Spring /Summer 25 - Music thread

[northerngoldilocks]

Time for a new thread for spring!

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.

Poor grade 5 child has a youth orchestra concert next weekend so the weekend off and then back to it 😢.

were you accompanying @Happydaysandhappysmiles - you must have nerves of steel? My brother is a piano teacher, but can't bear to accompany his own kids.

Fingers crossed your DS gets what he hopes for and results are quick - and well done to him for getting through the exam!

@Happydaysandhappysmiles - have a look at the NCO admissions booklet online as it has an outline of grade standard. Think it would be projects only at that age so likely to be in the range

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest i don’t 😂, he is sensible! A merit, he will be disappointed but it seems very harsh marks across the board. Doesn’t help much at the moment. Ten is pretty young to put it mildly but he has worked harder for this than any other exam. Such a pain!

@northerngoldilocks thank you will do! Just sometimes these things say ‘grade 4’ when successfully applicants are grade 6 and above….

@Happydaysandhappysmiles a merit is great! What a shame if he is sad about it. DD2 only has two distinctions in her main instruments. Both are for grade 8. No-one will ever ask her about the others now.

I hate it when they beat themselves up over marks.

Big well done to him - 10 is so young too.

I think the main issue might be that an understandably proud child got distinction in grade 5 in year 4!! So that might have partly driven the desire…to be able to go to rehearsal and essentially declare ‘I have it too’. I think he was worried that it had been worse so is just thankful. As you say, I have absolutely no idea what I got for anything pre grade 8! Thank you for your kind words

Oh the comparison being the thief of joy feeling... I do feel for him though - DD had a harsh examiner for her Grade 5 cello and got a merit when she was hoping for a distinction. Her one consolation was that the amazing cellist a few years above her got a merit for her Grade 8 at the same time. A merit in Grade 5 in year 5 is a very significant achievement. He should feel proud of himself.

@Londonmummy66 indeed! Yes and a brilliant young man only got a merit for his grade 7 on Friday. Have just found out that the grade 4 child did a recorded exam with no scales or aural etc just four pieces, I feel like that was a very different hurdle! Not to detract from the other child’s ability but….!!!

I quite agree - the performance grades are the ones DD (who now teaches) uses as a cop out when someone hasn't put the work in for the practical as all they need to do is learn one more piece and it can be "retaken" multiple times before the recording is sent in!

Nothing to be disappointed in with a merit @Happydaysandhappysmiles, DD also got a merit in her G7 cello last week and was very pleased given the scales were “wobbly”. Well done to your DS.

I don’t have an issue with performance exams as long as they’re not the only exam being taken and as long as the other technical areas are still being covered. My DD did her G6 piano exam as performance and will take her G8 like this too as she simply doesn’t have the time to fit anything else in. She does have the discipline of taking all practicals in two orchestral instruments as well as voice though. Personally I think nobody cares other than for G8 and then you potentially move on to diplomas, so even G8 outcomes may no longer be relevant…

On a side note does anyone know anything about bass clarinets?

Oh big congratulations to her!! No I don’t have a problem with them as for some
children they make doing exams possible but I am just not sure that doing an exam in an unfamiliar place (on an unfamiliar instrument, piano) and being examined in every aspect should be the same level essentially as someone doing four pieces in familiar surroundings and maybe even many many times over to pick the best result.

Thank you, she was very relieved! I see where you are coming from but I would add that there is a not infrequent feeling that performance exam pieces are marked more harshly than the pieces on practical exams because there are no supporting tests to fallback on. I don’t know about others but my DD has done 15 music exams now, only one of which was a performance exam, and the comments on the performance exam were 3-4 times longer than the practical ones and much more detailed - like nothing I have ever seen before. This is only my experience though and I am sure other people may disagree.

I found performance exams much harder, we did it once and hated every minute. Same as video pre-auditions. They lack human connection, even if the "audience" is just an examiner, there are different tiny imperfections every time you record and it's very frustrating, unlike the real thing when you play and it's done, the camera is unforgiving and the digital sound is harsh, there's no stage nerves to help you focus etc. DD always performs worse in recorded pre-auditions.

Well done to all DCs on their grades!

DD did her piano grade in June, practical one as before and the same result, but the comments were very brief this time. Literally a couple of lines on each piece and technical part 🤔 The most boring report I've ever seen (not that we've done as many as your DC :) )

Both have their different challenges, surely? DD2 has only done one performance grade - she's self-teaching piano so it was easier to record, and she's got another one to do this summer. The recording was a painful experience - she far preferred the adrenalin rush/it's all over experience of doing the practical ones. I'm really not looking forward to her doing it again.

That said, she'll do anything to get out of aural, so it's a shame she's got another practical grade 8 next term.

Well done to all of them!

Oh the joys of aural! 😂

On a different topic - I'd be interested to hear thoughts on GCSE Drama for a child who is not so MT/theatre inclined. DD enjoys performing on stage but is mostly into music and dance and generally a quieter type of person. She has very strong skills and training in classical ballet and aptitude for dance in general, but singing and acting are not her forte. She has never done any drama lessons, but participated in school's productions and enjoyed that. Her current school is very strong on drama, they do amazing musicals and GCSE results are mostly around 7.

How time consuming is drama GCSE and what's the most difficult part in your experience?

The alternative is probably Latin/Classical Civilisations, not sure how useful it may be for a musician... She prefers drama but I don't want her to fail it due to being a quiet person and overwhelmed with performance commitments (she's studying three instruments and required to perform a lot).

Just heard high merits for 9 year old DS for both clarinet and piano G1 and we are thrilled! He only started both in September when he became a chorister, so I think that’s awesome from a standing start! Onwards to grade 2!

@Ubertomusic DD has just turned 14 this term and I personally think it’s too many exams to have done - my preference is where she has done all of the prep work and lots of repertoire at a grade and then moved on rather than taking the exam. At the end of the day it will all come down to auditions rather than exam grades anyway.

DD thought about picking GCSE drama but has opted for music instead as she has a strong background in it and enjoys the composing. Tough decision though as she also loves acting and takes LAMDA lessons ( more exams!). The drama course does look very intense with a significant written workload. She has also picked Gratin and Class. Civ. which she has been interested in for years, so already knows all of the mythology and culture. Tough choices though when you love lots of different things!

I think I would lean towards the Latin/ Class. Civ. rather than drama if she is not interested in singing and acting. She can still take part in school drama productions and I assume is taking dance grades?

Well done to your DS @Legoninjago1 those are fantastic results.

@Ubertomusic dd2 has loved gcse drama and hasn’t found it hard with the rest of the performance commitments. We will see how her results are.

Dd1 who is not a particularly strong performer or anything, got an 8 in it. Both went to schools that did drama well- same syllabus - done really differently but both enjoyed it.

the beauty of it is that most of the work is done before they actually get to the exam period - there is one written exam at around 30% of the course. That was done of the first day of the gcse period so no need to think further on it.

There is a monologue/ duologue and a devised performance- well was for both my two anyhow but these are quite fun to do. Dd2 also enjoyed the trips!

Don’t think either girl found the workload particularly high- helps if you like analysing lit as it is similar. Compared with her friends who took art she had it easy. The social aspect is nice too.

that said, class civ is prob fun too. Dd1 did Latin and enjoyed.

and @Legoninjago1 that’s awesome! Well done to him

Quick question on ear protection. DD currently uses the loop switch, is there anything else anyone would recommend as we need a second pair?

Well done to everyone on their fantastic music exam results.
DS (15) has got his grade 8 jazz sax on Thursday followed by a week of work experience at our local concert hall. He’s had a pretty tough 12 months as he was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD earlier this year so we’ve had to massively reduce his musical commitments so as not to overwhelm him. Consequently, his clarinet playing has stagnated somewhat since his grade 8 last summer as anything requiring an audition or residential is strictly off limits due to the social demands being really difficult for him. He’s hoping to do his diploma at the start of sixth form but the real focus for the foreseeable is supporting him through his GCSEs next year. Hope you all have some lovely summer plans.

@amr78 that sounds challenging. Have you looked into the national youth open orchestra I think it's called? It caters for people with a variety of needs and none. Might be a more flexible thing to try. Hope the exam goes well.
@yodaforpresident ours get provided with ear protection by their orchestras but I can't remember the brand. They are designed for musicians but I don't think they are massively expensive. NYO has extensive guidance on their website about the importance and which type is best for which instrument depending on the sound it makes and where you sit.

Hearing guidelines here
NYO-Guidelines-on-Hearing-Protection-Aug-23.pdf https://share.google/RrTAuYTgkbf2yhSXZ

@horseymum no we hadn’t heard of this but will take a look. Thank you.