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Post by pavane on Feb 14, 2023 20:27:49 GMT
It seemed to me that it was all about having a go and having fun no matter what the skill levels were. When it comes to instruments that we take up in later life we are all in the same boat.
Absolutely! I have never, ever posted a bit of myself playing before, and this has made that possible. Not necessarily desirable
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Post by Zi on Feb 15, 2023 8:26:35 GMT
When I logged into this forum for the very first time there were two things that I found attractive; firstly it was to be all about music and music making and secondly there was a performance space. It seemed to me that it was all about having a go and having fun no matter what the skill levels were. Yes! Absolutely. For me it's been a spur to do something with the harp beyond tuning and plucking the odd string. I've forgotten why I thought playing the clarinet would be a good thing to do but I must have thought that at some stage as I bought one! Maybe I was just curious about reed instruments the way I'm now curious about brass. I ought to have been given the chance to try all these things when I was a child so I think somewhere (pretty close to the surface) there's that child still and she's now my responsibility and I'm going to let her do whatever she wants! And I'm certainly not going to put any pressure on her because that's already been done to the poor thing! I'd rather hear her laughter... just as I'd rather hear all your laughter.
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Post by keff on Feb 15, 2023 8:58:55 GMT
There were no opportunities at my primary school to learn an instrument but we did sing. At the secondary school there must have been opportunities because I found out later in my school career that others were learning woodwind or strings. When I joined the secondary school I was into my first year of private piano lessons and probably thought I had enough on my plate.
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Post by Zi on Feb 20, 2023 13:36:29 GMT
The world is intruding on my practice in the form of a garden and a whacking great greenhouse... I've also got totally obsessed with Van Eyck's Prins Robberts Masco... so nothing else has got a look in...
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Post by keff on Feb 21, 2023 13:11:41 GMT
Have a new piece on the stand, loaned by a friend. It is a duet arrangement of Take Five. Friend would like to play it at our next piano group meeting.
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Post by pavane on Feb 21, 2023 13:56:12 GMT
Brilliant tune, one of the great jazz classics, by the amazing Paul Desmond - another jazz musician who seems to have lived a sadly wretched life. Most famous version probably the original on Dave Brubeck's Time Out though it's not my favourite, being substantially taken up by the drum solo. There are many excellent versions out there, including many played by Desmond himself. Here's a nice live version:
Several asides:
For those of you unfamiliar with it, Time Out is one of the most successful jazz albums there has been, because even people who don't much like jazz often get on with it. Every piece has an interesting time signature, hence the album name - Take Five is in 5/4 time.
I saw Dave Brubeck's son Darius live a couple of times in 2019 and he said that he and all his siblings were put through university on the proceeds from Time Out.
Zi - don't get a Nuvo clarinet - get an alto sax!
Edit - I mean, if you get anything at all.
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Post by keff on Feb 21, 2023 14:20:01 GMT
pavane, are you recommending the Nuvo alto sax? Only £66 I see. How difficult is sax to play ?
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Post by pavane on Feb 21, 2023 14:38:50 GMT
I didn't know they made one. So, no, I wasn't . However, that's pretty inexpensive so maybe it would be worth a try.
Saxophone is probably the easist modern woodwind to play, I think - certainly of the ones that take reeds. Sax specifically designed it to be, amongst other things, easier to play. The most similar instrument is the clarinet - the sax is basically a metal clarinet that, because it's conical, overblows an octave rather than a twelfth. That makes the fingering a lot easier: same fingering for both registers, no horrible throat notes etc to bridge the gap between octave and twelfth, all the tone holes are fully covered by pads not fingers, register key automatically shifts the vent hole depending on whether you are playing lower or higher notes, etc.
The easiest sax is probably the alto, so all in all, it's relatively straightforward to get to the point where you can belt out a tune.
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Post by keff on Feb 21, 2023 14:59:51 GMT
Thank you. This plastic sax is on my birthday present list.
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Post by Zi on Feb 21, 2023 15:46:19 GMT
Zi - don't get a Nuvo clarinet - get an alto sax! Edit - I mean, if you get anything at all.
Yes, I thought of that. However, I'd really like to have a go at a (pretend) brass instrument now as I've had a go at reed! I know I'm not exactly zipping along progress-wise but it has brought me a lot of laughter and I can honestly say that I'd do the same thing over again except maybe I'd start with the clarineo simply because it's so light. The weight of the clarinet does give me issues. I'm not sure if it would be like that anyway or the damage to both hands is the problem. I haven't found that the reed instrument has interfered with the recorder at all. But as the clarineo is in C and the fingering recorder-like maybe that would have been easier to grasp. It's difficult to say because I don't muddle up the clarinet fingering with the recorder but I do get confused between treble and descant recorder. The clarinet is unlikely to occupy that space in my heart that the recorder occupies but it's a fun experience and I remember the first time I got an actual note how over-the-moon I was! I wish I'd been more organised about recording my progress - as keff is - because that might be very amusing to listen to if I have progressed at all!
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Post by Zi on Feb 23, 2023 18:12:30 GMT
I've added a couple of pieces to ones I'm trying to learn on the treble. Having finally managed to figure out the rhythm of one of them I thought I'd see if anyone else had played it and recorded it and they have...
It's some pieces from Leopold Mozart's notebook for Wolfgang and I'm working on the third, the Passepied, considerably slower than this very pretty version.
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Post by Zi on Mar 3, 2023 11:12:27 GMT
How goes it people? Here's mine: Clarinet - I'm on lesson 2/3 of A Tune A Day. So, Largo and Barcarolle. Why is it called A Tune a Day? I hoped that would mean every lesson would have 7 tunes - that would make sense... but they don't. So, does that mean I'm supposed to do more than one lesson a week? Arghhhhh! I've been several weeks getting to lesson 2/3... Treble Recorder - Still Leopold's Passepied and an anon Adagio (which is very nice). And Haydn's Serenade. Descant -A Holborn Fantasia and a Purcell Rondo. Harp - Poor thing has been neglected while I've been sowing seeds and digging a veg plot but basically it's one finger stuff playing B, D, A and E... (Chap 2). A teacher would say: Full of good intentions but not much progress has been made!
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Post by Misty on Mar 5, 2023 14:14:11 GMT
Zi, lesson 2/3 on clarinet is progress - well done. Don't forget this is YOUR journey, so can take as long as you like. So on my music stand just now is:- Treble Recorder: Thomas Morley's Sweet Nymphe, Come to thy lover. Still on Solveig's Song, Muskrat Ramble, Gluck's Aria and Wolsey's Wilde for G3 + G3 scales and trying to remember the fingering for the arpeggios so that I don't need to refer to the music. Scales and arpeggios on violin and flute just sort of "make sense" to me, but not on recorder! Also looking at some Boismortier duets.
Descant Recorder: Um - it seems to have spent too much time on the wall rack - but I'm trying out some easy Hook Duets. I think this is largely because I prefer the sound of alto, and this just sounds very high on its own, but much better in duet form.
Harp:
Plodding on with the Spiders. (I am terrified of them!) I think I've nearly got it now, so will shortly move on to Blossom Petals Falling, which is going to challenge me rather more. I wish basic harp had a bit more fingering in it as guidance.
Flute: Stuff for Church (not on the stand any longer after today). Dance of the Snowmen, which is great fun to play; 2nd flute part of a Haydn London Symphony Trio for flute group, and Elgar's Chanson de Nuit.
Edit: I LOVE the clip you attached. What is the book called? I've tried searching for Notebook for Wolfgang but I can't see what I think I'm looking for. Is there any chance you could send me a link?
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Post by Zi on Mar 6, 2023 8:20:27 GMT
Goodness Misty, I'm impressed by your list. The Grieg is pretty on the recorder, isn't it? I've played that on descant and it is very soulful. Wolsey's Wilde is fun on the descant as well. The Leopold Mozart is from Gudrun Heyen's tutor book for the alto/treble. However, these things do tend to pop up in other places so I'll keep an eye open for it. I do have a little book of descant recorder music which has quite a bit of Leopold's music but I don't know if this piece is in there or not. However, the easiest and free solution is this - the entire notebook is here - at freescores. Just take the top line! www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=61086#The reminder about the journey is apposite! Thank you! I mentioned it to my husband and said how much I like that metaphor because it is so apt. I added that I seem to be on the slow train though and he added very quickly - 'Yes, you've taken the scenic route. Look at the scenery!'
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Post by Zi on Mar 6, 2023 18:09:46 GMT
According to Heyens Leopold's Passepied is also in the Solobuch Fur Altblockflote - pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries - Schott ED 4796. It's this one edited by Runge. www.schott-music.com/en/solobuch-fuer-alt-blockfloete-noc35072.htmlSchott can be very confusing the way they call everything 'Solo Book for Alto Recorder' and you have to get the editor's name and any sub-title!
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