November Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Let's have a new thread for November... I'm not sure if the old one will last long enough. This is a place to talk about music lessons, practice, exams and anything to do with learning instruments/ singing. We have beginners and advanced players of all ages.

I am mum to two girls - Goo (newly 11) - Flute, Recorder and Piano, and Rara (8) - Cello, Recorder, and one month of Clarinet so far. She won't put the clarinet down, so I think we've found The One.

Green if you postpone MiniGreen can definitely do the same pieces from the 15/16 syllabus in March (that was what I opted for.) DS2 loves swing pieces - he's already decided on the one he's playing for G4 whenever he ends up taking it! At the moment he's doing another couple of C pieces to broaden his scope a bit before trying something from the other lists. Problem is, he loves Bow Chikka Wow Wow so much he doesn't want to play the other pieces!
Never exciting! what are you going to play?

Loose It's a piano quintet. Slightly unusual piece so if I tell you I'm going to have to shoot you.

Only kidding. It is an unusual piece and I don't want to out myself if anyone in the quintet is reading. (Not sure why ...)

Never yes, could be compromising! But sounds fun and hope it goes well!

I help to run a lovely festival in S Manchester, info here:

www.hmyf.org.uk

Thanks Loose and Fleur, I didnt know there was an option, didnt realise it was 2016 book. We were given for free the G5 books. We will probably go for it whatever state we are, a not so great result would be an awaken call that we should respect it better and for her to understand that (hard) work is needed

Loose I don't know quite how it will go but it's quite interesting.

neverever that sounds very exciting. I just read something about the second half of our lives should be devoted to culture and creativity.
Thanks everyone for all the fingers you have crossed. I wish results didn't take so long.
Alexandra omg I know the Elgar cellist. It's got to be her. She played Elgar at a festival this weekend. She's one of DS best and oldest friends, her mum's my best friend. I have outed myself so much on this thread ha ha.

Waffle 3 instruments is very very difficult. We are really struggling.

Rara could probably fit it all in, but is sooo laid back. We will practise clarinet today, I'll suggest knocking recorder on the head after Grade 3 and see what she says.

Goo is struggling too, or should I say, not bothering... she has played the recorder twice since an audition in June, apart from helping with my A-Team (Year 6 group, all around Grade 2) at school. However, she has the festival coming up in a couple of months, so will revive some pieces for that. She had her Grade 7 recorder pieces learnt a few months ago, so will use those, and maybe enter for the exam next June if all goes well. I really think she might as well finish her grades, and doing Grade 7 could be the push she needs to crack on with it. All of this, however, depends on the flute teacher... I think Grade 7 Flute will probably feature in next term's arrangements!

Festival update: well she's learned a Gershwin prelude for precisely 2 weeks and had a go with it today. Got great feedback. Also got 2 X 1st and 2 X 2nd. She actually won 15yrs and under including playing the same polonaise as another entrant. In fact she fared better against the older entrants than the younger ones - which is fair enough given that she was mostly playing g7. She got a lovely rose bowl trophy for 15 and under. She's well chuffed tonight!

Green - how funny, miniprada is also likely to do the London chess at Olympia. Her school entered for the first time last year. She had great fun. She's board two for her school. Her best mate is board one and really fantastic at chess. They play each other a lot!!

Good luck with the prep for the exams everyone!

Prada many congratulations for the wins!

And to you too congratulations drummersmum!!

I have passed a new law: one piano sightreading a day. Whether there's piano practice or not, whether there's time or not. One a day.

Prada wow, an actual tangible prize! Congratulations.

Well done, MiniPrada! That's fantastic.

Goo enjoyed the cross country, although it wasn't a relay in the end... they ran all 180 of them at the same time. There were 8 from our school there - the best from Year 5 and 6. Goo qualified in 5th for the school, but was the last of the 8 to finish today - somewhere in the middle of the pack. A boy in her class came 4th out of the 180!! She also played house rugby at lunchtime, and came home utterly filthy.

Rara did her clarinet tonight, and I'm almost speechless - I didn't think she had it in her to progress quickly on anything, as recorder and cello have been perfectly average. I know she's reasonable for her age, but she started them at age 4 and 5 respectively. She is moving beyond Grade 1 clarinet now, after six weeks, and is a natural - something that she definitely isn't on the others. She glanced at the G major scale once, then shut the book and played it perfectly. This is a child who's been struggling with cello scales since the beginning. I teach her BFF, who has been playing for 9 months and making fairly good progress for an 8 year old... she is now about 3 weeks ahead of Rara. So I think she has found The One, and there might be more ability there than I was giving her credit for.

Glad to hear that Goo did well with her runninb and especially Rara has found her instrument Waffle, sometimes the only thing as a parent we could do is being patient and it usually proves the hardest.

Prada: how wonderful and what a lovely award, miniPrada truly has impressed me on her energy and hard work!

Prada that's fantastic! Well done to Miniprada for her triumphs!
Waffle it's really great to hear about Rara and the clarinet and it definitely sounds as though she has found her instrument!

Well done MiniPrada! - sounds like she really shone and lovely to have glassware to take home too :)

Waffle - three cheers for RaRa and the clarinet :) i think it is such a lovely and versatile instrument, and so much ensemble playing - dd plays in a jazz group as well as her classical stuff. As for Goo - she is really sporty!

Drummers - think i know the cello too!

not much news here - last audition for a while next week, but dd has already moved on to some fun pieces; we have our advice audition booked but the day is now looking impossible work wise so we will see. Is it very wrong to already be looking forward to the post Christmas day lull....

Well done miniprada for the win, I bet you are so proud, I wouldn't expect a win in a festival so I would be really taken by surprise.

Waffle so great to read about Rara's motivation and the fact she found the one instrument she is dedicated to.

Green you are so much better than me at these exams things, I would definitely panic and withdraw DD if I wouldn't be 100% sure she'd be ready. But maybe your DD is ready and it is hard for you to evaluate the situation, I tend to feel DD is not ready when her teachers tell me otherwise.

Sorry I don't comment on all the news, I am on my mobile and I forget what I want to say by the time I write my post.

NeverEver a piano quintet, I am intrigued!

drummers we are accelerating the sight reading as she didn't use to do any dedicated sight reading practice pre grade 3, she only did sight reading through her pieces. We then started with improve your sight reading exercises book 3 and she's doing 2/3 a day, on grade 4 now, her sight reading has massively improved since the exam. I am expecting to see the dividends paying off in her next exam as she almost failed it in her grade 3, she used to hate it.

Thanks everyone for the lovely wishes! Well done to Rara!

Green - I'm like you, enter and hope for the best 😂😂 We have 4 weeks til G7 violin. Oh dear.

well, wafflenose. Wish you could talk to my husband, Even he (in addition to siblings) was making comments about" playing recorder doesn't sound very impressive."

Point them in the direction of BBC Young Musician,!

Well done to mini Prada, sounds like a great Festival.

How brilliant Rara has found her instrument. Go Rara!

Piano exams - DS1 entered for Grade 5 piano with some work still to do. He didn't do it. He passed the exam with minimum mark and it was a huge learning experience. I wouldn't pull them from an exam unless there was a reason like injury!

DS2 Grade 7 piano is 2 weeks today. I don't think he's in danger of not passing, but I think he may not get his usual Distinction if there isn't a bit more quality practice. Nearly 14, same age as DS1s piano Grade 5 experience!

My DH was shocked when watching bbc young musician, when he heard "recorder" he started laughing and then he spent the entire recorder performance with his mouth open. To this day he'll tell everyone that was his favourite BBC young musician performance.

You guys are so much braver than me, I wouldn't allow DD to take a music exam if I don't feel confident she'd pass. Academic exams are different but I don't want music to become even more stressing than it is, she does tend to stress prior to exams and failing would be her worst nightmare, I am sure she'd ask to give up.