(Mostly) August Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Here's a new thread for August, but we're starting it a few days early, because you lot have managed to be super chatty this month! I wonder if things will slow down in August due to people going away... maybe or maybe not?

I'm Waffle, a teacher of woodwind - mostly recorders and clarinet, but I have a couple of flutes currently, and teach saxophone, piano and theory when required. I am determined that the music threads should be open to ALL, including complete beginners and adult learners. It's a good place to discuss lessons, practice, concerts, exams and our generally hectic lives!

I have a DH who plays the guitar for pleasure (no lessons) and two girls. Goo is 11 and has her Grade 7 Flute (March 2017) and Grade 6 Recorder (December 2015 and now pretty much stopped ). She has been learning the piano for 15 months, is refusing to perform in any way, shape or form, but will probably take Grade 5 next year. Rara is 9 and has Grade 3 Cello (July 2017), Grade 3 Recorder (December 2016 and also ceased) and is working towards her Grade 3 Clarinet... probably next spring. Goo is off to NCO Under 12s on Sunday, and we need to pop out to get her some shoes and general supplies in a bit.

I have just realised that we will probably have Grade 8 Flute and Grade 3 Clarinet going on in the same session, Spring 2018. Oh dear! If Rara bothers with Grade 4 Cello, we'll probably have that at the same time as Grade 5 Piano, next summer. Double oh dear!

Fleur - has dd done Witches Dance? Dd did that for one nco audition; I am v fond of it :)

Sorry no time at moment to catch up with the thread properly but good so many new joiners!

string do you know what book that is in and the standard of it? It rings the bell...

Hi I think it was on the G3 syllabus - she teamed it with Bach sinfonia which is in music through time book 4 (I am. Not sure the Bach is much more difficult than bk 3 pieces but I might be wrong). Other reliable favourites are ave Maria

I think it's in First Repertoire for Clarinet, and is good fun, and quite easy - all low notes. It has been set for Grade 3 before, but a child I taught played it for a festival last year, not long after his Grade 1 exam.

The Schubert Ave Maria that is

Yes Waffle is right. All those pieces readily allow a bit of character/ performance to come which is nice for auditions

I'll have a look. We have two more books to arrive, one is Ultimate Movie instrumental solos which has a grade 3 and a grade 4 piece in it (new syllabus) and the Guest Spot (20 classic hits) which is labelled intermediate level and has Moon River, Imagine and other such pieces. So plenty of choice, I just need to get her working on it after the holidays. We're off on Saturday for two weeks.

string did your dd audition for under 11? I just want to make sure the pieces are the right standard.

Hi I was just trying to remember which she did for which one; for u10s it was def deep river plus one I can't recall (she had only taken g1); u11 was Bach sinfonia and I think tarantella or witches dance. Def got in on performance/passion level rather than grade level

Thanks string! With all the help and advice here and Waffle's private help she should get some pieces going well enough by then.

niggle that sounds upsetting. I have had slight tensions with some teachers when DS chose pieces without consulting but most were totally fine. But it never escalated. It's not right.

I step away from the thread for one day - while driving for 6 hours south from Scotland (yawn) - and it has moved on another 4 pages. At this rate we are going to need an additional 'totally August' page!

Hi all.

Hopefully DS' cast should come off in 2.5 weeks, just before we are away.

He's going to buzz with his trombone mouthpiece every day to keep his lip, but he is also going to give his pbone a go today to see if he can manage to hold it up. Reason being his jazz group is playing at a Festival as get back and he really wants to play.

He has never not practised piano for so long, so it will be weird, however his teacher also does his theory, so she is coming on Friday to boost him with that. He'd already planned G6 next term, so will really be able to crack on with it!

Orthodontics, the canine tooth is too awkwardly positioned to attempt to move, so will need to be removed. He had to have all other baby teeth removed so they can assess his adult dentition. (Adult teeth are through, baby teeth hanging on beside). After this he will have an appointment with the missing tooth specialist(!) to see the best way forward, which may be two years of orthodontics, train track brace. Sigh.

DS2 very upset at this idea, mostly because of instruments. I think trombone should be ok though, any thoughts?

Oh I really feel for him raspberry. I think lower brass is easier with braces than higher brass. It can improve their technique as they can't press on so hard, but can take some getting used to I think. Is it worth asking about Invisalign ? ( though I'm sure it costs more) I think they can take this out while they practice.

Raspberry, good luck with DS' cast and teeth. I can see ortho treatment for DD1 round the corner. She's had issues all the way through with teeth on one side coming through, but the baby teeth not coming out, which has meant that one or two came out rather high and several are a bit wonky. The dentist will assess her at the next visit as to whether they will refer - or whether we have to scrape the money together to go private.
DD2 on the other hand, has quite a major overbite - not quite sure what can be done with that. Doesn't affect her bassoon playing though.

wafflenose

Somebody has a thread asking for grade 5 standard flute music.
Thought you'd be the one to ask.

Thanks, I spotted that earlier. Rara has had a sleepover and I need to sort her friend out, ready for home. I'll pop over after that.

Raspberry my friend's 13 year old daughter took her grade 6 trombone exam with train tracks this term, and get a distinction. I was a clarinetist with truly awful teeth and train tracks. I lived to tell the tale! Goo couldn't play the flute at all to start with, and is now fine except in the 4th octave. She is still finding piccolo difficult.

raspberry DS2 had fixed braces for a year. For the first few days after they were put on, he was very uncomfortable and could only play the clarinet for a few minutes at a time. By the end of the first week he felt much better and could play for 30 minutes. Each time they were adjusted, he was uncomfortable for a day or two.

I like parents to sit in on the lessons I do, especially the beginner lessons. Usually they don't though. Often they are within earshot which can also be useful, though it obviously doesn't allow for visual observation. I often ask a child to demonstrate something we've worked on to the parent who collects , partly in the hope that parents will remind their children of it during the week and partly to check that the child has understood and remembers. There's one mum who does a lot with her DC and I often compliment her on it.

There are some disadvantages to having a parent always observing however. Some children love having a purely 1:1 . It's their thing which gives them a small measure of independence and 'ownership' of their music-making. It all depends on the family though.

I try to have my pupils play more than 3 exam pieces so they have a choice. But this doesn't always happen. In your case I'd make a start on the pieces your DC had chosen and see how it went from there..... there must be someone who could accompany.

Hello to the other jazzers. DD has chosen a jazz piano module for her next year and is now lamenting the fact that her hands instinctively go into non jazzy chord shapes.

Kutik - very wise words.

raspberry very best wishes to your DS

Interesting. I have never sat in on my DC's lessons. Partly because they started in school, and once after school it was with the same teacher so the pattern of 'not beibng there' was well set by that point..

For my children, particularly DS (who had many ASD traits when younger, and spent some time as a selective mute, speaking to no adults outside the family), that 1:1 relationship with an adult outside the family, based on a mutual interest, has been one of the very best things about music tuition. Perhaps he might have made faster musical progress had I been there to listen in and then support practice, but he would have lost out in other ways - in particular their mutual love of jazz has taken DS off in directions that I could not have directed or supported him in.

My DS has a diagnosis of 'mild' for want of a better word ASD. He was certainly not a selective mute but he definitely had communication difficulties, which some primary class teachers were much better or poorer at helping with. (Some teachers IMO exacerbated his difficulties unfortunately but that's another story.) I never usually sat in on his lessons either but he had a one off lesson at home with a fantastic jazz teacher. One of the things that struck me was how nicely he spoke to DS and how well DS spoke to him. His latest teacher (classical but very supportive of his jazz and all round development) says he is easy to communicate with and pleasant to work with. Presumably , like you say can't because DS has such a keen interest. Interestingly DS will often say after his lessons that they have been "useful" or "interesting". He discovered jazz independently of the family and his first teacher. It's very much 'his' thing. He teaches us about jazz. He's much more successful as a jazz musician than he would have been if he had continued purely with classical music. We support and encourage him massively and recognise the huge non-musical benefits it has given him.

I think instrumental lessons can give different children different things and parents often want different things from the lessons.

It's all fascinating.

Oh dear. That post accidentally turned into a bit of a How many times can you use the word 'jazz' We also love classical music and like some other genres too. (sometimes in small doses though )

Morning, growing teeth and wind instruments is a whole area of problems I've never considered! DD had weekly clarinet lessons with her whole class in Y4 last year and quite liked it, but not as much as the violin/piano. She also has a stammer which can be quite severe and I thought, possibly wrongly, that instruments not reliant on her mouth muscles would relieve her of the stress of that.

DD's teacher asked me to be at lessons and DD herself prefers it (said teacher is nicer when I am there). Thanks so much for your feedback. I received a long email this morning from the teacher, with an apology but saying she strongly believes g5 violin should be left to the spring, if we are doing g2 piano and g5 theory at christmas. I don't mind that.

I sent her an email outlining my plan 2 days before the lesson and didn't receive a response. I thought if she disagreed there would have been a reply and sorted it out that way. I hate any sort of confrontation and gave her a cue to say what she wanted to do. Instead of replying, it was all done in front of DD at a lesson and not particularly nicely.

DH says DD's wishes should come first, and I agree and obviously the teacher is looking for a compromise. Wish she had just emailed back though!

On this thread is it obvious there are no perfect teachers (or perfect parents!) but I do think any negotiation should be polite.

I'm so pleased your DD's teacher has apologised. It's a bit worrying that she is nicer when you are there though!