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As long as you've found a way of making music that suits you, that's excellent. You are a sociable person and the piano is solitary; so bells are perfect for you. And the piano is perfect for an antisocial old mare like me...

They say 'if at first you don't succeed, try try again', and I think ten years is long enough for anyone to have tried.

It's all my own fault really. I should have started piano lessons after I left home at 19, then I would have succeeded with aplomb. One of the main reasons why I didn't succeed is that I left it too late in life.

I think the phrase it's never too late to learn a musical instrument is just one of these politically correct myths upheld by the piano teaching community because it does not apply to everybody. It should be In most cases, there is an upper age limit to learning to play a musical instrument.

I have only one option left...that is if I can somehow take the the British Handbell notation that I CAN sightread and somehow devise a system of piano sightreading notation with no dots, staves, squiggly lines or Italian terminology, but just finger numbers and indicators for change of hand position.

With regards to the North Koreans, I only joined the forum because I had some sheet music I wanted to pass on to either a piano teacher or a piano learner so that it could be put to good use. I managed to pass on my wartime c.1940 full music copy of Hymns Ancient and Modern Standard to a very impressive 79yo woman in the next village who, despite suffering a severe stroke earlier this year, still plays in church every Sunday and accompanies for choir. She then amazed both myself and my wife by opening the book at random, putting it on her piano stand and proceeding to play an ancient hymn tune perfectly that she'd never seen before!!

Here is an article about her in the Barnt Green village magazine and her visit to the Palace to take tea in the presence of the Queen:

http://villageonline.co.uk/village/news ... yal_reward

And to think it really is such a shame organs in churches are being replaced by MP3 players because they just can't get the people who can play them any more. You might get replaced one day, Gill

Yup, soon be Holy Karaoke wherever you go!

Yup, soon be Holy Karaoke wherever you go!

Had Cwm Rhondda today, played beautifully by Tracey.

Just done a harvest evensnog with 4 ripsnorter hymns and all the stops out...

Abandoned my easy play system for the time being having discovered a flaw or two. That is until I can get my thinking cap on to find a way around them.

Just heard 'Hornpipe Humoresque' by Noel Rawsthorne. And nearly weed myself laughing! Surely you've played it, Gill? (And kept a straight face).

Just googled it; if it isn't too hard I might get the music and have a crack - depends how many flappy feet are required.
It's brilliant - had to watch 2 different vids to check that the bum notes were intentional!

I got the bum notes too, yes they are intentional. Distinguishes it from Henry Wood's fantasia on British sea shanties, I suppose.

It made me smile that they put bum notes in. I'm waiting for Kevin Mayhew to bung it off to me now.

yes, there are quite a few easy examples of a fugue there, with Widor Toccata, Bach Brandenburg, Rule Britannia and Spring from the Four Seasons by that Viv chap from Aldi, interwoven with the Sailors Hornpipe.

'Barnacle Bill' by Ashworth Hope would have been a good tune to stick in there too (Blue Peter theme).