zbd1960

Hi, welcome.

Thanks. That failed as well, which indicates that the Apple ecosphere has got itself misaligned... I used the 'reset password' option and that seems to have resolved it...

For a while I have been unable to access BC through iPhone 13 as it says credentials not recognised. I have checked with what I'm using to login on the MacBook - bear in mind the Apple eco-system shares stuff - and it doesn't work.

I live on a new estate and it won't be fully complete until next year, although my part is now fully occupied. The house numbering is very 'creative'. The community FB group has endless 'anyone know where this is' for a parcel delivered who knows where. We did have an issue with Evri with one delivery person, but others, including the current ones, have been OK. I think that's down to them living locally, they're on the FB group, and are contactable. I've had no issues with RM. I get random issues with the big ones like DPD, DHL etc - most of the time they're OK but they'll suddenly go off piste. I have a parcel box by the door which helps I think.

Sorry to hear this but unfortunately it happens, including in amateur choirs and orchestras, in fact in any club/society/group, which is where my experience mostly sits. I could regale you with tales going back decades… but even in the last few months I’ve walked away from a group due to stupid behaviour. At 64 I’ve zero tolerance of stupid behaviour and I won’t waste my time on such stuff. The word ‘empathy’ is over-used, but it is what is lacking here. To mix metaphors, some people are just tone deaf. Ultimately, it’s selfishness (people are too quick to use the word ‘narcissist’ these days, which is more extreme) they’ve seen what they think is an ‘opportunity’ and jumped to make it happen without thinking through the issues and consequences. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff happens, which can shake you as it causes you to lose trust in people. I’ve had two very bad experiences over the years as well as all the small things that happen. The two big ones were very upsetting as I’d given years of my time to both groups. All we can do is try to learn from it and move on. As someone who has only discovered in the last three years that they are mildly autistic, it does explain some of my difficulties in understanding the behaviour of others. Doesn’t justify it though. Hopefully other things will come along. On the plus side, the world of any specialist activity is small and word gets around… Good luck.

Ok, what music am I up to at the moment? Quite a lot really. The cello gets a weekly outing to orchestra rehearsals and this term's concert includes works by Prokofiev and Holst. I've joined the local choral society singing baritone and they're working on parts 1,2,3, and 6 of the Bach Christmas Oratorio. I've joined a brand new community choir that meets in a nearby village. It's doing rock/pop/musical theatre stuff... not my cup of tea, but we'll see how it goes... The baritone sax is getting a monthly outing to a local jazz improv group. This is well outside of my comfort zone.... I haven't found anywhere yet to get the bass out 🙁. I've started having organ lessons and I have a weekly rehearsal slot in a local church which has a three manual instrument. I'm having an instrument built for use at home which will use Hauptwerk - software that runs what is known as VPO - virtual pipe organ - I will be buying some Neumann monitors to provide the sound... My instrument is unlikely to be ready until next spring.

This term I'm in a jazz improv group, choir, a community choir, and an orchestra... Main choir rehearsal was last night going through the tricky bits (it's Bach - it's all tricky!). Orchestra was Tuesday evening and it was string sectional working on Prokofiev and Holst. Concerts for both of those coming up in December.

Same....

String players and pianists number fingers differently.... Piano fingering has thumb as 1, whereas string players index finger is 1

As a cellist who plays in orchestras... we've all been there. I played in a concert some years ago where someone had orchestrated 90s dance music and the arranger thought it was hilarious to have the string parts oscillate between keys of 5 or 6 flats and 5 or 6 sharps. Currently rehearsing something with a new composition in it - the cello part has 36 bars of tied semibreves at one point... then one bar with two minims... and then an eternity of tied semibreves... I've played Sibelius 5 - you just have to accept sometimes that the cello part in works like that is an 'effect' and playing what is actually written is almost impossible for non-pro players

I've lived on my own since I was 25... I doubt I'd survive dealing with someone else and their stuff... And they'd probably struggle with me and my stuff....

As a single guy, I'm hardly qualified to comment in some respects, but my observations of others over the years is that the successful relationships seem to be the ones where people carry on with the hobbies and interests, perhaps shared to some extent.

I planned my photo trip to Liverpool earlier in the week around the monthly organ recital at St. George's Hall in Liverpool. This stunning neo-classical building has a huge Willis organ in it. The 'big' trumpet stop called 'Tuba Mirabilis' has been out of action for several years pending refurbishment. It seems a benefactor funded the work and my visit coincided with its first performance. That one stop is LOUD. The famous Minton tiled floor was covered though - it's only uncovered for a few weeks a year and for special occasions.

No, I'm not, which I agree is a valid point. Last term for example one of the works in the concert was Tchaikovsky symphony no.3, which lasts about 45 minutes. We had a handful of rehearsals, then performed it in the concert. It'll be years before it gets programmed again.

Some people - I'm one of them - do not find memorising music very easy. Admittedly I mostly play in orchestras or bands, and I sing in choirs, where you play/sing from music. I can sight read reasonably well.

Yes, I've not chased this up either - I've not been able to log in on my iPhone 13 for a while - but I haven't had the chance to sit down with the Mac as well and trouble shoot it.

Same in the cello world. When I bought my first cello, I asked to try a range of bows priced (in 2011) between £100 and £1,500 and for them to not tell me which was which. It ended up being a close call between a Coda carbon fibre bow and a Dorfler pernambuco one. They were both around the £400 mark and I ended up with the Dorfler at £450. I have a different instrument now, a German 'workshop' instrument from about 1900 current value around £6k. I did think about getting a better bow a while ago, but nothing I tried up to £1,500 seemed to be a worthwhile improvement. After £1,500 prices rocket upwards rapidly. And forget getting an antique WE Hill - a 1930s one currently for sale at £6,000 the C19th are much more...

Speaking as a cellist, the only thing to do is try a few. Some people prefer a stick with more spring, others prefer it to be stiffer. Weight and balance point are personal preference. Modern carbon fibre bows compare well with pernambuco bows in the same price range, but it's individual preference.

There are various factors at play, all of which affect pitch. If the venue is warmer than where you keep the bass at home, the string will expand a little and you'll go a bit flat. And if the venue is cooler than where you keep it, you get the opposite - the strings will tighten slightly and you go sharp. Instruments tend to go flat whilst you're playing as you're stretching the strings, then when left alone, the strings will contract and push you sharp. I get this all the time at orchestra rehearsals with the cello. Just be glad you're not using gut strings - the mass of the strings change as they absorb/emit water vapour as the humidity changes... I play saxophone as well where tuning is whole different world of pain... Finally, instruments vary. Some basses just seem to be very good at holding their tuning, others a stern look can upset them...

Eldritch creatures of the nether realms may enter... Cthulu is watching

Yes, that's a very famous instrument. Pipe organs are immensely complex machines with a lot of moving parts. Typically, they need to be completely dismantled, serviced, and cleaned about every 25 years and about every 50 years it will need significant maintenance. Cathedral organs are usually tuned monthly or before a major recital/concert. The organ at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool has just had a major overhaul - it's coming up to 60 years old and the overhaul cost around £1m. There's another cathedral (can't remember which one) where the organ needs some major restoration work and that's going to cost around £2m. They're fund-raising furiously to create the funds for it. One of the problems is that with major overhauls being half a century apart, technology changes and 'how' instruments were built in 1850, 1900, 1950... were all very different. The main constant is the pipework as that hasn't changed much and relies on skilled woodworking and metal working skills.

One of my interests is organ music - you know, played on those big things you see in churches and cathedrals, and in some concert halls and big town halls. Until the development of the steam locomotive int he C19th, they were both the largest and the most complex mechanical machines made. They are effectively a mechanical (i.e. analogue!) synthesiser, since you combine different types of sounds using different pipe types of different pitches together to create a sound. There was an organ 'marathon' for charity in Cartmel priory yesterday and I went along for a few hours to have a listen.

I haven't found a replacement since I moved up to Penrith. I know what you mean about bass teachers. I had a few lessons with a guy who was 'qualified' as a guitar/bass teacher. Unluckily for him I have the OU A214 music theory course, I have grade 6 music theory (would like to do G8), and my involvement with playing early music means my music theory was on a different level to his... To be fair, after about three sessions he said: you know more about music than I do. He was happy to teach kids to get them started... but not really beyond that.

... fairly complex set of reasons. My current cello is a German instrument made in Markneukirchen (one of the historic German centres of instrument making) and dates to about 1900. It's what's known as a 'workshop' instrument, so supervised by the master luthier but probably not made by him. The family business still exists - 5th generation of luthiers. The instrument's had a hard life but after I spent some money on a decent set-up (e.g. having a new bridge made) it plays reasonably well. I initially spent about £300 on set-up and £300 on new strings and it was a vastly improved instrument. It's since had another bridge (£500). To buy a replacement instrument of a similar standard would cost around £8k. Options: commission a new instrument from a luthier. Various issues. A new instrument takes several years to settle and develop its sound. You've no guarantee what it will sound like. Likely cost around £15k to £25k (you can spend a lot more with a 'name' luthier). Lead time probably around 3 years. Buy a decent C19th English/German/French instrument. Cost at least £15k and probably nearer to £30k, especially for a decent English instrument, and potentially a lot more. Buy an C18th English/German instrument. If you're lucky, you might get one for £25k but more likely £50k+ and forget buying anything Italian from that era. I'm not definitely ruling out a cello 'upgrade' at some point, but at the moment I'm struggling to fully justify the costs. Bear in mind I'd need a bow upgrade as well. My current bow is a reasonable basic German one costing £450 but cello upgrade would warrant a bow costing £3k - £5k. A decent carbon fibre cello case is also another £2k.