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 again. We are very much beginners here. DD (age 8) has just been learning piano for a few months. She has just started the second book of the John Thompson child piano course so very much a beginner but she loves it and is very determined with her practise the last few weeks. She would like to do another instrument too but I am going to wait another year or so I think. She loves to sing and sings in the school choir and at Stagecoach.

I am also learning piano. It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to be able to play. I played descant recorder and then flute up to grade 5 as a child but only did piano lessons for about a year as we didn't have a piano until I was 14, and then life got busy with GCSEs etc. I started lessons again at Christmas and am probably going to apply to take grade 1 this term. Eek!

Hi Curlyfrizzball good on you for taking up the piano and taking exams... they give you a real incentive to practice and also it's great for your children to see you put yourself through them! Good luck!!

Well done Curly- very brave of you to start learning piano too!
I keep trying and failing to practice so I don’t get anywhere- could probably do with lessons to give me some motivation.

Good luck and well done for getting started on piano, Curly! It's great to learn alongside your own child - mine is getting too good for me, though - he has more actual talent!

I am very impressed with all this adult learning too - maybe once the house is finished ...

I admire adults learning to play, especially Piano.

Trumpetboysmum

I have been telling myself for years that I'd start playing again, make a start and don't keep it up, there's always something getting in the way.
For me it's others practising and finding a quiet space, I can't blame time.

This is what I have kept singing Gilly that way I have to go to rehearsal it's very easy to make excuses with the solo stuff

Hi Curlyfrizzball!

Hey, it’s nice to have someone else doing piano lessons. I’ve been pondering whether to do exams - my Mum thinks I should but I feel as though I’ve spent so much of my youth / adulthood doing exams (I’m an actuary), I might leave it for a while.

I did trumpet at secondary school but gave up at about grade 4. I would have liked to do piano but my parents didn’t have one (and didn’t have anywhere for it to go).

One advantage of learning is that I am able to help my son practise - I’m not always certain that he always thinks this is so good.

I taught myself descant and alto recorder (I think - whichever is the big one that doesn’t have metal at the end) but I never had lessons.

Hello, I have a DS age 9 who plays the trumpet. He's been playing for a few years now but seems frustratingly stuck at grade 1 level pieces. He learns through school and they are taught in a group. The other kids are way behind him (from what I could hear at a recent school concert) so I think the slow progress is to do with the speed the group is moving rather than his inability. Am cracking the whip a little over Easter to see if we can make the leap to the next level. Not easy as I am a woodwind player not brass! We've had some fun with me playing a phrase on the clarinet and him echoing it on the trumpet. He is surprisingly good! Far better than me anyway!
DD age 7 has been playing clarinet since September. She is also playing grade 1 level pieces but has a private not group lesson at school, which I think makes all the difference. However, she is getting a new teacher after Easter, so I don't know if the grade 1 exam is still on the cards for this summer.
Am considering switching to private lessons out of school for both as I find the erratic progress, chopping and changing of teachers and lack of contact with the teacher frustrating. Obviously there is an upside too - quality teaching for a discounted price - but maybe too many downsides.

Can I recommend the brass academy summer camp sushi...it will really help him progress!

www.brass-academy.co.uk/

Dd is going for third time this summer - absolutely loves it!

I love sushi definitely check out the brass academy Ds went to an easter course a couple of years ago and had a great time learnt lots and lovely staff . I would also look at private lessons if you can afford it and find a teacher - even if it's every other week - it sounds as though your ds is being held back by the group. Ds was really lucky in that a school teacher stuck his neck out and said that he needed lessons by himself . The others loved playing at school but weren't great and never practiced . 2 got to grade 1 at the end of three years the others weren't even that far on and I think that's fairly typical ( Ds had managed grade 5 before the end of year 6 because the county let him have lessons by himself it really makes a difference) Dd has been moved up and has her cornet lessons with the year 6 pupils but they are leaving soon not sure what will happen next . I may get Ds to give her lessons next year if all else fails ( I may also regret this very quickly ) Having my said that grade 1 aged 9 is doing well so he would probably be able to teach himself a few bits to keep himself motivated - with your help on the clarinet ( I've also done that before with ds though he's much better in trumpet than an I am at clarinet !!) which books do you have ?

Thanks for the advice Petra and Trumpet! I've never heard of brass academy so will look into it. It could be the boost he needs! I've picked up both Winner Scores All (good mix of styles and popular tunes) and Trumpet Fancies (classical) after having a scan through exam board grade 1 and 2 pieces and seeing what caught my eye! I think working for an exam could focus him, but working for grade 1 keeps us stuck where we are for even longer, and grade 2 feels a bit of leap from here. Music lessons have only been offered in recent years in school, so there is no more advanced group he could join. Fortnightly private lessons could be the way to go, then increase it as he (hopefully) gets more advanced.

DS and I have been in a guitar shop for about 90 min. He has been having a nice play (and I have been wishing we had more available money )

Sounds a nice way to spend a holiday day Miranda
I love sushi "team brass " is a good easy book also "easy winners for treble brass" ( but not sure at what level these pieces start )

Hello Ilove and curly! Good to hear from you again

. ilove - sounds like private lessons might be the way forward as your DS is probably being held up by the less keen children. There was an interesting discussion last month about the benefits of sitting in lessons and supervising practice when DCs are little. If you have time, most good teachers will allow/encourage this.

Following on the discussion of music in schools and state/private... Not valuing music is not a state/private thing. At the school before last, and indeed the one before that (yes - serial school changer here!) music wasn’t valued at all.

I remember one of these schools organised a charity evening recital by a terrific young local pianist, playing a piece the older boys were studying, and not one of these year 7 boys turned up. In total, There were about 10 people in the audience including 5yo DS1, me and my parents! It was embarrassing and very sad. When a rugby player visited to give a motivational talk a few weeks later, it was standing room only. This was a private school.

It is so refreshing to have both boys at choir schools!

Paulweller I'm the same and would love to learn marimba. Almost got the iPhone ring tone down - I think I have peaked. Teachers seem a bit too scary to have lessons :)

Paulweller11 Tue 03-Apr-18 10:29:29
Well done Curly- very brave of you to start learning piano too!
I keep trying and failing to practice so I don’t get anywhere- could probably do with lessons to give me some motivation.

Hi all.... 3rd April and ive just landed here.... 5 pages to read! The girl is doing g5 clarinet in autumn and heading towards g4 piano. She goes to a small JD. She’s got a reaudition in a couple of weeks so is working hard to get ready for that. No exams this coming term but we are enjoying working towards the next local festival. I’m learning the piano too, just finishing off g4 (don’t do the real exams though!)
We are enjoying a lot of holiday music, a couple of fun sessions last week with her mentor and this week is a fantastic music festival (not a competition one) so she’s doing a 3day singing course, some great concerts and really interesting musical events for the week.

Secondary school blows my head already. Our local options disappoint me and would be hard to maintain the balance of her music&dancing. She talks about vocational school but I don’t know.

Those with amazing music state schools - cherish them.

My DCs were lucky enough to go to our local junior school which had an amazing reputation for music - still does. It actually comes down to one individual teacher, who's teaching degree is not actually music!

They started being very successful at our local Festival and beating the local private school which tended to win everything. Other local schools saw what state schools could do and have been inspired. The Junior choirs section has gone from 6 or 7 schools taking part to over 20 with hundreds of children taking part.

We chose to send them to an out of catchment secondary that was also amazing for music, but in the ten years since my eldest went things have changed a lot. It is now very ordinary for music, but it is at least is still encouraged. And so far there is GCSE and A level music , I think there is less than 10 in DS2's GCSE class and so far they have run A level music with 4. But it has nothing like the extra-curricular music on offer when DS1 started.

We actually had an approach from the local private school to send DS2 there, but it wasn't really right for him, plus nothing spectacular music wise there either.

Hello Mini!

Raspberry the private school I work at has an A level music class of 1. We had an inspection recently and I was in the music dept when that 1 to 1 class was inspected! (It all went very well).

mini I don’t know what area you live in but my DD’s new school has both music and dance departments, both of which are excellent and is not a vocational school. Lots of pupils grade8/diploma in music and RAD advanced 1/2 in ballet. Like your DD she wants to do both although music is her no.1! Her scholarship is for both dance (ballet) and music (piano, clarinet and singing). Maybe have a look for something similar in you area? We hadn’t realised what was on offer until we started proper research!

Hello to Curly and ILove

I hope folk's and taggie's minis are enjoying their pro corda course.

I may have just got a teensy bit carried away ordering some new recorder music as the DCs (and I) are getting a wee bit bored of what we already have. My bank balance has taken a bit of a hit . Still, am hoping it will last us a while.

I have also just booked DD on to a one-day theory course at the Guildhall in October. Am hoping she will be ready to sit Grade 5 theory in the autumn so I am also hoping that this refresher course just before the exam will fill any gaps she still has by that point. I found the jump between Grade 2 and 3 (which she will sit in the summer) quite difficult so am hoping it might level out a bit after that otherwise it will be next year when she does Grade 5. She's doing ok on Grade 3 past papers at the moment so we'll see.

Thanks japanese! So far so good I think at Pro Corda. DS2 is worn out though! He and Noo are in all the same groups .

I’m missing my boys like crazy though (DS1 is on a school residential)

Haha Herts- teachers are scary. I think I would get told off a lot

Japanese - wish we’d known about theory courses, it didn’t cross my mind to look!
Anyone know of a face to face Grade 6 course/day. DD is keen to keep going with theory.......grade 6 seems to be beyond me even though I have a VERY old A level in music (incidentally taught 1:1, pleased my state school supported this!)