September Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello to all musicians and parents of musicians, both old and new, beginners and advanced! Feel free to share whatever you like, and ask away about anything to do with music, exams, concerts, repertoire, practice, etc.

We are all heading back to school and work this coming Monday. My daughters Goo (10) and Rara (8) will be going into Year 6 and Year 4 respectively. Goo plays the recorder, flute and piano (just took up piano in April) and I have slapped a ban on exams for about a year - she has been doing too many. Rara plays the recorder and cello, and will be doing whole class brass lessons during Year 4. She's taking Grade 3 Recorder this term, and is about two-thirds of the way through the Grade 1 Theory book, doing it in her own sweet time and bloody annoying unique way. Goo's main project will be NCO and county auditions... not that she's busting a gut currently!

waffle We did a music exam in the last week of Y6 and I wouldn't recommend it. He had weeks of trips, induction days at the new school, visits from teachers from the new school, concerts, leavers' this that and the other and they always seemed to fall on the same day as his music lesson. If you can, take it in the spring before the end of school madness kicks off or at least go for an early slot in the summer session.

Green - glad you found a good teacher. I actually wanted so badly to be Nadia comeneci when I was a kid (or Nelly Kim). 11+ tomorrow so let's see if someone can manage to save me a fortune in school fees over the next 5-7 years or not.....

In other news, miniprada sat the music aptitude test for my old school on Wednesday and got a call back today for next Thursday. She is going to play 'old' G5 pieces for each instrument as the G7 violin and G6 piano are on track to be ready for December's special visit exam but not good enough for NCO or next week's practical assessment. Speaking of which we are doing NCO audition at the RAH! Hurrah for the posh London venues.

Off to drown myself in a vat of wine before tomorrow where we have to be at the 11+ centre by 07.30am as all kids have to have their photo taken which needs to match the child who has attended the Autumn term because of cheating in previous years. Honestly, what are some parents thinking?!!

Prada, I'll drink with you, (finishing my first bailey just now after a long week), all the best for tomorrow and next week

Ooh I love a bailey's (none in the cupboard though)

I have some Churchill's port I bought in Blenheim Palace this summer...

And all the best for tomorrow, Prada!

Oh drummers, how nice, can I have a glass please!

Icould: great advice, noted for 2 years time

What Green? On top of your Bailey's? Oh you're a wild one.

Thanks guys! Report back after the weekend 😱😱😱😱😱

Don't worry about it green...my dd is always crawling around on the floor at the end of her lesson! And she's nearly 10!!! I think it's a reaction to having to stand and concentrate for an hour! I just worry one day she's going to land on her violin!!!

Ooh Prada that's interesting about the photo - I had heard of children turning up at certain local superselectives who couldn't possibly have been the ones who took the exams in the past...glad they are doing something about it! Good luck !

Thanks for the pointer, Icould. Our summer session will be around 8th-10th (ish) of June, at the school where I work. If Goo gets her way, she will take the exam in March, but it's looking like a busy spring term with the festival and another competition if she fancies it. We'll see how it goes between now and January.

DS1 (6) had his first violin lesson today, loved it and tells me he can play a song already (although he couldn't remember the name of it!)

DS2 would like to do his Grade 5 theory exam this term. He had four private lessons over the summer and has just started a group class after school. He was getting over 90% in the grade 4 past papers and has done some of the grade 5 workbook.

The problem is that I know nothing about the exam, as he will be the first of my children to sit it. Is there just one date each term? Who enters him for it and when does he have to be entered by? And how much does it cost? Thank you in advance to anyone who might be able to help with the answers to these questions.

Hi second! Yes it is a national exam. There is only one date per term. Check with the theory group who is entering your son as I would imagine the deadline is approaching. You can enter him privately yourself. November is usually a weekday evening exam so everyone in the country starts at 5pm. The only Saturday exam is the June one. Cost from memory (we've had to do it twice 😬) is £35. Good luck!

Oh Baileys - think that could be an idea this week.

Good luck Miniprada and well done for the call back - DD has her first scholarship audition this week......i

Green - the right teacher will work with your DD not try to change her attitude 😀😀

Thank you Prada I'll send an email this week to make sure he gets entered. He had to skip his G4 clarinet exam because the clarinet teacher thought the Head of Music had entered him, and vice versa.

Drummers:
Prada: really, someone did it in the past to a 11+ exam in uk? Hahaha feeling like my CFA exam hahaha!

Prada I am shocked, shocked I tell you at the photographs! Although I am sure they're right and people have cheated in the past. Good luck and a strong drink tonight's!
Green don't worry about MiniGreen, she just has a lot of energy. It's a long-running joke in our house that DS1 was about 10 before he could sit on a chair for any length of time without falling off it! He is the calmest person now.
DS1 is definitely doing grade 5 theory this term and says he's only dropping a couple of marks on practice papers. However, I know he had to look up the terms for the last one so I've told him he'd better start learning them properly!
We were the idiots who did two music exams last term in final term of Y6. I think it's fair to say DS2 had a lot of other things in his mind!
That reminds me - DS2 loves jazz piano and gets his best marks on the Jazz pieces. Does anyone have experience of the ABRSM Jazz syllabus? I'm wondering whether to suggest doing one of the exams for fun but I think he'd have to go back a grade or it would be too hard. It crossed my mind that he might prefer jazz grade 5 to grade 5 theory one day in the distant future!

Green glad to hear you found a violin teacher you like, good luck with it. And don't worry about rolling on the floor, DD is currently obsessed with cart wheels and hand stands and that is what she does every moment of her day. Constantly. So she finishes her piano lesson, her teacher walks us to the door, DD is upside down the moment she's out. Knickers on full view and so on.

We're finally back to clarinet lesson after a 8 weeks break. She seems ok and picked it up where she left it. Now ideally DD should have been teaching herself a bit ahead from the book but she didn't touch the clarinet at all until last week so I am happy to see she doesn't need to go back to lesson 1 after such a big break.

Prada good luck for today to miniprada, I hope all goes well. I am getting goosebumps reading of your experience as I know what I am doing this time next year. I'll need a lot of this

I think it's perfectly normal for anyone under the age of 12 to roll on the floor or hang upside down.

I would hang upside down if I dare, but I'm a bit of a coward.

Today I felt like a proper driver, clarinet in the morning, sport after clarinet, and now piano. Hopefully tomorrow we can relax.

Fleur know the feeling: violin this morning followed by choir, dance, a bbq, an extra (rescheduled) violin lesson then holy communion class. Tomorrow: relax

Phew! (Or you lot are being too kind)
I would usually see my friends children around this age are so much calmer