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 - not sure we are much help; Yamaha to G5 then buffet. Bit sure the Yamaha was any more than other starter clarinets though and has been incredibly reliable and less 'sensitive' than the wooden Biffet which is a harder play.

Dd played a student Hanson clarinet up to grade 5 ( Clara) It was great. She now has their T5 model. We went to their factory in Marsden and she tried about 12 combinations out before we settled on 'Clarence the clarinet'
She also has an A clarinet ( Annie) -a Buffet e 11 which is a county council loan for orchestra
Are we the only ones who name their instruments?

Thank you both! trout I was wondering if the Hanson will be mentioned as I only read good things about it. Really good. I can't say it would be a massive saving but we could buy new for the same price as SH Yamaha and Buffet. Off to name the piano now

Have fun shopping Fleur!!!

I was told today that the other 3 children y4-yr5 are grade 5 for violin or above in our school orchestra and my daughter said their playing are amazing!!! So much to look up to and learn from! I have never known of such an amazing closed world where children work so hard and so devoted and happy to be in it! So happy that she has learnt music, I dont care how far she will go as long as she is learning it and loving it then thats all matter.

I agree Green - I still marvel at the fact that music gets DS1 out of the house and active 6 days a week! That's including the theory lesson.
Delighted to say that both DS2's teachers want to teach him next academic year so hopefully we'll have the continuity and he can continue with teachers he genuinely likes and enjoys playing for. I think I am going to let him off theory this term, though - he has SATS and two music exams and I think theory on a Friday is just too much. dS1 on the other hand enjoys it and is about to start the grade 5 work. He is even contemplating learning piano once he's done the theory exam, but we shall see.

Thank you - DD does enjoy playing, the most useful thing we've done so far is spend a fiver or so on a clarinet stand, so it's available to play without the faff of getting it out/putting it away every day.

FWIW DD has a Yamaha intermediate (I think?) clarinet that she was given by a friend of mine - friend inherited it and had no use for it so is just pleased to know it's being played. We had it serviced/a couple of pads replaced, and it's much better than the local music service one we were renting.

Thank you Alexandra and Rue! Good advice.

Now, I know this question is "how long is a piece of string" type but how long roughly would it take an average practising child to get to grade 5 clarinet? I am asking because I am trying to establish if I should buy a new more expensive instrument or should I just get a second hand and upgrade when the time comes.

So if it is similar to piano and it is about a grade a year, therefore DD would be 5 years on a beginner/student clarinet then I would buy new but if because of previous music experience she takes quicker to get there I don't want to repeat the mistake with the piano and end up spending more (we bought a cheapish digital that she outgrown and we ended upgrading to an upright a year and a half later).

I am looking at buffet and Yamaha again on YouTube and i think both of them are as good. Just need to decide if buying new or SH.

Fleur Do you know yet that she likes the clarinet and isn't really a closet saxophonist? Had we known at the outset that DS was going to stick with it we wouldn't have started with a cheapy BUT hindsight is a wonderful thing. He could have moved on to something else the following year for all we knew.

You may be looking at less than five years to G5, a second instrument moves faster through the early stages because they can already read music. There's still a lot to learn but the limiting factor is not the dots on the page.

The average is about a grade a year. So start around age 7. Do grade 1 aged 8. So I ended up about age 16 or 17 when I did my various grade 8s. I do have 3 sons with music scholarships at 13+ who were grades 7 or 8 on 2+ instruments by age 12 (and grade 5 theory at age 10/11) but that is less common and involves qute a bit more work/practice to get to higher grades at a younger age (although the advantage is that before disillusioned teen attitude sets in they are quite far advanced so it has its plus points).

Good point Icouldbe now I am thinking again about renting or buying second hand.

Eustace I also think it is best to get to higher grades before teenage years, hoping DD to get to grade 8 piano by 13-14. Or at least to play at an advance level. She's currently grade 3 at 8yo so it sounds achievable. We do need to get theory on track though, only working on grade 1 level. If she does take grade 5 practical sometimes next year then she's stuck.

Does anyone use a cello stand? Just wondering if that would be a good thing ...

Fleur DD started oboe as an additional instrument at 11 and within 2 years is grade 5ish. I bought an instrument which would work all the way through to grade 8. The calculation was balancing resale value should she give up against the inherent cost in trading in and upgrading. Clarinets look to be cheaper than oboes so that might change the answer. I don't live near a dealer so opted for a reconditioned second hand instrument partly because new wooden instruments can need more adjustment and maintenance. I use Howarths in London, despite being at the other end of the country. Their customer service is absolutely fantastic.

Never I would have a violin stand if I didn't have too many wee people likely to break my violin. Having the instrument out and ready to play makes practice much more automatic. I think it is also better for the instrument to be out breathing providing it is being played all the time as opposed to on display and gathering dust.

I have been wondering about whether it is better to progress early. I have 2 teenagers and a toddler. DD1 is heading towards grade 7 on 3 instruments aged 15. The older mine have got the more they have got out of their instruments - pay off for practice is quicker, more ensemble opportunities and social side, more ability to put their own personalities and ideas into their playing. I think the danger of progressing too young is that playing may get stunted at the age they were when they got to grade 8 iyswim. On balance I think it is better to go slowly. This also limits the dangers of specialising too early to the exclusion of other things I think.

Fleur I think that given her piano experience and current interest, it could be closer to 2-3 years for Grade 5, but please don't go straight for a new or second hand step-up clarinet - they are wooden, and too heavy for this age group and her size. I recommend wooden clarinets for Grade 6, although not everyone can afford one, and I had a girl last year who passed Grade 7 on a student ebonite one.

Waffle the oboe (Olaf to his friends) was definitely a very much "considered" purchase for us and that was before we even factored in the constant costs of replenishing of reeds. DD2 is a born oboe player because she thrives on having something to constantly footer with. Seriously considering sending her on a reed making course in the nearish future.

I try not to think about the speed of progress - they know they progress quicker if they practise more, but they also have other interests, so they progress as they progress... I do make sure they have a decent amount of practice, but I try not to stress myself (and them) out too much.

Thanks all! Waffle I think we'll probably stick to a SH Buffet B12 as it sounds like it is one of the best for beginners up to grade 5-6 but it makes sense not to invest a small fortune from the beginning, I was looking at Howarths as their take it away scheme is quite attractive.

I am trying to arrange it all before she actually starts as with piano even though some people tried to convince me a keyboard (not digital piano) was ok for the first few months within two weeks of lessons I could see she was not motivated as it just wasn't the same thing.

It does puzzle me sometimes when I hear people in real life admiring the fact DD didn't give up piano as their DCs did, but when I ask if they were practising they say rarely as they only had a keyboard instead of a digital piano, or sometimes not even that.

So I do realise that I may sound a bit a lot control freakish asking all the questions but as DD loves her music it is an important part of her upbringing so I want to ensure she gets the best chance from the beginning including having a good instrument to practice on.

I am lucky that DD is a routine girl, everything introduced in her routine stays there long time so when she started piano it was just the first month that I had to remind her to practice, now, two and a half years later she knows the drill, dinner, some maths practice, piano practice then the going to bed routine where she reads. I have to say she is a bit ocd in that respect, she can't sleep if she didn't read before. So am I.

She has got time off also to do whatever she likes between school finishing time and dinner.

We'll have to readjust once clarinet comes into place also, I hope 10-20 min practice initially would be enough as next year we need to start thinking about secondary schools also.

fleur We are also very routine-driven. Nothing gets done during school holidays! But there's been quite a lot of change for DC1 this year, starting secondary school and having other activities and I think we haven't quite settled down properly ...

I think they need to do 5-minute bursts to start with. But more than once a day is fine by me!

Sounds like a plan Fleur I'm sure she'll love her new clarinet
The new piano ( no name yet obvs as we are still getting acquainted ) sounds lovely
Dd is getting used to the weighted keys and Für Elise sounds beautiful with dynamics.. Very romantic indeed .

Leaving the instruments out made a big difference to dd when she first started playing (and wasn't producing such lovely noises)... She practiced little and often. I find that downside about having instruments out all the time is that they rarely get cleaned/ wiped/oiled etc. You look at them occasionally and realise how revolting they are!

There is alot on theory. Intervals and groupings are our biggest issues at the moment. I read on here many children taking couple of weeks theory courses with flying colour then if you can go to the courses, it might be the best go there. Saving time and get the concepts explained the best. We are now starting on grade 4 practise book and its a big jump compare to grade 3. The plan is to finish the practise book(only chosen doing half questions of each area) then try the past papers. If the mark isnt too bad then do all past papers possible, if its bad then do more on practise book

The speed really depends on each child and to my child it depends on what her interest and inner motivation. As I am not at home till late everyday, there is no way I could control her practice if she doesnt want to. I am holding my breath tight now as she is really into music now and eager to do anything to progress. The cost of it is, less reading time and ofcourse we never do any maths. There just isnt time. Once 11+ and/or SAT comes then we definitely will have to drop this level of practice and hopefully theory is done before then. Its a tough balancing game

Fleur, I taught the yongest children theory - grade 1 one term Christmas, 2 Easter , 3 summer (didn't do grade 4 but we looked at the book over the summer holiday) and 5 the Christmas after but as a child I did theory grades one a year at the same time as I was doing piano grade 1, then grade 2 theory when I did grade 2 piano - both with my piano teacher and that worked fine too.(Im fact I liked theory so much I did up to grade 8 but most people don't).