Spring Term 2020 music thread

[squintsoftheworldunite]

Thought I would start the ball rolling on the first 2020 music thread since I’m awake. Happy New Year all of you and your lovely little musicians. Carrying on the long tradition of music threads here begun moons ago by wafflenose .... hoping our threads continue to be a place that’s welcoming to all, whatever standard, experience, backgrounds or situations of music bring you here.

2019 brought incredible music experiences for us, our biggest year to date. Exhausting but incredible. We said goodbye to the year with a final music lesson to end what has been an amazing first year on a new, and now first study, instrument. We’ve had a year free from practical exams but full of auditions and performances and so much to look back on with gratitude. I certainly couldn’t have predicted 2019 this time last year! I hope we can say the same of 2020 this time next year. Happy New Year xx

Happy new year! I’d love to join in with your lovely supportive community this year please as our family’s musical life gets busier by the day!

I am a music graduate myself (did joint honours Music and Eng Lit) specialising in singing with oboe as a second study. I now teach English and Drama and work closely with the Music dept at an independent school. I sing in a large choral society and still take on some solo oratorio work etc.

DS9 is a Chorister, rehearsing every weekday and singing an average of 5 services a week. Last term he performed with the City of London Sinfonia and was broadcast live on R3. We are waiting for the results of his g3 cornet and he is working on g3 theory.

DD6 has been playing the trombone since September and loves it. FC brought her a purple plastic PBone, which is amazingly light, but she can’t reach 6th position as she’s too little! Are there any other trombone families out there? It’s all completely new to me which is both fun and confusing! She is about to start piano lessons too.

So skint from all these music lessons! 2 brass bills landed on the mat today - nearly £400! Gulp. Don’t begrudge a penny if it really.

Look forward to getting to know you all and sharing our busy lives!

Welcome Chick. Sounds like you're tailor made for this thread with your nice noisy household! Please encourage the trombone playing, they're in short supply! She'll end up with more gigs than she knows what to do with.

Welcome chick and Happy New Year to everyone! We’ve had a nice break over the holidays but back to normal this weekend with orchestra rehearsals and teenage DD having her first go at a movement of a concerto.. hopefully it will go ok! DS is still enjoying his (noisy) brass playing and has started to get into composing electronic music on his laptop after trying it at school. Younger 2DCs both working on their grade 1 piano and grade 2 other instruments.. one is very keen, the other not so but I’m persisting for now!! Look forward to hearing everyone else’s news as the term progresses 🙂

Happy New Year everyone!

My DD is 8 and has a raft of music festival performances coming up on all her instruments (harp/voice/violin/piano) in the next month. Then it’s full steam ahead to grade 1 piano and possibly grade 2 singing this term, alongside her chorister commitments.

I’m also working hard - determined to do DipABRSM on piano this year!

Wow Margia DipABRSM is impressive, good for you! And good for your DD having accompanist on tap.
Hi chick, nice to meet you! Sounds like another busy household.
Sounds like quite a lot of people busy with exams this term. DC probably have a G2 and a G3 piano, piano teacher seems to be a religious exam taker, brass teacher in between, and violin teacher in no hurry to do any at all. Tbh I'm preferring the latter approach.

Welcome Chick. Two trombone players here.

I appreciate that this is small fry compared to your lot but my 6 year old got her Blue Peter Music badge and I’ve never seen her so chuffed :)

Aw that's lovely MoltoAgitato, what did she do to earn it? My two never got into BP but I remember it fondly from my childhood, and how coveted the badges were.

That’s great molto !

I know, it’s ace! She goes to a recorder group before her Kodaly class (she’s too little for the main Saturday curriculum, that starts from Y3), and had to write about that, plus ask a grown up about what music means to them, and write about what kind of music she likes and why. Sent it all off with a pic of her playing and some point later the badge arrived in the post with a lovely letter!

It was a really good example of how the right encouragement at the right time makes such a difference!

Lovely to read about all your DC’s musical comings and goings - no idea where our DC will go but it’s nice to dream. DH was a chorister and I play piano so there’s a little bit of gentle encouragement.

Happy New Year everyone!

We've had a great start to the musical Year - my two DC played with the Benedetti Foundation Orchestra and so are in the single Nicola Benedetti released today. And yesterday found out that my DD(12) passed her G8 violin with her highest mark ever. This term will be about balancing her music with ballet love (new pointe shoes)- as well as trying to focus on G5 piano which has been bumbling along for a couple of years.

DS(14) is a cellist, and he is planning courses for this year. Previously NCO but now too old

Margia good luck with piano Dip! I did the same 6 years ago... felt like a momentous achievement to go back to it after such a long time. Many hours of practice needed but well worth it.

Darn, was sure I'd replied but I seem to have deleted instead.
MoltoAgitato, even more impressed then - that's a lot for a 6yo.
MusicDoc, congrats to your DD. Any Grade 8 at 12 is a big achievement. And congrats to both on the Benedetti recording - what a great thing to be involved in.

@Musicdoc I heard the new Benedetti single on the radio and I love that piece as it was one of DDs favourite from one of the Abrsm exams. Have been and Googled the foundation and it looks like there are more opportunities this year in other areas. I’ll keep an eye out. That’s what I love about this thread for non musical parents like me who have no idea - such a collection of great info.

Oh lovely thread. DS1 will be continuing bon with his drum lessons but no plans to sit any exams yet. He's getting bloody good but there's no rush.
DS2 is six and is starting to ask if he can start the guitar again. We stopped because he wasn't ready previously (mucking about in his lesson and not practicing). Would love to hear what ages other have started.

Hi 2of50 (there's a username you'll have to change regularly😀), sounds like you're going to have your own band! DD is y3 and there are a couple of little guitarists in her class started this year, I think DN started at a similar age. Maybe have a chat with a teacher and see what age they recommend?

@thirdfiddle I know. Hoping it'll keep me on track and accountable!

DS2 is currently Y2. DS1 started drums in Y3 so.im wondering if it's a little early yet. I don't want to discourage him if he's keen though.

A beginners question- my dd will be taking g1 clarinet in a few months. We are keen to practice with accompaniment where possible and have found music for her A &B section as they are in one book as alternative pieces.
Her 3rd piece is in the exam pack itself and not included in the part that has the piano accompaniment music.
Does that mean there is no piano acc. for this piece or does every piece need to be accompanied?

Hi alakazam8, from experience with my DD, the C pieces for clarinet are study pieces that are unaccompanied as they concentrate more on the technical skills. Good luck to your DD in her first exam.

Yup- that’s a study. The other two pieces need to be accompanied. That one doesn’t.

Ok that’s great, thanks for the info.
It’s not clear for non musicians like me!

Only clear to me through experience - my dd is a flute player and it's the same. Was utterly confused at first!

Good luck to your dd

Hello! Just popping in to say hello so that I can follow the thread again as I got lost at the end of the Winter one. I thought it had all gone quiet haha!
We have had a 'fun' Christmas with DD having a go on the Sax (she is an advanced flautist) with disastrous, yet comical, results. She just cannot get the embouchure right and this is a new experience for her (struggling) so I think it will do her good! We have a clarinet on the way too just for her to have some fun on now that Conservatoire auditions are over. The Sax is so heavy!!! How do smaller children play it?!

I pop on occasionally, prefer to learn from/follow other people's experiences. Have a Ds (10) who plays flute and piano. I used to play clarinet, more flute now though.

Just to say Bindle, we also have a Alto Sax that I mess about with on occasions. The weight is definitely an issue. We acquired a bamboo Saxaflute (Relatively cheap Alto Sax mouthpiece on a piece of bamboo. Vandoren reed 1 1/2) for my son. Probably using it in the same way smaller children use a fife before going on to a Flute.

Embouchure is slightly looser on a Sax than a clarinet. I would get some thumb supports - you do get calluses.

Oh that's interesting! Maybe she would do better to have a go on the clarinet first then, I think her embouchure is too tight hence the squeaks? Could that be the reason? Plus it will be lighter so she might not moan so much

I only have a John Packer basic Alto Sax. It made a difference when I changed the mouthpiece for a Yamaha Alto Sax 4C and a Rovner IRL ligature. General better sound and easier to play.

You probably will still be squeaking on a clarinet until you can relax the jaw and not look like a hamster with over blowing/trying too hard. The bottom lip acts as merely a cushion on a sax if that helps. Not very good at explaining. Too long ago since I was taught any instrument.