Music for Social Distancing

During this time of social distancing, it can feel awkward to not have a buddy or a group of other musicians to play with. But other than playing by yourself, what other options are there? There’s quite a few! Here is a list of alternative playing and practice options that you can do all while social distancing!

  • Perform a virtual concert for your friends and family:  With the many ways we have to communicate through voice and video, there’s no reason why we can’t share our music in the same way! Consider playing a piece or two that you have been working on via Facetime, Skype, Google Hangouts, or even live stream on YouTube or Twitch! There’s many ways to share your hard practiced music!
  • Take lessons remotely: Many recorder and other instrumental teachers have set themselves up to teach remotely using some of the above mentioned meeting platforms. While the experience is a bit different from a live one-on-one lesson, there is still great value to be had in working remotely with an instructor! See below for info on how to contact one of Portland’s great recorder teachers.
  • Download a Fun Telemann App!: Who doesn’t enjoy playing a little Telemann? Well now you can play duets with your tablet! You can search in the App Store or Play Store for “Telemann 6 Sonatas” and it will pull up 5 apps by Masafumi Sasaki. These apps cost only a couple dollars and gives you a wealth of Telemann duets to play with your device. You can choose your sonata, pick which line you want the app to play, and you can play the other one along with it! It’s a great way to play duets while social distancing. I have all 5 and I love them!
  • Dowani International Play Alongs: Dowani International has a large collection of Recorder music, ranging from easy to advanced, that comes with an accompaniment CD! Learn a piece and play it at home accompanied by your own personal orchestra or continuo! The disc provides each movement and piece at 3 different tempi, so no matter where you are in learning the piece, you can practice or perform with a prerecorded accompaniment. You can fins most of their selection available to order online at Sheet Music Plus.

YouTube Opportunities

  • Need some other great ideas to fill your recorder time while staying at home? Check out these great YouTube channels of fun and educational recorder resources from around the world!

    Team Recorder: https://www.youtube.com/user/SarahBlokfluit – A HUGE collection of videos featuring all aspects of recorder playing from instruments, tone, technique, interviews, playalongs, and fun times!
    Consort Counsellors: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS3jGCY50YujsfsP7czQmxA – Two members of the Amsterdam based recorder Quintet Seldom Sene teach you different concepts of how to play in a consort, or a group of other recorder players. They talk about balance, tuning, group practice, and just about everything there is to know about ensemble playing.
    Lobke Sprenkeling: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClC5wdT7wacP87pJpQQI46g – This channel has a little bit of everything from performances, musical stress relief, but most notably, a series or recorder care and maintenance. Take some time to learn how to oil, re-thread, and clean your instruments with Lobke.
    Recorder Arcade: https://www.youtube.com/recorderarcade – Recorder Arcade is a fun channel bringing new life to recorder music by arranging video game music, from simple tunes to fully orchestrated works for recorder ensembles up to 72 players! Get to know a new genre of music on an instrument you already love!
  • Recorder Lessons
    Many of the teachers listed on the PRS website can teach remotely! Please feel free to reach out to them for distance learning opportunities.
    Looking to hone your skills, build your repertoire, and improve as a recorder player? PRS now has a list of recorder instructors across Greater Portland available for private instruction. Some instructors are available to teach via video conference. Click here to find an instructor

 

Playing in Quarantine!

If you haven’t seen our May Newsletter, we included quite a few links to recorder playing and learning options available during this time of lock down. Well, we came up with even more and wanted to pass them along to you!

 
  • STEMS Summer Workshops:These online courses through The San Francisco Early Music Society are being offered this Summer for Baroque, Medieval/Renn., and Recorder workshops. Tuition varies depending how many classes you purchase, but base cost is $25 per class.
  • https://sfems.org/sfems-workshops/

 

 

  • Sam Stadlen– Music Minus One:VIOL PLAYERS!!!!! Sam offers Music-minus-one audio, sheet music, and videos for Viol! Some can be worked into recorder and other early instruments, but great for keeping up those viol chops! $15 monthly subscription to his Patreon site will grant you access to all these great options!