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Extra-curricular activities

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

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!

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Paulweller11 · 03/05/2017 18:23

Congrats Drummersmum drummer on JD and Gr 8's!!!
Congrats to anyone I've missed too- can't keep up this thread at all- it moves so fast....
All good here, gr3 theory and gr2 piano for dd violinist (9), no exams for dd percussionist- (7)- although she's working on gr2 theory- she's not a fan of exams, and as she's the second born, I'm not too fussed either. : )

drummersmum · 03/05/2017 19:36

paulweller, loose and all other drummers, we're going to the RCM festival of percussion this Sunday. Masterclass by Benny Greb and lots of events and performances. Highly recommended Wink

Paulweller11 · 03/05/2017 19:44

Ha that's funny we are going to the RNCM percussion day Sunday! Smile

LooseAtTheSeams · 03/05/2017 19:48

Sadly for us, DS1 is on a geography field trip! But have made note to self to keep an eye on these things!

drummersmum · 03/05/2017 21:03

Indeed paulweller ! Have fun !

Greenleave · 03/05/2017 22:36

Lovely to hear from new faces!

Drummers: wow!!! you are such a proud mom! Minidrummer rocks!

We are all down with a cold as the whole family with this cold weather brrrr! She might have to take a day off tomorrow from school as there was some temperature tonight. After some chicken soup(super quick: whole chicken with some sliced onions, potatoes, butternut squashed, gingers in the pressured cooker for 30 mins then just give everything a few pressings, served with some chopped corriander, black pepper and spring onion). We all had a large bowl then 1 hot chocolate each and I am now in bed. I am reading your children JD and first time I think I would consider it when she is in secondary. So far, we have been wanting her for ourself as a family at weekends as we hardly see each other during the week. What Alex is saying here that MiniAlex finished at 2.30pm on Saturday then it isnt too bad, we still have the afternoon together.

stringchild · 03/05/2017 22:45

Green - def worth looking at; however, DD starts at 9 and finishes at 5....with very short gaps during the day. So a long and busy day, which knocks out sat eves too! But it really depends on what instruments etc you play and therefore how many ensembles etc you are in and some JDs do a shorter day in the first years etc. So go see them (when the colds are better!)

Pradaqueen · 04/05/2017 02:49

P4 already! I am determined to keep up this month.

Get well soon minitrumpet!
Well done minidrummer!

Green - i'mcoming to yours for dinner tomorrow Grin. we decided to leave JD until secondary too - if at all. Miniprada loves dancing which is pretty much all day Saturday so until we resolve that clash, it will be tricky to fit everything in.

In other news, extra orchestra has been helping with sight reading - so that's good. She is leading the other junior orchestra and has been asked to skip the next level orchestra (year7-9 one) and audition to join the full advanced one which was a lovely confidence booster. she has learned the lesson about scales it would seem after G6 piano so that's positive too.

SATs next week then G7 violin on the 20th! Then lots of fun. Horse riding will be back on the fun timetable as she can (for once) risk breaking something (obvs I don't want her to but you can't wrap then in bubble wrap for ever!)

Doubleup · 04/05/2017 09:08

Soup sounds nice Green! Anyone else exchanging recipes? Smile

So DD2 (10) is entered for G5 theory this term and, slightly against my better judgement, for G7 bassoon. Aargh! I see tears and tantrums ahead -(and that's jut me!)- , although dd insisted to her teacher that she did want to do it this term and that she understood that there was a lot to do - an hour of playing a day plus aural practice . Just a lot to do with the exams potentially just 9 days apart.

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 09:29

Paulweller & drummers, the percussion festival sounds fun. This is another reason why I like this thread - making me aware of other instruments. I knew only what DS plays before. But now I discovered I love the sound of bassoon for instance!

Green, how about considering RAMPA? It's not a JD but similar. I heard it's not as competitive to get in as JD but the quality is the same and the children have to have a spark to be accepted. They are for younger kids under 12 so has compact time table. We went to the open day and were told they have a boy who is committed in a team sport in the morning, then come to them for music in the afternoon. This is only possible due to their compact schedule. We were also told that they wouldn't tie the children to their JD so children are free to go to other JD after PA if they want. They said they would consult each child where to go & what to do nearer to the end of PA. It seemed very caring. And the facility was just amazing.

I assume you are in London. I have visited three JDs in London and DS had auditions at two of them. Since our DCs play the same instruments, I may have some useful information for you. PM me if you need. I'm happy to share our experience and pass any information on to you.

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 09:35

Double, I couldn't quite remember whose DCs play bassoon. It was yours! Oh I love the sound... G7 bassoon at 10 sounds very impressive. Good luck!

drummersmum · 04/05/2017 09:46

double good luck with preparation. I share Kutik's admiration for your DD as I always understood bassoon to be a later instrument.
string wow your DD's jd day is long Smile

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 10:12

drummers, just to let you know I have also handed the acceptance form at last. I thought we agreed to turn down JD1. However DS told me at the last minute that he would like to go and see JD1 again. So we kept the acceptance form with us and went to the taster day at JD1. He enjoyed the day there but happily announced that he finally made his mind up and would like to go to JD2. Then..., I realised Monday was a bank holiday so the post office was closed... I had to hand-deliver the form on Tuesday. Phew.

violinandpiano · 04/05/2017 11:17

Kutik73, I agree. I have never heard whose DC failed the audition for any JD. It looks NCO is harder than JD, because I know some DC did not get in.
My DD will try under 10 this year, it will be very helpful if some of you can give me advice what violin piece is good for audition NCO under 10. We don't want to be rush as last year. Thanks.

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 13:23

violinanspiano I didn't mean to say JD is easy to get in. I meant RAMPA is more accessible than JD as it's designed for younger kids. Their guideline of playing standard is set much lower than JD because of that. Although I don't know anyone failed JD entry personally, I am sure plenty people are rejected. JD themselves says the competition is fierce.

I also think you cannot compare NCO and JD as they serve for different purpose. JD is a school whereas NCO is an orchestra. Smile

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 13:28

I only suggested RAMPA to minigreen for the benefit of the compact schedule. Im sure she is technically ready to apply for any JD if that's what she wants to do. Wink

violinandpiano · 04/05/2017 17:22

Kutik73, PA is for age 8-12, of course the entry level is much lower than their JD (age over 12). For every JD (if from age 8-18), when entry at different age, the requirement should be different. PA require grade 4&5 distinction level, I do not think it is much lower than other JD for entry at age 8.

Greenleave · 04/05/2017 19:53

String, Kutik, all, thanks so much for your suggestions, will google it tonight, I must say I have never heard of RAMPA. Our teacher has been telling us to join JD, to go to weekend music school, he even dragged us to the Russian school of music couple if times. We did some research on Wandsworth music school last year. I still think a no for now until secondary if she wants to and can travel to the place by herself. As much as I want her to progress in her music, I also want us to have time with each other more. We dont have any family here, we both do long hours (not mentioning 2 hours travelling each day for both of us). Just last year I had a rule: do nothing over the weekend except making dinners as per family request(I love cooking), just spend time to play with them, catch up with their friendship stories, going to the park together, catching up with our social life. Then we started with our Orchestra, 1.5hours on Sunday, 2.5 hours including travelling. I understand that this might change as they are growing up, their needs will change, we have to let them go, just right now, while she is still in primary, I wont send her to a weekend school yet. Its just our unique circumstances. Each of our family is very different.

Trumpetboysmum · 04/05/2017 20:17

Green your weekends sound lovely !! I now look back on when my two were younger with fondness- our weeks (and weekends !!) are crazy as they both like to be busy but do different things. I try and keep Sundays free- but as of this weekend DD starts rehearsing for her show on a Sunday- I'm looking forward to the summer holidays!! when we can all take a well earned break

Kutik73 · 04/05/2017 21:23

I totally understand Green. I remember thinking 'not until secondary' when DS's teacher mentioned JD first time. But things changed and the time came earlier than I expected. I'm still not sure if we made the right decision. Because, as you know, JD is not a must. But we will see how things go. Luckily (?), we are so used to being crazily busy on Saturdays due to DS's Saturday school (in my language) so there will be no huge impact on our family time. We always made up our lost time in summer. Every summer we went back to my country and spent the whole summer there (6-8 weeks) and just had fun. We are longing for summer already....

Fleurdelise · 04/05/2017 22:39

If we ever consider JD in this house it will be at secondary school also, not because of lack of interest but because there is no time to squeeze it in. Dd's Saturdays are full, by the time we get home from 1 music lesson and a sports activity she does is 4pm. Both activities could be rescheduled if we really wanted to but Sundays are free and I intend to keep it that way for a while which means Mondays to Saturdays we are on autopilot.

Until we feel like there is a need for it we'll keep it that way. Can't wait for the summer also, we booked two weeks in Italy and it can't come soon enough, I feel exhausted.

Kutik73 · 05/05/2017 10:22

One thing I learnt during our JD challenge was that you can do what JD does without going there. JD is like a holiday package - everything is there at one stop, and the service (and price) is top-notch. You can choose to be an independent traveller. It's more time-consuming and you need to know what you are doing, but in return, you can make a plan precisely for your needs and can be very much flexible too. I choose to pay for one stop service. Mainly because of my lack of knowledge in the area, but also I know DS would love the environment.

Maybe you can describe this home-ed vs school-ed too. The choice would depend on your circumstance/capacity as well as the personality of the child.

Fleur Two weeks in Italy sounds lovely. Isn't it nice to be able to see a treat waiting for you? Smile

Minimusiciansmama · 05/05/2017 12:15

Hi all! May already!!
Have any of you put in applications for Awards for Young Musicians? If so, have you heard anything?
I have a little miss 7 who's learning piano, clarinet and recorder. She's taking her g3 clarinet in 2 weeks time, her piano g2 in July.

onlymusic · 05/05/2017 20:58

I was missing you all so much that started to read this thread again! :)

Trumpetboysmum , how is your ds's arm?
MissyMew123, welcome! I remember when my dd was moving from grade 1 to 2 I also thought that it was quite a difference! And between grades 2 and 3. It didn't look that different between grades 3 and 4 though.....
irvineoneohone getting next exam book is ok, depends what teacher wants to do with it though Grin. I personally like to have next exam book asap, but it does not mean we prepare fro exam. This time teacher suggested not to buy next exam book though- "not to be tempted".

onlymusic · 05/05/2017 21:03

Sittinginthesun welcome to the thread! I would love my dd to do jazz piano, is your ds2 taking any exams?