(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!

Thanks Waffle, that is useful to know. I have never played anything smaller than a descant, and only played a variety of recorders as an adult after I'd grokked the point about finger placement making a difference, so i hadn't really thought about what a good starting point would be. We will start with sopranino, and I can play my treble with him. DH can play the descant.

In the meantime it's back to blowing raspberries in the kitchen funnel and beating time to Bartok on an upturned saucepan

And thanks Alex too (crossposted)

Fleur I sympathise with a summer born. Dd spends most of the school year longing to be the "new" age - spent most of yr 4 proclaiming that soon she will be 9 like X y and z friends when in fact her birthday is in the summer holidays.

I would have loved Goo to be summer born!

I was just thinking about her old class actually. Interestingly, the smallest and the tallest child are both December born, the two children with severe SEN are February and May, the silliest are also February and May, and one of the best children at English is a little boy who was born two months prematurely, at the end of August. One of the best all rounders is a boy born at the end of July, but he's completely miserable!!

Thanks for the wishes (and sympathy). Mine are both summer born, DS is 30th July. He was definitely ready for school, performed top of the class and was confident and great at relationship building.

Dd definitely wasn't ready to start school at 4, not from an academic point of view but more socially, she wasn't as mature as some of her Sept-Dec born peers. She's caught up by Year 3 I'd say.

Academically she's fine, not top of the class but in top third so a normal development I'd say. Top of the class are twin sisters born in December.

I think it depends on the child, statistics do say summer borns are disadvantaged and end up with less qualifications but fortunately mine don't seem to follow the stats. I think if you have supportive parents and no SEN then there shouldn't be any problems.

I do think that expectations, ability, parental support and good teaching have far more effect than age. Not discounting the slight effects of age on the population as a whole, and I know some of the differences can be stark in the early years. But Rara was probably the most immature child in her year, and she was born just before the summer term half term. She could read 18 months before she started school, but emotionally she was about 2 when she started aged 4 years and 3 months. I have a friend whose son turns 16 next week and she is still going on about how unfair it is that he's young in the year and has to sit his exams young. He is gifted, has had a very expensive education and will come away with a string of top grades, so I don't think it's something she needs to fret about at 16.

My step brother was born 3 months early in July, and had to sit his exams a year earlier than he would have done if he'd been born full term. He did OK, might have done better with an extra year, but still would only have done OK because he wasn't (and isn't) interested in doing any work.

Wafflenose couldn't agree more re placement in year.

Recorder-players: does anyone know if there are more plastic head/wooden body models than the Moeck Flauto 1 Plus soprano/descant ones? If I am going to buy a descant and a sopranino for DH and I to play/ teach DS on in a few years, I like the combination of durable resin head & nicer sounding body.

Schwanen hi - I hope your tiny DS takes to the recorder. I started DD off on it when she was 5 and I noticed a few little friends coming out of school with violins - got in there before she asked for one too! Although DD also plays an orchestral instrument now she is still a really keen recorder player - I thought it might get dropped at some point in favour of the other one which she has many more opportunites to play in ensembles etc. I would really recommend these Descant and Sopranino Good plastic ones have far better sound than cheaper wooden ones - and have the advantage of just being able to wash with Fairy Liquid - huge bonus for little players!! DD got distinction at gr8 on these (so they are plenty good enough to start) whilst we saved up for good wooden ones - we also didn't want to commit to the expense as at the time we were not sure if she would carry on with recorder.
I have avoided taking part in the instrument count earlier in this thread, as we now have so many recorders - and other things!!

Awesome, thanks! I got a secondhand Au10s descant for a couple of quid on our local trading site. Apparently Th0mannn own-brand are made in the same factory as those you mention, so might go for one of their sopraninos... and as you say, save up for a M0llenhauer if DS takes to it! He was having a great time sitting in his high chair before dinner, whacking a saucepan sort of in time to CPE Bach. He is in time so often (on easy music - not Bartok piano suites!) that I think he kind of gets it, though obviously it's way too early to tell and it"s what he does later with the knowledge that counts anyway. He is just so happy when music is on

Fleur: happy birthday to miniFleur, hope she will be having a funtastic time this week!

Loose: you did make me laugh and feel better, oh our "so not perfect" children, they are such a pain arent they.

Helen, Gilly, thanks for sharing!!!

Schwanengesang: thank you for sharing your story. I am learning as a mother, I will learn from your story. Above everything I want her to close to me, trust me and sharing to me, nothing else matters.(its although very hard to know what she wants. The week before it was families of friends who have girls at my daughter age and play. For a moment I didnt mention her music neither dare to ask her play. This Saturday night I thought it was different where no-one plays or cares about music playing. There were also my friends parents who came from my home country to visit so I thought it would be nice to hear her playing, still no excuse for me. I surely will ask in private before hand next time).

My children are definitely " so not perfect" Green but lovely ( most of the time!!) anyway!!
Hope mini fleur has a lovely birthday

Alexandra, thanks for that tip on music theory. I drew out the piano keys (she is g2 piano) and it does help. We have just finished grade 4 theory exercise book and done some past exams. On target for November! I bought her a Fingerling yesterday as a reward.

The bigger the gold stars the better!

DS2 is a November birthday, and would have been far better in the year below socially/emotionally. Probably still would.

DD is the end of April, cried when she couldn't start school with her brother aged 2. Her main grip as one of the younger ones has been waiting to learn to drive this year. Some had passed before her birthday. And by the end of April she was concentrating on AS, so didn't start until the summer holidays.

We are back at fracture clinic this afternoon, fingers crossed they might remove the plaster cast.

DS2 had still a brilliant music week last week. He helped as a young music leader on a Gamelan and electronic music course being run at a local Day services centre.

Happy Birthday Minifleur

Thank you for the wishes, I'll let minifleur know you're thinking of her.

DS just turned 16 on 30th July his three best friends are born in September so they'll turn 17 in a few weeks time, you can only imagine how annoying DS finds it to not be able to drive soon like his friends. I haven't got a problem with it though.

Many happy returns MiniFleur - have fun!

Happy birthday minifleur ! We're in the countryside and I'm starting a digital detox. Good bye!

These are for my read during holiday Drummers. Amazon prime delivery on the same day!!!

Fleur: mine is only 4 months or something younger than yours( will be like Alex, last to be able to drive) and is 1 year behind. She definitely could start a year older with no problem.(could be behind in reception due to being bilingual).

Happy birthday to miniFleur!

Just came back from camping in Dorset. Had absolutely a wonderful time. DS played violin to friends at camp fire. Some of Mary Cohen's music particularly went well as they matched the surroundings (Take To The Hills, Wild Fire and so on). Boys loved Pirates of the Caribbean too and joined with air guitar.

This week will be all about tennis as DS is going to the summer tennis school everyday. Talking of tennis, I consider tennis as a safe sport for musicians. Well, swimming would be the best, but it's not as rough as some other sports so unwanted accidents are less likely. Rugby is a huge no-no to me. Would anyone like to share your views? Which sport would you consider 'safe' and 'not so safe' for musicians?

Kutik Dorset is great for camping. We did draw the line at DS2 taking his cello one year! The camp fire sounds great, though.
DS2 plays tennis and has been injury free for many years. I think my only qualm is playing after it's been raining, Maybe badminton is the safest sport?! My two aren't really interested in sport, although DS1 enjoys PE lessons. He just refuses to do anything outside school hours!

Badminton table tennis or long distance running!! Ds of course likes dodgeball ( already the cause of one hand a wrist injury) , football and cricket !! His trumpet teacher played county cricket for years so I'm not winning the argument against him playing cricket - and I don't want to stop him really.

Yes, badminton, table tennis and long distance running! I don't mind too much about DS playing tennis in rain, simply because it's still far gentler/safer compared with other sports DS does. DS loves cricket and football also and played a lot at the campsites.

He enjoys cycling too - already done some fun races abroad. DH is keen to let DS enter more races including triathlon but I'm not super keen, and trying to delay that happens excusing it's the end of primary school year so lots things happening and so on. I know a few cyclists who badly injured. DS is fearless and careless and loves going fast - a truly bad combination and lots of injuries won't be a surprise...

I think dancing is really beneficial for musicians. But I'm only one who dance in our family. I love salsa dancing.