Autumn / Winter 2025 Music

[northerngoldilocks]

Time for a new thread in time for the new school term!

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.

I guess for them all the music is fun, lots of flow state, so not work and thus not exhausting. I'm very glad DS is the least sporty person on earth, as I'm not sure how we'd fit that in too!

DD told me her friend practises the recorder from 6am, which I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't already heard it from their neighbours. We've shifted piano practice to 7.30-8 each morning (volume turned low), but I've vetoed bassoon before 8, we live in a mid-terrace!

She could probably coast on wind instruments, but with piano she has a tendency to make up something plausible based on the first line of the piece if I don't make her settle down and put the effort into working out how to play what's actually on the page. That's about as tiger mum as I'm willing to get.

My neighbours put up with a lot so I have a ‘not before 8am’ rule for weekdays and 9 on a weekend for violin. We live in a semi and had previously thought maybe the sound didn’t travel so much- then my neighbour listed the composers DD had been playing on piano which made me realise they can hear quite clearly 😬

My DD also does keyboard practice around 7-7:45am but it's only the third study for her so we can get away with that, at least for the time being. She finds piano sight reading more difficult though so makes a rather slow progress due to lack of practice. I guess it's always a trade off between the instrument demands, your personal priorities and the real world out there.

We're in a terrace too. Mercifully the house on one side has been empty for a while, and on the other is an HMO where I suspect no one dares complain!

Yes our neighbours could hear everything. Luckily, their grown up daughter was a serious pianist herself so they were more understanding. Brass practice can be really annoying though.

wow @herbaceous - i’m impressed. I’ve been trying to impress upon dd2 that while all the music and drama is lovely she does still have to pass her a levels- and not just pass them but do really well if she wants to get to her preferred unis. She has ended up in far too much this week - including a masterclass with the strings quartet that’s coming in - because they’re coaching the octet she’s doing. She’s also had to write the programme notes for the next big school concert (er, why?) and is ecstatic to be deputy house captain- I am ecstatic that she is not the actual
captain.

but I think she is beginning to get her standard mid term overwhelm - others seem much better at doing all this without collapsing!

Congratulations on the role herbaceousDS! How exciting!

In theory my DC have time to practise as they're not into sport and have plenty of time after school most days. In practice (double checking spelling) ... DD does and DS doesn't get around to it.

He is THRILLED. Has wanted to play Tony ever since seeing WSS a few years ago. There's the perfect combo of singers and dancers at the school right now, so think the drama department seized the moment!

Congratulations on the deputy captainship!

@herbaceous it's a great school play - DD2's school did it last year. Was superb (they won some award for it or other). DD2 was a very minor ensemble member but had an absolute ball.

I wonder if she'll bump into your son at ESO....

@Londonmummy66 thanks. Seems to mostly involve buying pastries.

Possibly a liaison is I. The cards! He'll he approx sixth horn!

No idea what DD2 will be (they haven't given parts in advance) but suspect she'll be the short one.

Oh no parts here either. But his horn teacher was contacted as they needed seven horns for the Mahler, which suggests they have the core four and DS and others will be the extras.

Is your DD bassoon?

Yep - or contra if she's unlucky (she does fight against it but it keeps coming for her!)

Another crazy day yesterday.

Chamber choir before school, then school, then two-hour West Side Story rehearsal, then quick dinner at school, then 10 minute read of Gesthemene from JCS, then performed it by heart, belting it out of the park, then dash to another concert, which involved walking through an unlit graveyard. Home by 8.30.

@herbaceous- DD’s school day today is bracketed by chamber choir and a full run through of the school play too! Nothing after that for her (although the rehearsal doesn’t finish til 7pm) but she is back in on Sunday for the four hour tech rehearsal!

Dd has had to pull out of an external concert next month as she has a clash with the UKMT team maths competition. Fortunately she was only down for a piano duet with a friend who is also doing a couple of solos and who was glad to not have another thing to practice!

dd has a vocal concert next month where she’s singing “Think of Me” and we’re already slightly fed up of “Legally Blonde” which she’s currently auditioning for (not for Elle fortunately but for Vivienne - fingers crossed!).

DS tends to fly by seat of the pants. Decided to sing Gesthemene for last night's concert on Tuesday night, sang it once, read through the words just before the concert, then belted it out. Admittedly, he did forget some of the words in the middle - I could see it in his face - but he just repeated some!

@herbaceous - it takes great talent to do that kind of thing on the fly and not be panicked about it! Well done your ds!

Does anyone have any experience of the junior departments at Birmingham Conservatoire and Trinity Laban? If so would you tell me what you think?

Is anyone waiting on NCO results? My daughter was in main orchestra for under 12 and under 13 and has auditioned again this year. Is anyone else waiting for results?

Late auditions only closed a few days ago. They have said late October / November for results

Same timetablechaos - they probably know each other :) There's a separate NCO thread for nail-chewing if you'd like to join.

We are also waiting on U13 NCO. I'm not really expecting a place for DD but figured worth a go given online auditions.

This weekend DD went back to the new quartet she's playing in at her Sat music. Confusingly the tutor is playing the 1st violin part - which totally makes sense as its really hard, but this means they're now a 5 and there are 2 of them playing 2nd violin. Would have thought it would have made more sense for her to join once they started a new and probably easier piece but seeing it all as good (stretching) experience for her. She's also starting to work on next term's piano duet piece - I printed a copy for her last night and having had a play through she said 'i think we might have bitten off more than we can chew' - so basically this term is all about things being really hard!

DS has also been told that all flutes need to play picc and so this week will be about intensive efforts there - rather than the lacklustre token gesture he's been making. WiIl be quite a jump from some exercises in 'piccolo piccolo book 1 to Berlioz in a week!

DS’s school have put up posters announcing next year’s musical and the clues are a beaker full of bubbling liquid, a rotary phone, and a microphone with "on air" written above it. Can anyone guess what it might be before the announcement next Monday?