February Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Have a new thread for February!

This is a place for our ongoing conversation about music, instruments, lessons, ensembles, scales, practice, exams, aural, theory and whatever else you'd like to talk about. Everyone is welcome - new and older members, beginners and advanced.

I have two daughters - Goo (12) flute and piano, in a bit of a slump at the moment, and Rara (9) cello, clarinet and recorder (yes, she's picked it up again) on a roll at the moment. I teach woodwind and have my own little clarinet group called the B Flat Blues, who don't rehearse together regularly, but played in a festival this week.

I also have quite a bit of news, mostly good, but am so tired that it will have to wait until tomorrow now. Hopefully it's worth waiting for (and before anyone asks, no, Goo didn't get the desire of her heart).

I'm only one posting today!

Oh, cross posted, Loose. Thank you for the info. I've been to the castle but not to the museum. I'll check it out!

Kutik, the area around Cardiff Bay is supposed to be nice, although I haven't been myself.

We still haven't settled on a school for DD2 out of the three offers. All three offered her a music scholarship, but all vary widely. One is free lessons on one instrument, another is 25% off the fees plus tuition on two instruments and the third is 10% off the fees and individual music lessons worth £2000 per year. Her current bassoon teacher teaches at two of the schools too, so there would be continuity. We wouldn't want to change teacher. Too much choice! Aargh!

double at least not wanting to change teachers perhaps rules out one of the schools then?!

Are lots of you on half term this week? We were last week. My monkey has her first NCO this Sunday, her first of the assessments/reaudition tests for JD the following week and we’ve just this week finished off her application for an AYM. Festival in three weeks. She’s just started a new piece that she’s loving on her clarinet, she’s on a mission on the piano. A happy little girl!

Kutik I got my violin case from Cardiff Violins when I was a student there! It’s a lovely, quirky shop and has a great reputation. Enjoy! If you like vinyl records, go to Spillers Music, it’s the oldest record shop in the country and is a total treasure trove. St David’s 2 is an awesome shopping centre too! The RWCMD buildings very impressive and has a lovely cafe where you will be surrounded by kindred spirits. It is a very short walk from the city centre. If you’re lucky there may even be a lunchtime concert on....

Double congrats to Mini-Double on the school offers. Lovely to have choices, but it seems you are in a dilemma! Does DD2 have a preference?

Just back from a bit of music making myself - Wednesday is band night and we are gigging on Friday so tonight was about set lists and running through stuff we haven’t played for a while. Looking forward to getting back out there after a few months break!

Double, I sympathise with your dilemma, but having choices is real luxury. Very well done to your clever girl. Sounds like she will do well at any school. Which school do you think she will be the happiest? If they are all lovely equally, then I would probably go for the easiest journey.

folk, wow, great info, thank you so much. We are going by train and it's only a day trip. Provided we spend a couple of hours at the violin shop, I realised we won't have much free time. DS has a school visit next morning. If not we could have stayed one night and enjoyed the city more!

By the way, DS's back to school this week. I am taking him out for the trip to Cardiff...

Good luck with your son’s violin hunting Kutik!

Wow Double, many congratulations on your Dd offers, whats a lovely position to be in.

I had a down day yesterday as bonus was announced and as a top performer I still got a peanut compare to others so I am working from home today to hide my disappointment. So many decisions to make. It means I could then save couple of hours travelling to set up my daughter revision plan and check on her music plan. To be able to do it I should be off mumsnet today at least. There was some lovely 15 mins violin and 15mins piano practice this morning though.

double distance and general atmosphere v important. Good luck, v well done to her!
green is that because you're a woman? Sorry for your disappointment

Green my sympathies- in my experience bonus depends on whether you a drinking buddies/football buddies with the boss or trying to juggle life

green. I do miss the money on dark days but overall do NOT miss my Canary Wharf life. The inequality's rubbish though isn't it?

Green - It's not just the money, but also the lack of recognition that stings. Look after yourself.

Congrats to mini-Double. Tough choices ahead!

Being a (little) Asian woman, working in a heavy men domain area, English wasnt the first language, having kids and an ill husband clearly dont help me gaining my bargain and it became very sore every year on the day bonus was announced as I try to forget all of these on other days. I still need a check though especially with the prospect that I might be the only bread earner.

Green you work harder than the men because you have three people at home who depend on you on top of your job. I know it's very hard to challenge a bonus amount, though, and no doubt it's all very political.

you have so much on your plate Green. Sorry to hear things are so tough. I hope there is a mechanism to persuade your employers to reconsider?

Yes, no doubt lots of political games came in place. I slipped out the fact that my husband isnt well and we need a transplant and it might have to be done on our own expense oversea(very expensive) to avoid the queue and no doubt they know I would be less likely to leave this year during their consideration of bonus distribution. Sorry to side track on this musical thread. Just so much in my head.

Hang in there green. You are doing SO well, and have all of our admiration for the constant juggling. Your girls are an absolute credit to your determination to everything best by your family. Stay strong for your DH x

Thanks!

And do post here if it helps, even a tiny bit. All of us hairy truckers strangers from the internet are cheering you on

You all seem so much more talented/supportive/organised than I feel.

I popped onto an earlier iteration of this thread a while back and introduced myself. I have Y, who is 11 and a cellist, K, 9, flute and miss N is 8 and we are hoping to get to a basic competency with violin.

Y is gr6 this year, in Australia, and we are starting to make decisions about high schools. VCA has a small year 7 intake and his cello teacher seems to think he’ll get in if he wants it. We’ve added a half hour theory/keyboard lesson weekly on top of his cello lessons, and also switched to violin for the pretty woeful school instrumental program. He’s been playing violin for 6 weeks now and is comfortably playing towards the end of Suzuki book 2. Which is tricky because girlchild is only halfway through book 1 after 2 years. I’m worried that Y is too convinced of his own talent, right now getting him to actually focus properly is really tricky. He’s almost learnt the first piece he’s going to the audition with, but we are on the hunt for a klezmer piece to contrast with the classical piece he’s working on now. I’m pushing him hard to learn all of books 4 and 5 Suzuki this year, and to be post-repertoire in a couple more years. If anyone has suggestions for hood jazz or klezmer pieces at around a grade 5 level that we should look at please make suggestions.

I was in hospital for a month last year, and everyone really struggled, and music was where that struggle was most visible. But we are 3 weeks into the new school year, have a new routine and a new violin teacher and it feels like we might be getting into a groove. New violin teacher is getting so much more than last years was from miss 8. There is still a lot of stomping about how I’m mean and unreasonable making her play but we are getting 10 minutes solid every morning and I feel like I can expect that we can one day actually attempt a new piece. Poor kid has a slow processing speed, abysmal working memory, tendency to give up when it feels too hard and apparently doesn’t look autistic at school. Which means that’s saved up for home. And then her brother picks up the violin and plays much harder pieces.

K is also making progress. He also halted when I was sick and while he and his teacher have decided to take a break from minuets this term he is really enjoying learning other new pieces. He’s the kid I was expecting to be looking at music scholarships for. It’s been really good fun watching him decide to work harder at making music. Dentist appointment today did confirm that we are going to be looking at orthodontics at some point. Please someone tell me this won’t kill his flute playing????

There aren’t a lot of opportunities right now for my kids to play outside of family and small school events, but I’m hoping that even if we decide against the music high school, or Y isn’t offered a spot, there will be a good music program for him next year. We chose this primary partly because the music program seemed better than at other schools but while the singing/choir is good the rest is only so-so

Hello Emer!

It's always hard balancing the needs of siblings. I have a very bright firstborn who's more naturally able at music than her younger sister, and more willing to try at sports. So she appears to excel in everything that can be measured, but it's not as simple as that. The younger one is slower, DID have slow processing speed and word finding (now resolved) and is a selective mute. I suspect her IQ is similar to her sister's. She is funny, artistic and imaginative, but those things can't be measured, can they? Something that helps a bit is letting them have separate activities (other than music) - Goo (12) plays lots of netball and Rara (9) swims for a club (the only sport she will do) and goes to Brownies.

Flute and braces are a horrible combination. Goo had big clunky twin blocks, and is now almost done with train tracks, rubber bands and power chains. She took her Grade 6 exam a few days after getting blocks braces, and Grade 7 the term after getting train tracks. Exams were booked, and she had no choice but to get on with it. She couldn't get a sound out for a few days with the latter though! The orthodontist said that really determined children who want to continue will find a way. They give out special mouthpiece things to flautists who want them... and apparently the children that take them to try to 'help' usually end up giving up. Maybe they were looking for a reason to give up or something.

Here is Goo on her last day at primary school, with train tracks (apologies to everyone who's seen in before... I am not allowed to film her any more, so this is her best video!)

Gorgeous video of Goo!!!!

As someone who stoically refused to be video'd playing as a child, feel free to tell her that I am now totally gutted that there is no evidence of me playing when I was young.... I even stopped mid-performance one time when I noticed my dad had sneaked the camera out. But I wish there was something to share with my DD's now 😔

Balancing the siblings needs is not easy. I har deliberately avoided my 3 playing the same instruments but then due to forces outside my control ended up with first the youngest and then the oldest playing piano as a second study. That went ok because they have different teachers with different curriculums so no direct comparison and most importantly ds (the youngest) is a self secure soul who took it in his stride. However when dd2 started double bass, dd1 who has violin as her first study took major objection to the whole thing because SHE was the strings player in the family.. ... Things have calmed down now thankfully.

Just found this... Lol! I think someone had better choose a different career path... 😂

Love it folk in our house its scales , dd1 announced 'scales is a swear word and should never be said in my presence'

That is hilarious folk, mending. I am happy we are not the only one:).
Well come Emerence, mine children are 6 years apart so no issue yet, they have very different need and very different characters(even look). I am thinking of having my second starting her music lesson when she has settled with her primary school start, by then she might be 5 or nearly 5 which hopefully wont be too early). I also hope my first wont have any exam anymore long after so I will only have to deal with one at a time.