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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

Spring/ Summer Music and Musicians Thread

981 replies

Wafflenose · 10/04/2016 11:25

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!

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Greenleave · 12/05/2016 12:25

I think forus our biggest problem and make us being less flexible is because we need a teacher who could come to us during the week(and preferable 4.30-6.00) as I usually get back home around 6.30 then a quick dinner, shower/bath for the kids, tuck the toddler to bed. I really like my tutor now as he is energetic, great communication and flexible(to an extend). He has been with us for nearly 3 years so I am hoping he will stay and help with the toddler later on too(well she is even more active, she doesnt stand, she hangs upside down on the sofa almost all the times and shediesnt walk, she just runs top speed(I know, sigh!).
It shouldnt be stressful I know, it should be only slightly challenging and a tiny bit stretched. If I see a sign of stressful then I will definitely cut it down as we are not very musical, we only learn it to enjoy and appreciate it

onlymusic · 12/05/2016 14:07

Oh, Greenleave, it is very kind of you to say, but think about your own dd (or other children in this thread!), she is the same sort of level with piano and theory and those two are more difficult!
Sounds like you have a really good arrangement with your teacher, it is not that easy to find flexibility nowadays, I would definitely stick to him for the time being. I also think that teachers are more tolerant to mischief if they were teaching a child from an early age...

lucysnowe · 12/05/2016 15:47

Thankyou howabout very interesting. I know next to nothing about brass so will have to gen up. There are a few music shops around that rent cornets AFAIK so something to consider.

teacherwith2kids · 12/05/2016 18:18

Heard today that DS's clarinet exam was a Merit (apparently they get moderated, but it seems likely that his level will stay because it's not particularly close to either of the borders).

Right, audition next step.

NeverEverAnythingEver · 12/05/2016 18:32

No drama this week at practice times. A miracle.

But the older one is getting the hang of a nice crescendo on the piano. And he can refrain from going faster at the same time. Grin

Mistigri · 12/05/2016 18:58

On the subject of practice audits, DD only got back from school 20 mins ago and she has already eaten, and is now getting down to the serious business of "giving herself a little concert" Grin (guitar and singing). NewLife's DH definitely wouldn't count this as practice.

She had her piano lesson today and after getting her supposedly obligatory exam piece performance-ready over our spring holidays, it turns out that she is not taking an exam this year after all Hmm. There is supposed to be a formal audition/ exam in front of a jury, for students completing the first "cycle" of study (approx grade 4), but the conservatoire director has now decided that she is already de facto in cycle 2 so there is no point in her doing the exam. Instead, she is being asked to play her Chopin nocturne at a concert. DD (who is infuriatingly casual about this sort of thing) has no idea where or when. It makes planning very difficult.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/05/2016 19:03

That's cool, Misti! I hope she continues to enjoy giving herself little concerts! I do it all the time!

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NewLife4Me · 12/05/2016 19:06

Misti

Your dd sounds so much like mine, it does make any planning difficult, I sympathise.

Ha Ha, no little concerts until practice is done Grin

teacher Well done to your ds, what audition is next. I'm sorry but there's so many now, I forget what went before?
He sounds like a whizz on clarinet Grin

teacherwith2kids · 12/05/2016 19:13

Sorry, should have said. County-level senior jazz orchestra. May well not get in this time, in which case the plan is to accelerate his grade 6 saxophone plans and audition on that instead in January.

NewLife4Me · 12/05/2016 19:24

teacher

I can remember now Grin
When is it? Is he fine for preparation?
grade 6 sax has got some lovely pieces on the syllabus.
Would he audition on clarinet now?

Sorry for the questions Grin I love Jazz orchestras and bands.
I'm hoping some more girls start at dd school or within the next 2 years they all leave and she'll be the only one Sad All other girls are 6th form.

teacherwith2kids · 12/05/2016 19:31

Yes, auditioning on clarinet, over the next couple of weeks. Has already been to two trial rehearsals, as they follow on from his existing jazz band.

He's already 'known' within that little world, being an enthusiastic soloist for the second tier hand, and having been a member of the overall jazz centre for a long time (since they had a junior jazz band which took him in when he was 10 and had been kicked out of the local football academy). It's just whether he is ready for the senior band or in that awkward in between of being 'a bit above the second group but not quite ready for the first'.

NewLife4Me · 12/05/2016 19:37

can he improvise and take solo's. I know that this used to be the part of the audition that a lot used to dislike.
If he is quite confident then he'll be fine, they can't all be expected to be Charlir Parker.

Dd had her Jazz assessment and after the panic said it went quite well.
Little does she know that her assessor is yet another colleague of dh, who text him immediately after.
So when she called later we told her what he'd asked her to do etc and she was so freaked out Grin We are so cruel.

Fleurdelise · 12/05/2016 19:49

Misti if your DD is playing the Chopin Nocturnes she's definitely higher than grade 4, the only grade 4 Chopin I found and the teacher recommended at grade four are a couple of preludes which apparently are more towards grade 5 level but can be approached by a grade 4. I can't wait till DD will be able to play the Waltzes, I just love them. In the meantime can you get your DD to play them and post it on FB as I love them so much?Grin Well done to her for achieving so high and good luck with her concert preparation.

Teacher well done to your DS for his clarinet exam and good luck with his audition. Sounds exciting!

Waffle how is Goo progressing with her piano lessons? Have you got an exam date yet for the exam this summer?

Fleurdelise · 12/05/2016 19:53

Somebody really annoyed me today with their musical DC competitiveness, I am dying to talk bitchabout it but I can't as I would out myself (which I may have done already anyway) Grin

teacherwith2kids · 12/05/2016 20:14

can he improvise and take solos

Yes, absolutely to both - he's done improvisation as an option in all his [Trinity] exams, and in the music centre and second tier jazz bands at things like Music for Youth and NCBF.

Mistigri · 12/05/2016 20:16

Fleur she's definitely well beyond grade 4, but I think you'd need to be a good grade 7/8 pianist to be confident playing Chopin nocturnes, and she's not! The third page (of four) is still a bit ropey and it's proving a challenge to get it right. She is OK with the rhythmic difficulties (LH triplets with RH quavers and semi-quavers) but she's struggling to get it fast enough, and at the same tempo as the other three pages.

I would love to get a video of her playing piano but she thinks she's rubbish :( She hasn't tried any Chopin waltzes, I wonder if they are easier than the nof turnes?

I don't talk much about my own rather pathetic attempts to learn guitar, but in my lesson this week our teacher made us take turns to play improvised solos for the whole hour. Six months ago I would have (a) not known where to start and (b) died of embarrassment. So there is hope even for the least musical of us!

Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/05/2016 20:45

Fleur Goo is loving the piano, and takes 30 minutes to get through her daily list. Teacher is impressed with her - both flute and piano teachers say she is more like a Year 8 than a Year 5 child - so mature and hardworking. She has worked her way through most of a Dozen a Day book, various warm-ups, 8-10 scales with hands together, and six pieces from a lovely book called 'Just Imagine'. Her teacher told me that if she carries on progressing at this rate, she will end up where she would have been if she hadn't stopped for 4 years. (Goo did a few months of piano with me when she was in Year 1, and was just about hitting Grade 1 level when she stopped, so I find this hard to believe!) Anyway, she's having fun, having to really work at it, and I know it will help with GCSE etc, even if she's not music college bound.

Flute exam is on June 23rd if I remember correctly. Goo reckons it's not going well at all. She has some way to go with a few melodic minor scales, but her pieces sound lovely to me. She's done Grade 6 sight reading and aural before.

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exampanic · 12/05/2016 21:00

O, well just realised today I told dd2 to learn the wrong scale for her recorder exam. She struggles a bit with one of them and not sure why but thought I better double check on the ABSM website what she needs to do.... New one is easier.

Ha, I googled Susan Paradise and first I saw was the holiday website....but will definitely print off some piano scales tomorrow!

Fleurdelise · 12/05/2016 21:01

Sounds like great fast Waffle, really good, I guess if she really likes it and she is practising so much so early her teacher is right, she will be there in no time. That just shows that sometimes it is better to just give up if the child is not ready and come back to it later when they love it.

Misti your guitar lesson sounds good, dd will start some improvisation in her lessons and I can't wait to hear how you actually start improvising. I used to think that improvising means just playing random notes until they sound good enough but I can see it isn't as it sounds really rubbish if you have no clue. I tried. Grin

The Chopin waltz I love in C# minor op 64 no 2 apparently is around grade 7. I checked as I would love DD to play it. I'll have to wait then for another 3-4 years then.

Fleurdelise · 12/05/2016 21:04

Hahaha, well just in case you don't want to go on holiday but you are after some scales flash cards the link is below Smile

www.susanparadis.com

Fleurdelise · 12/05/2016 21:05

And that was meant to say great fast progress Waffle, right, time to relax and put the phone away. See you tomorrow all.

exampanic · 12/05/2016 21:05

thanks, yes I found it and will show them to dd2 (as dd1 would not want to listen to me)

LooseAtTheSeams · 12/05/2016 21:32

Waffle so pleased Goo is enjoying piano and she's definitely doing well if she's already steamed through Dozen a Day. As you say, it will help with GCSE.
I was out when cello scales practice happened today. I am going to insist on a full run-through tomorrow!

PiqueABoo · 13/05/2016 00:04

"takes 30 minutes to get through her daily list ... both flute and piano teachers say she is more like a Year 8 than a Year 5 child"

Hmm Not like my Y8 DD, or at least not in terms of diligent daily piano practice.

It has increased a bit lately, but ignoring occasional random episodes of not-lesson stuff which can be very focused and lengthy, the average weekly total practice in recent years isn't much over an hour. DD's school homework management is excellent and largely invisible, but piano is typically mood driven and I've never wanted to nag her very much in case that put her off. Still she has stuck with it and has progressed well enough, so...

Mistigri · 13/05/2016 06:38

Y8 kids can definitely be more motivated and organised than Y5 kids. It was in mid Y8 that my DD restarted music on a series of new instruments (having dropped music lessons completely 18 months before) and basically taught herself two instruments to a pretty decent standard.

However, the population of Y8 kids that music teachers see is very different to their primary school students. A lot of kids drop out around Y7/8, as homework and travel to and from school take up more time, and as parents get fed up of paying for lessons when their bolshy pre-adolescent refuses to practise. So almost by definition, any Y8 child that is still doing instrument lessons is more committed, organised and motivated than average.

PiqueABoo I think that playing for pleasure - even when it doesn't look much like "practise" - is still useful. DD almost never "practices" guitar but she plays every day and she's progressed pretty well over the last three years!