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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

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November Music Thread

764 replies

Wafflenose · 01/11/2017 21:58

New month, new thread! This is a place for musicians and parents of musicians, from complete beginners to experienced and everything in between, to talk about everything to do with music! Previous threads have covered exams, practice, scales, instrument hire and purchase, theory, composition, aural woes, auditions, scholarship preparation and much more.

I started these threads when my 12 year old daughter Goo was 6 and preparing for Grade 1. I never thought we'd still be going, 6 years later! I appreciated all the advice I was given back then, and try to repay that when I can.

Goo plays the flute and piano (she has been learning the piano for 18 months but has yet to perform - ever) and has no exams lined up at the moment. I also have Rara who is 9, and working towards her third Grade 3, on the clarinet. The other two were on the cello and recorder. She's more interested in art and reading, and currently swims five times a week.

I am a teacher of woodwind, and Wednesday is my day from you-know-where... full-on from 6.30 am until 10 pm, and about to get worse!!

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Kutik73 · 07/11/2017 14:25

Thanks drummers, I found the information. It says 13+ so DS has to wait for another few years to consider applying!

See you at the concert! I can see your wonderful DS performing in real, that's a great treat!

Doubleup · 07/11/2017 16:12

Good luck to those dc doing theory exams this evening.

LooseAtTheSeams · 07/11/2017 21:14

Good luck theory candidates - hope it went well!

Minimusiciansmama · 08/11/2017 03:45

Do theory exams happen like GCSEs - at exactly the same time and date across the country? Please excuse my ignorance, we are just beginning the venture into ABRSM (with some resistance from my "I don't do change" tiny human)

TheSecondOfHerName · 08/11/2017 05:01

Yes, there are three dates each year and it starts at 5pm.

Doubleup · 08/11/2017 07:51

The summer date in June is 10am on a Saturday if that's better than 5-7pm for a younger one. My 10 year old did it this summer, partly for that reason.

Trumpetboysmum · 08/11/2017 08:00

How late can you put in for it ? Ds really needs to get on with it ( but is always so busy with everything else the weeks just slip away) . This might be a good date to aim for - will probably end up being November though !!

raspberryrippleicecream · 08/11/2017 08:16

Same time scale as the practical exams Trumpet. So for the March exam I think it's the 19 January. The 2018 dates are all on the website now.

Grade 6 was 3 hours and it took DS2 nearly that long to finish it. He seemed fairly happy though tired! DH had taken him out of school early to have time to eat something first. Hope everyone else was happy.

I'm sorry you didn't get into Inspire Ealing.

DS2 is at a state school and we have very limited opportunities locally, so he fits the criteria exactly. The extra curricular music at his school used to be amazing but has changed a lot in the last couple of years, and has just received another huge blow I'm not sure it will recover from.

That said, they have a big army band coming in for the day today, running workshops all day and concert tonight. Nice reward after Grade 6 last night - music all day and no lessons!

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 10:07

DS started learning Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca, but his hands were not large enough to cope with the octaves so we decided to abandon the piece for now. Shame he learnt the notes already and could play some parts very well. His teacher gave him Beethoven's Sonata Op. 49, No. 2 instead, and told him to go back to the Mozart's piece after that. She seems to think his hands will grow very quickly... Confused

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 10:17

The teacher said she preferred DS learning Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca before the Beethoven's Sonata, but it's his hands that's the problem so now DS is going to learn Beethoven's first. I didn't ask her the reason - didn't think of asking at the time. But now I am wondering why Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca is better to learn before Beethoven's Sonata. Any pianist here can join me the guessing game? I'll ask her at the next lesson though.

ealingwestmum · 08/11/2017 10:39

That's ok Raspberry, we completely agree with their criteria. She does get a lot of opportunities at school and it's supplemented with summer school. She'd have more if she were more adventurous, though I did manage to successfully get her to try Latin band last year (as a violinist), which has resulted in a part solo in their forthcoming concert. And she is their spare for bit percussion parts under the watchful eye of the school's star percussionist Grin. Now has a huge respect for percussionists that she wouldn't have understood before!

Nigglenotes · 08/11/2017 11:28

Raspberry, g6 theory is quite a step up and has 50% creative answers, so well done to your DS. Three hours is a long time when they are young.

DD was happy when she came out, although she had to compose for trumpet and she is a violinist. She agonised for ages about whether or not she could use some simple slurs, and decided to do this. So we looked it up when we got home (oddly not a lot of searches for: can you use slurs for trumpet?), but it seems you can!.

I have asked NCO if there are any tickets to Easterlies, so waiting to hear.

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 11:40

Well done to miniNiggle and miniraspberry, and anyone who did the theory test yesterday! StarStar

Doubleup · 08/11/2017 16:43

Uploaded a video of mini on her bassoon from about 16 months ago onto the YouTube channel. Dodgy title! Anyway she was 9 at the time.

drummersmum · 08/11/2017 18:04

Wow thanks Double that sounded so nice, I do love the bassoon! She plays so well, should really keep it up. Her primary school hall looks just like DS' did.

And I saw a new video of goo that I hadn't seen before, I'll never tire of telling you how amazing she is at the flute, waffle. But I'm sure you know. A Grade 8 piece and she's already nailed it.

ealing congrats to mini on her upcoming solo. Glad the percussionists have been of help and even more glad someone actually respects them Grin

LooseAtTheSeams · 08/11/2017 18:50

Ha! maybe everyone in an orchestra should have a go at percussion and then they'd know! Good for Miniealing!
Must go and watch these videos!

Pradaqueen · 08/11/2017 18:51

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the silence - my Mum was admitted to hospital unexpectedly. She will make a recovery but obviously i didn't have time for activity like mumsnetting.

Fitter - so sorry for your loss. How completely awful for you and your family.

Kutik - as a tip, assuming it is not too late, I scanned all of miniprada's certificates into an A4 printed book (the local printer did it for me) and at the front I had a sort of precis detailing what she had achieved (in and out of school) plus interest in music - orchestra's etc. I had her most recent photo placed on the front so it looked 'professional'. That way, she didn't have to 'boast' during an interview if there was one. It also saved having an enormous file with plastic pockets where the certificates could get lost if dropped. She got really positive feedback from the people who interviewed her. It was a complete ball ache frankly scanning everything in as it was time consuming with my scanner but worth it in the end.Good luck to your DS!

Miniprada is doing young musician of the year at school. She is doing Vivaldi concerto in A Minor. The rules of being a music scholar are that she cannot have another teacher outside of school (fair enough) but there is a difference of opinion between what the old teacher would have said and the new one about the use of vibrato in Vivaldi. New teacher is suggesting that there should be no vibrato at all in this piece and that Vibrato was 'not Vivaldi's style'. Miniprada's vibrato is actually one of her strengths so she is finding this hard. Who should she listen to? new teacher is obviously competent and teaches at one of the London music college's outside of school. Any opinions gladly received!

Icouldbeknitting · 08/11/2017 19:25

Prada I had my mother in hospital last month after she tripped in the garden. She had surgery and a spell in a rehab unit and is now itching to be back home. The hospital visiting has been brutal owing to my inability to be in two places at once.

I know nothing at all about vibrato in Vivaldi but newteacher is the teacher now. Unless Mini feels strong enough to argue about artistic interpretation then I think she should follow instruction. If nothing else it will demonstrate that it is something she can control and afterwards she can compare and contrast the performances.

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 21:11

Prada, thank you so much for the great advice. No, it's not too late - I have done nothing yet though the deadline is fast approaching so I must get on with it! DS doesn't have many certificates and in fact the list of his achievements is rather short so I'm not sure our version will be 'a book', but I like the idea.

As long as I can remember, DS used vibrato for Vivaldi pieces but he used it like a special effect and kept the rest as pure and crisp as possible. I think it depends on how you interpret but he (and his then teacher?) felt excessive use of vibrato wouldn't suit baroque. So, if it's either lots of vibrato or none at all, then he would do none at all. Anyway, as Icouldbe pointed, miniprada is now with a new teacher, so I would suggest she would follow the instruction unless she strongly feels against the way.

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 21:14

And, I am very sorry about your mum, Icouldbe and Prada. So glad to hear they are on the good recovery. Flowers

CharisInAlexandria · 08/11/2017 21:18

My daughter does some vibrato in Vivaldi. I am sure I read some whole big article somewhere about vibrato and not over doing it in Baroque music. How do they know it wasn’t used though? We don’t have recordings?

Was just feeling quite down about London today. The airplanes and the traffic and the pollution and the over crowding and the permanently broken district line and the over subscribed schools and the impossibility of ever moving house because of the crazy prices and the stamp duty.

Have been having a semi serious fantasy about moving somewhere quiet to the West.

Wafflenose would you be kind enough to let me know or PM the name of the town where you live? It always sounds so nice with its good state secondary school.

Kutik73 · 08/11/2017 21:38

I think vibrato on the strings is like pedal on the piano. DS doesn't use much pedal for baroque pieces, or actually could be none - not 100% sure as I haven't paid too much attention to it, but obviously he doesn't use it like when he plays some romantic pieces. As I learn from how DS learns/plays, my understanding is that baroque music has to have a clear, pure sound without too much vibrato/pedal.

CharisInAlexandria · 08/11/2017 21:41

There we go. Fascinating (if you like this type of thing) in depth article on vibrato.

www.earlymusicamerica.org/emag-feature-article/vibrato-wars/

Original poster
Wafflenose · 08/11/2017 21:54

Charis we are a couple of miles outside the county town of Somerset.

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CharisInAlexandria · 08/11/2017 22:03

Thank you wafflenose. I really like Somerset. Not sure what I would do for a living though....

kutik I always though the no pedal on baroque piano was because the music was actually written for the harpsichord where you can’t go legato at all, let alone stick the pedal down. My piano teacher always used to make me play baroque piano music slightly staccato which I hated.