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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

January Music Thread

769 replies

Wafflenose · 02/01/2017 22:24

Happy New Year!

Sorry I'm a bit late starting this thread - I've been away for a few days without internet access. Anyway, this is our monthly thread for musicians and parents of musicians of all ages and all abilities. It's a great place to chat, or to ask questions about lessons, practice, exams, auditions or anything music-related.

I have two DDs: Goo (11 and in Year 6) who plays the flute, recorder and piano, and Rara (8 and in Year 4) who plays the cello, recorder and clarinet. I think we have Grade 7 Flute and Grade 1 Clarinet coming up this term, and also the local music festival and Junior Young Musician competition for Goo. Grade 7 Recorder and Grade 3 Cello are tentatively pencilled in for the summer, but we'll think about those nearer the time. Goo is also in NCO, and lives for it... it's all she talks about, she loves writing to and texting all the friends she's made there, and she is in Under 12s this year. I am a teacher of woodwind and have a little clarinetist who's just got into Under 10s. I hope to have a few more trying out next time.

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raspberryrippleicecream · 16/01/2017 18:12

Hi Acme. I appreciate it's a long way north still, but I can thoroughly recommend the Wind Section in Edinburgh. We did a 200 mile round trip and it was worth it.

We were trombone shopping, but DS1s friend also went there for his Conservatoire clarinet.

AlexandraLeaving · 16/01/2017 18:24

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stringchild · 16/01/2017 20:11

Kutik - associates/reserves and the regionals are absolutely part of the NCO family 🎶🎶🎶 x

Original poster
Wafflenose · 16/01/2017 21:13

Drivingmadness I hope I didn't come across as insulting in the least... but these are families hoping to get anything up to 33% off fees for Year 7, at quite an expensive independent school with a good reputation for music. Some turned up with the Grade 2 piano and violin books. There was one with a Grade 2 piano book who also said she was going to sing a song. Two of our current Year 6 children already have music scholarships, and one more has applied for Year 7. I can't see any of the external candidates getting one this year - the minimum standard we usually look for is Grade 4+ on two instruments, but we'll see. My little Year 5 girl wasn't too pleased with how she played, but my boss was apparently impressed with her.

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Original poster
Wafflenose · 16/01/2017 21:24

Loose Rara isn't having clarinet lessons yet... I'm kind of lightly supervising her while she works her way through two books, and let her know what needs work/ when to move on. She will need a few proper sessions with me before Grade 1 though. She does get 10 minutes with her friend during the friend's lesson, as they have entered a festival duet class together, so they're working on some pieces for that.

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Drivingmadness · 16/01/2017 21:46

No no wafflenose. Not at all. It's just that I feel that we live in a differnt world. Dd has changed school so things have changed. Before she just managed to get 30 min piano every 2 to 3 weeks. Lessons for her other insrtument was at her previous school and given by a TA who only taught dd the same cords over and over again, so she got bored with it.
Another teacher taught recorder, children were playing with their hands swapped around (I guess they were mirroring the teacher....).

Drivingmadness · 16/01/2017 21:49

Wafflenose, in fact I wouldn't dare to feel insulted. You have given me (under a different name) good advice about dd and recorder .

LooseAtTheSeams · 16/01/2017 22:16

Wow! I am even more impressed with Rara! Well, I have taken the plunge and entered for the grade 4 piano exam - gibber!

Greenleave · 16/01/2017 22:25

Loose, how dare you, all the best! My teacher reminded today that there is still an available slot for me starting from this term so I could start. I know I should! I am just so lazyyy!!!

I am taking a break from facebook and all network chats and now including mumsnet for ...6 months. Just need to spend the little time left in the day for reading. Will find you all in 6 months everyone!

Kutik73 · 16/01/2017 22:26

drummersmum - Welcome to the self-taught club! I played a bit of Für Elise years ago as the first go of my piano playing. Obviously I didn't have any appropriate skills to play the piece well so didn't really enjoy playing and stopped learning further. When my DS started taking piano lessons, I played together with him. He loved me playing with him - bless him he was so young that he didn't realise how bad I was! When he started learning G1 materials, I stopped playing with him. A couple of times in the pat, I had a go at Czerny. My DS improved a lot since he started Czerny, so I thought I would follow what he was doing. But it was too boring that I've never learnt beyond No. 4! From the experience, I know I should not jump into a hard piece and would get bored easily with dry pieces. So this time, my plan is to learn lots of G1 pieces. They look manageable with light amount of efforts and also fun to learn/play. Today I learnt the fist line of Mozart's Minuet in G. This is going to be my piece of this month!

Kutik73 · 16/01/2017 22:40

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Kutik73 · 16/01/2017 22:45

How lovely to see you, Wafflenose. Thank you for starting such a thread. I have recently joined and am getting lots out of it.

BeBesideTheSea · 16/01/2017 23:51

Just checking in. Only read the last few posts. Is it too late to wish all musicians and parents-of-musicians Happy New Year.

BeBesideTheSea · 17/01/2017 01:00

When Goo misses a day, she's then a nightmare to motivate,... it will take Goo until early next week to find her rhythm again and stop arguing with us.
Waffle thank you so much for posting the above
That is exactly the same we have with DS (just 7). DH thought he was being super nice letting him slack off practice over the Xmas hols, but Ds is so much happier when it goes well. Which it does if he practices every day.

DS plays recorder - just had to buy a new one as the original didn't have two holes at the bottom (?F). So glad he likes recorder... New one cost only £13!!

We still haven't had the G1 results (hold up as ABSRM have moved offices. Apparently).

And he had his Chorister audition today (he is already at the school, and will stay whatever). He doesn't think he did well enough to get in. But that is somewhat his personality. He was satisfied with his singing , and recorder piece. And was v pleased with his singing back a note from a chord (he says he got the bottom of all the 2 or 3 note chords). But he had to sing back a melody and it took him 6 goes to get it right. V morose. He has never done that before in his life - not sure if they take that into account. I feel like if he doesn't get it it will be my fault for not preparing him. But I am not musical, and all we were told was to learn a simple song, make sure he knew the words, and be.prepared to play a price if he played an instrument.

It took.him (and us) such a long time to decide he wanted to go for it, now he really really wants it. Child taking an exam is so much worse than taking it yourself - I had no idea!

Still, should know tomorrow (external auditions tomorrow). Not sure I can wait that long... Especially if his friends (classmates) get in and he doesn't Sad

BeBesideTheSea · 17/01/2017 01:01

OMG that was long. Sorry. DH is away (in a different time zone) so I clearly needed to get it all out!

Sorry!

Trumpetboysmum · 17/01/2017 06:55

BeBesideTheSea hope it goes well today and you get good news I totally agree that it's much worse being a parent watching from the sidelines I get so nervous on their behalf when ds did his nco audition I had to go and stand outside so I couldn't hear him play !!

Pradaqueen · 17/01/2017 07:10

Good luck bythesea!

Aww Green - we'll miss you!

hapsburg · 17/01/2017 07:15

trumpet been there (for many years!) but I finally got to the point about a year ago where I can listen to DD perform without feeling almost sick with nerves - and holding my breath at potentially dodgy bars! She likes getting a bit nervous because she says the adrenaline helps her performance.
School audition for DD today - but no grade 2 books here waffle! If it's in the same room as the pre-audition I will be able to hear every note - which is good because I know if I ask her how it went I will just get 'uhhh, yeah, fine' Hmm

AlexandraLeaving · 17/01/2017 08:09

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Fleurdelise · 17/01/2017 08:19

Good luck Loose, BeBeside and Hapsburg!

Green have fun reading and see you soon!

Nothing much new on the music front here, DD is joining the choir/music workshop at school this term, working hard on the festival pieces for piano and doing some Disney clarinet pieces she loves.

Grade 5 piano and 3 clarinet planned for the summer term if all goes to plan but the grade 5 pieces have been put aside for a bit while grade 3 not even chosen. It will be quite amusing for the examiner if the exam is the same day as she plans to play Summertime for both grade 5 piano and grade 3 clarinet. He/she will think she has an obsession. Smile

Doubleup · 17/01/2017 08:29

Waffle - not offended in the least, but DD1 was offered 3 music scholarships out of the 4 she did three years ago ( and Highly Commended in the other). She hadn't yet taken her G3 on oboe and only played one instrument at the time, so for the school where she had to play two, she played recorder which she had only learnt in recorder club at school. Her oboe lessons were a shared 20min lesson at the time, but she had had distinction in her first 2 exams. The comments were all about her potential and musicality rather than the actual level she had achieved.

LooseAtTheSeams · 17/01/2017 08:31

Thanks Alexandra and Green - and Green you had better come back soon!!!
I'm wondering about taking the dcs to a taster day for Stoneleigh - it's just a bus ride from us but I'll leave it up to them.
'Uhh...yeah...fine' is DS1's standard response to any question about school or music!

LooseAtTheSeams · 17/01/2017 08:38

Just saw your post Fleur - love the idea of the examiner hearing Summertime twice! It is perfectly fine to be obsessed. The school workshop sounds pretty cool, too!
DS1 has found an ensemble where he can play his bass guitar (borough music service still) but it clashes with his drum lesson so I will have try try and reschedule that now! Aargh! Still, he's happy.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 17/01/2017 10:05

Doubleup well done to her - that's great and it does happen. What has happened at my school this year though (and the point I was hoping to make) is that we have had much weaker external candidates than usual, and in the case of one school, it seems that they have sent along to us anyone who plays an instrument at all, to try out for music scholarships. Once or twice in my ten years there, we haven't awarded any at all. We'll see what happens this year!

By contrast, my DDs go to the village school, and Goo will go to the local comprehensive in September! The village school does get a smattering of Grade 2s and maybe a Grade 3 among the Year 6 children each year... and then there is Goo! The secondary school did apparently make the Tatler list of best state schools lately - no idea if that assessment is worth any more than the paper it's written on, but it made me feel better at not even trying for private schools for Goo. (We have no money as it is!)

Green we'll miss you!

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Trumpetboysmum · 17/01/2017 10:26

Waffle ds also goes to the local secondary school luckily it is good for music and I was impressed by the breadth of music played at the school as well as the standard at the recent Christmas concert. Ds is also really self motivated and so has got really involved we are lucky that they do so much music but I also think it's about making the most of any opportunities that you do have