Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Extra-curricular activities

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

Original poster

May Music Thread

784 replies

Wafflenose · 01/05/2017 15:59

Hello, and welcome to the May thread. It's a public holiday in the UK, but my school is open and I had to work today, which is why I've only just got round to it! This is a place for parents of musicians of ALL levels, and adult learners, to chat about lessons, practice, scales, concerts, exams, and whatever else they'd like to! We have lots of regulars, some occasional posters, and sometimes people who just pop in to ask a question. It's a friendly place.

I have two daughters. Goo is 11 and in her last term at primary school. She's working towards her Grade 8 Flute (some time next year) and playing from the Grade 4 Piano book (currently refusing to take any exams, and putting off the first proper performance!). Rara is 8, may or may not be doing Grade 3 Cello this term, and is approaching Grade 2 Clarinet.

Both of them played the recorder for years, starting as preschoolers. They reached Grades 7 and 3 respectively, but sadly neither has really played since the music festival a few months ago. They are obsessed with their Flute and Clarinet, and really enjoy Piano and Cello. There won't be many opportunities to play the recorder at the secondary school they will attend, so much as I love it, it's probably a good time to quietly drop it. Recorder has given them both lots of opportunities, confidence, reading skills... and festival prizes!

Goo does NCO and South West Music School. Rara isn't that level at all when it comes to music, but is gifted with her hands. Instead of practising the cello and doing her school spellings today, she completed a lovely sewing kit without bothering to look at the instructions, and also made a lovely crafty construction from card and coloured paper. Both girls are keen on drawing and playing computer games. Rara swims and Goo plays sodding netball and dodgeball, which have both been responsible for multiple injuries over the past few months!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
Fleurdelise · 16/05/2017 07:50

Foundout same here, first exams today, he has three, two French ones and a biology. Good luck to your dc too!

ealingwestmum · 16/05/2017 08:12

Not easy to correct fleur, but one thing that worked for us was asking DD to pretend she was playing with others; or with piano, she was the accompanist for a singer. Then she wouldn't be able to go back as it would knock the vocals out. I was only able to use this as she knew what it felt like when the accompanist was out of sync. It weirdly worked.

Fleurdelise · 16/05/2017 08:22

Thanks ealing I think I'll ask her to pretend she's accompanying somebody on clarinet, that should send the message across as she knows she'd be put off if her piano teacher would stop to correct mistakes in the middle of an exam. Maybe it will work.

Icouldbeknitting · 16/05/2017 08:56

Fleur it's not a really helpful suggestion because it's not all that practical but it's duets that really push DS with his sightreading. He still doesn't realise that's why he plays duets with his teacher and why it's usually something that he's not seen before.

I survived GCSEs last year and you can too. What helped for me was looking on Twitter and The Student Room immediately after the exam to gauge popular opinion. If it is thought to have been a stinker of an exam and no-one could do question ? then you can reassure him that it's not the end of the world and the difficulty will be reflected in the mark scheme. If he comes out and thinks he's totally bombed it then there's usually the bones of a specimen answer on TSR the same day, that might reassure him that he's done better than he thought. We had the Maths Moment where DS came out utterly convinced that he'd failed but when he looked at the TSR answers he decided that he might have scraped enough marks for a C. It turned out to be an A.

Trumpetboysmum · 16/05/2017 09:29

Double no we have no experience of Trinity exams but necessary for us as ds hasn't got round to theory yetGrin however he really likes the aural much more than Abrsm so we might stick with it for grade 8 too . Ds's teacher likes trinity as he thinks the aural is better suited at the higher grades for non singers ( ds can sing but hasn't had lessons yet) and he likes the orchestral excerpts practice with loads of transposition as this is a more realistic test of what you need to be able to do as a trumpet player ( ds can do this transposition just not the sight reading going back and correcting his mistakes and then losing his sense of rhythm is also a big problem here for ds)

Doubleup · 16/05/2017 11:47

Thanks Trumpet. DD2 just freezes if someone asks her to sing, so her teacher thought she should do Trinity for that reason. At least 2 of her pieces are on both lists, so she didn't have to change them. The third one that she started recently is so fast when played at full speed (first movement of a Vivaldi bassoon concerto in A minor), but at least it has an 8 bar and a 16 bar rest in it which will give her recovery time - and the excerpts are full of fast runs. I try not to think about the exam.....

Trumpetboysmum · 16/05/2017 12:02

I am also trying hard not to think about it double ( and am hoping that the teacher is right and ds will do fine )

Doubleup · 16/05/2017 12:11

Do you have a date for it Trumpet? DD's is sometime in the last week of June. Just the little matter of theory on the 17th to do beforehand...

Doubleup · 16/05/2017 12:13

Oh, and she's got an overnight camping trip on the 15th to the 16th... Hmm

Trumpetboysmum · 16/05/2017 12:24

No not yet- it's being organised through school so I reckon we won't hear for a bit- but the dates for the local centre here are also the last week of June- 6 weeks and counting!!
DS has two concerts the weekend just before- including a long day in London on the Sunday ( so I reckon the exam will be on the Monday!) his sister is also in a show the week before ALL week- so I'm going to be ready for the holidays when they arrive!!

Greenleave · 16/05/2017 12:25

Will discuss with our teachers on Trinity exams in the future as it seems very popular among us here, the fact that it has (much) less scales could make my daughter nod a thousand times. We still spend 2/3 of practice time on scales for both instrument and its not the most enjoyable on the piano(Loose, nodding to you)

Doubleup · 16/05/2017 12:29

Green from what I understand, it is scales or orchestral excerpts in the exam. The excerpts that DD2 is doing are full of runs so like playing scales, but in the context of a piece. So, sneaky scales really!

Doubleup · 16/05/2017 12:31

For her instrument at G7 anyway.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 16/05/2017 12:35

Rara is doing Grade 3 Cello with Trinity, and is still spending 2/3 of her practice time on scales. She's not very good at them, though.

I always played the singing bits in ABRSM. I played a transposing instrument, and back then they didn't tell you the starting note either. I got quite good at it, and enjoyed surprising people!

OP posts:
Trumpetboysmum · 16/05/2017 12:42

Waffle maybe ds could play the bits back then can you do that at grade 8?

Kutik73 · 16/05/2017 14:05

It's really helpful for me to understand what's coming in near future by reading those posts written by those with older children. But I must say I am a bit scared (actually a lot...)... I am already being worried and panicking about my 9 years old's daily dramas. How can I go through what you guys are going through. I thought the stress level of us parents would get lesser as they got older... But how naive I was! It sounds like NOT!

Kutik73 · 16/05/2017 14:17

By the way, I need to buy a mute for violin. Any advice/suggestion would be greatly appreciated. Smile

Fleurdelise · 16/05/2017 14:39

Icouldbe thank you for all your tips even if I have spent the last few hours compulsively checking Twitter. Apparently French was hard, waiting for feedback on Biology.

Minimusiciansmama · 16/05/2017 14:42

My miss7's teacher is a trinity examiner and I really like what she's shown me sets apart trinity apart from the ABRSM. She has her G3 clarinet on Thursday. She likes the exercises instead of scales, which they offer g1-5. As someone else said, like the orchestral extracts they sneak the scales and arppegios in still.
In other news, she went for an advice audition with Yorkshire Young Musicians and was offered a place on the spot to start with them in September. A bit like JD (though obv not as prestigious as RCM etc!) so she's very excited to spend her Sundays there!
Good luck to your kiddos doing GCSEs. The madam started her wee SATs yesterday so we've had our first introduction to the exam treadmill!

Kutik73 · 16/05/2017 14:52

That's wonderful news, Minimusiciansmama.

drummersmum · 16/05/2017 15:00

DS is doing piano g8 with Trinity and he has BOTH scales and orchestral excerpts...

drummersmum · 16/05/2017 15:01

minimusician that's fabulous. Good of her.

Trumpetboysmum · 16/05/2017 16:03

Great news minimuscician still waiting to hear from AYM here ( I think the letter will turn up when we are away at half term !!)
For trumpet grade 8 trinity you do lip flexibilities and a chromatic scale and then choose between more scales or orchestral excerpts so also a good choice if learning lots of scales isn't your thing ( not that it seems to bother ds he's doing the excerpts as a change)

Minimusiciansmama · 16/05/2017 17:40

Drummersmum- yes, for piano it's both, through all the grades. For other instruments it's not

Minimusiciansmama · 16/05/2017 17:45

Trumpetboysmum, that's interesting to hear. Seems there's quite a bit of difference between instruments. I hope you hear soon! I hate the waiting but! Thankfully her YYM, she came out and we were told immediately they wanted her. We are waiting to hear from AYM too and it's driving me nuts!