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Status Reports
Status: Music (2018 - March)
(Text as at 05/04/2018 10:48:00)
(For earlier versions of this Note, see the table at the end)
Rationale for this Project- Music is one of the few interests Julie and I have in common – so is worth cultivating on that account.
- I don’t consider myself to have any particular musical talent, but enjoy listening to music; and communal playing, provided it is with at least minimal competence, is pleasurable enough.
- I played the oboe for a couple of years at school, starting age 14, and while I got to Grade 5 within a year, I soon lost interest. I also scraped an ‘O’ Level in music.
- I started learning the piano in mid-2008, and until September 2010 I had a periodic combined oboe + piano lesson lasting an hour with my oboe-teacher in Westcliffe-on-Sea. Since then, this aspect of the project has been mostly in abeyance, though since July 2017 I’ve started to pick it up again.
- Since moving to Billericay over 25 years ago, we occasionally played in a scratch quartet with a couple of friends (piano and recorder) with me on the oboe and Julie on the violin. These friends moved to Shropshire in February 2011, so this occasional pleasure has come to an end with the exception of the occasional visit.
- However, Julie and I have, since March 2015, been members of a group calling itself The Enigma Ensemble. It is rather chatty and of a poor standard, but enjoyable enough and keeps me practising. I have set up its website: Enigma Ensemble.
- Julie is a member of the Billericay-based Choir For All Seasons. I did consider joining, but you can’t do everything.
Summary of Progress During January – March 2018- I spent 90 hours in 1Q18 on this project (178 hours YTD, where by “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year commenced in October 2017). That’s 70% of the planned effort (81% YTD). Overall, 14% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 14% YTD) – as against 17% planned (15% YTD).
- As can be seen, I took this project seriously this quarter, but couldn’t – or at least didn’t – put in quite the hours I’d planned. I intend to make some real progress, and when I have will consider re-starting my oboe lessons (though probably not piano).
- I’m continuing to improve my stamina as an oboist, and can now fairly comfortably play for 30 minutes. My aim is two of these sessions a day, and I achieved that occasionally towards the end of the period.
- I’ve continued studies of music theory, completing a read-through of "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 1".
- Aural again didn’t get look in.
- The excellent Yamaha P-45 Electric Piano with deluxe earphones at last got some usage, and I’ve now managed to play Bach’s Prelude – using "Rhodes (James) - How to Play the Piano" – with some competence.
- The rescheduled concert at Abbeyfield eventually took place, but Julie and I couldn’t make it as Henry had been ill and we were collecting him from doggie hospital.
- Further details follow:-
Music (Total Hours = 89.5)- Music - Administration (Total Hours = 7.25)
- 4Q17 Status Reports (1.5 hours)
- Enigma Ensemble Admin (1 hour)
- Julie's Singing Group Concert (1 hour)
- Music Copying / Filing (3 hours)
- Oboe Reeds (0.25 hours)
- Wikipedia re Bach Toccata & Fugue in d minor (0.5 hours)
- Music - Aural
- Music - Oboe (Total Hours = 60.75)
- Music - Piano (Total Hours = 11.75)
- Music - Theory (Total Hours = 7.75)
Plans for the Near Future- The trouble with the oboe is that unless you practice regularly, playing is a miserable experience.
- In the light of experience, I’ve had to reduce the scheduled time back down to 1 hour / day.
- These are the items I intend to pursue:-
- Oboe:-
- Practice the oboe for one or two 30-minute sessions each and every day – focussing on the items below and …
- Occasionally combine into one hour-long session to build up stamina further.
- Attend the 6 sessions of The Enigma Ensemble.
- Run through the Enigma Ensemble portfolio, practicing the active pieces.
- Work through, and perfect, scales & arpeggios for Grades I-VI, using
→ "Trinity Guildhall - Trinity Guildhall Scales & Arpeggios for Oboe (Grades 1–8)", and
→ "ABRSM - Scales and Arpeggios for Oboe, Grades 1-8 (ABRSM Scales & Arpeggios)". - Catch up on Grade VI pieces, in particular Boni’s Sonata in G.
- Read and apply oboe practice techniques recommended by Martin Schuring.
- Read "Caplan (Stephen) - Oboe: The Breathing Book".
- Piano: Try to develop some competence as an aid to theory, so:-
- Complete working through "Rhodes (James) - How to Play the Piano", and
- Try to play by ear, using for inspiration:-
→ "Cannel (Ward) & Marx (Fred) - How to Play the Piano Despite Years of Lessons: What Music Is and How to Make It at Home".
- Theory: Prepare for Grade 5 Theory, so study:-
→ "Taylor (Eric) - The AB Guide to Music Theory - Part 2",
→ "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 1": do the exercises
→ "Taylor (Eric) - Music Theory in Practice: Grade 2", - Aural:
- Run through "ABRSM - Aural Training In Practice: Book 1 - Grades 1-3"
- Get a grip on the process of ear-training by reading:-
→ "Wikipedia - Absolute Pitch, Relatice Pitch & Ear Training" and
→ "Deutsch (Diana) - Absolute Pitch", and related material1.
Progress to Date
The lists of items performed is cumulative, so I’ve hived off the history to a separate document2.
In-Page Footnotes:
Footnote 1: Ie. The following:-
Printable Version:
Table of the Previous 12 Versions of this Note: (of 52)
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Summary of Note Links to this Page
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Text Colour Conventions
- Black: Printable Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018
- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018