I concur
Trying to keep in time in a group of anything larger than 4 or so without a conductor is damn near impossible. I feel sorry for the organists in big cathedrals, all the way at the other end from the Master of Music, so he has about a second's worth of time delay to deal with. Never been entirely sure how they manage it...
(Omnizor Spooning bits of road for breakfast., Fri 28 May 2010, 9:14, 2 replies)

A CCTV camera/little mirror showing the conductor
and enough practise to have the skill to play a fraction of a second ahead of the conductor so the organ coincides with the choir.


/was an organist.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Fri 28 May 2010, 13:36, closed)

*salutes* Respect.

(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Fri 28 May 2010, 14:58, closed)

undeserved respect, I'm afraid.
I'm ok at solo stuff, but absolutely hate accompanying in any way, shape or form. Simply cannot do it. Main instruments are singing/flute anyway, organ was a vaguely lucrative backup.
(The Empress it seems you CAN polish a turd!, Fri 28 May 2010, 17:10, closed)

I had a few friends who thought they'd try for organ jobs (for churches)
and found that they really, really sucked at it. Similarly, my AS teacher was a professional organist and explained how difficult it is. So I heartily respect anyone who can do it.

Accompanying, on the other hand, is the bane of my life.
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Fri 28 May 2010, 17:47, closed)

Funniest concert I ever played in
We were playing as a wind dectet (2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns). Due to illness, our bassoon player had to call off, and the conductor decided he was going to fill the gap. Cue everyone staying vaguely in time until the bassoon solo, which said conductor messes up, improvises for three bars (in a Classical piece... very funny, not a good idea though)... and then shouts "TWO THREE FOUR!" to get the rest of us to start playing from the next entry.

When we got off the stage, he congratulated us and asked if we thought anyone had noticed. Err....
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Fri 28 May 2010, 14:54, closed)