Autumn Term Music and Music Exams Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello everyone. My children went back to school today, so I decided it was time for an Autumn Term thread. Please jump right in!

I have DD1 (MiniWaffle) aged 8, who loves music but knows her own mind!! She is currently playing Grade 6 and 7 Recorder pieces and trying to get her Treble up to scratch. Her second instrument is Flute and she's been hovering around Grade 4 for a while. I have no idea when her next exams will be, or what grade, but none this term that I'm aware of. She is auditioning for the NCO in October though. DD1 also sings, tinkers with piano and ukulele, and has just started the Grade 3 Theory book. I tend to find this one the biggest jump, and if you can do this one, you can manage Grade 4 and 5 easily. Usually. I hope.

DD2 (BabyWaffle) is 6, enjoys music and is going at a completely average pace. I can say this with some confidence, as I have about 120 pupils of my own. She's been playing the recorder for about 18 months and the cello since March. She wants to do Grade 1 Recorder and Initial Grade Cello this term.

Looking forward to hearing about how everyone else is getting on.

Ealingwestmum - can you speak to someone that's taken the audition before to check for the format? DS has done four auditions to date (not a string instrument and none of them for a school scholarship so this might not be relevant at all) and there wasn't one where he played his pieces from start to finish. Each time he's been asked to play from X to Y, this bit here, those bars there.

There are no prizes for guessing that their choices always include the most challenging part of the piece.

I wouldn't dare tackle Schinlder's List myself because the original recording is so fab!

Czardas is closer to grade 8 (because of those harmonics). The Rumanian Folk Dances by Bartok are on the Trinity diploma list, but I think the last two were set for grade 8 on ABRSM years ago and would be achievable by a grade 7 student. Similar in feel to the Czardas but you coiuld do just those last ones and not have the harmonics which are in another nmovement (they work best on new strings though!).

Another alternative to the Czardas and less well-known is Keler-Bela, The Son of the Puszta

Sun over San Sofia in Gypsy Jazz! by Waterfield and Kraemer (Faber). Something just a little bit different to whatever anyone else will be doing! But don't do this with the Czardas or Bartok. as the feel might be too similar.

There's a Sibelius Romance...

Meditation from Thais (definitely grade 7). Possibly over done.

Was just looking at the ABRSM forum suggestions on a similar matter and the pieces suggested range from 'achievable at grade 3 but played well at grade 6+' to 'flashy stuff from the diploma syllabus that you probably can't play well enough'.

Great, thanks Ishouldbeweaving. I never thought about the fact they may ask for parts of a piece! Most seem to ask for 2 short contrasting pieces with G5/G6 standard as the minimum.

Thanks also for the additional pieces to check out Julie. I will definitely review them. Like a lot of kids the faster, upbeat pieces are my DD's preference - Schindler's List was selected to see if she could tone down and reflect the mood of such a poignant piece...not easy when Perlman plays it so beautifully! She's a big John Williams fan though so that has helped.

Great, thanks Ishouldbeweaving. I never thought about the fact they may ask for parts of a piece! Most seem to ask for 2 short contrasting pieces with G5/G6 standard as the minimum.

Thanks also for the additional pieces to check out Julie. I will definitely review them. Like a lot of kids the faster, upbeat pieces are my DD's preference - Schindler's List was selected to see if she could tone down and reflect the mood of such a poignant piece...not easy when Perlman plays it so beautifully! She's a big John Williams fan though so that has helped.

oops, trigger happy

DD loved these pieces, thanks Julie.

Has said, let's not panic yet, which I think is code for being too scared to approach teacher with change suggestions, which I can understand. Or maybe I have missed that the fact that she has suddenly matured over the Summer and is control of what she is doing?!

Two days to go for miss 8. She has been nervous for over a week and it is weighing heavy on her mind :-(

Miss 10 had her new music arrive yesterday: czardas and Barbara Barber book 3. So she is happy to have something new to go at.

Best wishes to everyone else in for exams shortly!

Good luck to your daughter Shakyisles

DD's usually taciturn sax teacher said yesterday that she is progressing fast, and has suggested she attend the senior wind band rehearsals which she is pleased about (it's a compliment - some of the pieces look ambitious for a relatively inexperienced player). I'm not quite so delighted as it's at 9pm on Friday nights ...

Two piano duets today... First duo weren't together at all but soldiered on. Second duo 7yo were fab and won the under tens. Tbf there were only three entries, including the disaster. Disaster pair took it well and just found it funny, littles were really surprised bd pleased to win. First time on stage.

Well done to them both Julie and good luck to your DD Shakyisles.

DS2's choir was filmed recently for a BBC programme, which has been very exciting. (I was chaperoning, and they sounded amazing in my biased view!) Looking forward to seeing him on television.

Good lunch Shakeyisles dd!

Three weeks to g5 cello,forDD. I managed to stop her attempt to swop one of her pieces for a brand new one on Friday. She often tries to do last minute swops - I don't understand it at all!

I never know whether to get them to play/ practise on the day of the exam, or not? Dd1 always has mornng exams but dd2 seems to always have ones around 3pm- which she finds hard as she has just turned eight. My gut instinct is to do ten minutes in the morning. What does everyone else do?

Thanks Janet. I figured it was 'luck' rather than 'lunch ' - made me smile this morning.

Hi we usually have a quick run through with the pianist while waiting to go in; might try some scales this time too. But if its an early exam time I wouldn't try to do much

DS2's cello exam is at 9.30 so definitely no practice in the morning but we wil do a bit of a run through the night before. DS1's mock g3 flute (mainly to ensure he can join an ensemble as needs to be at that standard) is at 8.30 in the morning (his lesson time) so he'll definitely not be practising before it! Actually, this week he was so dopey his teacher had to intervene before he tried to put the flute together the wrong way round!! He isn't usually that bad, though.
Nice weekend, both DCs at an introduction to jazz workshop, one on percussion and one on cello, and had a great time! Wasn't too sure how they'd react to the cello, but a very warm welcome indeed!

I meant to say that it's grade five and around 3.15pm, so she is usually quite tired by that time. If the exam was a morning one we would just run through prior to the actual exam. But I'm tempted to get her to do scales and top and tail her pieces... I'm really nervous for her. She is super nervous too.

Shakyisles - grade 5 does seem to take on a special significance, rightly or wrongly. I would do a gentle run through and scales for a late pm exam. Dd launched herself at the aurals today - seems to be ok-ish except for,the singing back which seems a lot longer than previously and she isn't very comfortable with.

Fingers x'd exam went well Shakyisles, in your time it must be evening now and all exam stress is behind you!

All done! All smiles! Having had it weighing on her mind for a couple of weeks, she decided that it was all going to be great about ten minutes before the exam, gave a big smile and just got on with it. She has a whole pile of new music to start and can spend more time bending notes and doing her beloved blues scales now.

Eventually she did about 15 minutes in the morning - a few scales, the first eight bars of her B piece, the ornaments only in her Bach. Her usual long notes warm up. Worked a treat, she reckons.

We should know in a few days time.

I am ready to crack open the wine!

Isn't it great when they come out smiling! So glad it went well and I bet you were ready for that wine!!!

Got the result! She was so pleased and kept jumping up and down saying 'I passed, I passed'.

She got 140.

Great news. Well done to your DD

Fantastic result, well done to your DD!

So glad I am not doing exams, I am really regretting agreeing to take part in a learners' concert next weekend. Nerves tend to get the better or me! The DCs are much more chilled!

That's fantastic especially at such a young age, well done to your DD!

Some kids seem to handle stress really well - my dd plays better in lessons than at home and even better in public. She has her first sax concert in 2 weeks (Christmas concert) and is completely relaxed about it (too relaxed IMO!)

Freaking out about student's grade 3 so much that I'm giving him extra lesson today. No matter what I do, I can't make them actually practise, you know? I can rant and rave and tell you to learn them for next week, but if you don't do the learning what can I do? Grargh. At least the pieces are reasonable and the aural will be okay. Scales and sightreading.......... exam in a week's time, let's just hope for a pass, eh?

(And ruin my track record... but transfer students who arrive with no technique and not being able to read music... then insist on doing the exams... I already put it off twice).