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!

Loose - definitely go for G3 theory. Miniprada did G1 June then G3 Dec then G5 (twice ) but passing the G3 definitely gives confidence.

I love the chat about Piano, we have one here and it's rarely used atm, apart from dh doing the odd bit of comping for students, he can't play though.
dd hardly touches it and hasn't really got much enthusiasm for it, even with the knowledge that after grade 5 she can join the Jazz course rather than play just classical.
She knows it's important though and what's more compulsory so she does do the minimum practice her teacher suggests.
She said she's doing grade 3 this year, at this rate she may have grade 8 in year 13 just before she leaves.

Prada, Fleur: its an old syllabus book, will check tonight
Oh Loose you have all my admiration in the world, I cant even bring myself to start, I was supposed to then I told my teacher to postpone for 1 month and we try not to mention about it to each other again if you know what I mean. Piano for the posh shed? Pls show us your shed, I will start digging my garden from now
Mistigri: huge congrats and good luck with the house purchase. We cant move anymore unless UK gov changed rule about stamp duty, I start feeling trapped

ok, good idea about theory then, thank you ladies!
Mistigri-I think you nailed it about older learners!
Fleur-yes, it is sooo true about various teaching methods, I know it from experience, however, I also know that it is important to recognise if teacher suits the child as early as possible, as some teacher-student pairs just would not work no matter what

Thanks all, I have calmed down. I'll let her crack on with it, as ever. I'm sure the teacher knows what she is doing, but I think Goo would prefer a few very easy pieces to one impossible one at times! I'll see if she's in a biddable mood tonight, and will film her if so.

Yes to Grade 3 Theory - it was the perfect warm up for Goo. She did Grade 5 two terms later - probably could have sat it the following term, but we didn't know that by the closing date!

Well done, Mini Fleur! I have a girl who started clarinet in Feb who was going to do Grade 1 this term, but she still can't quite reach E or F (she's about 125cm) so we will wait, or miss it out.

Sorry I said Loose for the Theory. Meant only !

Thank you Waffle! DD is still puzzled on the number of scales at grade 1. Cosidering she is currently practising all the piano grade 5 ones (12 major, 12 minor, chromatic, arpeggios) she thinks there is something wrong with clarinet. 😂

She of course love it but she said to me the other day: "I only prefer clarinet because it is so easy, but piano is still my favourite, if only I would have to work so hard and practice so much"

Loose I want a posh shed. There are more people in your house playing the piano so in your shoes I would buy one. But then I am the crazy woman who bought a "real" piano for a 8 year old her being the only family member playing it.

Gilly slow and steady if that is what she wishes.

We have a really good digital piano - think Clavinova, but not. Teacher wants us to buy an acoustic. It is NOT happening!

Waffle I so agree - one important reason is that ds2 plays very loudly most of the time and especially if he gets his paws on an acoustic piano. Must see if I can dig out a photo of the shed when it was first built so I can lure Green and Fleur astray - I should add that both DH and use it for work as well, it's not just for the boys!

We are getting Rara assessed this week - IQ, processing speed and working memory for starters. The school has jumped into action just as I was about to go private. We'll see what shows up - she is exceptionally slow, never finishes tests, can't be hurried, is completely disorganised, can't concentrate long enough to finish a meal and is now lighter than she was 6 months ago... yet she is bottom of the top groups, so school have never taken my concerns seriously. We suspect high IQ, very slow processing and sensory issues.

We have just been to an endangered instrument session and dd got to try French horn, bassoon and oboe.

About half the children will now get free lessons for a year, dd would like to pick bassoon as first choice even though it means giving up gym (whereas oboe wouldn't).

Is she likely to be sorely disappointed by the lessons? The teacher seems great but there will be 5/6 in the lesson (30 minutes) and I presume dd would pick it up quicker than most as she plays clarinet.

Woolleybear - it could be great as I remember local music service did this for French horn and loads of kids carried on with it so it must have worked!
Waffle so glad things are moving at last and hope Rara gets the support she needs and deserves as I know you have been trying to get an assessment for some time and it must be very stressful waiting.

woolley depends how the teacher handles disparate levels in the class. DD has always done group guitar classes where she has often been significantly ahead of the others.

waffle good luck with the testing. DD was tested for suspected ADHD as a young child, tests were borderline but IQ v high so likely some compensation. I still wonder; focus remains an issue.

waffle: good to hear the school has sprung into action. I know this is not a quick fix, but wish you all the best in getting some constructive direction on how to best support her.

Waffle good to hear you are getting the support you need for Rara from school. I hope the outcome brings you a clear view of how to address it further.

Waffle "Knowledge is power" and all that, in reality it means (hopefully) effective strategies to make sure that she achieves what she is capable of. There's no point in leaving it until Y9 when GCSEs are looming,

It must be an incredibly stressful time for you but the results will be worth it.

Woolleybear DS picked up the bassoon as an act of teenage rebellion at the start of the summer and it went back to the teacher last night. It was a thing of beauty and I loved the sound although not the stress when it wouldn't come apart. It is very heavy and he had some shoulder aches because he wouldn't do what he was told and sit down.

Several years ago he took up trombone as it was (at that time) rare in music centre, he had free instrument hire for as long as he wanted it and ten individual lessons.

Jazz piano someone asked didn't they? DH has taken ABRSM G1 and is starting G2. I keep meaning to look back and find the question but you know how it is..

Good luck waffle. Hope you get the diagnosis quickly.

I'm considering writing oboe as her first choice and just not telling her (she was going to put it as second choice). For some reason she found the bassoon a lot easier today, and obviously fingering very similar to clarinet so could get a tune out of it.

I need to not let her give up all physical exercise due to weight issues though obviously I'm not telling her that, which is also a consideration.

Good luck Waffle, hope Rara has a quick diagnosis

I'd let her play the bassoon, if that's what she wants woolley. Could you stretch to a short individual lesson if she outgrows the group ones?

For your viewing pleasure (and any comments about technique or lack thereof would be welcome)... Goo. Also, Rara, after a few days of huffing and puffing away at the trumpet - she's doing whole class Wider Opps lessons.

Good luck to Rara, Waffle. If you ever decide to go private again, consider this
www.potentialplusuk.org/
They are supposed to be very good, the people who tested children with them are very happy with the reports which are very detailed and helpful, they can provide recommendations for school too. I find their prices quite affordable too in comparison with similar testing places. I am thinking to test my dd with them too at some point (she was tested through the NHS but it was some time ago, want to do a formal IQ test now). Basically the same problem - high score and number of issues underneath.

Oh lovely videos Waffle! Cannot really say too much about technique as I don't think any of our teachers ever taught it in a formal way, but in Czerny video hands are a bit low, should be a bit more curly I think, but she only started so it is not a big issue I think.
I enjoyed the valse - I think she feels the mood of the piece and tries to pass it to the listeners. Excellent job all together!
Rara is very sweet and I had impression that she and my dd would get on very well! Does she have long fingers? Another piano player perhaps?

Waffle I am impressed with Goo, can't comment on technique as I am an amateur and I can one see what DD's teacher's input is when she talks to DD but I am unable to spot mistakes (if there were any). For my untrained ear she sounds really good after just 5 months. And you can see the age difference in my opinion between a 10 yo beginner and a 6 yo one. She already has the melody in her right hand and the body feeling the music. Rara is so sweet, I loved the puffing on the trumpet! And I love her smile.

Not sure about long fingers, but she is short and skinny. About 4'1" or slightly more, and 3 stone 10 pounds at 8.4 years. She tinkers with piano and trumpet, but is much further on with recorder and cello - working towards Grade 3.

Thanks for the feedback about Goo and also recommendations for Rara if needed.

Hahaha, Rara is super sweet!!!
Goo def has long fingers(so jealous) and she doesnt have problem with reaching notes at all I can see. My nearly 9 years old have not so long fingers and we have problem when it requires to play both the 1st and 5th fingers. I dont know about technique either, it sounds very nice to me