Summer term 2019 music

[thirdfiddle]

A new installment of the long running music parent threads. Everyone is welcome from complete beginners to grade 8 and beyond. Thanks as ever to the lovely waffle for starting the threads up and looking after them for years. What are your plans for the coming term? Any exams, auditions, festivals, new instruments? Please come and chat.

[LooseAtTheSeams]

OneLovelySister DS2's verdict was it went "OK" - I think that's a hopeful sign. DH said he heard the first piece and it sounded good but after that someone was warming up in the next room so he didn't hear the rest!

[zeemama]

Thanks @onelovelysister he couldn’t believe it. He’s over the moon and kept asking every hour if I’d accepted his place yet (wanted to talk to his teacher first). I have accepted now and he is so, so happy and working harder than ever.

[NeleusTheStatue]

zeemama, I can see his big smile even though I don't know his face. It's so lovely that your DS is so so happy.

[OneLovelySister]

LooseAtTheSeams, you’ve got to love the minimalist answers the DC come up with. I suppose with a few exams under his belt you can be pretty sure that’s an encouraging “OK”

zeemama, you must be bursting with pride. And I bet you’ve put in some serious work over the years to help get him to this point, so well done you, too

[Eroica]

Another rare poster here, Sorry- I just can't keep up with how fast the threads move And I am shocked that anyone would bother to troll a thread like these, just pathetic!

I tend to post when I need advice which I would like to currently know about double clarinet cases please truffle if it's a travel-type case? We have a good hard double case (briefcase style I mean) but it's a hassle for DD carrying (and I'm always petrified she'll leave on a bus somewhere).

Anyway, I have DD, 13, now attends a junior Department, plays piano, clarinet, percussion, and sings, and DS, 10, plays piano, clarinet, percussion, and doesn't sing, and definitely doesn't want to do JD!
Them doing the same instruments was down to their own choices, not my choice, but in fact it works well for us, and cuts down the amount we have to spend on sheet music etc. Also makes going to teachers easier, as they have had consecutive lessons etc. That's even easier now most lessons happen at JD or at school.
I'll just wave at the thread from time to time...

[Mendingfences]

Lovely that he's so excited about jd zee

Does anyone else find the organising of the kids music lives hard going? Im certain it's not all me, i mean i had a conversation with dds orchestra teacher yesterday who was apparently unaware she was going to be on holiday over a big concert, but i know he knew because he replied to the email dh sent him....

Better news is that dd1s slot in a 3 day residential festival means that she can actually manage to travel to the very important rehersals she was for something else on the saturday. The only challenge will be ensuring she manages to get herself up and onto a boat by 8.30 in the morning after undoubtedly very little sleep in a sleeping bag on a classroom floor..... (no chance of anything going wrong there then )

[bostik]

congratulations zeemama - such exciting news!

[Mitsouko67]

Fantastic, a whole new world opening up. Good luck!

[Boyskeepswinging]

Does anyone else find the organising of the kids music lives hard going?
Yes! I have a demanding job and a long commute and the last two weeks have been positively ridiculous with the number of concerts. Also add mock (academic) exams and a grade exam into the mix and I am frazzled! The worst point in the fortnight was when I discovered just before a concert that DS needed a different shirt to the one I'd lovingly washed, ironed and put in his suit carrier. Honestly I find running my large department at work easier than negotiating DS's musical activities! All I can say is thank goodness I dropped him at NCO yesterday so I can have a week off!

[OneLovelySister]

I find reminding one (nearly) 9yo to practice every day quite hard work so, parents of one or more properly musical older DC, I salute you!

[thirdfiddle]

Yegods, smaller monkey voluntarily and unprompted got her theory book out! I should try harder to keep it ticking over, we haven't done any since summer holidays.

[folkmamma]

Does anyone else find the organising of the kids music lives hard going?

Errrr, hell yeh! It takes up at least 75% of my headspace. My full time job, running a household and deciding what to eat have to fight it out over the remaining 25%...

[foundoutyet]

ha ha, "Does anyone else find the organising of the kids music lives hard going?"
Not just musical stuff, any other stuff.
Three children with only 2 parents is also a mistake....

[Boyskeepswinging]

My full time job, running a household and deciding what to eat have to fight it out over the remaining 25%...
I feel your pain ... I SHOULD be organising our precious one annual family holiday (due to bloomin' musical commitments plus no money for more breaks due to bloomin' musical commitments) but I am spent ... just cannot summon up the energy to make one more decision.
I'm praying I'm currently in peak organising time. DS is now playing in a lot of adult ensembles but isn't old enough to drive himself to said gigs yet. So it'll get easier once he can drive himself? Please tell me this gets easier!

[LooseAtTheSeams]

DS2 was a very chatty child but is a very minimalist teen!
Yes, just occasionally my head explodes over having to rearrange stuff e.g. music lessons because of concerts and other things, while working full time. (DS1 is the worst culprit for this.)

[MeltingWax]

Well done everyone on all the exam & audition successes!

I also find all the organising difficult to sort combined with full-time work & other commitments. And my DCs are nowhere near as busy music-wise as others on this thread. Have just been trying to arrange a day just after Easter which involves my own normal day's work (which usually includes a lot of meetings), a cake sale for DS's class, a teaching slot for a Year 1 piano beginner & getting DD half-way across London to a practice session with an accompanist before a festival. And then collapsing with .

Summer holiday plans are currently on hold partly until DD decides which music residentials she is doing (if any) - which will partly depend on how next week's course goes.

[Trufflethewuffle]

Hi eroica it's a bam traveller I think. Her teacher has the same one and recommended it. We got it from Howarths.

DD has bendy joints so we try and be as careful as possible so this will hopefully be helpful.

[Eroica]

Gosh- it's really time for bed... I just read that as "we got it from Hogwarts"!
Thank you truffle.

[Mendingfences]

Kind of glad im not alone in the organisational chaos.....
2 parents in full time jobs (dhs communte is not too bad but mine takes over 3 hours daily), 3 kids, 2 instruments each and a minimum of 30 minutes travel to lessons.....
But my goodness dd2s concert last night was amazing 😁

[Doubleup]

That’s the payback Mending!

[Musikakaka]

Hi, just looking for some experiences / advice if possible. Yesterday, dd took her grade 7 exam and sadly came out quite upset. Her pieces were of a very high standard and the accompanist also said she is likely to have achieved high marks on those.
Dd said she had to restart a couple of her scales - which she did, then played them correctly. She also accidentally played a dominant 7th scale instead of an arpeggio, but then also corrected this.
She thinks she did the singing wrong (somethings she's normally really good at) and gave the wrong modulation answer - she said she knew the answer, but said the wrong one 🤷‍♀️🙈.
She felt the sight-reading was correct except for the last part - she is likely to have played the sight reading beautifully as she is a very expressive player, but may not have been totally accurate 😬
She has worked so hard and was really, really prepared. I know it's not the end of the word, but I feel a bit gutted that she has come out upset and may not achieve a distinction (as she has hoped) 🙈

[thirdfiddle]

Musikakaka, sorry she's not happy; I do tend to find that students (and parents! my predictions were way out based on accompanying DS) tend to focus on what went wrong and not count the many things which went right. So wouldn't write off that distinction just yet. Not that it matters a jot if she doesn't, you and she know she had the work at that level. Onwards and upwards!

[MeltingWax]

It's very frustrating to have worked so hard at something and then it all comes down to 20-30 minutes on the day and a few slips can feel like a disaster immediately afterwards. Am sure she will have done much better than she thinks and as third says, you both know that she is playing at that level so take heart from that & try not to feel despondent. The examiner is just seeing a snapshot.

[Musikakaka]

Thank you both. I have been reassuring and she is feeling better about things now. She normally comes out really happy and confident it went well and this exam was different . I think that is partly down to age though as she was 9 when she did her last violin exam (she's 11 now) so was definitely less bothered about the little slips then.

[Mendingfences]

Age and maturity really makes a difference. 11 year olds are generally a lot more aware of those little imperfections, and their ability to self critique has improved, great for practise but less great in an exam situation. Im sure it's gone better than she thinks right now.