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Extra-curricular activities

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

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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.

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Fleurdelise · 09/07/2017 00:54

TheSecond the choir situation must be annoying, I hope you get better in time for the concert! Flowers

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 01:24

Fleur, I think it's quite normal to feel a bit of doubt towards new teachers, especially if you have a good, reliable relationship with the current one (s).

During DS's JD challenge, JD looked a dreamland to us. When he was offered a place, we felt ecstatic. However, when we started receiving letters/emails from them for the new arrangements from September, I started feeling a bit wobbly.

I posted some of my wobbly thoughts on this thread actually. I was then advised that "DS needs to taste the treat for his hard working", when I was talking about the possibility of pulling him out even before it started. I think it was "drummers" - thanks. Smile The comment gave me a moment to re-think the way I was feeling about the whole thing.

We have never changed DS's teacher (for both piano and violin). I was probably feeling a bit scared by the unknown world, not JD itself, but the fact that we are leaving the teacher who we have built such a special relationship for a new teacher. I started picking any sign DS showed me in a negative way and thought we were about to make a big mistake by making unnecessary change.

Now we gave notice of leaving to the current violin teacher and have been in touch with his new teacher by email, I feel much more positive about the change and we are all looking forward to this coming September (though it's more like October for us as DS will miss the first few sessions due to secondary school exam and open day).

se22mother · 09/07/2017 01:44

If I'm going to give notice to dd's clarinet teacher I need to do it this week. We will continue the instrument but not sure in school or not. Now I'm having second thoughts despite the communication issues I'm wondering if ut is better the devil we know...... fleur what did you decide?

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 04:45

Just a silly question... How do your DCs carry their instrument to school? DS usually carry his violin on his back. It's easier than holding with hand but also less likely he would leave it at bus stops or shops... However, he needs to carry music books, note books and folders with a pen case as well as a big lunch pack with two bottles of water from September. My first thought was, pack everything except violin in a backpack then carry the violin with hand. But then, it's so easy for my 10 years old to 'forget' to pick up his violin when he takes a bus and so on... Any suggestion??

Trumpetboysmum · 09/07/2017 06:50

Ds often goes to school looking like a pack horse!! Trumpet on his back rucksack also on his back !!Hmm pe kit in his hands. It's a long walk to his school from the new house so we shall have to figure something else out for next year I think

AlexandraLeaving · 09/07/2017 07:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Trumpetboysmum · 09/07/2017 07:48

Grin Alexandra and don't forget cooking ingredients too !! I try and organise ds a bit and get him to leave his pe stuff at school if this happens looking forward to a new timetable in September which hopefully doesn't involve orchestra cooking and pe all on the same day !!

Mendingfences · 09/07/2017 08:13

Niggles, definitly pack the cuddly. All of mine will be taking theirs in a couple of weeks.

Mine have lessons through the equivalent of the music service so we have never had a choice if teacher, but we have been very very lucky. Dd1 has had 4 violin teachers who have all been excellent and going forward will be having private lessons with one of them as the music service no longer har enough violin students for å teacher. I suppose we are lucky that they have always had individual lessons i know friends that live in the City have har some challenges with group lessons.

Minimusiciansmama · 09/07/2017 08:32

fleur you've every right to be proud, she's doing fab! There may be better kids on here but there's also little kids who heard your girly and said "wow I want to play piano like her"..... I have one of those.... same for all the kids on here and that's something I like about the YouTube page. It's a chance for them all to find someone to admire while seeing their progress too. My girl took her g2 piano two weeks ago and is very excited for her teacher to come back as she's desperate to plough on. We have the G3 book as I did it in May so she's begging me to let her learn some scales & exercises as a surprise (she has in fact just this minute taken it to the piano).

waffle that's very sweet, thank you so much. Here's hoping they do.

Doubleup · 09/07/2017 08:36

DD1 tries to manage things by taking her PE kit to school on a Monday when she doesn't need it until Tuesday and then bringing it back on a Friday when she doesn't have an instrument with her. However, all her music ensembles at school are on one day, so she has to take oboe and sax that day. DH Usually takes pity on her and gives her a lift then. She used to leave the sax in school overnight as her lesson was the next day, but now has to bring both instruments back on the bus in the afternoon as she has swing band that evening. Some of you may recall that she has managed to leave her sax on the bus on more than one occasion, but we love our local bus company as so far it has always come back!

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 09:47

OK, it seems DS is heading for joining the pack-horse club. Grin

Double, so lucky that you have such a nice local bus company. I left a few items on public transport in the past (yes me, not DS) and from my experience things I left on tube/DLR came back but never those on a bus... Maybe it's only me?

It seems like quite a few of your DCs take their instrument(s) to school. Are they a spare or main one? We don't have any spare other than an awful bow, so DS is going to take his main and only violin to school. My another worry is that DS forgets to bring his violin back home. It's probably much safer than leaving it elsewhere as it will be in a safe place, but this means he won't be able to practise in the evening. A few odd times would be fine, but if he misses home practice on a day when he actually has time to practise, then it will be more likely that he has to wait for another couple of days till he can finally practise as his packed schedule means there are days when he cannot practise anyway. Hopefully it won't happen just before auditions/exams/performance...

Do your DCs have any experience like this? Being unable to practise during the important season as they left their instrument at school?

AlexandraLeaving · 09/07/2017 09:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fleurdelise · 09/07/2017 09:54

Kutik I think if it was for JD then we wouldn't have had second thoughts.

Se22 we'll most probably remain with her current teacher. I've asked if the music service one is teaching privately as well but dd really wants to stay with the old one. Considering our communication is fantastic and she knows dd so well I feel like I am seeing problems where there aren't any.

I will have to find a solution for the initial thoughts of separating clarinet from piano. It is a complicated situation but I am sure we will find a solution.

Minimama thank you! When she first started piano I didn't expect it would be anything else than the normal progress of a grade a year. I definitely didn't expect grade 6 discussion after less than 4 years of piano. Of clarinet grade 5 discussions after a year a bit of clarinet. I bet you felt the same with minimini, she's amazing, haven't heard of somebody so advanced on clarinet at the age of 7. Most of them don't start till 9.

se22mother · 09/07/2017 09:55

Kutik I once left my phone on a London bus and it came back to me. Dd also left swim stuff on a bus and we got that back too. There is hope for your mini Smile

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 10:22

Double, you sound like you live in my native country! I was brought up in a country where you can go to loo leaving your bag at a table in a restaurant and primary school kids can go to school, friends house or after school clubs by their own. I used to go to nursery without mum when I was 3 (my sister who was 5 walked with me)!

I am a big worrier, hence already thinking of many cases of the worst scenario of when DS starts taking his violin by his own to school. Grin

A brilliant pianist/violinist couldn't give his final performance at primary school a couple years ago as he left his violin at a bus stop in the morning. He had this big piece he'd been working so hard for months for his last performance at the school, yet he had to sit there just watching other kids' performance during the concert.The violin came back so it was a relief but I felt for him. DS admires this boy dearly and is excited to see him again in September as he is going to the same JD as this boy.

I also know a girl who left her clarinet on Friday at school just a few days before her G6 exam. Her mum and the girl had a very precise schedule for what to cover/practise run-up to the exam day and that weekend was planned to do the final running through but she couldn't touch her clarinet until Monday (and the exam was Tuesday). They looked very very stressed out...

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 10:23

Oh! I meant se22mother, sorry!

Kutik73 · 09/07/2017 10:32

Fleur, DS's violin teacher has some negative views on JD which he started telling us once we received the offers. I listened to him, so started having a wobbly thought. However, very recently I discovered that he sent his daughter to open day at JD which he didn't tell us for some reasons. Although I love the teacher and appreciate all he did for DS in the last few years, there are other things I couldn't understand he did/said, so together with some positive words I received on this thread, I decided it's time to move on. So yes, now I have no doubt. Smile

Trumpetboysmum · 09/07/2017 11:36

I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to not leaving instruments behind or loosing music just before exams or important performances Grin I basically make sure that one of us picks ds up from school on these days and I never let him take the original music to school until the actual performance!!

Minimusiciansmama · 09/07/2017 13:05

I envisage issues down the line about the instrument at school thing.... she's still so young and quite forgetful. At the moment it's not a fancy clarinet but I couldn't afford to replace it. we are soon going to spend not insignificant money on new mouthpiece/ligature/barrel etc. Thankfully I always pick her up with her being little. I may keep her B12 as the "school clarinet" when eventually she's onto a more serious clarinet.

TheSecondOfHerName · 09/07/2017 14:41

DD's flute exam did not go well. She is fairly sure that she has failed. She managed to hold the tears back until we got into the car afterwards.

Let's hope that DS2 has a better experience next week.

Trumpetboysmum · 09/07/2017 14:43

Oh no Thesecond horrible when they are upset but he get it went better than she thinks I'll keep my fingers crossed

TheSecondOfHerName · 09/07/2017 14:54

Thanks Trumpetboysmum
She thought she had failed last time, and it turned out that she got merit, so I'm going to wait and see.

Trumpetboysmum · 09/07/2017 15:04

I was so same whenever I was little I always cried and thought I'd failed and it always turned out fineSmile

Fleurdelise · 09/07/2017 15:21

TheSecond dd was the same after her piano one and cried all the way home and more. She did pass. It couldn't have gone worse than dd's who had to restart two of her pieces and a few scales. And she thinks sight reading was really bad (she got 17 for it though so it couldn't have been that bad).

Why does your dd think she failed? If my dd's experience sounds worse pls feel free to share with your dd so she can hear it can feel pretty bad but maybe it isn't as bad as she thought.

LooseAtTheSeams · 09/07/2017 15:23

I was like that about both of my piano exams and I passed so I am sure MiniSecond will be fine!
DS2 has his grade 4 exam on Tuesday. He can play his pieces much better than I could mine. The scales are good one day and a bit wobbly the next. Sight reading is fine. Aural is ok apart from singing. So at least he can go in expecting to pass!