August Music Thread

[Wafflenose]

Welcome to the new music thread for August - a place to discuss anything you like to do with learning instruments/ singing. We have child and adult learners on here, and all standards from toddlers experimenting with music to the very advanced.

It's coming up to 7 years since I started the first thread, and I have been flagging a bit lately due to a long illness. When I started the first one, my daughter Goo had just turned 6 and was about to take her Grade 1 recorder exam! She is now 12 (13 in two months), has done her Grade 8 Flute (result currently under appeal), is thinking about Grade 8 Recorder next year (having not played since Year 6) and is learning the piano. Piano hasn't gone well this term. Her teacher has been going on lots of last minute holidays and also has another job now, so Goo has only had two piano lessons since Easter. Teacher has now decided to retire from teaching, so we need to find a new one. Goo has never, ever performed on the piano and hasn't taken any exams either. She has been learning since she was 10, and was recently learning pieces by Bach and Chopin, although I have no idea what she is practising at the moment.

I also have Rara (10) who plays the cello, clarinet and recorder at a good Grade 4 level. It doesn't come naturally to her at all, but she's more inclined to work at things... when it suits her. She plays the clarinet most, but swears she's in love with the cello. Her bass clef reading definitely seems stronger. We have started and stopped theory three times. I think she is more than capable of doing it, but she's distractible, longwinded and feels the need to reinvent the wheel. I have decided to wait until she's ready to do the whole lot in one go... hopefully when she is a bit more mature and developmentally ready. Goo had it done and dusted at the same age and I find it hard not to worry about Rara at times, but in many ways she's just as able... but on her own timeline.

I usually have 80-90 woodwind pupils on my books - mostly recorder these days, although I'm a clarinettist really. I currently have a clutch of little clarinets, a couple of flutes and a good saxophone pupil, so plenty of variety.

DD1 is also only doing music because of a timetable clash - her ideal combo was German, Spanish, Latin, and triple science, but the blocks shifted and suddenly all the languages were in two blocks so it wasn’t possible to do more than two. I think she’d have liked an extra option (so she could do German or PE) but it’s not worth moving schools over!!

The positive of doing some early GCSEs would be helping with variety of options. I think DD2 will likely not bother with an MFL in year 10/11 but by that point (like DD1) will have a French A level and 4 MFL GCSEs, so she’ll be able to do all the subjects she wants (looking at Latin, triple science, history and... art... gulp... plus dance out of school). But I definitely wouldn’t advocate doing a core subject early - there’s no point at all. May as well get the highest possible grade at the best time.

raspberry so they only one had music lesson and one drama a fortnight?

Rasberry Ds is only going into year 9 but has already selected his GCSEs so we know these are the ones we think he will take though whether school now decide to narrow it further for years 10 and 11 given the new GCSEs we shall see

Tabby half a term of drama then half a term of music on rotation. And the way it fell he didn't get much music

They changed it the year after to a Creative curriculum. You choose three options from a wide range including music, drama, art, DT, extra language, classic civ. So the only peole doing music in Y9 are those who actually want to do it

Fingers crossed Trumpet, it didn't work out for DS unfortunately!

I want them to narrow it a bit in years 10 and 11 as I think it's just too many exams with 11 subjects . Ds doesn't really care as long as he does music but he's really happy with his choices so it will be difficult if he had to give one up

I'm glad our school has kept art, music, drama and DT as individual subjects. My dcs aren't too keen on drama but loved the other three.
I think the school has too many subjects for GCSE. They have compulsory RE so for those doing triple science it works out at 11. Some people do additional maths on top. I've no problem with the RE classes, just the insistence on it being an exam subject as well.

Raspberry DS had the same, the lesson changed each term between music, art and drama.

DS enjoyed GCSE music, the syllabus would have changed since he did it but what was good for him was the exposure to a wider range of genres and the listening element.

School here was rather naughty or uninformed and the option blocks initially offered didn't allow the parental choice that is set out in the National Curriculum. Children at state schools (England, I don't know about the other areas) have to be offered at least one course in each of four groups of subjects:

Arts (including art and design, music, dance, drama and media arts
Design and Technology
Humanities (history and geography)
Modern Foreign Languages

"Entitlement areas" is the search term for anyone wanting to look at this. By the time school had finished making RS and DT compulsory it was not possible to take music and a language. At least one parent read up on the National Curriculum, got busy with a highlighter and pointed out the school's responsibilities. They reissued the options booklet three times that year until they got one that met their legal requirements (as checked by me).

DC's school does 10. They start the curriculum for the 'core' subjects (Maths, English, Science) in Y9 - though not always at the start of Y9. while keeping a full broad curriculum for the rest of the year (2 languages for the vast majority [some SEN pupils do a single language and have the extra time in 1:1 / small group work on other subjects], all 3 DT subjects for a 'term sized' block each, all the creative subjects, all the humanities etc).

Then they choose 5 options at the end of Y9 and do those for Y10 and 11.

Choose 4 A-level subjects, do ASs after a year, most drop to 3.

I really, really like it because it keeps options open and offers a wide experience of education for so much longer. The second language is only started in Y8, so they have a full 2 years of it before having to choose whether to continue. All pupils, of all aptitudes, do art, music, cooking, textiles, drama - so DS can sew, both can cook, DD can read music.

Also, perception and enjoyment of particular subjects can be really affected by that additional year's experience of it. A particular period of history, or the balance between human and physical geography, or just cumulative knowledge (DD hated her second language for a year, then really got into it in Y9 because she had the basics and could really start to manipulate it).

An aspect of the new GCSEs really dislike is the increasing move to select GCSE options in Y9 'because there is so much to cover'. It seems to me to be terribly sad that we restrict children's educational so early.

(The 4 to 3 A-level thing is great too - DS is not continuing with the 3 he would have chosen at the start of Y12. One of his 'fist choices' would clearly, a long hard year later, have been a total disaster had he been forced t take it right through to Y13. Having the 4th subject ready and waiting instead has been brilliant.)

Can'tkeep that sounds good . Ds is pleased that he doesn't have to do art or dt anymore but I'm sad that he's had to give up French already ( because he wanted to do RS and drama ). His school don't have option blocks they just rank their subjects in order of preference and most get what they want ( I have no idea how that works it sounds like a timetabling nightmare !!)

DS1 is moving to a 6th form that still does AS levels. It's a much better system for him. He can either take 4 to AS and drop one at the end of Y12 or take 3 for AS and A level. At the moment he wants to try 4.

Druid, RE is also compulsory in our county. Goo goes to a huge, academic comprehensive school. Most take 9 gcses, top set science take 10, a few kids do fewer and last year and couple didn't take gcses at all.

DC's school combine the minimum 'legally required' RE content / hours with PSHCE and everyone is taught it - just like everyone does PE.

The GCSE RE course is popular - so popular that it brings their EBacc results down, as it doesn't count as an EBacc humanities subject - but not compulsory.

'Broad education' with plenty of choice and a minimum of prescription (though the option blocks are quite carefully crafted, they aren't too blatantly so: yes, one block is mainly languages, but there are several non-language options in the same block, for example) is, I suppose, their 'thing', and certainly where they have made 'less common' choices - e.g. maintaining AS levels - it has been in keeping with this core approach.

We all had to do 1 humanities subject, 1 language, 1 arts and 1 free choice (another language/ humanities/ arts) as well as 5 compulsory subjects. It seems that there's a bit more choice these days. Goo's school offers Spanish, Mandarin, PE, dance, drama and photography gcses. We didn't have any of those!

We had to do 5 'basics' (Maths, 2x English, French and RE), 2 or 3 sciences, then a couple of others - usually a humanity + 1 other, but the choice was, I agree, much more restricted than it is now! Basically history / geography / another language / art / home economics (girls' school!) Lots of taking things early and adding more of the same on, so I have more French (A/O) and more Maths (Additional Maths) too. There was a huge and thriving music department with multiple orchestras and choirs and endless practice rooms, but I don't remember music as an academic subject at all - maybe because it just wasn't on my radar.

Hello all, we are back from 3 weeks in France. DS had fun and practiced every day! Intended theory 'blitz' has been more like pulling teeth though. Less than a week to go now before he starts at specialist music school - it's come around too quickly. If we keep ignoring it, it may not happen. I'm going to miss him terribly - well, as much as anyone could miss a 13 year old.

Welcome back littleladsdad. We are going to France as you are coming back! DS is starting boarding school very soon too and I know I'll be terribly missing him. I was hopeless while he was away for nco already!! Love to hear how your DS gets on with his new school.

littleladsdad DD is in summer holiday theory blitz mode as well. She’s just had her first lesson with a new music theory teacher today and it went really well so DD feels like the hard slog of getting through the books is starting to pay off. Booked another lesson for Saturday. I’m glad it’s short term though as trying to coordinate violin, piano and now theory lessons is staring to become a bit of a logistical nightmare.
Patricks and littleladsdad hope all goes well for new schools.

Patricks thank you - hope you have a fab break. I love Annecy, sure you will too!

Pandas Thank you for the wishes and good to hear the theory is going well. 'Hard slog' sums it up perfectly!

My sympathies crazy hope it all works out . Things always feel quite uncertain here too - no piano teacher at present , new head of AYM and almost total change of brass students ( they were all much older than Ds) so who knows where we will be next year , or even at the end of this term !!

DD1 keeps the same teachers this year, but there’s lots of change for DD2. New school, new guitar teacher and starting piano. Although her bassoon teacher teaches at the school, we have opted to keep those lessons with the music service. Hoping it all falls into place....

Sympathies, Crazy, we have changes too. DD's fabulous violin teacher has left her Music school. The new teacher issue is causing anxiety. Theory teacher will probably be replaced as he is being s little too thorough with the grade 4 syllabus even though we said we weren't looking to take the exam. Also preparing for scholarships and entrance exams so could do without extra stresses for dd.

Hi looking for advice, we have the excerpts for the NYOS audition now, very exciting! She will choose one with her teacher. In your experience, do they ask the children about the pieces or their music making at all or just hear them play at audition? I'm wondering, as you can do a recorded audition if you are too far away so guess they don't get asked questions ( unless they phone at a later date?) Thanks. She hasn't auditioned for any thing before, council orchestra takes anyone!