(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!

se22 Rara is shorter than that! But she is also a hobbit with bigger hands and feet - size 1 or 1.5 shoes, which I don't think is tiny. I am 159cm with size 5.5 feet (my mum and her sisters are a similar height and all wear size 3) so she takes after me. Goo is like her dad physically - tall, slim and dark haired, and size 6 feet already.

2nd no idea, but Rara favours the cello rhythm!

Gosh miniprada is only 145cm too!

Dd will definitely not be 145cm by end of year 6 (next summer). She won't grow 10 cm by then and she is a year older at school than minigreen!

We just received Guest Spot Waffle and dd chose to play Moon River (as she knows I love it). She is adamant that if she is to audition she'll play that or Unchained Melody. Are they contrasting enough with Paul Harris' Ghoulish? Are they the right standard?

I'm sure she'll change her mind a few more times as she discovers the other book also which has some nice movie themes.

Can she play two modern pieces, let's say Moon River and a movie theme as long as they are contrasting?

And can you use cds rather than accompaniment during the audition (I assume not)?

Just measured her now, its 142cm!

She has been long since birth however I have low hope as we are both short!

We chose A1, B1 and C2. The next week will be sight reading( and of course scales) I am googling practise room while we away however 99% that we wont need it. I was told that someone also played violin for 20mins today. A sticker was well earned.

Forgot the picture!

Fleur you can play what you like, but I would advise one out of the book we discussed yesterday. No CD backing tracks, but 50% of children audition unaccompanied, and this is fine. Don't worry about the standard of the pieces - it really doesn't matter. She can play something from the grade 1 book for all they care, as long as it is technically assured, expressive and shows commitment.

Thanks Waffle I'll make sure she'll continue with Ghoulish and then one of the ones in Guest Spot, they are quite nice arrangements and long some quite difficult.

To be fair we're off on holiday for two weeks so no need to worry about it now.

Even though I know she can audition without accopaniament I may try to convince her piano to let me pay her to accompany her. Not because of the actual accompaniment but because dd performs better when she's there from a confidence point of view, at least that is what happens in exams.

Did I say she got the highest mark in her clarinet exam for the study piece? Very proud of her as that is without the piano accompaniment which means there's no support to fall back on.

*her piano teacher

Cymbal bag arrived this morning, huge, for up to 22' cymbals which is the size of his ride. A very happy boy.

Mind you once he has four cymbals in there plus the hi-hat the weight will fold DS in half.

Very quiet here. I am doing my quota of posts all now for the August thread as I am away for two weeks as of next week.

drummers its good to hear your boy gets excited about music bags. Mine gets excited about music books and sheet music bags, it is worrying me a bit

Mine got super excited when she got her pretty pull through and polishing cloth (they are fab though...!)

I am away for 3 days next week, so suspect things might slow down with me and Fleur gone. I am VERY busy with my inbox at the moment, and loving it!

Have a great holiday, Fleur and Waffle! I'll be working next week, DS will be gone to his jazz residential. The house will be so quiet.

Prada at some point, when it feels right...a picture of your shoe cabinet, the one who would make Imelda Marcos jealous?

DS gave his first 1-2-1 lesson as a teacher yesterday to a g3 level young drummer. Loved it

Drummers. I'd have to tidy up first what I will say is that my ex-husband said to a mutual friend after the divorce was 'that it was like living with a f*ing millepede funniest thing was, if he'd been that witty when we were together, I wouldn't have left him...!

Glad he enjoyed the teaching!

prada you cracked me up.

Prada I love you! I'm not having a great day at work so your post cheered me up.

Minimama a link to a good pull through? Ours doesn't suck up the condensation properly.

Waffle with my loads of posts a day it will be quiet here.

drummers teaching already? He must feel so grown up. Good luck to him.

Loving the cymbal bag! Very smart indeed and well done to young drummer on teaching his first lesson. (Lucky G3 drummer!) hope he enjoys the residential, too.
Very quiet here. Every day midmorning, DS1 emerges in PJs and slippers with his drum sticks and laptop and heads down to posh shed to practise drums and then bass. I was invited in the other day to listen to his latest attempt to play Chick Corea's 'Spain' on bass. There is some way to go but hey! DS1 has an entire summer holiday to spend on this project! GCSE homework is just a minor irritant that he intends to ignore as long as he can! He then returns for food, disappears to his room and emerges in daytime clothing for lunch and computer time. To be fair he did go to a Japanese lesson yesterday.
DS2 only emerges at lunchtime, disappears again and when next seen is playing an electric guitar. He is meant to practise cello as well. I am tolerating the slothfulness since he is growing so fast - now 5 feet 7 1/2 inches and he's not quite 12 1/2 yet!
He's got a week's sailing next week so he'll have to relearn the art of getting out of bed then!

Prada, Drummers

I remembers when I left Barcap years ago a male colleague offered to help me with tidying my pedestals. When I opened them he didnt look impressed. They are only shoes, about 20 pairs, all are black, no note, document, confidential papers. My husband once said "why you are buying the same shoes?". There isnt a point to explain to him that they are high heels and black dont mean that they are "the same".

I have changed my tactic recently, my reward is 1 sticker=€1 so someone can soon spends hers. It works wonder.

Prada

loose love the teenage boy summer schedule...

loose mine was not given any gcse homework! Is it revision?

drummers some of it is revision. The comp sci is preparation or practice for something they're doing next term, which is fair enough. He's done a bit of that today. He's meant to do an English language paper and a load of geography questions as well.
I think he needs a break for a while. He worked very hard on his sciences this year and did well in the exams so I'm ignoring the advice to do past papers - he reads round the subject anyway. Past papers can be done as homework next term!