Kids today...

[BrunoBass]

I went to my son’s school Christmas concert this week. His school has a very strong musical emphasis and as such has a superb music department. The concert showcases all the different departments, whether it’s a string quartet, jazz band, choir and many others. These boys are aged 8-10. Most interesting to me were the three rock bands that played. Considering how young the kids are the performances were amazing. 
 

Band 1 played Born To Be Wild, Band 2 played Rolling In The Deep (complete with expletive, which cracked me up) and Band 3 played We Are The Champions. One little lad played bass with all three - his Squier Precision looked massive on him but he played well, simple stuff but solid. Which is a great place to start. 
 

When I was 10 I was still tuning my nylon acoustic down til the strings went floppy and pretending to be Paul Simonon. 
 

I was impressed! 

Edited December 6, 2019 by BrunoBass

[mep]

Great to hear. Would like to have seen that performance.

Some things haven't changed though with regards to number of bass players to guitarists. 

Edited December 6, 2019 by mep

[Newfoundfreedom]

When I was 10 I was still eating coal. 

[Fozza]

6 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

When I was 10 I was still eating coal. 

[Guest]

Littlest Bassfinger plays guitar, and a kind of battle of one upmanship to see who is the best guitarist has erupted between me and her tutor.

But on a Tuesday she goes to choir after school.  A few weeks ago I walked ho to collect her and as I walked past the classroom I could hear the kids singing We Are The Champions, which I thought was most excellent.

[Cato]

I can't imagine my old school allowing 'pop music' at the Christmas concert back in the 80s/90s, far too low brow.

Nice to hear things have moved on.

[EssentialTension]

I'm reminded of my son, then aged ten, giving a guitar and voice solo performance in primary school of David Bowie's 'All  the Madmen'. Now he's twenty-five and running a music and arts venue.

 

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by EssentialTension

[leftybassman392]

2 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

a kind of battle of one upmanship to see who is the best guitarist has erupted between me and her tutor.

If that's a serious comment then you need to get it resolved sooner rather than later, and be prepared to take the first step back if necessary. Even if it's 'good-natured', it's not helping your child.

[Guest]

It's all friendly stuff, nothing to worry about. He's really very good indeed, probably a better all rounder than me.

Edited December 7, 2019 by Bassfinger

[taunton-hobbit]

My school, a council estate grammar , imported a string quartet & made the upper school sit through it.

The music mistress was screwing the deputy head boy,

and that was the sum total of our music departments efforts..............

😎

[dave moffat]

One granddaughter started bass last year now on keys, a grandson started accordion now on uke, both passed the auditions for the scttish kids choir but both played in their school concerts and the boy has done a couple of solos. The two other grandaughters have guitars, not sure what the other 2 boys will choose but I suspect youngest will go guitar and the other drums. Not fussed if life gets in the way as long as they have had a chance to enjoy music and learn to play something/anything while young, its always comes back to you.

[Linus27]

When I was 10 back in 1980, I wanted to do music at school, so they sat me in a room, played me The Beatles - When I'm 64 and some classical music. Then gave me a written test on what I've just listened to. The end result was the music teacher told my parents I will never make a musician, I dont have a musical bone in my body. 

[dave moffat]

1 minute ago, Linus27 said:

When I was 10 back in 1980, I wanted to do music at school, so they sat me in a room, played me The Beatles - When I'm 64 and some classical music. Then gave me a written test on what I've just listened to. The end result was the music teacher told my parents I will never make a musician, I dont have a musical bone in my body. 

Think some 'music teachers' have been responsible for f'king so may peoples' potential/enjoyment it's so very sad.

[TheGreek]

When I was a kid the music dept at my local school was somewhere to steal saxophones from. All the brass section was stolen over an 18 month period.

Strangely, you normally get to hear where things end up, nobody seemed to know anything.

[Stub Mandrel]

Age 11 I failed the audition for the school choir and I didn't last at violin.

Bet I've had more fun making music than anyone else in my year group 🙂

[4000]

I remember learning to play recorder in the first term at my first senior school. We had a test where they went round the class and we had to sight read a piece. I got stuck half way through, although I eventually got through it. Thought that was it for me! In terms of sight-Reading, it was. 😉 Still, Tori Amos had the same problem and she’s done ok!

 

[yorks5stringer]

23 hours ago, taunton-hobbit said:

My school, a council estate grammar , imported a string quartet & made the upper school sit through it.

The music mistress was screwing the deputy head boy,

and that was the sum total of our music departments efforts..............

😎

So you had a woodwork dept too?