Music update...

[khiemtran]

One decision I've made already this year is to switch back from the bamboo flute to the western recorder.

Although I've been making slow and steady progress on the flute, I've been becoming aware recently about some of the areas where I need a lot of work and these are all things that are easier to learn on the recorder. For one thing, there's a lot more instructive material to be found for the recorder, including online courses. In particular, I think this will help with my timekeeping and sight-reading. I have a problem especially with keeping any even tempo, so I'm hoping the online exercises will help.

Another motivating factor is that it's a lot easier to get a consistent note out of a recorder, and I'm hoping this will help my pitch perception too.

The third reason is that, which time becoming scarcer and scarcer, I can get more value out of focussed learning that I can with the far less structured mucking around I normally do. All this points towards a lot more drilling and going back to basics, which will hopefully build a stronger base to go on with.

Comments

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

On-line courses? Do you have urls? I've been trying to re-kindle my recorder skills and enthusiasm. Ultimately I'd like to be able to play duets with my father who plays both descant and treble. Recorder was where I started my musical education but I'd like to get more into the early/mediaeval music than the later traditional/folk songs that children tend to learn on or even the popular tunes that the books have now. I'm also looking for more in the way of music for 2 recorders rather than recorder and piano.

And my parents also have a bamboo flute which I assume they picked up in Singapore or Malaya. I can do the opening bars of the Hawaii Five O theme, and that's it!! *g*

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

The one I'm trying is http://www.dolmetsch.com/dlesson1.htm . It seems pretty good so far (I'm only up to "D" so far in the exercises :) ).

Actually, it was quite funny how easy the recorder was to get a decent sound out of, compared with my bamboo flute. On the flip side, of course, there's an awful lot more you can do on the flute, but it will be good to get back into training wheels for a while.

I'm looking at this as a sort of low gear where I can put in a regular effort and get up the hill by the end of it.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Oooo! Thanks. I will look at those over the weekend. I used to play in our school recorder group and have fiddled around intermittently since, but it would be nice to pick it up again and, as you say, do something more structured.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

I had a look at some of the more advanced lessons and some of the later ones are still under construction. It's not likely to be an issue for me for quite a while though. The first step will be learning the new fingerings for each of the notes, so I don't have to think "oh, an F, that's fingered just like a G on the flute"...