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!

Fleur - DD started on a plastic Yamaha; moved to a wooden buffet last summer but actually still plays both. Yamaha is an easier play when tired; the the buffet has better sound. Def hire or borrow one first and then the teacher will advise. Yes DD progressed quickly as she loved it and played a lot; I think she is slowing right down now - again all v normal for a second instrument if they have started relatively young on their first.

Oh, forgot to say that music service hires - and repairs - instruments too. Their clarinets are usually of the bomb-proof but very beginner-friendly variety - DS moved on to the Buffet one you mention, which we bought him when he reached about Grade 3 (didn't do exams until Grade 4). Similarly he took Grade 4 alt osaxophone on a music service instrument, and his new Yamaha was a series of birthdays and Christmases rolled together.

Hi all, I have DD (14) on piano, violin and trumpet and DD (13) on piano, viola and oboe. They are very much hobby musicians but have started doing piano exams over the last 18 months now I have passed the baton on to a proper teacher. I do the strings teaching in a very low key fashion because the trumpet and the oboe are what they both truly love. They both play in the council orchestra but DD1 moans that DD2 gets all the best solos. We are in Scotland so there are loads of sociable fiddling opportunities. We are also very lucky to be in a brass band area so DD1 is introducing me to the World of competitive playing.

Land I second talking to the teacher about aural and sight reading. I think going up the grades it can suddenly become more apparent that a more formal approach is needed. DD1 improved hugely between grades 5 and 6 with just a bit more focus and working through the sight reading exercises. On using the aural app make sure the singing back practice is done out loud at a good volume as confidence is key. I take credit for DD's scales improvements as I have to nag her cos she hates them. The bad news is there are loads for grade 5 but if the foundations are solid then they start to become second nature.

Waffle: have a wonderful birthday week!

Everyone else and especially Prada, all the best for all exams this term. I wish Prada the best so she will have her head clear for the big 11+/CEM!

I have 2 girls, the baby one and the 8 years old one just had her grade 3 piano done. We dont know if we will take the grade 4 exams, we might skip it however will go through pieces and scales as usual. She also learns violin. She had her grade 1 last December and learning grade 3(just finished grade 2 scales and pieces). Scales seem a big step up while the pieces are not too bad. She loves joining the school Orchestra and has been asking for it, hopefully it will happen soon.

Regarding to exams this term we have grade 5 theory and grade 3 violin.

Similar to Rara she is really into drawings and reading. She is a book worm however still super active.

Next week I am very tight however hopefully I could catch up with everone next weekend. Have a pleasant Sunday evening and a lovely week ahead!

Just back from a weekend away to find a new thread! Hi everyone and happy birthday this week to Waffle!
I am learning piano, currently working on grade 4 and this is likely to be the case for a long time! No exams for me this term!
DS1 (14) is taking grade 5 tuned percussion next month; also plays drumkit (think level is around grade 6) and bass guitar, working on Rockschool grade 6. Future plans seem to include learning guitar and piano, not sure how he's planning to finance that, ha! He is music ambassador at school and has unlimited use of practice rooms!
DS2 (11) is just finishing primary school, has grade 3 cello exam in May and likely to do grade 3 piano in July. He plays in a training string orchestra, which he loves.
Fleur We use borough music service for most of the tuition. My advice with clarinet is go for it and rent the instrument for the first term, just to be sure DD is happy with her choice. I suspect she will love it! Also, top tip, find a way to meet the teacher early on, it helps so much!

Oh God loose I am such a control freak with piano knowing the teacher and communicating frequently (just to clarify, I am not one of those parents, it's just that we have been with her for a long time and she sometimes texts to ask/tell stuff outside lesson) that it didn't dawn on me that I may not even meet the clarinet teacher.

I guess if we go through the music service I'll have to adapt.

I never met DS's first clarinet teacher...she appeared in school, did magic with him + 3 others in about 20 minutes a week and then disappeared again!

I only realised how brilliant she was when she retired and the next teacher didn't seem to manage very much at all.... luckily he lasted only the blink of an eye and the stand-in for the final term until the county music service stopped all peri teachers was DS's absolutely lovely current teacher, who suggested out of school 1:1 lessons after pointing out that as he'd got to about Grade 3 in a couple of years of 1:4 20 minute in-school music lessons he clearly had some aptitude!

Dd (13.. Year 8) plays clarinet , piano and guitar.
She practices a lot . She did her grade 5 clarinet in the summer before starting secondary school .. Then worked through grade 6 level pieces and scales and just took her grade 5 theory. She is now just starting on grade 7 pieces.
She is about grade 3 level on piano... And is taking her music gcse exam next May/June
. She practices throughout the day... flipping from one instrument to another. It's everything to her...It's what she does iykwim.
None of us are musical apart from her... I think this adds to the pull for her. It's her thing.
She has a fairly quiet summer ahead musically. No exams.. Just a nice orchestral summer school to look forward to.

Fleur I'm naturally laid back and it never occurred to me I might need to meet the teacher until a friend told me she'd actually gone into school and sat in on the lessons! Another friend sits in on lessons at the music Centre. I don't do that but I've found writing in the practice book and making sure I do meet them has really helped, and the peri teachers give great advice on buying instruments. You don't need to see them every week for it to work - maybe once a term and the odd emails! One thing I did do as a result was to switch from 20 minute lessons to 30 minutes as soon as grade exams were mentioned, just to make sure everything gets covered.

I still sit in my Dd's piano lessons 2 and a half years later.

Not because she needs me but because of habit, Dd's teacher asked me to sit in lessons for the first few months as she was little, then I asked when shall I stop coming in and she said she doesn't mind at all. So now I find that it works so well that it would be wrong to change things.

I wasn't expecting to sit in the clarinet lessons but good point about ensuring I would meet teacher to enable some sort of communication.

Welcome to all the new music people and have a successful term!

Most of the parents of the kids I teach at home sit in lessons most of the time and I like that - they get to enjoy the journey alongside their child and to support their learning. I think it's not usual though for most people?

I hear some of DD's guitar class, because my own class follows immediately afterwards. However I met DD's piano teacher for 5 mins when DD auditioned and haven't seen her since. We get a formal written report each term though ;)

Did did Suzuki cello so we were expected to be in on everything ; we don't go to her clarinet lessons (not allowed!) and I do notice the difference. We are completely non musical so being I. The lessons gave us some inkling of what was supposed to happen in-between :). But am sure that as DD gets older it matters less if we are not in

Fleur and Green - are you doing 11+ etc this Autumn? DD is - oh joy!!

For the lesson before piano exams we go to the teacher's house and I sit in, which both the teacher and I find really helpful. Also, when children are little, either being there or having good communication between lessons makes a big difference. I am sure ds2 isn't the only one with a very selective memory about what the teacher told him in the lesson!

Musicmom DD is doing 11+ plus next autumn, she is only starting year 5 in September. She is born in August so one of the youngest also. Good luck with 11+ preparation, we started recently slowly with a bit more formal preparation.

Loose DD has selective memory when it comes to what she needs to practice between lessons so I find sitting in lessons a great help. Even though it is all written in her practice book she still looks at me for guidance during practice. I can still just about keep up with the knowledge of what she has to do, so I can help her with the sight reading exercises such as reminding her "you need to check the key signature, don't forget to count, check your hand position" etc. Same with pieces where her teacher comments on her hand position. Not sure when I'll stop being in lessons, I guess when it becomes obvious that she can remember all her teacher's comments by herself.

dc1 and 2 have lessons at their school. Our problem is more that dc at school miss out on many lessons as it clashes with other (sports) activities.
I sit in with dc3 as I would otherwise have to wait outside in the rain. She misses out on lessons due to lack of time, only has alternate weeks, with often more lessons being cancelled (currently 5 week gap between lessons).

Fleurdelise our LA music centre offers free instrument hire to anyone attending who is also having lessons. You are responsible for insuring it but that's all. I'm not sure whether they have a waiting list for lessons but they don't for ensembles - turn up and you are in.

music theory we are into GCSE revision here and so I have encountered Quizlet. It's a flash card app, there are theory sets already set up that you could be using. They certainly have the music terms for G5 (and earlier grades) because I've just looked - it could save someone a bit of work.

I'll be back later and introduce myself - I have a backlog of chores from spending nine hours yesterday running the musical taxi service.

Fleur our music service offers free instrument loan for the first year of tuition. So something to check before you buy anything. Once we got to the end of this I opted to buy a second hand instrument. In our case although there is no VAT back scheme for second hand it was cheaper than buying new and a played in instrument was a better option from a maintenance point of view. It also works out cheaper than renting because the instrument holds its resale value quite well. Teachers are really good at advising on all this.

I've caught up with the thread now (and the laundry). Howabout we are a banding household, they've qualified for the Nationals in Cheltenham in September. I am rehearsing variations on "Hi new sixth form, DS has been here a week but he needs a day off".

DS is 16 and a brass bander. He's recently started playing bassoon for reasons that escape me (I suspect that it's avoidance of GCSE revision) but I'm not sure how serious he is going to be about that. He plays in two brass bands, county wind band, a youth brass band and at the local music centre on Saturdays. DH is a bandsman too, he plays piano and is learning flute. I am the non-musical parent, I drive DS here, there and everywhere, attempt to control the calendar and keep up with the washing of the white shirts.

I suspect that the next exam will be DH on flute, I think DS has done with music exams now until the uni years unless he starts with bassoon of course.

Thank you all! Not sure if our local centre is offering loan instruments but I have sent a lessons enquiry hopefully they will reply soon. It seems like 9 is a good age to start from what I can gather online, she is petite though so I am hoping she'll still be able to take lessons.

Fleur I have just started teaching the tiniest 8 year old you can imagine (was only 8 in January). Her parents ordered a C clarinet (slightly smaller) but when it arrived, it was a full size Bb - no returns, just a total mix up. We went ahead anyway, and it's fine! We're just avoiding the three lowest notes this term, so she doesn't hurt her right hand or wrist - this happened to me, so I'm probably over-cautious.

waffle what is your opinion on group lessons? Apparently our music service offers a max of 4 group lessons on a Saturday, to start with and offer the instruments also. It is tempting from a socialising point of view for a couple of terms but would she learn anything? 30 min only also which makes me think she'll only get a few minutes individual attention...

I hope I will find an open minded teacher like you Waffle I have a feeling they'll see her and say no because she's not that tall.