Then after working on the exercisesyou see here, for alto recorder, moving on. These exercises are like those ghastly Czerny piano exercises which turned generations of young players off forever.
They're really about dexterity, very important. But it's not about music, just about developing the physical ability to actually play it. Like learning to drive so as to take road trips.
I never had a piano teacher as a kid, started at six, who actually grasped this. But they weren't performers, just local ladies who'd probably done coursework. No joy in it. Which accounted for my misery and longing to dump the piano.
I did have much better singing teachers, and never wanted to dump my voice. My mom wanted me to develop good breathing technique, to help with severe asthma. She was very smart, wanted to avoid addictive asthma remedies available back in the 40s.
So she arranged singing solo and in a children's choir. And we found I turned out to have a good voice. It's the facial architecture -- high roof of the mouth gives resonance. It also enables good tone on recorder and flute. Lucky.
I eventually took up violin in middle age, with great encouragement from serious musicians who thought it was wonderful just to be trying it. They knew all about the work and all about the joy.
My hands aren't designed for violin though -- pinkie fingers set low, so the stretch to play notes is a big strain. Take a look at great string players and see those lovely long pinkie fingers, it helps a lot. I had to move on for fear of injury, sad day.
And later recorder and flute, more work, tons of joy and friends and playing together. Ensemble playing with friends is what I like. Not performing. I've outlived my string ensemble, and quite a few of my recorder friends. That wasn't in the plan, though.
Then today, after Rooda exercises, on to some lovely stuff.
Morley, played, first line on soprano recorder, second line on tenor recorder.
Then I declared my musical journey paused till tomorrow. I might sing a bit. We'll see.
So that's the Great Doh, Re, Me Me, Me!
I love this! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think I'm stuck with it now!
DeleteI remember the recorder! That's fun. Go you!
ReplyDeleteMusic is life. I don’t play or sing - not now, not any more - do carry on. If there’s no one to judge your playing it’s even better.
ReplyDeleteWell, there's always me to judge! But I try not to listen.
DeleteMusic is good. Play on!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great pass time. Play on...
ReplyDeleteHow well I remember vocal exercises and struggling to read music in a pre-internet correspondence course at seventeen...Play on and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI think it's such an advantage to learn to read music very young. It feels natural as you get older. And if you start with piano, you learn treble and bass clefs, so they present no problem later when you need two clefs. It feels so much easier to play strings or wind, where you only have to deal with one clef at a time. After reading two clefs bsy once on piano, it's a treat.
DeleteUnfortunately, I wasn't allowed piano.
DeleteAt once, gah.
ReplyDeleteWhat a treasure to be able to make music.
ReplyDeleteSome days it's more like "music".. but yes, it's lovely.
DeleteNo music in my background, beyond listening to it, that is. My singing abilities are woeful as I have been told on numerous occasions. Grew up with a piano in the house but no lessons available. That thing took up space in two different houses and it was never touched - sad.
ReplyDeleteFunny that a piano should have become a piece of furniture rather than a musical instrument. It happens, and it's expensive to move them, too, from house to house.
DeleteI don't know how much they paid to move it to their retirement home but it ended up going in the basement and part of the rafters above had to be cut away so it would fit. Complete and total waste but my mother thought that one day she would play it. In all her 80-odd years nobody ever did.
Delete