The Rules of Ensemble Playing (according to students)

Thanks to my Giggle Trio (AKA Tess, Gabriel & Danielle) for sharing these rules of ensemble playing and rehearsing. It's quite the work of art, which I think applies to ALL ensembles:

1. No knee pinching.

2. No story telling until the end of the rehearsal.

3. Try not to giggle so much.

4. Listen to everybody's ideas.

5. Pay attention.

6. Try new stuff.

7. If the group is getting too giggly, tell them to stop.

8. Listen/look for each other's cues.

9. No body checking.

10. Have a plan.

11. Have fun!!!!!

Personally, I think rule #9 is a classic!

(c) 2009 by The Giggle Trio, Calgary, AB, Canada. Posted with permission.

St Francis de la Sissies Unique Version of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus

Somedays, you just need to have a good laugh in between practices. The St. Francis de la Sissies achieve just that with their rendition of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus:

Enjoy!

Friday Fun Link #32

Thanks to my friends Trudi and Nicola (fellow music teachers) for this one. A witty comedian does a musical sketch on Pachelbel's Canon in D. Enjoy Pachelbel Rant:

I couldn't stop laughing.

(c) 2006 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link #7

Q: What do you get when you put a diminished chord together with an augmented chord? A: A demented chord.

It’s been a long week (and I’m not quite done yet). I went in search of some comic relief and came upon this site riddled with music jokes. Enjoy!