June Music Thread

[Fleurdelise]

Hello all and welcome to the June thread! Waffle did me the honours of asking me to initiate this thread as she has no access to Internet while on holiday.

This thread was first initiated by Waffle when Goo was 6 and now she's 11. It is a thread for all the musicians, big and small, to share their love (and frustrations ) during the long path of learning an instrument. I first joined when dd was 7 and in the process of preparing for grade 1 piano for moral support. If you read the ending of the May thread you'll realise I am still a nervous reck here we are now, two years later, Dd is 9 and preparing for grade 5 piano and grade 3 clarinet, the exams are in exactly 13 days. I also have DS 15 who is in the middle of his GCSEs at the moment, he has no musical interest.

As I couldn't leave Waffle without an introduction, below is a quote from the May thread. The only correction is that I believe Rara has now turned 9.

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!

Hopelessly behind because of work even in weekend.
loved rara on clarinet - good phrasing and rhythm!!!
Please green and fleur can I get the links?
Happy birthday minikutik!
End of year exams done here and we're back to music preparing piano exam and marima performance this Thursday. Also solo piano performance next week. Drums has taken the biggest break in years.

Thanks Fleur.

So I just had an Initial Grade (8 years old), Grade 3 (14 years old - re-started a couple of years ago after a long break) and a Grade 4 (10 years old). They all played well. Not sure if we'll have three merits, two merits and a distinction, or one merit and two distinctions... I heard their pieces, but obviously a lot depends on their scales, aural and sight reading. Trinity exams, so not too long to wait.

Waffle I do like that about trinity! Glad it went well for them.

Fleur thats a nice idea, I like that :) Well done your lovely girl, i really enjoyed her pieces, I hope she's feeling good for her exam. xx

Minikutik happy birthday!

I've created an email address so we can log into a YouTube channel and post there, hope that's a good idea, let me know if you want the address and password and I can give you a quick run through how to upload to YouTube if you are not a usual user.

How does it sound? I think it is best to send the details by PM to ensure only the participants on this music thread have access to it.

Good idea?

Thank you minimama I'd love to see the link to your dd's achievements you were talking about yesterday, I've noticed some of the users know where to find it, if it isn't a secret and you want to share would you mind PM me the details?

One more question and then I'll be off to do some chores I was meant to do this morning

What do you choose in exams regarding fast pieces, speed at the cost of a few mistakes or reduce speed (under the requirement) for accuracy? Dd's third piece is meant to be fast. She can play it fast but she has a couple of places where her fingers slip, also some of the dynamics disappear as she concentrates on the tempo. If she slows it down (not completely slow but slower than it should be) it is accurate and more dynamics observed. The idea was that the exam would be at least in two weeks time (we were hoping for 10 July onwards, even longer) so she would have been able to bring it up to speed but we are where we are.

In which situation would she get better marks in your opinion?

In trinity exams, in the notes it says that metronome markings are for guidance only and so long as the stylistic feeling is captured still, it's all good. So I would say i think a bit slower but with all the other detailing well captured would overall be a better option... happy to be disagreed with of course....
I'll PM you the link

The guidelines for trinity are that yes you should observe tempo markings etc but that they are there as guidelines and that when playing you should be trying to keep the style and character of the piece ( I'm guessing even if it's a bit slower)

That's with reference to metronome markings only one of ds's pieces has these and it's a plus/ minus thing with the speed so we're just following his teachers instructions

Yes please to the link and password fleur

Thank you for the advice, that is what her teacher advised also but we had tears last night. I've uploaded a version of it on the new YouTube channel created, happy to send the details to everybody active on this thread, I'll start sending it anyway to most people so please check your inbox but if I forget anybody and you don't get a PM from me by the end of the day let me know.

Obviously you don't have to use it but I'd appreciate if I'm not the only one using it (as I have my own one).

Somehow I misunderstood Rara's exam was today - sorry I kept wishing her luck she doesn't need.

Fleur, thank you for the clips. She plays wonderfully. You have no worries as the teacher told you so. No sure about tempo vs dynamics/accuracy, so I'll leave it to more knowledgeable members to answer that, though DS's teacher once said you could play scales faster than the indicated speed, but pieces should not be played any faster.

Thank you all for wishing DS happy birthday. He was feeling a bit sentimental about becoming double digits (I was secretly feeling emotional!). We don't do anything special today as we are all busy weekdays. But DH promised he would come home early. We will probably play tennis or something as a family, go to a local Japanese restaurant (DS's favourite food = Japanese cuisine), come back home to open zillion presents, and maybe play a bit with some of them. He has a party this Sunday.

Kutik I forgot (DS is turning 16 next month) what does a 10 yo want as a present? From what I remember DS wanted a phone but I may be wrong. Phones or bikes were top birthday presents in this house. Oh and gaming consoles.

I raised dd's profile at school today. As I said before she keeps a very low profile with her music, she doesn't tell anybody and doesn't talk about it. Her school know she plays music but no detail of it, never shown any interest so we kept those areas separate.

Today I asked her to bring her teacher out in the playground to remind him that tomorrow it is LA wind band day therefore she won't be in school. He came out and asked about it, I told him she's got wind band and also two exams and when he asked what grades and I told him he was over impressed. He kept asking Dd why she didn't tell him, he said it was the highest somebody achieved at her age in that school for as long as he's been there (yes, as I said not a musical school in particular) and she should play for the school, he'll make sure he'll arrange for it. He did say dd is overly modest and he feels it's his fault that he doesn't find out more about kids like dd.

Dd wasn't impressed

Fleur, DS requested this one.

www.english-heritageshop.org.uk/collectables/squires-excalibur

He saw it displayed in Cornwall and ever since he has been begging us to get one for him. I asked what he would do with it and he replied he would display in his bedroom and when friends come around he would let them hold it. He was pretty confident he and his friends could handle it safely. Of course we didn't get it....

Fleur, what a brilliant idea, I am so hopeless with youtube, I havent got an account.

Kutik, hope miniKutik is having a great birthday today and a great party on Saturday. I am bringing Minigreen to the tutor centre you recommended this Saturday, to check and see where she is. I am very worried too however trying to hide it from her and delay the preparation as much as I could. I feel like I am double faces.

OK, clarinet experts needed.

DS has a new-to-him secondhand clarinet. The cork ring that seals two parts of it together has chosen today to disintegrate. He's sad (he's mid 7 exam week in GCSEs, sadness is a state of being just now).

Is this an easy, standard thing to fix that any competent person can do?

I have 4 possible options:

• Clarinet teachers (2 within about 100 yards, who we know for different reasons)
• County music centre workshop (taking old clarinet there to be serviced on Thursday preparatory to selling it)
• Local woodwind shop (owners away for another 10 days on holiday, otherwise would be more normal first point of call)
• Serious non-local woodwind shop where we got DS's saxophone but is a LONG round trip and is only open a few days each week.

It's a goodish clarinet - Buffet E13 - so what do you think would be best?

(I sound hopeless, don't I? Just not had this happen before, and DS is, as I say, sad)

Cantkeepaway - try looking at Dawkes website. I know you can do walk-in repairs with them, but you might also be able to sent it to them for repair.

www.dawkes.co.uk/

Alexandra, thank you! That was exactly the guidance I was looking for - easy vs specialist and who would have the tools. Thursday it is. It's still ring shaped but rather crumbly at present, so the instrument still works.

Fleur, what an amazing idea! Just saw someone (wink wink!!) played double bach wonderfully and someone is soooo ready with her exam this week! All the best.

Violin practice is a pain for us here especially my teacher doesnt answer my email and I am not at home during lessons which doesnt help. Simple discussion like accompanist plan and no response....

Green, DS just had a 11+ mock test at the centre. We received a spot-on report (apart from VR but in a good way ). They have another mock test in September and I may take DS again. There is 10+ mocks as well which you may be interested for miniGreen. Anyway you gets lots of useful advice from them this weekend!

Thank you Fleur to organise the YouTube. You are so efficient!

Green when is the violin exam, is it November session?

I've uploaded the clarinet pieces on the channel, Ascot Gavotte slowed down tonight but I trust the accompaniment will get her in the right tempo tomorrow.