New Year Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

Morning all, and Happy New Year. I decided it was time for a new music thread too. I really enjoy hearing about what everyone (and their DCs) are up to each term, and it's great to hear from new posters too.

I have two DDs. Goo (10) - the child previously known as MiniWaffle. She's not very mini any more... she's 4'10" and catching up with me. Anyway, she plays the recorder, flute, piccolo and a bit of piano when it occurs to her. She is doing Grade 5 Theory and possibly Grade 5 Flute (if the new teacher deems her ready) this term. Next recorder exam will be Grade 7, but possibly not for about 18 months! Am hoping the new flute teacher will also do a bit of piano with her... we'll see.

And Rara (7) - previously known as BabyWaffle - plays the recorder and cello. I was thinking of putting her in for Grade 1 Theory, but she's not keen, so we'll wait. She is in the blissfully calm position of no exams this term - yay!

We all have the local music festival next month. I think Goo is doing 11 Classes, and Rara about 7 (plus possibly helping with some percussion parts). I have 27 groups, pairs and individuals entered, so am going to be busy for the next month or so.

WOW, wafflenose. BIG Congratulation to both of your DDs. Just wondering Are both attending normal school or you are home schooling ? Can't think doing so much with school.

Congrats Waffle to you and your family, what a fantastic reward for your hard work!

mom17 they go to the village (state) school. We will stay with state for secondary - the local one is fab, and we definitely can't afford private. I wouldn't want to home school - I would have to give up my main job, which we rely on financially, and Goo and I would drive each other round the twist. She Is extremely sociable, high maintenance and loud... I am the opposite!

Congrats Waffle for the great results! You must feel really proud being such a fantastic teacher!

Waffle congratulations on an all-round triumph! It's lovely to hear all your hard work was rewarded and Goo looks so happy! i think your students are very fortunate to have you as a teacher.

Congratulations to the family Waffle, it sounds like a lot of work for you both professionally and as mum but hasn't it paid off?

Waffle - great results/kids/teacher 😀 DD was super motivated to practice last night when I showed her the pic!

That's some medal clean up from your family and students...well done to waffle on a very successful festival!

Wow! Awesome results for the Waffles personally and professionally. Many congratulations, and good luck with creating enough free space to display the haul!

Well done Waffles and thank you for sharing the photo. It makes it come alive.

Well done waffle and family- brilliant results.

I gave notice to the shouty teacher today. Hope we find something else soon.

waffle wow what a haul!!! Well done to your DDs and all your students, and hats off to their teacher!

drummersmum or anyone else who knows piano music - I have the list of Chopin nocturnes for DD's end of year exam. She's going to give them all a good listen tonight, but if you have any thoughts on whether any of these are reasonably accessible (or to be avoided at all costs) I would appreciate your views, bearing in mind that she's a very musical but relatively inexperienced (second year) pianist with small hands. She would struggle more with a technically difficult/fast piece than one that is rhythmically or musically complex and needing sensitive interpretation.

Opus 9 no 1
Opus 27 no 1
Opus 55 no 1
Opus posth. 72 no 1

Wow, I am overwhelmed by your support. Thank you all so much. Fun day at the festival tomorrow - taking a coachload of 42 recorder players from our school. Plus a train whistle, duck quackers, cymbals and more. All will be revealed tomorrow evening, or the next day.

Raspberry we have more recorder classes than we used to - this year they were overhauled and although I'm not on the festival committee or anything, I was consulted, which was very nice.

May I present to you... Rara! She is very proud of her medal, and put it on again when she got home from school.

Congratulations on the fab results Wafflenose! I've read this thread a lot, although I am a teacher and not a parent, but this is my first post.

Just wanted to reply to woolleybear - is she keeping her right hand down over the keys when crossing over the break for the scales? Doing this will make it smoother and hopefully make the breath last a little longer.

I have two grade 6s, a grade 7, a grade 3 and a grade 1 this session - I might have no fingernails left by the end of it!

What a pretty girl, Waffle. She does look proud. Hope she has a good day tomorrow.

It's great to see Rara with her medal - the start of many, I suspect! Hope today goes really well for the school musicians. Love the duck quackers!
DS2 has overdone the growth spurts and needs a bigger cello. Luckily, his teacher thinks she knows someone who wants to sell a good 3/4 so he could be in luck! On the piano front, Stormy Coast is sounding so much better thanks to him actually practising it without being chivvied.
I seem to be progressing faster with the pieces for grade 4 than I remember doing for grade 3. On the other hand, the list of scales is very, very scary.

mistigiri
FWIK:
Opus 9 no 1 - grade 8 - some challenging stuff in this one
Opus 27 no 1 - grade 8 - this is so beautiful but how big is her left hand :) ? Watch Valentina's left hand : www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=JtZokkiSxBM
Opus 55 no 1 - grade 7 - so haunting, requires an incredible finesse and control of touch, good for developing that side of things. See Rubistein's version:
Opus posth. 72 no 1 - grade 7 - nice nocturne, but not my favourite...

thanks drummersmum, she's just back from her lesson and she's doing the last of the four which she preferred to op55 no1 ... I warned her off the first two, far too hard esp op27 no1 (i googled last night and while opinions differ, many seem to consider it even harder than grade 8).

I downloaded the Rubenstein recordings last night for her to listen to on the school bus.

She has 3.5 months, and frankly even having chosen the easiest and shortest of the four she has her work cut out ... I'm all for ambitious teachers but I think this is perilously close to TOO ambitious.

Best of luck to her!

Thank you andantecantabile,

I will ask her tomorrow as I am non musical, I think this may be what she calls "throat notes" which she tends to remember in her 1 octave minor scale but not the 2 octave one she is struggling with! If I put it to her that it might help with the breathing then perhaps she will be more willing to give it a go.

We have just been practicing the upper octave the last couple of days, to improve her confidence and to ensure she is happy with the notes.

I am very tired. I've just made up some school lessons which I had to miss on Tuesday. Anyway, the 42 children played really nicely on Tuesday. Each year group had a serious piece and a silly one: Year 2 - Joe Joe and We're Not Sitting Still; Year 3 - Sword Dance and Pop Goes the Weasel; Year 4 - Galopede and Five Little Ducks (including a sad minor section which they suggested themselves); Year 5 Hi Five (from the Grade 2 Xylophone syllabus!!) arranged for Trebles, and The Runaway Train; Year 6 Rumba (Xylophone piece arranged for Trebles again) and The Music Man, during which the recorder group gradually morphed into an orchestra. A string group from another school won the class, and my Year 4s came second. All the groups had silly sound effects and percussion. I expected everyone to fall about laughing as usual, but they didn't... the whole atmosphere was a bit flat. Not sure if it was the venue or the adjudicator, but they had fun anyway.

Rara played in two strings classes - beginners and 8 & Under. She played OK but there were some amazing musicians in both groups and she wasn't placed this time. Her teacher is impressed with her though, and has suggested Grade 2 next term.

Today, all four of us are playing in Family Music (DH has been playing the guitar for 20 years but has never performed in public) and Rara and I are playing in the Parent and Child Duet class. Both are non competitive, so a quiet end to a very busy week.

Congratulations wafflenose, I don't know how you did it! Hope Family Music is a bit of a rest for you.

Rara surely is a proud very pretty girl! You all deserve a lovely restful weekend, what was an amazing musical week for you!

Well done the Waffle family...Rara for nco auditions this year...?

loose - we have been told to upgrade to,full size cello; DD is 10 so wasn't quite expecting this (bushes has long limbs!)

Family Music was fun, and DH was singled out for being "very competent". We won a medal... between us. Rara is now wearing that one!! Parent and Child Duet was meant to be non-competitive, but a first place was awarded, doh! I thought it was just a bit of fun. Anyway, Rara and I came 2nd because the marks were distinction, commended and merit for the three items, and we got the Commended! So Rara can say she got two 1st and two 2nd this week. If she wants to.

No, she won't be auditioning for NCO this year. She's only around Grade 2, really not precise enough (so I doubt she would be chosen), hasn't played the cello too well this week under pressure, and is not a particularly mature 7 year old. She's adamant she doesn't want to either, although we might think about it when she's 9 or so.