to everyone/anyone who prayed for my Aunt.
She is getting on very well - out of bed in her own clothes and judging by the photo my uncle emailed us looking a very healthy colour.
Not bad for someone who was in intensive care on Thurs.
Sunday, 20 September 2009
Friday, 18 September 2009
Practising
As a Catholic and a musician, you would think that I had an idea of practising and I do, but the music practice bit is hard to keep up when you are out at work all day.
Tomorrow I play Borodin 2 all day. I've never heard it and I calculate that that I my not have picked up my horn since the Parish Music Evening. I'm hoping it's not a big blow. Or as my ever blunt section principal would put it 'a serious smack in the gob.' It can't be that hard. Horn player knowledge tells me there is a solo in there somewhere, but I'd know if it was for horn 2 (me), so I shall be safe.
Time to test my powers of concentration.... I hope my valves haven't seized up...
Ho hum.
Tomorrow I play Borodin 2 all day. I've never heard it and I calculate that that I my not have picked up my horn since the Parish Music Evening. I'm hoping it's not a big blow. Or as my ever blunt section principal would put it 'a serious smack in the gob.' It can't be that hard. Horn player knowledge tells me there is a solo in there somewhere, but I'd know if it was for horn 2 (me), so I shall be safe.
Time to test my powers of concentration.... I hope my valves haven't seized up...
Ho hum.
On teaching smaller people
My school has two year 6 classes (10-11) before the other seven years and I am teaching one for the first time this year. They are very cute and apart from having tendencies towards putting their hands up to tell me random facts, are great. It does take a while to get stuff done, because I'm aware that they are more fragile than year 7 and so my usual snappy manner could cause distress and so I find myself having to wait whilst 6 boys regail us with their story every time I ask a question.
Anyway, we have this song which we do at the start of the year and we have to do major and minor, so to demonstrate I played it in Emin instead of E maj and they thought it sounded very melancholy and infact better. I left in a few augmented 2nds so it had a slight East European tinge too. As a naughty treat, we sang the first verse in E min and they went for it and it sounded really heart rending, sniff, so I suggeted (obviously in a teachery, this IS what we are going to do kinda way,) that we ended with verse 2 in E maj to cheer ourselves up!
I used to demonstrate the difference bewteen major and minor by playing Xmas Carols in different keys. We three kings is great when you make the verse major and the chorus minor! Musical vandalism in the class room.
So far, there seem to be some very interested boys in the exam classes and we staggered through the Elgar Serenade on Mon am, so the concert should be fine. 12 weeks til Xmas....
Anyway, we have this song which we do at the start of the year and we have to do major and minor, so to demonstrate I played it in Emin instead of E maj and they thought it sounded very melancholy and infact better. I left in a few augmented 2nds so it had a slight East European tinge too. As a naughty treat, we sang the first verse in E min and they went for it and it sounded really heart rending, sniff, so I suggeted (obviously in a teachery, this IS what we are going to do kinda way,) that we ended with verse 2 in E maj to cheer ourselves up!
I used to demonstrate the difference bewteen major and minor by playing Xmas Carols in different keys. We three kings is great when you make the verse major and the chorus minor! Musical vandalism in the class room.
So far, there seem to be some very interested boys in the exam classes and we staggered through the Elgar Serenade on Mon am, so the concert should be fine. 12 weeks til Xmas....
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
To B or not to B
Played new AS boy the set works today, so he knows what we're up against. The reason we did that and not something a little more meaty, will remain obscure.
Anyway, after we'd listened to the three movements of Bach's Orchestral Suite No3 that he has to do, I asked him what he thought and he said he didn't like the B natural in the last phrase of the violin I part of the Air. Nothing specific then. After a discussion about why that note weakened the approach to the cadence despite being in a weak place in the bar, though in a syncopated rhythm and why the melody might fall to that note and having contrasted it with three bars previously where it's all very chromatic etc, whilst taking in the fact that Bach must have intended that effect, we decided that it was to make the beginning of the next movement go with a bang. He's right that it is a rather abrupt ending, all things considered.
Usually, when you ask boys for a rection, they say something vague about whether they like it or not and we move on swiftly to stuff they need to learn.
Anyway, after we'd listened to the three movements of Bach's Orchestral Suite No3 that he has to do, I asked him what he thought and he said he didn't like the B natural in the last phrase of the violin I part of the Air. Nothing specific then. After a discussion about why that note weakened the approach to the cadence despite being in a weak place in the bar, though in a syncopated rhythm and why the melody might fall to that note and having contrasted it with three bars previously where it's all very chromatic etc, whilst taking in the fact that Bach must have intended that effect, we decided that it was to make the beginning of the next movement go with a bang. He's right that it is a rather abrupt ending, all things considered.
Usually, when you ask boys for a rection, they say something vague about whether they like it or not and we move on swiftly to stuff they need to learn.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Please pray
for my Aunt who will be having a heart operation on Wed.
Hopefully, she is presently listening to R3 as she likes Beethoven fifth pno conc a lot and it's taking her mind off things.
Hopefully, she is presently listening to R3 as she likes Beethoven fifth pno conc a lot and it's taking her mind off things.
R3 Post Proms
can be a bit flat, especially as Sunday night is traditionally weirdo radio play night on the Third Programme, in my mind at least. Just as Sat pm is World Music(s) followed by Jazz and I have trained myself to leave it on in the interests of education and improvement.
Anyway, today they are playing the concerto finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition and three of the finalists chose Beethoven (another Catholic, yup, one trick pony me,) Fifth Piano Concerto, The Emperor. Fine by me.
Reminds me of the same competition when I was at school and everyone chose the Schumann Piano Concerto. Kept switching the radio on during the evening and getting the same piece. Tough on the orchestra. The next day I was in Schott's a music publisher/shop in London, (though yes I think the main office is Mainz, if we want to get fussy,) and the lady on the front desk was singing the last movement!
Anyway, today they are playing the concerto finals of the Leeds International Piano Competition and three of the finalists chose Beethoven (another Catholic, yup, one trick pony me,) Fifth Piano Concerto, The Emperor. Fine by me.
Reminds me of the same competition when I was at school and everyone chose the Schumann Piano Concerto. Kept switching the radio on during the evening and getting the same piece. Tough on the orchestra. The next day I was in Schott's a music publisher/shop in London, (though yes I think the main office is Mainz, if we want to get fussy,) and the lady on the front desk was singing the last movement!
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