Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

November Music Thread

688 replies

Wafflenose · 30/10/2018 22:09

Welcome to all musicians/ parents of musicians, young and 'mature', beginners and advanced, plus everything in between. This is one of the nicest corners of Mumsnet and the music threads were started for my older daughter towards the beginning of her musical journey, 7 years ago. Everybody on the thread was a beginner once!

I have recently seen "we're not a musical family", "I'm not musical" on here quite a lot, and would like to gently challenge that... perhaps you may not have found the right instrument/ teacher yet, or have no desire to play, but I think that everyone is musical. It's not a special something that is limited to certain individuals, although of course everyone's aptitude and natural ceiling varies. I have had the pleasure of teaching almost 1000 people to read and play music now, ranging in age from 3 to 96 and incorporating a range of additional needs, and I think they all got something positive from their lessons! What our young musicians most need from us - whether we play ourselves or not - is lots of encouragement, time and space to practise, and of course the constant taxi service and financial support we give to their lessons and ensembles!

I have two DDs, Goo The Energy Conserver (flute and piano, lapsed recorder and picc player) who is pretty lazy and complacent at the moment and just wants to enjoy her life, and Rara The Awkward (clarinet, cello, recorder) who tries hard... when it suits her! We have nothing special lined up this term, but possibly piano and clarinet exams for next term. Goo claims she wants to dust off her recorders and theory books to get another couple of Grade 8s before she leaves school. I'll believe that when it happens.

Over to you.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
Crazygirlmama · 01/11/2018 06:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Trumpetboysmum · 01/11/2018 06:49

Hi all and thank you for the thread waffle .
I have a ds 13 who plays trumpet and piano and sings, and a dd 11 who sings and reluctantly plays piano and cornet

Its been quite a stressful start to the new academic year music wise for ds but we now have a new piano and a new trumpet teacher and so I’m hopeful that things will settle down now ! Hmm
Ds certainly seems to be in a good place and loving things . Grade 5 theory next week ( I’m not hopeful !) and grade 8 trumpet before the end of year 9 I think . The new teacher is taking a bit of a different take on it I think as ds can play lots of repertoire at that standard anyway. so his teacher is of the view that he might as well just get on with it and then they will just carry on with what they are doing anyway.

I had forgotten how intense this half term is ( blocked it out!) so ds is currently rehearsing in the show band for the school show - he loves this as he misses school for a week!! , he also has 2 NCO concerts to go , AYM and lots of brass band concerts . I am spending a lot of time sitting in my car in the dark waiting for him at various venues Smile

Dd has decided she is definitely not doing music exams for now , but at least this means she’s keeping playing .

Having sung in an amazing concert at Snape Maltings last week I’m guessing my choir will be looking at Christmas stuff from tonight Shock it always seems too early

Doubleup · 01/11/2018 07:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Decafcoffee · 01/11/2018 07:41

Thanks Folks and Taggie Procorda does sound really good. And dd loves chamber music. Once she’s feeling better I’ll speak with her again to see if she can get some pieces ready for an audition. I’ll email them this week to get some more details.

minisnowballs · 01/11/2018 10:25

Thank you for the thread.

I have dd2 9, who is my little musician. She's about to take Grade 3 flute and attends CYM London, which she loves. She also plays cello through school, and is in a string ensemble there. She spent this morning composing on her flute while I tried to get her ready for school, which gives some indication of her enthusiasm. However she would rather play The Greatest Showman than anything her teacher sets.

Dd1 (11) is about to take Grade 3 violin, but is not quite so keen. Plays in our borough's chamber orchestra, and has to be nagged to practise. Loves the piano though - which she's just started.

And - in the spirit of your intro about musical families, my Dad, who was 70 yesterday, is about to take his Grade 1 piano this week. Now that is lifelong learning!

hapsburg · 01/11/2018 12:26

I think there was discussion about this a while back, but does anyone have experience of Invisilign for woodwind-playing DC's?

WindMum · 01/11/2018 13:13

Double- I don’t want to ‘out’ myself and make my DD identifiable!

WindMum · 01/11/2018 13:14

Hapsburg - I have the same question!

TaggieOHara · 01/11/2018 13:17

Decaf - have PMed you about Pro Corda audition logistics.

Floottoot · 01/11/2018 13:53

minisnowballs, good for your dad! That is wonderful!
Everything crossed for his exam. 😍

PetraDelphiki · 01/11/2018 14:08

We did a professional video (teachers bro does it for a living) for the pro corda auditions and still then had to go and do a live one...

littleladsdad · 01/11/2018 14:16

Thank you for the new thread Waffle.

DS is 13 & recently started at specialist music school. All he's talked about over the half term is going back!

He also attends JD in London and is a member of NCBBGB. We're staying in London this weekend so that he can attend JD on Saturday before going back to school on Sunday. Hectic!

Mendingfences · 01/11/2018 17:33

Thanks for the new thread waffle
I have 3 kids, dd1 (12, violin and piano) dd2 (10, flute and double bass) and ds (8, drums and piano). I play flugelhorn (badly).

We are currently diving headlong into christmas music and trying various duets with varying degrees of success....

woolleybear · 01/11/2018 17:34

Have just had a brief look at Pro Corda after reading the above. I can't see anywhere about expected levels? Might be good for DD but not sure she is up to their standard.

Decafcoffee · 01/11/2018 17:48

Thanks Taggie
they’re looking for grade 7+ and to apply and book an audition. Dd really wants to do it so she’ll ask her teacher next week.
The week does look really good from what I can see online Smile

folkmamma · 01/11/2018 18:29

Woolley- expectations go up with age. The minimum standard on the primary course is approx G5-6 I would say.

folkmamma · 01/11/2018 18:30

Primary is age 10-12

TaggieOHara · 01/11/2018 18:58

They say about grade 3 for the preparatory level course (ages 8-10). But they are quite flexible and don’t require DCs to have done exams.

PetraDelphiki · 01/11/2018 20:44

Dd was g5 violin and picked up viola about 2 weeks before the course (primary) last year...played both happily at the course! Going again Easter and summer this year - should be g6 violin by Easter plus either 5 or 6 viola by summer...

PetraDelphiki · 01/11/2018 20:45

Doing 3 instruments (she also is g6 trumpet) makes it complicated...esp as I won’t allow 2 grades in the same session! Moving brass to trinity helps tho - much more flexible session dates!

Wiifitmama · 01/11/2018 20:52

Hi all. I posted on the last thread asking about my ds2 as we were looking for a 6th form that specialised in music.

Well today I am surprisingly posting about my ds3 who came home from the local recorder ensemble he attends with an invitation to audition for Junior Musician of the Year (our local council). I didn't even know they ran this. Ds2 auditioned last year for their Young Musician of the Year (and missed making the final 5 by a hair!) but this younger one passed me by. They don't advertise it apparently as you must have an invite from your ensemble teacher to do it. Anyhow, he is over the moon! He plays recorder. He is only around grade 3 level (we are not doing the exam, but he did do the grade 2) with traditional recorder music. But with Folk, his passion, he plays at a much higher level as he has been doing that way longer (playing by ear). He wants to audition with a folk piece - which I totally agree with, but I need to call them as they are insisting ALL auditions are accompanied by piano for some odd reason!! This is not how folk music works! He has exactly 4 weeks to prepare before the audition.

catkind · 01/11/2018 21:06

That sounds really cool wiifitmama, hope you can negotiate folk music accompaniment suitably.

littleladsdad · 01/11/2018 21:08

The Wells course is really good Crazy.

Doubleup · 01/11/2018 21:09

Great opportunity for your dd Wiifit

Trumpetboysmum · 01/11/2018 22:15

Wiifit that sounds great - hope they are flexible I love folk music . The piano accompaniment but is probably because they don’t want them playing along to a backing track

Swipe left for the next trending thread