April Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Happy Easter! The sun is shining here (at the moment) so I'm hoping spring has finally arrived.

Here's a new thread for anyone who wants to talk about music lessons, exams, practice, concerts, aural, scales, theory, ensembles or anything else music related. Everyone is welcome, from beginners to advanced and also adult learners. I started these threads 6.5 years ago when I had a beginner myself. Her nickname is Goo, she is 12 and taking Grade 8 Flute next term. I think she's finally going to do her Grade 5 Piano in the autumn. When those are out of the way, she's thinking of taking up the recorder again and doing Grade 8 on that, because flute sort of took over and she never got around to it. Her sister Rara is 9, and is currently around Grade 4 on both Cello and Clarinet. She doesn't want to do any more exams for ages, so will probably do her grade 5s in a couple of years or so. Rara is a lapsed recorder player who will be performing on it next month, and she dabbles with piano, glock and accordion. Both girls do South West Music School, although I regularly go back on forth over whether this is still the best setting for Goo. We are pretty rural and hours away from any big cities.

Please can we all be extra careful to make sure that everyone is acknowledged and assisted where appropriate... I include myself in needing to make an effort, but I'm not around all day, every day. This is a lovely, calm, supportive corner of Mumsnet but I do receive a handful of messages from people who don't feel welcome because they or their children are less advanced, or they're not in a position to consider JD/ private school/ expensive instruments and feel left out, or they wonder if it's OK to post about certain instruments/ families. I did say I would try. Thank you all so much!

Hi all, happy Easter! Hope the kids on music courses are having a fabulous time! And congrats on the JD places.

My two are definitely on the beginner end of the spectrum, just taken grade 1 (DS, 8) and initial (DD, 6) piano, and DD is just starting Suzuki book 2 on violin. Next up learning music for summer music festival, including ensemble pieces which is going to be great fun! Also a keen amateur violin/viola player myself, need to knuckle down and practice for a couple of chamber/solo concerts this term as well as my usual orchestral stuff.

Hello I seem to quite often post at the beginning of these threads and then lurk. Will try and post a bit more.

I have DS who’s 14 and plays electric guitar and piano. Hasn’t done any grades and not sure whether he will or not! He goes through phases and recently ended up doing 3 performances in about 12 days - one group he found out about on a Sunday, had two rehearsals with the band and performed on Friday. The band is planning to stay together and has a gig booked for the end of June. The drummer lives in an isolated house which helps with practice although adds to the driving him around!

DD is 12 and plays the flute and sings. Recently did grade 3 singing and is working towards grade 4 Flute. She has twin block braces but will be getting train track ones soon so will probably need to adjust her technique.

I love reading about all the musicians on this thread

Thanks Folk! Thinking of DS2 in the wholesome company of Noo for much of the day is keeping me sane.

The phone thing is so tricky. I was going to hold out until DS2 was 11 but didn’t want him to be left out. They are not allowed mobiles on choir trips, and I wish they didn’t on Pro Corda or NCO. I would prefer them to have access to a pay phone (do such things even exist?). To complete the throwback to 1981, I’m going to write a letter to DS2 tomorrow! I suspect I am strongly in the minority of parents and children in my old fashioned opinions

A letter is a great idea!!!! We only gave her a phone when she started going places where she might need to contact us - I think it was panto last year. But she's generally very uninterested in it, to the point I have to remind her to check for messages from friends!

I hope our DC's are getting along well. I did smile when you said you'd left Mini-Taggie climbing over the ruins... I am quite sure Noo has been scrambling over them by now! Dread to think what state her clothes and shoes will be in by the end of the week... 😂

The ruins are great there !! Last time Ds went they played man hunt in the dark!! I think this was the best bit about the weekend!!

Don't worry this wasn't on a pro corda course and they are all a lot older than your dcs !!

We are based in London (north east London) for anyone who happens to know a viola teacher with time in his/her schedule!

Impressive saving Waffle! Great determination!

We gave DD my old phone before NCO the first year when she was 9 and she struggled to remember to keep it charged (still an issue now!) a power pack was most helpful and as it was an old phone the battery wasn’t as good as it could have been! Perhaps lack of calls is due to lack of charge Taggie?

Just figured out how to do the bold thing!!

Japanese I will see if Noo's teacher knows of anyone... he's doing a Masters with Guildhall/LSO so he might be able to recommend a colleague...

Thanks very much folk!

Where did March go??
Thanks to Waffle for the new thread!
I have DS1 who plays bass guitar, drumkit and percussion but is supposed to be focusing on GCSE revision at the moment. If there was a GCSE in gaming, he'd be sorted!
DS2 is 13 and plays piano, cello and electric guitar. The guitar is meant to be his fun instrument, but he's very taken with it! He is plodding at an incredibly slow pace through theory.
I play piano. Sort of. I may take G5 around Christmas...I may chicken out!
My dcs only play with music centre ensembles but DS1 appears to have formed a band with some friends - although no one wants to sing!

Is there any boy who don't play fortnite?

DS got my old phone last year as there were times when it was useful for him to have a phone but also as a practice run before secondary. But like Noo, DS isn't interested in it so it's usually left at a speaker doc by his bedside and he occasionally uses the playlist or youtube to play some music at bedtime.

Supposed once social media kicks in it'll be a nightmare? So far boys I know seem to be interested in games rather than social media.

Game = fortnite, really. DS's this year's birthday theme is fortnite (laser tag in a Forrest)...

It's not about expensive instruments, or passing exams.
Music is the soul especially Rhythm.
You don't need anything much to bang a drum.
I've been listening to some classical music on youtube recently.
I can't tell you any titles, it either sounded pleasant or not.
I wish the schools did much more choral work, especially in Primary.
It's a shame that many children receive far less musical education than previous generations.

Hello all. DD (13) busy practising for grade 4 violin exam this month, plays in school orchestra and in choir. Also plays piano and doing music GCSE.
I joined on the March post but not very good at posting on it.
Non musical myself but trying to self educate to understand more.

I’ve found this thread invaluable in helping to level the playing field as a completely non musical parent navigating the classical instrumental training and choral world. I find that quite often there’s things that the teachers don’t explain to me (via email or dd) because to them they are so very obvious.

Dd1 is 12 sings in a cathedral choir (so big day today with a complex aria as an anthem that she and her 3 friends (all 10 or 11) pulled off brilliantly) and plays the cello too. She has a music school audition in about a year and I am stressing about whether she sing and/ or play piano (would take money we don’t have to sort to the right standard I feel). She has just discovered you can order sheet music for pop songs for string quartet and is excited to corall some friends into doing that on her return to school (does anyone else follow joyous music school ensemble on YouTube?).

Totally non musical parent here too - I really feel for dd that she doesn’t get real practice support and accompniast at home. So - dd is yr 7, exams are finished on cello and nearly so on clarinet. Guess a diploma might be somewhere in the distant future but maybe not - exams have never been a big part of her musical journey and she has done very few. Her main passion is playing with others and the two instruments maximise her playing opps, which is why she keeps them both as first instruments.

Phones - dd has one as uses school bus etc plus residentials. Has no interest at all in social media, and am hoping that lasts a while longer!

Japanese I've sent you a PM re: viola teacher 😊

Stringchild your daughter is doing brilliantly... and in a way isn't it nice to think she's got there on her own merits (musically at least), and must be doing it because she loves it?

Re: phones - my children have always had cheap £10 phones for residential courses only. My son then got a smart phone (to use all the time) ready for secondary school (as it is a long bus journey) and my daughter will get the same. I like the residentials like NCO when they have set times for ringing home only - or better still, no phones but lots of social media updates.

I really enjoy these music threads.
My DDs are Suzuki trained, both play violin. DD1(15) is book 6, DD2(14)!is on book 5 as she took a break last year to do RIAM grade 5.
DD1 just received notice to audition for decent orchestra end Apr. Fingers crossed!!!
DD2’s main hobbies is dance/gymnastics. Since moving to secondary school this year, she has 1 30 minute lesson and 30 mins practice 2-4 times per week. Her dance schedule is so packed, I didn’t even even enter her for orchestra audition this year.
I got great support and input re DD2’s G5 last year. I think this thread is really welcoming to all. Kudos to all you moms with high achieving DC that take time to welcome and comment on posts by families with children who are not at high grades. Xxx 😊

Gilly I couldn't agree more , especially the importance of singing . Dds school is hopeless at music although the new head seems more on the ball and genuinely seems to be trying . Dd really carried on learning the cornet at school so that she got some music during her school week ( all 15 minutes of it !?!) but they now have a choir too !! Ds's school is at the other end of the spectrum which is lucky as it's walking distance from our house . If they didn't do lots of music I fear Ds would have refused to go . The singing at his school is superb , singing in a choir is the only music I currently fit in for myself singing is great ( and can teach children so much about music - for free!!) String she does so well to manage both as first instruments.
Xennialish could your dd not play cello to the audition or is she doing that anyway ? I'm sure she is good enough on voice if she sings in a cathedral choir

Thank you so much folk!

Dd1 lives for her ensemble stuff too, doesn’t enjoy solo cello at all and tolerates solo singing. She has a friend in the choir who she’s been singing with since they were 7 and 8 and they blend so beautifully they wangle everything as a duet. She’ll audition on cello as first instrument but everyone seems to play piano too. She’d be able to have something adequate by next year if we could afford the lessons but it’s such a stretch with what she does already. I think we’ll have to bite the bullet as it’ll be covered if she gets in with it as a second study. If they’re not bothered though and you get piano lessons regardless of level if you get in then we won’t bother but I can’t help thinking not even playing piano distracts from her progress/ talent on the cello (as evidenced by all the multi instrumentalists on here!). But she does have an extremely heavy singing schedule. They (the choristers) all seem to have extra paid vocal lessons to polish pieces for audition too! Even though you can’t get mds scheme funding for voice as a second study even in year 9 (caveat: at that school according to latest info). Expensive business .