zbd1960

It's interesting to compare how 'easy' (I use the term loosely) it is to get started o various instruments... Certain types of instrument are inherently more difficult to make progress on. There's a reason why the recorder is used as a beginner instrument as it's easy to blow and the fingering is simple. The only down side is that for the small hands of children it means using the descant recorder, which is very high pitched. The treble recorder is much nicer to listen to. Here's a consort of recorders from treble to the sub-contrabass... Main challenge with 'standard' recorders is that you need to learn two sets of fingerings for F and C instruments, as unlike say saxes, they don't transpose so you have to use different fingering on the different pitches (i.e. descant and tenor are same fingering, treble and bass are same fingering). Single reed woodwind instruments are relatively easy to get going on. This is the clarinet and saxophone families. Saxes are easier than clarinets. The embouchure is not too difficult and fingering over the core two octaves is mostly straightforward. Clarinets are trickier. I play saxophone and in my first lesson, I was getting basic notes out of it back in 2011. The core couple of octaves of D below treble staff to the D two octaves above are relatively easy to learn. It takes longer to be able to do the lowest notes (down to Bb) and the highest standard notes up to top F#. Double reed instruments are MUCH harder to get on with. The main ones being the oboe and bassoon families. not only are these instruments difficult to play/learn they are also inherently much more expensive. String instruments of the violin family are relatively easy to get basic sounds out of but present challenges of coordinating fingering with left hand and bowing with right. Cello is easier as you don't have to seal with holding the instrument up like violin or viola. Getting to a reasonable standard is more challenging. And that brings us to brass.... I have only recently tried to play a brass instrument and it presents a lot of challenges. You have to maintain an embouchure, similar to sax, but you have to 'buzz' your lips as well. For a given combination of valves, there is a harmonic series of notes that will come out. You have to adjust your oral cavity - mostly by raising/lowering the tongue - to be able to get different notes from teh harmonic series. For example, the base open note with no valves is a 'C', the next harmonic is the 5th at G, then the octave at the C above, and so on. to play a specific note, you have to think about 'pitching' it since even at my basic level, 'open' (no valves) can produce one of 3 notes depending on how I pitch it. The number of choices will increase as I improve. Using valve 2 will give me the B below middle C, F#, then the B an octave up. I've been playing since the end of last September, initially with weekly group less with the band, I now have a weekly private lesson. I can just about play from B below middle C to the C an octave above, so a 9th. Apparently, that's about what you expect for someone that's been learning for a year. Admittedly I have some advantages in that I already read music so do not have to add that into the mix.

Well, I now find myself in the weird position of being the conductor of a decent town brass band and I take the rehearsals on Wednesday evenings... Main things I'm working on are improving dynamics to make greater differentiation between pp and ff, plus some articulation issues. There's a lot of gigs coming up over the summer.

Yesterday was one of those weird life 'milestones'. It was my 66th birthday, which is not a number you'd in the past have said was 'significant'. That's because of government changes to how pensions work. For the majority of my working life my state pension age was 65, but that changed and I'm one of the few that managed to achieve it at 66, unlike my brother who is two years younger than me and his is not until he's 67. So yes, I am officially an OAP now and to celebrate I went to the library and applied for my bus pass 🙂. That was the only exciting thing that happened yesterday. Birthday cards received: one, from a neighbour. Presents received: one, from same neighbour. Getting old is not much fun. Just as well I try to keep busy with various things.

Well, I've conducted two full rehearsals now and they're not throwing pencils or worse at me yet... I've decided to sign-up to a full-blown conducting summer school at Swansea University in late July.

Yeah, I'm about 600' up here at he house and it's a steep hill down into town, which I think is a drop of about 250' - 300'.

Leg is doing OK. I stopped taking pain killers several weeks ago and stopped wearing the boot two weeks ago. I've walked into town three times in the last ten days and yesterday did that without a walking stick. Main issue is the tendons, ligaments, and soft tissue of the ankle which got mangled. That's still sore and not fully functional. Saw physio for first time today at local cottage hospital in town. They're happy with progress and I'll be put into a weekly gym class for 6 or 8 weeks which is supervised by physios. That's at the hospital as well.

I'll probably get confused and turn up with the wrong instrument... cello, sax, 3 manual organ console....

I took my cello to the luthier today for a check-up. Decided it needed new strings - £275 for a set of Larsons...

Talk about things moving and changing rapidly... I started to learn to play euphonium in October. Initially, the tuition was with the beginners' group with the training band. It is significantly harder work and slower to learn than sax or cello (or bass). My big advantage is I already read music and I'm an experienced musician so I don't have most of the issues that add extra challenges to beginners. I started private lessons as well just before Christmas - had about four now - which helps a lot. I'm now playing with the training band, not the beginners' group - I'm the only one that's been asked to move across (some of that is I've been more consistent in attending...). There are notes I can't play as they're beyond my current range. I either read down an octave, or omit them. A couple of weeks ago, the MD messages me 3 hours before rehearsal and says: can you take the rehearsal tonight and conduct it? I have stood in before in various groups and I did do a conducting component at summer school last year. Then I get asked would I consider taking on the conducting post at another band in the area? So, some long phone calls, a visit from the band leader and a long chat, I go to the band's rehearsal last Wednesday and now it seems I'm the conductor of the band in Appleby... I've spent this week trying to find videos (with correct arrangements) of their current list of pieces - not entirely successfully - and I've been marking up scores. Good job I'd already signed-up to the conducting part of the this year's summer school...

But you can spiel?

I attended the rehearsal this evening of a local (adjacent town) brass band - they've asked me to be their conductor. My main aim this evening was just to listen to them, but I did end up conducting some of the rehearsal. Looks like I start properly next week.... there's a full diary of concerts and gigs.... eek.

I think you had clear requirements and elicited the key information (I've been retired from IT for six years, but it still shows through... 🙂)... Yeah, if I were to play sax in a band, I'd want something more than the odd 8 bars in a few pieces.

I should be able to make it. I'm just waiting to get the gig dates for the brass band I'll be working with (I will write more about that under my "non rock'n'roll bassist" thread

I've put it in the diary. The only potential spanner is I am taking on the conducting role for a band and until next week I don't know what their gig diary looks like. Hopefully not a clash.

My current rehearsals are Tuesday evening (choir), Wednesday afternoon (community choir), Thursday afternoon (tenor sax, jazz group), Friday evening (training brass band, euphonium).