It feels like we hardly got started for the year and we have had to stop!
Music is playing an important role in the lockdown process, as it does all the time.
Keep practising!
Janet Douglas
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It feels like we hardly got started for the year and we have had to stop! Music is playing an important role in the lockdown process, as it does all the time. Keep practising! Janet Douglas
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The Recorder Group welcomed two new players into the heady world of descant, alto and tenor recorders. By the time they had learnt/revised a few new notes and beat patterns Janet had them joining in as we revised some of the many songs in our repertoire. For our next session the newcomers will come in at 10:00 for some individual work with Janet, the more experienced players at 10:30. During one of February's sessions a break out group played around a ute! Andi explains "We are playing around the ute as the group has three beginners, and Janet gave them a half-hour's coaching first. The rest of us decided we'd play in the big room, but alas the scrabble-players were there. Luckily the wind was not too strong, so we played a few tunes outside". Andi Stevenson
With Christmas approaching we fine-tuned our song selection to include some beautiful Christmas carols.
And then, armed with some of our old favourite songs, our newly learned Christmas carols and our trusty descants, altos and tenor, we set out to share our music with the residents at Cooinda. How lovely it was to hear them sing along with us - the melodic “Good King Wenceslas”, “Silent Night” and “We Three Kings” with three different recorder parts, the joyful “Deck the Halls” and “Joy to the World” were popular. “Jingle Bells” was the perfect finisher. Our final 2019 Recorder session was held at North East Artisans - chatting and chewing in their charming courtyard with not a recorder in sight but with plenty of plans to practise and play again next year. Pat Treleaven  In November we practised Christmas Carols. One arrangement of Silent Night just didn’t work, for the deeper altos were playing the tune, above the sopranos. However a different arrangement sounded glorious. The much older Taunton Carol, “A Lovely Lady Sat and Sang” was unfamiliar to most, and a little tricky with two flats and a change of key partway through. By the second meeting we were getting the hang of it and it sounded beautiful.
We were introduced to “Anna Crusis”... actually an "anacrusis", being “note or notes which precede the first accent of any rhythmic division in a composition”. Also known as a trip for unwary players trying to work out where they come in. We are practising hard for a performance at Cooinda in December. Andrea Stevenson October - 'The Meet and Minglers, the Recorder Players and plates of delectable morning tea!'23/10/2019  A winning trio - the Meet and Minglers, the Recorder Players and plates of delectable morning tea.
“Fanfare” was a rousing first item - a call to action, listen, good things are coming. And come they did: “Allemande” a song from the sixteenth century, “ La Mourisque” our resident French song, the beautiful “Skye Boat Song” sounding so good in three parts, “Turn the Glasses Over” and “Row Row Row Your Boat” played in round form and the sweet, sweet “Home Sweet Home.” And then...a glitch in the proceedings. We had to restart “Maggie” because, as we all know, music sounds a lot better when we get the timing right! We finished with “ Music Alone Shall Live” - a fitting anthem for our Recorder Group. Pat Treleaven It does't seem so long ago that the vision of having a Recorder Group was a gleam in president Dorothy Webber's eye! Two years have passed and this month marked the second performance of the recorder group for U3A members at a major event in our calendar - this time at the Seniors' Festival Morning tea. Thank you so much to dedicated convenor Janet Douglas and the group's hard working and passionate members for presenting such a delighful performance. Photographs: Heather Wallace and Margaret Jenkins
How delightful to have two little visitors to Recorder, especially as one came with a violin and was prepared to accompany our songs and then finish the session by playing a song for us.
Time was spent choosing and practising songs in preparation for our playing at Meet and Mingle at their morning tea on Wednesday, October 16th, playing through our growing set of favourites and learning new musical terms and techniques. We now have so many pieces to choose from! We finished the session with a new piece that led to some very effective sight reading, and a repertoire of pieces to practise, practise, practise. Pat Treleaven With the altos M.I.A.the descants held the fort for the second August session. Interspersed with our known and familiar songs “The Floral Dance.” and “Mozart’s Lullaby” provided lots of new learning experiences - new high notes, trills and general pauses - all of which we will be dutifully practising at home. We had chance to revisit lots of songs from our earlier sessions and finished the session with a new piece, “Lorelei” and the beautiful “Skye Boat Song”.
Pat Treleaven  "And now I find photos I meant to send in many weeks back; Janet explaining the history of sheet music notation (it is very interesting, and she is a very good teacher) and Pat's music stand (her iPad, but the Coles brochure was to stop the music interfering with the touch screen. But it worked.)" Andrea Stevenson Thank you Andi!  With the altos M.I.A.the descants held the fort for the second August session. Interspersed with our known and familiar songs “The Floral Dance.” and “Mozart’s Lullaby” provided lots of new learning experiences - new high notes, trills and general pauses - all of which we will be dutifully practising at home. We had chance to revisit lots of songs from our earlier sessions and finished the session with a new piece, “Lorelei” and the beautiful “Skye Boat Song”.
Pat Treleaven "It was a hardworking session with lots of learning opportunities. Some new songs, some favourites, some songs that “have potential “ which is music speak for...”will sound good when we get it right.” Time spent starting and finishing together, getting the breathing right and most importantly appreciating some lovely recorder melodies and harmonies. Who knew the recorder could sound so good!"
Pat Treleaven On a chilly June day we chased away the winter chills as we combined our descents, altos and tenor to work our way through our repertoire of known and new songs.
Janet outlined the history of how our music notes came to be written down and we took this on board as we made our way through several new pieces using our developing sight reading skills. Music is certainly an area that uses every part of the brain! “The Wayfaring Stranger.” and “Comin’ through the Rye.” tested all our developing knowledge. They will, of course, be added to our practice list. Pat Treleaven We started our session with the now familiar rounds, “ Music Alone Shall Live.” and “Haste Thee Nymph.” followed by the hauntingly beautiful “Auld Lang Syne” “Home Sweet Home” and “Brahm’s Lullaby” trio. Most of us were singing the words in our heads as we played. Then it was time for music that marched or danced along - cue “Gavotte.” and “Allemande,” with their musical trills. Of course we are learning all the time. How interesting to discover all the different musical conventions composers use to save paper. Miss them and you will be consigned to a scenic tour around all the notes! We will certainly be working on “Maggie”again next session. Another hard working session. It’s not every day that people installing solar panels get a recorder concert. Pat Treleaven  Photograph: 'Recorder Group Break' Andi Stevenson
“Music Alone Shall Live” proved to be an apt title as we made a lively progress through marches, lullabies, dances, rounds and airs. The descants, altos and tenors combined to play beautifully in songs with 2 and 3 parts, the altos getting special attention with some music written just for them. There was time to learn some tricky new notes and then...”And now let’s play it a little faster,” which we did ... with varying amounts of success.
A hardworking session with lots of new pieces to practise and master. Thank you, Janet and Fujiie. Pat Treleaven The tricky lower notes are harder on a recorder so they received some extra practice this session and then it was on to the several new pieces that Janet had for us. Of course we practised our favourites. We are doing rounds and parts quite well now!
Some good fun clapping exercises helped us get the 6/8 timing right for Annie’s Song and Brian Boru’s March. We came home with quite a few new sheets to add to our music repertoire and practice sessions. Pat Treleaven The Recorder Group met for 2019 and welcomed two new members and a tenor recorder! We journeyed through some familiar pieces with Janet cleverly interspersing some new challenges - high notes, pinched notes, accidental sharps and that dreaded challenge; ‘And now let’s play this a little faster!’ We did...and we played duets and rounds, two parts and three, plus some wonderful harmonies.
For the next session, people who want to practise new notes should come at 9:00 and the others at 10:00. Happy tootling. Pat Treleaven With a brilliant patchwork display as our background, the Recorder Group opened the November Meet and Mingle’s Singing For Fun Concert.
We gave them French - “Ah! Vous Dirai - Je Maman, “ “Au Clair de la Lune “and the beautiful “La Mourisque”. We gave them Australian - the famous “Kookaburra” that we all learnt in Primary School. The Irish got a look in with “Brian Boru’s March” and the Hungarian component was “Hungarian Dance No 5.” They gave us wonderful clapping and a delicious morning tea. Best of all we got to listen to amazing singing and piano playing, all with three different conductors. Brilliant! Pat Treleaven A small but dedicated band met for October Recorder. As chance would have it, each learner this day had a descant recorder, so it was a different but charming sound without the lovely bigger recorders. “The Skye Boat” song, in three parts was delightful as was “Bransle,” especially when Tomoko took on the challenge of those difficult top notes. Of course we played some of our favourites but then Janet had some new songs for us - “Annie’s Song”which we recognised from our John Denver days, and “Allemande” a tune from the 16th century. Multicultural that we are, we finished with Schubert’s “German Dance” and Brahm’s “Hungarian Dance”. Another productive session and one step closer to the end of the year concert. Pat Treleaven.  Photo: 'Out to Dry' Andrea Stevenson
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About the Recorder Group‘I wish I hadn’t given up learning …music, the violin. piano, recorder, guitar…’ Music teacher Janet Douglas says she would be very wealthy if she received $1 every time she heard an older person say this! .Janet believes it’s never too late to learn music or to learn a musical instrument and considers the recorder a good choice as it is such an accessible instrument. Meeting TimesIn 2019 the group has been scheduled to meet in the U3A Meeting Room on:
2nd Wednesday 9 - 11 4th Wednesday 10 - 12 The group may also meet for additional practice sessions on an as needs basis. Convenor's Contact DetailsJanet Douglas
5767 2257 0427 621 700 Newsletter CorrespondentPat Treleaven
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