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.

We did move here (13.5 year ago) specifically for Goo's school (so yes, before she was born) as well as for the little cottage we fell in love with. But EVERYONE in the village goes to that school, apart from a handful who go to the private school 800m from our house. I can't imagine what it's like to have choices, especially where there is a fight for places, and multiple aptitude tests, entrance exams and scholarships. Such a lot of work for all of you. I still do get asked repeatedly if we are going to try for music school, and the answer is still no.

Well done mini Fleur. Try not to stress too much fleur - if she can get a good grade 5 pass on a bad day I am sure it will be fine! for you this weekend ;)

I sympathise with all you Londoners/SE people going through the school selection wringer. Glad we are no longer in London! We had very little choice of schools (unless prepared to board) and although DD applied for a selective class at high school, it wasn't stressful because recruitment was very transparent (we knew the criteria and knew that she was a shoe-in). DS is just in a regular class in our catchment high school, although we have accidentally lucked out - he asked to take German as an optional third MFL and because the classes are grouped by options, the result is that he's in a "nice" class of relatively studious teenagers.

Anyway, on the music front: it's official, DS is now a better guitarist than me. Our classes are doing the same pièces and I have to get him to help me .

I just wrote a huge post (as usual) and lost it!

For some reason I can only post from the app.

I was saying thank you for all the good thoughts for dd's audition and the good advice.

TheSecond we were practising some questions last night (funnily enough) and I realised I need to tone it down as dd sounded arrogant. Q: did you do any exams? A(dd): yes, I did grade 5 piano last session and grade 3 clarinet after only one year of playing! (which is really funny as she is an introvert and the opposite of arrogant/show off so hearing it was like "do I let her sound like that for once or explain it doesn't sound good")

Ultimately I said to her that she needs to mention 3 key things: clarinet (in any context), wind band and piano festival (and prize if poss). She needs to find a way to mention it in a natural conversation without sounding like she is reading from a script.

Good luck to all DCs doing exams, auditions, MATs, 11+ etc. We should be done by Tuesday and then get on with the next music projects (and grade 6 scales).

Misti that's quite funny (your DS being better than you so quick) kids and young people learn so fast!

Purcell pupils were just from a different world last night. I mean... I am not sure dd will ever play like that. Ever. Didn't tell her that though. She loved it too.

I have also lost my post... So here you go, re-writing...

string, indeed theory paper may be required at private school's auditions (I don't have the details yet though). But in any case I didn't mean to make time for the preparation as I assumed it wouldn't be more than grade 5 level (or would it??). Plus, DS will have theory lesson weekly at JD so thought it would be enough. Your DD also started JD when she was Year 6 so she had received some theory lessons by the time she sat for 11+. You mean you did extra work at home on top of that? Admittedly JD doesn't run many lessons a term though... DS is already juggling between homework and activities, not sure if I can squeeze any more into his schedule...

Waffle, you are very lucky for that sense. We need a choice as nowhere is guaranteed. We are actively advised to put 6 schools on the list to avoid the danger of being located at a most undesirable school by the authority. We have nothing suitable to DS near us, so aptitude entry is only hope. So gaining a scholarship is not the main target but we HAVE TO use that as a way of getting in a school. DS will go through science/music aptitude at 3-4 schools, and if he failed there is no way he could get in any of them. So we will know if we failed state entries by the end of October. If all is failed, then private school is only way for us...

Hi there,

Alex, my DH mentioned; The day thou gavest Lord is ended, Lord of all hopefulness and Love divine all loves excelling.

Usually, the vicar has some suggestions too.

London, the same as any other big cities in the world, offers variety of choices for people from variety background in all areas for anything including schools. Within 1km from my house there are 6 primary schools, 4 states, 2 privates for example, there are also 6 nurseries. Within 45 mins travel by public transport for girls there are 14 private secondary schools to choose( not including Tiffins and state schools). Thats why a child will always have a school to go to however from the top of the list to the bottom, it could be a massive swing as the numbers of children trying for these many choices (multiple exams) are also huge( the top ones could be the top in the world's ranking) and the bottom ones might not be able to help to send your children to Univ. London children then had to compete at many levels unnecessarily too early. In my working life in the city, I hardly ever come accross anyone who comes from London. Many of my talented colleagues or bosses or bosses boss (if they are English) they come from everywhere in this country. To me which means the rural/non london children might be equally competitive later on and had a much quieter, gentler childhood.

Good luck minifleur, go get 'em. minikutik too!!!!
misti they are here to take our place, aren't they? It's just that one doesn't expect it to happen so early. DS is now better than me at almost everything - except at my professional trade and at house chores! He's half my brain: my walking wikipedia, my name-reminder, my fact-reminder.

Just had an e-mail inviting DD2 to be part of the live stage band for the junior music festival that the local Music Hub organises at the local theatre for all the local primary school choirs. I had just signed her up to do her school's choir at it. Need to check with her teacher if she thinks she'll be up to it. It requires two evening rehearsals and then three days in a row it would be 2-9pm for rehearsal and performance with three different blocks of school choirs. Quite a lot for a 10 year old!

That made me smile drummers

It did cost us £200,000 to move here though!

I don't think early start of competition make children achieve any better than those who had gentler start in their later life.

But you cannot blame on where you live as making the whole 11+ thing so stressful is partly your choice - because you can still keep it as stress-free as possible even in London by not sharing your anxiety with your DCs.

My DS is still blissfully unaware of the competition he is facing to. Partly because one of his best friend is a little Einstein and got in St Paul without much preparation so that's how it is for him. But also not having tuition helps keep him away from all the business. I'm sure those who receive regular tuition for specifically 11+ are much aware of it (of course). I'm worrying and panicking inside, but DS doesn't know that!

I took the 11+ in Devon, because everyone just did. The difference was that they allocated school places before they told you that you'd passed or not, then gave you both bits of information together. It was a very long time ago, and the number of children that 'passed' = the number of grammar spaces available. They just took the TopHoweverMany and that was that, which I think was a lot less complicated and competitive to how it is now.

Non-selective London borough where I live and a good local school in walking distance. We bought the house pre-children and when the school's reputation wasn't so good. It was transformed by the current head some years back so we were lucky, to be honest, and the boys are happy although DS1 now has itchy feet!

Dd has a tutor simply to retain her place in a London Private in year 7. My sister in the south west is always trying to convince us to move for a more peaceful life. If only there were jobs in my industry there we would seriously consider it.

Let me correct my previous post as I was being a bit ignorant. I happen to have a child who is OK with being nervous (once I asked him if he ever got nervous, and he said 'many times!', then he said he got familiar with 'the feeling', so he could handle it. According to DS, it's easier to get to know it and familiar with it than trying to stop feeling nervous). But there are those who get painfully nervous just to talk to a stranger. For those sensitive souls, 11+ could be a horrendous experience no matter how hard the parents try to play it as low-key. So, making the 11+ experience 'stress-free' is not avoidable..., then it's not your choice at all...

We were blissfully unaware of (secondary) schools when we moved house. We live in an area where DH was born and there wasn't (to his knowledge) a selection method when he went to school, everybody went to their catchment school. Which I doubt seeing that two of the schools have grammar in their names but he went to his catchment school and did well.

Then secondary school time came with my DS and I quickly realised that our catchment school was one of the worse possible (at the time, in the meantime it got better but it still needs some more work).

So 11+ started and DS is a boy who is naturally bright and stress is a word not very common in his vocabulary. I've only seen him stressed during his GCSEs and not without being able to manage it.

Dd on the other hand is a stress ball. She is stressing about everything in her life. Therefore having the sibling rule made me make the decision that if the gets into a better school on music (which doesn't stress her as much) is fine otherwise DS's school is really good so need to aim much higher than that. I suppose if we didn't have the sibling rule I would have had to put more pressure which makes me sad as kids like her but without a good school in their pocket already must go through a horrible stress at the moment.

I found it very sad when on academic exam day there was a little girl crying so badly surrounded by a sea of people before going in.

Copying the message below in case anybody has or knows a young bassoon or oboe player reasonably near to Saffron Walden? Great opportunity tomorrow.

_

Saffron Centre for Young Musicians

Tomorrow SCYM students are side by side with the Britten Sinfonia and Tim Redmond. We're playing a Ten Pieces arrangement of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. We still have a couple of spaces for oboes and bassoons, so if there are any out there you're more than welcome!

Last piano lesson before the audition done, dd's piece has been pulled to pieces as there is always room for improvement.

Can't wait for Tuesday to come and go so we can move on.

[dc enjoyed entrance exam as they got hot hot chocolate and cookies]

How’s everyone doing ? I hear talk of 11plus and send you all good vibes. It must be awful now. It was bad enough 8yrs ago!

Youngest busy auditioning for uni stuff. At wind sinfonia it was suggested she audition of symphony orchestra - which was confidence boosting but eh can’t do it as clashes with Cathedral.

A moment of “ it’s a small world “ as one lecturer knows her 2 school music teachers and another choir master knows grandad 😂 . Not to mention everyone knows Ben who is dh godson and a “ nearly brother “ who did music there.

I still think she should be majoring in music not English.

Good luck with all the auditions and entrance exams. All sounds very complicated. We don't have much choice here, unless they wanted to do boarding or something. Guess that makes decision making easier!

Here in beginners' corner, DS got grade 1 piano music last week. I thought it looked quite hard, but he had the first piece learned (memorised) after one 20 minute lesson and 10 minutes practice. So maybe this term after all.

DD had her first piano lesson too. She said she played through one of the pieces she was doing at home, and tried some other things from a book that was "too hard". Will be interesting to see where that one goes. DD is a grafter, DS is laid back to the point of horizontal, catching up may be a risk.

And my possible teacher has surfaced too, hopefully will get a lesson at half term. Need to stop slacking on the practice now!

Hi all,

I have been advised by violin teacher to get some Bond vr books etc, just in case DD goes for a music scholarship somewhere. I don't think we would be able to afford it anyway.

Saturday afternoon theory practice here - chord progressions. Five weeks to go before g5 exam. DD not pleased. So she is noisily eating chewy sweets beside me as she know I find this unbearable. The chewing noise that is - read something a while ago that says it is a proper disorder..

How is your new violin teacher Green?

Cat, I'm also in beginners corner with younger DD, 7. 7 days in, 15 mins a day on Violin Star One book. When I introduced putting a first finger on D string, after playing only open strings for a few days, she burst into tears and was horrified that she had to do that and bow at the same time!

Niggle: thanks for asking, we likes her, hopefully she will stay! We will need couple of lessons to get to know each other and plan ahead, for now she asks us to play the 2 pieces we choose for the audition in a week time.

Since last year we didnt do any activity at weekends, not even school home work, absolutely nothing, only family activities, family social life catch up. When we had dinner with our neighbor and we talked about their year 6 by then 11+ plan, my daughter was asking "what was 11+". Now she knows, every children in her class knows, they talk about it. The reason I joined mumsnet because I couldnt talk to anyone in real life about it. Now its time and I still dont know what I need to do, too much or too little are both not good. Anyway I gave her 2 NVR tests today and she scores 30%, she panics, it crushed her confidence/arrogance. I think we need to go back to the practise books to learn the technique before jumping straight to a test. I plan to give her a little of each every weekend. Couples of schools in our list still have VR and NVR, we are worst at these.