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Extra-curricular activities

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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:
Kutik73 · 03/03/2018 09:31

folk, you have g8 clarinet? I thought you played 'only' strings. Gosh, you are so talented!

DS probably started with a horrible eBay violin. All the pupils who started at school rented from the peri and I know he was getting them from eBay. Bows were equally horrible I guess. One day DS's bow was broken. We were horrified to tell the teacher as it belonged to him. He looked at it and broke it in half with his hands and chuck in a bin, then gave DS a replacement swiftly. I didn't expect to have it repaired maybe, but DS was a bit Shock after having been handling it ever so carefully... It was how cheap and valueless the bow DS was using!

folkmamma · 03/03/2018 09:36

Kutik I played in school but don’t really pick it up often now (still got the good old B12!). My best friend played flute and I wanted to go with her to wind band, lol! I can just about remember where to put my fingers but my embouchere is shot and I have absolutely no stamina....

Kutik73 · 03/03/2018 09:42

The combination of the horrible violin and bow surely produced horrible sound I'm sure. But that didn't stop DS loving violin. Having a mum who was always wearing rosy-coloured glasses must have helped greatly. Grin

Kutik73 · 03/03/2018 09:50

folk, you sound so effortless but reaching g8 level is something and it's not your first study, wasn't it? AND you bake fab cakes with fab decos. Multi-talented.

I can't even play the right hand part of Mary Poppins medley DS was having fun yesterday. DH got the music from a second hand shop and it says 'easy piano for fun'... Suppose my right hand has its own mind so keep ignoring my commands.

folkmamma · 03/03/2018 10:08

Thank you Kutik that's very sweet, but I promise there are a great many things I'm not good at... and for those I have absolutely no sticking power whatsoever 😂

WindMum · 03/03/2018 10:13

eBay Yamaha Clarinet was £60 - we by passed getting new beginners model and intermediate model so could justify RC clarinet for grade 5. Wouldn’t have done so if she’d had a new B12 or Yamaha.

Trumpetboysmum · 03/03/2018 10:22

Still impressed folk. Kutik I can play guitar and clarinet ( a bit ) but hardly ever find the time to play and I have also been meaning to learn the piano for the past 2 years but it hasn't quite happened yet ( and probably won't till the house is finished ) off flooring shopping now - as long as we can get the car out !! More snow last night but finally it seems to be thawing we've had snow since Tuesday and I'm fed up with it now !

Minimusiciansmama · 03/03/2018 10:32

I paid £80 for her b12. Her new mouthpiece costs more than the clarinet Hmm. She started with a sling but has an etude hand/thumb rest instead. She also started on a (student JP) Eb. That actually cost more than her current one, but I was fortunate in finding an immaculate B12. I suspect she’ll be on her B12 with its upgrades for a couple more grades, perhaps g8 itself.

Doubleup · 03/03/2018 10:49

Glad to hear that minifolk got her first choice of school. Did miniKutik get the offer you were hoping for Kutik?

DD2's state offering was 3rd choice and not even in this local authority area - over the border in the next county! That school is currently in special measures. Were not offered a place in our nearer, catchment school.
Thankfully she had three independant school offers, all with music scholarships and we have finally made a decision. (We are hopelessly indecisive as a family, but there is nothing like a looming deadline to focus the mind!). We have decided not to send her to the same school as DD1 as DD2 is a completely different child and we think would do best in a slightly less super-selective school with more of a focus on nurturing the individual. It also has a fantastic music centre and DD2's bassoon teacher teaches there.

folkmamma · 03/03/2018 11:08

Great that you have made a decision Double! Sounds like a good move.

Not music related but need to vent... DD2 currently in meltdown over what bubble bath to use. Noo not here (out walking with Daddy and dog) so she has free-reign and so is arguing with herself over it! I refuse to make the decision for her (we have this over absolutely everything, clothes, food anything where choice is involved) as it's hardly life threatening. So we are in a stand-off. Grrrr....

Trumpetboysmum · 03/03/2018 12:11

Folk I feel your pain I have stand offs with dd about similar things. Glad you've made a decision about schools Double - we are so lucky here ( although dd may end up going to high school with no one from primary school but that's another story !!)

stringchild · 03/03/2018 12:21

Hi re instrument upgrades - we havf moved to the bottom of professional level; partly because it really suits dd (it’s not a mainstream make) and also importantly we have not found the same resale value in clarinets and would lose a lot in
Our view by buying an intermediate instrument first. Cellos are a completely different story - ours have always kept their full value and we have therefore stepped much more slowly through quality levels. We are just trialling the first really good cello now she is Post g8 dd and we know - if we buy it - it will increase in value. Also a professuonsl clarinet and professional cello are world skates in price !!! But if we were looking st custom made, would def wait until growing, teeth etc, were sorted.

Trumpetboysmum · 03/03/2018 13:10

Maybe we could get a professional level trumpet then without it being custom made ? I might have misunderstood? Might look into it - though happy to save the money especially while the house (which we partly bought so Ds could practice without annoying all the neighbours) seems to be swallowing all of our money Grin

Xennialish · 03/03/2018 13:34

Which one is more expensive, the professional cello or the professional clarinet?! Genuinely no idea which but interested Smile

stringchild · 03/03/2018 13:39

In our experience Cello is far more expensive potentially! But maybe I am in blissful ignorance of really amazing clarinet prices and hope to remain so 😀

Xennialish · 03/03/2018 13:53

I was hoping you’d say the other way round Confused. Oh well!

Mendingfences · 03/03/2018 14:59

When it comes to 'quality' and kids instruments i've noticed that there doesnt seem to be any culture here (norway) for purchasing basic beginner instruments. There is no 'stentor type' violin, the most basic models will set you back 3-400 pounds for a set with violin bow case, and the same model would cost about the same in the uk. Dd1s first violins were rented cheaply from the music school, er then bought her a 200 pound 3/4 size in the uk and her full size was bought locally for 3000 pounds or so.

Dd2s flute is a Trevor James privilege, so slightly above baseline model. The drum kit is second hand, a mixture of brands sold by a percussion teacher. The electric piano is basic, and thankfully the double bass is borrowed Grin

Kutik73 · 03/03/2018 19:38

What's a day today...

We travelled here and there as DS had several performances at a different venue between his usual lessons at jd. I had to be ultra organised so I checked the route to each venue, timing, things to take, etc in advance. All was carefully planned and in control.

When we arrived at the last venue of today, I felt so relaxed (finally!) as no more rushing around, ...until I realised I made DS wear a wrong coloured shirt. The concert dress code was white but he was wearing black... We were told DS wouldn't be allowed to take part without wearing a white shirt.

DH dashed back home to get it, and DS and I waited in front of the building. We literally grabbed the white shirt from DH's hand who was still in a car, DS changed in a sec and sneaked in and joined his group on the stage (well, rather obviously for all the audience though...).

DS couldn't join the rehearsal because we were waiting for DH outside, so he didn't know where to stand. Somehow he ended up standing right in the middle, and while he was singing he managed to display a big yawn....

People said to me all he (we?) did today was what everybody would do at least once. I really hope so!!

Trumpetboysmum · 03/03/2018 19:54

Kutik that sounds like us - I never know what ds is supposed to be wearing ( and he often has to change mid concert and then looks like he's gone through a hedge backwards !!) Wine Smile

Xennialish · 03/03/2018 20:00

Dd regularly has to hide concert dress under her cassock! You and dh did well - good teamwork!

Lollipop30 · 03/03/2018 23:09

I’m not sure I’m on the right thread really. I’ve read the whole thing and feel a little (well totally) out if my depth.
My DD (5) has been doing piano and singing for a year now. How do you motivate yourself/them to practice? It was entirely her choice to do it, if anything I’d rather she didn’t but she begged to. Which I guess is why I’m reluctant when it comes to practicing and I don’t want to put her off at such a young age.

Trumpetboysmum · 03/03/2018 23:39

You are totally in the right place Smile Ds mostly now doesn't need motivating to practice. When he started aged 8 he probably practiced once a week like the rest of his class and he was a good bit older than your dd. His sister still needs a lot of encouragement and can go days without any practice if I don't remember!! She hardly ever practices for her singing lessons but I see these as a check in on technique as she generally spends her whole life singing. Grin I would say short practice sessions3 or 4 times a week would be plenty age 5 lik you say it's more important that she wants to do it and is enthusiastic and enjoys it - even if she doesn't practise loads

Kutik73 · 04/03/2018 01:25

I'm so glad we were not alone, Trumpet and Xennialish! I hope it didn't put DH off though. It was a rare occasion that he made an effort to turn up at DS's concert...

I just tried to upload some videos on Cluster. It said uploading and posting but when all seemed to be done the videos were not in the gallery. Tried a couple of times but all failed. Sorry for being pretty useless in tech world...

WindMum · 04/03/2018 07:05

Hi lollipop

My DD started piano at 4 and has since then practiced pretty much every day. At 5, as now (she’s 11) , it’s about making it fun. Sit with her during practice, don’t send her off to do it on her own. Make sure there’s at least one piece of music she loves, for scales have a reward system. At 5 around 15 minutes will be plenty. There will be humps, but as she gets through tricky bits and sees progress she’ll be pleased with herself and see what results practice can do. Don’t play every piece all the through just concentrate on a couple of bars, especially if she’s not into it on that day.

Singing is just something she does, at 5 there’s no need to practice! My DD seems to learn all her exam sings without me noticing and now I wouldn’t say she “practices” singing just actually does it all the time.

Mendingfences · 04/03/2018 07:22

Hi lollipop my kids started instruments at she 5 ør 6. Our 'rule ' was you practise every day but we didnt set a time limit ør anything. I basically took the approach they like playing x, practise is playing x so theres nothing to dislike about it. Of course good practise has it's own set of requirements, but that came with time. Generally the more you can do the more fun instruments are, practise means you can do more faster so it really is it's own reward.