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!).

@StuntNun amazing result, you should be very proud.

Congrats stuntnun

Yay @StuntNun fantastic result!

Amazing @StuntNun a great result to be super proud of!

A local non boarding Cathedral choir. Been offered a place! So exciting!

Fantastic

Lots of congrats here - @Bearyinlove @StuntNun @AlexanderHamilton

Amazing stuff.

It's exeat here. DD2 insisted on bringing her bassoon home for practising. So obviously she's playing Taylor Swift songs on the piano, which she doesn't play, instead.

@Pes0penguin on the residential courses have you looked at NYO inspire - it's only grade 6 plus so sounds very much like you're nearly there and she doesn't actually have to have taken the grade. It's residential and free- I think she's got a little while to go before she's old enough but should definitely be in with a shot.

Congratulations @StuntNun @Bearyinlove @AlexanderHamilton - so much amazing good news for your DC!

@StuntNun and @Bearyinlove - big congrats on those results. Well done!

Congratulations to @Bearyinlove glad the wait is over and you can start making plans.

Our first encounter with helping with writing programme notes this weekend (exeat). DD2 taking absolutely no advice from her mother despite the fact that even though I am not musical I do a) write for a living b) know who Edward Elgar is. Teens.

Fear we are heading for another 'crunch point' end of term - symphony concert, some other thing she's in in the cathedral, end of year exams, solo lunchtime concert, and her specialist assessment which she's already getting worked up about and for which she has to play from memory.

@minisnowballs brilliant! I think they all forget we are functioning adults with jobs who can produce things. End of term is busy here too- symphony orchestra weekend and concert, wind orchestra concert, choir concert, chamber orchestra concert, performance class, repertoire assessment. Thankfully no grade exams though. No assessment has to be done from memory although she might do one piece. She did one at a competition recently but said the adjudicator had her head in her notebook so thought she didn't notice. When she got the comments back it had been noted she was the only one to, so she was pleased. Hope the assessment goes ok when it comes. Our seniors have to do their end of year one to head of JD which is a bit daunting, it's her first time as a senior.

She's also practicing a study her teacher says noone can do perfectly (fewer than 3 mistakes)- there is a standing cash prize on offer and he's only had to pay out three times ever! Needless to say she's very determined.

@horseymum that sounds terrifying - I think DD2 plays to head of dept and head of performance - she seems to find this scary enough. Today she's taking round a prospective student for the 'be a specialist musician day' at her school. This is what she did a year and a half ago before deciding to audition and move schools. At the time she was totally intimidated, so it feels strange that she'll be showing someone else around. Shows a certain amount of courage on the school's part too as DD has a tendency to be, er, 'searingly honest'. She has one grade exam this term, but it is G6 singing so not really relevant to anything. First trinity exam though, which will be strange.

Ds has his 1st year recital today! He has had to pick a theme, his theme is the music of Jason Robert Brown!!!!

That's actually reminded me, we do have a bassoon exam, grade 7 but trinity as DD refused to do theory. Fair enough but oh my goodness, trinity is in the dark ages- I had to print out a paper form to send off with a cheque!! Although I did eventually manage to get bank details from the rep to do a transfer. Then she wanted a print out of my bank to show I'd paid. Well, turns out you can't do screenshots of your online app so had to photograph it with another device and send! And her teacher hardly does trinity so had read the syllabus wrong and she'd learnt an extra piece, clearly no learning is wasted though. Our first foray into trinity so we'll see how that goes.
We have just bitten the bullet and started with a new piano teacher too so seeing how that goes, very different but I think she will like it.

@Comefromaway hope it goes well, I don't know anything about undergrad recitals, are you allowed to listen or are they more like a private exam?

They can be either. I think he can invite other students to this one. The final year one is usually public.

Good luck for all the recitals and exam prep.

No exams here after all - DSs flute teacher thinks that whilst he could pass in the summer it would be much better doing it in the Nov / Dec sitting. I think it feels like a long way off, but having discovered she's away for the next 2 weeks and then its holidays again, it feels like probably the right call. Hoping that she will introduce some new music though as the pieces will get very old by then. He did come home from his flute ensemble last Saturday with an alto flute so thats something different to work on for a while.

Am slightly worried that could end up with DD doing grade 8 piano and DS doing grade 7 flute at the same sitting. Not sure that sounds like fun for me!

Wow, an alto flute sounds fun. I always get jittery with loaned instruments, thankfully we are now responsible for the most valuable one and have it insured.

Best of luck to all those taking exams and doing recitals. Such wonderful achievements to be proud of!

DD finding school life (revision season!) very humdrum after a lovely chamber course at the weekend.

How do people decide whether to do Trinity or ABRSM? Is it repertoire and whether or not Grade 5 Theory has been taken or are there other considerations? Has anyone heard of orchestras/ music schools preferring one over the other? DD has never taken an exam but is approx Grade 8 standard according to her teacher and working towards her Grade 5 Theory so thinking about giving it a go before school work gets crazier!

@CelloMumFlums DD has always done ABRSM because that was what her teachers wanted - and she has g5 theory so not an issue. However, new voice teacher says she actively prefers trinity - but it seems harder as the folk song is a set song so you can't choose the same one at every grade and you MUST sing in a foreign language, which ABRSM no longer insists on. So trinity it is.Will see how it goes! The music school does both and lots seem to do the Trinity diplomas.

As the dreaded Grade 5 theory has been mentioned I just wanted to leave details of an amazing summer course here. It is in Gloucester so a bit of a pain unless other members of the family can combine it with a holiday in the vicinity. It is quite intensive but they combine the sitting down writing with practical work eg reinforcing the difference between compound and simple time with (complex) clapping exercises. https://glosacadmusic.org/sessions-and-ensembles/holiday-courses/theory-courses/

@horseymum I've checked and its on the group insurance policy for the Saturday music centre. He's also not taking it anywhere other than Sat school so that helps. I would have added to our insurance if not though given we cycle there . Have also suggested that if there are mentions of borrowing anything bigger than this he might want to decline. Panniers have a limited capacity. Feels like woodwind instruments are multiplying in our house - we went from a single yamaha flute, to upgrading it, buying a piccolo and now an alto flute arriving within the space of a couple of months.

Hello and congrats to @StuntNun and @Bearyinlove - you must be so proud!

DS is doing a trial class at colourstrings this weekend - thank you to whoever recommended it (I think @londonmummy1966 ?). He is obviously joining halfway through the term and almost at the end of the year - he can be quite shy so I hope he is ok and enjoys it. It’s a bit of a trek for us so may be a blessing in disguise if it doesn’t work out!