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!).

Hello @PinkGrapefruitSorbet from the new thread!
Yes we'r having a restful Easter after the March madness of violin and piano music festival and violin exam. We'r off for a week after week later without the violin for the first time!

Hi, first time poster here and after some advice. My son is 14 and - after a year’s violin lessons when he was younger - recently re-took up violin with a school piano teacher who also plays violin (who is lovely, but has also recommended we look for a violin specialist teacher). He’s been playing about 2 years and absolutely loves it and has gone from pre-grade 1 up to about grade 5/6 standard, largely through self-motivation. He’s not yet sat any exams, this is just him playing the pieces.
He plays in the school orchestra which he also really enjoys despite them being a little bit shit 😂
Anyway, he was keen to get some more formal training and play with some better ensembles so has auditioned for CYM and Junior Trinity. We live in SE London so Trinity would be very handy.
Auditions seemed to go very well, despite us not realising he’d be playing with an accompanist at trinity! He took it all in his stride though and was really buzzing after the audition, and he seems quite keen on going to Trinity (obv if he gets an offer). He knows he’ll likely be one of the worst there, at least in his age group but I think he sees this as a challenge.
Anyone experienced something similar and is he likely to fit in ok? I don’t want him to loose his love of music if it’s all a bit too stressful and he just feels like he’s not doing well because I know there will be lots of kids who are way better.
Any advice/thoughts welcome - thanks.

He sounds really motivated and like he loves his music. Our JD offers on potential not just current ability, not sure about others, so he might have a good chance. What I would say is, if he gets in, be prepared for them to take him right back to basics with technique. Especially if he's not had an experienced teacher. My daughter was taught by someone who didn't specialise in her instrument and her initial lessons at JD were breathing and long notes only!
School orchestra as a 'better player ' for our kids is more about being with friends, supporting less experienced players, keeping in tune when others around them may struggle, playing as beautifully as possible. Both mine could walk in and sight read the material but it's good to have a helpful attitude to those around them.

@Tictacef He has made amazing progress! I don't really know Junior Trinity but sounds like he'd fit in just fine at CYM - I've had two go through there and my 16 year old DD has been more than OK despite being definitely at the lower end of things. I think Trinity is relatively similar and with a work ethic like that he'll fly anyway!

Hello, unfortunately had to cancel 8yr olds g3 practical violin exam a few weeks ago due to horrible virus. Don't want to linger on pieces anymore so thinking about filming a performance exam in the next few weeks. However i have heard some horror stories about much harsh marking in abrsm performance exams, is this true!? After all the work, a certificate is much coveted!

@Bearyinlove - don't have experience of performance exams as always do practical, but does he have a 4th piece ready that meets the requirements if he was preparing for a practical exam?

Yes has a 4th piece and tbh could get any g3 piece up to scratch in a couple of days at this point.

We have done one performance exam only for g6 piano and although DD did get a merit, the marking was quite thorough - it was by far and away the most detailed marking report we’ve ever received with about 6/7 lines on each piece. I don’t know if they are all like this or it was just because it was a g6. We also botched the ID on the much better recording and didn’t realise that we could have still sent that recording and just edited the ID to make it clearer. I think if we did it again we would be much better prepared. Definitely worth giving it a try, I think.

My dd has done a few performance exams. Also got detailed feedback. One horror (g4 cello) where the whole cohort was 10+ marks lower than expected - school appealed but got nowhere with it.

Piano ones all good and g5 and 6 both distinctions with plenty of really good feedback from the examiner both times. It's not easy - particularly as you get higher up the grade levels. Sustaining the performance over four pieces in one take is a big ask but dd enjoys them more than the practical exams.

Having said that her next exam (g4 voice) will be a practical one.

Thanks all. It's difficult to manage expectations as she has always gotten distinctions in previous practical exams and i worry that the performance exam will yield vastly different results. We would be very happy with a pass but not sure she will! 😬

I can't remember what DD got for the recorded exam in lockdown, I just remember the process of recording four pieces being incredibly stressful. She's a bit of a perfectionist which made it harder. Try having the worst piece first so you don't ruin lots of good recordings by messing up the last one. Exams are still always going to be subjective. I think it's the process of preparing that's useful. We always give the kids a treat like a cake at a coffee shop after the exam itself, not the results.

Dd records hers at school (thank God as she is also a bit of perfectionist!) and they do two or three runs through and then pick the best one to send.

If you're recording at home it might be wise to agree something like that up front!

DS's grade 4 exam came back as a pass with 117 points. Obviously a bit disappointing but it's a good pass. The comments were very helpful. It was all about tuning. We kind of knew that was the problem as that's what his new teacher is working with him very hard at the moment anyway. But it was kind of good because a that confirms what we should focus on for next time. I'm not sure when he'll want to do a violin exam next but they're happily working on the tuning and other techniques anyway so the results don't seem to matter apart from the helpful comments. It's also good for DS to learn how to manage expectations as he's only had distinctions so far on piano but lower grades.

That's still very impressive @chickentikkasalad - and as you say, a good pass! @horseymum is right - good to celebrate the fact he's done it and prepared. We have my foster daughter's grade 3 piano back - a merit (just, 121) and are delighted. Far more worried about my DD1's grade 6 viola - likelihood of her not passing quite high I think...took it last week and I'm trying ever so hard not to think about it!

DD2 is home, which is lovely. She has grudgingly done some practice this morning. Very grumpy at my suggestions that she does a bit more!

@chickentikkasalad great result for ds grade 4. Violin is so tricky with tuning and they also have to cope with moving size of instruments more than many other players. Sounds like a good solid foundation and that he's learning to take comments on board and work from there. I'm not sure many of the teens in our secondary school orchestra playing violin would be at that level, ( maybe one or two grade 6/7) remember you mostly get really engaged parents with really engaged kids on this thread. You should both be proud of the work that has gone into this.

Thank you both @minisnowballs and @horseymum. Luckily he's got a 2nd teacher who is a great player played at national level orchestra etc. she's really hot on tuning and they're working on it. I think DS is a lot more willing to listen the pitch now instead of just playing with the right finger:).

@chickentikkasalad - your ds has done really well. My dd plays cello, is g6/7 level (no exams done for a while) and is only now really beginning to crack the tuning. It's so hard. Every lesson she has her lesson notes remind her to check her intonation!

Yes DS's first teacher used to let him off because he is only 7. She doesn't want to make it so hard that he loses interest. Now he's with a new teacher (will continue with the old teacher as well), he has to work on intonation and techniques a lot harder but he likes the challenge and is responding quite well! Only frustrating bit for me is he can hear the out of tune note every time the teacher asks him, but without the teacher, he doesn't even try to listen. Maybe that's still because of his old habit of never really listened? The new teacher has taken his stickers off - it was a very scary moment for me as I still use them on my violin but DS loves the fact he's now officially ahead of me!

Yes @horseymum, as it's his first violin exam it really served the purpose of where we stand and made it clear what to work on next.
We are off on holiday next week without the violin - it's already feeling weird!

@chickentikkasalad , DD2 is currently sitting doing her practice with a tuner - she quite often uses one - might that be something he finds useful? It's just a little plastic gadget that goes red and green, and she uses it as a guide for ensuring she's supporting her notes correctly...

Perhaps it is better that they develop an ear though - i don;'t know ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chromatic-Digital-Stringed-Woodwind-Instruments/dp/B06WLN8W8W/ref=asc_df_B06WLN8W8W/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310886142184&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7544246123762156742&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045880&hvtargid=pla-413644307757&psc=1&mcid=d51bccac113634aea433bbb87b87ba4f&th=1&psc=1

We also have that tuner- it is useful especially for scales etc but also for @chickentikkasalad part of the initial learning with strings is getting them to hear the sound they make and notice when it's flat, as that's usually the battle. Whilst tuning on strings is a lifelong issue it's probably good to start to focus on listening for it. Taking off stickers probably helps too so it's aural cues rather than visual ones. DD is pretty good at listening and adjusting but occasionally ignores it totally- usually when working on something new and harder as there is clearly lots going on in her brain and less space for tuning!

ABRSM website apparently down for maintenance until the 3rd April now. Guess that's one way of stopping my obsessive checking just in case DS's piano exam results are up (despite knowing I need his music centre to release them first!).

Thank you both mini and northern for the insight of the tuner. And yes it's usually the 4th finger being flat! I don't think he's actually used the sticker so it didn't affect him that much. But it's a signal that he has to use his ears a lot more. A tuner will be good to give you feedback on the tuning and it's objective!

@chickentikkasalad tuner is great for scales, long notes etc. He also could try singing the notes so he can hear the intervals. If you can't sing a scale, it's harder to know what you are aiming for. Listening to the pieces is helpful to know what they should sound like. All these things are harder when nervous or under pressure.I know my dds teacher has sometimes said hear the note before you play it so you hit it in the middle and don't wobble on to it! A lot of it is muscle memory with strings. ( I play double bass so the distance is much greater!)
I wonder if having two teachers is helpful though if they are saying different things, they aren't allowed this at JD. Although if all parties agree it might work for you.

@horseymum @chickentikkasalad yes DD2 basically seems to have two teachers for her first instrument. One taught the other when she was younger so they are definitely on the same page, and they definitely take a team approach with all notes shared, DD2 says. HOWEVER, they still occasionally disagree and then DD gets confused - she's had fingerings changed completely by one and then back by the other in the space of a week. So if they don't talk I reckon it would be quite tricky!

Thanks @horseymum for the tips about tuning. He often sings scales or the tunes without thinking about it and it's in tune. He just doesn't seem to be used to listening to himself when playing - maybe his brain is too busy on other things at the same time. I can see it'll take a lot of work and time!
Re two teachers, we are in a awkward transition period I think. The new teacher is great with techniques for medium/higher grades. The old teacher was simply the best with young beginner kids. DS had her since 4.5 years old. It's just emotional hard to say we'r done with her. She said she is very happy to support DS for as long as needed. They are both massively supportive to DS and happy to go with whatever feels right for DS and work together. Basically they were saying the same thing about tuning, the new teacher is just firmer. I can imagine after next term or so we can fully transfer to the new teacher though.