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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Spring /Summer 25 - Music thread

706 replies

northerngoldilocks · 14/02/2025 18:04

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.

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Londonmummy66 · 19/03/2025 18:12

se22mother · 19/03/2025 18:10

based on our past experience they were not relaxed re commitment

I only had girls so that might just have been easier as my two didn't have too many problems getting out of services if they needed to.

LoveToSingABC · 19/03/2025 19:11

@Londonmummy66 there is no longer a strong link with City of London boys - they have choristers from all over. It is a big commitment but £7.5 k a year is not bad in the way of compensation, plus the bonus of singing in a choir and having musical instruction. @Compsearch - great that your son loves singing!

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 21/03/2025 15:19

I am one relieved music mum after DD2 decided to take her grade 8 bassoon this term. She'd been really overly-chilled about it, , and then suddenly became really unwell on the day before the exam, but went in and took it anyway...

Despite predictably utterly cocking up the aural (loving the phrase 'The analysis had some valid points after a little prompting', which I think is code for 'just blethered on about rubbish until I stopped her'), she has a 135 distinction.

Thank the lord. Now just the GCSEs to worry about.

QueenMabby · 21/03/2025 16:04

Congrats to your dd @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest- that’s a fantastic score!

ilovesushi · 21/03/2025 16:37

Great result @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest !

DD has a music festival tomorrow but she has been off school poorly all week so I don't see us making it which is a shame.

northerngoldilocks · 21/03/2025 16:37

Fantastic news @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest what a relief. Must be time for her to pick up a new instrument...

DD still has a couple of weeks to go before piano gr 8 - feels weird that people have sat the exam and got the result from the same exam session. I think she's hopefully very ready - she performed the last piece that she hadn't done in a concert before at last weekend's concert as well as a duet so she really is more prepared for this than any other exam she's done in her life. Hopefully will pay off! Just need to keep going for a couple more weeks. She was ill and off school this week so had a bit of a break from practice but now back on it. She's also got a local competition on Sunday but is doing violin in that.

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Soundofshuna · 21/03/2025 16:59

Just checking in after a busy term. Final school concert for DD1was very emotional! Grade 8 piano passed by a whisker but as she says as a non musician no one is ever going to ask her mark!

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 21/03/2025 17:17

@Soundofshuna well done to her! Grade 8 is Grade 8! @ilovesushi just so much sickness around at the moment. Hope she miraculously improves overnight.

herbaceous · 21/03/2025 17:48

Hello all. @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - 135 with rubbish aurals is amazing! She must have smashed it.

DS is doing his FINAL recordings for piano diploma this week and next, thank the good lord. Teacher is determined to keep redoing the recordings until he reckons it's a distinction. Then he can finally start some new pieces. Officially, and in lessons, that is. He's been playing all sorts off his own bat.

We're singing in a barbershop competition this Saturday, then he's playing in an orchestra concert on Sunday. In slightly rubbish town where I'm going to have to hang around for hours betwixt rehearsal and concert. Then next week school concert, then another choir concert. Plus various opera stuff.

Then the small matter of GCSEs after Easter. YIKES.

ayahcip · 22/03/2025 01:05

I created a post about Junior Guildhall 2025, reposting it here in case anyone has experience / advices to share please.

Junior Guildhall Music Course 2025

DC (Year 6) was offered a place to study violin in a Music Course at Junior Guildhall from September this year. We are delighted, but at the same time feeling undecided (due to a big time commitment at JD, which means DC will have to put aside their sports practice and other existing activities which they really enjoy that are happening every Saturday.) And this September, DC will transition to a new school (moving from current primary school to a different secondary school).

For anyone who has experience with Music Course at Junior Guildhall (or any other JDs), how do you find your experience? Is it a lot of pressure and whether there’s a lot of homework/additional practice? Do you find it hard to manage time between weekend JD, music practice at home, and time to revise academic work from school (and school homework, sports practices, etc)? Do you think JD experience is/was worth the trade-off of other non-music extra curricular activities?

Transitioning to a new school this September will already be a big change, so not sure starting at a JD at the same time will add even more pressure to DC?

Ps: DC enjoys playing music but at this stage doesn’t have a plan to become a professional musician. They want to keep improving their playing standard (they got a high distinction from ABRSM grade 8 violin exam in Year4/5, and now at Year 6 they are preparing for ARSM). DC plays at NCO so has opportunity to play in ensemble there. Is it possible for DC to further develop their skills outside JD (ie, continue with our lovely local music teacher and keep doing NCO or other local orchestras) or will JD give them a better opportunity to grow musically?

horseymum · 22/03/2025 08:08

Congratulations on the place! I don't think just are only for those who want to be professional musicians. It's about a rounded musical experience and playing with others of a high standard weekly and having friends who want to as well. My child just wouldn't get that at school. There's no homework from ours, just practice and the lessons and ensembles all on one day so actually condenses things. It's important to keep doing some kind of sport or exercise though during the week. I think most of the kids there are very good at organising practice and schoolwork. It's a big time and money commitment but definitely been worth it for the quality teaching and experiences and friendships. You just have to decide as a family.

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 22/03/2025 08:52

@ayahcip - congrats on the place - your DC sounds like a very impressive musician. My DDs both did a Saturday school and enjoyed it, but I would suggest you look at what they might get from school and whether it is needed. In their cases it basically replaced a music dept as there were hardly any ensembles at school,or singing, and also gave them a great place to make friends.

If they can get that at school that's not so necessary - especially if there are good chamber groups too, and the transition to Year 7 can be tiring, depending on commute and how much of a change it is from primary.

NCO is great but only in holidays of course - if they like that community of musicians they'd probably get more of that at Saturday school. But it very much depends what else they have going on around it.

Good luck with the decision.

Londonmummy66 · 22/03/2025 09:12

@ayahcip my DD went to JG until 6th form when she boarded at specialist. She adored it (not strings) and would bounce through the door on a Saturday evening bursting with energy and enthusiasm. SHe is a music obsessive however - wanted to do JG 5 days a week and school just the once. It is tough and they do need to be super efficient in learning to fit homework etc into every gap they can find. JG is always full of DC hunkered down in corners getting on with that though so its not as if they'd be the only one. DD was a pianist with second study strings and the piano course was amazingly structured with workshop classes where they might compare and contrast 5 different recordings of a piece or spend a session looking at performance presence critiquing their peers. She also had an hours sightreading class which she credits for now being seen as one of the better sightreaders at conservatoire.

SHe was at a school known for its good music department (although that did slide when a new head of music came in) but was still very much the enormous fish in the pond so for her being around other DC of her standard (and therefore got her practice requirements) made an enormous difference. It also meant that when she went off on orchestra tours etc she had a ready made posse of friends.

Londonmummy66 · 22/03/2025 09:14

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - excellent news do send her our congratulations - doing exams when you are under par is stressful. DD did Gr 6 piano on crutches and streaming with cold - I think the sticks on the floor and loo roll on top of the piano may have gained her pity marks!!!

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 22/03/2025 10:09

@Londonmummy66 I think DD2 may have got 'bassoon marks' - the examiner apparently told her it was the 'best instrument in the world'.

Pressure was on hugely as she'd switched first studies two years ago when joining the school, and already has the G8 in what is now her second - fortunately the mark for this one was just slightly better!

@herbaceous don't envy him the recordings. DD's flute teacher has now decided that she can record her ARSM, because GCSEs are messing up the timings otherwise. She'll hate it - it's hard to know when to stop, and of course with flute you need the accompanist around for every attempt. Good luck to him though!

Ubertomusic · 22/03/2025 11:10

Congrats on the place @ayahcip , William is a great person and educator, and he projects his energy onto the whole department.

I'm not sure JDs are only for those who aspire to become professional musicians - the violins often leave JDs for Menuhin if they aspire for a career. I'd say Guildhall (and JDs in general) is a good balance between music and other activities. Lots of violins go to selective academic schools - City, St Pauls etc, and they manage the academic and music workload so it is definitely doable.

Pressure will depend on the teacher, and we had all sorts of teachers at JD, from very nurturing to very pushy. Interestingly, both approaches worked for DD, just in different ways.

IMO the main advantage of JDs is high standard ensembles with children that are able to play challenging music and make really good sound. It's very rewarding for a musical person to be in a great ensemble. For violins, it's probably easier to find high level local groups but mostly chamber. Symphony orchestras for this age/level are few and far between. NCO is not a substitute for weekly ensembles - they are on holidays only, and for the younger ones they don't program challenging music as it can be tricky to rehearse in two days. Main orchestras are better but again, you need orchestral practice every week.

If you have access to a local string ensembles/symphony orchestras of high standard, then it's less of an advantage of course.

Other things to consider are music awareness classes, composition, Alexander technique, access to specialist physio etc - all in one place and focused on Guildhall students specifically.

Ubertomusic · 22/03/2025 11:11

Congrats on the grade @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest !

IcyAquaSloth · 22/03/2025 20:40

Anxiously awaiting my little ones g1 cello results. How long have you all been waiting for practical exams to release results? I must stop obsessively checking the portal, it has only been 2 days!

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 23/03/2025 07:31

Hi @IcyAquaSloth dd2 took her exam Tuesday at 4pm - end of a two day school visit session. School had the results Friday morning -they might be with you soon!

StuntNun · 23/03/2025 09:12

@IcyAquaSlothmy DS had his exam on a Saturday and his teacher already had the marks the following Tuesday but they didn’t appear on the ABRSM portal for me for at least another week.

IcyAquaSloth · 23/03/2025 09:15

Thanks both. I entered in for the exam so I'll be first to know. Nothing through yet. There were 2 examiners in the room so now i am wondering if it is being moderated for training purposes!

Londonmummy66 · 23/03/2025 22:03

IcyAquaSloth · 23/03/2025 09:15

Thanks both. I entered in for the exam so I'll be first to know. Nothing through yet. There were 2 examiners in the room so now i am wondering if it is being moderated for training purposes!

If there were two examiners then it is either a trainee under supervision or an examiner being moderated (usually for having slightly out of line results) either way the results will probably take a little longer to come through as they usually go through a second check.

achangeofnameisasgoodasarest · 24/03/2025 09:13

@IcyAquaSloth hope it comes through soon then. I've just had to remind DD's school to release the results to the candidate so that DD can order her paper certificate (such a faff for £3 - greedy exam board).

She now has three contact IDs with ABRSM as they didn't ask before entering her - perhaps they just assumed she had grade 5 theory, as they didn't ask.

Compsearch · 24/03/2025 09:24

Congrats @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest to your DD - grade 8 distinction 🥳.

Good luck @IcyAquaSloth!

Nothing new here. DS put on a little concert for us at home last night including making tickets and programmes and it was so sweet. He’s been doing some real pieces (easy Bach minuets, a Handel sonata movement) and is so proud of himself.

Im thinking about getting him to sing for the choirmaster at Southwark but slightly wary that might be too much of a commitment for all of us if he did get invited to do it.

WheelySquirrel · 24/03/2025 11:47

I’m a big lurker on here as my DD is only young and early in her musical journey compared to a lot of amazing children on here, but posting here for moral support as she has her G2 recorder exam today. It’s so hard feeling the nerves for them isn’t it! My mum always used to say it was far worse being the parent than the one doing the exams and although as a teenager I strongly objected to that, I now see where she was coming from 😁