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Extra-curricular activities

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

Original poster

January Music Thread

634 replies

Wafflenose · 01/01/2018 00:21

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.

OP posts:
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Doubleup · 17/01/2018 22:12

Great news for miniKutik!

folkmamma · 17/01/2018 22:14

Thanks Double. Perhaps we'll get away with it... we've made a commitment to NCO so I don't want her to let the side down by not playing as well as she could, I suppose it's a life lesson. We'll see what's on the programme...

Kutik73 · 18/01/2018 09:44

Thank you Double! However, I've learnt in life you can never be 100% sure until you have the money in the bank. So we won't jump around yet until we receive an official offer in Feb!

DS had been preferring his state option since he secured a music aptitude place in October. But now the school he had the audition yesterday is slowly creeping up the ranking simply because he really enjoyed the audition... I am thinking to book a quick tour at the state school just to revive DS's memory, but also to show DH - he hasn't visited any state schools (only privates)!

stringchild · 18/01/2018 09:47

Kutik do they do taster days? Dd found them invaluable to give us her perception

Kutik73 · 18/01/2018 10:13

You mean the state school or private school? I am sure the private school offers tester days so yes DS def attend once the official offer is made. The state school's taster days won't happen this term (obviously!) so I need to book a personal visit in Jan/Feb, just to get a fair view before DS makes his mind up. He seems to hold a positive impression wherever he visited most recently (due to his simple head...). So I really need to revive his memory on the state school! It'd been his first choice for a while, but now the memory is fading fast after the exciting audition he had yesterday...

AlexandraLeaving · 18/01/2018 19:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Doubleup · 18/01/2018 19:10

Well done to The Boy Alex Star

se22mother · 19/01/2018 08:01

Well done on all the good news.

Does anyone know whether I can buy a piano accompaniment separately? Dd has had to take her copy into school in preparation for a concert, however her teacher will need the piano music to prepare dd for her exam.

horseymum · 19/01/2018 08:10

I think you are allowed to photocopy in this circumstance as long as it is destroyed afterwards? I'm sure the entry form for the festival said to provide a copy for the official accompaniest to practice and then to bring original on the day

Doubleup · 19/01/2018 08:15

It's generally fine to do that as long as you have the original copy too. I have done photocopies of accompaniment for DD2's school auditions and then taken the original on the day.

LooseAtTheSeams · 19/01/2018 08:43

Well done to the Boy, Alex! Bet he’s delighted. Star

Icouldbeknitting · 19/01/2018 08:50

We've copied the piano part in those circumstances. You need to be careful about what you do in the exam room/competition but other than that you also need to be practical.

Congratulations Alexandra on keeping the trophy. I made my contribution to music this week by buying a trophy that doesn't need polishing, although I was have been told that the engraver cleans them anyway so the hours we've spent cleaning trophies before they go back was a total waste of time.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 19/01/2018 09:48

Hello everyone.

A few weeks ago, I got locked out of the video channel. Somebody, however innocently, has changed the password, so as far as I know, it's no longer accessible to anyone else. It hadn't been working properly before that anyway. I receive a steady stream of messages asking for access, but I am unfortunately not able to grant it. I am also receiving emails asking for certain videos to be deleted or moved. I am also currently unable to do this.

Currently, I am up to my neck with my own pupils, exam entries, festival entries and an unpaid role for the music festival. Goo is also needing a lot of TLC. I don't have the time or inclination to manage the channel myself, and never intended to. I have spoken to the person who set it up, who can't get in either, but together I think we can get through security to have the channel zapped. We can't risk people changing the password from time to time so that others don't have control of their content any more. So I suggest that the channel should be deleted in a week, if I can get through security. If anyone wants to set up something new, that would be fab... I just don't want to manage it!

I hope this comes across in the friendly tone it's intended. None of this is an accusation at all - I'm sure that what's happened is accidental or perfectly innocent.

Waffle x

OP posts:
drummersmum · 19/01/2018 10:30

alex well done Star
waffle it could've been hacked? I hope our lady friend who set up the channel is ok. Your post was perfect and all is understood Flowers

stringchild · 19/01/2018 12:04

Waffle - completely understood.

Am just wondering if I messed it up but I def didn’t change the password...

raspberryrippleicecream · 19/01/2018 12:47

Understood Waffle.

Kutik73 · 19/01/2018 12:55

Thank you for doing all this Waffle. I really hope our friend is well...

DS had a piano lesson yesterday and it was confirmed that he is taking G7 piano this term. A beauty of piano exams is you don't need to think of arranging an accompanist. Confirmed, paid and done - so simple!

Kutik73 · 19/01/2018 13:00

Suppose percussion would be quite a nightmare? Or any large instruments that requires a car. for taking an exam, I mean.

Kutik73 · 19/01/2018 13:01

You don't need to bring anything for piano. Maybe a bottle of water...?

Floottoot · 19/01/2018 13:05

Kutik, percussionists don't take their own instruments for exams, thankfully.
I'm finding the logistics of getting even a full size cello in a flight case into my car hard enough!!

Doubleup · 19/01/2018 13:30

Bigger car needed floot? Smile

Waffle, that sounds very sensible.

Might need his music Kutik, unless he has learned it all by heart (which probably wouldn’t surprise me) Smile

Kutik73 · 19/01/2018 13:31

I have a huge sympathy to the parents of harpists... Or are thay also supplied at the exam centre?

Kutik73 · 19/01/2018 13:38

Double, he always memorises all the music he does. Wink He uses them for practice though. I think he needs them to work on the details or to check the notes written by the teachers.

TaggieOHara · 19/01/2018 13:43

waffle that sounds sensible to me. Thanks for all you have done. I got hacked at around the time the channel went wrong so it is possible that the password was stolen that way

raspberryrippleicecream · 19/01/2018 14:51

My god-daughter played harp for a while, from around age 7 - 10. I can confirm it was terrible taking it anywhere and yes, you take your own harp to exams. And you could never lift share.

She ended up switching to flute and trumpet, having gone through violin and sax on the way!

Congratulations on all the good news on the thread.

Alexandra it it lovely retaining a trophy and re-engraving a name underneath.