May/ June Music and Musicians Thread

[Wafflenose]

Welcome, everyone. I can't believe we need a new thread already, but I'm delighted that they now seem so popular!

I'm Waffle, I'm a music teacher and I have two daughters - Goo (10) who plays the recorder, flute, piccolo (a bit) and started the piano a month ago, and Rara (8) who isn't as musically inclined but plays the cello and recorder. She is plodding (very) slowly towards Grade 3 on both.

We're going on holiday this weekend, so will have to have a good read when I get back. For now, I'll wind the thread up and let it do its stuff.

Only, I use the website when the pink book and the abrsm become too hard to read. My daughter likes it so I bought their book for her to work on the bits she isnt good. Their explanation is really good however the exercise is much easier than the abrsm. We stick with abrsm now.

Newlife: I do believe in having a gene help, no wonder your daughter is talented in music when she has her dad, very jealous here!

Drummers mom, I aim for the only one thing which your son is having now, doing well academically and enjoy and play good quality of music. Its a moutain to climb to what he has now so there is alot to look up!
Goo has found a new love I think!
Loose: I am joining you on the piano this July, the lesson schedule has just been sorted now. I promised our tutor that I wont be rolling on the floor nor stamping on the piano!

NeverEver - I play the piano and I recently started the harpsichord. It's an unusual instrument, but my taste in music is pretty exclusively Baroque so it works well. Couperin in particular is not so easy to play on the piano, I find. Harpsichord is much easier (lighter) to play, although the technique is a bit different and feels weird at first after the piano.

For example, I like to play Couperin's from his l'Art de Toucher le Clavecin on the harpsichord. Not so much on the piano. Bach, on the other hand, works as well (if not better) on the piano imho.

I'm new to Rameau, but can't stop listening to about 10 of his pieces these days. One of them is ("Call of the birds") which my harpsichord teacher says I can play if I do nothing else for a few months. It's so simple and yet so fulfilling. I just have to play it Others I will be working towards are , , , , and . I'll get their notes from my teacher tomorrow. No idea how long they will take me to get through, but it will be a great journey

Thank you Cote! How did you get hold of a harpsichord? I've never played one and am curious. Will listen through the pieces tomorrow. I have some Bach going but I'm a Beethoven person (though I seem to be playing a lot of Schubert at the moment) ... Periodically I'd hear something interesting on the radio and can't rest until I get to play them. My technique is not what it was but I think I'm having more fun now than I ever did!

I don't have a harpsichord, unfortunately, but I am an adult student at the local conservatory where they have several. I practice on the piano at home, then go there to play the harpsichord, too. It's great

Counterpoint is what I like best in music, and naturally, Bach is my God Nobody has don't contrapuntal music better than Bach and I just love listening to both melodies my two hands play separately. Couperin does a bit of counterpoint but it doesn't hold for long. Rameau isn't bad in counterpoint, as I'm beginning to learn.

When I was young I thought I understood Bach but I see now that I only knew the prelude and fugues and the inventions. I'm learning one of the partitas and it's doing my head in. But it's compelling. I have also started playing some of the transcription of Bach's cantatas. I was obsessed with one once and then our printer conked out and I couldn't sleep for days ...

Ooh I love Bach's cantatas and have been obsessing about them for quite a few years now, singing them, listening to them in the car, at home, etc - rather oddly, for a lifelong atheist It never occurred to me to find their transcriptions. Where would I look for them? Would you recommend a book, if one exists? I have quite a few in mind that I would love to play.

If you like Bach, I would heartily recommend acclaimed Baroque conductor John Eliot Gardiner's book Bach: Music In The Castle Of Heaven, which goes into quite some detail about his music.

Waffle thank you, I had a look and stage 14 doesn't look that far away but I assume she'll slow down soon even just because she needs to consolidate the notes/sounds she can produce yet.

musicmom I'll give her a few months to grasp the basics and once all in place I'll look into a woodwind orchestra for her to join.

Green I dare you to roll on the floor on your first lesson! Good luck with it, I have books, I have it all, no time though

Cote I found some on imslp.org. For example Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme transcribed by Busoni. If you search "whatever-title piano transcript" you might find some simple arrangement and the imslp one.

I was completely obsessed with this one ever since I heard it by accident on clssic fm. seems to do a line in them, but this one is a Kempff transcription which I couldn't find. DC were humming this for a long time and we were the ponciest family...

And thanks for the recommendation of the John Eliot Gardiner book on Bach. I'm a fiction reader usually but will make exception for books about music. I read something by Brendel recently ...

Did you see JEG doing his thing with Beethoven's Fifth on BBC4?

O well, dd1 had grade 3 exam next week. Can't find the aural CD for it, (have grade 1, 2, 4, and 5). In addition loudspeaker of this computer has finally completely given up (so can't even listen to all the links mentioned here).
She did grade 4 not that long ago so hope for the best.

Never - I'm not in the UK so don't have BBC channels, sadly. Definitely go through Gardiner's Bach book with YouTube in hand, listening to each piece as you are reading about it.

The Beethoven's 5th thing is definitely in this house's watching list. As soon as exams are over.

Cote I didn't realise. Will definitely try the Bach book and try the Rameau pieces.

drummers It was hugely exciting. And the programme before about how perhaps this is not about Beethoven's struggle with fate - very interesting. Also the other programme about the effect of the French revolution on the Austrian musical scene.

Three days left for anybody interested in applying for this.

www.pianosummerschool.com/applicationform

Also, am I mean for not letting dd sign up for this?
I want her at home for the holidays and know that quite a lot of her time will be taken up with practice as it's what she enjoys.
We will also be taking her to at least 3 music festivals and friends and family would like to spend time with her too.
Atm, I'm big bad mum for not letting her do it.

Newlife it's full anyway so there's your escape clause. She could go and watch but that's not as much fun.

Has anyone done this as adult amateur?

All this talk of summer school courses has made me look more into them...thinking of EYSM for next summer as this one's booked already. Those that have children who go, do they love it, are they stretched, do they get more exposure to stuff beyond their orchestral instrument and choir?

May take some sell job as the recurring friends she meets are a big pull but I like the idea of her mixing with European children for a week for a change, vs local county intake...

Green how exciting! So pleased you are going to learn piano as well - I am sure you will love it!
I am slowly ironing out kinks in my grade 4 pieces. My theory homework this week is setting words to a rhythm. This is going to be interesting...

Whoops sorry, I didn't read the bit about it being full.
Brilliant get out clause.
Apologies for not posting it before, I just didn't think.
We will not be going to watch she has enough she wants to do already.

ealingwest
why have I never heard of EYSM!! Looks fabulous. I have googled music summer courses for hours in the past and never come across it! Unfortunately we already have other plans for that week which cannot be changed. But thank you so much for the tip.

I know, I had not heard of it either drummersmum until prompted to look around! We've been dong the same one for 3 years, and whilst she loves it, I know she could get more out of one that offers a wider range (I liked that composition and smaller ensembles were an option).

Just put it to her, she didn't balk, but said she'd prefer to go with someone she knew, though not essential. I did point out that she'd by nearly 14 by the time next July 17 comes, so at this stage, just to think about it for now until I get the lo down from our experts

Someone told me about the Oxford Cello school and the Oxford piano school as well recently. They look expensive ...

Exampanic: go to the music shop to get one just in case! If not the apps is quite good too. Fingers crossed she still remembers it from the last exam. Our aural is awful. We have no sense of rythm. I am only hoping it will come up with loads of listening to music.

Green that's great news about the piano lessons, well done!

I take guitar lessons and I'm not very good, but I'm obviously a bit better than DD thinks because she heard me practising last night and expressed surprise . And then she stayed for my guitar class tonight (due to transport complications) and I think she was a bit shocked at how good we are. It helps that we are a proper group - drummer, bassist, three guitars and a singer - so if one person messes up it's not necessarily that obvious. But it's amazing what a bunch of adult musicians can achieve with a good teacher and a not excessively ambitious repertoire. And it's great fun. I've done two years now and will definitely continue next year.