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.

Yes minikutik you're in!!!
It's a tough one, seeing alternatives versus over-tiredness... I don't know what to advice!

Brilliant news Loose!!!!!

say no more! But thanks for the lovely messages!

kutik, I missed your update amongst the looseexcitment...I hope you come to a decision on the remainder auditions/trials that works for your DS, but very well done on the offer!

Well done loose and minikutik!

Drummersmum - loved the video

Well first piano lesson today - miniprada ordered herself the G7 book from Amazon.. violin G7 set for next month .hoping that the enthusiasm to sit exams doesn't fade before G8... (Assuming we get there!)

Lessons learned re:scales and someone is practicing them every day right now

Kutik great news not sure what I would do it's a tough one- sorry not much help I guess it depends why your ds liked his choice the most and if that was a compelling reason by itself then I might be inclined to go with that choice

loose congratulations

kutik as a recovering perfectionist I know how it feels to make the "right" choice but sometimes it is a case where all the choices are good ones.

drummersmum t'was lovely, thank you.

Kutik that's amazing - well done to him! If he's got the stamina for one more audition, I'd do it so he can compare them but I must admit since he's got his favourite I'd be tempted to stop there as well!
DS2 had a very good piano lesson yesterday as he managed to play slowly and thus got the consistency needed. The challenge is to make sure he plays at that speed for one more week!

Kutik congratulations! Well done to him!

Prada does your teacher not get annoyed with buying the next grade book? Ours will have a heart attack and a proper go. She asks for the next grade up scales and starts them immediately after exam but if she sees the pieces book we get a lecture about how she doesn't skip from grade to grade and SHE decides when to do exams. I am a bit scared of her.

Dd had her first piano lesson yesterday and the teacher was quite happy with the progress. She will make up the lost lessons on Sundays just to give us the best preparation chances for the exam. It was a really good lesson and dd enjoyed the aural practice.

Clarinet this morning.

Well done Loose - am inspired!

Kutik - what a star! I might be tempted to go with there favourite rather than confuse things.....

G8 this term for dd - been a v long time since she took an exam (G5) so I am fearful re aural tests but at least scales are getting an unusually good airing!

Is that on the cello?

Hi yes cello

Hmmm see a pattern here. Everyone back to lessons with renewed energy and lots of will and everyone had good first lessons. From which we can deduce that children need holidays and breaks every now and then.

How old is miniprada? I think it can just depend on the child when enthusiasm wears off if at all. My theory was if they could get through to higher grades younger there was less chance any teenage disillusion might set in but my upper sixth player says he would have got a better mark in his grade 8 had he done his grades more slowly - mind you if he wanted to I could not stop him doing grade 8 again if you are allowed to and both twins stopped singing after grade 7 which is a shame. Perhaps I should have put them in for grade 8 instead of 7 (which is what their older brother did before his voice broke - grade 5 and then 8).

That's very true, drummers. We had a lovely holiday too, although we had to deal with the audition in the middle of it!

Thank you for all the comment - much appreciated. I am now very close to cancelling JD No.1's trial session. It's all day commitment and DS has a birthday party to attend in the evening (it's a laser gun party so cannot miss). It will be seriously a full on day.... On top he has the youth orchestra audition next day.

We wouldn't consider cancelling if it was JD No. 2 (DS's favourite) so that tells me where our hearts lies...

drummers couldn't agree more! Both dcs were shattered by the end of term and needed 2 weeks to recover!

Hi Janet - she's Y6 and just turned 11.

Fleur - I texted the teacher to warn her about the book she said she had expected it. Lol.

Kutik - quite agree with minikutik about the importance of a laser party

11 - press on then which is what we did with our 5 at that age. I tended to find around 13+ some of them became less interested (not all of them but some of them) and one never took grade 8 piano, never resat it when a bit older and lost interest. For most of my children they did like doing the grades - chalking up their triumphs etc but not all children are like that and most of all I want them to enjoy music. One teacher this week very kindly let my sixth form son borrow some CDs. He did not have the heart to tell the teacher all that music he can access on Spotify these days. I rather liked that - that my son was polite enough not to state the obvious and just look pleased at the loan. (I wasn't so pleased he was given it to copy by the teacher - given I practise in some areas including copyright law but we won't say anything about that....)

Prada good to hear the teacher is supportive. Ours likes dd's determination too but she'd rather skip exams as a way of achieving quicker.

Great clarinet lessson and dd will do grade 3 this session. Her teacher was impressed with her determination to do it.

As a plan I think these are the last exams till next summer when she'll do whatever grades she's ready for as a way of finishing the secondary, I suspect the least she'll do is grade 6 on piano and 4 or 5 on clarinet. She decided that after that she doesn't want exams anymore till grade 8.

*finishing the primary obviously 🙄

Yayyy to minikutik, tough choice but all is great!

Loose: how wonderful, you have nailed it

Prada: is the g7 in Autumn, we are doing it together yayyy! We havent got the books, our lesson will be back next week. Will let you know what they choose.

I have been so busy at work almost till very very late hour and last night I had to vent and ended up never got home till early hour. It was a great night out and I did need it. I heard some violin practice downstair this morning so there is something happening(for 15 mins). She is having her Ortho-K check appointment now then we will head to the pool and hopefully I could hear some practices tonight.
Drummers: we love "how it works", highly recommend to anyone else here, thank you!
There is a French election first round result this Sunday and I was told to be in the office at 5am on Monday just incase things turn sore in Hongkong market however I said I wont, we did few over nights with various elections last year and I need to have time with the kids. Pay isnt getting better and its just more work. Anyway, thats all my moan for now!

It's been business as usual here, the only thing that stops over the holidays is Saturday morning music centre. Music lessons ran as normal, there were a couple of band practices cancelled but that was all.

I feel like this month music is draining my account completely. Piano needs some make up lessons which weren't paid, so I'll have probably around 3 extra lessons to pay. Not sure if an hour or 30 min each.

Clarinet - the teacher moved from pay as you go to termly payments, which is fine, I prefer it, but it throws the budget out of the window for this month. Then two exams payments. I didn't even add it up yet, I refuse to ...

I feel guilty as I don't spend that much on DS's activities therefore today I went online and bought him a pair of trainers he wanted.

Because Choir is so busy at Easter, they have next week off, so it's a quieter week. It also means his organ teacher is away.

We did spend a lot of time at the cathedral during the week as he was allowed some extra practice slots.

Piano started again today, bands back on.

This term is looking very quiet, bet it doesn't last!

That's it! We decided to go for JD No. 2, so I'm cancelling the trial at JD No. 1 as well as the audition at JD No. 3.

DS always wanted to go to JD No. 2, and has never changed his mind. There are several reasons on top, but after all it's him who spends time there so if he is so clear where to go then no point playing with 'if' and 'but'.

The cost of his musical education will be shockingly high from September. Some of the things we enjoy as a family have to be stopped....