July Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Hello, I have just realised it's time for a new thread! Feel free to discuss anything musical here - any level at all, from total beginners to advanced, and adult learners are welcome too!

I am a teacher of woodwind, currently limping towards the end of term (July 24th... can't wait!) and have two DDs. Goo is 12 and plays the flute and piano. At the moment, she's doing the bare minimum, but she has won the Y7 music attainment award at her enormous comprehensive secondary school, so we get to go to an awards ceremony next week. Her piano teacher is about to retire, so we're looking for a new one. Rara is 10 and I would say is now a joint first study cellist and clarinettist - it doesn't come easily and she's progressing at an average rate, but a good Grade 4 on both. She spends most of her time reading, drawing, doing origami and swimming for a club.

I have so far managed to get through 27 music medals this term (6 still to go) and 4 Trinity exams (1 ABRSM still to go) and about half of the concerts!

Thank you Waffle as always for carrying on this vital thread!!!

I have Noo on violin/viola/piano. Staring JD in September (eek!). Plays with NCO (Associate), OSO and Pro Corda. About to take G3 piano in 2 weeks time and nowhere near ready. Eagerly awaiting G5 theory results.

DD2 (Moll) is cellist and pianist. No idea what level she's at as somedays she plays like a mini-Sheku and others like she's never touched either instrument before in her life.. Challenging temperament but every bit as able as big sis when she wants to be.

I play violin, whistles and sing in a folk band.

Happy July everyone! X

5 concerts down for Nosebleed Boy.

2 (MFY in Birmingham), Grade 8, and a trial lesson at a conservatoire to go.

Non-musical sibling has a dance show.

I have all the joys of the last 3 weeks of a primary school term.

See you all on the other side.

Thank you waffle. I hope you are looking forward to a well deserved rest after all those medals etc. I have a 9 year old dd who plays violin, clarinet and sings. After a crazy amount of concerts we are now counting the days and hours till the end of term and time on a beach.

Thank you for the new thread Waffle

DD has her Grade 5 flute exam shortly. She normally plays beautifully, but gets so nervous in exams that she can barely play and is usually fighting back tears for most of the exam. Today's exam is in a concert auditorium which doesn't help.

Her flute has been playing up all weekend and broke again about an hour ago, so I faced the task of trying to locate a flute at (literally) the eleventh hour. Her teacher looked at it and luckily it was just a spring that had popped out.

DD is not planning to be a career musician and is only playing for fun. These exams are the opposite of fun for her (and me) so I'm half hoping this will be the last one she decides to do.

So stressed that I forgot to mention DS2 in my intro. He is working towards Grade 8 clarinet and will be going on orchestra tour to Germany in a couple of weeks.

I hope it all goes well for her, TheThird !

Goo is going to Germany with her school orchestra next year. She will be 13 by then and has never been abroad, so she can't WAIT.

TheThird my DD is off on an orchestra tour shortly to Germany too. Good luck for the exam.
My DD plays violin and I posted on the May thread about her grade 4 nerves at the exam forgetting a scale and saying her arm was wobbling so much she said it sounded squeaky but she came out with a high pass phew. She also more recently started piano and did grade 1 a week ago and said for the first time in an exam she didn’t feel completely overcome with nerves so progress has been made!

Name changer here. DS is 18 now, he has his final (tenth) concert with the LA Saturday morning music centre next week and will be off to conservatoire in September.

Exam did not go well. Her teacher (who accompanied) said she fell apart in both accompanied pieces. Have told her I'm proud of her for doing the exam, and we're now out doing some retail therapy.

Third she did really, really well to take the exam. Nerves are such a pain as there’s no easy way to calm them especially mid-performance. It’s best to eat cake and move on rather than dwell on them, though.
I’m not posting as much now as dcs are getting bigger and sixth form looms but pleased to say DS1 has a percussion jam, a day at Wimbledon and the tour to, yes, Germany!, to look forward to in July.
DS2 is enjoying piano G5 and cello G6.he’s around G3 on electric guitar and really loves it.
I bumble on with piano G5!

Ha, hope Germany appreciates you all! I lived there for a bit and there was a huge appetite for live music.

My two are DS (9) gd 1 piano and beginner french horn, DD (6) violin and piano, probably grade 1ish piano and grade 2ish violin but I'm guessing on both. Hoping DD can join a little string orchestra next term, I think it would give her violin a real boost. I'm a keen amateur vln/viola player, finished concerts for the term but I have various chamber music lined up over the summer, which is my favourite thing.

TheThird, sorry it didn't go well. Well done her for getting through anyway.

I have two DSes: DS1 is 12 and plays the piano. Here, I mainly post about DS2 (10), who plays the violin, piano and is a chorister. Violin is his first instrument and he currently plays in nco U10s and pro corda. Piano takes a back seat, but he has just taken grade 2 (eagerly awaiting the result!!)

third sorry the exam didn’t go well. Retail therapy sounds like a sensible plan!

Thank you for your kind wishes. DD's teacher sent me a text to ask if DD was OK as the accompanied part of the exam had gone quite badly. I think she has probably failed, but luckily nothing was riding on the outcome of today, so she can just put it down to experience. I bought her a couple of new t-shirts and she is feeling a bit better.

Dd is yr 7, music scholar, choirester, NCO (U12s) and JD. Wonderful wind orchestra concert last night and Music for Youth Finals on Friday which should be exciting! Has also got her yr 7 music prize tom. Lots of music, concerts etc and also needs to spend the summer deciding if joint first instruments is feasible any longer.

Alexander- dd is a bass Clarinettist too; she really enjoys it in wind bands!

Thank you to Waffle for starting another thread.

DS plays trumpet/piano, is current Y8 starting at Specialist Music School in September and also heading to JD in London on Saturdays. Exciting times ahead!

stringchild Yes, DS was playing last night too - wasn't it brilliant! Someone has posted the 2 WO pieces on Youtube, if you haven't seen. The choral work was wonderful too.

It was a little poignant for us as it was DS last concert before he moves to pastures new. He's only been there a year but has made some good friends and will miss them.

On the Invisalign question, hope you don't mind me asking, but were you able to get them on the NHS?

Glad the solo went well trumpet. We stayed at Snape earlier this year, such a lovely place.

ILovePandas DS is also going on a tour to Germany in July! Are there any DC not going to Germany

DD is about to leave year 6 and plays clarinet and piano and sings. Plays in NCO u11s and regional orchestra, winner of school music prize . Starts new school in August with a music and dance scholarship (RAD grade 4 ballet exam tomorrow!)

We are STILL waiting for ABRSM results from grade 6 clarinet taken on May 24th, apparently results are being moderated. ABRSM Grade 6 piano and grade 3 singing in just under 2 weeks. Looking forward to the summer holidays very much!

No tours here! I have a DD currently in Italy on a post A levels jolly but that's it.

Other than that I have DS2, 15, plays organ approx Grade 5, trombone approx Grade 8, and piano hoping to do Grade 8 next term. Also a former Cathedral chorister still singing as a Junior Choral Scholar.

DD is 18 and plays bari and alto sax. Last music service concert for her on Thursday.

I also have DS1 who is at uni spending all his extra-curricular time playing brass in various ensembles. We went to their summer concert last week. I eyed up the 60 musicians on stage and wondered how many thousands pounds of investment in music lessons they represented! Uni doesn't do a music degree so all of them were extra-curricular musicians!

Raspberry I must confess, I do sometimes think.. what if she DOESN'T want to stick with music?? All that money and time invested! But it's all about giving them choices isn't it? And whatever happens I know music will always be a big part of both DD's lives.

Anyone else having concentration issues in this relentless heat??? Poor Noodle really struggling. And as for the other one, I'm not even going there...

Folk absolutely, it was meant in a positive way. It was an amazing concert by people who aren't studying music but its still a huge part of their lives. DS1's social life is mainly based around music. He says wherever he ends up working/living in the future it must be near a good brass band.

I think the cost thing was brought on by getting DD's last music invoice.

No germany tours here, we're all finished for the summer and on out holidays. Dd2 was disapointed she had to leave the double bass at home....