Idle chit-chatterers' corner

[markymark]

Still..... a one year old Yamaha YDP131 could still fetch a good 500GBP!

I wonder if we have Mrs. Brum's e-mail account details?

[Moonlight]

...And my piano stays put The management has told me that it makes me happy, so why should I get rid of it! So she's got her cats and I've got my musicbox! Everybody's happy

Thats good news Dave! yay.

Speaking of cats, has anyone ever played a piece with a cat on your lap?
I have come to the conclusion you can only play a piece with very little hand / arm movement in it ( a very easy tune ). Or you get a cat that is smacked in the head by your arms .

Do your cats distract you when playing? My cat jumped through the bottom of the piano and pounced on my foot as I was peddling, he then proceeded to use the damper pedal as a chew and then a pillow . So I had to play a piece without pedal use.

Its also difficult to play anything sad as I end up laughing at my cats silly antics as I play.

Maybe I should start a new topic?

[Moonlight]

I can't wait to meet you in London AND I was thinking about you earlier on while I was wrapping up your Chrissie pressie!!!

Hi Dave I'm ok thanks, been having job interviews etc. I had one near Baker Street and found two really cool music shops, one specialises in early music and musical instruments, like little harps and recorders ect. The other one was an Indian music shop, all kinds of fascinating musical instruments in there! no piano shops though .

aaawww Dave thanks! you got me a Christmans pressie! oooooh I wonder what it is! That reminds me, I must also get started with my Christmas shoping too. I have lots of ideas what I could get you!

[Moonlight]

I've just finished tucking in to a lovely healthy brekkie. Fried egg, fried bacon, sausage, tomato, beans, fried bread, everything but the black pud.

Healthy - for the morale!!

Breakfast sounds very yummy! But how can you have a fry - up without black pudding???! ( I guess its an acquired taste ) and hashbrowns!!!? . I don't usually have fried bread, I haven't had it for ages!

Its heathly for the soul ( soul food ), not for the body though.

[Marius]

YOU ROCK DAVE

[Nutroast]

and voila, as if by magic, the mist has cleared and you can make that connection between the printed music and your hands without having to avert your gaze from the music!!

Scales and arpeggios perfectly too! If only there was an AB examiner up here with me!!!

Has anyone else noticed that - especially you Nuttiecrunch!

Absolutely! I've been learning some Christmas songs and have been having problems getting the chords right, a break definitely helps. I think your brain keeps practicing without the problem of having your hands in the way

"....and voila...." hey, I thought you played the paino

Jan
xx

[ebonyivory]

Hello regulars!

I have just found this thread/chat thing. It makes some interesting reading

I was expecting Dave to come back to me on the pass, merit, distinction thread!!!

I have had a little go at some christmas songs but I find them a bit boring. That said the book I've got, an oldish second hand one, is quite easy so it makes you feel good.

Other than that, I have come crashing back down to earth after my good news, as at my last lesson my teacher showed me my new scale of C with both hands at the same time! aaarrgh! I am dyslexic (not the typical spelling one) and two hands going like that is mind blowing. Mine want to mirror each other grrrrrrr!

Kim. (Hope this isn't gate crashing)

[Gill the Piano]

Kim, just go one pair of notes at a time, veryveryveryveryvery slowly, giving yourself time to concentrate hard on each note in each hand, particularly where you have to pass the thumb under the hand. The more you do it, the easier it'll get and eventually you can speed up a bit each time.
Go for it!

[ebonyivory]

Thanks Gill, will give it a go. Your brain really does fight it though, or is it your fingers fighting it, not sure.

[Moonlight]

No, Dave... YOU ROCK!

[Moonlight]

For those of you thinking what is Dave and Moonlight on about?!!

We met up in London yesterday and were having a very fun time in Chapples! AND we got told off too! 'Excuse me, can you not both play at the same time. Theres a gentleman over there trying to listen to the tone of the piano' Like we weren't trying to listen to the tone too!! lol

I have to say Dave played very very well! He played a grade 1 piece called minueto and it souded so wonderful I am going to have to learn it now too! plus he played some christmas carols too. - great stuff!

I manged to play a whole Bach prelude without freaking out so much that I couldn't remember it, a few cock ups though! and I think I might get myself a RD2 Yamaha ! maybe I should call it R2D2?

[Moonlight]

Annacakies just after I left you on Charing Cross Road yesterday who and what shiuld we see tootling down a very busy Oxford Street...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vN35E9fGRAU

www.musicalruth.com

I knew who she was, she came to Kidderminster in September!

OMG that is so funny I have neaver heard of her looks like Sister Wendy playing a piano! I like her piano car thingy in the video.

Me and Dave also saw Jamie Callum up London too. Playing on a small stage! what a day!

[ebonyivory]

In this house, we still listen to Kraftwerk! 'I'm the operator of my pocket calculator'...

Yep, Mr Ivory still plays it and Master and Mr start trying to robot dance... oh boy.

[Moonlight]

I seem to have that Kraftwerk song from 1982, The Model on the brain today.

I LOVE that tune! it is so funny ( in German acent: ) ''I saw herr on ze coverr of a ma - gaanize'' ( high pitch synth sound: ) di didi di, diiiii di, di !

They are cool but I don't have them on cd I should ask a friend to make me a copy.

[ebonyivory]

So, are we thinking of funny 80's songs then?

Will have a think! There must be loads!

[ebonyivory]

Oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind! Hey mickey! ... Hey Mickey!

You beat me, I can remember now you've reminded me, otherwise I am really struggling... brain dead.

I am thinking of Bananarama and Fun Boy Three because I was a fan of both.

[Moonlight]

BTW Anna I wish you well in your interview tomorrow. Teresa and I will be thinking and praying for you that it will lead to a job. AND new jobs of course lead to new acoustic pianos, don't they?

Good luck A n n a c a k e s xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi Dave and Teresa!

Thanks for the good luck I hope it pays off, but the interview was a very quick one , I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing. I hope I get it but at least I was invited back for a second one, so they must of liked something...if I get a job, boy; you will know about it. I have been wating toooooo looooong!

[Moonlight]

Oh Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind! Hey mickey! ... Hey Mickey

Was that a Billy Piper song? I'm not very good with that kind of music, my knowlege isn't great on that.

Does anyone remember Shampoo? :

'Uh oh we're in trouble. Someones come along and they burst out bubble uh oh yeah yeah'

90s I think it was, they never did another song after, I remember seening them on Alive and Kicking, ( 90s kids' morning show ) or was it just me who remembers?

[Moonlight]

hiya Anna

yeah, let's hope something good happens soon - at least if they've asked you back again you've survived the first hurdle and it also means you're on the old 'shortlist' but it'll also mean the stakes will be higher next interview.

Now you can have a good old de-stress on the piano!

No, I had the second interview today. So next time I find out I either have a job or not

[Moonlight]

Yes I will de - stress and go on the piano later! nice Minuet in G by C. Petzold ( not Bach! ) ornaments and all.

I love learning Baroque ornamentation, but those mordents are tricky if your hands are cold or asleep . My lesson is a 4.30 tomorrow not 3 btw. Teachers bussy with a concert or something! Oh la di da!

[Moonlight]

hahah now that I think of it they were a bit Sharon and Tracy!

[Moonlight]

If you've ever seen the cover to The Complete Piano player Christmas book Anna, it's a really Christmassy scene, with cards, mince pies, a decanter and glasses, Christmas cake and presents all on top of the piano.

uuuuuuuuuuuugggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh! WHAT ABOUT THE POLYESTER HIGH GLOSS FINISH, AND REAL MAMMOTH IVORY KEYS!?

[ebonyivory]

Yep! Remember it well! Oh dear.

I like the Specials too! Our era really. Mr I has a lot of ska etc.

[ebonyivory]

I think we may have that too, or something similar, definitely a mix of all his stuff with whichever group etc.

I am feeling quite upbeat about piano at the mo. Have been much better about practicing and there is an improvement. It's feeling good, dare I say it.

I would like to finish my first piece over xmas. It's quite a fun one, Mozzie.

[markymark]

Yes I will de - stress and go on the piano later! nice Minuet in G by C. Petzold ( not Bach! ) ornaments and all.

I love learning Baroque ornamentation, but those mordents are tricky if your hands are cold or asleep . My lesson is a 4.30 tomorrow not 3 btw. Teachers bussy with a concert or something! Oh la di da!

Personally, I've never really considered Bach's ornaments to be relaxing.
Preambulum, for example, is a pain that Joseph and I find to be a pain in the head if your mind is tired! Mind you, it has hand cross-overs too!

[Nutroast]

I like the Specials too! Our era really. .

My era too! I thought "Ghost Town" was brilliant.

Jan
xx

[Nutroast]

DAVE!! Santa is coming to your house and he looks remarkably like the postman. Hope you like it

Jan
xx

[Moonlight]

My lesson is a 4.30 tomorrow not 3

No lessons for me until next year! my teacher is bussy, Oh well more time to learn that Anna Magdelena Note book thing!

Shame, I was looking forward to trying out Ecosassie! on the acoustic piano.

[Moonlight]

Personally, I've never really considered Bach's ornaments to be relaxing.
Preambulum, for example, is a pain that Joseph and I find to be a pain in the head if your mind is tired! Mind you, it has hand cross-overs too!

I guess I find it fun or whatever because its new for me! the ornaments really make a piece just that bit more intresting. I'm sure after the novelty has worn off I will loathe them.

Never heard of Preambulum, I just found out about the Notebook for Anna Magdelena Bach. I bought the Schirmer performance edition, it has selections of the dance pieces from the notebook. And its great for beginners who want to learn ornaments, like me!

[louttrim]

Up until March I used to live in Hersham!!! It is quite middle class - has it's own Waitrose n everyfink!

Am almost ready for Christmas... how's everyone else doing? Got the biggest tree outside of Trafalgar Square in our sitting room
Tomorrow should see all of the shopping finished..hurrah !!! I do love Christmas

Lx

[Moonlight]

I'm STILL unemployed...

Excuse me as I go and find some class A narcotics, or better still a profoundly sad Chopin piece to play ( if I could play it ) or listen to.

[Moonlight]

Just had my first leccy bill of the winter through via email, £132 - which means my March one will be higher still. Can I afford to go back to lessons, or is it begging bowl round the streets time for me?

I will cry on your shoulders Dave, if you cry on mine.

[Nutroast]

Sorry to hear that Anna. It's their loss.

Love,
Jan
xx

[Moonlight]

My shoulders are waterproof Annacakes. And they're nice and squodgey too! Hope yours are.

Hi Dave,

No, mine are rather bony! I just had a feel of them.

At least you tried, which is all you can do. Know Ive said it before, but a recession affects everyone in the world, not just graphic designers in Essex! And if the jobs aren't there, you can't go after them can ya! But at least you have the piano to take it all out on, hey

yeah and I will keep trying! But until that day happens I do have my piano! Pianos are like a cup of tea - they make everything better!?, well kind of. Hope your having fun wherever you are, you said you were out...

[Moonlight]

It's their loss.

How true...

Hi Jan haven't bumbed into you for a while! Hows it going? Hows the wildlife, and piano pratice?

[Moonlight]

Hi Dave,

I'm cold too! Its a bit snowy here and I have my gloves on! Yeah my hands get so cold that I don't really want to pratice , but I force myself to do a bit at least.

Just started snowing again! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! but I do love snow it makes everything look clean; even rubbish bags!

[Moonlight]

So then hows it going then Dave?

Had my 1st lesson of the new year today. Went ok(ish), I would say. I didn't get enought time to play other stuff on the piano though .

When are you going to take your lessons again, with your saved up money - Dave?

[louttrim]

hello all, and a belated happy new year!

Don't know where the time goes.. Was Father Christmas good to everyone??
Not much happens here - I'm practising like mad, on the new (to me) piano; it's amazing how different they sound, and the feel on this one is much better. Trouble is, I'd got used to having to be heavy handed with my left hand, and I'm trying to un-learn that - it's hard! Pieces are beginning to sound like (I think!) they are meant to though, so getting there slowly. And I'm having lots of fun with complicated scales, my holiday homework was Bb major, and F major, and associated minors. Love them! no, really!!!

Anyway... hope everyone's OK??

Lx

[Moonlight]

This is getting a bit Adrian Mole-ish isn't it...the quest for the piano teacher where cows and sheep outnumber humans...

Get a sheep to teach you, it could teach you to play Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaach

I love rubbish jokes!

Good luck with your teacher search, hope you fine one soon.

[Moonlight]

I'm practising like mad, on the new (to me) piano; it's amazing how different they sound, and the feel on this one is much better.

Hi Linzy

Haven't really spoken to you properly before, so I will now! What the make of your new piano (baby) then?

I think when I get an upright I might also call it 'baby'! I know what you mean they are like a new 'pet'.

[Moonlight]

Actually I have a new dilemma now, I might not be able to take grade one as soon as I thought. My teacher wants me to have half hour lessons each week if I am to do it soon ( we still need to work on the sight reading and aural test, haven’t even got round to it yet or scales! ), but of course I have no job and not much money. I suppose I will just have to take this whole exam thing really slowly and possibly do it at the end of the year if I still have money problems.

I'm not to upset about it, I know that when I get some money I will just storm ahead. I'm quite happy working on my other pieces on my own, for now.

[louttrim]

hi Moonlight!

my new one is a Steck upright. Probably from the 30s I'd have thought. It's not as pretty as my original one, but looks aren't everything!
My first lesson of the year is tomorrow morning.. so we'll see if my teacher notices any improvement. Dave's right, your teacher could be setting you work to do inbetween lessons. Do you go to her house? Maybe having shorter lessons more frequently would be better? Depends on cost of course

Lx

[louttrim]

yey Dave - Rondino is a nice little piece, I'm still trying to get a handle on the legato, and the dynamics aren't as fluid as they should be. I like that book a lot, though, it's got some beautiful music in there. I've still got your pressie here.. might drop it off tomorrow if you're in?

Lx

[Moonlight]

Sorry about that Anna could your teacher not give you homework directly from the g1 syllabus or some sample sight reading tests to get your teeth in to in the two week gap you go to lessons? Sounds to me all she is interested in is lining her pockets!

I do have homework, its to get the timing etc for Kummer correct, and to pratice it hands separately as I'm so used to playing it with the wrong timing with both hands I need to relearn how to play it, as its been memorised as 'muscle memory' if you know what I mean.

I'm virtually ok with the Vivalid piece just got to keep in strict time, and make sure theres a big diffrence between F and P.

We haven't even started with the T Rex tune, my teacher is very thorough, she wants me to do it all correctly and of corse thats what I want, I don't want a soft teacher. I really don't think she bothered about geting more money out of me as she said I should ask the other piano teacher that teaches here to give me lessons every week, as my teacher has to travel into here and only does it once a week on weekdays.

I do have the Improve your sight reading! book I think I will go through it without my teacher as I don't have enough time in the half hour lesson .

I wonder how many other student pianists are out there, like me and you Dave, that would make great pupils if only they could afford it!

[Moonlight]

hi Moonlight!

my new one is a Steck upright. Probably from the 30s I'd have thought. It's not as pretty as my original one, but looks aren't everything!
My first lesson of the year is tomorrow morning.. so we'll see if my teacher notices any improvement. Dave's right, your teacher could be setting you work to do inbetween lessons. Do you go to her house? Maybe having shorter lessons more frequently would be better? Depends on cost of course

Lx

Hi Linzy,

Thanks for the make of it, I will try to see if its in my book about piano history and makes! and good luck with your lesson .

Like I said my teacher does set me homework, but as the lessons are so short, 30 mins and every other week we really only have time to work on one piece at a time, never mind the more technical aspects like scales! but I try to work through that stuff on my own anyway.

[markymark]

Dave, you're not wise!

It must be in fashion 'cos Barrie has gone for it too!

[Moonlight]

could anyone tell me what a 'microscale' is? Is it part of a scale or something?

Isn’t it another name for a tetrachord? Thats what I would think it is...but can't find an explanation for it in any of my music books!

Hi Dave how are u ?

[Moonlight]

Anna I was wondering whilst practising it, how do you cope with the all over the place dynamics in 'Kummer'? I can't fathom them out one bit!!!Have you by any chance mentioned it to your piano teacher???

Its fairly self explanatory I think. But I will try to help we are talking about Kummer only? In the first bar start of really soft, I like to try to play it at pp so I can get time to do the crescendo, the last note of bar 1 an 'A' is a lot louder then at the start of the bar the next note 'E' is the loudest of that phrase. The bar 2 and 3 gets louder still. Bar 4 will be as loud as the start of bar 2 because of the diminuendo. Looking at the piece now the notes with the tenuto lines above need more emphasis so will be a little louder then the other notes before them. I could keep going on like this but Im sure you get what I mean, just experiment with the crescendos and diminuendos but don't get too loud.

I don't think the whole piece should get any louder then mp in my opinion, but thats my way of playing it. My teacher also tells me to lift the wrist after the slurs. This seperates the sound of the notes in the phrase from the next group of notes or note. Its difficult to explain this in words but the sound really is diffrent when you do it, its like its 'catching its breath' so to speak.

I have a new teacher by the way Dave so far so good! didn't you get my last email?

[Moonlight]

So its a slight crescendo up to let's say mf by the time we get to the E, then another crescendo up to an ff see now

I wouldn't go as loud a ff ! in Kummer. Theres nothing 'slight' about mf either I think. Play the whole pices quitely varing the loudness.

BTW I did get your email but I did mean your old teacher, sorry! Do you have a lesson this week??

I had it already this week. I really like my new teacher I think we just clicked. And I even heard her play! I never heard my other teacher play anything other then whatever bar I was having problems with. We went through all 3 pieces, a bit of scales & arrps all in 30 mins!

That is good news Dave about your money for your lessons, hope you get a reply soon from the teacher.

[Gill the Piano]

Linzy, the Steck was often a pianola; they were built like brick wotsits, because they had to withstand a battering from the pianola mechanism. Is yours an ex-pianola?