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.

I remember a famous violinist/teacher claiming in an article what we would need is not a genius child but a genius parent to make a successful violinist. So French educators seem to agree with it.

I understand you can't include absolutely everyone so something such as aptitude test or parental keenness or whatever works best at a time have to be used to draw a line. But as a parent of a child whose musical interest came from himself (we were rather directing him towards sport until he was year 5 when his musical interest became obvious), and also as I know quite a few children on this thread who started music without much of parental input (such as Trumpetboy), giving children opportunities based on mainly parental keenness doesn't really sound fairer than aptitude test....

DS2 did clarinets in Y3 which wasn't a great experience. They had 31 in the class and 30 instruments. Luckily DS2 had his own and took that in. None of the others got to take their's out of school.

It definitely put a lot of kids off, plus patents who said their kids had 'tried an instrument' and it wasn't for them.

But I can see it works better than the random selection of aptitude test as parental influence is great for younger age...

Our summer news - DS2 is doing some practicing. He had started with his new organ teacher ahead of going to summer school next week.

DDs life is on hold until Thursday and the dreaded A-level results.

Good luck to your dd for Thursday rasberry

However Patrick once he got stared I was then involved and supportive took him and his friends to Saturday music school etc ( though he asked to go ) . If at school they hadn't given instruments to all children but had asked parents to sign up then I would have said it's good idea . I think I always assumed they would both learn instruments ( and dd started piano younger) but because Ds didn't show a particular keenness or ask and I knew that the whole class lessons would be offered in Year 4 I thought that was a good place to start . Then I encouraged him to practise - a bit .
The experiences of those not allowed to take instruments home is awful and not positive at all . We were sent a note home telling us to encourage practise .
Whole class lessons are definitely not a perfect way to start but at least they are a start sadly now most children at his sisters school won't get to even see if it's for them . Also I don't think I would have chosen trumpet for Ds if he hadn't chosen it - being given one at school - that bit was fate

giving children opportunities based on mainly parental keenness doesn't really sound fairer than aptitude test....

I imagine the aim is not fairness but effective use of limited municipal resources. There is no point in teachers spending large amounts of time screening applicants individually only for them to drop out. You might just as well take them on a simpler first come first served basis if testing makes no difference to outcomes. They do still do auditions for non-beginners and older students.

Unless you fund the provision of instruments, practice time and lessons for all school students then access to music for young children always depends on parental keenness. It's less true of older beginners, but for obvious reasons they tend to play instruments that are cheap and easy to access (eg guitar) and learn contemporary styles which can be done without formal teaching.

My 15 year old DS showed absolutely no aptitude whatsoever for music as a young child - in fact he used to hate music, he hated noise in general. He got into (rock) music as a 13-14 year old and then taught himself guitar before showing an interest in classical piano this summer. Tbh if he puts his mind to it - and he may well do so as he tends to be quite obsessive - he'll be better than me in less than a year (I am a moderately competent pianist who can tackle grade 7-8 material without completely mangling it). Obviously at 15 there is no risk of him becoming a professional pianist, that boat has sailed, but in other respects there doesn't seem to be any downside to starting later.

So as I wrote...

But I can see it works better than the random selection of aptitude test....

Obviously at 15 there is no risk of him becoming a professional pianist, that boat has sailed, but in other respects there doesn't seem to be any downside to starting later.
Never say never! We once played with a soloist just out of music college who'd taken up his instrument as a summer holiday project after GCSEs. Albeit not piano - is piano harder?

Catkind - piano is probably a bit harder than some instruments but I think that for a teenage beginner the "difficulty gap" is smaller. The hard bit about starting piano when you are 6 or 7 is learning to read two lines of music at once and coordinating two hands doing different things. A teenage brain probably doesn't find that so hard to cope with. Both mine started piano at 14/15 (as a second instrument) and basically hopped straight onto grade 5/6/7 material. They obviously have some aptitude but I doubt there is anything special or unusual about them in this respect.

I think for piano starting at 15 is probably a bit late for a serious career, though it's true that you should never say never. When my DD started piano three years ago, her teacher had another teenage beginner of the same age (14). He had done a bit of organ but was new to piano. He did his "3rd cycle" exam (diploma equivalent) a year later, and he won a prize in an international competition earlier this year, so he is definitely "concert pianist" material! Very much the exception though I would think.

Noo is 5 days into her intensive 'Oliver' production run - she is knackered so we are doing practice every other day. I am chaperoning and enjoying seeing it all come together even if a number of the children are Uber annoying and have managed to swing it for Noo to spend some time in the pit when the orchestra arrive next week. Of course, I will need to accompany her down there for 'safeguarding'..... not sure who is more excited!

Thanks druidsong

Unfortunately she didn't get the results she needed and at the moment Clearing isn't working out for her. Weighing up options ncluding resits at present!

to your DD raspberry. This was our goddaughter’s position last year and she’s had a really beneficial year out, resat one of her subjects and today received an A* and a place at a university she’s properly happy with. Last year in clearing she got plenty of places at very good unis that she just wasn’t sure about and she’s so glad she took the year out. Hope you’re both okay.

And folk that sounds like a fab opportunity! Orchestra pits are one of DD’s favourite things about the professional productions she’s done.

for raspberry. I hope your DD has good support at school. Do encourage her to contact admissions tutors directly if there are courses she is interested in, and indeed to keep in touch with her first choice if she is still interested in going there. There is always some movement, with students changing their minds, deferring etc.

PM me if you'd like a chat (I am a university academic).

Love the support you get on here. Thanks all.

I think she has an offer she is happy with this evening!

Im very glad things are looking up raspberry
It's all systems go here, school started today and the youngest is already at drum group with a performance on saturday. A little more complex for for the oldest, jd starts next week and she still doesnt have a violin teacher because the local culture school is refusing to pay jd for å teacher but hasnt managed to find a functional alternative....

Hope that gets sorted soon mending
Your poor dd Rasberry but pleased things have now hopefully worked out .
That sounds exciting Folk I think Ds would love to play in the pit one day.
Off to meet dh tomorrow and then to pick up trumpetboy on Saturday after the NCO concert .

Place accepted.

There are some positives to the new uni. Her firm had no music societies on offer, which nearly stopped her firming it. New uni has lots which has cheered her up no end.

Also as new uni is only 1.5 hours away from us, instead of 5, we can go and listen to them!

And DS2 can go to NYO Inspire day in September as we won't be taking DD to uni that weekend .

Exhausted but relieved raspberry household

Well done raspberry!

Rasberry and well done to your dd for holding her nerve today

Phew raspberry, sounds like a great outcome in the end. Well done to your DD for persisting and presumably some pretty good grades even if not quite what she wanted.

I'm currently trying to negotiate after school timetables for September. DD is dropping one she's been doing for nearly 3 years in favour of orchestra so I really hope she's going to enjoy that. DS is "not sure" about carrying on his second instrument now - I'm thinking he should at least try till Christmas having had several trial lessons and decided to go for it. Hopefully once he's back to lessons he'll get back into it. He was asking long enough to do it and had several trial lessons before deciding.

Raspberry that sounds really positive in the end! Well done to your dd and all best wishes!

@raspberry sometimes these things are a blessing in disguise. What will she be studying??