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December Music Thread

604 replies

Wafflenose · 01/12/2016 10:00

A new thread for December! Musicians and parents of musicians of ALL ages and standards are very welcome! I do try to keep up with the threads, but am struggling to remember who plays what sometimes. Might it be helpful to have a different thread where we could list them all (for people that want to?)

I am Waffle, teacher of woodwind, and mum to Goo (11) - flute, recorder and piano, and Rara (8) cello, recorder and clarinet. Rara has her Grade 3 Recorder exam on Monday, and I have quite a few other pupils entered, but no other exams for us this term. Goo has had a crap time recently, with a wrist injury, mangled fingers and now new braces, so I've pretty much written off any musical progress this term. We have the music festival at the end of January, so maybe she'll be all healed and ready to move forwards in time for that!

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Icouldbeknitting · 14/12/2016 21:31

waffle usually when someone says "it's everything, one thing after another after another" I suggest depression as an answer but you really have had a tough run recently. Hopefully the end of term will give you a bit of a break.

Doubleup · 14/12/2016 22:04

Waffle wishing your whole family a merry and healthy Christmas and New Year. 2017 has to be better!

Paulweller11 · 14/12/2016 22:20

Waffle- I think you need a serious rest Xmas Wink

drummersmum · 14/12/2016 22:29

waffle Wine to a better merrier 2017.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 14/12/2016 22:33

Thank you all! I forgot to mention the prang in the car, didn't I? I am still smiling, and in fact laughing hysterically about something Goo did yesterday. Will try to find a picture tomorrow. I know things will look up when DH starts getting back to normal.

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Original poster
Wafflenose · 14/12/2016 22:38

Ah... It was on my phone, so I can show you now! Here is Goo (my bright 11 year old)'s attempt at making a snowflake!! Rara had made a blood and decorated their bedroom with them, and Goo decided to have a go. I did then show her to cut out a circle and fold it into sixths, so her next one was better... then she cut her thumb with the scissors! She's not very practical at ALL! Xmas Grin

December Music Thread
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Original poster
Wafflenose · 14/12/2016 22:39

A blood? Gah, a LOAD!

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Pradaqueen · 15/12/2016 01:28

Flowers for you Waffle. Sometimes you just really need to see the back of a year and welcome the new one. I do hope 2017 brings a whole lot of less stress for you.

Pradaqueen · 15/12/2016 01:29

Paulweller - love the violin! Can't wait for ours to arrive on the Sleigh!!

Trumpetboysmum · 15/12/2016 06:58

Waffle love the ' snowflake' that is the sort of thing that Ds would come up with dd is really creative Ds much less so unless it's music related. Smile I really hope that 2017 is much kinder to you sometimes things do all seem to happen at once but it's nearly the holidays

On the subject of music lessons Ds now has hridiculously long ones of any where between an hour and 2 hours luckily it's at our house so we don't have to wait around it does include some theory and composition but it has made a massive difference to his playing this term as they get to work on so much stuff, Ds is nearly 12 though now so better at concentrating

Mendingfences · 15/12/2016 07:01

Drummersmum, unfortunately we live in the back of beyond and once you take the local culture schools (basically county music service) out of the equation there is nothing. There are private options for drum tuition in the city but that's a 2 hour drive each way........

I'm hoping that we will be able to come to an agreement where we pay privately at the culture school in the next district where the kids currently have lessons, that's only 30 minutes away by ferry........

Trumpetboysmum · 15/12/2016 07:15

Mending if it's anything like here they will be glad of the money, though sometimes they do seem to tie themselves in knots with rules and what is and isn't allowed rather than what is actually the best thing for an individual pupil. Keep trying I managed to sort stuff out here - in the end Grin

Greenleave · 15/12/2016 08:10

Paul, Prada, gloriously white beauties. And love the stool cover.

Waffle: its nearly holiday, hopefully the whole family is recovered and on full mend.

Loose: best of luck tomorrow

Xmas presents: I will have to do couple quickly this weekend and it must be small so could go into the suitcases without notice.

LooseAtTheSeams · 15/12/2016 08:44

Mending good luck with the lessons. It sounds very complicated!
Waffle Goo's snowflake made me smile. The same thing happened to me when I tried to make one when DS1 was quite little. He then showed me up by making a complicated snowflake that you could hang from the ceiling!
I can't believe how much you've had to deal with in the last few months but I hope the holidays give everyone a chance to recuperate. Flowers
I have loads of piano practice to do in the holidays but that should be OK. Not sure I really want to do an exam in March, it's feeling a bit closer now!

Fleurdelise · 15/12/2016 09:17

Waffle the snowflake is funny! DD loves chopping paper but I doubt she'd know how to make a snowflake.

Green going anywhere nice?

Loose good luck with exam prep, I plan for DD to have the two pieces learnt till January when she goes back so the remaining time is spent on polishing, her teacher insists they should be performed amazingly so let's see what she has in mind. I am now happy about the festival and the wind band, I feel like the music learning has a purpose rather than just learning some pieces and taking exams. I don't know if it makes sense but I was starting to wonder what is the point if she doesn't perform in front of other people.

Greenleave · 15/12/2016 09:44

Fleur: we will be in Annecy and hoping for some snow. Thanks for your recommendation on the festivals, we are southwest london though luckily there are still quite alot going on around here(if I remember to register before deadlines)

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Wafflenose · 15/12/2016 09:57

Still LOLing (if that's a word!!) - I can't believe she made it rectangular!

Goo is curled up under a duvet on the other sofa. GP thinks not Scarlet Fever, so we watch and wait.

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Icouldbeknitting · 15/12/2016 10:19

Waffle, I'd stick the snowflake on black paper with spray glue and frame it but then I'm mean like that.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 15/12/2016 10:42

Ha ha, I did stick it on the wall for a while. I fully intend to keep it, and maybe show it off at her wedding.

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drummersmum · 15/12/2016 10:43

Green the Richmond festival is in March I believe.
loose best of luck with practice and exam. Now that I'm attempting it myself I am full of admiration for you. DS is being very sweet and keeps giving me tips. He explained to me the pattern of all major scales (tone, tone, semitone....etc) and made me look at the structure of the song I was playing (A,A,B,A) and said that's the structure for most jazz pieces. He makes it easier by making me look at the big picture and patterns. It's almost like he knows how my brain works (I trained as an artist).
Tuesday was another late evening. He finished homework at 10pm then I sent him to shower and bed. 30 min later I'm wondering, where is he? He had sneaked into the loft and was practicing on his silent drumming pad! He just wants to practice music all the time now and I feel so conflicted about it. He's going to have to wait till his school days are over... He's loving English at the moment, writing really good essays, his grades are still in the top, so it's worth keeping the academics going and maintaining a broad perspective.
Paulweller that's a cool instrument! Bet it sounds cool too!

drummersmum · 15/12/2016 10:44

Waffle I once had a critic describe my work as: "Simplicity is its strength".
Go Goo Grin

Fleurdelise · 15/12/2016 11:16

Green have a lovely holiday!

Waffle I hope Goo will feel better soon.

drummers your DS sounds like a fantastic teacher, well done to both of you. DD would probably get revenge and shout "WRISTS" at me. I'll wait till she's older before I start learning. Grin

I was just reading about clarinet tuning, Hmm really? You need to tune a clarinet? Quite funny as I have told DD the clarinet doesn't need tuning so now I have to put her straight, but first I need to understand what it means myself.

Musicaldaughter2 · 15/12/2016 11:59

Waffle I feel so much for you! Compared to your term, our arm injury coinciding with NYO auditions seems a walk in the park!! Flowers for you and here's to a restful Christmas and 2017.

woolleybear · 15/12/2016 12:01

We have wind band concert tonight which is a good fun event at Christmas so both dd and myself looking forward to it.

They have agreed that next term dd can play bassoon and clarinet on alternative weeks so we shall see how that goes. They are desperate to have a bassoon player but she's not quite ready to move to the senior band on clarinet.

We (well dd) has decided to do Grade 3 next term, having missed the exam deadline this term. She was given the choice of doing this or missing it and doing grade 4 the term after. I hope she is right, I have said no exams Autumn term next year as she will be doing school entrance exams so possibly Grade 1 bassoon in the summer.

She has had six ten minute theory lessons with her clarinet teacher and she says two more and she will have finished the Grade 1 book, and to buy the Grade 2 book ready. She is really enjoying the theory and listens to her teacher way more than she would me so it has been totally worth it.

MrsWombat · 15/12/2016 12:47

Fleurdelise - I think the Clarinet tuning is only vital if it's being played with another instrument. Sometimes it's just a case of warming the clarinet up to get them to match up.

DS had his practice session with the accompanist yesterday and the grade 1 clarinet exam is tomorrow. He's 99% fine, but I'm not!!!!! ConfusedGrin