Learning a noisy musical instruments

[icowden]

that's the odd thing with me and my brother... I hold my knife in my left hand and fork in the right, but my brother is right handed and holds his knife and fork the opposite way. I don't know what the 'proper' way is supposed to be.

FWIW it dates from before cutlery. You kept your dagger or shortsword in your right hand and used that for cutting meat, skewering food you couldn't reach etc and it meant that you had it handy if a fight broke out.

But I'm with your brother I always use the fork in my right hand - and I'm right handed.

 

[Drago]

that's the odd thing with me and my brother... I hold my knife in my left hand and fork in the right, but my brother is right handed and holds his knife and fork the opposite way. I don't know what the 'proper' way is supposed to be.

The Muricans tend to hold their fork in their right hand, knife in left, opposite to the British. Holding them the British way is seen as very posh and la di dah over there.

 

[briantrumpet]

The Muricans tend to hold their fork in their right hand, knife in left, opposite to the British. Holding them the British way is seen as very posh and la di dah over there.

They are correct - so much table etiquette is about putting down those who don't follow arcane and (sometimes) stupid 'rules'.

The French look at anything more than one knife and fork as being deeply weird, given that our mouths stay the same size and shape, as do our hands. My parents cutlery set had fish forks included, which, apart from the tiny non-functional notches above the prongs, were just a normal fork. But if you aspired to be middle class, well...

 

[MontyVeda]

They are correct - so much table etiquette is about putting down those who don't follow arcane and (sometimes) stupid 'rules'.

The French look at anything more than one knife and fork as being deeply weird, given that our mouths stay the same size and shape, as do our hands. My parents cutlery set had fish forks included, which, apart from the tiny non-functional notches above the prongs, were just a normal fork. But if you aspired to be middle class, well...

View attachment 777830

needs a tuning fork to get the thread back on topic.

But which hand to hold it in is debatable.

 

[stephec]

They are correct - so much table etiquette is about putting down those who don't follow arcane and (sometimes) stupid 'rules'.

The French look at anything more than one knife and fork as being deeply weird, given that our mouths stay the same size and shape, as do our hands. My parents cutlery set had fish forks included, which, apart from the tiny non-functional notches above the prongs, were just a normal fork. But if you aspired to be middle class, well...

View attachment 777830

That layout looks like what Accy uses when he brings his chippy tea home.

 

[ColinJ]

I am still feeling bothered by "a... instruments"!

 

[Yellow Fang]

I think I will have to negotiate with my son. I would like him to learn a classical instrument and a folk instrument and maybe a pop instrument. I would like him to read music, and learn to play an instrument to a fairly high standard. In part this is because he might enjoy playing in an orchestra, brass band, folk bank, or pop band. I would like him to do something on the arts side, so if it's not music it can be drawing, painting, dancing, whatever. Even if he does do drawing, painting, etc. I would like him to learn some instrument to some basic level of competency. It is a life skill. Of course, he might have his own ideas.

 

[icowden]

needs a tuning fork to get the thread back on topic.

View attachment 777841

But which hand to hold it in is debatable.

fun fact re tuning forks - they are used by arachnologists to catch wall dwelling spiders. The right pitch will give off similar vibrations to a passing fly, and a spider will pop out of its wall hole to see if it can grab dinner.

 

[DRM]

I think I will have to negotiate with my son. I would like him to learn a classical instrument and a folk instrument and maybe a pop instrument. I would like him to read music, and learn to play an instrument to a fairly high standard. In part this is because he might enjoy playing in an orchestra, brass band, folk bank, or pop band. I would like him to do something on the arts side, so if it's not music it can be drawing, painting, dancing, whatever. Even if he does do drawing, painting, etc. I would like him to learn some instrument to some basic level of competency. It is a life skill. Of course, he might have his own ideas.

I think you're going about this the wrong way, kids will show an interest in whatever piques THEIR interests, NOT yours, it may be music. it maybe sports, it may computers, but it most certainly won't be anything forced on them.

He is only 16 months old at present. I am not sure if he will be musical or someone who can apply himself. What you say sounds like sense.

give it another 5 years before you start worrying about Latin, Orchestra's, Art, Dancing or whatever, I can guarantee this will not go how you think it will go, believe me

 

[icowden]

I think I will have to negotiate with my son. I would like him to learn a classical instrument and a folk instrument and maybe a pop instrument. I would like him to read music, and learn to play an instrument to a fairly high standard. In part this is because he might enjoy playing in an orchestra, brass band, folk bank, or pop band. I would like him to do something on the arts side, so if it's not music it can be drawing, painting, dancing, whatever. Even if he does do drawing, painting, etc. I would like him to learn some instrument to some basic level of competency. It is a life skill. Of course, he might have his own ideas.

As @DRM said - you might be better off trying to get him interested in car maintenance and gardening. Whatever you try to interest him in, he's very likely to pick something completely different. You'll find out what he likes and what he doesn't like. What you can do is make sure he has access to music - toy instruments, play music at home, in the car - wherever. If you enjoy music, he's likely to enjoy it too.

When my dad used to drive us in the car we would invariably have to listen to a tape of Buddy Holly or the Beatles. Or if we were really unlucky extreme jazz or an opera. Usually the first two though. Sometimes I really hated it but sometimes I loved it. I could pick out the individual vocal lines of John and Paul and I learned quite accidentally a lot about harmonising.

Some of it is who you are. Some of it is about exposure. At the opposite end we had a chap called JJ at school in our year. Everyone - even the staff called him JJ. He was good at everything. We were asked to draw a picture for inspiration as English Homework. He came in with a piece done in pointillism. He was academically brilliant and in the first eleven for Rugby and Cricket. Even worse - he was a genuinely nice person. His Achilles heel? Music. Couldn't sing or play a note.

MUSIC WAS MINE!

Both of my daughters have learned instruments and gone on to do GCSE and A-Level music (well one about to start). My Maternal Great Grandfather used to play the organ for the silent movies in Liverpool and I have a similar gift for improvisation (I'm told - not a lot is known as he was somewhat of a black sheep). We have a lot of music in our family - but not everyone in the family is musical or enjoys music.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I think you're going about this the wrong way, kids will show an interest in whatever piques THEIR interests, NOT yours, it may be music. it maybe sports, it may computers, but it most certainly won't be anything forced on them.

give it another 5 years before you start worrying about Latin, Orchestra's, Art, Dancing or whatever, I can guarantee this will not go how you think it will go, believe me

I am a reasonable man. If he doesn't want to learn Latin he can learn Koine (Ancient Greek), Sanskrit or Old English.

 

[bruce1530]

A quote from a friend of mine, who is a very talented musician:
"I wish I had learned to play an instrument that people liked to listen to, not this..."

It might have been "a more sociable instrument" she said...

 

[Yellow Fang]

A quote from a friend of mine, who is a very talented musician:
"I wish I had learned to play an instrument that people liked to listen to, not this..."

It might have been "a more sociable instrument" she said...

Which was?

 

[bruce1530]

I shall leave that to your imagination!

 

[Yellow Fang]

I shall leave that to your imagination!

Was it the bagpipes?