(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!

Icould it distracts from the AS results next month!

Ah Truffle I remember you telling me about that tooth. A gold chain has been mentioned, but the impression we've been given so far is this tooth is too awkwardly placed and risks the bottom incisors, so may need to be removed.

We will definitely look at TOSE. What grade are they generally at? Assuming Grade 8, so will probably not be next year.

LMAO @ randomtrumpetmum! She did tell me she'd come from a different town to the one I was expecting, but I assumed they'd been away travelling, or stayed overnight for some reason...

Raspberry various orthodontists thought DD's was going to need removing until she actually got to see the surgeon who took more X-rays from above her head. He could then see how to get to it without too much damage to the lateral incisor. The canine is now in place but the lateral incisors on both sides will one day be replaced by implants. This was always a possibility anyway as one is a baby tooth (opposite side to the impacted canine) with no adult tooth present and the one next to the recovered canine is a peg with a short root even though it is an adult tooth.

For TOSE, the first time DS went he was probably Grade 5 or 6. I think the RCO also do some other courses called something like Set Your Sights. These sort of lead the way into TOSE. I seem to remember DS went off and did one of those first.

Hope your Ds is ok Raspberry
Ds had a rogue canine that never descended and ended up under his left nostril. It was flagged up because he had a baby tooth that was never pushed out.
Exposure, a chain and slowly pulling it into place over 2 years was proposed.
In the end we declined this option. He was put out and it was removed (couldn't be left as could result in a cyst)
He's 20 now.. he still has the baby tooth

I'd managed to put AS results to the back of my mind until raspberry mentioned it. It's like that thing my children do, where one of them says "You just lost the game."

I've dropped off DD's flute and DS2's clarinet to our woodwind repairer so he can give them a check over.

He asked after DS2 as he remembered him trying new mouthpieces last year when he upgraded. I said that DS2 is hoping to do Grade 8 next year. The woodwind repairer (who also plays and teaches clarinet) looked very surprised that DS2 would be doing this on his beginner clarinet.

I'm now wondering whether we need to buy him a better instrument.

Oh no raspberry hoping for the best for raspberryboy!

Waffle that is hilarious! I can actually imagine the scene word by word, you talking with confidence about things on this thread and faketrumpetmum nodding, silently thinking you need professional help. 😂

We got two of our new clarinet books and dd started one piece (with a view in mind of maybe keeping it for NCO audition). Waffle do you happen to have the book called Music Through time (book 3)? If you do what is your opinion of the level of standard and difficulty of the last piece in the book by Paul Harris? I have no clue how it should sound, my plan is to get dd to learn it, dynamics and all, interpret it herself and then when the time comes we'll take it to her piano teacher to see what she thinks (and send it to Waffle also ). I just need to know if the piece looks like an acceptable standard.

Waffle and string ( don't think I've missed any other under 12 nco parents) just trying to sort out stuff for my extended family visit to Birmingham at the weekend to discover that junction 6 of the m6 and the A38 running into Birmingham will be shut all weekend! Guess there will be diversions but we might need to leave extra time for traveling depending on how we are diving into the city

Oh no raspberry sending him good vibes

Trumpetboysmum we had this issue last weekend, DS was doing NYO inspire at Birmingham uni and we had booked the Travelodge at Fort Dunlop as it was so cheap. Probably cos of the closure!

There is lots of signing, but we did need to allow longer. Sunday am through Birmingham was ok. We tended to use DS with Google on his phone as it updated in real time.

Sorry second . I guess it was unfair mentioning it on this thread!

Thanks again for the good wishes and also for the teeth stories.

Truffle he is around Grade 4-5 now, so I'll definitely do some investigating, thank you.

Hello all, lovely to hear the NCO stories, it helps me to understand why dd is ready to go back to school.
I'm not taking it so personally now.
I think opportunities like this are amazing for the children, something to remember for the rest of their lives.

We are all festivalled out now, only a couple but full on.
My ears are tired and dd has decided to start classical singing for a comp next year, if school allow.
Heard the most amazing Jazz by the worlds finest, had such a good laugh and got so drunk one night .

They are both off to exchange various woodwind. I have no idea what cunning plan they will come up with.
Once again I looked at my Clarinet in the box, my ears hurt and I've forgotten what I like listening to iyswim, it's not easy being bombarded from all angles

Thanks for the lovely stories.

thesecond my dd's clarinet teacher says in an ideal world she'd have a new clarinet for grade 6 up (her next exam will prob be G5) but that with perhaps new mouthpiece, ligature & barrel she could perhaps carry on with her b12 through to g8. She'll certainly not have a wooden clarinet for good a while longer as she's only 7

Raspberry - hope all is well and on the mend..

Waffle - that's hilarious. Poor you! If it makes you feel any better, In the 80's the (very posh) Father of a girl in my class at school years ago sat next to Paul McCartney on a plane back from NYC. My friends Dad asked him what he 'did for a living' a bemused P Mc replied 'I'm a musician' my friends dad said 'righto! Had much success?' P Mc replied 'yes. Some'

Prada that made me laugh. It reminded me of the time when I was in my youth doing a waitressing job at a posh hotel and one day I happen to serve Dennis Hopper. His movies were not to my taste and I had no clue who he was so I was doing small chat. Started with "so what part of America do you live in? What do you do for living?" He looked at me like I am from another planet and replied "acting". We chatted briefly and then my colleagues were shocked when I said I didn't know who he was. He returned a couple of time while he was staying at the hotel telling me he finds our conversations refreshing.

Dd won't get a wooden clarinet for a long time either even if she's doing grade 5/6 clarinet in a couple of years time she's petite and I can't see her able to hold one at 12. Maybe depending on her growth we will get her one before grade 8.

Can I join in officially? Returning to the piano after some ahem years away. Had my trial lesson last month and am all set up for lessons next term. Currently on the K283 sonata and a few Chopin preludes, although have overdone it somewhat and my wrists are complaining...this never happened when I was young!

You are scaring me a bit as music parents! I should confess that we've already been kicked out of Suzuki Piano for not being committed enough - this was when DD was 2 years old and we were told that we were expected to observe several times a month before we would even be considered for lessons at 4....I didn't think it was the ideal way to foster an interest in music.... DD is now 4 and hopefully she'll start piano in a year or two.

Very we are not at all scary !! Love your story of not being committed enough at 2 !! This thread has been great as I really don't have much of a clue about what i should be doing to support ds who just kind of fell into music . I'm very much making it up as I go along

at not committed enough at 2!

Fleur I loved that! I used to run very famous car dealerships in London and actually it was the 'C' list people who were very flouncy about not being recognised, the true A listers found it amusing.

Very welcome! We are here to discuss all abilities and opportunities for little musicians and adult learners as well. I love how supportive this thread is in a non judgemental way, I am sure a lot of us would be labelled as tiger mothers who are pushing their dcs to achieve on a different forum or in real life.

Talking about real life, does anybody else gets annoyed when people in real life make comments such as "your dd is so musical!". I get annoyed as I feel her work is dismissed, it's like they are implying she woke up one day and she could play grade 5 piano pieces. I may be sensitive about it and while I don't deny you need to have a certain amount of inclination towards music I always reply with "yes, she works hard for her music achievements but she loves it".

Very There's a thread where we talk about playing! www.mumsnet.com/Talk/music/2897437-Instrument-players-come-and-chat

Fleur Yes - the "very musical" thing pisses me off. Also "very artistic", "very creative" - which always makes me ask "and what exactly do you mean by that" which pisses other people off ...

No fleur I get that I don't think other people necessarily realise how hard our dcs work ( at times at least ) what made me laugh once was when a friend wondered why ds was continuing to play the trumpet ( because he likes it !!) or why he had also taken up piano !! I think they get it now and are always very enthusiastic and supportive of ds but I'm not sure that they would have made the same comments about sporting activities

Welcome very. I have been living with the k283 for almost two years as the 1st mov was DS g7 piece and he chose the 3rd for g8. I'm afraid he will want to learn the remainer mov this year so I'm getting ready for more k283! I'm not surprised about your wrists...

I find that irritating too fleur. I've har several people comment that ds has learnt 'so much so quickly' on the piano who then look at me aghast when i mention daily practise......