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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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Autumn 22 music thread

405 replies

thirdfiddle · 01/09/2022 18:11

Hi all - I thought it was a while since we've had a new thread so how about one for the new school year? Would be lovely to pick up some new families too, all welcome at any stage of music learning from out of tune singing 2 yr olds to music college aspirants.

OP posts:
NotEvenSlightlyReasonable · 02/12/2022 12:01

Congratulations mini mini! Even if you decide in the end it's not the right choice, it's a fabulous and confidence-giving achievement to have the offer. Is that for 6th form entry or is she younger?

@herbaceous I was away when it was shown, hoping to find it on catch up when I have some time to watch anyone's child other than my own (Christmas performance schedule is hectic here as I'm sure it is for everyone else). It sounds like a great experience for him!

All these opportunities and achievements by for and by children just give me the warm fuzzies, it makes me so happy to know that there is so much out there for our kids to get stuck into.

minisnowballs · 02/12/2022 12:19

@NotEvenSlightlyReasonable she's 13 (one of the babies in year 9) so would go into year 10 in September. Glad you've got a hectic performance schedule. The same here - I'm so glad after a few years of disappointment!

NotEvenSlightlyReasonable · 02/12/2022 12:24

@minisnowballs gosh, only a year older than my DD. Who, i have to say, would probably love it! Although we'd have to sneak her cat in for frequent visits. She'd miss the cat more than the parents. A huge achievement, I hope she's very proud of herself.

Nearlyneverready · 02/12/2022 12:39

@minisnowballs he has a younger sibling, so yes it was very much family decision.

I’m not at all musical, so it’s a whole new world to me!

QueenMabby · 02/12/2022 12:46

@minisnowballs - good luck - hope the family discussions go well. And muggle-wise I see your g5 piano and counter with g5 recorder! Even more muggle-ish!

Yes dd did the actions at her concert. It was basically a bit of side stepping, some finger clicking and jazz hands at the end. Talk about teenage overstatement and melodrama!

minisnowballs · 02/12/2022 13:26

@QueenMabby well done her - DD2 would have been equally melodramatic about it.

@NotEvenSlightlyReasonable the cats would be an issue here too. Though since one of them has brought in a large mouse (or small rat, eek!) which is now living behind the kitchen cupboards, I'm tempted to send it along with her if she goes.

StuntNun · 02/12/2022 18:43

My DS did his grade 1 singing exam today which went very well, we have all fingers and toes crossed for a distinction. I was wondering whether singers do every grade or whether they tend to skip some? He's currently preparing for his grade 3 piano so it might make sense to do grade 3 piano in the summer and grade 3 singing this time next year since the aural tests will be the same.

Regarding the grade 3 piano, he is having a dreadful time learning his scales. He's been doing them for months and is still making mistakes every time. Does anyone know whether there are any clever apps or YouTube videos for learning piano scales? A different method of learning might really help him.

minisnowballs · 02/12/2022 19:07

Well done to him @StuntNun hope he gets his distinction! On singing my dd went in at Grade 5 - I think they often skip loads. She finds the sight singing hard at the levels she's at now though so a more gradual start might have been better (not a chorister or anything - I think they find it easier). ABRSM has a scales app I think - don't know of any others. I have sympathy though - so tricky!

StuntNun · 02/12/2022 19:29

In hindsight he probably could have started at grade 2 but he's only been having lessons for six months and he has made much more rapid progress than expected. He was already committed to the grade 1 exam before we realised how much easier than piano it was. No bad thing though, if he has a distinction under his belt for his first exam. It's going to be a hard wait for the result!

northerngoldilocks · 02/12/2022 20:07

For scales I get mine to play them all every morning - from music at the beginning if needed just so they have lots of goes at them to memorise and then pick 3 from random in the evening. We have a pot of scales for each instrument / grade and pick from that.

I'm sure you know this on piano but getting the finger pattern really sorted at slow speed is key. So separate hands and then together (though abrsm do weird things re playing some separately at this level I think)

StuntNun · 02/12/2022 22:12

It must be six months he's been learning them and he still can't do them. I don't understand why it's so hard for him. He was exactly the same with his grade 1 and grade 2 scales.

northerngoldilocks · 02/12/2022 22:37

Is he learning them though or sort of blindly playing them. I tried the abrsm scales trainer book for grade 5 with mine but they weren't really interested so went back to the pot of scales which is always more successful.

Maybe ask him how he's remembering them. I make mine announce the key signature when I say which one to play so that they're thinking about what they're going to play- plus for minors that they are going to higher the 7th (no melodic at gr 3)

QueenMabby · 02/12/2022 23:41

We have "the scales cups". Write each scale on a pice of paper and fold it up and put them all in a cup (ours are luridly coloured ones from ikea).

Each practice pick one out and play it. If it's good it goes in the other cup. If it's bad it goes back in cup one. Pick another. Do two or three each time. Once al the scales are in cup 2 then that becomes cup 1 and you start again.

Get your dc to play the scales Legato, staccato, the right way, backwards (start high and go down), wonkily (start in the middle, go up, down and back to the middle again). Play very very slowly. As quick as they can. With the sustain pedal down. Or the una corta pedal. Or both! Left hand then right hand. One going up and one going down. Play with them as much as possible. It does get easier.

StuntNun · 03/12/2022 07:34

Brilliant advice, thanks to both of you.

ilovesushi · 03/12/2022 17:02

@herbaceous just watching Young Chorister of the Year now. Your DS has such a beautiful voice! So clear! You must be absolutely bursting with pride. He didn't come over as nervous. He seemed incredibly composed and quietly confident. Well done him!!!!! And you! We all know the input from mums!

herbaceous · 03/12/2022 17:06

Thank you! Naturally I’m biased, but he does have a quite remarkable voice. Going to be heartbroken when it breaks!

ilovesushi · 03/12/2022 17:11

@StuntNun I feel your pain about scales! DD struggles terribly to remember them from one day to the next. I have created all sorts of visual and colour coded charts to help her but she just doesn't seem to retain them. She has dyslexia and struggles to remember note names and sequences (spellings, times tables, scales!) She is doing scales for her next music exam, but her teacher has promised she can do technical exercises after that.

ilovesushi · 03/12/2022 17:14

@herbaceous Do you have lots of recordings of him singing? My mum still listens to Christmas recordings on cassette of my brother singing with the cathedral choir when he was young (30 plus years ago!)

herbaceous · 03/12/2022 17:38

I do! Lots of voice recordings of him in the Minster, and a few videos downloaded from YouTube. Ssshhh.

northerngoldilocks · 04/12/2022 08:33

DD was in the first of her Sat music school Christmas concerts last night. There's another next week where she's in ensembles but last night was the first time she's ever done a piano solo.

I was so surprised she wanted to do it at all as she gets really nervous but was so happy she did. It's great practice for her and means that her only performances aren't exams!

She did play super quickly and I was a bit worried at the beginning that she wouldn't be able to keep up at the trickier bits but clearly the adrenaline powered her through. So proud of her and now she's got that first one out of the way hopefully we can work on controlling speed next time! That said, she'd started working on Chopins 'minute waltz' in her lesson that morning, so perhaps that didn't help any ideas of not playing really quickly!

minisnowballs · 04/12/2022 12:25

Brilliant news @northerngoldilocks - she is so clever! Hopefully a huge confidence boost? @herbaceous how wonderful - I will try to find some time to watch - I'm sure he'll continue to sing when his voice breaks and he'll have had such great musical training.

More prosaically, DD2 most excited by school musical audition callbacks (200 auditions, 21 callbacks, 19 parts -got to be decent odds now right?).... It's matilda so she knows the part she's been asked to (Miss Honey) sing inside out..Fingers crossed.

Both daughters also in the band for our church carol service next week. It's usually more bass guitar and drums, but they put on a decent classical show for Christmas. Strings practice (they are violin and cello ) this pm.... From two years with no music both are exhausted with so much of it now.

Mendingfences · 04/12/2022 18:53

Concerts have really kicked off now. Bach magnificat finally with 2 full performances - planned for 2020 which obviously didnt go quite to plan.....

northerngoldilocks · 04/12/2022 20:46

Fingers crossed for Miss Honey part for your DD2 @minisnowballs it sounds like it will be a fun thing to be involved in if she gets it.

DD is v proud of herself today which is really nice and is pretty relaxed about next week for now - though sure on the night she will be a bit nervous - probably more about the strings ensemble than the choir. We also have DS's school Christmas music concert on Thursday night and he's playing in the orchestra - only 1 song though as think its all ensembles playing, but it will be nice to hear them all as it's a new school to us.

@herbaceous i listened to your DS on Young Chorister - beautiful singing, what a lovely thing to have, especially to look back on once his voice breaks.

StuntNun · 05/12/2022 09:43

What do people do about theory of music exams? I was wondering about trying to get DS up to grade 5 myself rather than having to pay the piano teacher to teach him. Do people generally do every exam or every other exam or just go straight for grade 5?

Comefromaway · 05/12/2022 09:48

Ds went straight for Grade 5. Being a pop musician he didn't need it for grades or anything but in Year 10 we started to investigate university options and several asked for Grade 5.

Dh taught it to him and is currently also teaching ds's friend but dh is a music teacher himself.

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