Have survived morning service - playing jazzy Xmas carols before & after, the carols during the service, nipping across the front of the church to sing in the choir item...Then a practice for tonight's carol service. We're doing music before & after the service, but I drew the line at trying to play during the congregational carols & then sing during the choir pieces because I spend most of the service trying to work out whether I'm in the right place . So singing it is. . Appear (for some reason that I don't quite understand ) to be singing descants for those carols that have them and alto for the rest
Oh, and then Xmas am service. Suppose I'd better start peeling potatoes.

Been playing some Bach this morning - Prelude and Fugue #16 from WTC I. Just having a bash

Sang Tallis this morning, and will be doing midnight mass later.

Mention of crib services reminds me of one in a small wooden church in the far east. I was playing, our kiddies were little. Place was packed to the rafters. There was not even standing room - every inch of floor space had a child sitting in it. My OH was horrified at the idea of giving 3 and 4 year olds lighted candles at all, but especially in such a crowded space, but there you go.


Some bright spark had the idea of putting ALL the lights out so that the lovely candles the kiddies were holding would be all the more effective. Did I mention this was a wooden building? No-one could move ?

Anyway the lights were appropriately (or otherwise ) turned off. Silence for a minute and we all held our breath as the candles flickered.

Then a tiny voice was heard to wail " daddy - I need the loo!"

Bit late for this year if your folk haven't already thought of it, but I deputised for an organist friend at two Christingle services a couple of years back, and was very impressed to find ladies positioned all round the church with plastic carriers full of wet towels! That particular church hands out Christingles to all the children, but the pre-school ones take theirs home unlit.

Had 11:00 service today and will have Watchnight Service at 11:30, preceded by Carols in the Porch, which we had this morning as well.

Just 11am Eucharist, 4.00 Nativity and Crib Servce, 6pm carol Service, 11.30pm Candlelit Mass and 10am tomorrow... then I'm finished.

Played a brief tune on recorder in bed and have, weirdly enough, done some piano practice today as am hoping to return unto the instrument properly soon...

That really is the sign of recorder addiction. Great! 2007 needs more recorder players.

Very poorly 4 year old this morning - too ill to get up (still in bed now) - so I entertained her with an hour of scales until she asked me to stop...

I just did a practice! Played through some of the stuff in my new "Bernstein for Horn" book and looked at a couple of technical bits in a couple of Mozart Horn Concertos.

This is a special day - so I'm going to practice for twice as long as usual - in between feeding nine people

Hope she feels better soon - this is how you know when they really are sick. It happened to my daughter on her birthday once!

None today My Grandmas dog is staying and he doesn't like my clarinet. Slightly hard to practice/play when you can't hear yourself for the barking.

is it too late to make a start on practice, do you think?
today has so far been food, games, presents...
time for the serious stuff.

Probably not, provided the neighbours aren't making too much noise partying.

hi there KJ - happy Christmas to you!
Can't hear the neighbours, so I don't think they can hear me
but if you think I am getting too loud, please let me know.

by the way, have you done your Christmas shopping yet?

Happy Christmas Saxfan.

No, but there's plenty of time. I gather that there are now 364 shopping days 'til Christmas....

Have I got the record for thinking about Christmas the earliest? I started a cross stich on the 23rd, thinking 'I can stick that in someones card next year!' !!!

I've finished half my homework - a piano duet in C for teaching purposes called Tiddlywinks. The pupil gets to count mostly when not firing off tiddlywinks... (Teacher wants a different one in Gm too)

And I've given my Bach Christmas SATB it's final tweaks though it will be next Christmas before the public hear it (if ever).

Just got to practice now..

& you though this thread was dead...

Today I made some sound files of my compositions & a Bach arrangement - by balancing my camera in front of a pc speaker and using the voice recording function. I've done two hours of flute so next I'll be tinkling the ivories plastics and yodeling a little.

For me, a few scales *sighs* and some great ragtime stuff (that I love playing). Also take five- which my teacher keeps adding things too- she's never happy with it!

Have to make a start on work for my ARCO today .... haven't even really looked at the syllabus yet! (I'm rather ancient for all this, at ?? years old!)

Today I have two new and very scary students!

good luck !

Don't worry, Barry and I will frighten the scary students away when we arrive

teaching from 4 till 9... I have a couple of strange ones at the end of the day, I really could do with a strong drink after both if i wasnt driving home in the snow! One of them I know why she is strange, but the last one who comes at 8.30, she just sits and talks about dogs noses and all sorts of unrelated things - she is completely random. She is 26, I think maybe she is lonely and wants someone to talk to?

Today I had a clarinet lesson! Going to do practise... soon.

I had my oboe lesson

Does collecting someone who has had a clarinet lesson count as a musical activity?

yes, why not?

Just finished my homework for tomorrow - I had to write a piano accompaniment to My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean which does not include any of the melody notes (at the same time as the melody) - i.e. nothing to pitch against. I suspect I shall be singing it tomorrow...

Was good fun - and very useful.

Cyrilla definitely, definitely knows her stuff, and I'd love to see sometime how she works with a larger group/children. I think (no, make that know) it'd be rather good.......

I have some classes today - Aural for an hour, then Principles of teaching for about 3 hours. Exciting stuff! Oh, and lunch with my mum...

Absolutely!

Recordering/Singing this morning with Andante. Violining with AmandaL this afternoon.

Sweeping snow most of the rest of the day

Hope your journey is OK. We've had about an inch of snow here.

I reckon we've had about an inch of snow too. Need to get to the music shop - I just hope they have had their delivery !

I need to do some flutey practice

Doing some listening this am whilst writing on the forums. Singing practice (through my cough) later. Teaching this evening

It will be listening to music, composition work and clarinet practice but not until afterschool

I'll be singing My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean in about half an hour while my teacher plays something entirely different on the piano.

I'm in the process of thoroughly immensing my self with the sound of some new repertoire before I go and practice it. Listening as part of practice is very underrated.

Charles Ives will be smiling upon you.

today - finalising order for a new cello for my daughter(!)
coaching same daughter for grade v theory exam 1 March
accompanying my son's practice for an orchestral audition on Sunday

Still not done any flutey practice.

Just looked him up on Wiki ... "Ives's music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years." (oh)

I got 9 out of 10 for my accompaniment (teacher wanted more on the ending to go round again for verse two), and Early One Morning as homework.

Today, well yesterday, is the resumption of musical activities as we've now moved our piano across . Not much time to play it today though as I've been working and then am off bouncing .

Just done some flute practice. Then tonight its to tackle the rest of the essay on Debussy 1000 words to go! It'll all be over on Friday hara!

Today I was at the school Big Band. Going to practise piano and clarinet soon!

Goodness, thanks for the kind words, katyjay and barry! You're right, you DID scare the scary students away . Hope I didn't look as nervous as I felt - teaching two Grandees of the Forums .

As noodle says, you're always more than welcome to come and watch classes at Guildhall or in school.

My 'musical activities' for today - teaching 7 classes, choir and hymn practice (or 'Coral Worship' as my dyslexic headteacher puts it on my timetable ) - nearly 300 sprogs in 6 and a half hours (and you wonder why I have to employ my Very Fierce Paddington Stare from time to time ).

Kj and b-c were lovely and very kind to me - have given them a few things to practise!