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Original poster

August Music Thread

442 replies

Wafflenose · 01/08/2018 12:33

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.

OP posts:
Floottoot · 11/08/2018 14:55

Thanks so much for all the understanding responses.
We had already had the idea of talking to the council, and also the M.U for their advice. I'm going to try the duvet trick too, thanks. We have an oak floor in that room but have put the piano on a large carpet off cut to help deaden the sound but maybe a rug on the rest of the floor would help.
It's come as a shock as we have been neighbours for 18 years and always, always tried to be mindful of potential upsets. Over the years, they have made various ( some would say petty) complaints and requests and we've always bent over backwards to accommodate them, eg they complained our cat was going in their garden, so I bought and gave them some stuff to deter him from digging up their flower beds; we wanted to put trellis up on the front boundary but she said she was worried it would reduce light in her lounge, so we didn't put it up after all. When her husband was alive, his hobby was wild turning. He had a shed in the garden next to our boundary fence so that we'd hear chain saws and lathes going for hours and hours every day. We never once said a word about it, because we figured he had a right to oersue his hobbys.
That's what's so upsetting - the fact that she spoke to DH the way she did, after just one day of having the piano and knowing that we're not problem neighbours who don't care about anyone else.

I'm going to keep a record of every time we play, duration etc, just in case.

Phamously · 11/08/2018 18:14

Wow - lots of recommendations for Gewa cases. Thank you.

harirumf · 11/08/2018 19:14

I normally lurk and have name changed a few times. I have a violinist, a trumpeter and a percussionist.

We have a Gewa Air case for the violin and it is quite literally bomb proof.

Floottoot · 11/08/2018 19:18

We have a Gewa cello case - love it and so much lighter than other hard cases.

folkmamma · 11/08/2018 21:27

Back to practice today after what feels like a loooong break! Noo not really done much structured practice since the week before Pro Corda. She had 10 intense days of playing on PC and then County Orchestra residential, but not her pieces or studies, and then we went away on holiday, so things were a little rusty!!! She kept her frustration in check though, and I think we both felt better for getting back to it (although her violin was rather grumpy!!!!)

Moll hasn't played her cello for ages either, but for wholly different reasons. She's been sooo challenging of late I didn't dare push the issue of practice!! But she was good today (and annoyingly fortunately her playing doesn't seem to have suffered for the break!)

Mistigri · 12/08/2018 06:46

Floot your neighbour sounds like you are not going to be able to appease her, so you need to focus on what's reasonable.

Our piano is in our quite small front room and it's on a rug, with an old duvet behind and over the top, because it sounds very loud in a relatively small space. House is detached, but I often play with the windows open in summer and the neighbours don't seem to mind.

TaggieOHara · 12/08/2018 07:50

Great that you got Noo and (especially) Moll going again, @folkmamma. Glad there weren’t too many tears! Are they having lessons over the summer?

We are taking the opportunity to get plenty of music in over the summer. It is going to be a busy term ahead, and so I want DS2 to have audition and concert pieces ready by September.

Slightly off topic, but Is anyone else preparing for 11+? I’m just starting with DS2. I teach maths for science at masters level, but I am completely baffled by some of the methods they use now! And I remember 11+ as mainly involving calculating the area of garden paths! It seems to have got much more rigorous... It’s going to be a tough 6 months Sad.

owlm · 12/08/2018 08:14

Thanks Taggie, she'll have 1 new song...I think it will be started in September. She doesn't know anything else suitable, so I'm hoping she'll have enough time to learn it.

Glad she'll get feedback as I've told her it's a learning experience...wouldn't be very rich if she doesn't know how to improve.

We are normally very structured with our practice, but it's been so busy we haven't had the motivation time. Planning to get it together next week Smile

A few years off 11+ here, but we start working towards it September. Is everyone using a tutor...we are going to see if she can self study - and maybe bring in a tutor year 5 if it's all going to pots Grin

Phamously · 12/08/2018 09:53

I have three dc that got through 11+. We only had a tutor in y5 and also used cgp books as extra.

Thank you for violin case advice. I think I actually need to buy two, so now struggling a bit to find two reasonably priced cases 😬

Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/08/2018 09:59

Off to the NCO today. I am wearing a purple Big Bang Theory related T shirt and jeans, and will have a flower in my hair. Say hi if you see me!

OP posts:
TaggieOHara · 12/08/2018 11:32

Will do Waffle! We’re already on our way! I’m wearing a boring polo neck (and there is a pic of DS2 on the channel).

Original poster
Wafflenose · 12/08/2018 12:08

We are 50 miles away, so Rara is going to have a bath and lunch, then we'll set off.

OP posts:
ILovePandas · 12/08/2018 20:42

Phamously We got DD a violin case from Gear4Music.com it’s the Deluxe 4/4 violin hard foam case £59.99 so reasonably priced, room for music and rest, and has padded back pack straps. Would recommend.

Michaelahpurple · 12/08/2018 22:11

Just heading home after the NCO Under 12s concert - the standard these children achieve always amazes me.

Some very thrilling trumpet solos in the American in Paris - might that have involved trumpetboy?

PatricksViolin · 12/08/2018 22:45

Thanks to Floot. Neighbour issues are always very tricky for musicians living in residential areas...

I was considering BAM, but got GEWA as Floot's recommended. It caters what DS needs. We love it.

Great to hear your girls are back to practice routine, folk. Still on holiday so things are very much rusty here...

stringchild · 12/08/2018 22:51

Michael - it was great wasn’t it?! Hope your dc had a good week (dd loved except the food....again!)

Michaelahpurple · 12/08/2018 23:33

Such a relief string child - after all his anguish about going it all went so much better than he feared. Was homesick, but manageably and loved his tutor and the social staff and was thrilled by what he learnt musically. He does find it rather gruelling but it was a real success this year. Phew!

Now I have to see if I can wrestle him off on his National Youth Orchestra trip.......

Michaelahpurple · 12/08/2018 23:34

DC reckoned the food there than a this school but I don't think that is a very high bar!

Trumpetboysmum · 13/08/2018 06:47

Great about the under 12s - no trumpet boy is in the under /13s this year . Really pleased he enjoyed it more than he thought he would . Ds couldn't wait for me to leave on Friday and said I wouldn't hear from him - I took that as a good sign !!

PatricksViolin · 13/08/2018 07:24

Great to hear all the happy news on NCO. DS has never done any residential course before and as has been so away from all the musical activities since school finished I am not sure if he can cope with or enjoys the intensity of the course. In fact he may have forgotten he is actually a pianist/violinist! He is coming back to uk two days before the course starts and is going away again for a week straight after NCO, then after a few days of resting at home, he’ll start a boarding school...

Michaelahpurple · 13/08/2018 09:20

Does anyone have a theory in why there are so few boys relatively at the NCO. Eyeballing the concert last night it looked like barely 20%. Are boys less gregarious?

stringchild · 13/08/2018 09:42

Although it doesn’t feel like it used to Be 50:50 across the Orchestras combined when they last published an analysis - I did notice many more boy 1st violins last night compared to last years U12s where there only seems to be 1-2. Interesting question?

TaggieOHara · 13/08/2018 10:28

I was wondering about this too. It is about a third boys in U10s.

Trumpetboysmum · 13/08/2018 11:09

Not sure about ratio over the whole orchestra but trumpets on under 13s are 50 50. In main orchestra though only 1 girl!!
Over the under 13s as a whole there are plenty of boys certainly Ds had never complained about there being too many girls ! - I'll have a look on Saturday

Michaelahpurple · 13/08/2018 14:44

Just did some sums on the programme (can you tell that I am avoiding some really dull admin tasks?) and under 12s are 30-40% boys, where the upper figure has all gender ambiguous names or ones where I am I sufficiently familiar with them to know which sex they belong to. So a bit higher than I had thought (I couldn't see all the Trombones and double basses from my seat!). Under 13s on same basis about 30-35

But you are right that they aren't evenly distributed. DC's horn section was all boy last year and has only 1 girl this time and trumpets always seem to come out half and half.

Perhaps the red skirts fill the eye!