October Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello, I just fell asleep in front of a very long film that DH wanted to watch, and woke up in October! I couldn't resist starting the new thread before going to sleep properly.

The monthly music threads are welcome to ALL, and we really like hearing from new contributors and beginner musicians. We have all levels on here. It's a good place to discuss instruments, lessons, practice, exams, auditions and anything else that you want to.

I am a teacher of recorder, clarinet, saxophone and flute, and have two daughters. Goo is 11 and plays the flute and piano. She is planning to do exams on both next year, but none just now because she's just started at the secondary school 2 miles down the road, which has a great reputation for music and sport, and is extremely academic. They study four languages in Year 7 - Goo has just finished her unit on German (by the end of three weeks, they could write three substantial paragraphs - I couldn't believe it!) and is now embarking on Mandarin.
She's thrown herself into choir, orchestra, steel band, flute group and the gym. Rara is 9 and has been playing the cello since the age of 5, and clarinet for a year. She enjoys both, but is happiest when she's reading or cutting up paper/ making things out of paper! Rara has plenty of free time because she attends the village school five minutes away, and hardly gets any homework.

Goo attends South West Music School, which is the nearest thing we have to a JD in the south west. Rara is just about to join! Not too much on musically this term (and not a lot of practice taking place, quite honestly) apart from auditioning for the NCO. Goo has been in it for the past three years, and is hoping for Under 12s. After a wobble about even auditioning, she seems quietly confident now.

Well done Kutik We had the missing-a-piece-of-vital-kit moment last week when DD2 turned up to her bassoon lesson without the spike she uses to support the bassoon. Luckily her friend who has the lesson before her lent her her harness, but as they both play in the same ensemble about an hour later, I had to go home to get it. An extra 50 mins driving in Friday night traffic! Lesson learned.

Feeling quite organised this morning though, managed to get DD1 out to rowing on time, managed to get my flu jab earlier than I thought I would, took DD2 to have a practice with the accompanist that will play for her at next week's NCO audition and got her back just 5 mins after the start of her group tennis lesson!

Are you at South Easterlies tomorrow Kutik?

Wow, Double, your organisation skills made my 20 mins military work less brilliant!

Yes we’ll be there. DH who insisted he would join us for the last rehearsal flew to Budapest yesterday to run a marathon there. DH is saying he will come to the regional concert next month but seriously I doubt he will...

We've been to look at music school today. DS2 would go tomorrow. He specially loved the jazz. It would be for sixth form, so we had a good chat with academic staff too.

Anyway, next step is advice auditions on his 3 instruments and we'll see after that.

Hello. Busy day here for DD, with NCO audition 2 weeks today, SYO audition next Saturday and g5 theory at the beginning of November. We did 3 hours on transposition just to make absolutely sure there won't be any mistakes, then violin.

As a reward we had a little make up session with her presents from birthday. I had to make her beautiful (obviously), and I was made up by her to look like a medieval harlot. Then had to cook a quick chilli looking like Baldrick from Blackadder.

Really interested in the music lesson provision made by some counties, which includes paid for lessons on first instrument if a child shows potential, like Waffles area. Suffolk don't do that, so I am currently paying for all lessons at private rates - which is why DD is now getting by on 1/2 an hour a week. Feel a bit bad about that as it is probably holding her back.

There are the primary school violin lessons, but perversely, if a child turns out to be quite good and gets ahead of the group, they are no longer of interest to the teacher who insists everyone must go at the same pace. Those lessons were £40 a term but stopped being available to DD after two terms (and the second term she was only there because the teacher thought she was a good role model). So we went from £40 a term to £40 a week.

Bit of a moan. Sorry. I just think there should be something in between for children who started with the county music service, progressed above expectation, and are then left with no option but to go private.

I don't know much about senior schools yet as only Year 5, but I imagine they have lesson provision for children around grade 8 for a termly fee?

I type this with my cross Blackadder face on, as I am not allowed to remove make up until DD stops finding it amusing..

Mistigri: reading your post made me smile, we will just have to admit that they will be better than us in everything, which is what we wish for anyway.

I must say I am the worst at organising the kids(including the BIG one)it always takes us forever (I do have to tell who wear what and occasionally I could still see my husband toes wriggling out of his shocks infront of all our friends).
We had 20 mins violin and 30 mins piano almost everyday these days and my piano teacher hasnt moaned about her progress(or may be he forgets that our exam is in 4 weeks or so and we only has just started the 3rd piece.
I have been reading VR and NVR how to books, they are so boring, I ended up give almost every single leaf in the indoor plant a wash, loads of cleaning and ...cooking. Well, these are for dinner tonight with some steamed rice(toasted duck and stuffed peppers).

Niggles our county music system doesn't do anything like that... it's an auditioned Centre of Advanced Training. Many people pay full fees; ours are covered by a DfES music and dance scheme scholarship, due to our income. It covers workshops, mentoring and a pot of money for one set of lessons.

So it's run like a JD, in short. All means tested. We are paying privately for piano and cello, I am tetching Rara the clarinet but would prefer it if she had someone else, and I did 8 years of teaching one or both recorder, and had to do the theory myself too.

Yes, we have done theory ourselves too, I have learnt it along with DD. Luckily there are loads of tutorials online if the books are insufficient!

I guess our CAT is AYM then. Apologies if I confused county with CAT. Learning as we go along.

I did violin as a child, so have been helpful up until now, but g6 and 7 are beyond my capability and DD is just charging along. I notice that, around here, a lot of string teachers only go to grade 6, so the requirements are seem to be beyond some teachers too.

Not DD's teacher though.

Probably too early for AYM, but will go to an open day.

I randomly looked up music schools, as you do. Wells Cathedral looks fabulous. Except for parting with DD as 4 hours drive away and she would have to board.

Bought grade 6 exam book yesterday and DD played first half of Ladies in Lavender almost perfectly, without much vibrato!

Hi all, thought I'd join.

I have 1 DD who is 8.5 years. She's been singing with groups since she was 4, and started 1-to-1 tuition in April this year. She was teaching herself from YouTube and as her interest is musical theatre it was starting to get a bit dangerous.

New teacher is fantastic - is very focused on healthy singing habits and appropriate repertoire for her age. She's got a boy treble range and sound so we are on the hunt for pieces that suit that but aren't too churchy. All the MT teachers want to keep her natural child sound and not make her too church choir so it's tricky. She's getting to final rounds for the West End but hasn't been cast so far - happily she's very resilient!

She's just started guitar lessons at school so too early to tell if that will be a good fit or not. She's very dyslexic so reading music may prove tricky - she's extremely fortunate to have a good ear and memory for music but that will only take her so far. If anyone has experience with dyslexic children and music I'd love to hear what the pitfalls are and any good work arounds.

Green, that is funny! Micro managing a family is fraught with hiccups. And even a DH of many years can still go randomly off message. I really don't think they understand..

Hi Eflon, know what you mean about YouTube. Youngest DD liked watching cartoons online and they became very inappropriate quite quickly! Banned now. Musical theatre can be tricky, can't it. One minute they are singing Annie, and the next minute they would want to sing something age inappropriate. Your DD must be good to go up for shows. I don't know anything, to be honest, about reading music and dyslexia, hopefully someone else will.

We are not all that far from Wells, but much too far away to drive in daily.

The music provision looks amazing. Absolutely nothing like it in our area. Nearest would be London. Went a bit mad and looked up house prices in Wells. DH needn't know, as occasional fantasies don't count.

Green that looks beautiful.

On the subject of missing equipment DD turned up at her first guitar lesson this year with her guitar case but without the guitar inside.

Green it's not so much that I mind DS being better than me, but that I resent him doing it so quickly! Mind you DD reckons he is close to being better than her at some things already (soloing - not her thing, and scales which he actually enjoys).

Nice evening last night. DS1 was playing in Gig Night for Wimbledon Bookfest. He was in the school jazz band and (slightly surreally) backing bass for the rappers! Really fun time for all the kids taking part.
I have sympathy for anyone who has ever rushed out of the door without vital equipment. DS1 used to try and leave the house without his shoes on a regular basis. Luckily those days are long gone!

DS1 used to try and leave the house without his shoes on a regular basis.
So familiar with this kind, Loose. Hasn't happened recently though. Hopefully those days are gone here too!

Double, it was so lovely to meet you and your lovely bassoonist this morning! Just to let you know I have PMed you as I promised.

Raspberry by music school do you mean specialist boarding? That's great.
niggle I think we've all done that, the occasional house search near a music school DS did a short boarding course at Wells. It´s really beautiful and very friendly.
green your pics made me salivate. I have friends coming for dinner and I was blank in terms of ideas. I have opted for beef with an almond and brandy sauce my mum used to cook when I was a child, and basmati rice... One of the guests won't eat gluten and we're very much a pasta family. (She's not intolerant, she just thinks she is).

DS is drumming right now, enjoying the half-term. We had a free evening together yesterday after jd (miracle!) and we watched (rewatched in DH's and my case) "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Cello soundtrack is by Yo-Yo Ma. EVERYONE WITH YOUNG DAUGHTERS: if you're looking for that rarity of rarities, a truly feminist film with worthy role models to show your daughter, this is the one!!!

drummersmun, yes. The one with several thread DC attending. It's 2 hours away from us, so definitely boarding. At least it was 2 hours there, 3 hours back with traffic!

Icouldbe his inclination is euphonium I think. He'd have trombone for orchestra/jazz anyway.

Raspberry we know someone who started there as a boarder for sixth form. He's not much of a social animal if you know what I mean but he settled well and enjoyed it.

Lovely to meet you too Kutik . Your ds looked very confident and dynamic in his playing. Thanks for the PM - I will check it out.

Raspberry - we are there st the end of half term ...what did you think?

Never had it drummers, it sounds super yumm, hope you are enjoying it. And thanks so much for recommendation on Yo-Yo Ma.
We will save it for mid-term must watch list.

It's Goo's birthday! We have been (sort of) celebrating since Friday, we're out at Parents' Evening and then dinner tonight, and no practice has been done for days. I've just realised Rara's cello hasn't been out of the case since Tuesday, except for orchestra. Whoops.