January to March 2019 music thread (Title edited by MNHQ)

[CruCru]

Hi all

Here is the new music thread for January - I hope no one minds me starting it.

I am mum to a son (7) who is learning the piano and trumpet and a daughter (5) who is learning the piano and violin. I am having piano lessons and played the trumpet as a child.

Some of the people on these threads (and their children) are fantastic musicians. Some are more like me. All are welcome.

Thank you to Wafflenose for all the time she has spent managing these threads.

Back in after issue with log on. DS2 has auditions this week for recorder, trumpet and trombone. Auditioned last year with no luck. Any one of the 3 would be great. His cousin is in the recorder group so that might be nice for them.

Hopefully a bit better prepared this year.Fingers crossed.

Some great tips on some of the other music threads.

Good to hear what is happening from everyone else. I actually got to chat to the Trinity examiner as he has his cup of tea. He was saying how hard it is now to make a living from music. Some of his friends in the UK who are in the big orchestras and teach are now having to go Uber driving!

So...has anyone done DipABRSM? any advice for helping my Dd to prep for the Viva Voce would be gratefully received. She got 9/10 for presentation in ATCL (dress, performance skills and programme notes) so we feel she knows what she is doing there. But the Viva Voce is a new element.

Happy to pass info re ATCL if anyone wants any. If we can, we will, because there’s not much out there.

Morning all. Well done to all adults learning instruments - my DH bought me a piano for my 40th. Nearly three years later and I can’t play a note but fortunately dd is making up for that!
Hand hold for me today please. Dd has a piano comp today. Anyone else get really nervous when their dcs play in a concert or comp? I get the full racing heart and feeling sick despite not minding whether she comes first or last! Any tips most welcome to help me hold onto my sanity!

queenMabby I STILL get nervous for my two children. I get nervous for exams, comps, performances... here we are ten years and seven years of playing for them...and I still sweat every note. I find breathing and not looking at them and not sitting in the first row help.
A little.

Thank you shakyisles - glad I’m not the only one! I can’t look either when she plays. Would it be ok to take a cushion to hide behind do you think?! 😜😂

Yup, another one here who gets nervous watching ... As you know, my DS plays percussion so it's absolutely bloomin' obvious when he's come in wrong. Thankfully he's now learned to style it out but I must admit concerts were traumatic when he was little. He used to knock over cymbals, and drop tambourines and I was mortified because of course everyone could see and hear it!
As I say, now he's older and more reliable it is easier to watch but I still get nervous. But he doesn't know this - I am Mrs Calm as far as he's concerned because I don't want my anxiety to transfer to him. This helps to some extent as I have to put on a brave face and be positive and smiley but inside I'm still sweating! Agree with previous advice to not watch them when performing. My distraction technique is to watch the bows of the strings to see if they're all going in the same direction

As a music teacher, everyone else thinks I’m calm, but there’s no fooling my own children. If I can, I clear out of the way!

I was meant to be teaching some of the local teens the Trinity vocals exam stuff, but then —dd decided to do another exam this year— life got in the way, so I’ve decided to leave it this year. Has anyone else tried those syllabus?

And we’re done. Phew! No placing this year. She’s only done a couple of comps and has come first or second in all so it was a disappointment for her and we've had a few tears! Still, it’s a good learning experience for her. Hard for me though!

Sorry to hear that Mabby but as you say, use it as a life lesson. It's how you deal with these set-backs that builds resilience. It is hard but all these comps are so subjective. I remember a school music competition where both the winner and runner-up in every year were pianists The bias of the adjudicator was off the scale! It's little consolation but I do think not always winning the prizes sets you up well for the world of work where it's often not the best performers who get rewarded (speaks the voice of bitter experience).

Thank you Boyskeepswinging. I’ve told her that if five different people listened to her playing that you’d get five different opinions! Her teacher was there and said she played really well and that sometimes there are surprises (she said it’s always a surprise and never a disappointment!) as that is the nature of competitions. Onwards and upwards. She’s off to ballet now (Exam next month) so that’ll keep her busy.

Well done to QueenMabby 's DD! Taking part in such an event itself requires massive courage - what's a star.

I also think her being open to her disappointment and having a few tear over it shows her great quality as a challenger. There are too many people who would pretend they didn't try their best and didn't want to win in the first place as soon as they learned their loss. I find this kind of attitude so uncool and actually only emphasises their wounded pride they are trying so hard to hide.

Anyway I agree competitions are so subjective too. I am sure your DD played very well.

Thank you NeleusTheStatue. She’s always happy to volunteer to play in concerts/comps etc so I just hope this “surprising” result doesn’t knock her enthusiasm. She has a school Concert next half term in which she’s playing one of her pieces from today as a solo so hopefully that’ll give her something to focus on. I think I’ll just have a stiff gin and rock in the corner! Although I can read music etc I’m not musical enough to be a really good judge of all the candidates so these results are just as much of a surprise for me....and my nerves are shredded!

I’ve told her that if five different people listened to her playing that you’d get five different opinions!
Exactly this! What a pragmatic approach you've got - your DD will be just fine I'm sure.

To lighten the mood somewhat, I did have to laugh at one of the school competitions where one of the Yummy Mummies said that whilst it was very nice of the school to let DS play his snare drum it's not a real instrument, is it? So I asked what she meant by that and she said "Well, it's not like he has to be able to read music, is it?" I informed her that he very much does have to read the music (and believe me, snare drum music is way, way, harder to read than viola parts) and I said what do you think percussionists do in symphony orchestras? Do you think they're in the middle of Beethoven's 5th and think "Oh, I'll just plonk in a bit of bongos here"? She genuinely had no idea that percussionists have to follow their parts just the way the "real" instruments have to! Still makes me chuckle years later!

Ah yes boyskeep there seems to be a certain type of parent who is rather invested in finding ways to put others down. (Although at 7 am on a saturday morning i have been known to wish drums werent 'real', im pretty sure an imsginary instrument would be quieter )

Ah, Mending I feel your pain. I can only hope the drums are yours and not a neighbour! I restrict the hours of snare practice as both my ears and my neighbours can only put up with so much bloomin' rat-a-tat-tat at about a gazillion decibels.

Yes ours, and no neighbours so he's not disturbing anyone else

Hello all, hope you are enjoying half term if you have started, or looking forward to it next week.
Mines at home, well her db's atm, looking after her baby niece.
We have a new addition to the instruments in the form of a flute. It's having to come last to everything else though so it will be slow and steady, without exams for now I think.
Lovely to hear how everyone is doing and apologies if I don't recognise nc I never manage to work out who is who. Hello Raspberry

No worry, Romany, you are not alone. I don't recognise many old faces here so either lots of new people joined or lots of NC happened. I can't work out who is who...

Enjoy having DD around.

I am so pleased to get to half term! DS2 had strings sinfonia this morning but otherwise it's a clear week! Unless DS1 gets a bass guitar lesson.
Great to hear from Shaky and glad things settled down in the end. Have a great week with dd,Romany!

1 day of half term and DS is "bored". This from the child who resists signing up to anything because it might constrain his free time. Sigh. We need to blitz sight reading this holiday, so perhaps I'll demand a sight reading exercise every time I hear the word bored.

My hubby plays drums, so I know what you mean about people not understanding about it being a real proper instrument! It’s like guitar. When people tell me they ‘play guitar’ I then have to work out whether they are a John Williams, a Slash or a Phoebe Buffet! Otherwise I start talking and getting blank looks. We have work. Friend who learned chords by the ‘tigers claw, elephant with a trunk out’ method 😝 and there is nothing wrong with that.

So things are much calmer for us. Sight reading happening daily as dd has it on the next exam. (ATCL is super easy in comparison). So pulling out lots of old material for her to get to grips with. Though it’s called the ‘quick study’.

Nice analogy Shaky

Glad there are others mainlining the sightreading this half term. I’m going to try and get dd to do a little bit daily and I really need to start on the aural at home too. She’s g3. Any resource suggestions?

Piano btw.

Nelius, Romany I haven't a clue who anyone is anymore, apart from one or two! I think I may nc just to add to the general confusion.

DS is home for HT - we're not going anywhere, so looking forward to hearing him play a little. He's been working almost exclusively on technique for the last term & it feels odd and slightly unnerving for him not to have several pieces on the the go. He has his JD assessment next weekend so we'll need to come up with a couple of things for that.