Category Archives: children

brass players and drinking

Posted on March 25, 2011 by vhk10

My son is learning the trumpet, and has now been told to ‘have a drink after you finish practising’. Of course water is what is meant, but it explains a lot! In fairness to brass players everywhere, I will recount … Continue reading →

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the Festival opening night

Posted on June 3, 2009 by vhk10

Various family members were involved in this and I found myself dashing all over town to keep up. It began by watching, and then following, my son in the procession of children carrying their artwork on a ‘sea’ theme down … Continue reading →

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grade 1 piano

Posted on June 20, 2008 by vhk10

My daughter did Grade 1 piano about a week ago. I cast my mind back to dim memories when I was doing the same exam and tried to compare the experiences. For one thing, the Associated Board has livened up … Continue reading →

Posted in children, piano/organ | 1 Comment

Dayglo recorders

Posted on July 17, 2007 by vhk10

We had one of these (made from orange plastic), but it hasn’t been too good in recorder class at school, what with the usual beginner’s tendency to overblow. We’ve replaced it with a brown Yamaha version which sounds rather better. … Continue reading →

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a dozen a day

Posted on January 27, 2006 by vhk10

A couple of weeks ago my daughter started having piano lessons. I don’t intend to document her progress regularly here, but the experience of watching someone starting out is proving fascinating. It’s all so far in the past now that … Continue reading →

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two children’s books

Posted on October 6, 2005 by vhk10

Among various books which have been given to the children by an American friend are a couple with a musical theme. Opera Cat is a preposterous tale about a cat, Alma, who belongs to a Milanese opera singer, Madame SoSo. … Continue reading →

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the wheels on the bus

Posted on May 4, 2005 by vhk10

[I see that a lot of people have found their way to this page looking for guitar chords for ‘The Wheels on the Bus’. Here is a simple harmonisation of the version I know (there is a different one in … Continue reading →

Posted in children, published music | 1 Comment

musical memories of the Highlands

Posted on February 6, 2005 by vhk10

Yesterday I went to a reunion at my old primary school, The Highlands School, Tilehurst. I didn’t get very much opportunity to relive shared memories as it turned out that few of the former staff and pupils who attended overlapped … Continue reading →

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what I gave/got for Christmas

Posted on January 10, 2005 by vhk10

Various CDs got distributed at Christmas time. I received a set of the Beaux Arts trio playing Beethoven’s piano trios which I’m gradually working my way through. As well as the canonical works it contains some rarities such as the … Continue reading →

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singing at the nursery

Posted on February 6, 2004 by vhk10

Yesterday I repeated something I did a couple of years ago and went to my son’s nursery to lead the children there in some singing. They like parents to come in and do things for the children from time to … Continue reading →

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