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Post by evergreen on Jan 28, 2023 22:51:21 GMT
If you learnt how to play a carrot, you could join a Vegetable Orchestra
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Post by pavane on Jan 29, 2023 10:03:04 GMT
Gear4Music sell a plastic trumpet mouth piece for £6ish so a slightly different challenge would be make a trumpet from said mouthpiece, a length of hosepipe and a plastic filter funnel. Could be a challenge I might be interested in myself! Or one of these maybe. Or would that be cheating because of its relationship to the clarinet? Otherwise there are lots of other goodies on Linsey Pollack's website. Like the rubber glove bagpipe I'd seriously like one of the glass bass clarinets but they look a bit beyond my home-made skills.
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Post by pavane on Jan 29, 2023 10:10:05 GMT
If you learnt how to play a carrot, you could join a Vegetable Orchestra
Great fun! Oddly enough, I have made a carrot recorder: I did a recorder making course with Tim Cranmore (the recorder player here) and one day he was giving a talk that evening that was going to involve demonstrating one of his carrot recorders, so he did a quick practice one in the afternoon and I had a bit of a go. It was quite messy as the carrot was very fresh and it was mostly done with an electric drill - it was remarkably quick and great fun to try.
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Post by Zi on Jan 29, 2023 11:07:48 GMT
And I thought I could no longer hear when something was out of tune. Good news - I can!
But if you stick to playing 4' 33" then perhaps it doesn't matter. I'm not sure. I asked Mr Z if it was necessary to know how to play the piano if you were playing 4' 33" on the piano but he thought that way lies madness...
I seriously fancy making the hosepipe thing! And the rubber glove bagpipes - tremendous!
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Post by Zi on Jan 29, 2023 11:27:33 GMT
Actually, I'm struggling a bit here. It's bad enough owning up to playing the recorder. Can you imagine the conversation?
Them: So, your husband plays the piano and guitar. What do you play? Me: The carrot. But I'm hoping to move on to the marrow and the courgette. Or maybe even the gourd. I gave up on the parsnip as we needed it for a stew...
Does look like fun though... but maybe even Mr Z isn't that tolerant...
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Post by keff on Jan 29, 2023 11:37:15 GMT
Them: So, your husband plays the piano and guitar. What do you play? Me: The carrot. But I'm hoping to move on to the marrow and the courgette. Or maybe even the gourd. I gave up on the parsnip as we needed it for a stew... Well that made me smile.
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Post by pavane on Jan 29, 2023 11:49:45 GMT
There is a kind of acceptable eccentricity that goes with playing kettles and rubber glove bagpipes, so that would probably extend to vegetables, whereas admitting to playing the recorder often involves basic unadulterated embarrassment!
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Post by keff on Jan 29, 2023 11:56:20 GMT
I was embarrassed yesterday afternoon for forgetting how to play my Bach in front of the piano group. I am still wondering why I bother and just give it up instead.
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Post by Zi on Jan 29, 2023 12:20:03 GMT
You bother because it enriches your life. And it does. Or you wouldn't. I gave up for a year - as I told you - because I couldn't face relearning recorder yet again and I didn't want to play. My husband tried to tell me I'd regret it (once my wrist had healed). But I didn't and I don't. I rediscovered what the recorder meant to me and it's now zooming along much faster than it did. Maybe because I've stopped trying to reach some target or goal. My aim is to enjoy it and not worry about where I end up. So, looking at the scenery on the train rather than fretting over the next station - I guess. Woah - dangerously approaching twee there... Anyway, performers are always forgetting bits - they get good at cover up. I've heard Shakespearean actors miss out whole swathes...and the other actors kind of adjusted... edit to add - frankly sometimes it improved the play! And I bet the director was jealous.
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Post by Zi on Jan 30, 2023 12:40:44 GMT
Today was eventful. I thought I'd try putting the harness on by myself and it took its revenge so Mr Z had to sort it out. It took 10 minutes rather than the usual 5 and I have a low boredom threshold. Eventually, I started my 15 minutes playing. I have three new lower notes - G A B and that's fine. I can sort of play them. Unfortunately, I can't read them so I have to keep stopping to work out which is which. Any skills I had(?) on the recorder seem to have forsaken me. My new tune is When The Saints Go Marching In. When the demonstrator plays it, it is nice. When I play it, it is awful. And long.... it goes on and on - a whole page... and not content with playing in the low notes it has to repeat it using the top G. The Collie has given up singing along; she realises I'll never be in tune with her. I can't believe that real clarinet players go through this... if they do, what kind of life do they have? Sore thumbs, half strangled by their knotted harness and their faces all vibrate-y. Maybe I really should take up piano which if you can learn it in an hour, seems a lot easier. The only problem is what'll I do for the rest of the week? How are things with you keff ? I realise that Twinkle Twinkle is way beyond me...
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Post by keff on Jan 30, 2023 12:47:25 GMT
Two more practice sessions with Twinkle and then it gets recorded. I will relate the biggest difficulty I am having when I post the recording, hopefully by tomorrow evening.
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Post by Zi on Jan 30, 2023 14:02:59 GMT
We've experimented with microphones today. I'm yet to try Mr Z's attempt to see which is best. I'm not ready to record When The Saints etc though. I've played it only a couple of times and I can't get the second half at all. I might look for an easier version. It's going to be unaccompanied as the CD can't keep pace with me... My first attempt recorded today resulted in me in a lot of giggles... I keep thinking of the big auditorium, the lights and that's it - I can go no further... It's all the people demanding their money back that gets to me...
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Post by evergreen on Jan 30, 2023 15:26:25 GMT
It's going to be unaccompanied as the CD can't keep pace with me... That sounds like my metronome, which struggles to keep time with me
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Post by Zi on Jan 30, 2023 16:10:04 GMT
They're all hopeless. I have a digital one which has no concept of rhythm. The mechanical one is equally challenged. Digital tuners likewise - no idea what a note is. And as for those backing CDs - hopeless all of them though I do find if you stick with them they seem to improve over the years...
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Post by keff on Jan 31, 2023 9:52:24 GMT
Just completed my seventh 10-20 minute practice session per day and at the end of it did a one take recording of Twinkle Little Star, warts and all. The recording is now uploading and when it has been processed through SoundCloud it will go into Critique Corner.
Playing an ascending scale isn't as difficult as a descending one because fingers are put down on the strings one after another. Descending the ability is needed to place three fingers at the same time as you jump from the last played open string to the one below and I didn't develop the knack of doing this quickly or accurately for that matter.
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