Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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:
Thread gallery
6
Kutik73 · 06/01/2018 10:28

Thank you Trumpet. I think I read somewhere that you are saying your DS's teacher deliberately stops him practicing the concert piece prior to the performance day and, although you feel anxious with this approach, it usually works well. I'm trying to think this way for the one DS hasn't been practicing. Hopefully he remembers the notes as we even didn't bring the music!!

Japanese · 06/01/2018 11:31

Many congrats to folk's DD & good luck everyone with auditions & entrance exams.

Both the DCs had their piano lessons this morning & did a theory paper each. DS seems to have definitely benefitted from the pre-Christmas boot camp with his scales & piece 3 but DD was struggling a wee bit after not being near a piano much since before Christmas. Still haven't decided whether to enter her for Grade 2 in the Spring or not. She has her Year 6 residential and we are away the half term just before the exam season starts so that will be 2 weeks without access to a piano just before the exam if she gets an early date.

Original poster
Wafflenose · 06/01/2018 13:35

Japanese it is an incredibly short term, so unless she's very ready, I would maybe leave it and ask for an early date/ go to a centre that books early dates for next term. I have just had a similar conversation with one of my pupils' parents... little girl is desperate to do Grade 2 Clarinet this term, but not quite there and the whole month of January will be taken up with preparing her four classes (8-10 pieces) for the music festival.

OP posts:
Japanese · 06/01/2018 15:51

Thanks waffle - I think we are going to give it a week and make a final decision next weekend. Her pieces are there or thereabouts. But her scales - ahem!

Have told her to blitz the scales practice this week and then we will see next weekend.

Kutik73 · 06/01/2018 17:20

Phew! DS's first solo performance at JD was done! He threw all he's got and managed to get 'bravo!'from the professor who were there to assess the performance. Musical, polished and all in tune. Hurray! He looked very confident and in his element but later told me his legs were shaking!

drummersmum · 06/01/2018 18:26

Ah minikutik you're always surprising your mum Grin

AlexandraLeaving · 06/01/2018 18:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

disorganisedmummy · 06/01/2018 19:15

Oh bravo to you minikutik. So pleased it went well. ☺️

Japanese · 06/01/2018 19:25

Well done Kutik's DS!

Trumpetboysmum · 06/01/2018 19:32

Well done mini kutik !! Yes kutik you're right ds's teacher doesn't like him to over practice before a performance I think he takes the view that if he's picked it then it should be one that's ready and in over perparing it he might over think it not play so musically etc ( it also stops ds stressing about minor details- but does nothing for my nerves 😀)
I also think it's a short term and so am hoping that maybe dd will only do 1 music exam - or may wait till the summer she's been getting really stressed about them and it's just not worth it -I'll have to see what her teachers say .

Kutik73 · 06/01/2018 20:05

Thank you for all the cheering! DS was quiet and didn't look happy after the performance. I thought it was just a nerve thing. But when I asked him how he felt about it, he said it was okay but he could have done better. Shock I really think he did very well within his current ability. I wish I could show DS all your kind comments but he doesn't know he is miniKutik!

Trumpet, it may be so true about the danger of over-thinking/over-cooking. I felt DS's concerto was not ready but it may be a good time to perform in front of people. It was flesh and passionate.

TaggieOHara · 06/01/2018 21:35

Well done mini-Kutik. The Bach A minor is a lot harder to play well than it looks. Bravo indeed Smile

LooseAtTheSeams · 06/01/2018 23:48

Yay! MiniKutik - well done, that's brilliant! Star

Kutik73 · 07/01/2018 00:21

Thank you, Taggie and Loose. Smile

I always think Mozart and Bach are a lot harder than they look. DS did well today, but what he did today was a quick lick of the piece. He's still got to go through biting, chewing, tasting, swallowing and digesting to get closer to real mastery!

Kutik73 · 07/01/2018 12:24

DS won't see his violin teacher until the end of January. She is going to think of DS's next pieces by then, but also asked DS to think of it. DS has named a few already but I asked him to take time and think carefully. We have plenty time till we see her.

I was wondering what pieces your DCs (or you!) are learning or are going to learn, if you have a plan for a long term (a year or more) or short term (this month, this term or this academic year), or both! Would be interesting to share our ambitions or plans between all the instruments, levels and ages. Anyone?

Kutik73 · 07/01/2018 12:27

I am learning theory g2 for myself... Blush

Mendingfences · 07/01/2018 13:12

Hi kutik dd1 is just polishing schubert sonatine op137 and will be starting humoresk by tor aulin as a comoulsory piece for an audition. She will also need a self chosen unaccompanied piece which we havent looked into yet....

Trumpetboysmum · 07/01/2018 13:40

Ds is polishing an exciting trumpet piece called Tico Tico at the moment and is learning the Neruda trumpet concerto. No doubt his teacher will turn up with new ideas tomorrow as well. I'm just hoping to actually make it to choir practice this term and maybe have time to have the odd play on my guitar. I think my plans to learn to play the piano might have to wait till the house is finished

Original poster
Wafflenose · 07/01/2018 13:52

Rara is finishing up the grade 2 theory book and we do have a plan for the coming year - grade 3 exam in November. On the clarinet she has about 10 pieces for the festival, including duet and group items. She has also picked NINE grade 3 pieces to learn, and narrow down later. Cello is drifting g and frequently ends in tantrums.

Goo is learning as much as she can from the grade 8 syllabus and a piece from 2nd diploma. Not sure when she will do Grade 8. She is polishing Grade 5 piano pieces and scales, but doesn't feel she is there with exercises or sight reading.

OP posts:
raspberryrippleicecream · 07/01/2018 14:05

Tico tico is a lovely piece Trumpet, DD played it on alto sax a few years ago.

Not sure which pieces DS2 is working on, I'll have to ask him. His longer term plan is Grade 8 piano next term and Grade 5 organ possibly this term, but I think next term is more likely. He is leaving theory alone for the present after Grade 6 last term.

His Festival entries are massively reduced from other years only three individual classes (two piano, one organ).

I also have no idea what will happen to the school group entries as the music department is still not right after the death of a key member of staff last term.

Trumpetboysmum · 07/01/2018 14:19

It is a great piece raspberry he first played it in jazz band last year when funnily enough he played the sax line !!

ealingwestmum · 07/01/2018 14:42

Shuddering as I read about the early starts your DC have had. Our first one is Tue's swim at 05.20; school doesn't start until Weds but I am dreading being in sole charge of DD for 10 days AND doing these earlies and nightly pick ups (instead of just waving goodbye from my bed)!

Kutik, DD is polishing off a long pice by De Beriot called Scene de Ballet, in the hope that she makes it through to this year's advanced music comp at school early in the term. HoM is not a big fan of hers so we're not holding our breath, but she's worked hard and I'd love to see her perform it as a first solo in a while.

Other than that, her school teacher has decided to order her another G8 piece (not sure if from current syllabus) after a whole term of scales and studies only. At least her technical skills should be much improved, even though it's been challenging on the motivation! No violin exams since Y5 (G6) so it's been all about the development over last 3 years.

Icouldbeknitting · 07/01/2018 14:48

DS has also played Tico Tico, it was on the G8 euphonium list at one point but I can't remember now whether he actually played it for the exam or whether it was one that was ditched in favour of something else.

It has come as a surprise to some of us that if we are not going to four band practices a week we need to step up our solo practice regime. Who would have thought that?

disorganisedmummy · 07/01/2018 15:21

Hi all. It's lovely to hear what your fab dc's are working on.

Ds is currently working really hard on his audition pieces for JD which are Czardas by Monti and the 2nd movement from Vivaldi's violin concerto in A minor.

When he's not doing that he loves the Bach violin concerto that Minikutiq is doing and has done some work on that. He has also played Humouresque and it's a favourite piece of his. For ds we have discovered that he adores playing concertos and the like and working through the different movements.
As he's preparing for an audition,he's being doing his scales (g7) ones which are sounding fairly ropey for some reason. He seems to get the harder ones right but messes up he easy ones plus he hasn't yet committed them to memory so lots more work needed on that.

My only concern is sight reading. I know you can buy the books and we have one book but am not musical enough to help him. Does anyone have any good strategies for sight reading?

Paulweller11 · 07/01/2018 15:24

Sight reading- disorganised- practice, practice and more practice. If he’s bored of the sight reading books, try normal music as sight reading, obviously pieces he doesn’t already play.