BBC Young Musician 2020

[AdrianP]

Anyone else been watching the BBC Young Musician finals on BBC4? I tuned in to watch the highlights of the woodwind finals. Really superb musicianship on display from everyone, as you would expect, but the winner communicated the piece in a way that left me absolutely entranced. 

I will confess to having a soft spot for woodwind as a family of instruments. I'm learning the tennor recorder but am finding it quite tough. Still, I'm persevering. But I just wanted to say home much I enjoyed this programme. Anyone else watched it?

[ambient]

I usually watch this.  I think it’s brilliant to see young musicians playing who’ve put hours into their practice. I haven’t seen any of this year’s competition unfortunately.

I love woodwind too. A friend of mine plays contra-bassoon.

Edited May 11, 2020 by ambient

[Stu-khag]

Not seen it all this year as its the same time as my sons' bed time but I worked on it between 2011 and 2014.

Always seriously impressed by the musicianship.

[Skybone]

22 hours ago, AdrianP said:

I'm learning the tennor recorder but am finding it quite tough.

I'm still scarred by learning "Frere Jacque" on recorder at Primary School!  

[ambient]

51 minutes ago, Skybone said:

I'm still scarred by learning "Frere Jacque" on recorder at Primary School!  

I don’t know why they teach children the recorder, it’s not an easy instrument. If they don’t completely cover one of the holes, then you get dodgy notes, and children’s fingers tend to be very small making it hard to cover the hole completely.

My mom still has nightmares about a carol concert she went to at my niece’s infants school. They had a recorder orchestra playing little donkey. It was most definitely a case of all of the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order, only with a few of the wrong notes thrown in for good measure.

[TorturedSaints]

Yes, I watched this as clarinet is my main instrument (the one which I'm most competent playing), and Mrs S plays the flute/oboe.  Top-notch musicianship displayed by all, although to return to the theme of recorders I wasn't too impressed with the piece of recorder music that required playing 2 recorders at the same time. Shades of 'Hit me with your rhythm stick" sax playing I suppose.  I did play alongside a YMotY finalist when I was at school and was hugely impressed by his ability - in quite a difficult piece (for me) he changed to his A clarinet and proceeded to transpose on-the-fly just for fun.

I think the oboe player was a worthy winner of the group. 

[AdrianP]

I suppose the recorder does have a bum rep from many of us remembering playing it at school. I really cannot listen to a descant recorder without having flashbacks to 30 kids playing London Bridge is Falling Down as if trying to reproduce the sound of hades itself. But the tenor recorder has a beautiful, mellow sound, that is quite soothing (except when I play it, of course). It also has holes that give a stretch not unlike the lower frets on a full size bass so I originally started on it as a way of keeping my fingers moving when travelling away for work. 

[Bilbo]

I thought it was a competition to see which young musician has the best eyesight. 

[Misdee]

Maybe the BBC  should  put on an Old Musician Of The Year contest.  The winner  should be some  poor chap in late middle age playing Sultans Of Swing  95% correct on his Fender Strat  via video link from his sheltered accommodation .  Or someone playing a  Jethro Tull  medley on a flute whilst balancing on one leg  like  Ian Anderson  and then having a nasty fall and having to use an inhaler. 

[Barking Spiders]

21 hours ago, ambient said:

I don’t know why they teach children the recorder, it’s not an easy instrument. If they don’t completely cover one of the holes, then you get dodgy notes, and children’s fingers tend to be very small making it hard to cover the hole completely.

My mom still has nightmares about a carol concert she went to at my niece’s infants school. They had a recorder orchestra playing little donkey. It was most definitely a case of all of the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order, only with a few of the wrong notes thrown in for good measure.

some people have mastered two recorders at once

 

[ambient]

1 hour ago, Barking Spiders said:

some people have mastered two recorders at once

 

Fabulous, I hadn’t seen that before 😁.