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.

Thanks for replying, Mistigri. Reassuring to know. I'm thinking if she really takes to the flute then she can relax on the piano after grade 4 as she enjoys violin more and then that way she'll be doing the two instruments she enjoys the most.

Esex your approach sounds sensible - if your child plays several instruments you do have to be aware that there is no way to achieve excellence on them all. (This isn't an issue for my DD since "virtuoso" performance and exams don't really interest her, she is naturally more of an accompanist and composer than a solo instrumentalist).

It's certainly possible to learn to play flute very well in a short amount of time. I started at age 10 and had grade 8 when I was 12. I agree that it would be better to concentrate on her first two instruments. If she only has two hours per day to practise, then adding in another instrument would really dilute her practise sessions for the first two instruments. Plus voice becomes increasingly important, as you climb the grades.
However if violin or piano doesn't speak to her soul, then flute might, and not allowing her to play might be the worst thing ever. Get a good teacher - poor technique takes years and years to unpick and can lead to damage. You can get tension in the neck, the arms, tendon problems from over stretching and so on. But she has great taste - my first instrument is flute!

I just noticed replies Ealingwestmum, wafflenose and musicmum. Thank you.

Shakyisles, 8 grades in two years? wow..did you skip some? how many hours did you practice per week? My g daughter does 2 hrs per week by the way, not per day.

Violin "speaks to her soul" (nice expression) but she's passive about piano unless we have visitors and then she's in entertainer mode!

I think I'll look for a very good teacher before I even mention it to her.

Shedding, I know the feeling. She does other bits and pieces too but we've cut down on those, more to focus on academics and I think that's working. At this age they seem to want to do everything, leaving us to theorise over which one they seem to be more into or have the most potential for.

And yes two hours per week per instrument...that's on a good week!

It is only this year - last year of French junior high (Y10) - that DD has cut down on "fun" activities! She's dropped gym, dance and archery (which were mainly social activities) - but added sax, piano, wind band and a zumba fitness class.

I doubt dd plays as much as 2 hours sax per week, she does about 20 mins a time (and not every day) plus one wind band rehearsal. Nevertheless, in 8 months she has gone from total beginner to taking her exam for admission into the "second cycle" at her French music school (roughly equivalent to grade 4 in terms of repertoire). I do not think she is a particularly natural sax player either!

shedding

There is nothing to envy, honestly.
Our dd practices for 5 hours a day, and dh for a couple of hours.
He also teaches from home, so it's music all day.
I am a sahm and people ask how i cope, they find it hard to believe you can just switch off
Our lives have revolved around dd for many years now as she wanted the chance to follow her dreams as she puts it.
The practice has paid off and her music is no longer our responsibility and we are moving to allow dh a music room, so I might be able to start playing again when there aren't so many others practising.
It's lovely to be able to play an instrument or two, or three but it can take over your life.

There was no grade 1, 2 or 7 in my day. So I just took the grades, practised 30 minutes. Day as a beginner and went up to about 45 later on. It was only post grade 8 that I did 90-120 minutes per day.

My children do about an hour on their main instrument per day. We homeschool and the most important thing is that they practise when they aren't tired. They still have plenty of time for activities and academics. It's amazing how much time is freed up by not travelling to school. They are very driven in their passions - which are a varied. Plus we have taken up kung fu, as a family.

At the moment, miss 8 and I are battling the grade 6 scales. She hates melodics with a passion! I ask them and she moans and gets cross with them. Then gets cross with me for asking them - even though she asks me to help!

Shedding

It was a great opportunity for her, but I think at the cost of the academics tbh.
We took an autonomous approach here and she didn't really want to do much. She has a great general knowledge and of course she is gifted musically, but I have to keep her feet on the ground as she thinks she's Cecilia Bartoli. or a female reincarnation of Charlie Parker
I will miss her too, very much so, but have been told by many to deny her the opportunity would be selfish.
I found "The Outliers" helped to put this into perspective telling her the amount of practice a virtuoso does before they get there.
Not to push for more practice, I'd have preferred less, but to let her know she ain't there yet, or anywhere near.
I'm hard, I know.

Well, DS1 has his grade 4 drum kit exam tomorrow. Luckily he stopped moaning about how rubbish the pieces were as we were all getting fed up of the sighing and eye-rolling. I think he's done enough practice and he has a lesson tonight so hopefully that's it for drum kit exams for some time! Don't know if anyone else's DCs find the Rockschool repertoire 'boring' - am convinced that really DS1 was sulking because otherwise in his lessons he gets to work on pieces that he and his teacher like. It's probably done him good to work on something he didn't choose for fun, just for a change.

Good luck to him. Does he know rockschool also publish the Hot Rock repertoire and he can play one of those for the exam? DS happens to always like their standard exam pieces but twice he included one alternative for fun. They have very cool stuff like Greenday, The Who, Police etc. Unfortunately DS is taking grade 7 this term and the hot rock series only covers the intermediate grades for some reason.
Btw they are asking for a photo id on the day for the first time. Some people must be sending their mates to take the exam for them?!

Thanks drummersmum and I'm glad you mentioned photo id. I'll take his passport just in case they think he's an imposter! I've never come across that one before.
If he decides to do another exam next year I'll get the Hot Rock book. Good luck to your DS with grade 7!
As he went out the door this morning, DS mentioned a chemistry test he needs to revise for tonight. Why he couldn't have done the revision last night I do not know. Unluckily for him, the only lesson he's missing tomorrow is PE, not chemistry!

Oh well sometimes it's good to have something else to take the worry away. Chemistry will do that nicely! DH doesn't think it's good for DS to be practising like crazy hours before a grade exam in case he makes a mistake and that doubles his stress level. But that said if DS wants to he lets him.

He's in a good mood after his drum lesson and has settled down to some revision so all's well!

After 7 weeks(!) wait for results, DD has become DD ATCL!!
I think this calls for cake

Congratulations notanotherinstrument, I think more than cake is called for. Funnily enough I was thinking about you when I was out with the dog this morning, I thought it must be about results time but I didn't like to ask in case it wasn't time yet and you'd managed to forget about it (as if!). I printed off the application form for DipLCM yesterday, that's what set me thinking about you.

Has it felt like a very, very long wait or did you manage to put it out of mind?

LooseAtTheSeams best of luck for tomorrow. I had to laugh at the sighing and eyerolling because it was so familiar.

For exponential progress on other instruments - NB many of these are as an adult:

Violin to piano was hard.

Violin to viola was really, really easy. No surprises!

Violin to cello is harder than might be expected. Principals are the same but bowhold, fingering etc. are different. However, I did dive in with grade 5 repertoire, which may explain why it feels so hard. I struggle with tone production and controlling dynamics.

Violin (and recorder) to flute was easy up to a certain point. I can attempt grade 8 repertoire but really am probably around grade 6, on little practise and no lessons. I tongue as I would bow, which seems to work, and I know how to listen for good intonation and tone quality. I have good breath control already from choral experience.

Piano to (lever)harp has been harder than expected, although I don't have a teacher. I tend to look at my hands a lot. Most of my repertoire is at around grade 3 level, although because I play very confidently and musically people usually think I'm better than I am. I can sightread fluently at that level, however, and play individual pieces that are harder if I've practised them, as long as they don't require lots of lever changes.

Lever harp to wire harp is really hard, especially if you play left-hand-high.

Violin to viola da gamba is weirdly easier than violin to cello, though I tended to play a smaller one back in the day (treble to tenor, not bass viol).

Brass instruments are impossible, as is guitar.

Oh, and piano to organ is quite easy though lots of people are scared of the organ for some reason. And yes, I use feet. The Keller books are really good for that because they assume you can already play piano.

And the harp thing may be easier if one could actually play the other harp properly in the first place ;-)

I think taking up new instruments as an adult is not the same (even with substantial musical baggage). Children and younger teens have a substantial advantage over us big people.

DD started on recorder (descant then alto, played about 6 years, to grade 5-6 standard, she was a decent player but nothing special).

Second instrument was guitar. Reading music and understanding rhythm was an advantage of course but otherwise there wasn't any obvious cross-over benefit from recorder.

Third instrument was piano. Definitely a huge third instrument advantage here - started on grade 4-5 standard pieces, but within 6 months was working on harder repertoire and playing it well.

Fourth instrument was sax which you'd think would be the easiest due to having the same fingering as descant recorder but mastering sound production and tone haven't been simple.

Has learnt bass guitar and ukulele along the way, both of which are basically just guitars with different tuning so v easy for a competent guitarist.