Summer Term Music, Musicians and Music Exams thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello again everyone! I know not everyone in the UK has gone back to school yet, and some of you are overseas, but term here starts today, so it's time for a new thread. Please post away about your children, your own musical studies or any questions about music exams/ learning an instrument generally. We have a helpful and experienced bunch of people here to answer queries or reassure you.

I have MiniWaffle, who is 9, and BabyWaffle who is 6. Mini has passed Grade 5 Recorder and Grade 4 Flute, and also plays some trumpet, piano and ukulele. Baby has passed Grade 1 Recorder and Initial Cello, and tinkers with the piano (when it's not in the repair shop...)

This term for exams, we have Grade 3 Theory (Mini) - as a warm-up for Grade 5 which will hopefully take place next year - and Grade 1 Cello (Baby). Both in June. I am doing Grade 2 Xylophone for the NCO Parents' Challenge! We have been challenged to learn an instrument unrelated to our proper ones, and I'm really a clarinettist.

Wow, some good results here. Dd's grade 1 clarinet exam will be over now but I won't find out til 5.30 how it went as it was at school. She was very nervous this morning but hoping for a pass and that it was a good experience. No time for rest, concert tomorrow, with a whole 3 hours of rehearsal before hand!

Well done to him, Better. He sounds amazing!

Has she broken up now, Musicmom1? If so, plenty of time to practise! My girls finish in about 2 weeks.

Ishould I really don't know what's going to happen yet. I plan to put her through Grade 6 Recorder myself next term, and nothing is going to happen with Flute immediately, as we'd have to give a term's notice if they want her to move. Hopefully they won't, and some of her funding might be able to cover something useful like piano or singing. Mini would like to do Orchestral Percussion, or singing. I feel that she is likely to need some piano sooner or later, and would rather she didn't leave it as late as I did (started aged 15, wanting to study music at university!).

DS2 has Grade 6 piano tomorrow, I think he will be fine but his scales and the Aural could probably be better.

He is also off on school band trip for ten days tomorrow, and has a singing lesson between the two to practice a solo he is singing when he gets back!

Apart from that we have had a huge number of concerts with all DC and several still to go.

I've convinced DD that a long black dress would look really nice for the County Youth Orchestra next week, (men are in bow ties, which will be a first for DS1). It does however mean we need to find one we both like!

Thank you Loose and IShould. We will wait to hear but hopefully good results for both of us. Waffle - well done to your Mini. Such great opportunities lies ahead for her. V exciting. Better - fantastic results, congratulations!

Well apparently the grade 1 went well, we have been to dinner to celebrate the achievement of getting through the exam (success for us starts before the pass!). Dd said there was one big squeak during her unaccompanied piece but that was the only major mistake. She has been struggling with the aural but apparently enjoyed it today "because the lady was nice and she played really easy pieces". I'm guessing we will have to wait quite a while for results?

We celebrate getting through the exam too Woolleybear.

Waiting time depends on the board and the teacher. Trinity's examiners hands them over to the local rep as they leave. ABRSM varies a bit but they have got a lot faster. Our teachers usually text us as soon as they know, or tell them if its at school.

DS2 was the last one in at his school based clarinet exam before Easter, he knew within 20 minutes!

Better - that's amazing! Huge congratulations. I'm amazed he can find the time to practise two instruments at that level. My daughter manages an hour and a quarter per day. She started piano with me but couldn't find any practise time so just doodles round for fun on it. He must be really dedicated - does he want to be a musician?

It snowed here last night. My children are very excited as it doesn't happen very often. Not enough to even make snowballs :-( but there might be more snow to tonight!

Snow! Wow. Enjoy, Shaky (or rather, Shaky's children)!

Woolleybear quite right to celebrate taking the exam - especially if they get nervous and feel a bit drained after. DS2 is normally quite confident but he was in a large hall this time instead of a small exam room and was a bit flustered.
Meanwhile DS1 has a school concert next week and is having age inappropriate strops about what to play and claiming to have forgotten everything on the flute, though I have pointed out a week of practising one piece would soon fix that. I have also made clear we are not transporting a 3.5 octave xylophone to school for one piece! Can't wait for the summer holidays!
Waffle lots of exciting news for Mini, well done to her! I do hope she pursues the orchestral percussion but I see what you mean about not leaving piano too late.

RaspberryLemonPavlova I am glad that I have it easy because I have a boy and all he needs is school uniform with a different tie. I am obviously a boring old fogey because I don't think that something that ends eight inches above the knee makes appropriate concert dress. There were some lovely little black dresses at the music centre concert we went to but with the emphasis on "little". There tends to be more coverage for the Christmas concert as goosebumps aren't all that attractive.

(Eight days of school and two music lessons left - not that I'm counting or anything)

Thanks all.
Shakyisles, DS plays piano 20 mins, violin 45 mins each day. It's timed. He will stop the clock for something else. He's now used to record himself what he practices in each time slot. The outcome justifies the time spent on each instrument. Even he started violin half year later,he is more confident on violin now. This is his first violin exam. He got full marks on two pieces. The third one he play too quick so the accompanist didn't catch up. Most likely he will not be a musician.

I shouldbe I agree completely. I also hate the black skinny trousers which is what DD and most others tend to wear instead. I have at least got DD into black socks. One band insists on at least knee length skirts. The school tour group insists on ankle length.

Have just dropped off dd for concert rehearsals, completely unphased by a 3 hour rehearsal followed by performing in a theatre for the first time, not bad for a child who suffers anxiety!

For the wind band she has to wear all black, it's surprisingly hard to find black tops for small girls so I ended up buying a ladies size ten for her, she is big for 8 but it will last a god few years!

Can I join this thread for the first time with a big grin? My Dd16 has just heard from her singing teacher that she has passed her first ever ABRSM exam, G5 singing with a distinction! She had a heavy cold at the exam but still managed to get there. She's also currently attending the National Youth Choir of Scotland's annual training camp for the first time and having a great time.

Well done to your DD dotdotdot and welcome to the thread.

DS2 not totally happy with his G6 piano yesterday, but three hours (and a singing lesson) later set of happily on his band trip abroad. Have told him not to expect such a big post-exam treat in the future!

Last school music lessons this week as well, as the teachers are on the trip. Piano will carry on a while longer. Still several concerts ...... but definitely starting to feel we are winding down.

Better - did you teach him his grade 5 theory? I got one of my chidlren through at age 8 and one at age 9 but it's not easy. Did you teach him or did he do an alternative? I'm interested because there aren't many of us who help the younger ones get higher grades without being allied to a music college, I reckon.

School holidays here and with eight weeks to go to exams, we have lightened up the instrument practise. Miss 8 has changed reeds and we have a winner! I'm hoping they will be more consistent than Rico royals.

Last day of school here and a last concert tomorrow.

Shaky - I did g5 theory with dd(9) myself - result in another 10 days. We concentrated on pulling all her playing knowledge together - easier when they play instruments from different families. She plays in a lot of ensembles which also helped a lot. Fingers crossed for the result but it def worked for us to see it from her playing perspective.

Shaky - DS's piano teacher said its something happens quite natural to DS. He read through AB book within two weeks himself last summer. Started last September, he did Eric Taylor's book 5. And then around 10 past papers. Piano teacher marked the papers and commentted in the piano lessons. He was lucky he knew all the Italian words in the exam. His bad handwriting prevented him getting higher mark. His piano teacher hope he is her first student to get 100% but found disappointed.

Our wind band wears white tops and black bottoms. DD wears an ordinary black dress with a short white cardi, but I've just bought her a couple of black stretch miniskirts as a lot of the other teens wear those with a white t-shirt. They are not expected to be formally dressed as long as they match.

We had our last musical event of the term Wed night - a solo concert at a local bar-restaurant-campsite for which DD got paid quite well (!). We got two free meals and drinks out of it too, which is some small compensation for the money I've spent on lessons and instruments over the years ;)

She got her school leaving diploma results today (top grades in everything) so that is the year over for us! Next year she is weekly boarding so music practice and lessons will be more complicated.

Dd (11) took her grade 7 violin exam today and came out smiling and feeling it had gone well. Fingers crossed!!!

On another note, please can you share your thoughts with me on my dcs school reports. Dd's report is another glowing one - she excels in academics, music and sports and this is reflected in her school report.
Ds (just turned 8) is often distracted and can be talkative in class, but is working above national average. This year he gained a distinction in grade 3 violin and is working on grade 4 now. He also went from being a beginner guitarist to above grade 1 standard in 9 months. He is the fastest male sprinter in yrs 3, 4 & 5 and won all of his sprint competitions in a recent athletics competition. His report describes him as a 'capable musician' and comments on how well he has developed his hopping skills. Would you be happy with this? I don't feel his teacher knows him at all well and feel sad that dd's report reflects her talents well, while Ds' doesn't .

dotdot congratulations to your daughter for battling through her cold, it can't have been easy for her.

TheRachel - depending on the school they may have no idea of your son's musical abilities because it may not appear on their radar. It wasn't until my son's class did Wider Opportunities that anyone realised that he was any form of musician (capable or otherwise). Up to then there was little or no music of any sort in school, he'd vanish off for a lesson once a week and that was that. They only see what they see in class, if they've been doing hopping in PE and not sprinting then that's what they know. I'd file and forget.

It's nice to hear that someone comes out of an exam smiling, I hope that it does go well for her.

I know you are right. It's been a difficult year with this teacher and I am just sad she hasn't noticed any of my son's capabilities .

She's noticed some of his capabilities (he's getting better at hopping..) but if his extracurricular activities don't overlap with what they are doing in school he won't get the chance to shine. I don't think music featured on a single report from junior school because they didn't do any. If mine had taken his G6 in and waved it about it would have meant nothing to anyone.

My experience was that everything changed in Y7, new school, new teachers and music and sport become GCSE subjects rather than "just" extracurricular activities. (I can't get my head around music still being regarded as extracurricular when DS is taking it for GCSE next year, it's a bit strange that one). You know what your DS is capable of, that's what is important.

Ah yes, I am proud of his hopping!

Nice news to end term - dd has been chosen as a choirester at school for yrs 5 and 6; it is very much a light scheme compared to those many of you are part of, but does mean three rehearsals a week and two school chapel services, plus various cathedral services and a tour in Europe next summer (for me too!). Am very pleased for her as it was a very lengthy audition process and also very glad I gave notice to her singing teacher as this is def enough for her.

The Rachel - a smile after G7 - wow how lovely is that:)