UK Piano Page

gizzy

From the same carol: "God and singers reconciled"

gizzy

We got a free valuation on our house today (but actually, aren't they always free?) as two different people had told us we really ought to do so, having had some work done on it - like the lean-to converted into a sort of utility room/conservatory place; a bit rough and ready, since it has no light,...

gizzy

In the definite unlikely reality of my fairy godpianoteacher walking through the door, I have just succeeded again to get onto the ABRSM forum and read the comments. Someone please inform the ABRSM politburo that expianist is able to read the forum without any difficulty whatsoever and as they know...

gizzy

For some unfathomable reason, Bangers and Mash by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren.

gizzy

That whole expianist thread suddenly disappeared - did the moderators rumble you? Or did you ask to take it down? Everyone was saying they were sorry you'd disappeared!

gizzy

That's the one. The web planet where you are immediately excommunicated for dissidence. Stalin and Khruschev had absolutely nothing on the ABRSM moderation team (maybe Mr. Donald Trump has some sort of 'Power Game-esque influence on them too as they don't like criticism of him on there). Thank good...

gizzy

Peekaboo! :D Sorry about your relinquishing Fiona, Dave. It'll be interesting to see if you get itchy fingers next time you pass a piano. Did you take it up for the sake of learning a skill, or for the sake of making music? I do seem to think it was the latter, so you might still find an outlet whic...

gizzy

Listening to my first Mass, and it's Bernsteins' famous celebration. An ideal first complete Mass, one would think. Miserere nobis, Dominum. Except it's not EXACTLY "a mass" - it's almost a bit of musical theatre called "Mass" (like "Hair or"Taxi") What is brilliant is that it can be taken on almos...

gizzy

Eighteen months ago, I was listening to Bernstein's 'Mass, now it's 'Songs From The Wood' by Jethro Tull. The one with Ian Anderson squatting in front of the camp fire. Bernstein's Mass is amazing. It's the other piece I always wanted to conduct, apart from Noye's Fludde. I'll never do it now - bac...

gizzy

What are the most common Major/minors that work together well, for instance, a song I listen to goes like this Em, C, A, Am, Em. all in all 16 beats long. are there any other common ones like this. And what is the best approach at getting them to work together well? Edit I read this back and think ...

gizzy

I think it's possible that the OP has just been taught the standard fingering for all white-note scales, and has not yet been taught that F in RH is different - if they have just learnt what the notes are, they may be thinking ahead (just trying to give the teacher the benefit of the doubt) To the O...

gizzy

Hi Gill and anyone who may be reading it including notable Absent Friends It will be a fairly quiet Christmas here. I finished teaching at the end of last week apart from three stragglers who came in at the beginning of this week. As you may remember, we are a mixed marriage - one meat-eater and one...

gizzy

Gill the Piano wrote:Me too - I did the Queen quiz and only got 65% ...

Don't feel too bad, I only got 60% on the Beatles one. It wasn't called the "hard" Beatles for nothing!

gizzy

Not these days, you wouldn't. Admittedly I am probably acknowledged as the joint first-place smuttiest together with a certain Yo

rkshireman from the Wirral (and I've met him, and swapped stories which would have got us both warned) but much of it I feel has lightened up.

gizzy

Had a strange experience the other day I've never had before in my life and I may never actually have again. Went to the toilets in the Avoncroft Museum and I was sitting there when suddenly the lights went out and I was plunged into darkness. Fortunately I'm a former Boy Scout. :D pure in thought ...

gizzy

And up to the point where you get it right every time and now need to work on making it sound nucer, are your mistakes random or repeated?

It's quality of practice that does it, not quantity.

gizzy

So presumably she's had several chats with you about HOW to practise, not just what or how long? That playing through again and again doesn't work until the notes are every-time-secure? That correcting mistakes once you've made them doesn't work? How to distinguish between random and repeated mistak...

gizzy

Did you see the Guardian front page picture yesterday (head-on-desk)? Had me laughing incoherently for ages! "make it stop!"

gizzy

Passed with distinction! 133 points :D :piano; Well done, that Cutlet! Which pieces did she play? (I was about to ask what board the exam was for, but then realised you can't get 133% in Trinity or London. gizzyx Thanks, Gizzy! She played Allegro, Moody Prawn Blues and Stormy Coast. x Ah, same list...

gizzy

Nutroast wrote:Passed with distinction! 133 points

Well done, that Cutlet! Which pieces did she play? (I was about to ask what board the exam was for, but then realised you can't get 133% in Trinity or London.

gizzyx

gizzy

OK, try another take on the same idea: find a couple of songs with very simple accompaniment and sing at the puano. It's not easy singing sitting down, so it's a challenge to the voice. In my VERY dim distant recital days (40 years ago!) I worked singing at the piano and playing the accompaniment so...

gizzy

Hmm, I know of at least one person who has said "how can you teach singing, I mean either you can sing or you can't" and SWMBO may of course take the same line. You might love it in a chour, too, though not everyone who sings is chorally minded. Would you be "permitted" to get involved in such a soc...

gizzy

I wonder if you'd enjoy singing lessons. Seriously. I mean the time I heard you, you had a pretty good set of baritone pipes, you could pitch in tune, you were rather loud but let's face it, a lot of snigging teachers have to work to get more volume from their pupils. It's a much more personal invol...

gizzy

Ah, but I didn't ask if you enjoy kearning. I asked if you enjoy the music you're playing. I mean, if you had a set of simple Welsh Folk Songs on your piano, and you were getting through them with just a few mistakes each time, would you still appreciate the songs themsrkves, or would your inability...

gizzy

Hey, who voted yes, then? Apart from you, you cheating monkey? If by learning you mean taking lessons, the outcone could be different, but you would keep on learning as long as you kept on pkaying. One question to ask yourself us, "do I get any enjoyment out of the music I play, once I am getting it...

gizzy

:shock: Blimey, what did you do? Two things. 1) Get up their noses 2) Dare to be different (why they are all such a conservative and blinkered lot on there, generally). Gizzy will know what I mean, she also posts on there. I think it was because you mailed and told them whereup they could stick the...

gizzy

I went for a balti last night at David Camerons' favourite curry house, the Paprika in Longbridge (oddly enough it's in one of his party's 40 target seats) and there was a picture of David and Sam sat at a table in the restaurant tucking in. He had a bowl of what looked like pickles at his table, m...

gizzy

When I was working up in Shrewsbury one day in the early 90s, one man came in and asked me if I knew the way to 'B@llock and Bosom'. I said I'd never heard of the place, turns out he meant Bullock and Bosson, the office equipment wholesalers. At that time I'd not heard of Bullock and Bosson either ...

gizzy

P1050297.JPG P1050298.JPG My new favourite book....if this fails then it's 'Joining The Dots' by Alan Bullard (official ABRSM course). If that one fails then I would have exhausted all of the methods of their type available on the United Kingdom market. The preface looks good, I don't disagree with...

gizzy

Hi Dave.... looks good, except for the rest missing in bar 1 (ex e ) .... sorry, the gold star may be stripped... silver now!! (just amended the ex number) you only have 9 quaver beats in this bar.... in 12/8 time, you need a dotted crotchet rest after the quaver rests (to make it up to 2 X dotted ...

gizzy

Burlington Bertie from Bow. Ever since I watched the video of Julie Andrews doing it (excerpt from the film "Star!")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOJp_oJgMTM

I particularly like the bit where she does the little demi-plié on the word "Smith"

gizzy

So can you shout 'FINGERING,CHILD!!!' in 5 languages? I think you can get had up for that. Gary Glitter certainly was. I only say goodbye in foreign as a rule. Just trying to work out my proportion of English to other Monday, Polish English English Chinese Indian Romanian Indian Tuesday, Australian...

gizzy

Absolutely correct. Clever David. Gold star!!!

Gizzy

gizzy

I'm definitely not playing the organ, which will be played by none other than the organist of L'pool Cathedral!!! (owes a few favours to Father of the Bride, who is a tenor in the aforementioned choir) BUT daughter did commission me to write the wedding march, which is nearly done. She said she want...

gizzy

Er... hello?

Gizzy in Cambridge

Going to be a mother-in-law in May. Practising the face.

gizzy

The Mikado also, probably had Arthur's name on it as that overture's not that disanalogious from TYOTG Apparently not, according to http://bact.org/bactold/iol_triv.html Iolanthe is just like Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream music. I was surprised to find Sullivan had written an overture for U...

gizzy

...trying to remember how many demisemiquavers in a quaver, dotted quaver, crotchet, and commit it to my long term memory..... Isn't it better to remember how to work it out than to remember how many - I mean dsq is two to a sq so 4 to a q, so 3x4 to a dotted crotchet, rather than trying to learn a...

gizzy

I like the Sussex Carol. It's all about a doll factory. I think it's the second or third verse:
"When Sindy parts before thy face"

gizzy

Gill the Piano wrote:You're such an anorak, chicken! I hate G&S. Well, to be specific I hate G. It's very fussy and gets on my nerves...

But Gilbert didn't write the overtures, though, did he? But then, neither did Sullivan, with the exception of one or two, like the Yeomen of the Guard.

gizzy

dave brum wrote:I shall be playing Give Peace A Chance at Keep Fit, which is on Tuesday, Remembrance Day.

You have to play it from memory that day, Dave. It's The Law.

gizzy

dave brum wrote: The Boars Head carol

And spoonerised, that would be...?

(naughty naughty)

gizzy

Long B at the beginning, up to the first D, and then more or less down from there on? Not the opening phrase, but I'm willing to bet money you're singing Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Enfante Defunte.

Am I right or am I right?

Gizzy in Cambridge

gizzy

Welcome back, Dave! Sorry I've been a bit silent, folks, very tired with trying to cope with my guts. I think I've worked out what it is but will go to see the doctor this week some time to see if he thinks the same thing (because the endoscopy thing was completely clear but nothing has changed). Al...

gizzy

I assume that without information to the contrary Gizzy, you have survived your 'procedure'. Hope you are taking time to recover. It was a piece of cake - stayed awake in spite of the sedative and chatted and watched my guts on the monitor but they didn't find anything. which is good news and bad n...

gizzy

And reading all the things I am still allowed to eat over the next three days, I see it includes "mouse" :D Just mailed my (baby) brother who is 22 months younger than me to see if there's any family history of what I've got. He has never had it, but it appears he has everything else: COPD, DVT ther...

gizzy

Definitely won't have to miss R's party now: CT scan on Wednesday morning (got to drink 4 lots of iodine-based jollop before then so as to make my guts light up or something) and as from tomorrow I go on to the sort of diet which prohibits all the things that are meant to be good for you and restric...

gizzy

Well, I definitely won't teach the last two I've just had till two weeks' time; it was their first lesson, and they're Chinese age 4 and 6 and don't say much, though they made reasonable progress for a very first lesson. Hard work though. Mother didn't stay, as I would have preferred, because she ha...

gizzy

They've just rung and told me to come on the Friday, so apart from only being able to eat white bread and non-fruity cake and sweeties, the part should be OK.

Thursday pupils is another matter, though. Will have cancelled all except those who can understand what's going on.

gizzy

Just a consultation and a quick look at the first few inches. I have to have a CT scan and the candid camera thingy over the next couple of weeks or so, and I've asked for morning appointments for both of them. It's dawned on me that they may tell me to come for the 'scopy for Thursday morning which...