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Extra-curricular activities

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

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Original poster

March Music Thread

626 replies

Wafflenose · 01/03/2018 10:56

Welcome to the new thread for March! I am typing this from home rather than having to go to work - snow days all round. We currently have 1cm, but there are red warnings for wind and for snow later today, so it's going to be horrendous.

This is a place to talk about all things musical, whether you or your DCs are learning. We have lots of followers, from beginners to advanced, and everyone is welcome!

I am a teacher of recorder, clarinet, flute and saxophone, and have two DDs. Goo is 12 and having a fabulous time at secondary. She is Grade 8+ on the flute but not taking the exam until braces are off (and I think her teacher is holding out until she thinks Goo can get full marks or something) and around Grade 5 piano - no performances or exams yet and terrified of anyone hearing her, so that's getting to be a slight problem. Rara is 9 and between Grades 3 and 4 on both cello and clarinet. She's taking Grade 3 Clarinet this term so that when she goes off to the NCO in the summer, she doesn't have to tell other children that's she's only done Grade 1!

OP posts:

disorganisedmummy · 13/03/2018 22:24

Taggie thank you so much for saying that. You've made my day! We're very proud of mini disorganised. He tries so hard with everything he does. We had a chat this evening and he said he feels overwhelmed and bogged down with stuff at the mo. He still wants to carry on with the string ensembles,Music school ( council run one), and one of the council run orchestras. We've reached a compromise that he's happy with re county orchestra in that I will come with him and sit somewhere in the vicinity and we will try that for a few rehearsals and if he still isn't happy then he will give it up for the time being. The other local orchestra he will give up monthly rehearsals and just attend their workshops during the school holidays. He is very happy with this. Thanks everyone for all your advice.

Kutik73 · 14/03/2018 06:33

Just a quick report back about the rosin I bought yesterday. I thought it had no name but found a label inside the cloth. It says William Salchow (NY). And wow, it made a difference in sound. We tested on the violin we were considering to return but it suddenly opened up and made some dreamy sound.

folkmamma · 14/03/2018 07:52

Ooh might try that one kutik. We have William Hill but it's a bit too sticky. I have to put it on, then practically wipe it off again!

folkmamma · 14/03/2018 07:52

Maybe not William Hill - that's a bookies! Somebody Hill though 😂

Doubleup · 14/03/2018 08:15

Was wondering if William Hill had branched out folk !

MomOfTwoGirls2 · 14/03/2018 10:14

kutik did you get the light or dark rosin? I see it on Amazon and will make a purchase.
I’m thinking it should be light, as Ireland is cool but NOT a dry climate 😂

What was the name of the gold rosin recommended earlier? I might get both.

disorganisedmummy · 14/03/2018 13:58

Momof2girls The rosin is Laibach gold. It's eye wateringly expensive but will last ages.

AnneOfCleavage · 14/03/2018 17:27

Can I join? I have a DD 13 who is due to take her grade 5 singing Musical Theatre exam this Friday. She used to play (when younger) piano and violin but refused to read music so only played by ear, which she was very good at but no good for grade exams.

She now just has singing lessons and took grade 4 last year but wasn't sure what was expected and so got a Merit (72 points) but now she has a better idea what to do so hopefully will do a little better. Of course the content of the exam has cranked up so she is still a bit nervous. We don't mind how she does we just want her to have fun.

She now is coughing a bit and complaining of a sore voice so eeek!,,

Trumpetboysmum · 14/03/2018 17:34

Hi Anne good luck to your dd for her exam . Ds and dd always threaten me with illness ir injuries just before exams or performances!! Fingers crossed she's fine

AnneOfCleavage · 14/03/2018 18:03

Thanks Trumpet she's never been ill for an exam before and she's done lots of LAMDA exams in elocution and acting but I guess odds are she'll be ill for one of them at some point. I'm just nervous coz this is mainly singing and a bit of dancing/ acting.

She got her ankle kicked accidentally on Monday so i did the alternate cold then hot compress followed by some arnica cream and it's better thank goodness.

folkmamma · 14/03/2018 19:12

Welcome Anne, lovely to have another MT enthusiast on the thred :-) DD1 is first study violin but her other passion is the theatre (She wan’t to be in a pit orchestra when she grows up so she can combine both!). Good luck to your DD - adrenaline will see her through.

Curlyfrizzball · 14/03/2018 19:39

Welcome Anne My DD (8) also loves musical theatre. She goes to Stagecoach and did her first LAMDA acting exam last term. Hopefully she will do the singing ones as well later on, as the singing is now her favourite bit of Stagecoach.

She literally had to get up out of bed to go and do the exam last term. She slept most of the day before and afterwards as she had a double ear infection and felt really dizzy. I had no idea how it would go, but she agreed that she didn't want to miss it after all the work she had put in. She did so well and ended up with a merit - I was so proud of her for even going and giving it a go! Her first ever exam experience too! Hope your DD is ok for her exam!

In other news, I am hopefully applying to take my Grade One piano exam in the summer. Eeek!

Nigglenotes · 14/03/2018 19:55

Hello again everyone. DD is 10, grade 5 violin, and for some reason known only to piano teacher (former violin teacher also) didn't sit grade 2 piano in this session. Not because she wouldn't have been ready, but has a few performances/auditions coming up. Will skip g2 and just move on as playing the same pieces over and over does nothing for enthusiasm.

Concert this weekend in Grantham with Oasby music group. One of the smaller ensembles just won Procorda U12's National chamber group and DD is in two ensembles on Saturday, playing to a paying audience! Please check Oasby's twitter if you are in the area and would like to go. I bought her black concert dress (skirt, blouse, jacket) and I thought she looked lovely. But her little sister (7) was passing as she tried them on and commented that she looked like she was going to a funeral... I see a classic sisters relationship in their future... if anyone else had made a rude comment about her DS, younger DD would have jumped to her defence.

Kutik, I am watching with interest your violin quest as we will be looking for a 4/4 at the end of the year.

Don't know when DD will be sitting g6 yet.

Doubleup · 14/03/2018 20:36

DD2 did her Grade 2 classical guitar exam having been stuck playing the same pieces since I can't remember when. Two of the pieces were duets which the teacher played with her, but on one of them she informed DD 5 mins before the exam that they were not going to do one of the repeated sections - after having her practice it with the repeats up until now! She played the duets and then left before DD came out as she had to rush off somewhere. Not the usual experience we have had with teachers before. Still, only one term left with her......

The bassoon teacher told DD2 that she thought she had played very well on Sunday - and the most you usually get out of her is a 'well done'. This last week has done DD no end of good in building her confidence in her playing, with that and the school bidding war.

Kutik73 · 14/03/2018 22:22

MomOfTwo, sorry for late replying. It's the lighter one. I was tempted to buy the darker one but decided to play safe. How much was it on Amazon? I paid £16 or so... I bought a gorgeous shoulder rest too. Originally borrowed with a violin. DS said it was very comfortable and refused to use other shoulder rests so when I returned the violin I HAD TO buy the shoulder rest.

Pradaqueen · 15/03/2018 07:21

Kutik/momoftwo- I did a little research when buying the rosin. Apparently the dark is more suitable for cello's. Stringzone have it in stock. It was around £16 plus postage. Miniprada has a school concert later in which she is playing a solo so we'll see if it makes any difference! Quite excited!

Anne - good luck to your DD. My own child hated MT which she had to do at her prep so used to pretend she was ill for the exams

Kutik73 · 15/03/2018 09:29

So it's the same price. Relieved to know I didn't overpay at MC. Yes they told me the dark is more for cello but could be used for violin if you are looking for 'more bites'. I was looking for 'more bites' so tempted but decided to start with the light. I may try the dark too. I am also thinking to get another rosin. Can't remember the name - I know the package only! I will report you back on this if we manage to test it.

Good luck to Miniprada! And welcome and good luck to your DD, Anne.

TaggieOHara · 15/03/2018 10:11

weighing into the fascinating Rosin discussion... I have always used artcraft www.thestringzone.co.uk/kaplan-artcraft-rosin . I used to use the dark but now prefer the light. DS2 also now uses the light. We have tried others, including some quite expensive ones, but always come back to artcraft.

AnneOfCleavage · 15/03/2018 10:21

Thanks for your good wishes 😄 She is reluctant to practice in front of us not because she's shy but because I think she's fed up of going through them. We swapped her monologue piece only 3 weeks ago as she was reciting like the song which, from feedback last year, is not good. We picked a song she doesn't know that well as a song so it scans better in her interpretation. Costumes are a pain as each piece is v different. We wanted to do exam in November but singing teacher vetoed as colds are prevalent- she was fine then but now she's coughing...

Folk I am definitely running on adrenaline Think she will tomorrow and we'll both be glad when it's over.

Curly DD also at a Musical Theatre school and LOVES it. She was in a show last Sat night singing and dancing. Well done to your DD doing an exam v poorly and what a great result. Good luck on your grade 1 in the summer.

Prada DD also was at a prep school hence elocution exams but they were optional. They are pretty expensive so shame she prepared then was "ill" - did the teacher not see a pattern 😂

Thanks Kutik

Pradaqueen · 15/03/2018 13:45

A quick note on violin cases. Miniprada' main b'day present was a GEWA Bio case with detachable music case. Very stylish, but more importantly great space for shoulder rest and accessories. Snug fit for the violin so unlikely to move in transit/on the tube

folkmamma · 15/03/2018 14:13

Ooh, what size Prada??

disorganisedmummy · 15/03/2018 14:22

Prada I'm interested in the case too as Mini disorganised will need one for new full size. He really wants a shaped one and it has to be blue 🙄. My concern is that his shoulder rest is quite bulky and I've heard the shaped ones have less space??

MomOfTwoGirls2 · 15/03/2018 17:35

Oh, I should have shopped around! I paid £19.50 for the Roisin.

I’m also interested in case discussion. DD2 case is very heavy. She loves it because it does look nice inside.

I guess now that we fly to Southampton rather than Heathrow for Bryanston Suzuki camp a lighter cases isn’t top priority.

Kutik73 · 15/03/2018 20:55

I bought Gewa Air for DS's 4/4. I thought about getting a rectangular case because of the generous space inside. But after seeing DS carrying one around (came with a violin he'd been trying for a while), I decided to go for a slimmer and smaller model like Air. He kept hitting the corner everywhere... The shaped body seems to suit his body size! It doesn't have much space inside. I checked if DS's shoulder rest would fit before purchasing it.

My ultimate dream case would be Musafia. DS wouldn't care less though...

disorganisedmummy · 15/03/2018 22:32

Thanks Kutik. Do you mind me asking how much it was and where you got it from?

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