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.

way shorter than anyone I've ever entered for an exam before! D'oh!

Monday morning here. 2 hours to go! One very excited girl. She cried a lot yesterday - she ping- ponged from crying to running around screaming with excitement.

Then we can concentrate on miss 7's grade 4 on Wednesday. She has been very laid back. She will just worry ten minutes before she goes in.

Funny how different kids are, eh?

Aah good luck to them both!!

I was wondering how old your 7 year old was when she started the saxophone? Our private school starts the occasional bigger Year 3 child, but most schools here don't offer it until Year 5. I once made a girl wait until Year 8 - she wanted to play alto but was uncommonly petite. Really, really tiny! My little one wants to play it, but she can't... she's way too small! She also started the cello in March - I think she's doing plenty actually!

My daughter started when she had just turned 5. Check out the Trevor James alphasax - she started on a pink one! She is tall, though. She took grade 3 when she had just turned 7 - on her pink one and now has a full sized alto. She adores jazz and has an incredible sense of rhythm.

She is planning on being grade 8 by 10 ( year 5) and starting her diploma work. She is on course for it too - and just loves playing and practising. We are working on her grade 5 theory now. She also plays the drum kit, for fun - as my husband is a very good drummer. She is looking forward to being old enough to play in a big band - like her Mum and Dad used to!

So alphasax. Lighter, less keys - but a full instrument. It was perfect.

Killing time... Heading out to the exam in a few minutes...

I think the youngest that my dh taught was 9 but they were tall. The few he has now are teens or adult.
dd is taking gr4 next month and loves improvising and playing with dh.
She hasn't done gr5 theory yet, but she seems in no rush.
I think music is a journey taken by little steps and once you know its what you are going to do with your life there seems no hurry.
She is lucky that she gets to play with top pro's, she sees them as her peers, not sure if this is a good thing, but hey ho.

Done! Now 48 hours to go until miss 7's exam. Miss 10 very happy that she is finished with those pieces and can get back to technique...I don't know how long that will last?

one down Shakyisles, well done :)

Thinking of you Wafflenose. Hope all going well.

Shakyisles, in our house the best part of exams being over is new pieces, no way would they be pleased at returning to technique! You have a dedicated DD.

She really is, pavlova! She can't wait to do more on her vibrato. More bow skills, and just crack on with the end of her old technique books. She is back to my happy, smiley girl. She always has a melt down 24 hours before the exam. Today is the first time she actually kept her nerves under control, she reckons.

Miss 7 can't wait to show her stuff. Best bit is...normally they fight like cat and dog. Miss 10 has actually been lovely to her little sister ALL day. It's a miracle.

Well done to the big one, Shaky!

Mine fight all day long... but the big one gave the little one hugs and kisses before she went in! Aah.

DD2 enjoyed doing her exam, was cool as a cucumber, and should have done enough to get through, I think. Her rhythm isn't brilliant, but she is having group lessons at school (with me!) which are helping.

DD1 made 2 teeny slips in her first piece, and could have gone faster, but it was secure overall. The VERY difficult (Grade 6 in all but name) piece which had been stressing her out was AWESOME! I wouldn't have heard, except that her professional accompanist asked me to go in as page-turner. DD1 said the aural and study went fine - I didn't have time to ask about the rest, as I then had to go in and accompany another pupil, who was doing her Grade 2.

DD1 did spend waaaay too long in the room, prompting me to wonder if she'd burst into tears or something. But no... she is delighted with herself, and it turns out that the examiner wanted to have a long chat with her. I have no idea what about, but it meant that by 10am, she was already running rather late!

We should hear by about Thursday with this exam board, I should think.

Well done to them both Wafflenose. Hope you had a lovely treat for tea tonight.

Best wishes to all of you who are going through exams this week, I'm thinking of you although mostly along the lines of "I'm so glad it's not me".

Not an actual treat... but they didn't have to go to school as their school is closed today! I was at work, so DH took them to a nice park and for a cycle ride, and brought home ice lollies! I told DD2 she could have a rainbow loom if she passed, and DD1 is pondering whether she wants one, or the cash!

Disclaimer: I don't normally buy a present for passed exams! But DD2 has been nagging for this particular item, and I didn't want to just buy it for no reason, hence the 'carrot'!

We don't do anything for passing. But we do go out for a meal to celebrate having done all the hard work and been brave enough to go and sit the exam. We always try to go before results come out, to emphasise it's for their effort. ( I always got money for passing in my day.)

We've always assumed a pass so the reward is dished out on the day of the exam. To be honest the biggest reward is usually to be able to drop the pieces we're all sick of the sight of and pick some new ones but there's usually something else on the board as well.

We reward the work and relief of new piece here too. Usually just something like cream cakes for tea!

I think DS1 will be hoping for something slightly more than that for the work he is putting into his GCSEs!

On that note, I do think being used to exams has helped DS1, and me too, through his GCSEs.

Hey, I never got anything for passing my exams! (apart from the certificates).

I guess the reward for (hopefully) passing my grade 6 theory will be that I can finally take my DipABRSM, fifteen years after I should have :p

We never normally do anything either! But I was trying to find an excuse to buy DD2 a cheapy loom and stop her nagging.

I want to know now! (stamps foot)

Less than 24 hours to go for miss 7. How does everyone deal with competition between their children? I just realised that this is the first time mine are entered for the same session - different instruments and grades - but I know they are both hoping for distinctions.

Are your children ultra competitive?

I only have the one child but I did once have both him and his father entered for G6 brass (different instruments but some pieces in common) on the same day. It seemed like a good idea at the time but it's not something I'd want to repeat.

We thought that having the two of them entered together would encourage the junior slacker to practise more often, which it did, but the competitiveness went too far. Maybe it would have worked better had DS been a bit older, I don't know.

My children are competitive, but there is a 2.5 year age gap, and also DD1 is tall for her age and DD2 short. This means that DD1 is still better at everything, by virtue of being older and bigger. However, DD2 is an excellent artist, so I often can't tell who's drawn what. We've had LOTS of chats about everyone being good at different things, and how being talented isn't as important as working at things. Hard work will usually get you there in the end!

Musically speaking, both of mine play the recorder. DD1 went very fast. DD2 started young, but is going at an absolutely normal pace, so is not at the same place DD1 was at her age. (She doesn't know this, or need to know). However, she's the only child in her year at school who's reached exam level on an instrument, precisely because she started at age 4. She's played in assembly, and consequently 19 children in her year have signed up for school lessons with me :D

We have made sure that each girl has her very own orchestral instrument, and they couldn't be more different - flute and cello. They often say they want to learn their sister's instrument too, but we are being firm about this. I think DD2 needs to play something that her clever big sister doesn't, and to find her own way. And DD1 needs to learn that she can't do everything she wants to!

Wafflenose I started off by not doing anything, until DDs sax teacher said I hope Mum is going to get you a nice treat on the way home after all that hard work!

Shakyisles this causes upsets in our house.

I have DS1 who played brass from Y4 and was reasonably good, (G3 at the end of Y6 when the others in his group lesson were G2). He has stayed reasonably good, achieved distinction in 2 brass instruments at G5, plays in a lot of bands and gets away with minimal practice. For various reasons he hasn't taken higher grades but plays at about G8 standard now. Piano is a different story, he scraped through Grade 5 last year.

DD has always been a better musician, she went for strings and sax. She plays better than DS1, works harder than DS1, but worries too much in exams/performances and tenses up. She is also better than a close friend who always gets Distinctions. She gets Merit for all her exams.

DS2 is 5 years younger than DS1. He started piano 6 months after DS1 and obviously went more slowly at first, (DS 2 was older and Grade 3 on brass by then). But he still took Grade 5 6 months after DS1 and got Merit. There is a general recognition from his siblings that he is more talented. Plus he works hard and loves performing. We tried to get him to play clarinet, to be different, but he has ended up with a trombone like DS1. Ds1 just accepts it. He has achieved Distinction in G1 piano and G3 trombone

DD finds it really hard though, to be the only one in the circle without a Distinction, and feels under pressure, but the only pressure comes from her!

We don't do anything for music exams as dd likes to keep it all to herself, hardly allowing anybody else any input and doing it purely for herself.
They are all different aren't they? If I suggested she had a treat she'd be
which is great as it saves me having to buy anything.