September Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello, and welcome to a new thread for September. This is a lovely, calm and supportive corner of Mumsnet where we can talk about everything to do with music lessons, exams, practice, auditions, and whatever else you like. Contributors of ALL standards and ages welcome. There are lots of experienced music parents on here, but we also have a steady stream of beginners, and the collective knowledge on here is impressive.

I'm Waffle, teacher of woodwind - mainly clarinet and recorder these days. My DH plays the guitar for fun. We have two DDs - sensitive, highly strung and accident-prone Goo (11) who plays the flute and piano, and starts secondary school next week, and laid back, funny Rara (9) who plays the cello and clarinet, and is also a reading machine.

There's not too much going on for us musically this term, apart from auditioning for NCO in October. My main priority will be getting Goo settled in a much bigger school, with a longer day, and she's getting there under her own steam, eek! Luckily for us, we don't have any music exams or secondary school entrance stuff going on, but I know that lots of you do. I am anticipating Grade 8 Flute and Grade 3 Clarinet next term, and Grade 5 Piano in the summer term. I've no idea if Rara will do any more cello exams after the drama of the last one! At the moment, she says she's sticking to the odd numbers. Nutcase.

I agree hope it all gets sorted soon fleur must be very stressful

DH suggested DS should wear NCO or RCM hoodies to the audition where they don't allow children to perform (so it's down to purely aural and children are not allowed to discuss their instrument and standard). DS's point is that they are only human after all, so the fact a child belongs to such institutions/organisations would be taken account into their decision. I am not very sure. I feel it may have opposite effect.

Any opinion on this...?

kutik I would have your same doubts, but I agree with your DH.

Taken into account

Sorry for my poor English...

drummers, thanks for understanding my English! And thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm taking notes.

Oh my, kutik. Your English is way better then mine

Was about to give minifleur s but I am unsure as to what's gone on with the publishing debacle! Hope it all comes good Fleur!

Alex, I am so sorry for your loss, whatever you plan will be beautiful I am sure.

Thank you for the nod to reply to @girlwhowearsglasses...dd is a chorister but they have to wear a standard school shirt under their cassocks to provide the white collar poking out the top as they ditched ruffs a while ago. Seems to be a good layer though. Also their cassocks are twill rather than heavy wool as the cathedral now has under floor heating (it's not a very big fancy one!). Anyway, I would advise a thin but all over layer and maybe a vest for the itchier bits but also that the cassocks may be ripe for a makeover during you time with the choir, having little kids hot and itchy isn't going to help!

Regards feeling overwhelmed, all sounds normal, dd hated leading in and apparently didn't open her mouth for the first 8 months (sound came out, but she should have gone into ventriloquism!). It's all wonderfully routine and easy now and the relationship between the choristers is very special.

TheSecond then you must see my angry posts!

I am considering contacting the local news, it is the second year they've done it, last year they released the academic results a week early in error, then said they aren't the right results and then released the same results a week later torturing the parents a kids for a week.

The site is down for maintenance again which means they are re-updating it, hopefully I'll hear by the end of the day.

And grrr at fleur's potential misinformation. I am also intrigued by the eventual arrangement at these schools, sounds very difficult to judge and select within the rules (which I agree with generally) but I love that there is free specialist music input somewhere. I haven't heard anything more about the Halle free school plans which was a more extensive specialist school style offering. With regards to kutik's very understandable dilemma, if you are legitimately on the way to rcm I would wear it, otherwise perhaps not? I don't know, take it in a bag?! My feeling would be that they may direct places to those not benefiting from such opportunities already ... our local Halle ensembles do prioritise those not in full time music education... but that fear might be completely unfounded.

Kutik I agree with you I'm not sure - do you fill in an application form before these days if so they would hopefully already be aware of your ds's level and achievements. However ds would probably wear a hoody if he was going to an audition like that he often wears his to music related events I think it's kind of him not showing off as such ( well maybe !!) but showing others what he's about

Xennialish, that's my fear exactly. The opportunity may be given to those who didn't have access. I also feel a bit sheepish that it may look like YES, I AM GREAT on his face by wearing it...

Trumpet, yes you have to fill a form before hand. I am considering to apply for three schools with music places. None of them asks achievements nor musical activities (not allowed). The one for the next week's audition asked to write down exam grade you took (not playing standard), and as DS has never taken any exam for violin that stayed blank... I wrote down his piano exam details but again it's when he was Year 4... Therefor, DH came up with the idea of wearing the hoodie.

Fleur, what's an agony! I totally understand your anger. That's simply not fair.

I would have NO qualms about wearing it, and would actually tell the child to do so. This situation isn't relevant to us, as Goo has simply gone to the only available local school (!) but she doesn't need persuading to wear it anyway...

State schools with musi places are not about giving the opportunity to those without it. They want the best in their school and they want a music department string enough that justifies their selective places. Someone correct me if I am wrong please but I believe that's the case.

Strong no string! They also want strings I'm sure

Thanks, Waffle. Actually I was hoping to hear from you also, as I know you are on the other side of people (though, yours is private, I assume). DS would wear it proudly so no persuasion is needed. He queued up to the counter where they took an order of JD hoodie at the introductory day. I didn't mean to order as it was expensive. So Waffle, if a child turns up in his/her proud hoodie, you don't feel negative about it? I hope you don't.

I'm now coming to realise that people put extra information even when it's not asked. I filled a music scholarship application for two private schools too, but how donkey I was, I just wrote down idiotically honest (grade exams) and didn't add any extra... Lesson One learnt...

drummer, that's my Lesson Two of today. Right, I must wash and iron the hoodie now!

The school DS is auditioning next week was telling other parent that the competition would be depending on who you were competing against, so the standard would change every year. He said Grade 5 was not good enough for one year, and Grade 3 was great for another year. I remember someone on this thread was saying NCO U10 in 2016/17 was fiercely competitive, which means DS's year could be quite competitive for a music place also!!!!

To be completely blunt, they might well not notice or care. If they think anything at all, it might be, "Ooh, that's good".

Waffle, that may be so true that they may not notice. DS wore his NCO hoodie for a youth orchestra audition a while ago. No one asked him about it. They did asked DS if he was in any other orchestra though. At the time, DS had just done a couple of the regional rehearsal and they were far apart so somehow he forgot he belonged to them and said, 'no'. What's the point of wearing it...

I would wear it anyway. It will be neutral or good!

DS has a very cool t-shirt my parents bought him with a famous quote about music in it. Because it became his lucky charm and he loves it too, he wore it at every audition last and this year. Not only it was noticed, but it sparked a conversation about the quote at every audition he wore it, which he didn't expect. It was an unashamedly musicophile/musicnerd thing to wear and that was OK.

That's interesting! I'm curious to know if anyone has such an item (lucky charm) for performance/audition/exam.

I had a unlucky charm in my youth. It was my favourite white cotton shirt. Every time I wore it, I ended up having a bad quarrel with my boyfriend. I stopped wearing it although I loved it!

To be fair he never called it that. It was me who decided it was his kind of lucky charm. DS would rightly say the only thing bringing luck is how you play.

Alex I'm so, so sorry. flowers]

Fleur hope you hear definitively today. Its really not acceptable.

Girl welcome, and I've replied on your other thread

drummers our state schools are not allowed to select by ability but by aptitude (hence the MAT). There is a lot of anecdotal evidence where kids never playing a musical instrument in their life got to the second stage where they sang. Now I have never met such a case, the two kids that never played an instrument in their lives and took the test that I know didn't get through to the second stage. I am sure there are exceptions though but I think it is rarely that they do go through.

Kutik I'd get dd to wear it.

No news...