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Extra-curricular activities

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

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Original poster

Summer term 2019 music

855 replies

thirdfiddle · 01/04/2019 14:50

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.

OP posts:

Musikakaka · 08/04/2019 18:10

That is true and I hope that's all it is! Thank you

Lotsofmilkonesugar · 08/04/2019 18:33

I agree that as they get better they are more self critical and also take the exams more seriously so possibly get more nervous. Have seen this with the older 2 kids so far, younger ones just go in and play and seem relatively unaware of either exam pressure or errors!

NeleusTheStatue · 08/04/2019 18:37

Boyskeepswinging
to your comment on the exhaustion for supporting DS's busy musical activities and the relief of a quieter week thanks to NCO. But don't you kind of miss the hustle and noise now?

Boyskeepswinging · 08/04/2019 20:22

Neleus
Honestly? No, I don't miss it at all. Having attended numerous concerts over the past couple of weeks it is a real treat to have a few evenings to myself and be able to catch up on the housework (lucky old me). I know once he leaves home I will miss the hustle but for now I'm enjoying a few days of peace and quiet before the summer term is upon us.

SE13Mummy · 08/04/2019 20:35

Another sporadic poster here. I have two brass-playing DDs, albeit on different instruments.

DD1 attends a JD on Saturdays but also belongs to a couple of other bands that keep her busy with residentials, trips abroad and other events. She's not planning to take exams at the mo, G8 maybe next year... or maybe not.
DD2 is 5 years younger but has suddenly become busy with music as she plays one horn in a brass band and the other in a concert band. She's much younger than the other members of both ensembles but loves going. She's just been dropped off at a brass residential for the week with the French horn she's been playing for 7 months. She went last year too and had a great week even though she was the only one on her instrument. There were at least three other French horns arriving when we did this morning so that will make for a different experience.

NeleusTheStatue · 08/04/2019 21:32

to all the parents who are having the luxury of a quieter moment (at last?!). Mine is perhaps too quiet as DH is also away this week.

Musikakaka · 08/04/2019 21:43

So true lotsof - my eldest came out of her grade 2 exam aged 6 and told me it wouldn't matter if she'd done the sightreading wrong as the examiner wasn't looking at the music anyway 🙄😆

Can anyone please also advise on the best flooring for our little music / practise room - we've been having some work done and planning to get Karndean or carpet 🤷‍♀️
Thanks you

Musicdoc · 08/04/2019 22:06

First time posting on here for a while... I have DS(14) who plays cello and DD(11) who plays violin - both away on NCO courses at the moment so the house is quiet!

musikakaka my DD had a similar experience with G7 viola in Dec... she was a whizz at her scales before she went in so started with them. She had 3 or 4 false starts at a major arpeggio and then played a Dom 7th.... so was asked a minor arpeggio and played a Dim 7th. Unfortunately that threw her for the rest of the exam and her pieces didn't go as well as they could have done. Merit overall. Still a good mark but a shame when they lose their nerve. Fingers crossed for your child though. And at least it happened for G7 and not G8

Shakyisles · 09/04/2019 03:49

Hi all. It’s been a horrible month or so with the terrorist attack here, so haven’t thought about jumping on the forum.
Nice to see wafflenose from the old days!
My girls continue their studies. Miss 12 continues to work at her DIPABRSM on sax, having very successfully managed her ATCL before Christmas. Miss 14 has changed violin teachers and feels much happier now the pressure of her ATCL is over. (She just missed out).

So there’s slap tonguing, improv, harmonics galore and lots of unusual techniques happening on sax in our house. Our neighbours must love us!

Mendingfences · 09/04/2019 06:49

Not sure about flooring, our practice/guest room has floorboards and the drum kit sits on a large carpet type rug....
I think carpet may help soundproof a bit so practise sint as like ok the rest of the house if thats a considerstion

NeleusTheStatue · 09/04/2019 13:02

Soundproof carpet/mat could be placed on any flooring of your choice? If you put it under a drumkit or piano, it helps absorb the sound and reduces the vibration travelling through the wall and flooring.

MirandaWest · 09/04/2019 14:43

Am at the music exam place - DD and her friend both have singing exams so they’ve gone in and dad of friend and I are in the waiting place. DDs friend going first.

horseymum · 09/04/2019 15:18

Hope the singing exams go well, it's more stressful waiting I think! Not sure what has got into my kids but they seem to be speeding through their theory books this holiday. Think it must be a blip. Long may it last though. Oh well, they must be super bored! We're not really doing much as DD not up to it.

OneLovelySister · 09/04/2019 16:18

Did DD come out of the exam happy, Miranda?

Keep ‘em bored, horsey, they soon start finding ways to keep themselves busy

PaddingtonPaddington · 09/04/2019 19:38

Hope the exam went well Miranda

Agree with the comments about exams as our DC get older they are definitely more self critical.

Easter holidays has brought time to go looking for the ‘forever’ violin. Off to the first shop Thursday hopefully. DD is very excited. I’m not a musician but have done lots of googling and read lots of MN threads so leaving the choice to DD and keeping fingers crossed it’s not a long search

NeleusTheStatue · 09/04/2019 20:07

How exciting, Paddington! Hope you enjoy the journey. We did it a while ago. It wasn't for the 'forever' violin but as it was 4/4 we were pretty seriously committed. It was an absolutely exhausting but truly educational and interesting journey.

ealingwestmum · 10/04/2019 08:44

Lovely to see some old and new faces, or at least those I still recognise with original names!

All quiet here too, DD away for most of the hols with a 10 hour change over on trips on Sunday. Through the night washing marathon awaits. It's lovely to get some lie ins, but it is quiet!

Nothing exceptional to report - DD waiting for G7 singing results (went well, for a change!), and generally enjoying music life, now with an electric violin addition to her instrument family as gig night life kicks in.

Good luck to those still awaiting results, loose on your DS2's piano, Miranda and your DD's singing, and fingers crossed for your DD Musik...it's horrible when they're so prepared but the day doesn't go as planned.

And waffle, so pleased to hear your news too.

LooseAtTheSeams · 10/04/2019 11:05

Thanks ealing! Enjoy the lie-ins while they last! And very best wishes to DD for the singing!
DS2 stunned me with a cello practice marathon yesterday. - really focused practice for ages! No idea what came over him. I'd suggested some physics revision as Y9 exams are straight after Easter. He must have decided - quite understandably - that Bach is preferable! Just hope the science teacher agrees...

ealingwestmum · 10/04/2019 11:14

Hehe loose, they can never win can they? Good on him though, and isn't there a natural correlation between music and physics for some?

Not in our case mind...she couldn't wait to drop physics at options time

MirandaWest · 10/04/2019 12:00

DD said that sight singing wasn’t great but she didn’t expect it to be so didn’t mind too much. She felt happy with her pieces and her teacher who accompanied said they went well. Now the waiting...

LooseAtTheSeams · 10/04/2019 12:00

ealing I didn't dare ask about the revision! He is quite science focused so there is a link in his case. (I think it can also go with being good at languages but he isn't a fan!)

OneLovelySister · 10/04/2019 12:16

That’s good, Miranda, especially if the teacher was happy too.

The anticipation is hard. For me, mostly, as DD seems to have forgotten about the whole thing entirely It was Grade 1 and she’s only 9 so probably to be expected.

[drums fingers impatiently]

I’d heard about a link between musical and mathematical aptitude, but physics people tend to be quite maths-y too, I suppose.

NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 12:52

I used to think there was a ling between musical and mathematical aptitudes. But now I believe mathematical aptitude has nothing to do with being musical, though its logical brain would definitely be helpful to grasp the theory side a lot easier. IMO, language aptitude has more links as it needs a logical brain as well as good ear, but again it should be nothing to do with 'being musical'. Great musicians can be shit at maths and language yet they can be brilliantly musical. Great mathematicians and linguists tend to take up music fairly easily at least at the beginning due to the logistic brain and good ear that helps them understand how music language works but 'musicality' is a different thing from those add-ons.

NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 12:55

ling = link...

NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 12:57

logistic = logical...

Need coffee....

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