Autumn Term Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello everyone!

I know not everyone is in the UK, but my children went back to school today, and I have found that having a new thread every few months works well. The school terms sort-of coincide with music exam sessions here - I will shortly start preparing the pupils that I plan to enter for November/ December.

As there are quite a few people reading/ posting on these threads, I would find it really helpful if people could remind us what children they have, how old they are, and what they play. If you don't mind, of course! Please feel free to ask questions and talk about your own learning too!

I'm Waffle and I'm a teacher of woodwind - mostly recorders these days. I have Mini who is 9 and plays the recorder and flute properly, and a bit of piano, trumpet and ukulele for fun. She is a member of South West Music School and NCO. I also have Baby who is 7 and plays the recorder and cello, and would like to play the piano.

For exams this term, Mini is doing Grade 6 Recorder with Trinity, and Baby is doing Grade 2. Next term, they are doing Theory exams - Grades 5 and 1 respectively. I know Grade 1 is utterly unnecessary, but Mini found it helpful to have a practice run by doing her Grade 3, and I can think of worse ideas than sending Baby in for the first time with her big sister. The next Flute and Cello exams will be Grades 5 and 2, but not yet.

I need to change their names at some point - Mini is not mini any more. She is 4'8" and up to my top lip. Baby is clearly 7, so I need to think again.

yikes!

Sixth form visits are done here, we ended up seeing four as the transport links to the fifth were poor. My standard question was about how many students they needed to run the A level music course and how many students they usually have - "subject to numbers" is too vague when music is the sole reason that DS is looking to move. His first choice is the place with the Head of Performing Arts that laughed and said that usually they don't have enough numbers to make the course viable but they run it anyway because they feel it's a subject that they should be offering and they are large enough to take the hit and subsidise it from more popular courses.

My other good news is that DS and DH don't both have music exams on the same day, they managed to get them a whole six days apart. That's another nightmare out of the way then. How is everyone else's exam prep coming along? DH is spending hours on scales and DS is ignoring his altogether. Business as usual there then.

Mine are both doing a reasonable amount. Both need more dynamics in their pieces, and aural practice. Sight reading and technical work are very good. I am also trying to book Mini a slot with her accompanist next week, but it's a bit tricky.

I have one clarinet pupildoing Grade 2 on December 1st, then 8 recorders the following week: one Initial, five Grade 1s, Baby's Grade 2 and Mini's Grade 6.

So, I've been in these threads under a variety of ever changing user names since they started up. DD1 had her Guildhall audition yesterday afternoon, and got a YES this morning! Super speedy! She is over the moon, obviously. As are we. She still has several other auditions to go - Birmingham, RCM and RAM - but right now she is ecstatic. A lifetime's work paying off!

Congratulation - what a speedy result. It's a big confidence builder for the other auditions.

Do they have an academic requirement as well or is it audition and EE?

Uhtred amazing. Well done your DD.

DS2 has his Gold RSCM award tomorrow, which is our only Exam this term. Ten pieces in total, five to perform and five 'at rehearsal standard'. Amongst other requirements he had to write programme notes. The written work had to be submitted at the end of September, so doesnt seem to frantic tonight

Icouldbeknitting it's EE. Which she effectively already has (because of her AS grades) :) Not that's she's aiming to get EE obviously.

raspberry - good luck to your DS tomorrow. We only have one exam this term (well - DS has already done grade 5 theory a few weeks ago). DD2 is doing grade 6 recorders - she was supposed to be doing grade 6 singing too but she had her tonsils and adenoids out in September and we thought best to postphone until next term - in fact, turns out she's fine and could easily have done the exam this term but we weren't sure until after the entry deadline. She has a ballet exam though, and she's in the local profesisonal panto so it's probably for the best.

raspberry

Hope all went well for your ds. That sounds like a lot of work.

Uhtred Well done to your dd, I bet she is over the moon. And good luck with the theory results, if you haven't received them yet.

No exams for dd this term, but she said either grade 2 or3 Piano next term.
I'm pretty sure that singing won't be for a while, but there may be a sax exam next year sometime.

I'm practising daily and sounding better, should be back to about grade 5 standard by xmas, then grade 5 theory which I've always wanted to do.
Trying to con dh into buying me an A clarinet, as already have a Bb.

Uhtred congrats! Raspberry I never knew the medals were so demanding...
Piano Grade 7 for DS coming up. Sightreading still a bit wobbly but pieces sounding good. The Mozart sonata is quite difficult for g7 me thinks!

Thanks Uhtred and Newlife. He says it went OK, 2 or weeks to wait to find out.

Drummersmum its a 50 minute Exam in total including a viva voce. Main worry was having put the work in for the written work (he had to write a short service and a prayer as well as the programme notes) his voice would start changing, which would have meant he couldn't do it.

Drummersmum good luck to your DS.

Miss 9 just got asked to play at the high achievers concert on sax. She is over the moon as last year when she was asked, she broke her arm and missed it. This year her 139 for grade 6 got her another shot! She is working like crazy on her grade 8 scales as she has had a distinction for every exam and wants grade 8 to be her highest mark ever.

Congrats to everyone else on their children's achievements.

New to thread. My daughter is a just turned 7 year old and has just been asked by her teacher if she would like to do her Grade 1 piano. She's only been playing for a year so I'm quite proud of what she has achieved.

She said 'no, thank you' but has asked to learn all the scales so her teacher has given her the grade 2 book. She likes her scales.

So we're carrying on playing Kabalevsky and Czerny, I guess.

Unless she changes her mind she'll be skipping G1 entirely.

DS5 sang in his last ever Senior Recital Competition. Lovely programme of Schumann, Britten, Ireland, Flanders and Swann.
Lovely to see him and his friends performing so stylishly and delighting in each other's achievements

Enb76 sounds like the way to go. No waiting, no playing the same pieces to death. Go girl.
noteven that's a nice programme!

Does anyone have any recommendations for great music to play on the violin between grade 3 and 4 level? My DD is taking grade 3 next week. I'd like an extended break from abrsm exams though I probably will get her to learn the scales. We have a position changing book which I know her teacher will definitely want to work through. But I am also looking for something fun. Preferably with a cd to play along to. She likes classical music.

Try The Fiddler Collections - folky stuff from around the world, with playalong CDs. Great fun! I'm not brilliant (in fact I haven't played the violin since smashing my elbow to bits a few years ago) but used to love those.

Allthetoastisgone-Not classical...but my daughter got a play along CD for Abba which she enjoyed around that level. Sounds dull, but was very well done.

G7 piano exam done! To go straight into G8 to conquer before yr11 GCSE madness or to have a fun free easy gap before and not to care. That is the question.

Thanks drummersmum, the update is that her teacher wanted her to do the G1 for performance practice than anything else, he believes it would be positive feedback. So instead, she's agreed to perform at a pupil concert or similar.

It's funny, she's absolutely rubbish at ballet but think she's awesome and she's actually pretty awesome at piano and thinks she's rubbish.

I'd get G8 out of the way and done. My old teacher said that all the good piano stuff happens after G8, unfortunately I didn't listen to her and gave up piano entirely when GCSE's hit having reached G7. Now I'm lucky if I can play G5 reasonably well.

crashing into the thread I have dd1 who is learning violin - gr1 last year think we are skipping 2 and aiming for 3 in the summer
she also had clarinet lessons in school with gr1 booked for 3 weeks time, I say had as she moved schools 2 weeks ago and currently has no teacher so we are prepping 'blind' and hoping for the best.......please tell me it will be ok in the end!
I played cello to gr8 and DH trumpet to gr5, neither of us play any longer.

drummersmum DH has G8 piano in the next week or so. He was fine with G7 but has struggled with the repertoire this time. Having said that, he's far from being a natural pianist, his lack of natural talent is offset by sheer hard work. You could start now and aim for the beginning of Y12, no gap as such but no pressure through the spring and summer.

DS is also doing Macbeth. It was a set work for me thirtymumble years ago and as such is lost in the mists of time.

Thanks for the advice Waffle and Shakey