard work needs to start now.

Hi everyone,
I'm a music theory teacher, teaching online via my website and email. I teach up to grade 8 theory. Please give me a shout if I can help out with anything! :)

musician/teacher/parent.
happy to help if I can…...

Thanks all for your advice. My hunch is that 3 x lessons in school per week may be too much for a new Y7, but we will see what the music dept say when we go to see them.

Hi dancersdad - another Grade 4 singing parent! We can all share notes. I agree that there are lots of lovely songs to choose from.

Meeemooo -my dd could do with some grade 5 theory help!! What is your website?? Thank you.

Well done to your dd NannyPeach. That is quite an achievement!