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!

Hoping all went well for mini prada today!

to all the "uber" parents on here, of which I am also one. Of course the meaning has changed over the years...

DH used to/still calls himself the chauffeur!
Saturdays are getting far less manic - DS1's marching band is now on Monday nights after his percussion lesson and he's outgrown the intermediate band so it's just DS2 and the string orchestra on Saturdays now!
I shall raise a glass this evening to all the parents of DCs doing school exams/music auditions! Good luck everyone!

Hello everyone! Thanks ever so for all of the good wishes. You are all lovely! All good here no tears although the area was totally mobbed (think 000's of kids not 00's ) and we all looked like lunatic parents who deserved to be in the daily fail. 7.30 am start? Didn't happen which is just bloody annoying when kids have to get up and get fed. Maths harder than expected. English a weird choice of text from a distopian novel which was not age appropriate IMO.

Then we had a 2 hr piano lesson which was ready for the audition on Thursday. Tomorrow we are having off! I am right now tucking into the having forgotten to pick up Bailey's in Green's honour.

Best of luck to minigreen tomorrow at Orchestra. Miniprada bumped into kids today from her orchestra who are also sitting a couple of the same indies that her pals from school are not so it really is great for their social lives.

This weekend is better than last at least....!

Prada I'm so glad that it wasn't a repeat of last Saturday and there were no tears.

We are not back to normal weekend musical activities because I put DS and DH on a coach this morning and expect to see them again on Monday afternoon. That was a most excellent start to the new sixth form, taking a letter in on enrolment day saying that you need a day off in the second week of term. They are playing at the National Brass Band Championships in Cheltenham, if they can manage to fit that in between visiting trade stands, chatting with the music teacher (who is playing) and everyone else that they know.

Someone upthread asked what you do with teens once they've taken G8, they keep on playing. Technique can always be improved and repertoire expanded. If exams are their thing there are more to be done after G8, that's the last of the grade exams but there are higher performance exams.

Is it wine o'clock yet?

Well done to MiniPrada and everyone else sitting tests!

We went to look round the school we've picked for Goo a few days ago. Well actually, we don't get a choice - you can apply for whatever you like, but everyone in the village goes there, but this school was one of many factors in moving here 12.5 years ago, long before Goo was born. Anyway, I am so impressed - it has always been good, but it's even better than I thought. It's extremely rigorous, they work them HARD but there are also around 70 extracurricular activities, including over a dozen music groups, cross country and maths, which Goo will grasp with both hands. We had a talk by the Headteacher, then an hour to look around... Goo spent 40 minutes in the music department getting to know all the teachers, and they just adored her. They've given her the professional orchestral flute part for Star Wars, and invited her to play with the County Orchestra (adults) at a community concert they're putting on in October. The Head of Music also said that their groups are run by ability not age, although it usually pans out with the older ones in the more advanced groups. She says Goo can literally join whatever she wants, and asked her to come along and help with Junior Windband (ironic as she'll be one of the youngest!). The kids sample four foreign languages in the first term of Year 7, and continue with two. There is the opportunity for early entry with Maths, some languages and Music, and lots of kids do this, but I would prefer that Goo doesn't, unless they think she is assured of top grades - otherwise, she can just do them at 16 to get herself the best grades she can. However, the school is DEFINITELY the right one. Now I've looked round properly, I can't imagine why I'd ever contemplated trying to scrape together enough to send her to the school I work at, which could have only happened with a music or all-rounder scholarship, plus a substantial bursary (well, I didn't seriously, but people try to talk me into it several times a week, and I felt bad that we couldn't offer her that) - this school is just as good, there will be more musical opportunities and a bigger group of kids so that she can find her people. Huge thumbs up here!

waffle so happy for you sounds very good !!

Hello Waffle! That School sounds amazing and a good call. Our local school has a metal detector on the door which sadly is no place for a violin-playing nice child hence why we are looking farther afield. It is so important to choose a school that is right for your child and not what is 'expected'. Our headmistress says this about grammars: 'forget the money, if all the schools were free, which would you choose for your child'. So right. Grammar schools etc are great but not diverse owing to the selection method. My philosophy is what will be will be. We are very very lucky we are able to find the means to have a choice at least.

Thanks, that's reassuring. I hadn't thought about what I'd pick if the private schools were free, and it's given me real perspective... I'd still pick this one, even over the nice private school where I work. It would be lovely to know she could earn a music and/or academic scholarship, but there are only about 13 girls in her year at my school, and only a couple that I think she'd gel with. We'll have to keep an eye on the music side as she goes up through the (lovely) comprehensive as without solo opportunities or more events like the County Orchestra one, I can see her outgrowing many of the groups by about Year 8. She'll still want to help out, but we'll probably have to continue with lots of stuff outside school to let her play at her level. She is excited about the school and wants to have another look this week (Open Morning, when the school is actually at work) but wishes she could go NOW, not in a year!

Prada - wise words; we have no non selective local choice that DD would fit either; we will see what the Autumn brings and then -if we are lucky!- choose the best option for DD

Waffle - that school sounds brilliant, and it's great that Goo is so excited. I hope we get a school DD loves that much!

Green - checked our v old Baileys and its unopened but out of date! Will join you tomorrow I think 😀 Enjoy the orchestra🎶🎶🎶

I had a hard week with work, and a difficult day of preteen behaviour, so wandered over to the shop 10 minutes before closing time, for wine. They'd shut early, so I didn't get any!!

Oh Alex: very nice, many congrats to him, massive promotion!
Prada: hope you are now relaxed and forgot all these, there are 2x'000 other parents went through the same thing today. In fact my husband said the other day, will we have to drop music, either violin or piano, swimming, chess, French etc when we are very close to 11+ exam dates. I said surely not, unless it happens at exactly the same time. These stuffs are equally important to her life, she has to learn to maintain her dailies even during a challenged/busy time. That might help her to balance her life better and if she is unlucky and/or fail anything it isnt the end of her life, there is so much else she is equally working hard for and can do (well, wine talking as I had a lovely dinner at my friends earlier).
Waffle: you are so lucky with your school. Our local secondary schools are very bad, in fact none of our local goes to our local secondary school(or no one that I ever known), we are spoiled with so many great Indies though, girls and boys. Grammar schools are great (only 1 for boy and 1 for girl) however super duper competitive that I doubt very much a natural bright and slightly laid back could get a chance there.
Fleur, all: we start with weekend ferry from this week too, I have a privilege of running after the 2yrs old and filling up our fridge etc while my husband does the ferry job. He doesnt mind and enjoys his reading/quiet time(not too sure what does that mean? Humh!!)

Hello there
My DD1 (4 but turning 5 soon) started piano about 4 months ago. She loves it and she's making good progress.

I want to ask how do people find time to help young children practice. DD is too little to practice on her own, so I always need to be present. We tend to do it about 7:30am before DH goes to work so he can distract DD2. Finding the time in the morning on busy days is tough though. But evenings are worse cos her concentration is worse and more importantly, I'm a lot less patient!

Any tips are welcome

Waffle you are so lucky to have such a great comprehensive on your door step! Prada I do wonder if we are neighbours. We have a local school with metal detectors also, no way will I send my DCs there. Luckily DS passed 11+ and is into a very good school, now fingers crossed for DD also. We have some fantastic schools in our area but they all want 11+ exams.

Green a friend was telling me today how her DD needs to put music lessons on a lower priority list as it is 11+ year and academics come first. I said to her that in our case I consider both as important and I expect DD to continue to put a similar effort into both music and academics this year. Don't see why should she give up music.

nwbmum DD started piano later, at 6 (she is now 9) and she always practice in the evening after dinner. It is routine now and I still sit with her when she's practising. Not to explain but to just listen and remind her of her teacher's request. When she began until she took grade 1, so around 18 months, she only did about 15-20 min practice and I found the evenings the best for us,

Prada so glad this weekend there were no tears, have you got anymore exams left?

Fleur - as Karen Carpenter once sang "it's only just begun..." plenty of exams left for the indies now.....somehow though less pressured as there is st least choice.

Green and fleur - those kids I know who have been made to give up everything in favour of the 11+ and by which I literally mean everything ; clubs, sports, dancing, music, summer holidays, play dates, sleepovers, parties and even watching telly !!!!!! are the ones today who looked most stressed / sad. The key in IMO is to not let the pressure get to them. They are only 10. By not allowing them any release for any anxiety is a recipe for disaster. Giving up things they love only serves as a massive reminder as to how big a deal it all is... To the parents. I am sure a lot of it is down to 'boasting rights' I have literally seen it all over the past two weeks including the parents (not the kids) having a melt down at the schools. One woman I saw today was sobbing herself and was being held up by the other daughter and husband Plenty of kids in tears before the exam. Miniprada would not have been allowed to sit an exam she was sobbing about before it took place, you can't expect a child to do themselves justice at all. I am also a firm believer that the obsessive netball/ cross country mums (being on the team in our school is a massive deal...and another thing to get themselves wound up about) are now realising that although you might consider your child as 'in with the cool gang' this actually won't give your child the edge on a school application as big schools don't care. Music however? Extremely useful .

Nwbmum- I didn't actually ever sit down with miniprada. I preferred her to work it out by herself which is ok too. We do practice before school and always have. 15 mins (or any amount at the start) daily is plenty and enough to establish a routine. It is important that your child sees progress in yours and the teacher's positive comments about their playing to ensure that they continue to keep it up.

The pressure from others to put absolutely everything on the back burner to give priority to the 11+ comes around again in Y10 (maybe even Y9 now) when GCSEs appear on the horizon. One of his teachers suggested to me that maybe DS could give up music for a year or two. As it happened DS planned to drop that subject after GCSE but intends taking a music degree so that one was easy to justify. He plays in a brass band, if he walks away his seat will be filled as soon as they can, it won't be there to come back to after the exams are done.

I am aware that the nationally placed runner in school didn't get the same lecture of "Just knock off all your training for eighteen months to focus on your exams". I think they may realise that if she quit it would be very difficult to return from that so I don't know whether it is that they music is less important to them or whether they don't recognise what goes into it.

I think they don't realise what goes into it. National sport brings a lot of publicity to a school and an area whereas music is more collective, although schools are missing a trick if they don't highlight music achievements or recognise that taking part in regional and national music groups and events is incredibly competitive and prestigious! We have this problem with our local school in the sense that music is the poor relation to sport!
So far school has been very supportive of DS1, though. On the other hand music extra curricular is nothing like Waffle's local school, which sounds amazingly good! And it has dawned on me that in the summer term I will have to begin the sixth form visits, which will drag on into autumn, although staying where he is would actually be s good option for DS1!

Loose State sixth form open evenings here start next month (one is this month) for 2017 entry, most of them finished before Christmas. It's all fresh in my mind from last year, now DS has completed a week I'm confident that we picked the right one.

Nwbmum my youngest was 6 when he started piano. I did sit with him at the start of a practice session, but also would leave him a bit as well. I'd keep an ear out and pop in occasionally.

Three DC, at times 8 instruments between them, means it's not really an option so much. But I am always an appreciative audience when required.

At that age morning worked best for us.

Hope everyone with 11+ survives.

Agree about the KS4/KS5 pressure. My older DC will never be career musicians but it's their main hobby/social activity. It was planned for and fitted in.

Extra-curricular music is good at DCs school though, though not to the level as Waffles

I actually encouraged DS to pick up something this year to wind down from GCSEs. He plays football, not to become a football player but to have something relaxing and not academic related.

I still sit with DD during music practice as she expects it, I need to be her audience. Sometimes she wouldn't start until I get home if I need to stop somewhere on my way from work.

nwbmum welcome. We piano started at 7 here too. I am non-musical and did not sit with her. I guess at age 4/5, the key is to get into more of a routine than hours or structured practice...10/15 mins. Then as she gets older and concentrates more, you can adjust?

Thanks for sharing Fleur, Ealingwest, raspberry nice to know there is a pool of resources here

We started early although my daughter was only having fun, our teacher by then was a young lady who taught my daughter nursery rhythm and sang with her on the piano. I didnt sit with her. We didnt think of progress at all, only having fun. For violin it was to the border of giving up then I had to sit with her as I was worried she may develop a habit of giving up while she hasnt even tried. I still have to sit with her for violin now(but she is much older compare to your daughter, she is now nearly 9 ,at 4 yrs old my daughter went to bed at 7 otherwise she would be very tired, I sometimes even didnt see her at all for the day as I had to do long hours). I have heard many people do mornings, again mine is a late riser(we just finished our breakfast now which works wonder for weekends for lazy parents like us) and I leave early for work so morning isnt an option.

Personally I think if you could, sitting down next to them when they start at early age is a must for progressing fast(this isnt true for everyone as if my husband sits with her then guarantee there is max 5 mins practice then they end up discussing something completely non musical)