Autumn 21 music thread

This might be about right though:

https://www.musicroom.com/christmas-double-act-violin-violin-kmp3612017?glid=gb&CAWELAID=120075890000790098&CATARGETID=120075890000865001&CADevice=m&gclid=CjwKCAiAvKMBhAzEiwAs-rX1KgyILJ4pF4fEUdeG9lCQOOCSkaA4IJq3CssQDb6SLefk3uMJJe3kRoCFDoQAvDBwE

Do you only want duets? We used fiddle time Christmas but that's a bit easy, though has some duets and otherwise have 101 Christmas songs for violin, but no duets.

Could I possibly trouble you for Christmas violin duet recommendations please? We're grade 2/3 although might not be relevant as carols don't get that difficult! Tried some free online ones and found them a bit ropey. Looking to buy a whole book with all the classic carols.

Recommendation in return, loving Chester's Easiest Carols (initial grade up to grade 2ish?) for the piano.

Hi there,

Does anyone here know if Hofnote is out of action permanently?

@Tangle02 - I've PMd you - I do have a 7/8 cello which is suitable as a school cello for someone who doesn't want to expose a decent cello to loks of commuting etc.

@HappySM1 Another option might be a youth band at church if your church is the type to have a music group or is it always piano/organ? I started a youth band at our church, we have ukulele, guitar, recorder etc and just do a couple of songs every so often with plenty of practice so they feel confident.

Welcome @HappySM1 That's great your DD is enjoying her music so much. Christmas is a great time to play lots of fun music and build confidence. I'm sure you'll enjoy playing lots of duets together. If there are no groups, maybe you could consider starting something small? I ran a recorder group at my dds school partly for that reason and would love to get it going again. I'm not a professional, but an enthusiastic amatuer. You could test the waters with a little group playing some Christmas carols.

I think there's been a 7/8 confusion. London Mummy is sending me an aural book for grade 7-8, and I think Tangle02 is asking about a 7/8 cello, which Londonmummy also has?

Maybe?

I'm often very confused though so may be wrong

@londonmummy1966 - glad it’s found a good home. (looking for a 7/8 “school” cello, as DD has had issues with her hands and the 4/4 currently doing the duty is really a touch big - and noticeably bigger than the “posh” 7/8 at home. Ah well. She’s broadly coping and she’ll only get bigger!)

Hi All, lively thread

My DD just turned 8. She did her ABRSM G1 Piano and Violin in June and her G1 Recorder last week. She is Grade 2-3 standard on all her instruments, but I delayed her G1s partly due to Corona and partly because she is a perfectionist and I wanted her to get good results (which she did).

I play piano and some woodwind instruments.

DD is a fantastic sight reader, so we are having a lot of fun playing Christmas duets. I can't wait for her to be able to join an orchestra. There is nothing going on locally, school has virtually no music at all.

We both sing in the church choir.

Her real love, however, is ballet. So when we go to the ballet, she goes for the dancing, I go for the music. Happy all round.

@Tangle02 - sorry I'm sending it to mini minisnowball....

Hoping your brass band will fire their passion for it. It certainly did for me and while I don't play professionally or in a brass band any more, I am very active in many other groups , for fun!

@londonmummy1966 if you’re still looking to rehome your 7/8 could you send me a message?

My middle DD agreed she might accompany the youngest in a festival entry which offers modest prize money. She then tried to negotiate her fee as a percentage of any prize money!!

Im impressed by all the accompanying parents, no chance of that here. We do however do an excellent line in arsey regardless . In other news, dd1 and dd2 when on tour their chamber orchestra last weekend and much fun and little sleep was had and concert season is approaching rapidly and yet again i am wondering why i didnt study logistics....

@thirdfiddle I'd give up whilst you are ahead....

I'm not sure having Daddy accompany was that good once she got to about Grade 5 as she got quite arsey with him (before she literally sacked him at Grade 6). Now she is a much better player than he is and has been roped in to accompany little sister - who is even more arsey - DH finds that quite amusing.

Amazing!

I managed to plonk out the odd badly-played accompaniment up to Grade 3, but I'm completely stuck with helping now - particularly given that I have one child whose instrument moves in and out of three clefs (talking to you, cello) and another on alto clef. Both do my head in.

Dealing with music is like dealing with a foreign language for me. To be honest, most foreign languages would have been easier. So grateful for all the help!

Wow, that's lovely having dad as accompanist! DD does permit him to help her practise but not for the exam. Plus he can just about manage the grade five stuff but not other DDs g7. That would just lead to arguments!

@minisnowballs I've PMd you again re drop off on Saturday. Great news that the singing teacher is helpful. We had a brilliant piano teacher who used to help with running cello pieces with the accompaniment which made a big difference (even if daddy did the actual accompaniment til he got sacked for incompetence )

SO great when teachers collaborate.

That's great when their teachers work together. We will have help from the piano teacher for the aural in the bassoon exam, it means all her bassoon time is playing and she's not got any deadlines in piano just now.

Super grateful to Dd2s school singing teacher, who apparently brought the Grade 7 aural book in today to work with her (it's a flute exam so nothing to do with this teacher) and did all the cadences, chord modulations and singing the lower part bit. Amazing!