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!

• looking for not look by Friday

You can upload to Youtube and make the video private (or it might be a slightly different setting), meaning that only people with the link can watch it.

Ah, yes... NCO! 3-4 weeks to go here.

Wow! Out of the loop for too long and now masses to catch up with and so many great starts to the year! I love the videos - thanks for sharing - and would love to see/hear Miniprada's Vivaldi. We're in a whirlwind here of 11+ prep and audition prep for NCO, NYHarpOrch and music schols in Jan. Plus everybody else just doing their normal stuff... I'm drowning!!
DD's NCO audition last year was at RAH and they were so, so kind there. Hope it goes well for miniprada next week.

Well done miniprada!

The schools in our area take pupils on sibling rule, then academics and then a certain percentage of places (10%) get in on music. Seen another school tonight, it is meant to be the best schoolin the area (and the county) but I found it yet again very rigid.

While last night's head teacher was talking to the kids visiting, was addressing issues the kids wanted to hear about such as getting lost around the school, induction day, making friends etc, tonight's head teacher talked academics on and on. He talked at parents, his vocabulary was beyond 9-10 yo comprehension in my opinion.

On the same note the kids doing the science experiments were talking to me instead of DD. it looked like everybody was obsessed with impressing the parents, forget the little kids. The music department and their music support was clearly visible though, there were pianos everywhere, various orchestras, bands and so on. very impressed.

Anyway DD is set on either the school we've seen last night or DS's school, both still selective (same exam) but the results are lower than the "best" one we've seen tonight. I am talking about 82-83% A/C GCSEs compared to 89-90% the best school.

I am happy with DDs choices to be fair.

Loose good luck for the trial lesson. Well done miniprada!
green I got bounce out of the library.
Everyone with NCO audition may the force be with you.

Loose, does it mean you are loosing your money? Awggg! Hope you will find one for him soon, I love hearing about your progress

Fleur: we used to be very confident with maths and could effortlessly get away with it. Since the last couple of months the whole class caught up so fast, few children were moved to prep schools. My daughter mentioned few of year 5 children in the school Orchestra have quit, she is now the only violinist. Everyone is busy with 11+, studying hard. I can feel abit of your pressure. I remember you mentioned that her brother is already in a grammar school and there is sibling policy so hopefully it will be slightly better advantaged. Think about this time next year then it will be all over, just another year.

Waffle, Prada: just read the NCO website and I am so so impressed. Best of luck, it will be an amazing experience and fingers crossed for the result!!!
Drummers: you might finish it before me hahaha, its a nice book however it kinda restates what we all know but cant follow. We dont have 1 thing in our blood/mind: hunger for success and excellence. I am just exhausted all the times, I have no energy for anything extra than now, I'd like my Bailey with my feet up and whine

And so proud of miniPrada being made a leader!!! She is amazing in working hard on 11+, NCO, exams and still be active on her local Orchestra

You are right Green this time next year it will all be finished and we will somehow settle back into normality.

Good luck with NCO Waffle, Prada and TRL.

Prada I'd love to hear mini playing some Vivaldi. You can upload to YouTube private so only the people having the link can see it, "only me" where it is only there but you can see it, and public where the whole world can see it. I tend to move the videos to only me after a while.

If you publish the link here, it's like making it public. Because this forum is public and will always be.
If you really want privacy, you need to pm it to the usual people in the forum. I sure don't mind receiving a pm with a link and I am considering doing it that way. It's not about outing myself as I've given enough away to be totally recognisable by veryone in out life and school! It's because DS is 14, I would have to get his permission and that would bring a whole new set of questions about the forum etc and I'd rather not...
Green I reckon I've got 10,000 hours of laundry chores so I am the world's gold medallist.

I fail to motivate my child, without a motivation then there wont be excellence. We will be wandering for now with hope there is a chance for her to pick up later should she chooses to do so. We dont complain because of so much fun we get from it. After the second rehearsal, my daughter said she could now catch up and she really really enjoys it, there is so much to learn from her friends. We really cant devote more for music in terms of time, she wants to spend time reading more, making mess with her drawing. I am keeping my eyes on her academic performance also. We had our second lesson with our new violin teacher last night and we were told to try for 30mins aday in terms of practice. Even I cant promise for 30mins, we said together that we will try. And I know thats no where to be enough, but we cant do more, we will be just wandering

Greenleave I am extremely pleased with children at your DD's level who do 15-20 minutes, 4 times a week. Most don't. She is doing more than almost anyone I know.

Waffle That's about how much my children practise normally. Sometimes more sometimes less, but it's at least a steady effort, and I think there is a lot to be said for that. After all, I want them to enjoy making music - you can't really enjoy it much if you don't make progress, but on the other hand you can't really enjoy it much if too much pressure is piled on.

That's what I tell myself just before music lessons on Saturdays.

neverever I totally agree. And Green I think you're a very motivating parent - look at MiniGreen's theory result! Seriously, I'm only on grade 4 theory and I keep remembering there is a small child out there who whizzed through all this!
Anyway, happy times - DS2 finally reunited with his piano teacher today and I get to sit in on lessons now! He did really well, just some details to practice and the teacher has suggested if he wants to work through the other C list pieces from grade 4 that is totally fine with her and she doesn't want to rush him into another exam. Such a relief as I would like him to have a year of trying different repertoire in both piano and cello. Exams can be done in year 8 when the novelty of secondary has worn off and before GCSEs!
Green - the drum lessons at school were so cheap I don't care and music teacher says basically do what's best for ds1!

My usual strategy is to say, well, practise for 5-10 minutes. Usually they are still playing after 20 if they are not too tired.

Four days after I hired a clarinet for Rara, we have a very nice Ode to Joy and an OK Jingle Bells. Some honking here and there, but she is tonguing very nicely. Her music reading and rhythm are so much further on than her technique of course - I will try my best to keep her to the basics for a while. I think she loves it though.

Prada, waffle: what happens when you win a place? Then you could perform in a concert? How many concerts? How do you practise for this concerts? Is it similar to the usual Orchestra?(sorry read their website but its mostly about the auditions and how brilliant the NCO is). What commitment is required for it?

Well done to rara. Dd loved ode to joy and jingle bells

Going back to the comments on practice: we try for 6 days a week. 30 on the higher grade instrument and 15 on the lower. Is this enough to keep progressing with instrument 2? With homework, dance (albeit at true "hobby" level ) theory and 2 practical exams looming are we doing enough? Sometimes it feels like this is just enough to maintain her level

Well done Rara! It will be lovely to see the girls progressing at a similar level Waffle

se22mother I think anything is better than nothing. 5 minutes practice is better than 0 min, 15 better than 10 min, 30 min better than 20. With respect to "enough" I think that is such a relative measurement. 30 min may be enough for your DD but not mine, 45 min may be enough for my DD but not another child.

Also as long as there is practice there is progress. I actually want music to be a life time travel path rather than a final destination. There is no rush to get anywhere (exams, grades), music will be hopefully a permanent life companion and sometimes progress will be faster than other times depending on other life commitments. I will support all I can, and music is very much quite high on our priority list, on a par with academics I'd say, however sometimes there are things that are more important and prevent practice.

This week DD only practised twice, the rest of the time we had people over and visited schools. She may slow her progress by 4 days lack of practice

Just wanted to say I have just paid £25 for the NCO audition, there is only place available in Barnes which is great as its near us. The worst thing: I have wasted £25. I am hoping there is a motivation for someone to practise a little the next 2 weeks. What to practise and how to practise...I dont know, will google tonight. Aparently the minimum requirement is grade 4 for under 10 and we might just meet the bare minimum

Yay, Greenleave! The NCO doesn't have a set minimum standard as such - they just let you know the reported grades that other people had last year. They say over and over that the grade isn't important. It's ALL about the performance. Goo always wants to play something easy, really well. They like children with a 'have a go' attitude. They like a bit of personality, and pieces that are really 'performed'. Above all, they love great sight reading. Full membership involves a week-long residential course in the summer with children the same age, and optional membership of your local orchestra (which might not be all that local!) for all ages. Both orchestras have a concert, either at the end of the week, or the end of the year.

I will start a new thread for October in a minute.

Waffle thanks, its nothing to loose for us really, we havent told her about it, will try to make it sound exciting for her tonight then decide what we will play for the audition. My aim is only for a morivation for a little violin practice the next 2 weeks, and to learn an experience. I read the website last night the section for parents. The opportunity of a week away with other musician sounds wonderful, I always thought she could only do it post 11 years old. Will need to check with our old and new teacher if anything they would suggest

And we havent even received the confirmation email if its still an available audition to offer, last night was the deadline and they comes as first comes first serve basis I believe

October thread here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/extra_curricular_activities/2745538-October-Music-and-Musicians-Thread