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!

Sorry to hear your dad is not well prada I missed that part. I hope he recovers quickly!

Wow, I'm late to this thread! I have dd who is turning 10 next week just going into year 5 who plays clarinet.

She had her first lesson back yesterday and her and her teacher have selected pieces to use for grade 3, hopefully this term. I had an e mail from her teacher saying they have selected pieces "that are within her capabilities". I'm not sure how to read that, does that mean they are picking safe pieces rather than those that would challenge her? Is that a good plan?

Dd was offered a place to learn bassoon at a Saturday school but we have unfortunately had to turn it down, she is gutted so we are hunting for local bassoon lessons and also starting theory lessons this term.

Prada thinking of you and Miniprada today it is an awful lot to deal with.
Great card, though!

Transition to secondary school has gone well this week. Hope ds2's piano teacher gets in touch soon - he's playing all the time but totally random pieces. Can't get him to do any scales without it being written in a practice book!

Prada good luck to mini! I'm sorry to hear about your dad :( It's such a worry as parents get older :(

DD starts music lessons again next week - guitar is Tuesday after school, don't know her slot for piano yet but it should be in the school day. She may be able to restart theory but it will depend on schoolwork - she might have to do every other week. She has an enormous workload at school this year due to taking the science baccalaureat + a specialist language option simultaneously. Enormous quantities of homework right now, but typically the autumn term is the hardest then it eases up. Will need to make a decision soon as to whether it's realistic to try to record her EP in the October holidays, she might have to delay the grant application until Christmas and do it then.

Prada - courage, it all seems to come at once, doesn't it? There's a bit of an unpredictable nature to the 11plus, hang on in there. the card.

momoftwo is there anopther external orchestra she could join? Could the school form a smaller ensemble for those kids that are ahead, like a chamber kind of thing?

woolley do raise the question with the teacher, but "within her capabilities" does not necessarily mean safe, teacher may be leaving room for progression and the final goal is "within her capabilities to reach", IYKWIM.

Prada Sorry to hear about your dad.

That card is genius though ...

Thanks all you lovely lot!

Well today did not go well. It was a CEM style paper which necessarily doesn't suit miniprada but does suit the hot-housed child, which she is not. She had a little cry when she came out which is unusual for her. She also said she had a headache which again is unusual but probably not a surprise given that they were not allowed and drinks or snacks on an 08.30 start. When I pointed out she had more stressful exams which she had passed (G5 theory and a GCSE) she said between sobs "but they were easier" so I think the grandad situation has got to her unfortunately anyway it's not the school she really wants to go to so all is not lost!

Oh Prada hopefully you dad will recover soon, we have a very closed family too so, its so worrying!
Best of luck to miniPrada, we never know, usually overconfident one screws things, knowing bits that we cant do meaning knowing for sure the right answer the bits that we could do and she might have done well, and its no pressure as you are aiming for Indies too.(we might take grama for experiences like you, there is only 1 exam anyway)
I have a problem with my over confident child and last week I gave her some arithmetics to do and she did it in 20 mins and half if them were wrong, half of the wrong ones were due to careless mistake. We might need a tutor earlier because the solving techniques required someone who know it well(not in terms if difficulty as its only primary more in terms of working with primary school children)
In terms of music, we are working on scales these days, sooooo manyyyy of scales, how do we memorise them in 8 weeks

Thanks Green. Choose a key a day for scales and arpeggios and only do those. Too many and they give up!

Prada Hope Miniprada is feeling a bit better now. Very wrong not to allow them at least a drink and definitely just see it as a practice paper as PP have said. and it may well turn out that she's done much better than she thinks she has!
DS2's piano teacher got in touch and he starts next Friday all being well, so that's a great relief! time to get home from work, quickly refuel DS2 and head out again.
Mistigri your DD is just amazing! DS1 doesn't seem to have much homework at the moment but he is totally loving all his subjects and pleased with allocated teachers. He is going to do grade 5 theory in November, so he may have to do quite a bit of swotting over half term but I think he will pass - and if he doesn't he can retake it!

Hi Prada - hope DD has cheered up. We are a CEM area too - as you know it is all about speed speed speed, and many a very bright child doesn't respond well to the format. Speed is also some thing that can be improved with much tutoring, as is learning long lists of vocab with no context. It is a tough exam, and in our area many ctutored children have to jerk tutors into secondary school to keep up. But I guess there is no perfect exam for all. We prefer the non-multiple choice exams as at least you can argue your view! (Ps DD says def harder than G5!!!).

Keep tutors not jerk!!

Thanks musicmom! I agree most of the kids there looked like they had been tutored to within an inch of their lives....doesn't make you well-rounded or capable of bring able to keep up once you get there

My friend's son took 11+ tests the last week or so and also today, he is very bright, registered as gifted at school and tutored from year 4 and just met them today and they said its so so stressful and they are not confident at all. The world has gone mad...best of luck again to miniPrada and miniMusic mum(thanks for the scale advice, will try to have a special scale day from next week. Will make a jar also)

I have two DDs. DD1 has just started Y7 having been lucky enough to get a music place at a local secondary, plays trumpet and is starting at a JD next week. DD2 is seven and has had a few recorder lessons but is hoping to start learning a brass instrument next week.

Because DD1 and her trumpet will no longer be together at school I'm looking for a gps tracker I can store in her instrument case so that if she leaves it on the bus/it gets relocated at school, we can track it down. Most of the trackers I've seen use Bluetooth and so have a small range. I'm not after something that will alert me whenever the trumpet and DD have separated but something that means I can identify where it's been left.

Any ideas? We're Android users and would prefer something that doesn't require a subscription.I'm hoping one of you knows about these things!

Entrance exam my dc did seemed quite ok. They were quite excited about the hot chocolate and cookies they got at break time....

Prada, just caught up on thread. Tough on you all re your dad and the process mini is enduring for the next few months. The first exam is always the hardest . Keep strong, and maintain that sense of humour. The card had your name on it!

Good luck to the others also enduring the same exam pain in the coming months...

SE13 isn't there something that you can attach to luggage (was on This Morning) and track online? (il see if I can find it) x

www.amazon.co.uk/Yarrashop®-Bluetooth-Anti-lost-Tracker-Tracking/dp/B0151EQ2VA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473683145&sr=8-3&keywords=luggage+tracker

Sorry I see you don't want a bluetooth one, will try again!!

www.amazon.co.uk/Trackimo-TRKM002-GPS-Tracker-Locator/dp/B01CIDUK1U/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1473683328&sr=8-6&keywords=luggage+tracker

SE13 It may not be as bad as you think, there will be a space in school for storing instruments and she'll quickly get into a routine. Our music department had a lockable cupboard but as DS had a large instrument it lived in the storage room behind reception. In the five years he left it on the bus once and to be fair that wasn't his fault as he was swept off the bus by the press of bodies and as he turned to retrieve his instrument the bus driver shut the doors and drove off. After that I put a luggage tag on in with my phone number just it case it wandered but it never did.

Se13 I did see something in the EE shop which funnily enough I was going to attach to miniprada's violin but not sure if they are Bluetooth or not. If you have an expensive instrument check the terms of your insurance. My home insurance says the instrument must be with the owner at all times so I am looking for an alternative for when she gets to big school as frankly that won't happen!

Great ideas and advices on tracking instrument, we need to upgrade our £80 something from amazon violin too, her left arm has overgrown over the summer now its bending on the violin. I will try the shop you suggested Prada, waiting for another month pay as we had overspent(as usual) this month's