January Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Happy New Year!

This is the new thread for our continuing (6 year old) conversation about all things to do with music - lessons, exams, auditions, theory, scales, practice and whatever else you want to talk about.

I am Waffle, teacher of woodwind, amateur composer, and unpaid consultant watching and commenting on all sorts of woodwind videos that people send my way! I am mum to Goo 12, and Rara 9, who both play instruments, do South West Music School and NCO. Goo plays flute and piano, and has Grade 8 and Grade 5 pending for some time this year. Rara plays cello and clarinet - working within Grade 4 for both, but hasn't taken a clarinet exam since Grade 1, and wants to do Grade 3 this coming term. She's way behind with Theory, so it's theory boot camp again this week. We start back to school late (Jan 8th) so that's good.

Awesome result double; and best of luck on the exam today!

Well done to horsey's DD on the festival & double's DD on a fab exam result!

We have a cello in the house which is very exciting. I went to the shop at the Barbican yesterday to pick it up, it's a half-size Stentor 2. DD seems quite taken with it although is struggling to get a decent sound out of the strings with the bow. She's used to just hitting a piano key and it all happening . I know next to nothing about strings so am not much help. DP is a bass guitarist so he has been plucking away at the cello for a bit of fun but is also clueless about the bow. It will be a learning curve for us all!

Well done minihorsey and that is a fantastic result Double - really amazing to get that for sight-reading!
Japanese well done on the new cello! I'm pleased to say DS2's scales now sound plausible - at last. Will have to maintain practice, though.
DS1's GCSE music compositions are going well now and he's allowed to miss a couple of lessons today to do something whizzy with the second one!

Good luck Double! And congrats on the fab exam result

133 this time so DD1's comment was that it was a proper distinction, rather than a 'pity' one at 130 last time

Aw lovely news Double!! Congratulations to your DD x

japanese - if the cello and bow are new, it may just be that the bow needs LOTS of rosin and the strings playing in....

Yay to miniDouble! Good luck with her exam today!

Have name changed because this really is outing! For those of you who are not up with your Jilly Cooper cultural references, it's Taggie...

Just had a phone call from the NCO. Apparently they made a clerical error and DS2 should have been offered a place in the U10s. They said he was high on their list .

Of course being the paranoid pessimist that I am, my attitude is that if they made one clerical error, they can make another. I won't believe it until I drop him off at the course in August...

Wow congrats on u10’s!
Congrats to all receiving exam results too

Congratulations to your DS on U10s ‘rupert’!

Well done to mini double - that was a long time to wait. DDs teacher had other pupils who only just got results from November too, he was getting a bit cross.

Could any piano people plese help a lady who I suggested post in the extra curricular section, she hasn't had any responses. She is looking how to teach herself piano

Hmm, interesting. DS is doing piano grade 1 this term, DD was trying out Trinity Initial music in her lesson yesterday. We could have two first exams at once! At least I hope it's for this term not next, DD's yet to take more than a week to learn anything so I don't think she'd be impressed with the same pieces for 2 terms.

LOL at the name change rupert and yay!! And well done double's DD.

Eek! Super excited and a little bit jealous... Noo plays with the Senior Orchestra at her future secondary school (which is in itself hilarious, she is half the height of the average member!) and she's just come home from the first rehearsal this term with the music to Finlandia. They're also accompanying 2 sixth formers playing the Bach Double, which is great as I was planning to start that with her soon. I just love that 'proper' music has now made it into the everyday... wish I could sit next to her!!!! Oh well, Faure rehearsal again tonight 😍

We played Finlandia last term with our orchestra, I love it1

Great news double and Rupertswife Hope the last exam went ok to mini double

Teacher wasn't impressed by cello scales improvement (she's aiming for a distinction!) but does want him to sit G5 this term so we're going for it as we all believe he can sort his scales out in time. If necessary he can have extra lessons!

Apologies for coming to the thread so late...how are we already in the middle of January??

We have DS, who is nearly 12 and plays cello - he's a year 7 music scholar at a cathedral school.
DH and I are both professional musicians; we met while both playing with the same orchestra and had several very happy years on tour, before I decided to stay at home after DS was born ( we have an older DD).
DH is still touring, and I teach, coach, write arrangements etc.

We had a quite Christmas, musically, as DS really needed some down time after a very hectic first term at his new school.
He's taking grade 5 this term, but more excitingly, moving up to a full size cello. He's been on a 1/2 since he started and held off moving to a 3/4 because of some technique issues that needed sorting, so to find out he can move straight onto a 4/4 is great. We had a pretty intense afternoon trying cellos out at a specialist string shop, with his teacher at the weekend...needless to say, our budget has had to be reconsidered!! We have a few more specialist shops to visit before making a final choice, which is exciting and nerve-wracking!
DS is performing as a soloist in a concert in a few weeks, so we have hired a 4/4 instrument until we find THE ONE.

School entrance tests for DD2 now all done, so down time for her and gin for me last night! Yesterday’s was the second day of Common Entrance and included a science paper. As you can imagine, state primaries tend not to be able to do much science due to lack of facilities, but the school makes allowances for that.

It looks as though she passed Saturday’s test as she has been invited to do the music scholarship audition- so got to get back on the treadmill for another couple of weeks. This time she has 15 mins for the audition and another 15 for aural/listening test, so it looks like the entire movement for both pieces will have to be resurrected.

Additional comments section on DD1’s exam mark sheet said “Instinctive attention to phrasing coupled with strong sight-reading were impressive features.” Never had the word “impressive before, so she has a smile on her face

double belated hurray for result ! And rupert what a nice phone call to get ha ha. That's the kind of thing one always wishes - that such and such made a clerical error - but it hardly ever happens!!

Fantastic news, Double and Rupert! Wow!

floot do you mean THE ONE as in it will be the cello that chooses him?

Haha, yes, Drummer!
Interesting experience in Saturday, as he'd never played a full size before, so favourite a student model over an antique Bohemian, from the way it felt to play...but then chose the Bohemian in a blindfolded listening test when his teacher played it. I think his pride was bruised then, as he declared he hated them all at that point...but has talked non-stop about the Bohemian ever since!
It's a whole new world to me - choosing a flute is very personal but not in the same way as string instruments, I don't think; there's the vast price range for a start, not to mention bows, differently strings and bridges etc.

That sounds really exciting Floot good luck with the final choice