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Extra-curricular activities

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

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Original poster

April Music Thread

970 replies

Wafflenose · 31/03/2017 13:38

We've managed to fill up the March thread, so I give you April's, around 10 hours early. Don't use it all up at once!

The music threads are for learners of ALL ages and stages, including beginners and adult learners.

My kids Goo (11) and Rara (8) break up from school today, thank goodness. Rara is off sick at the moment, in any case, but they both need a break. They did their music exams this week. Goo got a distinction for her Grade 7 Flute, and we are awaiting the results of Rara's Grade 1 Clarinet, plus a couple of my pupils. They will probably come on my birthday - the ABRSM ones often do.

Next term, we have a big community concert at the local high school - all the feeder schools take part. Goo could do Grade 7 Recorder and/ or Grade 4 Piano, but I don't think she wants to. Rara is doing Grade 3 Cello. My Year 6 Recorders have been asked to play in the local Festival gala concert, and I'm sure there will be primary school leavers' performances too.

OP posts:

Original poster

Wafflenose · 05/04/2017 11:50

For some perspective, I have put in around 400 exam entries, and have had fewer failures than I can count on both hands (and usually they had been warned, and given a chance to change their ways). With ABRSM, most of them score between 23-27 for their pieces, and we are all very happy with that. Also, 20-22 isn't at all unusual! I am so impressed by everyone's children and pupils, but I don't want anyone wandering into the thread thinking that anything close to 30/30 is the norm.

OP posts:

Greenleave · 05/04/2017 12:01

Violinandpiano: nice singing result!

Wow! Thanks all(and hi five to all lefty---> we are doing it with left hands ).

I have been giving her things to the right hand, secretly switching things she is holding to her right hand. I just simply thought it would be hard with basic things like writting, tennis, meals time(we use chop sticks mostly---she will be likely using them in the future). We will be likely following the basic/easy stuffs that my 9 yrs old is doing: activities at home and with people who can travel to us so sport could be mostly restricted to life skilled one(swimming) and then music and anything else happens in school. Looks like violin will be a challenge one. This one although has much better motor skill than her elder sister. My 9 years old now cant even throw a stone too far(couple of years ago no one would have wanted her in their team on sport day because she threw things back to her feet and didnt run very fast, this has improved much better now).

Icouldbeknitting · 05/04/2017 12:05

DS is left handed. It is what it is, there was no reason to force him to be something other than his own natural self. You buy left handed scissors and accept it.

Greenleave · 05/04/2017 12:08

Apologise, was it miniNoteven who has got 30/30 for singing, wow!!!

Greenleave · 05/04/2017 12:23

We are fascinated with our lefty, she surprises us everyday with so many things very different from my elder. I am not worried or troubled. if she is lefty and simple switching doesnt happen then its all fine by us. Now, what surprises us most is this girl has a voice and could sing well in tune. She sings everytime she is playing on her own, sings with others( in real life or on tv), sings in her bed when light out in her room, sings in the morning when she wakes up. Both me and my husband think its because she listens to so much more music than any of us since she was in my tummy.

Helenluvsrob · 05/04/2017 12:40

Leftie with a leftie eldest, made no difference to playing instruments

onlymusic · 05/04/2017 13:22

Wafflenose totally support you here. Dd had 141 for grade 1 violin and her teacher said that it was one of the highest results her students had, the highest being 148 and it was rather unique. These were exactly her words-it is virtually impossible to get 150 marks (and yes, I totally agreed about pieces). I would not aim for smth like that but rather for an overall good performance. And yes - it is a matter of interpretation as someone said above and this is why I think it is pretty rare though not impossible. After all scales, aural and sight reading are more "exact science" so it is most logical to suggest that students loose their marks on pieces.
Saying that I remember all dd's total marks but have no idea if she ever had 30 marks for a piece - somehow it didn't bother me....

Kutik73 · 05/04/2017 13:33

only, there are also those who collect 90 for pieces yet lose lots marks from other areas. DS's teacher always says that you will pass as long as you play the pieces nicely (she is not a pushy teacher who doesn't mind her pupils missing some marks in aural, scales and sight-reading though I'm not saying it's a good thing!).

Kutik73 · 05/04/2017 13:35

DS is fine with aural and sight-reading (in fact he likes them) but scales are in pain!

onlymusic · 05/04/2017 13:50

Kutik, yes, of course, but those are easier in a way that they are less open to the interpretation :) (well, in theory, anyway). I have heard that when examiners have their own examiners exam :) they have to get 100% in aural to get the examiner job - don't know if it is true but this is what I have heard from one of our teachers in the past.

user789653241 · 05/04/2017 19:25

Hi!
Thank you for all the people who helped me, my ds had his first piano exam today! Phew, we go thorough it...
He said he messed up big time on one of the pieces, he came out happy and smiling. It was a great experience.
So, thank you everyone, especially Waffle, for this thread. It's a great place to turn for help for newbie like me.

Question, please. How long will it be until we get the results? On-line service says for exam this week, it will be published around 17/Apr - 1/May. Is this roughly what happens? If so, I should stop checking emails until then...

user789653241 · 05/04/2017 19:33

got through

se22mother · 05/04/2017 20:01

Irvine dd received both hers within 10 days of the exam this term. But it does vary

user789653241 · 05/04/2017 20:13

Thank you se22.
I should stop worrying...
But it is very new to me, soooooo nervous about everything!

Doubleup · 05/04/2017 20:16

Irvine - glad your ds came out smiling

Kutik73 · 05/04/2017 20:32

Irvine, well done to your DS! I remember I was also so nervous when my DS did his first ever exam. He was tiny at the time, and was enjoying learning piano. I thought I may have screwed up his joy by letting him enter such a thing. I was so convinced he would fail - not sure why but the hurdle looked so high for someone like me who knew nothing about how music system worked - everything was so new to me like you now. And I was worried the failure may put him off. Everything turned out to be totally fine though. Your post just reminded me how nervous I was at the time! DS has done three practical exams in total and I got nervous each time but nothing like the first time!

Trumpetboysmum · 05/04/2017 20:59

Irvine so pleased that it was a positive experience today.
So just when I thought we could chill for a bit ds gets a second round audition for Aldeburgh Young Musicians so he's super excited about that and whatever the outcome I think a pretty good achievement and in itself ( plus if he does get a place it's only a short drive from our house which is a bonus !!)

Witchend · 05/04/2017 22:39

I've 3 musicians:
Dd1: (16yo piano/singing both grade 6)
Dd2: (13yo trumpet-just done grade 5, singing grade 4)
Ds: (9yo violin/drums started just less than a year ago and says he's never doing exams, which is fine )

Question from dd2's trumpet exam, which we're waiting the results.
She really wasn't very well-she had labyrinthitis 2-3 weeks before and then two days before the exam she started a really bad cough that she struggled to catch her breath, so I'm not expecting her to have done very well-her accompanist described her playing as "ragged" and I could hear that she was struggling with her breath.

But she started her third piece again, she said she started and realised it was going badly and asked if she could restart, and the examiner said she could. How badly will that have effected her marks-I'd kind of expect there to be a maximum she could get, possibly 20? (so not able to pass).
She did say that she thought she saw the marks for her pieces written by the examiner-do they actually do marks in there? I'd have thought (for exactly that reason) they wouldn't write the marks down while they're in-plus don't they have to be moderated?

Her pieces are usually the best (she got 30/30 on one of her grade 1 pieces and I was surprised enough when the teacher told me to ask if he was sure ) so if she's failed one of the pieces I suspect she'll have failed overall as she was really feeling bad by that point and she said she thinks she had passed those bits, but only just.

Fleurdelise · 05/04/2017 22:55

Irvine well done to your DS, the quickest we got the results was 5 days later last term.

Trumpet wow, well done to your DS! When is the second audition? Good luck!

Witchend welcome! Not sure regarding the marks when restarting the piece but from what I heard on here I don't think it gets as low as 20 if the piece has been played well once restarted. And I do think the marks are written down in the exam, otherwise how will the examiner remember how was the performance? I may be wrong though.

Original poster

Wafflenose · 05/04/2017 23:00

Goo played part of a sonata in her exam again the other day, at her teacher's request... 2 pages into a 3 page piece, her sound started to go. She fought hard with the embouchure and got to the end, but had gone horribly sharp with a really thin tone. Anyway, she sorted herself out, played the next piece, then went back to the last page of the first piece and did it fine. I wondered if she would fail the piece, but she didn't get a big deduction at all.

OP posts:

Witchend · 05/04/2017 23:10

Thanks-dd2 thought she's seen 26 written down for the piece she restarted and I said to her it could well be a badly written 20, thinking she'd have done well if that was the case after restarting.
There is hope then

Greenleave · 05/04/2017 23:52

Trumpet: thats brilliant, all the best for the next round!
Irvine: nice exam expeience! Well done to miniIrvine
Witchend: hope you see the result soon, the waiting is the killer!!!

Pradaqueen · 06/04/2017 00:07

Logged on as finally found some wifi on hols..330 messages since I last looked ! Glad everyone is doing so well. Miniprada is also a leftie. Neither of her parents are. Embrace it green I would also invest in left handed scissors . Thank you for the kind wishes about the G6 piano but I'm afraid I was in the room outside so I heard everything....

woolleybear · 06/04/2017 06:22

Congratulations to your dd Helen!

Very quiet here as dd has been on a 2 day music course and decided to stay over. She's taken her clarinet even though she's way over the standard (but not old enough to do the more advanced course) and bassoon would have been better learning, as she just wants to have some fun with it, couldn't argue that really just after exam time.

Trumpetboysmum · 06/04/2017 06:53

Witchend not sure about the marks but I feel for your dd I know ds has struggled before in performing when he has been unwell with a cold he said in one performance he was stifling a cough for most of the performance

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