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.

Good question about the pieces, Mistrigri. My children sight read them easily and get them under their fingers within a week. It takes a good month polish them, get them up to speed with a metronome and truly master them. Dd just sight read a grade 6 study today, but is going to leave the real work until after her grade 5 exam. She is rather sick of her exam pieces so is picking on everything she hasn't played in her existing books to improve her SR skills.

Mistrigirl - dd is doing g5 in dec; two pieces she has had for a year but when she first got them they took a couple of months to get 'right'; the third piece she only got two weeks ago and she could play it reasonably within one or two sessions. Needs polishing closer to the exam now. Interesting difference in times - guess if they find it quite a quick process it means they are playing at that grade comfortably? Dd is playing G6 pieces but they take much much more work. Scales in the other hand are proving rather a mountain to climb esp given dd's reluctance....

Thank you. It's hard to know what level to pitch it as the hardest guitar pieces she plays only took a couple of work. Anything she can't play straight away is too hard.

This does not seem to be an issue with piano strangely as she will tackle quite hard pieces that take 2-3 weeks work. In fact she is probably attempting harder pieces on the piano than on the guitar, despite the fact that her technical skill level is far higher on guitar. (It probably comes down to the repertoire she is interested in, lots of romantic composers ...)

"Couple of hours work" that should say ... Can't even blame the iPad for that one ;)

How did your grade 5 theory think she did Wafflenose? Mine found it very hard and she seems quite worried. I'm still pretty confident, since she was capable of distinction so should have at least passed.

DD1 is doing grade 8 piano in a few weeks and DD2 grade 1 clarinet with her big sister accompanying her. Grade 8 pieces are sounding really lovely, but you never know with exams. Will look forward to it all being over.
Going for a trial of the piano tomorrow. We're having to pay £5 per 15 minutes. Is that usual?h

Pupil said a couple of questions weren't clear at first, but overall OK. He started writing the continuation of the melody, then realised it was bass clef, which he isn't so keen on, so abandoned it and wrote the tune for the song instead - something he hadn't practised as much! On past papers he was scoring around 80-90 so hopefully it'll be fine. I'm sure yours will be too.

Festival has started here. My first entry is a 7yo pianist tomorrow morning - the only one in her category, but the cup covers under-8s and 8-9s. If she plays like she has done before she'll do pretty well but I just want her to get up on stage and perform without freaking out and I'll be happy with that!

All three young fiddlers are performing on Monday morning, and there are far more entrants as the local string teachers are trying to encourage everyone to take part (there aren't too many performance opportunities round here).

Piano duets next Sat - I have two 7yos and two 8yos, but the category is under-10s so again I'll be happy if they just do it. :)

Hoping she's just panicking needlessly then, she is something of a perfectionist who gets very cross if she drops a couple of marks on a question.

Hi everyone, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have found this thread!

DD2 is doing her ABRSM cello grade 2 exam in three short weeks. I am so worried about it because I don't want her to fail and be demoralised and feel bad and put off. DH doesn't take practising as seriously as I do but then he has never played an instrument. (I played piano as a child and clarinet in my high school marching band (Canada) but never did any exams.) She has gone straight into grade 2 so does not have the exam experience of grade 1 to draw on. Practice, practice, practice is the name of the game the next 3 weeks. I have a pretty full-on job so it is often close to bedtime when I get home, but I've got the nanny on side and DH (who is "working from home" these days) has been read the riot act.

Have any of you as parents or teachers had a child or pupil fail an exam? If I ask her teacher the week of the exam for her honest opinion, would the teacher recommend not doing the exam? I would rather skip it than have DD2 fail because her useless parents didn't help her to practice enough.

I have had 6 or 7 pupils fail, but have lost count of the number I've entered. I imagine it's 300-400.

In most cases, they were borderline and would have known this (I gave practice advice to all, offered to withdraw a couple) then just messed up. One adult went backwards after the entry and I told her she was going to fail, but she insisted on doing it anyway, and bombed spectacularly. I had a girl fail Grade 5 last year because she simply wasn't working hard enough.

No teacher will mind giving their honest opinion - but any teacher worth their weight would not have entered a pupil who they didn't think would pass. Better to ask now than a week before the exam.

Incidentally, it's perfectly normal to start at Grade 2, and shouldn't disadvantage her at all. Some candidates don't take any exams before Grade 5, and I know of a child who went straight in at Grade 8 earlier this year and got a distinction. I'm sure it will be fine!

Ten days now until Dd's grade 5 sax exam. She is fine at everything and we are practising aurals daily. She is pushing herself on sight reading as she would like to beat the 137 she got in her last exam. I have told her that any pass mark at this grade is good...so I hope there won't be tears if she doesn't get an exceptional mark.

Hello Hearts - I am sure the teacher would not have entered your daughter if s/he wasn't confident of her ability. Three weeks is still plenty of time but best to check now. Do it discreetly though as you don't want your daughter to know how anxious you are as this may lead to more exam nerves.

FWIW, back when I did piano grades it was very common to start at grade 3, and I understand that the exams were somewhat more demanding then (mid 70s).

Shakyisles good luck to your DD. I am starting to enjoy having a saxophonist in the house now - the number of random squeaks and honks and register changes has diminished rapidly although her sound can still be a bit "breathy" sometimes (I don't know if this is normal or not).

Mistigri- I don't know. My daughter has never been breathy or squeaky. I guess she has just the right type of reed for her mouth. She is definitely going down the Jazz and Blues route. She plays classical and the borrowed repertoire nicely but she likes the freedom of improv.

What reed is she using?

Oh and I have a question for JulieMichelle (or any other teachers).

My Ds is showing interest in starting the piano again - he did a year when he was tiny. I'm going to put the synth in his bedroom and get a beginner's book. What would be a good choice? He is a quick learner generally, and already has some basic musical knowledge (note values, basic reading of both clefs) - but unlike his sister he does not have any particular aptitude for music. His fine motor skills are OK but not fantastic, so I am looking for a proper progressive method, suitable for teenagers, that he can use by himself with a bit of help from me.

Shakyisles um 2.5 I think? What her teacher advised, anyway. Her sound is generally (to my ears) good but it just sounds clearer and louder on the lower notes IYKWIM? I think part of the issue is that she is progressing through the repertoire faster than most beginners because she previously played recorder to grade 6/7 ish (she can basically sight read the whole of the book of studies she has been given, which goes to about grade 4) - but she has a beginner's mouth and face muscles which means that her stamina is poor. Her sound deteriorates noticeably during a practice session. Like your daughter she is more interested in jazz and blues and improvisation, as she plays jazz guitar to a good standard.

Thank you Mistigri and Wafflenose ! I think you are hitting the nail on the head, it is my own exam nerves that I am letting run out of control precisely because I can't control the situation - apart from encouraging practice. Interestingly I didn't have any of this when DD1 did her Grade 2 singing in June.

That is also a great idea about checking with her teacher now rather than the week of her exam. I do trust her teacher.

We just moved up to a 1/2 size cello from a 1/4 yesterday so I am looking forward to hearing DD2 play this afternoon!

Now can someone tell me the difference between ABRSM and Trinity exams?

Hearts - you'll have fun with the new tuning issues for a couple of weeks!

Mistigri,

It depends what he wants to do. If he can already read music etc. (at least basic stuff) I might throw him in at the deep end with the Debut level from Rockschool. There's a book I'm using with a 10yo boy (who also plays viola) which begins with a mixed approach between chords and note-reading, which is aimed at adults but working quite well. I can't remember what it is right now so I'll have to look on Tuesday and get back to you! He's had less than a half term's lessons, can handle melody in right and chords in left, various comping rhythms using basic chords, and I've thrown Rockschool debut music at him already.

Once he can handle approx. grade 1 level music, I'll combine the Rockschool syllabus (or another) with the Alfred "Piano for Teens" books which come in five levels with a 'chunk' of a piece to learn each week. However, they don't really explain things as they aren't tutor books.

"The Complete Keyboard Player" might work?

Thank you JulieMichelle.

I don't think he knows what he wants to do! It would surprise me enormously if he ever became a serious musician but I'd like to encourage him to learn a few basics, because if nothing else it will be good for his fine motor skills.

I like the Rockschool idea but I think it would be too challenging to start with. He has some basic knowledge, but he isn't "musical" like your pupil, and the year of lessons was a long time ago. Chords plus a melody line would be too much at this stage, he will need to start with something much more simple and progressive.

A friend told me this morning that she has the John Thompson beginner books (which I guess are aimed at younger children - but might be OK to start with) so I may borrow these and then buy the book you're using with your 10 year old pupil.

Down to one exam this term - snafu at music centre means they had to cancel one of the exam days and DS1 is on a trip the only other day they offer. Plan is to do a mock exam for G3 flute and move on. DS2 all set for G1 cello, just needs to do some intensive sight reading practice. At the moment he is reclining on the sofa having been sick last night, though!

Misti, borrow JT if friend will lend. They're fine, just silly pics and big notation. I use books 1 and 2, plus the jazz one and the carols. Complete Keyboard Player would be more adult. Piano Time is an option, again pics etc Most adult books go too fast even for adults.

Thanks again JulieMichelle. I'll be curious to see how he gets on. If he seems very keen I may look for a teacher. Unfortunately I don't believe that DD's teacher is suitable as he doesn't have enough experience with beginners, though he has done extraordinary things with her (she is learning Schumann's Traumerei this week and it sounds so lovely that I'm almost tempted to start lessons again myself.)

No exams this term but still preparing violin audition pieces for Y7 entry scholarships to our local independent schools in Sept 15.

Challenge is now shortlisting to 2 contrasting pieces, that are not too long/flashy but showcases accordingly, potential. DD is working on Schindler's List Theme (Williams), Adoration (Borowski), Concertino Op.25 (Rieding) and Czardas (Monti).

Our challenge is, these need to be short (but even without repeats, most are circa minimum 4 mins) but at G7 level are there pieces that are more appropriate to showcase and shorter for this level? DD's teacher is wanting Czardas as one but I have to say I don't think the false harmonics will be mastered well enough for an audition in Jan, so we are not convinced unless she has a major breakthrough before then!

Violin teachers/parents on this thread - any thoughts with your experience of audition processes? Prepping for AB exams now seems so much easier!

I'll have a think but TBH I'd personally go for a slightly easier piece and play it well - something that can demonstrate musicality. My concert pieces range upwards from grade 5 ;-)

Thanks Julie. I am with you. My concern is that I have challenged the teacher a few times over the years and don't want to fall out in the last year of school. She is also the teacher and as you know, it's not great having parents who think they know better

I will see how the prep goes over the next few weeks before panicking about a Plan B - learning Czardas step by step has taken time, DD has only been taken to half way.

Demonstrating musicality I would think would be valued more than a child playing a piece below standard. However the teacher's point re competition being high and awards favouring more unusual 1st instruments is valid I guess.