February Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Overdue again, this time due to our local music festival. I put in 32 entries, and am now finished for this year, but haven't had a lot of sleep recently!

I am a teacher of woodwind - mostly recorder and clarinet at the moment - and have two DDs. Goo (short for Kajagoogoo in case anyone was wondering - and no, that isn't her actual name!!) is 11 and plays the flute, recorder and piano. Rara is 8 and plays the cello, recorder and clarinet. We are heading towards a half size cello soon, and I think we might have found a suitable one. We're going to try it out this weekend.

The girls have been entered for Grade 7 Flute and Grade 1 Clarinet this term, and I am really regretting it, as they are so under-prepared. But hopefully after a slightly quieter weekend, we can all get back on track.

Please jump right in, ask questions, moan about practice/ scales/ attitude, tell us about your DCs or your own learning... and new members/ beginners are always welcome!

Well don to miniDoubleup. Yes he would have been very proud...

Doubleup how special to be able to do that. I love that piece of music also.

With regards to pieces and grades, I think it's been said before that occasionally different boards have pieces at different grades, but they'll be looking for different things.

woolleybear, I sometimes miss some posts when I read on my phone so I just realised you kindly replied to my nosy question. Thank you, and sorry for my late response.

I agree with you - you don't need to be a music scholar to fulfil their musical needs. However, I do think music scholars will have more opportunities to take part in general (as it's probably expected to do so) and for those who love to grab every opportunity to perform it would be brilliant, especially if there is some sort of competition of who to perform at a event (this happens to ds's school - lots kids want to perform so very competitive to win a slot). But it depends on school and some schools have an opportunity to every child no matter if you are a scholar. I hope all will work for you and your dd.

MiniDoubleup: that was very special!

Kutik: I dont mind at all. Different culture, I guess. The only thing I really like in being music scholar is the school will "remind" her with her practice and most likely she could try for "lead" role in music rehearsals, event etc.

I know that we need help, not because she might not bright enough for the 11+ process, its just too ignorant and risky not be prepared, everyone else is equally bright or more, we have to respect the selection process too.

Greenleave , you say 'different culture', but we may not be so different after all. I'm originally from an Eastern country! I assume you are too?

I agree with the importance of preparation. And you know what works for your dcs.

Now, can I be a bit gossipy? I met a real tiger mum the other day. I always thought those horrific stories about pushing kids in a very unhealthy way would be just a myth. But wow, she was a real deal... She tutored her son an hour everyday until Year 4 (scared to ask when she started), then hired a pro-tutor from Y5 and made him study two hours everyday until the last session of the exams. Apparently he did well in the exam, but she said she regretted the way she handled.

Just to clear any misunderstanding - this is not a criticism nor I don't link this tiger mum to the lady who wrote the famous book. I am using the label as it's been used in society.

Greenleave, are you still looking for a tutor? You don't think of using a study centre? My friend's son used to go to Saturday classes in Sutton. He enjoyed the course as he could study with equally bright kids so the lessons were not boring for him. He sat three grammars last year and apparently scored high marks so his mum is confident that he is in.

Thank you Alexandra. Hope today's wheel goes round the speed you can control!

I am at the breakfast table eating and preparing food for an army (aka one swimmer) to last 2 x 10 hours swimming gala weekend. But, I still managed a wide smile at the thought of downloading The Communards...what a great blast from the past tip to get me through the days .

I would agree that examiners would be looking for different things for the same piece at different grades. Look at that Kabalevsky's Clowning! Grade 3! I'm sure it would sound quite different played at different level of technique.

Even now I shudder at how I played some of those grade pieces (those I remember anyway) ...

But music school again after a break of two weekends.

Kutik The "tiger mum" sounds like she does reflect on her own and her child's experience and as such is a "good" tiger mum. It's people who have no doubt at all that's scary, I find.

Alex, hope you have a nice time on the wheel!
Ealing: 2x10, that is A LOT.
Never: agreed with you, that is a "good" Tiger mum.
Kutik: I have a great respect to "good" Tiger mum, they roll the sleeves. I hope I could do better, I am just always tired and lazy. My other problem is I have very little time at home with the kids(1-2hr before their bed time during the week and weekend-which I feel I need to recharge to stay sane and productive the coming week).

Never Yes agree, she is a good mum and she really is a nice lady (I see her every week). What she did was from a good intention anyway.

Fleur I just noticed that one of your dd's dreams is to be an architect. I was an architect and loved every moment of it. Even so as it was in the middle of an art movement (in my country) - I got the most delicious part of the profession!

As some say, I agree that examiners look for different things for the same piece at different grades. This makes even harder for not so musical people to judge the true standard of a performer. I hope all the panels in music scholarship procedure is capable of this.

Having said so, can anyone give me any idea where burgmuller arabesque is normally placed? I thought it's G2 but some said G3. Would it depend on whether you are expected to play at the speed Mr. B set for the piece?

Doubleup what a bitter sweet moment for you. It's one of those moments when you wish that the departed were there to hear it, you know that they would be so proud.

One of the G8 pieces (one that DS played) popped up on the diploma repertoire list two years later.

We are also back to routine this week with music centre kicking off again. The next three weekends are really random (contest, other contest, residential and concert) so I am going to appreciate today with its lack of excitement.

The Bergmuller piece is nice. I was just looking through the book last week to see if DS2 fancies learning any of them and this one is a candidate. I think it's probably doable at grade 2 but it's not outrageously easy for grade 3. (My random guess learned opinion. )

I think the Burgmuller piece is given usually to pupils at around grade 2 but personally I believe that a grade 2 pupil doesn't do it justice. I think grade 3/4 would play it much better

I may convince dd to play it for pleasure after exam.

I also think the beauty of the piece is in the speed played at, I've seen it played by a grade 2 pupil and it killed it.

Wow Rapidly how interesting. Too late for us though
Double how moving it must've been for you! Sorry about your lost.
I was chocked by emotion when DS read something he had written himself at my MIL's funeral, saying how his grandmother had told him so many important things in life, especially how to play poker

Can I just say re all the scary diploma and grade 8 stories Kutik, that DS was offered five music scholarships by five top London schools, two of them the maximum level the school advertised, and he was Grade 5 in both his instruments which at the time were piano and drum kit! So not even a rare fancy bassoon. He had not had a single lesson in tuned and orchestral percussion yet and his singing was far from chorister's level. I just can't believe things and levels have changed so much in only five years. Or maybe they have...Have they? I don't know, he's only 15, it wasn't so long ago He was also given a music place at an oversubscribed state school based on an aural test like the one you described, and to be honest aural was at the time not his forte.
So you never know!!!

Yes! DD got a place in a specialist music school on G5 piano and G4 violin, aged 11. Disclaimer - the school is a specialist school within a state secondary in Scotland, one of four 'centres of excellence'. Very good secondary school though. Holds its own in debating and sporting fixtures against fee-paying schools.

Lots of exciting news on this thread.

Going to DS' concert at his JD this afternoon. Next week is his specialist music school (see above) annual recital. His and therefore my last one.

Finished music for today, ordered the book for grade 3 clarinet as requested by the teacher. Funny enough dd's friend is with the same music teachers and today the clarinet teacher stopped me to say she has noticed a bit of unhealthy competition on dds friend and she'll try to keep them apart on different goals. She said dds friend taught herself the high notes (which dd just finished learning) to prove she can do it just to catch up with dd, but she is jumping over stages she shouldn't as for example she's still puffing her cheeks. They should take grade 1 (friend) and grade 3 dd in the summer but she'll do her best to not assign anything similar as she can see dd doesn't like this competition while the other thrives on it.

I was wondering if she'll notice, the piano teacher is aware already but of course I didn't say anything to the clarinet teacher. It was shocking to see how well she described both and it help me feel less guilty in my frustrations against a 10yo (I can't tell you how many times I heard the "I am better than you").

The teacher wasn't slagging somebody else's child btw, I took both to lessons today and I was told to pass this feedback on to the mother. Not sure I can do it though without sounding that I am slagging off her child.

(Alex, I have some of my original AB piano exam books from the late 1960s and 70s which I must get down sometime. I can't remember the names of the pieces now.)

yes, don't worry about exams and music scholarships. My 3 sons won music scholarships at 12 (for 13+ entry, not for 11+ entry) so you would expect higher grades by then, singing (as a boy treble) you can be grade 7/ 8 - mine and it's not quite the same as grade 8 piano say as you can be a supremely good boy treble at 11 or 12 at the height of your powers in a sense quite young. Also most of the audition is about how you play rather than what exams you have happened to pass. It always says XYZ grade standard rather than must have passed grade ABC exactly to reflect those who are very good but just not done exams.

I'm sure I have mentioned this in the past, but about sitting exams, it's not just the parents determing what happens.
dc1 did grade 3 as first and last exam, never to do one again
dc2 likes exams but won't practice for it, does the "1 exam a year with only playing three exam pieces" (well maybe 1 or 2 extra)
dc3 plays lots of different things, pratises without nagging, does exams in between all the other pieces as a little extra thing.

all 1 parent...

I always thought it was more of the teacher's influence whether and how to take exams. Both of ds's piano and violin teachers are not particularly exam focused. However the piano teacher is happy to introduces one at a right time (but only if the child wanted), whereas the violin teacher is sort of anti-exam, so he never actively introduces any exam to his pupils (he does help if requested). His way of teaching doesn't follow exam syllabus so if one wants to take any she/he has to fill quite a lot of gaps! Hence a few piano exams and no violin exam for my ds...

Drivingmadness Does it happen under the same teacher?