Spring 22 music thread

[thirdfiddle]

Roll up roll up for a new term of music parenting! This is a long meandering series of threads for all things musical. Please do say hi if you're new or lurking.
Delighted to see on the last thread that musical things are up and running again in the new term despite some covid nerves. Here's hoping for a smooth normal as possible run.

Oh that's frustrating. I think your DC's commitment and personality will still shine through. Surely they are looking for potential though not just a finished product or they wouldn't be getting further training? Hopefully the teacher can install some last minute confidence in him.

How irritating. Honestly - flakey piano teachers - sigh!

On the bright side, he probably only needs 30 mins of being told how great he is to boost confidence at this stage! But otherwise, can you suggest that he does the hour he committed to given how important it is?

I’m guessing he has to care for his son who is quite young.

DS is behind where he should be at this stage (hence why at least one application is foundation Year. He had no lessons at all for 6 months when school was cancelled as his previous teacher was through school. It’s been a very disruptive two years really.

That sounds so hard Comefromaway. I hope the lesson was useful at least. Foundation year sounds a good idea to give him some time to catch up some lessons. Or would a gap year be an option at all? They've been so disrupted this generation of students.

His online lesson went well and ds did a recording of one of his pieces he was happy with. He is recording the second piece at college today with a live drummer.

A gap year might be a possibility but ds thinks that if he was to take a gap year he's end up getting stuck in a rut here. He would have to find a job which would leave him less time for his music & he would lose the social contact college gives him.

Understandable, he's clearly thought it all through. Hooray for good recording!

A good recording is great! Given all the disturbance of the last couple of years you would think we would be used to "being flexible" but it doesnt get easier

Can anyone recommend a theory book that could work for my DD? She has dyslexia and struggles to read music and retain note names though she is very musical. She has just done her grade 4 clarinet, but I think I would be looking for something closer to grade 2 for theory to start her off. Not planning any theory exams, but her teacher would like her to work on this area.

I think many of the theory books series cover only the actual grade. So a grade 2 book is for folks who have already done grade 1. So to do grade 2 from scratch you need both grade 1 and 2 books. Actually, I did this myself as it was a much gentler way to learn but is expensive. I used Victoria Williams books. They are excellent, but the print is small and they are very plain. She has all the material online for free as well.

Thank you Willdo. That makes sense about starting from the beginning. I'll take a look at Victoria Williams but they don't sound too dyslexia friendly!

We tried various in the end for theory, for a young student we found Ying Ying Ng Music Theory for Young Musicians friendliest so I don't know if that may help for dyslexia too. How to Blitz is also friendly but quite brief and maybe she would want more practice?
If you want to go back to complete basics Lina Ng has some pre-grade theory books with added stickers. Might be good for boosting basic note names and confidence if she wouldn't feel patronised by it.
I figured I didn't mind buying plenty of books as the alternative would be signing up to a class and that would cost of the order of a book a week.

The app is really good (the ABRSM one) if you're not wedded to paper. Really helped both my DDs to get the theory and practise it- it's a fiver I think and best on a tablet not a phone as pics so small.

We have the blitz books here too, they are quite large print unlike the old abrsm which totally put mine off as they were really hard to write in. I think there is extra material on the blitz site as well as answer books.

We also used the Lina Ng 'theory of music made easy' grade books and found them much better than the ABRSM ones. I've now outsourced it to their Saturday centres which is better still (for me), but that's just because it means they're not reliant on my sketchy explanations

Thanks for the suggestions! Lots to look at that didn't pop up in a google search!

Does anyone have any thoughts on the time commitment on A Level Music? DD is almost certain to be doing Art which will take a ridiculous amount of time and is considering Music. I am a bit concerned that this would be a step too far! But obviously would encourage her to do what she is most interested in. For context, she is just starting to play G8 material, predicted 7/8 at GCSE and plays with a county (but not the county) orchestra every Sat morning. She does not play 6 instruments or compose 30 minute pieces for fun. She has enjoyed all the aspects of GCSE music however.

@PangoPanda she will be fine with A level music. She will need to put time into some essay writing, but I wouldn't say any more than subjects like geography, psychology etc (and not as arduous as English or history). There will also be practice of course, there will be both solo and ensemble assessed performances. But she'd be doing that anyway?? A level Music covers so much more than just 'music'. You learn about culture, history, psychology, even elements of physics. Then there's the confidence, commitment and teamwork that being a musician brings. I may be biased, but I think it's a great choice even for those not wanting to pursue careers as musicians.

Mine is doing A level music and I think it’s on a par with his other two in terms of time commitment. He finds it quite difficult as he’s naturally a performer rather than an academic but it’s tough luck really!

My child has now accepted his place at conservatoire for next year. He got a lot of offers , including some he wasn’t expecting, but has decided to stick with the one he’s wanted since he was about 10. He’s turned down arguably the most prestigious one in the uk but he wants to go where he feels the atmosphere is best (and with a tutor he really likes).

Congratulations on the place for your ds Sirius! If my dd chooses to apply it will be hard for her to go somewhere other than her current JD as she knows the tutor and it feels quite safe.

@Huy456 i would still recommend a JD even at year/grade 3, my son is year 3 and daughter year 5 and both started at Junior Trinity in September. their programme starts from 3 years old so they have a lot to offer younger kids. programme for year 3 and year 4 is a half day, 8.45-1pm roughly.

Thanks to those commenting on A level.

Hello - I have a young clarinet player here keen for more ensemble experience. The London Youth Wind Band are running a course in the February half-term but it's quite expensive. Does anyone have experience of the LYWB that they would be willing to share?

I've not got any experience of that course but other intensive courses have been well worth the money. You can sometimes get part funding so that might be something to look into for the future.

Hi @dinosaurimybelly

My dd ( aged 12 on flute) will be doing the LYWB course. She's not done it before, but friends whose children have, have really enjoyed it. DD is at CYM (which runs LYWB) anyway, so it is kind of expected, but she's looking forward to it as she loves the staff who run the wind and brass department and they always pick great music. They are also pastorally fantastic - I swear online CYM wind band was what got her through lockdown.

Her CYM WhatsApp chat was all excitement about it last night when everyone got their offer letters, which is a good sign. There also seems to be a summer tour to Dorset (more expense!) which she's quite excited by, as such things have been thin on the ground recently.

I know it's pricey, but actually for the days you get it is more than comparable with the other orchestra she does, and I know she'll get great training.

Thank you so much minisnowballs. It is so great to have that insight about the pastoral side. I totally agree, getting together to play music is priceless. We just had a bit of a disappointment with SLYO course in December as it was understandably run with tight covid restrictions and less fun than usual.