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From classical to pop, join the discussion on our Music forum.

Original poster

Instrument players - come and chat!

999 replies

NeverEverAnythingEver · 06/04/2017 23:21

I thought we could have a thread to chat about playing! I play the piano (not as badly as I fear but not as well as I hope) and have recently tried my hand at chamber music. Would love to hear what other people are doing.

CoteDAzur Here's a picture of the instruments they used in Rameau's Dardanus.

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CoteDAzur · 13/08/2017 21:59

Nevermind, I found it on YouTube Smile but says it's in C minor?

LooseAtTheSeams · 13/08/2017 22:17

Hmm...book says g minor and it's in g minor in the book, but that's a puzzle. Will see if I can find it somewhere else!

CoteDAzur · 13/08/2017 22:18

Maybe I'm not looking at the right piece. Can you link to a YouTube page where I can listen to the piece you are working on?

LooseAtTheSeams · 13/08/2017 22:20

Invention no 11 in G Minor not 2 - I am an idiot! You should be able to find it now!

LooseAtTheSeams · 13/08/2017 22:20

I will also look for a nice link to it.

CoteDAzur · 13/08/2017 22:28

You're messing with me Grin

Invention or Intervention?

LooseAtTheSeams · 13/08/2017 22:40

Grin invention!
If I can't get the title right there's very little chance I'll be able to play it!

CoteDAzur · 13/08/2017 22:44

I found it on Apple Music Smile It's good. Fiddly, complicated, contrapuntal - like most J S Bach.

My teacher says to not learn a piece with separate hands, though. She says to try playing both hands together from the start, even if very slowly.

LooseAtTheSeams · 13/08/2017 23:19

I think your teacher might well be right - I'm going to give that a go. Slowly does it!

LooseAtTheSeams · 16/08/2017 07:59

Cote I began experimenting hands together yesterday and managed to play the whole piece very slowly so I think that's the way to tackle it. This will be a long project, I think! Love the piece though so it'll be worth it.

CoteDAzur · 16/08/2017 11:07

Oh good, that's very cool Smile

How is the Gavotte going?

TheMildManneredMilitant · 16/08/2017 22:41

Evening all, thought I'd pop in and say hello if you don't mind. Gr8 piano but about 17 years ago and always just scraped through my exams. Rediscovered all my old sheet music recently though and started seriously practicing again. Currently trying to learn Chopin Nocturne 2 (i think - the most famous one) but its hard getting the lh right and my piano has a horrible tone. Wish I could get a new one but can't really afford it at the moment.
I also really have a hankering to join an orchestra again. Used to play the viola in local youth orchestras, I was never very good but the feeling of being in amongst it when it went well was incredible. The viola itself always felt a bit heavy and awkward though, so not sure whether to go back to it or give violin a try.
Lovely to see so many others getting back into music too.

CoteDAzur · 17/08/2017 19:49

Welcome MMM Smile That is exactly what I did - went back to playing the piano in my 40s, after a 30+ year break. It's great!

TheMildManneredMilitant · 18/08/2017 07:10

Thanks Cote. I especially love rediscovering all of the classical pieces, as for a few years whenever I did play it was only ever a handful of easy pop songs. One of my favourites though is the theme from the music The Piano by Michael Nyman, which I can play but not well enough to do it justice. Trouble is that I've been playing it a bit wrong and fast for so long that it's hard to slow down and sort it out.
I wish I could find somewhere nearby where you can hire music practice rooms with amazing pianos but doesn't appear to be anywhere. Might hunt for somewhere next time in London though.

Original poster
NeverEverAnythingEver · 19/08/2017 01:24

I'm on hols and only playing Einaudi. Hmm

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EndoplasmicReticulum · 26/08/2017 16:49

MMM the thing about being a viola player is you are far more likely to be welcomed into an orchestra than if you are just another violinist. You don't have to get a huge one, they come in a range of sizes.

I just found this thread - like lots of others I used to play years and years ago and had a big gap. I played viola in the Youth Orchestra but didn't really do grades. Tried a community orchestra a couple of years ago, I enjoyed the playing but at the time couldn't commit to all the rehearsals.

Since then I have started doing some folky stuff and picked up a violin again for the first time since I was about 11. Sessions are good fun, just back from Whitby folk week where I did a lot of workshops and playing.

I still play my viola in a string quartet (just for fun, we don't perform). I think playing with others is much more fun than playing alone.

TheMildManneredMilitant · 31/08/2017 17:03

Hi Endo, i know I did think that. It's weird too... if I look at the alto/viola clef on paper I couldn't tell you what any of the notes are. Pretend I'm playing and I can remember exactly where my fingers go. So it's still in there somewhere. However lovely lovely dh has just bought me a new acoustic piano so I think I'll commit to that for a while :)

CoteDAzur · 31/08/2017 19:11

Hi everyone Smile Well I've done it. I've gone and registered for proper music theory classes & grades at the local Conservatory. That's what I'll be doing Monday evenings this year - hanging out with other crazy adults starting music theory from the bottom Shock

EndoplasmicReticulum · 31/08/2017 19:41

I don't know any of the notes either. I just play it! I re-learned treble clef quite quickly, but sometimes when I'm playing I do forget whether I've got a viola or a violin under my chin and have to look and check....

Cote - good luck with that, music theory was never my favourite (see comment above!)

TheMildManneredMilitant · 31/08/2017 20:07

Oh good luck Cote that's great. I used to hate theory with a passion but I've found myself looking up a lot online now so I can try and play things properly so can kind of see the appeal.

CoteDAzur · 31/08/2017 20:28

I never had any music theory lessons and I'm really feeling the lack. It's going to be very boring for a long time as I move up the grades, I imagine. My teacher says that I'm about grade 6-7 on the instrument but I need to start music theory at the bottom. I did get much better at sight reading over the last year, but I can't tell what key a piece is in, dominant, 6th, etc all pass over my head.

Original poster
NeverEverAnythingEver · 01/09/2017 07:24

I did music theory a million years ago. Now I'm going through the stuff with DC. I always found music theory to be much easier than the actual playing - anything that allows you time to think is easier than actual playing!

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CoteDAzur · 01/09/2017 11:00

I agree! We'll see how I feel about this madness of sitting in a class room in my 40s, studying music theory into the night. I'm quite excited about it for now, though Smile

Original poster
NeverEverAnythingEver · 01/09/2017 11:32

If you are bored Ying Ying Ng's Music Theory for Young Musicians are good up to grade 5.

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CoteDAzur · 01/09/2017 11:58

I'm pretty sure that I'll be very bored because DS had this particular teacher for a year at the same Conservatory and he nearly quit because he was so boring. I took one look at his homework and had to agree.

DS only persevered until the end of the school year with this teacher because I told him that he couldn't continue with his instrument lessons at the same Conservatory if he dropped out of music theory lessons. It was a difficult year!

I plan to think of it as 1 hour in the weak when I don't have to work, listen to kids' demands, or otherwise run around. Just sit there and chill, look out the window and think about my music Smile