Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

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

July Music Thread

999 replies

Wafflenose · 01/07/2017 00:12

I was celebrating the end of a VERY busy week with a glass of Wine and realised it's now just past midnight, and therefore July! Have a new thread!

The music threads are for ALL musicians, young and old, beginners and advanced, and every style of music!

I have two DDs, Goo (11) who is currently stropping and eye-rolling her way through her last few weeks at primary school, and Rara (9) who is funny and creative. Goo is working towards Grade 8 Flute, and has been playing the piano for just over a year. She is refusing to take any exams or perform on it though. Rara has her Grade 3 Cello exam coming up soon, and is just moving beyond Grade 2 Clarinet now. Both played the recorder from age 3/4 and got to a really good level, but other than helping out with my school groups, they don't really play any more - they are particularly obsessed with the flute and clarinet.

I am a teacher of woodwind - currently about 80 recorder pupils (many group taught) in two schools, plus two private flute pupils and six private clarinet pupils.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
raspberryrippleicecream · 08/07/2017 11:01

Goodness there's been lots going on!

Drummers poor you and your DS. Wishing you all the best for tomorrow.

Congratulations to those with brilliant exam results.

Waffle glad Goo's induction days went well and I will also add to those with positive experiences of completely new starts for Secondary.

Fleur that number of lessons doesn't sound particularly strange. A lot of schools work on 30 a year, though not necessarily 10 a term.

We don't have lessons generally through holidays, except an extra piano lesson halfway through summer. but do keep up practice. Or at least DS2 does.

For Organ his teacher is the Cathedral Organ scholar, so he will be away anyway, but I have already put in place practice arrangements with the verger. There is no avoiding that practice when it's scheduled in everyone's diaries and I have to chaperone him!

I'm going to research a nice book for him though, because I'm also sure the vergers will be sick of the same pieces for 6 weeks!

Icouldbeknitting · 08/07/2017 11:17

In theory DS has lessons all year round. The reality is with our holidays and the teacher's holidays he has two lessons between now and September. When he was having lessons in school we would arrange a couple of private ones with the same teacher over the summer just so he didn't go backwards.

AlexandraLeaving · 08/07/2017 11:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

drummersmum · 08/07/2017 12:19

We only keep up drums lessons during holidays because they're the only lessons that are outside school. Everything else stops unfortunately. And jd will be the same. But he does keep up quite a lot of practice and also a chance to compose..

stringchild · 08/07/2017 14:20

Drummers - best of luck today!

Waffle - dd insisted on a large secondary school so that stuff won't get so intense and wider spread of friends; she moved from a tiny school at yr3 - best thing we did. Others think it strange that we wouldn't favour a small school but life seems much simpler Ina big one😀

Fleur - v normal; dd won't have lesson until start of oct now finished two weeks ago). As long as they get chance to play and practice I tend to think the break works - guess it might be different for the super serious musicians

cantkeepawayforever · 08/07/2017 14:24

There is no avoiding that practice when it's scheduled in everyone's diaries and I have to chaperone him!

Younger DBro was an organist - luckily up to sixth form, and in the holidays, he had the run of our local church organ as my DF was the choir master. He went to a school next to a cathedral for sixth form, and i gather that was more complicated with keys etc ... including famously getting locked in one night when he fell silent a little too long between two pieces....

Doubleup · 08/07/2017 15:02

Cantkeep, that story made me smile Smile

DD1's hectic musical term has just been topped off with the offer of a Music Award for the next two years at school! She is very happy. She narrowly missed out on one going into Y7, getting highly commended then despite not having done her Grade 3 at the time of that audition while most others were Grade3/4, but to get it now when the original music scholars had to reaudition is very pleasing. She will be using it for her sax lessons in school while keeping her oboe lessons with the same teacher at the music service that she has had since Y4.

raspberryrippleicecream · 08/07/2017 15:11

Can't keep Grin

DS and DH have nearly been locked in already. He has a practise slot after Evensong while Choir rehearses in the Songroom. He finished, switched off and spent so long faffing around in the organ loft the Master of the Music came out if the song room, assumed they'd gone and was all set to lock up! It was only because I'd been chaperoning choir I knew they were still there!

raspberryrippleicecream · 08/07/2017 15:13

Congratulations mini Doubleup.

cantkeepawayforever · 08/07/2017 15:16

I gather DBro played louder and louder and whoever locked up hadn't gone too far....

CharisInAlexandria · 08/07/2017 15:19

MendingFences thanks for the tip. Will look into that one

Fleurdelise · 08/07/2017 15:28

Thanks all! I think bottom line is that dd's current teacher does offer some holiday lessons as she was just saying today that she's happy to teach over the summer, she doesn't want to start in September by explaining how to hold the clarinet again. Grin

Everybody takes a break and we do also for two weeks in the summer but then return with fresh energy to start again. I think it's fine for kids who can self motivate, dd is still too young, she would but very little.

She also said today she's planning for dd to maybe skip grade 4, not 100% but she wants to see how it goes, obviously not next term but after she plays lots of stuff and when she gets there, she knows dd well. I feel like starting afresh with a new teacher will take a while till dd will actually talk to her.

We discussed the NCO and she said to remind her about it next week as she wanted to talk about it.

If it was for a JD then it was a no brainer, in this case I think dd suits better a private teacher with the added orchestra.

Fleurdelise · 08/07/2017 15:36

I forgot to say well done to Goo for her amazing SATs result. Star

Well done minidouble!

And I also forgot to say I am sure the music service lessons do work, I just suddenly felt in the last couple of weeks since discussing it that my concerns were not really answered to, it felt a bit dismissive and "this is what we do" kind of attitude, which is fine but it reinforced my idea of losing the personal touch. The 33 lessons per year just added to my quiestioning if it was the right decision and I suddenly decided it wasn't.

Maybe it's just sudden anxiety but it feels so good to be able to have an equal foot conversation with a teacher regarding your child rather than have your questions dismissed as "our working procedure is...".

drummersmum · 08/07/2017 16:00

double how fantastic! Well done.
fleur follow your gut. Communication with teacher is so important.

Trumpetboysmum · 08/07/2017 17:27

Communication is definitely the key the brass teachers for our music service our great but it was only when ds got his current teacher who is keen to communicate and pays little attention to ' well this is how we do things' and focuses instead on what will work for different pupils to that ds started to make amazing progress

Trumpetboysmum · 08/07/2017 18:42

Hi waffle and anyone else with ds in the NCO under 12s can I just check that we haven't been sent links to the purple patches yet ( ds would not be impressed if I had missed this and he hadn't practised!!)

Doubleup · 08/07/2017 19:11

Trumpet, DD2 is in Under 11s and we were only sent the purple patches this week with apologies for how late they were.

Trumpetboysmum · 08/07/2017 19:41

Double dis you get an email link?

Doubleup · 08/07/2017 19:57

Trumpet It was an e-mail from Robin Easton with a PDF from the U11 bassoon tutor.

stringchild · 08/07/2017 20:23

Trumpet - yes dd got her U12s purple patches a few days ago -
11 pages....

stringchild · 08/07/2017 20:24

And yes from Robin, with a pdf

Trumpetboysmum · 08/07/2017 20:32

Oh ok we haven't had a link ds is away next week so can't practice anyway I'll email them and ask thank you

stringchild · 08/07/2017 20:35

Trumpet - they don't come out at same time always as different tutors prepare them. They make sure everyone knows how much time the dc have had them. Dd won't have any lessons now so she will have to go it alone (and we go on him this week...)

Trumpetboysmum · 08/07/2017 20:54

That's reassuring they didn't get them at all for the last course ds just said he would listen to the music when he gets back from his trip to holland but I've emailed robin just in case as I know ds would hate it if he hadn't been able to practise and others had !!

stringchild · 08/07/2017 20:59

Trumpet - we listened to the pieces; very exciting choices for wind and brass :)

Swipe left for the next trending thread