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Re: What piece of music never fails to make you smile or feel uplifted, and why? So many it would take all night to list them all. I am tempted to say anything by Bach. But to choose one example: the fugue finale from the B Minor Mass.…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 8 mths ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What pedagogy book is recommended? Robert O. Gjerdigen, Child Composers in the Old Conservatories - ground-breaking return to the methods that taught musicians (including Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven....…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 8 mths ago
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: Should I set passing the Royal Conservatory examinations as a learning objective? @One Beat Thank you: I am glad you found my musings helpful. If you want to improvise, I would strongly recommend finding a specialist teacher - and now that more people are teaching online,…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 11 mths ago
- Ask Me Anything - New Guests Every Month!
- Reported - view
Re: Should I set passing the Royal Conservatory examinations as a learning objective? It would be wrong simply to say no, and perhaps even worse to say yes. These things are so personal that the decision has to be your own. But since you want opinions,…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 11 mths ago
- 1
- Ask Me Anything - New Guests Every Month!
- Reported - view
Re: Sheet Music App Yes, I too switched to ForScore and the largest iPad years ago. The only cons are the cost of the iPad (though they do last) and twice as many page-turns - unless you can afford two iPads,…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- 1
- Ask Me Anything - New Guests Every Month!
- Reported - view
Re: What role does improvisation or composition play in your musical journey? Care to share with us? Improvisation is hugely important to me. History teaches us very clearly that, until the modern age, improvisation was a standard part of musicianship, and there were no dividing lines between…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: If you could collaborate with any musician, alive or dead, who would it be and why? Bach, of course... so I could have lessons with the greatest musical genius who ever lived (and no doubt a similarly great teacher), who would (if I could ever stand the pace and meet his demands)…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- 1
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What's the most beautiful place where you've ever played your instrument? Well... my main instrument is the organ, so there is an essential connection between the place and the instrument. First place would have to go to the Grote Kerk, Alkmaar; second place to St Gervais,…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- 2
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: If you could play any other instrument, what would it be and why? If another instrument means an instrument I've never played but always rather wanted to.... then (if I had the time) it would be the 'cello. But that would have to include baroque 'cello.…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- 1
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: Review? Renew? or Start New? An interesting question, and already some good points in reply. I am in a fairly similar position, having had to pick up and put down serious music practice as life and work dictated,…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- 2
- General Discussion
- Reported - view
Re: How has your taste in music changed over the years? It's moved backwards. When I first discovered so-called (but, in one important sense, wrongly called) 'classical' music, as a boy of thirteen, I made the common but massive mistake of thinking that…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What's your favorite classical music era and why? The Renaissance: as in literature, as in art, so in music, the depth and breadth of quality and interest in that era has never been surpassed.
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 1 yr ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What Apps you're using to structure your practice? @Martin Thank you: I'll look into that!
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 2 yrs ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view
Re: What Apps you're using to structure your practice? A useful thread - thank you. I also use Forscore and enjoy the benefits. But how do other people transfer pieces from their own paper scores onto Forscore?…
- John Erskine
- John_Erskine
- 2 yrs ago
- Discussion of the Week
- Reported - view

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John Erskine

John_Erskine

Malvern, Worcestershire, UK

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Joined: Mon Oct 18 20:16:24 UTC 2021

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I currently play mainly organ, but also virginals, clavichord, & piano as much as time permits. Principally, but certainly not exclusively, interested in early music - especially HIPP. Merely an amateur, but I take studying music seriously: still learning in my 70s, I take regular lessons, attend courses, etc. Particularly interested in thorough bass, partimento, and improvisation. Favourite period: the Renaissance. Favourite composer: Bach (of course). For piano, I favour Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms.