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All this is up in the air now with Covid.
Our uke group has lost its premises and effectively disbanded.
Currently the core two or three have been meeting in a park on Wednesday evenings, which is the best evening for me.
We'll have to think about premises for the winter.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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One of my orchestras (the semi-pro one) starts rehearsals next week. I will not be there, because I re-injured my shoulder in a car accident last month and am not playing string instruments at all right now.
For now, it will be a string orchestra only, and all rehearsals will be outdoors with no shared stands. At a minimum, the first concert (scheduled October 3 but possibly up in the air) will be outdoors, venue and program still to be announced. It remains to be seen whether there will be a live audience; in case we cannot find a suitable outdoor venue with space for a distanced audience, we are also looking into livestreaming options. I understand that the first rehearsal is mainly a test run to work out logistics; the orchestra will rehearse the Dvorak and Tchaikovsky string serenades and at least one of those is likely to be on the first concert program.
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I started to play in a cello ensemble couple of weeks ago. There are 5 adult learners, two has played earlier as a kid and we other three started as an adult. All the others has played several years together, I'm the only newbie there. That doesn't matter, I got in really quickly and can play everything what we are practicing.
Playing together is so fun! I really enjoy it. I also think it's a great way to improve my intonation and other skills.
We will have some performings also, first one maybe in October, live or online depending on Covid-19 situation.
I have very strong performance anxiety, so I really don't know how I will cope with that, but I want to try and learn more. Playing together in front of audience would probably be easier than alone, so this is also good opportunity to start healing that nervousness.
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I used to play guitar with a band some years ago, but to be honest having to rehearse 3 times a week started to get boring and a real chore, I took up violin as a challenge, and really enjoy it, I taught myself to read music to a passable level while I practice, I already knew quite a lot of music theory, you don’t need to know theory to play guitar in a group but it helps a lot to know about scales keys, relative minors that kind of thing. I don’t care about what I don’t know because I will never be a soloist, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy playing though. Many Irish fiddlers know nothing at all about music, they just listen to any tune and can play it back straight away because their ears are so well trained, and a lot of musicians think this is the greatest skill of all. If you ever go to Ireland drop in on a session in a country pub, (not Dublin) you will be amazed at their skill, it really is something to behold, classical music isn’t the be all and end all , for me anyway.
Cant beat a sunny day
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I only started playing violin 2 weeks ago, and I joined a local string orchestra that caters for all levels of ability. Normally the meet up twice per week. 1 evening and 1 morning, but at the minute we are meeting using Zoom. There are regular concerts throughout the year, and we get tuition on the pieces needed for these concerts, as well as working through the Suzuki books. Because I am so new, I get a lesson every Friday so that I can catch up with the group, and I have been placed in the second violin group. I swore I would not play classical, but here I am learning second violin for Beethovens Finale symphony number 5. I'm finding it excellent and my music reading speed is increasing. We are encouraged also to compose our own pieces using a particular scale and using our own bowing patterns. It is so different playing in a group though, as timing is so important.
Two weeks ago I picked up violin to learn some particular songs, but now my focus has changed and gives me reason not to give up.
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JmcKelly - so excited for you - that sounds really cool - good luck, would love to find something similar here, finding it hard to stay encouraged.
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jmckelly said
I only started playing violin 2 weeks ago, and I joined a local string orchestra that caters for all levels of ability. Normally the meet up twice per week. 1 evening and 1 morning, but at the minute we are meeting using Zoom. There are regular concerts throughout the year, and we get tuition on the pieces needed for these concerts, as well as working through the Suzuki books. Because I am so new, I get a lesson every Friday so that I can catch up with the group, and I have been placed in the second violin group. I swore I would not play classical, but here I am learning second violin for Beethovens Finale symphony number 5. I'm finding it excellent and my music reading speed is increasing. We are encouraged also to compose our own pieces using a particular scale and using our own bowing patterns. It is so different playing in a group though, as timing is so important.Two weeks ago I picked up violin to learn some particular songs, but now my focus has changed and gives me reason not to give up.
wow, Beethoven after two weeks is amazingly incredible, composing using bowing patterns is fantastic, great work, just learning scales normally takes a very long time. Well done at that rate you will be playing Paganini in six months😀 why not share a vid on here .
Cant beat a sunny day
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jmckelly - How wonderful!
It's like you found your own local "Näppäri teaching method" group!
If you get a chance to view Ilona's post (#11) in "Anyone Interested in a Scandinavian Fiddle Genre?" thread, you might find similarities (if you haven't already). I think one of the orchestras AndrewH is involved with also includes students, but probably not beginners, in their projects. I think it's important to include less experience players with the seasoned ones, whenever possible.
Sounds like your previous experience with guitar has definitely helped give you a jump start, too.
I certainly noticed the challenge of keeping in time with others when I participated in the Fiddlerman "Game of Thrones" Group Project! It was the 1st time I used a "click track" in my ear and confess I'm pretty lax at speed if I don't have to play along with at least a recording. Good thing I won't be joining any group soon - recently thinking I better get more strict with myself, so got as far as adding a metronome app to my phone... haven't used it, yet! (lol)
Think you found yourself a great way to kill two birds with one stone - learning and be involved with support, all at the same time!
- Emily
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ELCB said
I think one of the orchestras AndrewH is involved with also includes students, but probably not beginners, in their projects. I think it's important to include less experience players with the seasoned ones, whenever possible.
Not quite. Students haven't been involved in the virtual orchestra projects for any of my organized orchestras. (I've done some one-offs involving students and beginners, including the last Fiddlerman group project and a few with Marijke Violin on YouTube.)
I think what you might be referring to is Camellia Symphony's annual "side by side" performance with the youth orchestra program that we operate, where each of the youth orchestra kids sits next to an adult musician on stage. We do that for one piece in the last concert of each season. I've mentioned it when discussing Fiddlerman group projects, because of the way we arrange it to include beginners. Our youth orchestra program has orchestras at two levels: Camellia Juniors (upper intermediate to advanced) and Camellia Cadets (beginner to intermediate). Both groups are on stage with us. We always pick a piece that intermediate students can play comfortably. The Juniors play the original parts, while the Cadets play simplified parts that have been prepared for them.
I also normally play in another orchestra that is open to intermediate and up, and includes a number of people who started as adults. But that orchestra hasn't done anything at all during the pandemic and I haven't played in it for almost a year anyway because of injuries limiting my practice time.
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AndrewH -
Appreciate you refreshing my memory!
- Emily
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I played in adult amateur ensemble for about a year and a half. I decided the drive was too far (2hrs), so I gave it up. The group was 10-12 people (violin, viola, cello, bass, & even a mandolin player). I’m grateful for having the opportunity to do it for the time I did. If it were closer, I would definitely still be doing it.
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
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Covid certainly puts a damper on things. We have 20 full time employees at Fiddlershop who see each other daily. We have a lot of space here as well so people can easily stay distant from each other but it seams that everyone has been healthy and I believe we are all pretty careful when we leave the shop.
That being said, we have occasional quartet meetups on Mondays. The past 3-4 Mondays have been canceled because of Felix jaw pain and our cellist had one vacation day on a Monday as well. I think we may play on Thursday. Probably we'll do Facebook live as well. We did it last time we played just for the heck of it.... This is all the group playing that I do now a days.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I have a friend who plays guitar who's wanted to play together all year, but with covid it just hasn't worked out. I stay home 99.9% of the time so have had limited exposure, but from social media I can see this person and their friends aren't quite as careful as I am, so... maybe next year.
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Full lockdown again here. No orchestra.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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We are all going to have to learn to get our lives back - in a safe manner!
This is not the 1st horrible virus that has attacked Humans.
...and it certainly won't be the last.
I believe, because of the Covid-19 crisis, there will quickly be more research/discoveries - maybe working toward making our immune systems invincible.
Human ingenuity is amazing!
- Emily
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I don't know if I shared this video but some people made comments about us not having masks.....
I wanted to but our employees were not happy about it. After all, we see each other daily. Just hope that everyone is super cautious when they are not here. Also, hope that if they are the slightest bit sick, that they don't come to work.
We have a young group of people working at Fiddlershop and seems very healthy gang (knock on wood).
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJumYWbr/
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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very cool @fiddlerman.. like the up bow ( think it was) slide part especially.
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@Fiddlerman - LOVE IT!
- Emily
If they ever dared to try to shut you down for not wearing masks - that would probably be the last straw for me!
I'd have to come down from Michigan - wheel chair & all, just to protest! (lol)
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Fortunately we were not asked to shut-down. We are considered essential because we ship around the country. Thank goodness.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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