Spring /Summer 24 - Music thread

[northerngoldilocks]

The old thread was filling up, so here's a new one to talk about music activities. Come and talk about music lessons, choosing instruments, exams, auditions, specialist schools, orchestras or whatever other music activities are going on. Everyone is welcome, from those with total beginners to those whose children are studying music at advanced levels. Ask for advice or share successes or struggles. There's loads of experience across a wide variety of instruments too(though bassoon's are weirdly popular on here - you'd think that every second child plays one!).

On the subject of grade 5 theory I was idly perusing the syllabus (DS may do it at some point) and was stunned to find it no longer requires learning figured bass but instead use the far more sensible a/b/c/d notation for inversions. When did that happen?? Next it will be slash chords and then you've truly let us jazz riff-raff in...

Hope it goes well. Mine wouldn't let me go to his 1st year one (last year) but he allowed my parents to attend! I'm allowed to go this year, it's on Monday so pretty soon.

@CelloMumFlums we've gone down the route of AB traditional grades for DD's primary instrument (flute) and performance only for her second (piano). She may well switch to trinity for piano after her current stuff.
personally I find LCMs repertoire far more inspiring and interesting and when I do my g8/diploma I will be doing theirs.

on another note I'm massively excited that in March I'm going to be going to Finchcocks for a weekend with NIKKI ILES ! I'm sure most of the piano parents will have heard of her, she does lots of stuff for AB but I love her Christmas arrangements, all jazz. I've been to Finchcocks before which is fab and I can't wait.

That sounds fun @StiffyByngsDogBartholomew - very familiar with Nikki Iles here!

@CelloMumFlums - dd also gone down the Abrsm route although mainly performance even for her first study. The performance exam is really rigorous especially in the higher grades as sustaining a performance that long takes real stamina. Dd enjoys it though.

Her singing will be a practical exam (g4) and she's singing in both Italian and Norwegian!

This morning she sang in the chamber choir for her older brother's leaving service which was nice.

@CelloMumFlums we have always done ABRSM as that’s what all of DD’s teachers prefer. We used the second Covid lockdown for doing Grade 5 theory.

DD actually likes singing in foreign languages and went for German and Latin for her last exam. We have grade 6 cello and clarinet this term which should not be stressful at all….

Have been waiting on tenterhooks for grade 5 theory. Came through 5 minutes ago with a pass hooray!!

Fabulous news @Soundofshuna!

It really is! She has been ready for grade 6 for about a year and refused to go to school theory lessons so did her own crash course this holiday culminating in the exam at 9.30 at night the night before she flew to Germany for an exchange. Nothing like cutting things fine..

@StiffyByngsDogBartholomew a weekend of piano with Nikki Iles is very exciting. Her Jazz Christmas arrangements are DD's favourites and for the past 3 years she has started playing them in November (and only then because I banned them before Halloween). Its like living in a Christmas shop / jazz bar !

That's great, @Soundofshuna! I can't help wondering whether anyone does grade 6 theory?!

Much fewer - it's still paper based on ABRSM for the moment I think on 6-8.

@Soundofshuna huge congrats- what a relief!

ironically dd2 has no problem singing in foreign languages - she’s gone for Spanish for this one though which is weird as we lived in Mexico for a bit and she has a south mexican accent (I think a bit like sounding as if you’re from Devon or Cornwall in the uk)- but her teacher is insisting she sings with a Spanish accent.

Fair enough - just weird to hear the ‘lisp’. She obviously sings a lot in Latin at school now but is finding church latin pronunciation weird after several years of the Cambridge Latin course at her old school - taught by the German teacher.

@CelloMumFlums DD has done a mixture of performance and practical ABRSM grades due to covid. When it came to diploma, AB were up in the air as they were changing their course, so we went with Trinity. The repertoire is wide and now we have seen what AB have replaced their diploma with we have no regrets. For singing she is going with MTB, entirely based on the option of songs she likes.

@Soundofshuna sometimes they really do need a hard deadline!

Hello all!

DS's grade six singing exam involved a song in Italian. He couldn't remember one of the verses, so just repeated the previous one! Examiner obviously didn't notice, as he still got 147. So maybe they don't need to worry about pronunciation too much if the examiner doesn't even notice if the lyrics are wrong!

Thanks @herbaceous - perhaps that fact that DD2 sings spanish a little in the way that the Wurzels sing I've got a brand new combine harvester won't matter too much then. It's very odd, because she has a very south east london accent when she speaks English...

DS's alto flute experience was short lived in that there was much confusion as to where it was this week - despite him being given it in his flute ensemble and him having signed it out in the office. One of the older kids needs it for a quintet so it has been returned. Honestly though -not too sad about it as its one less thing to carry to music school by bike! He played in a lunchtime concert this week too so got to finally meet his teacher in person and now seems that grade 7 flute is back on for July so daily enforced scales and trying to do some aural test work using the app is back on! I'm actually pleased though as think he would be totally over his current pieces by December.

We're also waiting for test dates. Dd takes her g4 singing this term.

We're currently in a bit of a music lull which is actually quite nice after a frantic few weeks. She has a concert in half term and another one in July before she gets off to Italy o music tour with school. Otherwise pretty quiet.

She continues with her choral singing and has a trip to sing evensong at an Abbey at some point before the end of term. They used to go to St Paul's to sing evensong there but that seems to have stopped since Covid. We're getting a new choral director next school year so it'll be interesting to see what changes he brings.

We had DD2 back for the weekend - possibly the only child to get permission to 'come home for Eurovision' (they must find us worryingly lowbrow, but I think houseparent didn't want to get stuck staying up watching the voting!). The bassoon came too- she's got a lunchtime concert tomorrow so I've had many, many performances of Elgar's Romance.

Waiting on a date for G6 singing but apparently she's been entered and her teacher is happy that her 'nasality is much reduced' - this probably means she sounds a bit less Sarf East London. At least when she sings.

We heard back from Chetham's and daughter has been admitted! Unfortunately it is for 2025-26 year, as they are full for boarding this coming year. Trying to see the benefits of this and planning a musical tour around Europe with her dad, along with an invite to stay with SIL in Thailand. I think a year of home ed/music focus and travel could be pretty exciting.

@mustardrarebit oh wow! congrats to her ! How is she feeling about it? Was it just Chetham's you wanted or were you looking at others too? Your plan sounds exciting.

@mustardrarebit many congratulations to your DD! How exciting with your plan!! Hope she enjoyed the gap year and the new school

@mustardrarebit - that's very exciting! Which year will your dc be going into?

Congratulations to her. There may still be some late availability on boarding as plans occasionally change. It’s definitely worth waiting for, it’s a great place to study.

Congrats to your daughter