December Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Have a new thread for December!

This is an ongoing chat group for musicians, parents of musicians and anyone interested in music. We talk about practice, scales, theory, instrument hire and purchase, concerts, exams, auditions and loads more. Newcomers and beginners are extra specially welcome - yes, a lot of us now have children who are getting quite advanced, but we all had beginners once. I started the conversation when my eldest was 6 and working towards Grade 1, and we now have learners of all ages and standards on here.

I am a teacher of woodwind, and have two daughters. Goo is 12 and in Year 7. She loves her new school, and has grown up fast since she started. The first few weeks were overwhelming and confusing. She loved the challenge of new subjects, new faces, lots of different sports, etc. Unfortunately, she is a poster child for complacency, is now finding it all very easy, and doing the bare minimum again, sigh. She extends this approach to music too, putting in a bit of effort at the last minute, and often making an eleventh hour bid to change piece for important performances. She is gregarious, intense and obsessed with her phone. Oops, I forgot to say, she plays the flute and piano. Grade 8 flute is pencilled in for some time next year (teacher is campaigning to wait until train tracks come off) and she hasn't performed on the piano or taken any exams yet.

Rara is 9, and a completely different kettle of fish. She likes music, but she likes reading, art and making things even more. She's talkative, eccentric and highly creative. I have no idea how her mind works. She is in Year 5 at the village primary, and couldn't really care less about academics. She plays the cello (working at an early Grade 4 level) and clarinet. Some of her clarinet pieces are Grade 4, but she is having some technical problems at the moment, mainly due to her size and incorrect placement of her fingers. So the next exam she does will probably be Grade 3.

Both girls are members of South West Music School (Rara starting next month) and both auditioned for the NCO. Goo was very pleased with herself, but Rara had an absolute disaster. She bounced back within a day though.

Mending I love the double bass story! Sorry you've had such a terrible journey!
Drummers DS1 is obsessed with Berkelee performers on YouTube although I'm very sure he isn't harbouring any unrealistic notions. A Harvard-Berkeley degree would be perfect for your DS, though!

Harvard degree sounds an excellent way to avoid English uni debts.... and a unique experience for sure. Harvard!

We are working our way through the remaining performances of term. Tomorrow night her two ensembles are in a carol event (choir and clarinet). Monday night she's playing with the older kids from her school in their end of year festival in our Minster. A couple of choir performances in the coming week.... this term has wiped me out, through the combination of juggling her even more manic schedules for both music & ballet plus a stressy term at work. I'm just about fighting off germs, as is she, but we have already discussed a back up plan for if we are both too ill to go away for Christmas itself as I suspect we may both succumb to the bugs when the need to stoically power through is gone!!

Sending you both strength for the last bit! Hoping not to jinx myself now, but I have been sickeningly healthy all term, apart from the odd dislocation. This time last year was horrendous. DH and I had pneumonia (and he ended up having a hospital stay for related sepsis and kidney injury), Goo kept getting broken, I had a prang in the car and then Goo and I both got actual flu complete with 40 degree temperatures a handful of days before Christmas!

Five performances done this week, mostly successfully. Ten music exams safely passed (including four merits and four distinctions) five out of six music medals done, and two days left at work. Go me!

Wow, such busy schedules! Fingers crossed everyone keeps healthy!

Good luck all for getting through the run up to Christmas!

Congrats Waffle on amazing exam results!

I have a question especially for music teachers... how do you help children with a poor sense of rhythm? It is DS2's weakest point and I was thinking about doing some basic work with him over Christmas, when we have a bit more time. He has poor physical coordination (prob dyspraxia) so I don't think eurythmics would be effective.

Thanks!

Hope you both manage to keep well mini . Waffle so pleased that this year sounds healthier than last . We too are hoping for a healthy Christmas dh had a ruptured appendix and spent last Christmas in hospital so we are all keeping are fingers crossed that everyone stays well- that was very stressful

Our not are

I live this thread.... I need to show my DH so he realises our crazy schedules are not just me 'packing too much in' but the normal lives of a musical family... snow put pay to our crazy concert schedule last week (sad in some ways as both DD's were due to do solos on instruments and singing and missed out after working so hard!). School / concerts all done here now but piano exam for Moll tomorrowand panto carries on right through until 14th Jan!

Live? Love!!!

Taggie, have a look at the Flip A Rhythm books. They are fantastic for rhythm work.

drummer, your comment about how to get on in the music world is spot on. It's not just about being the best player but about being the best fit. For instance, always be the first to buy the teas at the rehearsal breaks. 😊 Such things are even more important when you're freelance. Smile, be positive, be flexible, be organised.
For percussionists, team work is EVERYTHING! It becomes obvious very quickly when someone is only looking after themself, and the music world is very small; everyone knows everyone.

I'm sure some of us live it too folk

apart from the odd dislocation - Waffle, is that a common occurrence? Sounds painful.

Wishing everyone good luck and good health for the last push through to Christmas.

Floot your comment about fitting in in the music world is exactly what ds's teacher says is important too

......apparently it's the metronomes fault...... I have a feeling it might be a long day today

Year, apparently we have to replace our metronome with a better one as ours has a tendency to get slower as it goes.

Trumpet, hang on to that teacher!
The fact is, the vast majority of musicians will not be soloists, but will be sitting in a section. Rehearsals can be long, intense, tedious, difficult and performing is stressful. Being a good player is a given but you also need to be someone who lifts the section, supports the principal and generally makes life as easy and enjoyable as possible for the rest of the section. That's why you have trials for orchestras, not just auditions.

Have you seen the clip of the LSO principal oboe playing a solo and then finding he's got water in one of his keys? He has to quickly get it out and in doing so, snags his reed so has to quickly grab the 2nd oboe's instrument and carry on with the solo. That's team work! I've been in the middle of an opera performance when the principal flute had to dash out of the pit to vomit and the rest of us had to move up a seat to cover the parts.

Homemade cake at rehearsals also goes down well, as does being first at the bar after the show! 😂😂

We have a coffee and cake break at out band rehearsals- it's a major selling point

kutik apparently ours has the same problem

We must write a letter to the maker to complain then!

Floot I have just read your advice to ds- he nodded in agreement- hopefully its going in - I think it can be quite difficult to behave like that when you're 12 and people are constantly putting you on a pedestal and asking you to perform solo or lead (even when you're the youngest player). Not that his teacher ever does that- he keeps him grounded and is always focussing on what needs work not how well he's doing- sometimes if you listen to what he says you would think ds was hopeless at the trumpet!! But I think he manages ok and its why he enjoys things like NCO and AYM so much as then he's just amongst like minded musicians, isn't one of the best players, and can just get on with enjoying it.
Mending I am dreading ds's practice today he has his first big solo performance tomorrow so I feel today's practice could be a little tense (I'm going to stay out of the way )

Thanks floot - I'll order that book. Maybe I'll get DS2 a little bongo drum for Christmas to make rhythm work more fun

Last concert of the year today. Today is klezmer funk band. We were at a party last night where everyone ended playing music we had drums piano sax keyboard electric guitar and bass till 11pm. It was wonderful. The teenagers are DS jazz band mates and just made awesome music together for hours instead of going off to play video games. I played the conga

drummers coolest post of the year! What a fantastic evening!

Doubleup lol yes it's daily. Mostly a couple of naughty ribs up between the shoulder blades, and my shoulders at the moment. Hey ho. I try not to moan.

Yay! Just got an email (why on Sunday??) that DS has been selected for a music scholarship audition at an independent school 1!

We submitted all the required documents for the application and DS had an interview with the school back in October. Meanwhile, DS's violin teacher gave him two pieces to learn for the auditions, but I was wondering what's the point preparing them if he had little chance to go through the process. DS has to take the exams in January, but being invited to the audition now means he can anyway audition nevertheless the exam results.

That's really great as DS has little hope with another school. We have applied two schools. DS has to pass the exams and interview even before being considered to be called for the audition for School 2 (I think it;s norm though). It's more academic and the comprehension is really hard so I don't think DS has a chance to play his pieces for them (but he is still trying ). But now we know he can play the pieces at least for one school!

Now he has a good reason to practise!