Funny Pronunciation

The continuing quartet performed last week.  This was their first rehearsal since then, so I had a look for some new music for them and took a couple of compilation books along.  The first violin and viola were there at the start, so I gave them each a book to flip through and see if anything took their fancy.

Viola [looking at me with big eyes through big glasses, over the music stand]: Can we do Tango, number 3?

When the second violin and cello arrived I handed out booklets, and they all had a look through their parts before we played.  A bit of "How does my part go?" and "What's that rhythm?" and "Is that a 2 or a 3?" and then someone looked across at the 2nd piece.  I was still helping the cello, and the other girls started off the rhythm - dum - da dum - da dum - da dum ... for a while.

Cello [so judgmentally]: What's that?  Bor-ing.

We started playing the tango.  The cello part was really easy.  While she was playing, she stole a few glances at the second piece.

Cello [suddenly, eyes wide, very excited, and still playing]: Oh!  OH!  Can we do the number 2? PLEASE?  I just worked out which piece it is and my grandma LOVES it!
Viola: So are we playing that one now?  Fun-nee cull-ee fun-nee cull-ah?
Me [laughing]: Um.  Ah.  Few-ni-cue-lee few-ni-cue-lah.

Not A Doctor

Junior Quartet this morning.  Visited by one of the cellists who is also in grade 5 this year (and was in my ensemble last year - the chatterbox).  This happened as we were heading down the stairs at the end of rehearsal.

Cello: No way!  Miss M, C just moved up to a three-quarter size cello!
C [obviously very pleased with this]: Yep!  It's cos my hands are bigger.
Me: Let's see.  [She holds up her hands].  Wow, your fingers are really long.  My hands are really small...
C:  How big are yours, let me see! [She tries to match up her right hand with my right, then I convince her to hold up her left].  No way!  Yours are tiny!
Me: Ah... yes. [Viola tries out as well, same result]
Cello: Well, Ms T said, my arm has grown... but...well... she's not a doctor...  So she wants to wait until my hand has grown as well, otherwise I might go flop [with accompanying arm-falling-down-the-cello action] and end up at the wrong end.

Hypothetical Odd Couples

Continuing Quartet (10-yr-old girls) this morning. 

Cello [in the middle of working out a fingering pattern]: Oh!  Hey.  Wouldn't it be, like, so weird, if there was, like, a couple, and he played violin and she played cello?
Viola: Oh, yeah...
Me: Er - why is that?
Cello: Because, well, a violin is, like, a small instrument... and a cello is so much bigger... and so it would be, just, so weird for the guy to be playing the small one like [high pitched imitation of violin playing, similar to Psycho] and she's all [deep gruff cello imitation].
Violin 1: Even weirder - if the girl plays double bass!
Girls: Whoa!!  That would be ridiculous!!

Cana-What?

Last year's Junior Quartet begged to continue, so this year I get to take 2 quartets.  The continuing quartet started their rehearsals this morning.

Me: Does anyone have any requests for pieces you want to do? [A few suggestions were mentioned]
Cello: Oh!  Can we do that Mexican piece?
Me: Which one would that be?
Cello giggles, and tries to sing and play at the same time.
Me: The Mexican Hat Dance?
Girls: Yeah!  Oh yeah, let's do that one!  Can we?
Me: Sure.  You know, Mr B actually has it for string quartet already.  We use it for the mariachi band.
Cello [a bit shocked]: Is he Mexican?
Violin 1: Is he the tall one?
Me: Yes.  And, yes.
Cello: Is he really?! I thought he was from Canadia.
Me [smiling]: Um...
Violin 2: He's - what did you say?!
Cello: Oh NO!  Who says that?!  Where did I even come up with that?!  Oh how embarrassing.

Not So Rockin'

New Junior Quartet started this morning (all grade 5 girls, aged 9-10).  Three of them were in the junior string ensemble (called Vivo) last year, but they're all in the next one up this year, called Corelli.  The following was actually heard in the real time of grade 5 girls, who don't wait for one to finish before jumping in and telling me their own version, but for ease of writing and reading, I've separated them a bit.

Viola:  Oh my goodness, Corelli is so hard!  The music -
Violin 2: It's so much harder than Vivo.
Cello: We're doing this piece, and it's, just, there was this one bar -
Violin 1: I was in it last year... I don't think it's that hard...
Cello: So, this piece has one bar - [general giggling] - no!  I mean, ha - that would be funny, if it was just this one bar for the whole piece -
Viola [demonstrating in a very 'viola' fashion]: blah... blah ... blah ... blah...
Cello: No, I mean, okay, so  - oh, the piece, it's called Rockin' Rondo - which, by the way, it is soooo not rockin' - and...

And after that they got even more distracted with playing different bits of music and having music fall off the stand... etc... etc...

Feet

Quartet rehearsal this morning.  Just beginning, and the cellist starts trying to play and untie her right shoelace at the same time. 

Cello: Agh!  It's just... um... agh... too hot... agh... [shoe comes off]  Oh, can I go, like, really quickly, to the bathroom?  Please?
Me: Be really quick.  [cello gets up] Do you realise you've...
Cello: Yep.  I'm going to be really quick so no-one sees me looking like a dork.
Viola [giggling]: That looks so weird.  But it's kinda like me.  I sleep that way.
Me: With one shoe...?
Viola: No, with one foot under the covers and the other one out.
Violin 1: I often sleep with both feet out.
Viola: Yeah, my mum says I've done this, like, forever.  Unless it's really hot, and then I'm just, like, [thrashes around in her chair] AAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!! and both feet stay out.
Cello [returning, all business]: Okay, I don't think anyone saw me.  [everyone's looking at her].  What?

This is not the first One Shoe On episode from this cellist.  I found out at the end that she has an ingrown toenail, which is why she keeps wanting that shoe off.

Mistake Face

In quartet this morning, we were having some timing issues.  We'd almost got it sorted out, but Violin 1 kept coming in too soon.  We played it again, and she still came in early.  I shook my head, and she did that wide smile with eyebrows raised in the 'I made a mistake but please forgive me' face.

Cello: She always does that face when she makes a mistake.  But when we make a mistake, she does that face.

This was accompanied by imitations of facial expressions - priceless.  Icing on the cake: at the end of the piece (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies), cellist sneezed in time with the music. 

One Shoe On...

Packing up after this morning's quartet rehearsal, I was discussing tuning with the cellist.  And then I realised she was wearing only one shoe.

Me: Ah... Do you realise you've lost a shoe?
Cello: Oh, I haven't lost it, it just hurts my foot to have it on.  So I took it off.  [sigh] I guess I better put it back on so I don't look like a crazy person for the rest of the day...

The Rite of Spring

I arrange a lot of the music for the quartet I take at school.  About September, I'm usually out of ideas, and ask the girls what they would like to play.  Last year, we had this conversation:

Violin 2: Ooh, ooh, can we do The Rite of Spring???  Please???
Me [a bit stunned]: Um, really?  You want to do The Rite of Spring?
Violin 2 [excited]: Yeah!
Me [incredulous]: The Rite of Spring?!  Starts with a bassoon solo?  [I sing a little bit].
Violin 2 [very confused expression on her face]
Me: Very cool rhythms? chum chum chum chum chum chum chum chum chum chum... ? [If you're unfamiliar with this piece, find it on Youtube]  ...Stravinsky?
Violin 2 [even more confused, if that were possible]
Me [the penny dropping]: Oh wait, do you mean Spring?  Vivaldi's Spring?  Da da da da da-da daaaa?
Violin 2 [a look of such relief on her face]: Yeah!  That's the one!  My dad plays classical music all the time in the car, and I love this piece!

Needless to say, we did a super easy version.

Killer Cellist

I take a quartet of 10-yr-old girls.  The cellist got a larger cello over the holidays, one which is her own (not a school instrument), and when in its case on her back, it protrudes just above her head.  We were dealing in stickers after the rehearsal this morning.

Cello takes the sheet of stickers but drops it.  Her cello is on her back - as she bends down to pick up the stickers, she takes out Violin 1 and Viola.  I look up to see Violin 1 rubbing her forehead, Viola reeling and holding her head.  Cello is horrified by what she's done, apologises, and we all check that everyone is okay. 

Cello hadn't actually picked up the stickers, so she warns everyone: Okay everyone, watch out - I'm going down again.

Incident-free this time, barring all the giggles.

Later, I saw Cello just after her lesson. 

Me: How's the new cello going?
Cello: Good... Except the tuning. 
Me: Your hands will get used to it.
Cello: Well, it's more that the case is a soft case, so if I knock it at all...
Me: Like when taking out the rest of your quartet...?
Cello: Um, yeah.... It just goes out of tune so quickly!