Learning a noisy musical instruments

[icowden]

but putting them in a practical exam for a tuba player who is a bit shy (yeah, I know, seems unlikely)

If there is one thing that playing the trumpet taught me, it was confidence.
At school a second violinist once said to me "you played that wrong AGAIN". I replied "At least I KNOW when I play something wrong. No-one knows if you are playing at all..". One of the few zingers I've ever come up with quickly...

FYI it was one of those awful movements where the composer has decided they want a brass blast of 1 note in the middle of 400 odd bars of music, and if the conductor fails to wave at you at the right time it's very easy to miss it.

 

[briantrumpet]

If there is one thing that playing the trumpet taught me, it was confidence.
At school a second violinist once said to me "you played that wrong AGAIN". I replied "At least I KNOW when I play something wrong. No-one knows if you are playing at all..". One of the few zingers I've ever come up with quickly...

FYI it was one of those awful movements where the composer has decided they want a brass blast of 1 note in the middle of 400 odd bars of music, and if the conductor fails to wave at you at the right time it's very easy to miss it.

My only good zinger was when a very good violinist (and friend) came up to me after the rehearsal for Handel's Messiah, and told me I should be paid per note (as I only play for about 10 minutes total compared with her 2.5 hours). I told her that I was, but much more than she was.

Somehow we're still friends.

 

[Yellow Fang]

If there is one thing that playing the trumpet taught me, it was confidence.
At school a second violinist once said to me "you played that wrong AGAIN". I replied "At least I KNOW when I play something wrong. No-one knows if you are playing at all..". One of the few zingers I've ever come up with quickly...

FYI it was one of those awful movements where the composer has decided they want a brass blast of 1 note in the middle of 400 odd bars of music, and if the conductor fails to wave at you at the right time it's very easy to miss it.

If listeners cannot hear if a 2nd violinist makes a bum note, what about the viola? Maybe that's the safest instrument in the orchestra.

 

[icowden]

If listeners cannot hear if a 2nd violinist makes a bum note, what about the viola? Maybe that's the safest instrument in the orchestra.

Brings to mind.

"What's the difference between a violin and a viola?"


"A viola burns for longer..."

 

[lazybloke]

If grade 8 is approximately A level standard then what is grade 5?

GCSE music is assessed by composition, performance and written exam.
From what I remember, the performance is expected to be to a minimum of ABRSM Grade 3.
Not sure about A Level expectations, but I'd hope it's lower than Grade 8.

 

[briantrumpet]

GCSE music is assessed by composition, performance and written exam.
From what I remember, the performance is expected to be to a minimum of ABRSM Grade 3.
Not sure about A Level expectations, but I'd hope it's lower than Grade 8.

G4-5 now for GCSE performance, with G5 meriting a upward adjustment on the raw marks.

But YF is asking if G5 is kind of equivalent to a GCSE (I think it is, but can't find a reference on QCA at the mo).

UCAS give points for G6-8 (but universities aren't obligated to accept them in lieu of A levels, IIRC)

https://www.rslawards.com/music-exams-ucas-points/

 

[briantrumpet]

Ha, shows how out of date I am that the QCA is no more, and the website is just an non-functioning archive ending in 2018!

 

[Yellow Fang]

G4-5 now for GCSE performance, with G5 meriting a upward adjustment on the raw marks.

But YF is asking if G5 is kind of equivalent to a GCSE (I think it is, but can't find a reference on QCA at the mo).

UCAS give points for G6-8 (but universities aren't obligated to accept them in lieu of A levels, IIRC)

https://www.rslawards.com/music-exams-ucas-points/

Not too bothered whether my boy uses it to get into university. I'd rather he got it as an additional, like I hope he would get a gold Duke of Edinburgh award. He is only 18 months old now. I don't know whether he will be musical. He doesn't like my ukulele playing. He might have some ideas of his own.

 

[lazybloke]

G4-5 now for GCSE performance, with G5 meriting a upward adjustment on the raw marks.

So my daughter's performance score, just shy of 100%, is a bigger achievement than I'd realised. Cool.
She'll start the A Level course in September.

 

[briantrumpet]

Not too bothered whether my boy uses it to get into university. I'd rather he got it as an additional, like I hope he would get a gold Duke of Edinburgh award. He is only 18 months old now. I don't know whether he will be musical. He doesn't like my ukulele playing. He might have some ideas of his own.

Yep, it's one of those activities that shows a willingness to do stuff outside of the academic curriculum. Once upon a time it's the stuff that would have come up in the interview, these days its on the personal statement.

For most people, getting to G8 on any instrument requires thousands of hours of practice, probably much more than any A-level subject, not least as it's impossible to 'cram' the techniques required in the last few weeks: all the motor skills can only be 'learnt by doing', as well needing to be able to read stuff like this.

 

[briantrumpet]

As a kind of aside, if you want to see what organists might get up to post Grade 8, this is a fairly standard piece of music for cathedral organists, which involves using feet as well as both hands. I've turned pages for lots of stuff like this, and even that is quite challenging. (The end is definitely worth the wait...)

 

[Yellow Fang]

Yep, it's one of those activities that shows a willingness to do stuff outside of the academic curriculum. Once upon a time it's the stuff that would have come up in the interview, these days its on the personal statement.

For most people, getting to G8 on any instrument requires thousands of hours of practice, probably much more than any A-level subject, not least as it's impossible to 'cram' the techniques required in the last few weeks: all the motor skills can only be 'learnt by doing', as well needing to be able to read stuff like this.

View attachment 777680

There are only 8760 hours in a year, and he'd be asleep for a third of them. I wouldn't make him go through it if he hates it or gets nothing out of it. I don't know how much it is fair to expect a child to practice an orchestral instrument. There's the opportunity cost too.

 

[briantrumpet]

There are only 8760 hours in a year, and he'd be asleep for a third of them. I wouldn't make him go through it if he hates it or gets nothing out of it. I don't know how much it is fair to expect a child to practice an orchestral instrument. There's the opportunity cost too.

It's expensive in £ and time/dedication, and takes both financial resources (lesson, music, out-of-school ensembles) from parents and resilience from children, especially when competing demands on time (school, sport, sleeping, computer games, etc.) come along. It's not surprising so many give up along the way, but if they are keen enough, getting them in some sort of ensemble where the friendships and shared experience gives as much a buzz as the music will often carry them through.

Occasionally one is lucky enough to encounter young learners who can just 'do it all' in spades, excelling in academic, music and other stuff, and just seem to take it in their stride. For most others, it's a constant struggle to stay on top of everything, and something eventually gives... very often the music.

 

[icowden]

For most people, getting to G8 on any instrument requires thousands of hours of practice, probably much more than any A-level subject, not least as it's impossible to 'cram' the techniques required in the last few weeks: all the motor skills can only be 'learnt by doing', as well needing to be able to read stuff like this.

It doesn depend a *lot* on the instrument though. Grade 8 singing is considerably easier to attain than Grade 8 piano in my humble opinion.

 

[icowden]

Not too bothered whether my boy uses it to get into university. I'd rather he got it as an additional, like I hope he would get a gold Duke of Edinburgh award. He is only 18 months old now. I don't know whether he will be musical. He doesn't like my ukulele playing. He might have some ideas of his own.

Good indicators for musicality are:-

• Musicality within the family. Doesn't have to be you, could be granny, grandad etc. But there is often a familial strain of musicality
• Exposure to music
• Exposure to musical instruments

The second is important. The more music you hear, the more you are likely to enjoy music. Doesn't matter what the music is particularly. I grew up with Jazz, Swing, the Beatles and Buddy Holly pretty much. I also had a tape deck with lots of fun music to listen to.

If you have access to instruments you are more likely to have a go at them whether it's a piano, a guitar, a recorder, a harmonica, an ocarina - whatever you want. My daughter took up drums after doing a drumming workshop at school.