May Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Have a new thread for May... you all managed to fill the April one!

This is a place to chat about music lessons, exams, practice, aural, theory, performances and anything else you like. We have many regular and occasional posters (some of whom are learning themselves) with children ranging from complete beginners to very advanced. We do try our best to make sure everyone feels welcome!

I am mum to Goo (12) flute and piano, and Rara (9) cello and clarinet. They play in loads of school groups, South West Music School and NCO, although practice isn't going too well at the moment. Later in the week, all three of us are taking part in a big community concert, which will be lovely.

Well done you can't! What fun! And good luck to folk and mending's DCs with the auditions.

And yay to another viola on the team. One of my orchestras is into double figures of violas this term, it's awesome.

Tabby, that's about the shape of it, violas are tuned a 5th lower than violins, CGDA instead of GDAE. Unlike violins there's no standard size for a full size viola, and you can string a violin as a viola if you want to, but generally bigger gets a better sound.

Japanese, I'm feeling very sorry for your 4 second violins. What's that about? Were some away, or do they really need to sort out their seating plan?

Alexandra, how very lovely your boy playing for his DGM.

Ahh, thank you catkind. I don’t know a lot about string instruments so I was a bit lost!! I just asked the girls about them and apparently there are only two violas in their school orchestra. (Although that’s the same as the number of clarinets...)

My DD plays viola as well, but only goes viola club. She does not have a viola teacher, so we do not know how she plays viola and what level is her viola.

If you are not satisfied with your DC performance, what do you do afterwards? Just say well done or tell her what is your real feeling? My DD played a piano piece in school piano concert and she did not play well. I know it is because she thought the concert is not serious. She was invited to play this piece for festival final concert. I can not understand why she can play much worse than before and she does not care afterwards. She has already played this piece perfectly at least 3 formal stages within 2 weeks.

I do not know how to deal with this situation. I want let her keep interested in performance at the same time she can know her problems.

violinandpiano - I would have some general discussion about how all performances are important because the audience is giving you the huge gift of their time (perhaps multiply up the length of performance by the number of people there to make the point!). But personally, I would never critique DS2 after a performance. He knows when things haven't gone well and it is so important that he maintains confidence during performance, and that he believes the audience (including me) are on his side when he is performing. The only important thing is audience enjoyment - not how well in tune he played, or whatever.

I tend to pick out a few things that he did do well. I record him, so we can look at a nicely played phrase or a beautiful shift together. I wouldn't play the whole thing through for him if the performance as a whole did not come off well.

I save my really viscious comments for rehearsals!

Hope everyone is having a good day. folk I am thinking of you in your final days of preparation. Noo is sounding great . Post something on the channel if you want to show her encouraging comments from me and DS2.

I would have a word for behavioural issues like being silly or disrespectable on stage (though assume your DD was not like that) but otherwise any reviews on performance will be left to the teacher and I'll just give DS a big well done for walking up to perform in front of people. It's not because I am trying to be a supportive parent but I'm sincerely amazed by those little people who could do that. I would be shaking just to press a key on stage.

As Taggie said, when things haven't gone well, DS will be the first one to know that. So I would just tell him how well he did what he could do, praise his challenge and that we enjoyed his performance. Perfect performance is not always the most enjoyable anyway.

If DS is being hard on him, then I would tell him even professionals have god and bad days. Ours have just come out of an eggshell as a musician!

god??? good..

Maybe she was just having an off-day Violinandpiano? I wouldn't make too much of a big deal of it. Perhaps ask her how she felt about her performance?

Taggie "I save my really viscious comments for rehearsals!" lol!!!!!!

Hoping to have a final rehearsal with Piano later this week so will record her and post on the channel. Thanks for all the words of encouragement and support xx

TabbyTigger Someone more knowledgable than me will be along soon but I think the strings on a viola are thicker and the music is on a different clef (with middle C right in the middle).

Thanks for your advice. I don’t want her to be perfect, just want her to try her best.

“Discuss about how all performances are important because the audience is giving you the huge gift of their time” It is good idea and I will try with my DD. Hope she can understand and be serious with every performance in the future. In fact I always support her if she has tried her best whatever the result is. But this time I feel I should do something to stop her playing at random.

Thanks Kutik73 and TaggieOHara.

folkmamma, thanks and good luck with your DD's audition.

I still remember my DD's audition. We thought she was not enough to get in and just wanted to get a professional report to know how about her music ability.

I suddenly recognise she is serious with audition, exam and festival etc. Never serious with any school performance. She had made the same silly performance from year 1- year 4 at previous school's celebrate concert. It is my fault I should ask advice here before her this year's performance not afterwards.

Suggestions please for unaccompanied traditional folk song for ABRSM grade 3 singing. I've bought one of the suggested books but I don't know many of the songs. It's for DD age 9. Thanks.

cant you are amazing!

violinandpiano, do you think there may be some embarrassment at playing in front of her friends and teachers or something like that? Or her playing is lifted by being alongside other serious musicians?

I think I probably would react differently, a well done still but a wow that was brilliant didn't it go well when it does? I don't know, haven't got to that stage with my two yet. One of my parents used to be very positive whatever happened, in the end I just discounted praise from them in my head.

cat, they might have genuinely felt so proud of you whatever you did. My grandma was a bit like that and I quite liked it even though I knew I was not that fantastic in the real world...

catkind, Thanks. I do not think she feels embarrass. She told me it is not an important concert and nobody will care about her mistakes.

Maybe she thought whatever she played and she has been the best one in her year 5 group. I asked her what she did in rehearsal time. She said she helped a girl to practice the girl's concert piano piece. She is not perfetionist but just want to be the best one in a small group.

Violinandpiano - perhaps get your DD to do something different in school concerts, maybe an easy duet with a friend? She could play the teacher part.

It is lovely that she is supportive of her friends. perhaps subconsciously she does not want to appear to show them up, or to ‘show off’. From what you have written of her level, she is likely to be way in advance of her year group in any non-specialist setting. When she gets to secondary, there will be a much wider range of accomplishment, and hopefully these issues will resolve!

I feel your pain though. Nothing more frustrating than seeing your child not try their best during a public performance! Have some

Ally Bally suits a child's voice well, my love is like a red red rose has some big leaps but is lovely. Is there a set list, never looked at the singing? We went to a great double reed concert this week, so many oboes and bassoon s in one place! Dds oboe teacher was playing bassoon as guest artist and it was fantastic hearing him perform on his actual instrument, only ever hear him playing oboe with DD! What a beautiful range of sounds. It seems to have confirmed dd2 wants to do bassoon so that will be a challenge finding a mini one!

Oh second, don't get me started on sports vs music! In our old school, Noo never got to go to any of the 'music' events at the academy 'because she gets opportunity outside school'. Right, so I'll be expecting her to get in the football team then rather than those who are on the county squad because 'they get opportunities outside school'...

How disappointing for your DD.

violinandpiano - Until you said that wasn't the case, I also wondered whether your DD might have been a bit embarrassed in front of her schoolmates and was subconsciously or deliberately trying to play down (so to speak!) her abilities.

cat - I have no idea about the 1st vs 2nd violins seating decisions. There were definitely a lot more 1sts than 2nds but the 1sts all seemed older so I don't know if it's an age thing. There were also some younger players in the 1sts though. I think it might go on grade(?). And there was a bit of a tussle over the first desk/lead with the 1st violinists being asked to take it in turns between pieces.

DD had her first borough training orchestra session this evening and she absolutely loved it. She was really nervous on the way there but she came out beaming and said it was 'so much fun' and she can't wait for next time. She's also disappointed that they don't have a session next week because it's half-term. And there were some other players there from the secondary school she will be going to so that was great. .

Well done to double's DD2!

Oh dear, I am organising an end of term concert and want kids be able to play more than one thing if they like so have asked them to put down 1st 2nd and 3rd choice and I will try to accommodate as many as possible! I think it will be quite stressful to get the balance right as there are some that could play loads and for others a piece of only a few bars will be an achievement but want there to be a chance for those taking baby steps and those who are further down the line.