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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.

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thirdfiddle · 10/04/2019 13:06

Lol, nothing like procrastinating something else to get them practising! (Works on me too...)
I'm very much a maths and music bod. I think there are links in the skill set in that both are very connected to patterns and pattern recognition. Musicality itself though maybe more just listening to and appreciating lots of music. DS is mathsy too, DD much more wordy so far. She thrives on stories and similes around her music.

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LooseAtTheSeams · 10/04/2019 13:26

I agree - I think there can be some overlap in skills but I definitely don't think they automatically go together!
(No amount of practising scales is going to turn me into a mathematician, sadly!)

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NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 14:18

DS is mathy too. He's good at recognising patterns and all that so he's benefitting from his mathy brain. But then there are those who aren't particularly good at memorising or not so strong at rhythm but have an incredibly creative mind and well, musical. Lovely to have both!

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NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 14:26

thirdfiddle, do you think your DD thinks of a story when she plays? How about your DS (the mathy one)?

Mine seems to think of weather very often. I tend to think of colours.

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cocopops · 10/04/2019 16:09

Ladies- have to share this as my DD is at the hairdresser and I just got an e mail to say she’s been accepted to RCS juniors for piano/oboe- I am so very excited for her and cannot wait until 5.30pm when I pick her up😄😄😄

Still waiting on singing results from 12 March though 😡

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OneLovelySister · 10/04/2019 16:15

Wow, fab news, coco - well done to your DD! Star

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MeltingWax · 10/04/2019 16:21

Very well done coco's DD - great news! Star

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4strings · 10/04/2019 16:26

Fantastic!

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NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 16:28

Great news, cocopops! Star

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Mitsouko67 · 10/04/2019 17:08

Lovely to hear all the good news on this thread lately.

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RomanyQueen1 · 10/04/2019 17:24

Shsky

Your house sounds like ours, although dd not home yet.
She's playing a terrible piece with horrible noises, are they multi tones or something? It is an acquired taste.
What pieces is she playing for the diploma, there can't be many at that level?
Here it is, is bloody awful. Grin

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OneLovelySister · 10/04/2019 17:49

I was thinking you must have very conservative musical tastes, Romany, until I hit 3:17... Grin

I love it! That said, I imagine it takes a lot of practice before it sounds as amazing as in the video.

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thirdfiddle · 10/04/2019 18:07

thirdfiddle, do you think your DD thinks of a story when she plays? How about your DS (the mathy one)?

DD - yes, stories or images for dynamics, or to get the starting speed right, or for articulation. So one of her current pieces has a bear in it, that stops her playing too fast or lightly. But sometimes she changes it to a pixie instead and plays it up two octaves and double speed. Or similes - I'll be showing her some technique and she'll break in with "oh it's like a little insect" and then she can do it (that was grace notes I think - no idea why it's an insect but whatever works!). Mixture of us feeding her stories and her coming up with her own. DS is not interested in imagery and just plays the notes and markings on the page so far. Less poetic but on the plus side we don't have to invent a mountain hike to get him to follow a simple dynamic marking!

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RomanyQueen1 · 10/04/2019 18:07

She just picked it up and sight read it Grin
Other things that may sound easy to others she has to work at.
That awful tonal thing is hard to do, but she picked it up straight away.

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NeleusTheStatue · 10/04/2019 18:21

Interesting, thirdfiddle. Do you think DD tends to play more musically compared with DS due to the use of stories/images?

My DS also seems to link music to landscapes and seasons. So, weather, landscapes and seasons - lots of nature for some reason!

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SommyAE · 10/04/2019 18:29

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OneLovelySister · 10/04/2019 19:05

That’s impressive, Romany, she must be very talented.

I like the tonal thing and the, um, percussive sounds. No clue how those happen, I couldn’t see from the video!

Clearly, months of three G1 flute pieces has made me hungry for a more balanced musical diet...

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Hertsessex · 10/04/2019 19:06

Just checked in after a while and found every thread spammed by SommyAE. One of the old crazy culprits? Anyway glad to see the new thread. Three musical children here, one at specialist school. Bit of everything between them classical and jazz piano, violin, saxophone, marimba, drums, etc. Never a dull moment.

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RomanyQueen1 · 10/04/2019 19:20

OneLovelySister

In some things talented, but other aspects of her music making a teacher can be surprised she doesn't get something they consider easy for her Grin
I think they have strength and weaknesses in different areas.
When I see all the sax players together none of them seem to play the same Grin all different sounds, even though being taught by the same teachers.

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CoffeeTeaChocolate · 10/04/2019 19:43

Hi Everyone,

Occasional poster and lurker here. So lovely to see so many familiar names.

I have three DC, DD, 10, violin, who just has passed grade 5 music theory (yippee!!!) and will do Grade 6 violin in the summer term, DS 8, violin, who will do Grade 2 this summer term and DD 6, who MAY look at recorder Grade 1.

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RomanyQueen1 · 10/04/2019 19:58

Onelovelysister

If you like that, then I give you this. The first thing my dh shared with me and we're still together 30 years later. Grin



If you like the tonal thing, listen to we three kings.
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Doubleup · 10/04/2019 19:59

Herts it could be someone trying to advertise. I’ve seen those removed before.

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OneLovelySister · 10/04/2019 20:23

I was raised in a hippyish milieu so that sound is a bit of a blast from childhood. Thank you, I shall revisit Smile

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thirdfiddle · 10/04/2019 21:17

Do you think DD tends to play more musically compared with DS due to the use of stories/images?
At the moment more erratically really. She is fun to work with though. And she's having a lot of fun with it which means more practice happens. I definitely approve of playing around with music :) Your DS sounds like a very mature young musician.

cocopops, congratulations to your DD! How exciting.

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NeleusTheStatue · 11/04/2019 14:26

Ah, bless her, having so much fun. It's the best way to learn music, isn't it?

Just renewed insurance for DS's violin. We got a discount last year but had to pay full this year - ouch.

Also booked accommodation for a summer course DS is attending. He's too young to go alone so I have to go with him hence everything costs more - another ouch.

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