Spring/ Summer Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

My children go back to school tomorrow, and it's my birthday this week, so it must be properly spring in the UK now, and time for a new thread! Please jump right in by telling us about your DCs' learning (or your own), or by asking any music/ music exam related questions you like. We have lots of experienced music parents and teachers on here, as well as lots of new ones.

I am a music teacher, and mum to Goo (10) and Rara (7). Goo started the recorder and flute when she was tiny (age 3 and 6 respectively), has recently added piccolo, but not very well yet, and is starting piano lessons in a couple of weeks. She has no exams this term, but will probably do Grade 6 Flute in the Autumn and Grade 8 Recorder next Spring. She plays in her school orchestra and recorder groups, South West Music School and NCO, and has her first concert with County Wind Band tonight, after a trial course. She hasn't auditioned to become a member yet, and might not for a few years yet, due to age and time factors.

Rara isn't so musically inclined - she prefers to read and draw, and is also very physically active. However, she is due to take her Grade 2 Cello exam this term, and Grade 3 Recorder in the Autumn - she's currently getting to grips with the treble and loving it!

Trout we kept trying to name the piano last night and nothing came out except black beast. Still looking. I told DD about Clarence the clarinet and she couldn't stop laughing, decided hers will be called Clare though as it will of course be a girl clarinet.

Eustace sounds good, DD has a while until it can become a problem, even if all goes to plan and she skips straight to grade 5 by some time next year I would assume will take another year to get to grade 6 practical so we do have around 2 years to catch up. She progressed faster on practical as when she started piano at 6 her teacher wanted to make theory fun so she has been on all the Lina Ng fun books before actually moving to grade 1 theory. She is progressing quite fast though as she has the knowledge from all the colouring in and stickers she did in the past.

Her teacher agrees to speed it up but she keeps to the graded Lina Ng books rather than the Abrsm ones which are slightly more fun (as they have pictures and sketches).

All of DD's instruments have names - it is very important! She is always very excited if she spots one of her past instruments (on it's, sorry, his, second player since her) in an ensemble - he has kept his name with subsequent players!! Slight problem is she has many, many recorders - running out of R names. Suggestions very welcome as I can only see the collection growing!
Very good news today - and quicker than expected - is that DD is now DD LTCL. Why isn't there a little picture for gin I wonder?

Scare: naming is fun! Many congrats on the good news(what is LTCL by the way)

Fleur: yes I heard of many good things about Lina Ng books

Eustace: wish I know some theory, I intend to learn it before the 2nd one starts

NeverEver - cello stand is brilliant - really makes a difference and DD will wander off to have a quick play without the hassle of unpacking. Clarinet and Sax stands also earn their keep.

Fleur - G5 clarinet in two and a bit years but def benefited from being second instrument plus lots of enthusiasm/practice. So much fun repertoire and joined jazz group early on which she loves

Congratulations on DD's new shiny postnominals scaredofthepianoexaminer. I thought you were weeks off the result? I doubt we'll be hitting Licentiate for a while, hopefully after he's left home because I didn't cope well with the stress.

Thanks for the replies about cello stand. We'll invest in one as soon as we've cleared out some of the furniture in the room!

We used Lina Ng for a while and we found it too repetitive so we are now using the ABRSM ones. But then my DC are a bit older, I think.

Thanks Icouldbeknitting I was resigned to waiting another 3 or 4 weeks but maybe their Easter eggs gave them a bit of a sugar boost over the holidays! Funnily enough neither diploma has been anywhere near as stressful as the grade 8's - so many scales - and the aural, DD will play in front of anyone but ask her to speak and it's a different matter - the last section of the aural was a bit of a trauma for her I think!

Scare: just google to know about the LTCL, wow!!!And plus all grade 8s.

Well done Scared's DD - wonderful achievement!

So we finally got the G5 result; they moderated all three days down apparently and DD went from 136 (which she got for the last two grades) to 126!! Still a lovely result but what a very odd process (and will be interesting to see the score sheet).

Thanks Green and Musicmom, I am very pleased for her as she does put in a lot of work. She is also really lucky to have a fab and very inspirational teacher.

Well done Musicmom's DD, a great result but as you say does seem a very odd situation - maybe the mark sheet will shed a bit more light. I wonder why they went through this - not sure if they pick some at random to do each session - or maybe something particular about this session - new examiner maybe?

We did 5 minutes of theory every night before bed time story, in bed and it was fine. Most parents even without any musical knowledge can work through at least the grades 1 - 3 books with a child as it is exercises the child completes and pretty simple stuff.

Well done musicmom! We had the same moderation for G3 violin as the special visit contained some of the high grades and diploma so I think the examiner may have lost sight of what G3 sounds like . Her teacher was convinced she would get a high 130 score and ended up on a middle merit. Still a great result but when the teacher looked at the mark sheets lots of the kids (even in different instruments) ended up on exactly the same mark....

scaredcongrats to your DD, great achievement!

Well done musicmom for the grade 5 result, even with moderation and still a great result!

DD does theory homework assigned by the teacher, a couple of pages a week at the moment, she's towards the end of the grade 1 book.

Prada- how interesting; apparently dd's mark ended up as one of the highest which means a lot moved to passes. DD isn't bothered (me neither) but given it was three days worth of exams, I wonder if it was fair to some of the children. Apparently it was a trainee and I guess they felt the calibration was off.

Theory - no tips at all, but was o glad when it was 'done' - not that it really ever is of course :).

Scaredofthepianoexaminer I hadn't realised just how young your daughter was, it's an achievement at any age but outstanding for a tween. Does she have a very supportive school?

scared how old is your DD? Sorry, I missed it, I thought she must be a teenager at least

So we have a teacher now for September, we just need to organise the instrument.

The only down side I can see currently is the fact that again, the lessons are private (not part of a school or music service) and therefore no interaction in a ensemble. What is the next step once she starts lessons? Do I look for a local junior orchestra or ensemble a few months in? Waffle do you organise performance opportunities such as student concerts for your students?

Fleur the teacher should know about local ensemble playing opportunities. On a second instrument it shouldn't be long before your DD can play well enough.

Picked DD up from her rock music camp this evening, after the end-of-camp concert. It's amazing what they achieve in just five full days, with groups of often not very experienced or skilled musicians many of whom are writing their own material for the first time. They do group the kids roughly by level, so DD was in a group with some other very good musicians - they had two other guitarists, so she played bass, and sang. I think she actually prefers bass to electric guitar. She's going back for two weeks in summer, it will be her sixth camp with the same association and she says she thinks of them as almost a second family :)

Home now for the second week of our spring holidays and she's going to have to put in some hours on the piano - she has been given her compulsory piece for her end-of-year audition (easy but fast, she says, I haven't seen it yet) and she needs to finish the Chopin too.

Fleur our music service ensembles aren't connected to lessons. They are open to anyone. They are mostly run by Music Service staff, though one isn't.

Look for other opportunities like holiday workshops too. DS really enjoys some local jazz ones. They are very cheap too.

Fleur - google your local music service; most have lots of ensembles from early grades to more advanced. They often do theory group lesson too( ours does) for really low cost compared to 1-1.

Our music centre ensembles are similar to Raspberry's in that they are not tied to music service lessons although the majority of children will have been steered into the centre by peri teachers. DS switched to private lessons some three years ago but still plays at music centre.

There are no named instruments in the house. I do call the bassoon names but that's a different matter. We had to leave his lesson holding parts of it because the bell had stuck (again) so it wouldn't go back in the case. Teacher thought it was very funny. We have cork grease now so providing DS actually uses it there's more chance that it will come apart. I did suggest that he might not ram it together quiet as firmly as he was doing but that was Not Anything To Do With It Mum.

Icouldbe school are supportive and allow her time to play during the day - also tweak her timetable a bit and fine about occasional early finish for extra lessons/rehearsals etc. We are careful about both these things though and don't do either unless absolutely necessary, I don't want her to miss out on stuff (either academics or just time with her friends) or to be singled out (in the wrong way). It's not a specialist school - DD would run a mile from the very suggestion!

Thank you all, Alexandra yes in Herts and I did have a look, nice woodwind ensemble for beginners so I may put her down for that starting September also, I just need to convince the IL to take her there as they pick her up from school.