"Music can change the world because it can change people."

Blogging has opened up so many interesting doors over the years, We've been invited to so many amazing events and have reviewed some really interesting products. One product though has stuck out above all of the others recently because of the huge impact it has had (and will continue to have) on Seth. Back in 2016 we had an email asking if we would be interested in reviewing a pBone, the first professional plastic trombone. If I'm honest I read the email and had a little chuckle to myself at the sheer randomness of it, but I was also really intrigued, so of course I said yes. The pBone arrived and we all had a little toot and followed it up with a review. As much as I loved the idea of the boys being musical the following few months left the lovely purple pBone collecting dust in the boys room.

Then another email came through from pBone inviting us to one of their events at the symphony hall which had a real impact on Seth and catapulted him into the amazing world of music. He left the event feeling inspired and asked if he could start trombone lessons. I'm fully aware of the fact that I have covered all this in previous posts but stay with me because the pBone adventure just gets better and better. I wrote about the event and Seth began his trombone lessons at school. He said he enjoyed the lessons but he never seemed to practice at home and I genuinely thought it was going to be one of those things that eventually fizzled out. Until one day he came home and told us that he was playing a song at his schools music show. As I hadn't heard him practice at all I was worried that he may have jumped in and offered prematurely to be a part of it but on the day he completely shocked me and played in front of his peers and the all the parents, with all the audience getting involved and clapping as he played we will rock you. It was one of those moments where a wave of pride washes over you as a parent. So this is where I have covered before in previous posts.

Seth has just finished his final year at primary school so the last few months have been pretty busy with sorting out the transition to secondary school. Seth (like all of the kids in his year) had been visiting schools trying to work out which was the best fit for him. Which, after viewing quite a few was made really clear to him early on. Unfortunately the school was out of our catchment area and we were pretty sure it was going to be a no go. The school however is big on music and their many bands travel all over the world for shows and when entering the main doors you are greeted with cabinets full of the trophies that the amazing children have won over the years. Seth had his heart set on the school. Despite being out of the catchment area the school offered a handful of places for musical children to join their bands. To be in with a chance Seth had to attend an interview and complete a musical aptitude test. On the morning of the test Seth was so nervous but  he went in and gave it his all. Weeks passed and a letter arrived through the post. Obviously you know whats coming, I wouldn't be writing about the failings of an 11-year-old.

Seth had been accepted, which was amazing news. He had only technically been playing a few months but they had seen something in him that they were looking for. Part of the acceptance letter stated that he needed to start taking lessons at the school on Saturday mornings on the run up to the summer holidays to get him ready for the musical side of his secondary school experience. So, he started attending the Saturday classes which he enjoyed and on his third week they asked him to stop the lessons and move into the schools big band. Which again was the most amazing news for Seth and us ever doting parents.

Within a couple of weeks of that his teacher just casually threw in his grade one trombone exam without telling him which he passed no problems and although he came out from his class trying to play it cool I could see that there were secretly fireworks going off inside. Its amazing to think that all of this amazingness has come from a chance email sent our way, for something that we would have never even thought about looking at had it not had been pointed out to us. 

I always wanted the boys to try and take up an instrument because despite wanting to when I was younger it was never an option. Every moment of the pBone being introduced into our lives has been an amazing experience for me as a parent. Not only has it boosted Seths confidence more than I could have ever imagined, it has also ended up putting in some serious groundwork for Seths transition into 'big school' helping him to meet new friends in the band before he had even reached his start date in September. Since starting his first term he has now also been invited into a second school band, adding to the excitement of it all. Watching his big brother learn to play an instrument has also given Opeie the passion for learning to play an instrument and he has started drum lessons too. pBone has had such a huge impact on us all as a family and I can see that its going to get even better. 

Seths passion for the instrument has also got him desperately wanting to share what he has learnt and I find it so moorish that Ive even considered getting one myself (I quite like the pink one) so he can teach me too and we can play together, watch this space.

Thinking of getting your kids into music and want to find out more? Visit the pBone website here.

"Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed."

I couldn't be more proud of how the boys are growing up. There's not a week that goes by where they don't blow me away in some way. Seth especially over the last few weeks has made me so proud. When I was given the chance a while back to review a pBone I had no idea what it was, so I googled it and when I first saw it, I was desperate to give it a go. The first professional plastic Trombone and it came in a variety of colours... I'm quite sure that I'm not the only person that got excited about that. As much as I hoped they would, I never for one moment thought that either of the boys would take a serious interest in it, but there was a slight chance and I really couldn't pass that up.

When the awesome purple pBone arrived, the following nights fell in to a routine of Seth dropping his school bag and going straight into the lounge to watch Youtube videos and try to learn as many notes as he could. It was lovely to see him trying something new and feeling motivated to learn more. Weeks passed and things then started to slow down and the pBone started to come out less and less. It was a little disheartening and I attempted to get things going again but I was never going to push it, so I just let things be.

Then one afternoon we received an email from pBone inviting us to one of their events at the Birmingham Symphony hall, followed by the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra playing songs from the movies, which even to this day has been one of the most amazing nights that we have had together as a family. We were able to try out the pBuzz at the event as it had just been released and we were also given a trombone lesson which was a lot of fun. The show itself though was truly magical and as we left the Symphony hall, Seth, very excitedly, asked if he could have trombone lessons.

It was music to my ears (haha) and Mrs M had soon arranged for Seth to start having lessons at school which he instantly loved and his trombone teacher loved his pBone so much that she went and brought one for herself! (the magic of the pBone). When a musical show at school was planned and children were asked if they would like to be a part of it, Seth jumped at the chance. I feel so ashamed to say this but at the time I thought to myself 'I'm not sure what he was going to do in the show as he doesn't know how to play anything, just notes', (how wrong was I!). Seth decided on a song that he wanted to play (based I think on the Mighty Ducks hockey movie that he loves) and each night he would disappear to his room (or sometimes the garden) and the quiet in the house was replaced by his loud tooting.

Even then I thought to myself 'I can't tell what that is?' and I worried that maybe he had bitten off more that he could chew by signing up for the show (I know what a terrible dad!). The show came around (which fell on my birthday) and as we sat in the audience I was feeling so anxious. Seth looked very serious and it was clear that he was nervous. when it was his turn to take the stage I began to brace myself unsure of what would happen next. Seth calmly stood up, placed his music on the stand and erupted into 'we will rock you'. There was silence in the room as he started but this soon turned into all the parents clapping and stamping their feet along to the beat. I was in complete awe of this amazing child on stage that had the confidence to get up and play in front of everyone, it made my birthday.

The lessons have continued and Seth now states that 'he has a passion for music' which I love to hear. Which brings us to the last few weeks that have made me so proud as a dad. Seth has been looking around secondary schools to start in September, one of the schools that he has been very interested in going to is out of our catchment area but they offer the chance of earning limited placements for various skills and passions. With 18 music places available, Seth was invited to an interview at the school and was asked to complete a musical aptitude test. On the evening before the test we were chatting and he told me that he wasn't expecting to get a place as he didn't feel like he was good enough and was yet to take his first grading, Seth being Seth though still went into that test confident that he would give it his all. One week later and he has received a place at the school, which we are all so excite about. Clearly his passion for playing really came through and he should never have doubted himself for a second.

It's crazy to think that something as insignificant as an email asking us to review an instrument could have had such an amazing impact on all of our lives and I am forever grateful for pBone and the magic they have brought to our family. It is going to be so exciting for us all to watch Seth's next steps as he continues following his passion for music.

"A frisky spirit makes my trombone sing."

Despite opting to not send Opeie to school this year, I still at times run 'Daddy school' (as Opeie calls it) much like school in regards to the subjects. Outside of the reading, writing and numeracy we cover a lot of science and art, we use museums to cover history and also the cultural side of art galleries and museums to cover geography. PE is covered by all manner of things but mainly the Micro scooters, whizzing around on those is all the exercise we need.

One subject that doesn't get covered though is Music, unless of course you count all the dancing about to Justin Bieber that we do. I was desperate to learn an instrument when I was at school but it just wasn't on my parents list of important experiences for us so it just never happened. I don't want that for the boys and I hope their lives are full of amazing experiences during these important years.

The blog has been amazing for making many of their fun experiences possible and a couple of weeks ago we were asked if we would like to try a product that I probably would never have heard of if it hadn't have been for the email, or unless the boys decided brass instruments were the way forward. The pBone, in their own words is  "the world’s first plastic trombone; it's a lot of fun but also a quality instrument, perfect for beginners and professionals". Now when considering an instrument to learn, the trombone wouldn't have been anywhere near the top of the list for the boys. In fact I probably would have ruled out any instrument from the brass section of the orchestra. The reason being the weight. for a 4 year old and a 9 year old with a muscle condition that affects his hands I imagine a brass instrument wouldn't be the most comfortable to hold up, but this is what is so amazing about pBone as an instrument. The lightweight design opens up the trombone to any age and makes holding this instrument a lot easier for people that would find the brass alternative difficult.

The trombone arrived and we couldn't wait to have a go, I couldn't get a peep out of it but in great Opeie style he picked it up and made a huge sound, I started laughing because I was so shocked. Seth also had a go and after Opeie explained what to do he let out a toot too. Its great seeing the boys have a try because of the size of it, but as I said because of the weight issue being taken care of this instrument is now accessible to anyone, a truly amazing product.

So where are we now? Well we live in a world now where if you want to know how to do something right away you go on Youtube! I have learnt so much over the years from watching video's of tutorials and people doing various things. I made an awesome lamp a few weeks back (which I'll write about soon). With this kind of information readily available to the boys I never want them to feel like they cant do something, they know that if there is something I cant do or need inspiration, that's usually where I turn. The initial induction in to learning to play the Trombone has been no different and Opeie has sat and watched a fair few videos.

The pBone has opened up another fun avenue in the boys development and I really hope that it is something that they stick with as I am interested in learning with them. Since receiving the pBone we have also noticed the pTrumpet too and I wont lie, the thoughts of a possible Gifts from the Pirates brass quartet has come to mind on more than one occasion so watch this space.

"Brass shines as fair to the ignorant as gold to the goldsmiths."

A month ago we were lucky enough to be invited to an event at the Birmingham symphony hall. It turned out to be probably the greatest evening of 2016 so far and had a huge impact on both myself, and the boys. We're all huge fans of music in various ways and we've wanted to get the boys interested in an instrument for quite some time. 

When we were given the chance to work with PBone last year I jumped at the chance as it was something so different to anything else we had written about before. The boys loved it from the moment it hit their lips and they had been sporadically watching YouTube videos trying to play those notes better. The show at the symphony hall ignited something in Seth and I think that hearing the songs from James Bond and taking in the awesomeness of the city of Birmingham Symphony orchestra was really inspiring for him. As we walked down the stairs at the symphony hall about to leave (and in an excited voice) he asked if he could please have trombone lessons.

We arranged his first lesson that following week, which he loved and this week sees the 5th lesson for him. I always wanted to learn an instrument when I was younger but was never given the chance so being able to do this for the boys is really rewarding. 

While at the show at the symphony hall we got to try the new pBuzz which had just been released. The pBuzz is a really interesting instrument because it is a completely new instrument. As expected I was useless and couldn't get a peep out of it, but the boys, as always, put me to shame and blew a loud long note.  The pBuzz has been created to introduce young children to the world of brass instruments. With its light and easy to hold shape it is the perfect starter instrument for children as young as 3 or 4 . Seth's new trombone lessons have got Opeie wanting to be even more involved in what's going on so he's been playing the pBuzz hoping to keep up with his big brother.

  The pBuzz website offers a free downloadable PDF of starter songs for new players and the lettered/numbered notes along the slide can easily have you playing straight away. With the introduction of instruments into the home, I'm really excited about what's going to come next for our little musicians and I hoping that this new exciting passion of Seth's is something that stays with him.