Autumn / Winter music thread - 2026/2027

[northerngoldilocks]

Time for a new thread for the new school year!

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.

@Incertus thanks that's good to know from your DH. I know it used to be the case exams were generally irrelevant, just wasn't sure now it goes through UCAS conservatoires, whether there was any more relevance to having things on paper. Anyone doing NYO Inspire? DS just got the music for that. He took it upstairs but is now listening to Mendelssohn Elijah at top volume instead of practising...

Dd is going to saffron Walden for NYO inspire - thanks for the intel on music being available

Mine loves getting the orchestra list and seeing where everyone is from and who she has met before.

Braces and brass player question! This is very specific but I am hoping there might be some parents there who have gone through similar. My daughter needs treatment for an underbite and then teeth straightening. All other things being equal orthodontist would recommend twin block for 9 months followed by train tracks. She’s a French horn player and I am concerned about whether she would be able to play with the twin blocks in and whether she will tolerate the train tracks. If she can’t play with the twin blocks in it’s not the end of the world, but it would slow her treatment because of the extra hours she wouldn’t be wearing them. The train tracks would be more of an issue. She’s JD / NCO so does do days with a lot of hours of playing.

The alternative is a type of Invisalign which is a lot more expensive.

Are there any brass parents out there who have faced similar issues?

Our eldest had the twin block / train tracks treatment but she is a clarinet player and managed with it.

thanks!

Sorry no specific answer @MockCroc but I'm planning for Invisalign when the time comes. A brass player we know had to stop playing completely and another one decided not to do braces at all for various reasons, including an unpredictable change of the embouchure after the treatment. I'm more concerned about this tbh.

Thanks @Ubertomusic - that is interesting to see. I think I am leaning more towards the Invisalign option although it is quite a bit more expensive and really depends on her being super good about wearing them consistently. It is tricky because the orthodontist thinks she would probably manage with twin blocks and braces and her teacher has had students cope with braces but says all things being equal (i.e. she's not asking us to spend additional money if we don't have to) she would lean towards Invisalign, but we would be about a year through treatment before she gets the train tracks and it is a worry getting that far through one approach only to discover we need to change plans.

I had twin blocks as a child (cornet player) and played through it no problem (taking them out) - although I wasn't the same level. I never had a permanent retainer though so the teeth all moved and I went back through the process as an adult 3 years ago with teeth removed/train tracks/implants - I couldn't play with train tracks so took a year out. Because of how much my embouchure changed, I still can feel the impact on my playing 2+ years later (but my theory is I'm having to rewrite 30 years of neural pathways around how I start a note, so it would be easier if younger, and I had a lot of dentistry over that period - plus there's also a psychological element of splitting a note because you think you're going to). My range is back and the splits are almost gone but it has taken work.

Some kids seem to cope playing with train tracks fine with wax/guards etc.

Oh, I've recalled another JD brass player who managed through 18 months of braces. Couldn't get to nationals though but this can wait. I need to ask them about embouchure.

DD's teacher just said do it as soon as you can as it'll get more intense around important auditions, but DD still has quite a few baby teeth... 🤦‍♀️

Friends (adults) have just had Invisalign for themselves and apparently prices have dropped quite a bit. I haven't double checked myself though.

UCAS application is IN! No going back now.

He plumped for St John's Cambridge in the end, Durham, Manchester, Kings London and Edinburgh. Now all he has to do is get stellar A levels!

He's a sanguine chap. Said 'mum, I'm like a goat. I'll be happy wherever I go.'

@NimbleFox - thanks for sharing. It seems that a lot of players find train tracks tricky. Although I have read some internet articles about players managing and even some saying it improved their playing because they had to learn to play with less pressure on their lips, there seem to be a lot more people saying they have struggled. I think we are heading towards aligners… I do worry about putting the children through all this treatment and it not lasting, but that’s a whole other issue I guess!

Mine didn't last as I didn't wear a retainer, just like @NimbleFox

@herbaceous DD's is in too. And her first conservatoire audition appointment is through. Tough week to be honest - but at least it's half term on Friday. We're going down Thursday to watch her play Peer Gynt, which she is rudely dismissing as "Tik Tok Music". It was the one classical record we had when I was a kid so I'm really looking forward to it!

Congratulations on the UCAS forms! Just a long wait for auditions/ interviews/ offers! Mine just has to decide what to apply for by this time next year. We're slowly crossing things off the list.

It feels weird to have no more open days, no more weighing up different courses, etc. Now just have to wait and see! Cambridge want various things - essays, compositions etc, and maybe Manchester will ask him in for an in-person audition.

In other news, the school show - Guys and Dolls - has been cast. It's his final production, and he's going out with a bang as Sky Masterson.