Spring 23 music thread

[thirdfiddle]

I saw some sunshine today so it's officially spring! Here's a new thread for all things musical.

With a nod to those who started the series, well before my young folk picked up an instrument or I braved the vipers of MN. This little corner is for support only, and bragging about your young folk's musical achievements is positively encouraged.

How are things looking for new year? Anyone new want to join us for a chat? Any lurkers want to delurk? All welcome from pre beginners to music college and beyond.

@georgedawes if the instrument is a double reed, there are. Double reed days held in vari places during the year, follow the British double reed society ( bdrs) on FB. I'm sure other niche instruments have their own society and may do similar. I'm pretty sure there is a viola and horn one, I know there is a Scottish double bass trust, all sorts of niche groups out there!

It is a double reed instrument she plays, yes! Funnily enough she went to one of their days last year, so I'll look them up again. Thanks!

@minisnowballs. I'm so sorry for your loss. Sending unmumsnetty hugs. Well done for your dd for soldiering on. I'm sure her grandmother would have been very proud.

Thanks all- there’s also the nco if she’s 12 Georgedawes or if she’s in London or nearby things like the London youth wind band and LPO overture days?

Thank you! Looks like missed NCO this year (I didn't know about that one!) and in the midlands so not near London unfortunately. She does do different county things and no doubt I'll be moaning soon enough about all the different ferrying around to stuff!!

Double reeds in Birmingham

Looks great, thank you!

Hello again all.

Interesting chat on previous page about competitions. DS did a piano class in a big Northern festival this half term. There were six competitors. One was utterly astonishing - played virtuosic Liszt with no music, etc. So we knew he'd be the winner.

But DS played his (grade 8) pieces with great flair and musicality, and I thought he'd come second. Yet he was knocked into third place by a boy who played like a robot - no dynamics or rubato even in Chopin piece. Yet the judge said she was looking for 'expression'!

Naturally I was more bothered than DS, who took it in his stride.

Winning boy looked utterly unmoved at his feat, and just slunk off the stage with his two trophies. I googled him later, and he is a total prodigy. Won the under-15 class there at age 7, for example. I get the feeling he just goes round the festivals hoovering up first prizes in joyless fashion.

I am going to look up NYO Inspire too - DS could do with something to do in the holidays!

V impressed he competed at all @herbaceous . Third place sounds pretty good to me.
inspire is great (though you have to be BAME or state schooled so there are some stipulations)… dd has another day with them in April in Sheffield- must admit I’d wondered if it was worth going all that way but I think she will do it now. And all free- incredible really.

Ah. We are neither state nor BAME. Music scholarship kid here!

I think it’s the only one that stipulates that @herbaceous - though dd has an overture day with the LPO next month that is for those from “underrepresented groups”- no idea how she’s underrepresented though- we aren’t particularly low income or anything- but she is state schooled- and perhaps it’s just that and being a bassoonist. Or maybe they didn’t get enough applicants.

I think that the LPO 'prioritise underrepresented groups' so if they don't get enough applicants in those categories will widen out. Frankly for bassoon - coming from a state school probably IS an underrepresented group! NYO Inspire is really intended to fill a gap for kids that don't get the opportunity to play in school ensembles etc so their approach feels reasonable - the music opportunities at independent or specialist schools compared to most state ones are worlds apart.

Ds spent 2 (dreadful) years at a private school. They had a full orchestra and various ensembles.

The state school he moved to had absolutely nothing. No orchestra, no choir just a group of half a dozen students got together to rehearse and sing some musical theatre stuff with a 6th former leading it. The contrast was stark.

So it is good that things like this exist.

It's brilliant that NYO Inspire exists, and don't for a second begrudge anyone getting into it rather than DS! He has lots of ensemble opportunities, both in school and as part of our city council's music provision, which is excellent and open to all.

Good news. DD2 returned home without the cello, but informed me it was at school... hoping we might actually get a sighting of it this week (I think she got out of a ticking off from cello teacher by claiming she'd been at Inspire all week - it was a whole three days...) She's a bit all over the place at the moment - and her sister has mocks and I've been away so have scarcely been any help.

@Comefromaway that is extremely poor music provision for state. There's much, much more at DD's school - which is supposedly the 'non-musical one' locally. After a rocky time in her year where they couldn't run a music GCSE they're expecting two music GCSE classes for the current year 8s. One teacher can make a huge difference.

Today DD is going in for her individual aural session that they're putting on for her Grade 8 - which she isn't even taking in school, and not until next term. That is a level of commitment that I am seriously impressed by.

Hello, I'm the non-musical mum to all the DC starting out with their instruments, well obsessed with them.

Good news this week, DD skipped out of school super happy because her teacher had listened to her grade 1 pieces and told her to tell us to buy the grade 2 book. She's thrilled and I'm so happy for her that she's seeing the results of her work practising at home.

I'm not sure whether the plan is still to sit grade 1 at the end of the year and just start working on the grade 2 pieces or to try to get her ready for grade 2 instead. I'm going to email the teacher today to see what she thinks.

I'm interested in all your messages about holiday clubs. I'm wondering if it might suit DD to do some sort of crash course in singing or another instrument to keep her busy in the summer, does such a thing exist?! Her choir teacher says she has a lovely voice (and I'm sure flute helps her with it) so maybe she'd like to explore that..

Thank you for having me lurk 👀

I'm also wondering how to keep the piano obsessive busy in the holidays. It's a bit of a problem for her only have term time lessons, possibly because she's (I think slightly) ND and gets desperate for the next lesson. Over Easter it'll be 4 weeks no lessons :(

Can I ask it's it's possible for something over the holidays? How do you keep your small people going when there are no lessons on?

I've never worried much about gaps in lessons - just ask the teacher what they should be working on. If she's getting a piano grade 2 book she can probably work on one of the pieces on her own - hands separately and then together (buy the ABRSM practice partner if you want something to show how they can be played - it's possible to play each hand separately there).

For both of mine, once they got to around grade 2 standard I found that they were able to start playing some of the 'easy piano' versions of popular music too. I think that we started with the Greatest Showman book as that was the craze at the time, but there are lots of Disney options or John Williams or people like Adele / Taylor Swift etc depending on what she's into. Often found that things like that were a nice change from what they covered in lessons and its all good to help develop sight reading. DD has always been really good at sight reading and i think its just because she plays so extensively so its something she does regularly.

Re crash courses in instruments on the holidays its not something I've heard of - my experience of the beginner holiday course was that it wasn't good at all - was essentially childcare with a bit of music so not what I was looking for and we cancelled after the first day. I think that its easier to find opportunities once they get to a basic level of proficiency rather than looking for something from total beginner.

Thank you that's interesting @northerngoldilocks .

Dd7 The pianist is on the prep test book.

Dd10 The grade 2 is flute with the lovely singing voice.

The pianist I've bought some Disney music for, maybe I need to say let's pick a song a week to work on in the holidays. We likes formality and structure and a project. Over the Christmas holidays she taught herself every song in the first stage book she was working on 😳
Now the songs she's working on are more complicated I can't help her as easily hence needing the teacher. She was getting frustrated this half term.

Maybe I'll shelve them holiday club idea then..

Ah got confused. Maybe look into a choir for your flautist? Are there any in school or on a weekend?

On the piano things - just finding things at the right level is key - it can be frustrating if its too difficult - if they're working on things on their own it can be helpful to go for slightly below current level so that they don't get annoyed and can make quick progress. If they're on initial grade maybe stick to the 'really easy' piano versions or 'five finger piano' versions - which are closer to initial grade than the 'easy' versions.

@mumoffourminimes

We don't worry about holiday gaps either -though one teacher likes to teach through the holidays, and there's usually a holiday orchestra or two to attend. To be honest we're usually glad of a rest!

Lots of lovely summer holiday choir courses - at ten she could audition for Girls Choir at www.nycgb.org.uk - which my DD loves - but auditions are in autumn I think and then spring and summer courses. She hadn't had singing lessons when she auditioned, so it's doable (also a flautist - maybe it does help with the voice). But if you google there are others around.

Wells Cathedral School does summer courses, residential, and depending on where you are in the country, local music hubs probably do too (Kent definitely?)- not sure they'll teach a new instrument unless it's related, but she could certainly do a flute one and they might let her try out some other instruments too? Check your local council hub or any specialist schools/Conservatoires near to you (we're in London but I'm not sure where you are to help).

Ah thank you, I should have said which instruments. All my DC join in a choir on a Saturday morning, they really enjoy it, it's term time only though.

I'll look out for more easy piano music on Amazon. I think I just need a plan for Easter!

Thank you I'll definitely check out this choir, maybe it'll be something for year 6.

She's off on a residential with the county
Music trust but it's in school time. I'm going to
Ask them if they'll be doing anything in the holidays. Thank you.

Also how do I pronounce flautist?

Just to say it's not at all unreasonable to ask teacher if there's any possibility of a holiday lesson. Some will, some won't. Both DS's teachers as it happens routinely offer holiday lessons if pupils want it, DD's don't.

Mostly now mine just have a big piece or two that they can work through and DD who's the keen one picks up some random sight reading type things on the side. But as you say that is difficult in early stages when they don't yet know enough to trouble shoot new stuff.