Spring Term Music, Musicians and Music Exams Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hi all, my children go back to school tomorrow, so I thought it was time for a new one. Who's doing what this term, and how is practice going?

Our main focus is the local festival next month - we're all doing loads, as are my pupils! My girls have just started practising for that.

MiniWaffle (9) is doing her well-overdue Grade 4 Flute this term, and hopefully Grade 3 Theory (to keep her on track) in the summer, and Grade 6 Recorder in the autumn. She also has some SWMS and NCO commitments, although not too onerous yet! She plays the trumpet for fun, and dabbles with piano, ukulele and singing.

BabyWaffle (6) will concentrate on repertoire and technique for a while. I think Grade 1 Cello is supposed to be in the summer. She can play a coupe of the pieces and some of the scales. She plays the recorder too, but won't be doing another exam on that for at least a year.

Well done to everyone - seriously impressed! Wow, it seems like an exciting day in the Pavlova household.

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I have taken up tuned percussion (literally last Friday) for the NCO Grade 1 challenge. I am going to have a few lessons at work, and the teacher has said he thinks I should do Grade 2 in June instead, because of my previous musical experience. No pressure then!

In other news, my trusty digital piano (which I bought second hand, 14 years ago) appears to have packed up. I'm sad, but hoping it can be repaired.

And Mini has lost her last baby tooth tonight, aged 9 years and 5 months - that's very young, isn't it? She has been seeing an orthodontist since she was 8, and they are very keen to crack on with her treatment. I guess this might be coming sooner than we had thought. Hopefully it won't affect her playing too much - although I am a clarinettist and had braces, so won't be letting her use it as an excuse.

Just had brilliant more brilliant news - dd got a distinction in grade 5 cello (she has only been playing for 18 months!) She was very worried the scales had gone really badly, and can't believe she did so well!

Waffle - my dd is 11 (y6) and just started orthodontic treatment last month. Really pleased she should get it all out the way by the time she's in y8/9 at school!

Yes - very brilliant news!

Well done to everyone on the good results!

Dd has had a really great day at the first day of a two day music course and come home absolutely buzzing, and definitely wants to do it as a resident next year.

She says the conductor is boring though which is a shame but I think will make her appreciate how fun the guys who run her wind band make it! Can't wait for the concert tomorrow.

No comments yet! I wouldn't suggest her retaking for a couple of reasons. We are all bored of the pieces for one thing. And I don't want her thinking she's only good enough if she gets merit/distinction / I'm trying really hard to encourage her to be playing for enjoyment and saying she had to retake would rather cancel that out. Plus tbh it won't hurt her in the long run to realise that you cant be best at everything, however hard it may be in the short term.

It's just a shame she is surrounded by girls whose parents have made it clear to them that anything less than a distinction isn't good enough...because that attitude then comes through as "I'm better than you because you only passed"...(I love listening little girls)

Interestingly though her teacher did say that it's a shame she was the only violin exam on the day because sometimes examiners don't know/ forget how bad lower grades of strings can sound compared to the same grade on piano!

Wow, what a great day of results! Well done to all and the support staff in the background

Well done for all the great results everyone - excellant!

Waffle - I am also doing grade 1 challenge, much to DD's amusement. I am doing piano - current efforts involve a one-finger jabbing motion made all the more frustrating because I can read music and know exactly what I should be doing my hands just won't do it. Unexpected benefit of this is that it is proving good for DD's piano sight-reading as she is very keen for me to do lots of aural practice (getting her own back), has dug out an old Aural Training in Practice and perfected all the examples!

Congratulations to all DCs and their parents! Great results!

Valentine I had the same pressure put on my DD by a friend so it isn't always the children that show off, it is the parents (as you also said) that make such a big thing out of it. I think you should celebrate the pass and move on to the next challenge.

Of course we are all proud when DCs pass with distinction but we shouldn't make such a big deal of it in relation to other children.

Friend now didn't even ask how many points DD got for her distinction knowing that it would be more than her DD got (she was on the exact mark for distinction).

Wonderful pass marks for everyone's children - and a driving theory test pass thrown in for good measure! There are surely some very happy faces out there these last few days.

DS has just finished a three day non residential course at GAM and has come back super enthused, so hats off to the instructors there. Only four brass players and two woodwind, so lots of close attention for the children concerned. The strings side of things was packed out (but again there seemed to be lots of instructors / helpers on hand). Highlight of the concert at the end of the course was one of the clarinettists, who had (at 9 or 10-ish?) composed his own piece which was played by a trio and dedicated to his mum, whose birthday it was. Just beautiful - and the composition was (in my very novice and humble opinion) very very good. DS has declared no more trumpet practice for a few days (fair enough, he has been neglecting his cello after all…)

So funny about her getting her own back with aural tests, notanother. And it's brave of you to pick piano - even if you already read music well, the coordination can be tricky. I hope you're enjoying it. I am practising xylophone on a set of chime bars borrowed from work. I hope the actual xylophone I get to play won't be too different!

I have a happy boy here who passed his grade 1 piano with a high merit. If he'd got through he sight reading with a bit more confidence he would have got distinction. Something to aim for next time I guess! I have gained a lot of information on this thread that has helped no end, many thanks to you all!

Kaput fantastic news.

Ishould be also fantastic.

DS2s teacher is already talking about working towards Grade 6 theory. Ahhhhh. And she told DS2 there is a pot of money shared between Distinctions at 6-8 which he is very enthusiastic about.

Waffle that does seem young. I believe girls tend to lose them earlier than boys, which has certainly been the case in our house. Ds2 still has a good number of baby molars at 12 1/2. But I suppose there is never a good time for musicians and braces, at least she will have it out of the way. And I know several flautists who carried on through treatmenttreatment.

I had to google Grade One challenge. Good luck to you both and anyone else attempting it. Looking forward to those results on the Summer thread (gentle hint Waffle for after Easter!)

Welldone junior starwars!

And the flautists only had one treatment, sorry!

Yep Raspberry, I'll start a new one on the first day of term. It's my birthday, so I won't forget.

I'm looking forward to a total blank next term other than the usual round of music centre-band practice, a few band concerts and the Whit Friday marches. It's the county commitments that have been taxing my organisational skills, we will have been to Derby, Nottingham and Manchester by the time term starts again. Have I got the tickets, looked to see where the venue is, worked out the location of the nearest car park that doesn't require us remortgaging, sorted out arrangements for meals, arranged a dog sitter...

Waffle I am enjoying having a go at piano, but DD's teacher has just offered to give me a lesson - now to be honest that is a far more terrifying prospect than the actual Grade 1 exam!!

Waffle and Notanother - am thinking of doing the g1 challenge on saxophone; got it at Christmas after many years hankering and haven't picked it up since...so think this may be the time....

Yes!! Do it!

As predicted hysterical misery at her "terrible" result...I hadn't realized they give out certificates in assembly so everyone knows what everyone else gets...and lots of her classmates are the type to brag/belittle. Thankfully hers won't be read out as she didn't test in school so hopefully subject won't come up next term.

But at least she never once said she didn't want to play anymore - in fact I asked her and she was adamant that she does...so now we hope it's better next time :-)

Valentinewiggins As soon as she's taken G3 (or 4 or whatever comes next) then G2 is history and no-one will have the slightest interest in it. They're not really interested anyway, they feel the need to prove that they are "better". If it's not music marks then it's clothes or having the right bag or gadget, if her classmates are that way inclined there will always be something to be judged on.

You know that and I know that...

I'm so glad I'm not 8 and at a crazy competitive school (anymore)!!!