July Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

I was celebrating the end of a VERY busy week with a glass of 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.

Oh, Green, I feel for you! Having had problems with teachers myself I can totally relate to what you are saying. I cannot believe my luck at the moment- I feel totally relaxed about our teachers now, probably first time ever. Saying that it takes years of experience to understand how it works. I also agreed that it may not necessarily be a bad teacher but this particular individual may be unsuitable to this particular child.

Hi ringle, I'm not in London either. My dc have 30 min lessons with the local music service rather than private lessons (although DD1 has sax lessons through school). DD1 needs to be reminded to practice, but at 14 is pretty self sufficient in that regard with oboe and sax.

DD2 on the other hand at 10 does need input: although she is capable of practicing by herself, she is not very mature emotionally and has needed a lot of support in that regard, particularly this term as she did Grade 5 theory and Grade 7 bassoon within 2 weeks of each other. Not my decision, I have to point out - her teacher pretty much insisted! The teacher said afterwards that after this term nothing should ever feel as hard again!

Hi ringle, no, not at all, we are South East :)

Mendingfences are you in Scandinavia??? Really??? How does it work there? Love Scandinavian countries-Sweden is love of my life!

onlymusic，such useful information about theory exam. Thanks.

rogueantimatter my friend is just the same. Teaches little ones without having proper qualifications. But she is doing really well. I think qualifications are not that important at this stage. What is important is to teach parents how to practice correctly, which was a big issue for me as a non musical parent when my dd started. Good luck with discovering new talents!

I'd like to be in rural Scandinavia 💜
Just popping in to say I will be off radar for a few days. Good luck with results everyone.

Momoftwo: we are staying in Frejus for nearly 3 weeks end of August, thinking about it keeps me going with my daily! I am thinking of trying Suzuki for my second, will have to do some research about it. I still have to take care of the girls' nails once a week. Once a week is ok, they are not too long.

Ringle: you are most well come here! You might find it funny as poster like me neither English nor musical and trying to support our UK born/musical children and I dont know what I am doing.

Only, Niggle: we dont have mark. To be fair to our teachers, this girl doesnt practise much however still could easily get bored. I used to try to defend my recent teacher who accused her of lying that she didnt practise and my daughter said she did that my teacher was right. Holding a violin doesnt count as practising. 30mins practice a day although holding it for 15 mins and not doing anything doesnt count a full 30mins practise. (However I dont like the way our teacher accusing her, I dont think it was kind and caring and professional). Unfortunately my 9.5 yrs old doesnt practise when I am not home and I am only home with her late in the evening. However if she practises 20-30 mins a day, 5 days a week then we could progress well/fast, this happens with piano now.

We are on the train for our first prom concert this year. We are early as we hope for some coffee/chit chat time before the concert starts.

Hi Ringle we're based on sunny suffolk ( though kind of cloudy and muggy today yuk!) I'm trying to have as little input with ds now as possible as it only leads to us both feeling frustrated !! Though as he only got his music for his nco course this week I fear I may be asked to go and look over timing/ tricky transposition in a minute - wish me luck !!

I'm not London either. We are in Cork, Ireland.

I'm not that musical either, Grade 4 Piano, nearly 40 years ago!! Though I played lots of trad until into my twenties. No longer able to help my girls with practice, both are much better than I ever was. I mostly help by helping with structure of practice, based on input from teacher. Then I let them at it, and practice on their own.
My main purpose is to provide the bribes for meeting goals!!

My girls aren't as dedicated or as advanced as many in this thread, but DD2(13) really enjoys violin lessons, and DD1(15) is still sticking with it.

green I still do nails for DD1 - at 15!! Or they would never be cut short enough. But obviously not good enough for teacher😊
We love Suzuki method, my girls have had some fantastic experiences and opportunities with it. All the teachers we have met have been very nice and encouraging. Which is especially great for the younger ones.

For dc1 I found a guitar teacher through a little "music company" of maybe 2 or 3 teachers. Teachers came and went, so maybe had 3 different teachers. One day we arrived at their place, and everything was locked up and dark. They never bothered telling me they had stopped altogether....
Then found another one who tried dc1 to play pop stuff on his acoustic, halfway a piece he would change to a different piece as the rest was apparently very difficult on his acoustic.
Finally dc joint secondary school and got a good teacher at school.

Lessons for dc2 and 3 were also a bit difficult, brilliant teacher but only, hm, maybe 15 or 20 lessons in a year.

MomOf2Girls2
DD is about to go to a big Guide camp in Ireland. The camp is in Co. Tipperary, but she is staying with girls from Co. Cork (I think they're from Brandon & Crosshaven). She's quite excited.

*Bandon not Brandon. Phone auto corrected.

I've been away a week so skimmed the thread. Congratulations drummersmum, he did so well to carry on with that sore hand and congratulations to Rara too. Apologies to everyone I've passed over, I'm on my third load of holiday washing and I shouldn't be here at all.

For people trying to learn foreign musical terms can I recommend Memrise - there is a music section and some theory sets within that. If you get the question right it asks you it less frequently, the things you get wrong you see more often. I'm trying to get DS to take on the ear training set to improve his recognition of intervals but that's going as you would expect.

second cool!! Your dd will have a ball.

Hi there! Like rogueaintimatter, i have a jazzer - clarinet and saxophone - who is gradually working his way into classical. Almost all his musical friends have 'moved the other way' from classical to jazz and, as he likes their company, he joins their music centres and orchestras.

So his friends did county music centre, maybe county wind band / sinfonia, then moved over to county jazz groups - whereas DS, now 16, started in the county jazz groups at the age of 10, joined the county music centre at 13/14 and is just now starting to consider the county orchestra setup...

He's pretty good on the jazz front, but by the standards of this thread a very late starter on the classical repertoire. Carried through by oodles of goodwill, energy and enthusiasm rather than by straightforward classical skill - athough he reserves a special place in his rants for the 'time served' attitude to seating within some classical groups, where as a new recruit but at a high grade, he finds himself on 4th clarinet while those 3 or 4 grades below him play 1st / 2nd!

DD, a couple of years younger, did learn clarinet at primary school, then cello at secondary. However, as a serious dancer - 10-12 hours per week - she simply doesn't have the time to manage instrumental playing, so she now learns singing in 1:1 lessons at her dance school, as musical theatre requires those who can sing while dancing....

only i am in Norway and every district has a culture school which is like the county music service but not restricted to music so may also have dance drama art etc. Or if you live somewhere tiny like i do you may have very little choice. Our district used to allow kids to have lessons in a neighbouring district but the new head of culture school stopped that so now we are still not certain how we will fix lessons after the summer. For violin we are almost certainly looking at private lessons in the nearest city (90 mins + driving beach way.....)

DH managed to bring DS back home in time for a concert! Phew! DS and other participates all did very well, and they were treated nicely in a cafe nearby after the concert. But the sugary treat wasn't really necessary for the naturally hyper DS, and now he is off to play the second round of tennis with his mates (and daddies) to use up his energy, giving me a quiet moment at home (lovely...).

cantkeep dd1 has a special hatred for å conductor she had on a summer orchestra course om the city who placed all the students he knew and then stuck her at the back of the second violins (and gave her frere jacque to play). It wouldnt have been so irritating if they hadnt claimed they har spoken to the kids teachers when they decided the placements...... (they had not spoken to dd1s teacher despite the conductor actually playing in the same orchestra as said teacher, and i have a certain suspicion it never occured to them that a kid from the countryside could be any good)

what nice replies! thank you, I'm impressed.

It's impressive to hear about the "self-starting" self-motivated children on this thread.

Nothing frustrates my DDs as much as not being challenged at orchestra. We had terrible set up this year where they split strings orchestra into a Primary school and secondary school. Poor DD2 and many of the other 1st violins in last year of primary were very underwhelmed. It didn't help her sight reading one bit, because after playing through easy music a few times she had it off by heart. Hopefully she will have much better experience from Sept in the secondary school orchestra.

Roll on Suzuki camp where she usually has great orchestra experience.

Onlymusic, thank you, I will check her positioning.

Ringle, rural Suffolk here.

Concert at NSSO was fab. DD was second violin but she is only 9 and it is her first year.

Green, once you get the right teacher, I am sure minigreen will fly.

It's a looong term!

Great day at cathedral. Dd2 got her leavers photo / certificate. 9yrs!
Great big evensong where was completely wrung out but managed not to blub ( she sang the solo in ascribe unto the lord - Wesley ), then the choristers picnic on the bishops lawn.

Now.....and I wonder what state she'll be in.... she's gone off socialising with the " choir men and choir scholars" at the deputy to the director of musics " at home". They were all a bit " bouncy " already but heck she's 18 now and off to uni in the autumn.

Next weekend is the director of musics swan song weekend so that'll be even more emotional big singing ! We've been " choir parents" since 2004. I reckon we should get an award !