April Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

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.

Great suggestions for work experience, many thanks!

Beyond that's such a good idea . Ds is already counting down the days when he's old enough to go busking he's decided that this is the part time job for him

My 3 went to Stainer and bell in London and did office stuff whilst staying with relatives. Eldest also did a couple of days at the British museum ( that was hard to get ). Getting barista experience is a brilliant idea - an actual skill people will pay you for

Catching up... Left handed - I would have thought this would be an advantage for string players because you really need to do more with your LH than right (although you do need to do more sophisticated things with your RH as you get better!).

Vibrato on violin... I had to relearn mine with a different teacher. The trick was (is) to feel that the vibrato is actually pulling away from the neck rather than letting it get tighter and tighter (which it can tend to do) - the more relaxed you can make everything the easier it is to have a nice relaxed vibrato.

On starting ages - I started the piano at 6 and didn't start the violin until I was 10 - but immediately clicked with that much more quickly and got Grade 4 in about 18 months. I didn't start viola until 15 and got my grade 5 that year and grade 8 the following year!.

Can anyone that has a singer tell me what levels are like for various grades? DS isn't having singing lessons but is just singing a lot with people that know what they're doing - it just feels so 'easy' compared to instruments at the moment!

Trumpetboysmum

Ha Ha, my dd is the same, she's counting the days but is still only 13.
She is trying the local restaurants though as some let them play from a very early age.
You can make a good wage on a good night, and of course the experience and practice is a bonus.

Well, thanks to the suggestions I had one of those 'it's blindingly obvious, why didn't I think of it before?' Moments! Will report back if that comes off - and if not, barista suggestion is very good as we're curiously blessed with such places.

mistlethrush

My dd is a singer, started lessons at 7 and took grade 2 at 8.
She didn't take grade 3 and took grade 4 at 9.5 and grade 5 at 10.5

She is currently working towards grade 8 and is 13, but there really isn't a rush, she may not take it for a while.

It's great when they are little as there is so much repertoire that is suitable for both sexes that will take care of their very young and delicate vocal cords.
It is imperative that if they are going to study singing as an instrument or sing in choirs they need to have a teacher who appreciates this and practices the correct technique, the same as every instrument.

I shamefully can't wait until I hear dd singing the music she really wants to. I'll be the first there for O"Mio Babbino Caro* or her absolute favourite "Queen of the Night Aria" but she has to wait and find other areas she likes atm that's Purcell and flippin medieval torture.
She sings them so beautifully and loves them, but I'm sorry they bore me. I don't tell her this though, obviously.

Thanks Gilly... My son regularly sings QotN aria at the moment - better he does now whilst he still has the notes! He's got an amazing range at the moment - I've heard him warming up to the A an octave above the A with one ledger line above the treble clef. It's really interesting waiting to find out what voice he'll have when his voice breaks. We know someone that didn't start singing until she was in her teens - started with a decent teacher at about 16, did an undergrad perfomance course and then got accepted after that to the Royal Academy and is now singing professionally down in London (almost straight from college). So singing clearly is something that you can come to later on. We won't think of lessons until his voice has broken and will then consider - although he's doing so much singing at the moment without it anyway!

He sounds great mistle
What does he like singing best? My dd was never really into the show pieces except for those sung in a clear voice like I feel Pretty and I could have danced all night.
She was stopped from singing "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" as girls voices tend to narrow in natural voice range during puberty.

Do make sure he takes care of his voice and even though he'll have a natural voice it isn't reaching for notes that will harm them so much, it's also volume and jumps from certain notes. Not having the possibility of warming up before a performance, not taking suitable breaks in the music etc. I'm not an authority though, of course. , I'm sure there are others here who know more than me.
If he's doing a lot of singing without lessons do be careful.

He's singing with a Youth Opera group - they did Les Mis in Feb and he got a couple of solo lines (not bad for his first show with them, and he was one of the youngest in the group too, with up to 18 singers) and they're doing Verdi for their next show. He's also singing with a choir run by an Opear company - hasn't enjoyed it as much this year as the conductor left, but it's all changing next year with hopefully a new conductor and an extra split in age range which I hope will make all the difference. Both groups are, understandably, very keen on making sure that young voices are protected (and the highest notes I've heard him singing come from him absent mindedly singing warming up exercises and just continuing to go on up!

We did do quite a bit of work early on to make sure that he was singing not shouting when young, and also that he was aiming for a clearer tone rather than a wispy one (which does mean that he now has very good projection which is very handy)

He sang a little solo in a recent concert where one of the groups featured a lot - it wasn't faultless but the change from even 9 months ago was great - he owned the stage and performed rather than simply sing the words and notes.

It sounds like you have it covered and he's getting some great opportunities and I bet he's looking forward to Verdi.
The not shouting work will have paid off, dd was in some good choirs but occasionally the children were being told to sing louder when the majority were.
Maybe one day our dc will meet
We'll have to think of some duets for them

I always fancy the 'two cats' duet. Otherwise we'll have to wait until his voice breaks, find out what it turns out to be and work something out at that stage!

I've started a thread in music for the grown-ups to chat about playing!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/music/2897437-Instrument-players-come-and-chat

Lovely idea Never, have posted there!

Where is everybody? Have you all disappeared on Never's thread?

Planning a day out today, not sure where exactly, maybe to the local park to have lunch and lay in the sun.

Dd has a lot of music practice to do so we will break it down into two sessions, morning and afternoon.

Hi, I'm still here!

The other day we went to Go Ape. DS absolutely loved it so we are now planing to have his birthday do with them this year (last year was Kidzania)! Yesterday we went to Science Museum & Hyde Park, finished off with My Old Dutch Pancakes. Today DS has cubs duty and assuming the weather stays so lovely, we will probably end up staying outside (park, river walk and pizza, I guess). I hope the weather changes tomorrow as Waffle predicted. Otherwise too tempting to spend time outside again. DS needs to practise really!

By the way we always go to museums in the morning (arrive at 10 on dot), then it's still not so busy yet even during holidays. We usually be out by lunchtime that's when it gets annoyingly busy. But yesterday we stayed longer as we went to IMAX after lunch. We watched A Beautiful Planet. It was awesome (to see how astronauts spend their time up there).

Becoming an astronaut is still my DS's back up plan.

In the "lull" awaiting results... DD going on to G8 no matter what, so she is still practising - pulling apart and rezipping scales for the next 2 weeks, so lots of "micro" practise - 5/10 min here and there otherwise she gets a bit fed up.

Loads of sight reading too - so I get to sit being grumbled at when I ask her to ermmmmm ... "reconsider the rhythm......" (she is 16 - not 4 hey-ho... )

Beyond, I'm so envious that you could help your DD on sight-reading. I can follow the rhythm bits but no idea of intonation. I normally ask DS if he played all in tune, which he usually replies 'perfect!', then all I can say, 'all right, good...'. I'm pathetic...

I have no child, I dropped him off yesterday morning and will pick him up "sometime" this afternoon. County Wind Band for the win! It would have been a lovely weekend if only my husband hadn't been out all day yesterday and out again all day today.

haha - I can "help" in the vaguest sense - most sight reading music sounds "nice" if played right, and you can see how awkward or not they have used their fingers on the keyboard, but generally she knows a good playthrough - which is why she grumbles at me...

When I'm in the detective mood, after I got the usual 'perfect' comment, I would ask him how many percentage was perfect, which he would reply '95-99%' when he thinks he did fairly OK, and it can be down to 85% or so when he thinks he did fairly badly! He is not hard on him (in another words, very optimistic)... And attention! After he replied 'perfect', if asked he never says '100%'.

Kutik Go ape was done last weekend here, and we too are considering for this year's birthday!

se22, I don't know which month is your DD's birthday but I suggest you book the slot fairly quickly. A slot we wanted was already taken and it's still more than a couple of month away!! We got the party plan which comes with a room and tea! You can get full refund if you noticed 48 hours before which I find very generous. So book a slot now and think later!

Fleur, I was thinking the same! Must be the nice weather. Nice relaxed morning DH took DD1 to swimming and DD2 did her best bassoon practice for a long time. Completely whine and stress free. (Stress is mine, btw! )