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!).

Thanks @londonmummy1966 - the stringzone is where I bought the last one and it's been fine for her- I wouldn't be upgrading it except for the fact she is still using a 3/4 bow on a full size violin. Unfortunately they only sell the standard ones and not the 'deluxe upgrade' but stringzone say it will take you through to gr 8- whereas caswell stock both and term the standard bow as being for 'enthusiastic beginners'

Might toss a coin

Bows...

DD had cheap as chips wooden ones up to around g5, then slightly off the price floor CF as seemed nicer than wooden ones in that price range.

She currently has a Col Legno(!) CF viola bow which seems to do the job. I'm thinking up to grade 8 or thereabouts and then she'll probably want an upgrade, but then she'll also be in a better position to know what she likes and this one will do as an emergency spare.

I honestly don't know what everyone else is doing, I have a suspicion some people would find this shockingly cheap of us, others will still be using whatever came in the case with the instrument.

I have a CF myself (amateur g8+), Coda Diamond GX. I preferred it to the wooden ones I tried at the time but not by so much I wouldn't try both types again if I ever decide to change.

Not being a super fancy player I find I can mostly tell the difference in how flexible/bouncy a bow is. If it's not flexible enough it's harder to play off the string, particularly fast. If it's too flexible it's hard to play loud or chords without getting crunches where the stick hits the string.

Thanks @thirdfiddle - the col legno is the one she had, just discovering there is a deluxe model is what has thrown me. Given it's full size and she's only 11 I'm wondering whether to pay a bit more. All probably too 'cheap' for the violin she plays to be honest applying the rule of thumb on bow prices but spending more right now doesn't feel like the right move

Ah yes, proportional to the instrument is the other question. For us, DD's viola is the limiting factor at the moment more than her bow. But she's still growing and will probably want a bigger one eventually, there's no fixed size for violas. And she might still decide she prefers violin.

I didn't know there was another model of col legno either - if that's an option, might coda prodigy be in budget? I've heard them well spoken of. And stringzone do do them so you could try first.

Another thing is once you're not looking at cheaper to replace than rehair range, there is a reasonable resale value. Or as I say whatever you get as a tide over to g8+ can be still useful as a spare.

What does teacher think you should do? They'll have a better idea what she needs at the stage she's at.

(And if you are trying some, get wooden ones in the same range too to compare. I think in that range she'll prefer CF but you never know.)

Thanks @thirdfiddle - the coda prodigy is pretty much the same price as the col legno deluxe so will have to try different ones for her I think. I'd read that if you're spending less than £1,000 then you're likely to get a comparatively better bow with CF vs wood at the price point, but guess its all personal preference. Also - to be clear I'm not looking to spend 1k at this point (because she's not Chloe Chua) but happy to spend more than £100 on the basis that its full sized so won't be grown out of!

DD plays 1/4 Gliga grade 8+ and I don't even know what her wooden bow is 😂- didn't stop her from getting scholarships and her teacher never mentioned she needed a better bow, just better bow technique 😁

Thanks everyone. Her teacher thought it would be good to test them out and has offered to help her choose in her lesson which works well so have got in touch with Caswell Strings to send 4 out. @thirdfiddle I've asked about the Coda Prodigy and the 2 different Col Legno's plus a wooden one in the same price bracket. Will report back in case interesting for anyone else looking at a new bow - though in reality its probably mostly personal preference.

@ubertomusic - I'm not really trying to 'upgrade' just get her a longer bow as there is only so long she can keep using a 3/4 one with a full sized violin. But seems if i'm going to spend money now I need to decide if spending a bit more is a better investment. Hard to know but also not under any illusions it will make her a better violinist!

I think it's great she tries them out- I know DD1 preferred carbon fibre when she did, but was adamant she wouldn't before hand.

We're just on the way back from a trip down to DD2's concert, which was just lovely last night - one with lots of different ensembles and where she got to play flute as well as bassoon. Total terror though as the orchestra did Hall of the Mountain King which is held together by the bassoons to start with - she'd been doubling on bassoon 1, but then one of the bassoons dropped out with a week's notice so she had to learn the other part. I realised she had become a proper bassoonist when she was complaining to us earlier that she didn't have the right reed prepared for that (all they ever do is complain about small bits of cane)

Trying to keep her sane as we speed towards the end of term while she does symphony orchestra, an opera, a special performance because her bassoon teacher is leaving, a singing exam, her woodwind assessment and a couple of evensongs. She's grudgingly agreed to give up a flute ensemble for the next three weeks. Fingers crossed she's still standing at the end of it.

Wow that sounds hectic! Seems like she's thriving on it all though which must be lovely to see. Bet she'll crash come the summer holidays!

Hi! Hope I can join in here. 3*musical kids.
Dd14 wants to make music her career. Any advice on A levels? Obviously music, and she likes history.

The bow chat is quite scary - brass instruments are so simple (and cheap!!) compared to strings!

I managed to find DS an ensemble from September (local music hub bent their No under 7 rule!) and I think he might also be starting CYM on recorder if they’ve got space. He’s also doing the Benedetti Sessions in October - has anyone done that before? Looks like a really fun day.

@Advent0range is your DD thinking of conservatoire or university? Other than music I don’t think subject choice really matters at all.

Things to think about are probably workload (to allow enough time for practice) and/ or if she is thinking of uni then the specific courses might guide some choices (eg some offer interesting joint programmes with eg languages, some have modules on eg music tech where computer science might be useful, some unis prefer “hard/traditional” subjects etc etc).

@Compsearch thank you. I know nothing about conservatoires, so was only thinking about universities - will have to do some research. I'd really like something that gives her backup alternative options - but that's just me being cautious!

@Advent0range conservatoire v university route are quite different - worth reading up about it and perhaps talking to her current teacher.

I went to both and have loads of uni friends who are professional classical musicians and also lots of conservatoire friends who are now doing other things so in the long run I don’t think makes huge amount of difference but some paths will be easier for one over the other. Also depends on instrument a bit due to practice time requirements - what does she play?

Trumpet. She's quite academic, and sings too. Thank you, I appreciate the advice

Trumpet is a bit easier because you can’t/aren’t expected to do 4+ hours practice a day (as many string players and pianists do), so it is easier to balance with demands of a uni degree ime (I play the horn and did similar - im not a musician now as wanted to earn more money in the end!).

University then conservatoire postgrad is a common route and if she’s not 100% on what she wants then it would probably give more options later on. But if she knows she wants to perform and is set on that she may as well go to conservatoire from the start (in my opinion anyway!).

Also worth knowing that uni degrees are usually 3 years and conservatoire 4, so worth considering in terms of costs.

@Compsearch my kid is a horn player currently at conservatoire and hoping to make a living out of it. We'll see how it turns out.

@northerngoldilocks We got 4 bows on approval from Caswells a couple of months ago on DD’s cello teacher’s recommendation and they were great. DD enjoyed trying them out with her teacher. They were all in the same price bracket but we didn’t disclose the prices so as not to be influenced either way!

@Compsearch DD has done the Benedetti Sessions and really enjoyed them. They were a good focus for practice too as she didn’t want to show up unprepared!

Hello I’m new to this thread. My 14 year old DS is sitting his gr8 clarinet a week today. He seems rather relaxed about it. I, on the other hand am finding it quite stressful - the closer he gets to the exam, the more mistakes he seems to make and it tends to be things that haven’t previously been an issue 😩 I used to do a lot of music at school and although I no longer play, I still have a musical ear. However, my suggestions for improvement are generally not welcomed 😆 I’m trying to maintain perspective as it’s only 12 months since he passed his grade 6 with distinction and he’s made such amazing progress. Any tips for navigating there final few days would be much appreciated!

Ha @amr78. That is great progress! I also have a 14 year old woodwind player. She certainly doesn't take any advice from me on music (or anything, sadly) - I've learned to just leave her to it in the main.

The two pieces of advice she did accept from me were a) record yourself and listen back in the last few days so you can see where mistakes are and b) structure your practice with a timer so you're covering everything.

Good luck to him though - they always seem to fall apart a bit just before the exam I think - but I think the examiner knows on the day if they prepared themselves properly.

Welcome @amr78 - I always find that falling apart just before the exam is almost a 'rite of passage' and it usually all comes back together if they were previously well prepared! Mine are younger so for us it works out best not to panic, practice but not overdo the bits with mistakes. If it's the same parts though then that's different and he will need to secure it before the exam, but hopefully it's just the usual nerves thing

@northerngoldilocks @minisnowballs thank you for your advice 🙏🏻 I definitely do need to learn to leave him to it - still work in progress on my part! It’s been a challenging few weeks as his teacher had to have major surgery at short notice so he’s been having lessons on zoom with his previous teacher who moved overseas. I think it’s predominantly pre-exam gremlins and lapses in concentration because he’s had two of the pieces at performance standard since April when he played them in a competition so he’s really quite fed up with them now. Thankfully he resolved his reed debacle this afternoon which hampered his final run through with his accompanist earlier today. He does seem to able to rise to the occasion under pressure so fingers crossed for the big day. Looking forward to a few months without music exams!

@amr78 that does sound like a stressful run up. Fingers crossed. Don't think I'd ever realised what a flashpoint music practice could be for us (I'm not musical and little help) until it all abruptly stopped when DD2 went to specialist boarding school. Apparently she actually listens to the graduate music assistants as well as her teachers - and even to the older girls who also play her instruments - so I don't have to worry unless she's home for the hols.

@minisnowballs how is your daughter finding specialist music school? We briefly entertained the idea but DS really happy at his current school. We’re also very fortunate that we have excellent music provision locally. However, it’s proving increasingly challenging to fit all of his musical commitments in. He’s a music scholar so a lot is expected of him but he also has county orchestra and an evening school for ensemble playing. His clarinet and sax tuition also happens outside of school. Think something will have to give in September when he starts year 10.

@amr78 - well, it's been a rollercoaster of a year (she started at the beginning of Y10 in September) but she absolutely adores it. Coming from a state comp with little music (though an excellent saturday school) it is a culture shock, but she's adjusted, gets amazing opportunities - not just on her main instrument, and it is hard to imagine her anywhere else now. Sad for us as she's in the South West and we're in London, and it is flipping miles away, but worth it to see her so happy.