(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!

And yes to local music services, our local one has Saturday music school for toddlers and pre-schoolers where they get to try a lot of instruments, sing and have fun.

I think if you start early for fun then its fine, dont expect much. Mine started around 4.5 yrs old or something with piano and it was purely for fun. Just follow the child's lead. I think start any time before 6 is early. My 2nd is 3 and 5 months and I am hoping to start her in couple of years when her sister starts secondary. Basically the sister will be on her own and does whatever she wants with her music while I start again with my second. The cunning plan hardly ever works though. I must say that because her sister plays she does sit down at the piano and love to bang/bash it, she also loves to try on her sister violin and doesnt care with the horrible squeaky/screechy sound she created. She does sing and loves singing(her sister never sings), we are all very very terrible singer.

My 9 year old pupil has decided not to try for NCO this year. Her mum asked about the commitment, and decided that plus South West Music School would be a bit much for her this year, as she has lots of other hobbies. To be honest, it would have hinged on her doing lots of work to make her high notes more secure over the summer. They have said she might try next year, but again, it will depend on progress as far as I'm concerned. Oh well!

May I know whose DC played "Souvenir De Sarasate"? There are lots of harmonic. Is it too difficult for 9 years old? Is it good piece for audition NCO? Thanks.

Depending on what kind of quality you are looking for but I don't think it's too difficult for 9 years old. It can be achieved grade 7 level to grade 77 level. Sorry not sure about NCO but can't see any problem.

Kutik73, thanks. Did your DS play this piece? I just worry about the harmonic. I don't think my DD can play this piece to a good quality at this moment.

Yes he did, and I I don't really recall DS particularly struggling. But he likes harmonic and hasn't found it too hard (well, according to him...). Though, not sure how good the quality was!

Kutik73, if the piece had passed by the teacher, the qualify should be fine. We just started the piece and heard from my friend the harmonic is very hard. She does not think it is difficult, but I heard she played the harmonic notes are not beautifully as others. I hope it can be improved after more practise. Thanks.

DS said he liked harmonic because of its delicate sound. He seems to apply harmonic when he wants to emphasise the subtle beauty when a choice is given. So yes, it has to sound beautiful, I think. It's great for your DD to polish her harmonic if she hasn't done much.

I like that there are endless techniques and skills to learn and polish in learning musical instruments. DS is learning a piece with lots of spiccato!

violinandpiano, I too don't know about what the expectations are for NCO and agree with Kutik on the endless techniques a violinist needs to learn!

My DD was not so hot with her harmonics. it was real hit and miss. Her then teacher wanted her to play Czardas for a concert (Y5, aged about 10?) and at that stage, no amount of practise mastered the technique to perfection. I remember wincing inside at the concert, though she pulled it off overall on the showmanship side. But, she was so stressed on the build up and in hindsight, I should have put my foot down as she clearly wasn't ready for the piece. Or maybe my own judgement bar was too high.

I would want an audition to reflect the child's love for a piece, play it with musicality, and show the technical capability with confidence. We have moderated a piece in the past to downgrade and replace the technical element, without completely losing the essence of the piece, which was brought up in feedback as an intelligent and mature decision. And that they hated seeing a child perform something too technical (for them), badly.

Good luck with the audition!

Happy birthday to The Boy ! We're a month behind him here. A great age

Very happy birthday to The Boy! New saxophone is a pretty cool gift!

Happy birthday to The Boy! His birthday is ringht in the middle of my two, my Boy was last Sunday and my Girl is next Friday.

Happy B'day to The Boy, a new saxophone is a brilliant present
I hope you realise he'll probably want the whole family before long.

Mine comes home and plays on dh instruments and comments all the time that they are hers, in a kind of mind control way.
She even has me calling them hers now, dh isn't impressed.
This holiday she is making the most of the bari and soprano, which aren't hers.
Atm I can hear piano practice which warms my heart as it isn't something she would previously have choosen to do if she had the option.

Happy birthday to The Boy!

I sang constantly to my two as babies, hoping they would somehow 'tune in'. It was Goo's choice to start the recorder at 3.5. She learned how to play and read B,A,G and could play tunes like Joe Joe Stumped His Toe/ Hot Cross Buns etc. She was always a big girl, and was reading words by this point. It was also her choice to drop it, and start properly at 5. Rara started in Reception, aged about 4.5 and always went more slowly (a normal pace, I suppose) - she doesn't have Goo's intensity and determination and is happy to plod along. It was very slow going until she was nearing 5.5. I think glock is an excellent place to start, with hindsight. They can learn the layout of the piano, and pick up tunes by sight/ colour/ letters, and it requires less precise control than the piano.

I was incredibly lucky as a child in that I was able to attend the out of school music centre that Vivienne Price ran before she started the NCO. This started with percussion band at around 3 or 4 years old and progressed to recorder at about 5. I think I learnt to read music soon after I learnt to read words. Theory was introduced somewhere around 7 or 8 and woodwind instruments probably about 9 - no curved head flutes then so it depended on arm length. The grounding we received there led to a number of my contemporaries going to JD and music college. Playing an instrument was just part of life and the practice habits were started early on.

A very happy birthday to the super clarinetist boy!!

I think toddlers are simply amazing, never again in their lives will they learn so fast and so much in such a little time. But also, every child is different and needs a different approach. In our case DS started piano lessons very early, around 3,5, because he had the attention span and the focus of an adult under hypnosis. When he was 18 months my mum called me at work really worried saying DS was not normal. He was refusing to go to the park and all he wanted to do was sit in our red armchair next to the music system and listen to our vinyl records. He only called her to flip the side. He spent so many months on that chair we started calling him little Buddha (ha ha nothing to do with the lanky teenager inhabiting my house now!). He didn’t want to climb, break things, go out, throw balls, nothing. So when he was in a ball pool at a playcenter he sat inside it with a ball in each hand and just watched the other children play for up to 1 hour totally concentrated (the workers there were worried too). Age 2 he became obsessed with Menuhin’s CD “Instruments for the Orchestra” which I admit is kind of hypnotic. We had to take the cd everywhere, the car, on holidays. The psychologist from nursery called me, again worried, they didn’t know how to make him happy with their usual soft toys etc. (This was not in the uk) I said, “sit him in a corner with music. Beatles will do”. Next day the carers were jumping with joy, they had even forgotten to change his nappy, he just stayed there for the three hours giving them no trouble. Age 3 and a half he sat in a concert hall through a whole opera without muttering a single sound (I had to argue with the people at the door to let him in). When he started piano lessons with DH he never once distracted from them, got up from the stool, threw himself on the floor or started looking at the ceiling which would’ve been perfectly normal. His hands were ready for simple games and tunes. I always recommend to start early but then I tell myself every toddler is his own world. Sorry for all the stories but I start to remember the past and they all come at once! So long ago now! He climbs and kicks balls now

I love waffle 's recommendation of starting with a glockenspiel.

Love the stories Drummers; don't ever stop them. He was a remarkable little boy that has grown to be an very accomplished musician!

Happy Birthday to the boy! 🎈🎉🎈🎉

Alex, I wish The Boy have a great fun birthday today!

I love Alex and Drummers stories about your son's childhood. Thanks so much for sharing. I feel like I have missed all my daughter childhood. I was worried about losing my job and had to put crazy hours in and only took 4 months maternity leave( she was born by end of 2007 and few months later Leman collapsed and both our jobs have always been in risk since, my hysband lost his job 3 times since still). Since she was 1 yrs old till she was 5 yrs old I was busy working and trying for second one, it was so expensive and stressful 5 years with loads of injections and hormone pump etc. I remember when mom came to help us taking care of her and mom showed her letters and numbers and at 17 months she can read any car plate, my friends were all amazed and we still talk about it now. When mom went home couple of months later then she forgot all. I never noticed. She couldnt read when she started reception like any child and picked things up quite slowly in reception(dual language). She always loves maths/numbers. Very opposite from Drummers this child never sits still for 1 min even now. We are amazed by her everyday. She doesnt appear as she focuses or listening however she just gets everything anyone explained to her. We were told she has photographic memory however I dont think so, she has a good memory for sure although(this she has from her dad). We started piano lessons with our neighbor to cover the missing childcare hours and for fun. She started violin lesson at school as everyone in her class did. I feel like I am failing her always. I do try to catch up though. My aim next year is hoping for her to get a selective school place. Today, right now, I brought her swimming and I am happy.

green I know that pool, we have used it many times! Please don't be hard on yourself. Your DD is so curious, lively and smart. You're always doing your best and that's more than many non working mums I know!
ealing 😙

Green what a story (and the world of banking changed so much since causing far too much muddy and uncertainty). Too much stress for all of us. Banking was a much happier place Pre 2007. My daughter was born much later , summer 08, but I remember the pressure my ex was under to suddenly work so much harder rather than enjoying the baby.

Waffle, clarinettists, can you please tell me how tongued the grade 2 scales should be. I'm sure dd is doing too much tongue.

Misery not muddy

You can't beat a musical instrument as a birthday gift, or Christmas come to that. No batteries required, no fiddly assembly and it should still be in use years later.