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.

[Kutik73]

earling and drummers, I certainly encountered those two types - ones who play a simple piece imperfectly but somewhat very movingly, and ones who play an impressively advanced piece ever so boringly.

[Trumpetboysmum]

I like the irritating agent - I am also like that and your dd sounds very like ds so she may well change her mind yet about grade 6 . And a fantastic theory result

[drummersmum]

niggle fab result!

[Kutik73]

Niggle what's a star!

[Trumpetboysmum]

I like the irritating agent - I am also like that and your dd sounds very like ds so she may well change her mind yet about grade 6 . And a fantastic theory result

[ealingwestmum]

drummers. I know you well.

Poetic justice niggle, what a result!

[Schwanengesang]

Wonderful results, congrats

I am trying to put together a playlist (I am so old I still think of it as a mix tape) of "good" complex children's music, for our Playcentre (it's a mix between kindergarten and playgroup, ages 0-6, parents attend too and mostly run it, some formal educational aspects almost exclusively run by parents with one teacher). They have a specific focus each term and it's music in term 1 next year. I am organising visits from some members of the local symphony orchestra, a recorder consort, a jazz group, and a fiddler/storyteller/fantastic music teacher; another parent and I will try to run short sessions daily focusing on simple activities on pitch, rhythm, notation etc (very basic Kodaly method stuff). We will do Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals, and a few ballets at storytime, with excerpts (and play the whole PatW/CotA for those who want to listen at other times).

So back to the mix tape. It is for playing as background music during playcentre sessions but also for giving out to kids who like the music and don't come from families that do classical music. With appropriate caveats about private use, copyright etc.

I was thinking:

Mozart twinkle variations
Bartok romanian dances (on piano)

and bits of:
Bartok violin duos
Bach Anna Magdalena book
Schumann children's album
Faure dolly suite

anyone got other suggestions? Generally looking for solo or chamber music "for children" that is not talking down to them. I can easily compile many mix tapes of excerpts of bigger works (Bach minuets from English or French suites, movements from various people's piano sonatas, Gymnopedies, etc) but was looking for stuff that composers have done with children in mind.

[Schwanengesang]

(I was meaning the Clara Schumann compilation Album für die Jugend, but Kinderszenen would also work)

[WindMum]

Newbie here reading with interest (2nd time posting!)

DD is year 6 and taking grade 6 clarinet and grade 6 piano in the spring (school session outside of usual ABRSM period). In response to the exam discussion does anyone's DC participate in music festivals? We've been doing at least 1 every year for around 5/6 years. Mix of set pieces and own choices for various 'classes'. Really expands repertoire and performance opportunities. The last few years adjudicator has been ABRSM examiner too so great chance to get feedback before exams, and hear other players too. Really great experience and I'd recommend it if you can. This year DD is entering 2 concerto classes, ww recital, piano recital, ww and piano 'age', piano sonatina, piano and ww medal classes and piano sight reading. So around 7/8 pieces on each instrument, some set pieces are very simple and some own choice up to grade 7. Builds confidence and DD loves it, and the purchasing of a suitable all outfit, lunchtime concert dress required!

[Minimusiciansmama]

Welcome windmum. We do festivals, 3 a year - I say we as the parent & child class is the one time annually that I play publicly! My DD enters with both instruments (piano and clarinet) and loves the opportunity for fun stuff like 6 hands class or duets with her teacher. And yes, she also loves the new outfits! Xx

[Trumpetboysmum]

Hi windmum. We sort of do festivals. There's a local one that ds entered last year ( a useful warm up to his nco audition) and that also led to a soloists concert. Ds's school also have a music competition each spring and a local private school have a music competition that many from AYM enter so that's just a great evening of listening to really good Young Muscicians. All really good solo practice. I think it's so important to play well beyond exam repertoire but these sort of events also give ds something to work towards which is very motivating. Not that he seems to need much at the moment I think he's enjoying having got his head around some new stuff and perfecting it - he's proving that he does know how to practice with minimum input from me !!

[drummersmum]

shwan I think when it comes to children you can include some all time favourites without problem.
spring from the 4 seasons
the celeste dance from nutcracker
the 1st mo vof Beethoven 6th pastoral
Montagues vs Capulets (dance of the knights) from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
edgar cello concerto - adagio
holst - jupiter
Etc
sorry typed on phone

[Floottoot]

Flight of the Bumblebee?

[drummersmum]

On marimba please

[Wafflenose]

My DCs are in Year 5 and Year 7, and have taken part in festivals each year since Year 1. Last year, they did 11 and 15 classes respectively, but they have reduced to 7 and 2 this year!

[Schwanengesang]

Thanks drummers & floot

might end up with 3 mix tapes: one of children's chamber works, one of child-friendly bits like Bach minuets or Mozart, Schubert sonata movements, Elgar chanson de matin, etc; one of all-time orchestral favourites. And actually a fourth of bravura marimba arrangements of all of the above

[drummersmum]

yeah schwan !
green I went to the channel to see your recent upload and couldn't find it.

[Nigglenotes]

Schwan, mostly I get a glimpse of the gaping holes were my musical knowledge might live when I read your posts. Keep it up!

Windmum, that's interesting, thanks for your thoughts. We will look at that. There is a big festival once a year at Sudbury in East Anglia. I looked at the entrance forms a year ago - they were very long and seemed quite complicated, and a world within a world, but will have another go.

Trumpet, I will pm you about other festivals if that's okay.

[WindMum]

It's worth looking at the festivals Nigglenotes, you can get drawn into lots of classes if you aren't selective! DD is doing 10 solo classes this year and that was after I had cut singing and speech and drama! They are a good experience in performing in an unknown environment (and in the case of the piano on an unfamiliar instrument).Gives the DC change to explore other suitable repertoire you don't find on the exam list and also a change to give exam pieces an outing before the exams.

Good to hear that it's not just my DD who does multiple classes and the associated multiple pieces!

[Wafflenose]

I have put in 31 entries this year, so we'll over 60 pieces.

[Wafflenose]

Well not we'll!

[violinandpiano]

My DD pass grade 5 theory with Distinction. She prepared by herself.

[Trumpetboysmum]

That's fantastic violinand piano well done to your dd

[raspberryrippleicecream]

We do our local music festival too, though there aren't nearly as many classes as some seem to have! DS2 has also cut back solo classes a lot this year.