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.

I think she is the appropriate level as she learnt her last piece in two weeks and the teacher said it was quite hard (Dance of the hours).

Texted her teacher and she replied saying she is not worried at all, it happens and we shouldn't stress. Feeling better now and can't wait to tell dd so she stops stressing also.

I trust the teacher a lot because she told me first time we met that she does not take on pupils just to do exams and she doesn't respond to parents pressure to enter kids for exams.

Therefore March was not suggested by me, I wouldn't have dared anyway so I trust that after teaching for over 20 years and making the decision herself she must know what she's doing.

On a second thought does anybody know how difficult is Arietta to learn? Just maybe to suggest it to dd's teacher to do that one instead?

Trinity, right?

I would like to know how many months before exam forms are filled ? or children are prepared for exam specific things before or after filling forms ?

Do you mean how long before the exam session do the entries have to be in for? Both the Trinity and ABRSM websites have the dates, it was around the first half of January for this term's exams. DCs' school sent their entries in before Christmas though.

As to how exam ready each child is depends on the child and their teacher but I don't think any of mine have ever been 'ready' as the forms have gone off, their is an understanding that they will continue to work.

I would agree with raspberry - DD covers around 70% of the work before agreement is made between her and her teacher to enter. Then it steps up focus to finesse pieces and work the scales/aural in more depth to exam date.

Thanks RaspberryLemonPavlova and ealingwestmum. My qs. were precisely those only, mainkly understanding form filling and if before filling exams, Are they done with some % of songs selected.

Julie the exam will be with Abrsm. Dance of the Hours is set for grade 1 both Trinity and Abrsm this syllabus, only that is one of the alternatives in abrsm so not in the main book.

DD was about 70-80% ready when entered for the exam.

Got back to the piece she is having troubles with and she is about 3 quarters of the way of remembering it. It isn't worrying anymore as it seems to come back when she is replaying it slowly bar by bar as the teacher suggested and looking at the music to read it again rather than trying to play it from memory like before.

Me happy! Dd remembered her piece tonight. She was about 3 quarters of the way and then decided to continue it like her brain dug it out somehow. So happy dd with 3 pieces quite ready, scales and broken chords ready, just need to focus on sight reading and aural.

Hopefully this will not happen again the night before the exam

How is everybody?

Fleur this all sounds good! DCs pull it all together for the exams, even if they leave exhausted parents in their wake. Shedding good luck for Sunday, hope your DD has a great time!
DS1 seems worryingly chilled about his drum exam but is having double lessons for a couple of weeks to make sure he's covered everything. In adult learner news, I've chosen my G3 pieces: Jack is Sad, Minuet (Scarlatti) and A Stormy Coast. I have to say the ABRSM book is a bit tunes of gloom, lots of minor keys! Then again, Jack is Sad is my favourite.
There are a lot of scales - I don't recall DS1 having so many for G3 flute!

We're part way through our festival. MiniWaffle is now 9, but 8 for the purposes of the festival - relevant date is Sept 1st 2014. Anyway, she took part in a large class yesterday on flute - 10 Years & Under Woodwind. She played well, got a distinction but didn't win.

Today was Recorder day and I was involved in 13 classes! MiniWaffle won the 10 & Under and 13 & Under classes, and got a few 2nd places as well. BabyWaffle was the littlest one there, but held her own. She didn't win anything, but got all Commendeds - the same as most of the others. She and I were the only ones in the Open Duet class, which was just to give her more experience.

One of my school groups won a group class, and a Year 7 pupil won her solo class, so we got 2 trophies for that school. None of my other groups/ pairs from my kids' school won anything, but they played well and had a lot of fun.

Tomorrow BabyWaffle is doing the baby strings class, alongside much older and more experienced children. Then a coachload of 42 of my pupils is arriving for the Group Tuition class. I can't wait!

MiniWaffle is doing the local Junior (13 & Under) Young Musician of the Year competition this weekend. She is the youngest by some way, and only just makes the cut (over Grade 5 standard) but it's all good for her! Someone today said she has a lot of presence, which was nice. I found a lot of the adjudication (not just for my pupils) unduly negative today, unfortunately.

That sounds like a splendid experience waffle!

Not much going on here. Guitar concert cancelled tonight due to snow. DD has also missed a few piano lessons due to a combination of mock exams, me being away for work, and teacher absences - but hoping to restart next week. She wants to start working on the famous Nyman piece from the film The Piano, which has been an ambition for a while (it's why she started learning the piano last year).

Sax going from strength to strength. Started in the senior wind ensemble after Christmas and has now been invited to play with another ensemble too. Lots of jazzy pieces, makes listening to practice sessions very enjoyable.

I thought it must be this week, Waffle, I've been wondering how it was going. Well done to your DDs and all your pupils. I bet the Group Tuition Class is fun. Its a shame about the adjudicator, I've had that experience and it does take the edge off enjoying it.

Enjoying the calm before the storm here with a busy March fast approaching. Four weeks to G5 theory!

Shedding I hope Sunday goes well and helps you and your DD arrive at the best conclusion for you. Am counting my blessings once again that it has been so easy for us.

Shedding good luck on Sunday!

Loose I would literally love if one of my DCs would play drums, even if the neighbours would hate me. Good luck with your grade 3 pieces.

Waffle the festivals sound great, congratulations to your little ones for their results and to your pupils also.

Waffle - festival sounds great; under 13s - wow!

Shedding - good luck and hope it all falls into place.

Wafflenose - that sounds a very hectic couple of days, it's lucky that the weekend is just around the corner.

Fleurdelise - I'm glad that the piece that fell apart has been recovered, it's a worrying thing to happen but now she's seen that it can be recovered you'll both be less upset when/if it happens again.

Shedding - I hope that everything works out well, whatever "well" needs to be.

RaspberryLemonPavola - I sat here last night and announced that in four weeks G5 theory would be over. DS is turning in solid merits/distinctions on the past papers, he seems to be past the stage where he would occasionally produce one that appeared to have been written by chimps or where he'd transposed by two octaves for no reason. I'd just like for it to be over now.

Wafflenose hope everything went well today! sounds very hectic! Well done to the amazing small Waffles!
Fleur yes, drums are definitely cool and luckily our neighbours are fine with it! I hope one of your DCs can be persuaded!

I don't know if everyone other than me has already heard of Awards for Young Musicians but if not then I'll put the link here

www.a-y-m.org/how-we-help/awards/

They give means tested grants for UK resident performers aged 5-17 (excluding vocalists) for courses, lessons, travel, instrument purchase or hire. It may be of use to someone.

Thursday went great! BabyWaffle finished in the middle of the pack in her baby strings class, and the adjudicator that day was SO encouraging!

A bit later, a coachload of 42 others from her school turned up (this took a LOT of work and planning!) and played in Year 2/3/4/5 groups. They all played and behaved brilliantly, were all awarded commended, except for Year 4 who got a distinction and took the class. Most of them were playing things I wrote or arranged for them. Year 4 got a new arrangement of Sword Dance, with 3 descants, 8 trebles (lots of parts) and percussion, and a silly version of Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes with lots of percussion and sound effects.

MiniWaffle has Junior Young Musician of the Year tomorrow. We know she is the youngest, and she only just makes the cut, so honestly, it's just a bit of fun. She is going to play Finbar's Fancy - an Irish style piece which she has added her own ornaments to, a Telemann Andante on Treble and a fast staccato piece which I wrote for her. The world premier of that piece was on Wednesday and she got a distinction.

Baby was a bit put out that Mini has won 3 classes and she hasn't, but she's only 6 and I think she just needs to be patient. She's back to being her usual busy, creative self though, and appears to have forgotten!

Sounds like a lot of fun waffle (and hard work your end!) good luck to mini for today!

I bit the bullet this week and took DS's instrument in for a service. He's been complaining of a sometimes-sticking valve for nearly a year now, most of the time it's fine but it will trip him up in fast passages. I did wonder whether it was really the instrument or a convenient excuse but he was right, it was little bits of scale flaking off randomly. I wish I'd taken his moaning seriously and done it sooner.