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

It's a lot easier if you wear a sling or support when playing the sax.

I am enjoying this thread so much - lovely to hear about everyone’s different experiences.

The Blue Peter badge is really special molto - well done to your DD.

I’ve had an interesting time auditioning choristers this week. My favourite bit is when we get them to chat about their favourite musical experiences and what motivates them. At least one makes me cry every year!

We got the ABRSM results through at last today and DS (9) got 128 for his grade 3 cornet, which is great. He called it a ‘very annoying mark’ - 2 marks off a distinction - but knew that his study didn’t go too well. He also had to play on a different instrument because the tuning slide got jammed on his cornet a few days before the exam. He didn’t seem too fussed about this but it added further to my grey hairs!! We were slightly concerned that the examiner was a really nice man - in my day that always meant that they were really tight markers but hopefully things have changed now. This chap clearly wasn’t mean.

PS - DD (6) is reluctant to stop playing Jingle bloody Bells on the trombone now that she has ‘perfected’ it! Anyone else still on the Christmas repertoire?!

Lol chickoletta! We've managed to drop 3 out of 4 instruments between them - remaining one is determinedly carolling away till he has a lesson at the weekend to give him new music. Thankfully not jingle bell child, or 12 days of christmas which we have had in various configurations for the past 4 years I think it is now. Soon as one child had had enough of it the next one started up. It was very handy for making non-practising child practise though - all those repeats!

Ah jingle bells - renamed by one of my sons compatriots as jingle potato (nope, no idea where that came from - she was very disapointed i was not willing to change the name in the concert program 😜)

Ha, thirdfiddle - we still have a determined (and mournful) Little Drummer Boy on the bassoon... frankly I've also only just perfected the piano bit so I'm with dd2 on this one.

Well done to your cornet player. Chickoletta - 128 is great!

Hello there. Dropping to say hi to old and new people on this lovely thread. Thank you for starting the ball rolling, squint. DS (12) plays the violin mainly but enjoys playing the piano also occasionally. No exams/festivals/auditions planned this term so nothing to share any exciting news. But happy to follow and read other young (and old) musicians' challenges and adventures. 🙂

Hi magnaconcordia!
We're getting going with various ensembles so lots of new music to learn. DD has two new groups plus new music from existing ensemble plus a loong piece and study from her teacher. Plus new piano music for probable exam this term. So of course she decides to spend her time learning the Harry Potter theme. I'm taking it as a sign of enthusiasm.

Hello all - we’re back in the swing of things now school’s back (dd does all her music at school).
She has her grade 3 cello at the end of this term and is starting her work towards her grade 5 theory. She tells me her piano teacher says she can take it at the end of the summer term but I thought she was taking her grade 5 piano exam then and it seems a bit much to be doing both - is that normal? Thanks.

I think theory and practical would be okay. With two instruments progressing fast she's going to have a backlog if she doesn't overlap sometimes! With all the playing theory is not going to be a huge deal, she'll know most of it without thinking.

Especially playing piano and a string instrument - particularly good combination for theory as pianists understand scales and accidentals & string players understand circle of fifths.

Hi everyone! Dropping in to say hi, we're back the swing of violin this term and DS got his grade 2 results (all good - phew!) recently. I've just signed him up for music camp in the summer again, he's loved it for the last two years. Info is here if anyone else fancies a look - stables.org/learning/national-youth-music-camps
He's made loads of friends there and as he doesn't get any opportunities at school to do music with other kids it's really good for his playing too.

Thanks thirdfiddle. She is progressing apace and her teacher is very keen! It’s interesting. Her two teachers have very different approaches but perfectionist but lacking in confidence dd is definitely helped by regular graded exams so she has some external validation!
Her cello teacher is more “play around with lots of pieces” and she seems to arrive at cello exams almost by accident and she definitely finds this approach harder to deal with. She finds the cello harder than the piano too so it’s not always a good combination!
Zelda congrats on your DS’s grade 2 results.

zelda well done on the exam results

DD got her results back this week from the 2 exams in 2 days (violin and piano) and was really pleased. GCSE music performance next this month (solo violin and piano duet).

queenmabby both theory and practical would be ok together. DD had the same when she did hers and managed fine.

Everyone here has been so kind in the past despite me being not being a very active member! We're after advice as we're non musical and total novices! One of our children is quite musical, she loves music and is desperate to apply for a junior dept. She's in year 8, grade 8 on first instrument, nearly grade 7 on second instrument. She's got consistently high marks in abrsm, with 137 being her lowest. Grade 5 theory age 12, 98%, grade 5/6 singing.
She's desperate to apply for RAM. Her friend is applying for RAM, RCM, Guildhall plus others.
Are we crazy to apply for just RAM? The travel there is simple, much more complicated to the others.
What's the difference between RAM and RCM?
What sort of aural tests do they do in the audition at RAM?
All advice welcome!!

@fourlittlekangaroos why so set on RAM? Does she have friends there already, or is it just the logistics?? Or do you have a particular teacher in mind...? She'll get fantastic training at any of RAM/RCM/GH but they each have a very different atmosphere/feel about them. And some stronger in some instruments/genres than others. So I would advise going to open days or visits at all of them if you haven't already. Maybe also arrange an advice audition or consultation. That will help you to know if it's RAM or nowhere vs RAM first choice but also like the others... which should help inform your decision.

Those of us with kids in the various JD's can all wax lyrical about the benefits of the one we've chosen, but you have to be sure it's the right one for your family. Not everyone gets it right first time, hence there is often movement between colleges.

Whatever you decide, Good luck!!

Thanks FolkMamma, that's helpful. I feel time is short and we probably should have been on the case last term.

RAM because it's an easy and shorter journey for us. She's very young in year, maturity and is really not streetwise at all, but she could travel to RAM alone. But, she also has friends there and she knows Robert Max is there...she plays cello.

I'd love to hear more about the atmosphere of different JDs, or people's opinions on the atmospheres and how their children have found it. I'm all in for enjoyment and beauty and definitely not in for competition or high pressure! But, we do have a very hard working daughter who is desperate to go to a Saturday school!

We're at GH- very bohemian, relaxed, nurturing. Great for strings. My DD is a violinist. We chose GH specifically for her teacher but of the three, it's also the best fit for her socially I feel. Although a nightmare for us to get to....

Also, I think open days are mostly this term so you've still got time if you get on it now. GH don't have structured open days as such, they arrange visits most Saturdays. I think this gives a very honest view of what it's really like....

Hi, DD attends at RAM but Primary Academy as she is still young.

She auditioned only RAM. Honestly speaking, I loved GH the most when I visited. Yes, they do not have structured open day but instead DD was allowed to attend normal whole day lesson there. It was really helpful for her to learn how GH JD is and I was impressed by passions of some teachers. I didn't like RAM open day as much as GH. I couldn't see what the daily life was like. We were not allowed to see any lesson but just saw the building and some students performance. But I still love the atmosphere there. They are very warm and young children are well cared at Primary Academy.

Finally DD auditioned only RAM because of the followings.

1. Location (honestly, this is the main reason)

Easier access from our home. Great location for parents to wait.

1. Teacher's recommendation

Her instrumental teacher recommended it.

1. Love the atmosphere

Now I cannot be happier. They are very supportive. DD enjoys every moment at RAM.

We have thoughts to a particular JD based almost entirely on the first study teaching and some additional staff relationships my DC has built there. Of what I have experienced, it sits in the middle of those three for atmosphere/friendliness but the teaching looks likely to be the right option. The transport is no consideration as they’re all equally bad for us. The costs and lengths with second study lessons is something we have to think about as where my child goes now both are included.

We have been to things at all of the different JDs recently and there are huge strengths to each one and balancing those out is hard! I hope all goes well. xx

We applied for RCM and GH but RCM was our first choice from the very beginning due to the familiarity - we are local to the college and knew some children/families there.

We applied for GH, mainly as a practice run before going through RCM's staged auditions. However, as we visited a few times over the course, we started liking GH. So much so that when he got an offer from both, he (and I) couldn't pick which one to accept straight away. In the end, he went for his old favourite and it was probably a good decision as he had a great time there. However, I know some very talented string players moved to GH from other jds including RCM. They have a very strong string department. So if you are a string player, you may like to consider GH or at least make a visit...

We didn't like RAM when we visited. I don't know why but didn't feel it was for DS. He had a few good friends there but still didn't choose to apply for them. The senior department (12+) may be different but at least he didn't click with the Primary Academy.

Obviously all three are great. So it's best to visit all or as many and see how you feel before making any decision. It'll be your every Saturday for many years to come.

Good luck!

Thanks so much everyone. This is really helpful, it's a whole world I know nothing about! There's also the consideration of impact upon other members of the family as we don't want every Saturday to be just about one of the children and travel logistics could easy make every weekend a wash out for the other children.
It sounds like the GH is amazing and I live the sound of a relaxed atmosphere.

Hello everyone. I have a quick question about the abrsm singing pieces. DD8 is due to take her grade 1 after starting lessons in September. Are the pieces within each section of similar difficulty, as her teacher has suggested one piece over another as being more challenging so should be marked more highly?

This is her third instrument as she also has cello (due to sit grade 1 this term) and piano (grade 2 in summer term).

Gosh, how can you compare? Different pieces are difficult in different ways. In my experience teachers do always talk about which pieces are easier/harder in the exam syllabuses, though most then choose the ones they think are easy so at least your teacher's take is novel! I would take it to mean teacher is choosing a piece where the notes are harder to sing accurately - so then there may be lower demands in terms of tone, interpretation etc. If it was violin I would guess they were talking lots of fast notes as opposed to needing to sustain a long melody - which can actually be harder for many students. You can get full marks with any of the pieces on the syllabus, it's not like some are deemed easy and you can only get 90%.