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 everyone, hope you've all had a good summer! Thanks again to all who signed the petition re the closure of the JC at the RWCMD in Cardiff. The debate is yet to happen, as they couldn't do it before the summer recess, but it's too late now, as the management went ahead with the closure. The teachers have in the meantime managed to set something similar up, so that's promising!

Anyway, I wondered if there are any clarinetists, or parents of, that I could ask about clarinets. My DS has just passed his grade 8 clarinet exam with distinction and plays a Hanson SE intermediate level clarinet. Now that he's going to move onto diploma level playing, we're thinking of upgrading his clarinet. I'd appreciate any advice you have re models, the pros and cons of new v. secondhand (other than cost of course!) and where to get them from. We're thinking about buying both a Bb and an A clarinet, which he's never had before. Thank you!

Funnily enough in addition to being a horn parent I am also a clarinet parent and we have just had to upgrade my daughter’s clarinet for g8 and beyond. Her teacher recommended a Buffet R13 but we went to Howarth in London and she preferred the Buffet Festival. Not that I know anything about these things myself but apparently they have the same core 🤷‍♀️

I was very lucky and managed to find a festival £1000 cheaper than Howarth in the Thomann 70th anniversary sale (it was still miserably expensive). They are about to release a new edition of the Festival so there are some deals and discounts out there for the “old” model. It can be difficult to tell the difference online and you have to look at the model number. I was really worried about buying one she hasn’t tried online but the discount was too good to turn down and she is really delighted with it.

my daughter’s teacher said that second hand is fine if you get them from a reputable dealer. We ended up going new only because she was set on what model she wanted and we couldn’t find anything second hand. Howarth sold a really nice looking second hand one the day before we went to London to try them out 😏 so they are out there. You just want to be sure it has been well maintained and serviced, but Howarths told me that well maintained clarinets have a life span of decades.

if you get new they have to be played in quite carefully while the wood adapts to the moisture.

Hope that helps - I found it all stressful because there is so much money involved and my daughter is quite young so it felt a big decision for her because this will have to last her, well, forever!! but she is really pleased with what she has and it makes a noticeable difference. She had a second hand Yamaha 650 before.

Never has choosing a clarinet sounded more like buying a wand at Ollivanders...

Ha! In music, the wand always chooses the wizard.

Hi, @GreenTeaWhite - I 'm not a clarinet parent- but I will reiterate as I always do that if you're buying new and your child does any of their music at the school they attend and it is a state school, you should be eligible for the Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme (AIPS). This allows you to buy your instrument VAT free.

Even if your school isn't very clued up on this (and ours really wasn't) the music stores can usually help them. It can save a significant amount so is worth bearing in mind...

https://www.musicmark.org.uk/resources/assisted-instrument-purchase-scheme-aips/

We used the AIPS for my son's flute last year too - we just asked school and the head of music very helpfully organised it for us. I was very grateful as it was a significant saving on a 3k flute.

We considered ( briefly) buying new but even with the discount, buying a trusted second hand instrument was a better bet for us. Different for everyone though. I think you can get a case as well through the scheme.

New thread here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/extra_curricular_activities/5156430-autumn-winter-24-music-thread?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

Thank you all for your replies. Apologies for not replying to everyone individually - it’s been a bit of a day of it one way and another but have read everyone’s comments and there’s some suggestions I can explore with DS.