July Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

Welcome to wet July (well it's wet here) and a new thread. This is the place where we can talk about all things musical, like music lessons, exams, practice and new instruments. I am a music teacher (woodwind) and have two daughters. Goo is 10 and her first instrument is recorder, although on paper, flute has now caught up. She plays flute in NCO Under 11s, has just received the difficult bits she's meant to work on, so is finally cracking on with sorting out her piccolo. She started piano lessons at Easter and is going fast, currently playing Grade 3 pieces, and working through the Grade 2 sight reading and Dozen a Day books. Rara is 8 and far less keen - we are still currently trying to figure out what she really enjoys so that we can encourage her. But for now, she's learning the recorder and cello, and is between Grade 2 and 3 on both.

Goo did her flute exam on June 23rd, and now won't have any until at least March, or next June if I can push for that. Rara will probably do Grade 3 Recorder at Christmas. I have had a quiet exam term for my pupils - 7 altogether. 4 are already safely through (3 merits and a distinction), we are awaiting results for a Grade 6 Theory, and I have a couple of clarinettists still to go on Monday.

Tokelau, well done to your students!
Greenleave, agreed with what you wrote yesterday but withdrawn now
NeverEverAnythingEver talented does not automatically mean successful, but people often interchange the two....

Extremely hot here too, around 40C on a sunny side....

I mentioned about my daughter's maths standard score yesterday and it might have appeared as a boast so I thought I should have kept it strictly music instead :D

Green boast away here

Well done to Tokelau's pupils!

Enjoying the solace of the garden right now. Life is good for the simple things.

Greenleave not at all! The connection of music and maths is another area that interests me I noticed that quite a few musical children are very good at maths too.... Not all though....

green - completely agree with Waffle re pieces; DD played a lower grade piece she loves for a recent audition and it went well. So interesting to see how much they get out of pieces a year or more on. Also ask her teacher - dd's has found her an amazing piece for this Autumn's stuff; it is actually a higher grade piece but completely suits dd's strengths and style and is therefor relatively more straightforward than the grade implies.

TRL - under 10s or under 11s.? ...sorry if I missed it before

U10's, Musicmom1- although she's doing 11+ like your DD she's younger in the year, I guess. DD's loving the regionals so far too - amazing for her to be with other similarly enthusiastic kids particularly a whole harp section to befriend. She's really loving the experience and is very excited about the Summer week. The social side of music is something you don't really think about initially when you tentatively agree to lessons for a small person but actually it's brought our kids the most enormous pleasure and some great friendships outside their normal school set up. Just slightly alarming 'purple entireties' to work through, although to be fair, the instructions say to sort out one hand first then the other and DD1 is a natural at playing most of the bar with the RH then popping in a chord as she goes along so all might not be lost!

Hi TRL - yes music is a wonderful thing 😀

DD is an Autumn baby so in under 11s - and purple patches def a challenge!

What are purple patches?

Also agree re: maths and music. Also languages.

Neverever - purple patches are the trickiest bits of the orchestral pieces the NCO age banded orchestras play on their summer courses; they don't send full scores out ahead, just e purple patches for that child's instrument

Re genes etc - DD is the first one to play an instrument on either side of the family, wasn't even an option talked about in my family,. How lucky she is!

green - we are on,y doing two proms this year due to time - both cello ones 😀

Will you apologise me for posting this?
But this article does look very interesting :)
Is Musical Talent Hereditary?
blog.key-notes.com/is-musical-talent-hereditary.html

By no mean I meant that we are "so" good at maths, however, within our ability it comes easier than others.
I am still torturing with the fact that we have to use our weekends for music to be able to get better and progress and/or in a year time studying for secondary entrance. I know we have to put more work, I am just hoping we could delay it a little bit longer.
Prada: thanks so much for your message you are so kind although she is too far away from us, it will be 1.5hr to get there without traffic each way so we decided that we will save her contact for the future xx

Thanks only I enjoyed reading it.

green if you feel this way then why not wait a bit more. She's still very young and will have lots of opportunities ahead. Weekends are a sacred time with your DC and God knows that soon 11plus prep, homework and more commitments will mean you don't have them anymore! DS didn't join any orchestra in primary, just kept learning and playing at home and a few times at school but nothing too serious. He did one or two summer courses. Music at secondary school has really filled his life and now he's 14 and still in time to have reached a good level and attend JD. What I mean is that unless there's a strong desire on yours and her part, there is no rush to fill her time with more commitments at her age, what's important is that she keeps learning and practicing, and like you've seen, some orchestras won't even take them below Gr5 or 6. You could for example rather than every weekend just consider a one off Pro Corda course:
www.procorda.com/courses/core
www.procorda.com/assets/pdf/Prep_2016.pdf
www.procorda.com/assets/pdf/West_2016.pdf
Anyway, food for thought!

Drummers: thank you, will look at it carefully tomorrow. You are right, the feeling that I dont have much time with her during the week days and we will have to spend time on other things other than "family time" is scary.

Although, she loves being challenged, she loves to take her chance. My guilt since she was born that I never have been a good enough mother because I had to come back to work early(when she was 4 months old-it was the banking crisis year-2008), I work long hours so I cant be with her during the day, cant give her the much needed nag/kick. Weekends so far have only been us spending time as a family. However I know I cant rob her future/opportunity forever, I have to open doors for her to see and choose and try. She loves her violin now and if I dont show her that there is a chance she can try and get better at it then I am being selfish and even worse of a mother. I know what is right to do, its just so bloody hard!

Green - no worries. Stop beating yourself up! You are doing great, and she is still only 8! Enjoy your hols x

I think spending time with your child on a weekend rather than sending her to 100 activities is actually being a good mother. When DS was 8 he would've chosen time with me and DH over anything. Children at that age have other needs and priorities and number one is not building a future, but building loving relationships with their parents, siblings and friends.

I second this opinion. Taking into account very busy lifestyle and working parents perhaps it is more important quality time together? And find a REALLY good teacher instead? who would prepare her for all the auditions and exams/ And when our 8yos are 11 let us enroll them to JD together

Green - I agree too, it has to be something the dc really want to do for a big chunk of the weekend, and at some point not be able to do other stuff (d Dias missed a lot of parties this year) and it has to work for your family. DD - at the moment - chooses music over other things but we keep it under review. I do struggle with the constraints it puts on the family

Goo doesn't know about JD, but our nearest is 2-2.5 hours away, so unrealistic when we have a younger (car phobic) child and a DH who works every other weekend. I am hoping that NCO, SWMS and county stuff, plus the amazing, musically inclined state secondary down rhe road will give her a similar musical education though. She is very much enjoying twiddling her thumbs at primary school - she likes the social side, and the fact that she has plenty of time for her music, a bit of sport, and lots of computer games.

To be honest I was joking about JD as though it is withing commuting distance to us, we have some issues similar to Rara's mutism and till they are not resolved, this option is in question (big sigh)

What's JD?

Junior Department of RAM, RCM, Guildhall, etc....

Oh I see. One of our friend's child is going to that. Takes out the entire Saturday!

I think you need to treat music with respect if you want to be good(and recognised), it isnt the other way.

Only: Thanks for mentioning about JD, its a (very) big dream however why not. Lets plan for it in couple of years once the 11+ madness is over. I havent started here and havent (official) found a tutor yet(found one which could start from spring year 5 however she has to pass the entrance test to be able to have a tutor place). Nervously waiting for my time to come