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Status Reports
Status: Music (2017 - June)
(Text as at 20/07/2017 14:34:05)
(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 in abeyance.
- 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: Web Link.
Summary of Progress During April – June 2017- I spent 39 hours in 2Q17 on this project (100 hours YTD, where by “YTD” – Year to Date – I mean the (academic) year commenced in October 2016). That’s 75% of the planned effort (96% YTD). Overall, 6% of my Project effort in the Quarter was directed towards this project (making 5% YTD) – as against 7% planned (5% YTD).
- As can be seen, I again took this project fairly seriously this quarter. The plan was double that of the previous quarter, and was adversely impacted by two weeks’ holiday. I’m continuing to improve my stamina as an oboist.
- A highlight was attending the Petries’ concert and hearing Mozart’s Gran Partita1 live. We were in the front row, a few feet from the principal oboe. I’ve downloaded the score and have been practising the Oboe parts.
- Further details follow:-
Music (Total Hours = 39)- Music - Administration (Total Hours = 8.5)
- 1Q17 Status Reports (0.5 hours)
- Emails to Michael + Hillary (0.25 hours)
- Enigma Ensemble -Strategy discussion with Robert (0.5 hours)
- Investigating Web Link (0.5 hours)
- Investigating Music Light for Robert (0.25 hours)
- Music Copying for Enigma Ensemble (1.5 hours)
- Music Lights & Tuners / Metronomes (0.75 hours)
- Oboe - discussions with Hillary & Les (0.5 hours)
- Oboe - Investigating & Purchasing Case (0.75 hours)
- Oboe - Investigating Howarth Models (1 hour)
- Petries' Concert (2 hours)
→ See "Admin - Music - Administration"
- Music - Oboe (Total Hours = 30.5)
Plans for the Near Future- The trouble with the oboe is that unless you practice regularly, playing is a miserable experience.
- Consequently, as part of my plan to do what I do well, and not do what would have to be done badly, I’ve maintained the plan at 4 hours a week to allow for more extensive regular oboe-practice. This is calculated from 30 minutes a day, with 6 “Enigma Ensemble” sessions of 2.5 hours. Maybe I’ll schedule more in the future, but currently this isn’t feasible – not least because my stamina as an oboist needs to be built up gradually.
- These are the items I intend to look at if time and enthusiasm2 allow:-
- Oboe:-
- Attend the 5 sessions of The Enigma Ensemble. Working towards …
- Concert at Michael’s Up River Yacht Club Regatta on Sunday 10th September.
- Run through the Enigma Ensemble portfolio.
- Practice the oboe for 30 minutes every day – focussing on the above and …
- Occasionally try longer sessions to build up stamina further.
- Work through "Langey (Otto) - The Oboe: Practical Tutor for the Oboe and Cor Anglais".
- Practice Mozart’s Gran Partita.
- Read "Caplan (Stephen) - Oboe: The Breathing Book".
- General Reading: Continue with "Gardiner (John Eliot) - Music in the Castle of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach".
Progress to Date
The lists of items performed is cumulative, so I’ve hived off the history to a separate document3.
In-Page Footnotes:
Footnote 1: - See Wikipedia: Web Link).
- There’s an excellent free recording on YouTube: Web Link.
Footnote 2: I’ve removed items on music theory and piano, as they just aren’t going to happen. See previous reports for these.
Printable Version:
Table of the Previous 12 Versions of this Note: (of 49)
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Text Colour Conventions
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