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Come on! Get that Organ turning!
My word, it was a blustery day in Oxfordshire.
Our organs need quite a ‘bit of wind’, but not in the quantity that was coming up from the south yesterday.
I didn’t get to see if Santa arrived in one piece, in fact he was safely ensconced in his grotto when I arrived. I was staggered to see that it cost £14.95 for a family ticket (2a +2c) to get into the grotto! Just what you got for that I have no idea, but there was long queue of wind-swept children waiting with their patient parents.
The organs were set up in the dry, in an area just outside the restaurant….so handy for those warming cups of tea.
I played from 1 ’till 2, whilst Dennis and Doreen went for their lunch.
I have noticed, whilst turning that it is always people with children that stop and talk to you. The children love the sight and sounds especially when the organs have toy monkeys and other cuddly bits and pieces.
If possible I always let the children have a ‘turn’. Of course they never get the speed right but they look so amazed that they are actually producing the music.
A thousand times better than just pressing a button on an MP3 player!
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Only last week I read that:-
“Learning a musical instrument helps to boost children's memory”
I would have thought learning anything would improve a child’s memory. Or, for that matter, anyone’s memory.
But here we have a government-commissioned study suggesting…..
"Learning a musical instrument is beneficial for children’s behaviour, memory and intelligence.
Research found that learning to play an instrument enlarges the left side of the brain, enhancing pupils’ power of memory by almost 20 per cent."
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Susan Hallam, of the University of London’s Institute of Education, carried out the research as part of a drive to encourage more children to take up a musical instrument.
The study revealed that over time music lessons increased pupils’ IQ by seven points, compared with 4.3 points for drama lessons
The Government aims to double the number of opportunities for children, aged from seven to eleven, to learn an instrument for free by 2011.
This has to be one of the few bits of good news to surface recently.
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Hmmm Goverment intervention is not always a good thing but maybe in this case.......
ReplyDeleteI tried the piano but it didn't do anything for me, perhaps because I was forced by parental fear to have a go. Yet I am very musically minded. My famous concert pianist cousin has it all and I'm not at all jealous.
I can understand why children love the organ grinder's organ. I remember my fascination when I first saw and heard one.
It sounds like a lot of fun apart from the wind.
ReplyDeleteI loved learning the recorder and clarinet and it was great to play as part of a group
I guess I care more about a child's HQ (Happiness Quotient) than IQ. A lot of kids truly enjoy their musical experiences. Of course music is the first thing that goes when a school here in the US is having financial problems. Some folks think school has no value if children are enjoying it.
ReplyDeleteLooking at that little pic, reminds me that my Dad used to "play" a comb and tissue. as he was tone deaf, it was quite a racket, but his spoon playing was better.It's what passed for entertainment in our prefab!
ReplyDeleteMorning All, Thanks for dropping in.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have had so many cut backs Val, it does make a welcome change.
You are right about being forced by parents to practice. A child will never grow up to enjoy something if they are forced to do it.
Cherie, playing is a lot of fun. Of course you don't need the skill to turn the handle on the organ, but you can talk to people whilst playing. A bit difficult with most other instruments. We were sheltered from the wind I'm pleased to say.
Hi Jan.
Children do enjoy making music, it's true but I feel they are best left to do their own thing. If they take to an instrument and like it, the practice will come naturally.
The first thing here to get the chop seems to be sport. Schools have been selling off all the playing fields (and the kids are all getting overweight). This extra money for music is a welcome change of policy.
Hi Kath....you popped in whilst I was still typing replies.
ReplyDeleteHave you dried off yet??
Playing the spoons...excellent.
"Prefab"....now there's a word I haven't heard since I was a lad!
My uncle & aunt used to have one in Kings Norton, just south of Birmingham.
Well, I wish learning violin would do something for my memory! It's terrible on the right hand side!
ReplyDeleteSanta arriving in mid November?Whatever next?! So I imagine you played Christmas carols. Oh well, to this Christmas-o-phile it sounds jolly great fun.
No carols actually Foody. Although Santa arrived, it was a commercial decision by the garden centre and we played everything but.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to do anything 'Christmasy' until the two weeks before. (except perhaps post some cards to far off places) If you let me have your address I'll put you on my VIP list)