Tag Archives: Mundaring

Virtues of Mundaring House Sitting

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The Benefits of House Sitting in the Shire of Mundaring.

[This was first posted as a ‘page’ a few days ago by mistake.]

I type while a small bird in a cage at the other end of the table entertains me as I try to whistle in duet. At my feet is a lovely old dog. Rimsky-Korsakov is on the radio (yeah, I should probably stop writing and listen carefully).

I’ve finished the morning feeding & watering. Cows, goats, chooks, pasture for feed, some veggies, hanging plants and seedlings. Now the day is mine until the afternoon routine, which is less. With some other house sits there is almost nothing to do.

Selfie used with permission of the property owners

It’s almost idyllic. I get all the enjoyment of living with all sorts of critters and often in very nice homes and on fabulous properties, surrounded by forest, with almost no responsibility except to tend to them and keep an eye on how they are faring. No big vet bills, fencing repair costs or council rates for me! No complex decisions. Sometimes there’s a bit of troubleshooting or problem solving but I enjoy that so that’s actually a bonus.

In some places it’s like playing at being a subsistence farmer but it still allows me lots of time to work on my music (in between Facebook or writing articles). Which is good because I compose and write lyrics slowly.

Coming up in 2021 will be the tenth anniversary of when I began my house sitting lifestyle, although I did get the idea a few years before that when I was asked to look after a house in Karratha. That was such a great experience so, while living in the Flatlands after returning to Perth, I developed a plan to become a continuous house sitter in a forested area where I wanted to live but could not otherwise afford.

The plan worked like a treat: I took a long-term booking to house sit in Parkerville from May 2011. What a great start, Parky is where I grew up and where I longed to be. In anticipation of permanently house sitting up in the Hills, in the Shire of Mundaring, I took on lots of music students in the area from early that year. This meant a long drive each day to teach them for several months, but it was worth it in the long run.

Paid house sitting is a win-win-win: good for me, good for the home owners, and good for the environment. For the first six years there was one less house required on the planet because I didn’t have a home base.

Selfie used with permission of the property owners

There are some downsides. The frequent moving is a hassle and sometimes there are gaps or overlaps. In one three-month period some years ago I had about four long bookings cancelled at short notice (each for a different reason). Some of the cancellers were able to put me up for a while, which was very kind of them.

In the early days if there were gaps I would stay with my mother in her rented unit near Midland Gate. There wasn’t quite enough room to swing a …, er, better not say it as I often have felines to look after. If my brother needed a room for a week or two either he or I had to find somewhere else. Mum is now 87 and doing well in a nursing home, she’s the brightest one there. She loves seeing Facebook pics on my laptop of Dog Rock in Albany, near which she grew up.

These days I have my own home base as a boarder in a lovely place in Hovea so gaps are not a problem.

Of course, in early 2020 most of my bookings for the whole year were cancelled because of the coronavirus. Western Australia, the second largest state on the planet (ca. 3.5 times the size of Texas) also had regional border closures so for some months home owners couldn’t even take a long drive for a holiday. Eventually, this all changed and now I house sit for people taking caravan holidays or having working trips all over WA. Almost no-one is flying yet, which is partly why the virus is almost non-existent here.

Many years ago I taught piano, singing, music theory and vocal health full-time in my home studio in Claremont or Nedlands, 6 hours per day, about 36 hours per week. At noon I would do an hour’s piano practice, and another five hours from 10pm to 3am. Not recommended.

For the last ten years while house sitting I’ve had a much healthier teaching load and I mostly drive to the students’ homes or teach online. But even this was hit by the coronavirus pandemic. I have my fingers crossed it will also bounce back.

Meanwhile, I have lots of time to compose and record. I count my many blessings frequently.

About house sitting or pet minding
mixmargaret.com/housesitting.html
mixmargaret.com/paid-pet-sitting.html

About teaching music
mixmargaret.com/peripatetic-music-teacher.html
mixmargaret.com/online-teaching-piano-singing.html

Thürmer piano sold: end of an era

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When I had more hair, less weight and sat too low, ca. 2002

It was with mixed emotions that I sold my 1903 Thürmer upright piano a few days ago after owning it for more than 30 years. It’s been like a family member since 1988 when I bought it from Dave Carlson, who was a president of the APTTA. Fifteen years later Dave and his wife, Wendy, surrounded by my piano and singing students, gave the piano a present for its 100th birthday party: a pair of new candle holders.

When I visited Dave’s workshop seeking to buy a piano this one had come back to him some years after a full recondition. He hadn’t recently tuned it and so did not fully know its value. Because it is hard to assess a piano’s quality when it’s not in tune, I struck (and I do mean STRUCK) a note, as loudly and roughly as I could, to assess what range of colours it might have. Dave must have been horrified that I would beat a key like that and he must have wondered about my piano teaching skills because of the raucous sound. However, ever the diplomat, he didn’t say a word. Suitably impressed with the piano’s responsiveness, I agreed to buy it for $2950, which was raised from small loans from a number of students. It turned out to be a great buy.

Pic from 2010

In those days old pianos could appreciate in value so a few years later I asked Dave for a valuation. From memory I think it was $3500 or perhaps more. Not long after that something happened in Japan and the value of all the old pianos in WA went through the floorboards.

In vague terms I think the Japanese economy slid down the slopes and disappeared under the sea. All over that country people were losing their jobs and eyeing off the excellent Yamaha pianos sitting in their loungerooms, unused since the kids left home. Suddenly, huge numbers of them were in sea containers headed for Australia which meant our lovely old European and Australian-made pianos were instantly devalued.

2018 in Jane Brook

Fast forward to 2011 when I returned to the Hills were I grew up. I resumed teaching piano, singing and theory, and accompanying choirs and exam students after a long break when I drove taxis in Karratha. I also took up another part-time profession, that of the house sitter (and pet visitor/plant waterer).

Instant problem: how do I teach and practice piano as a house sitter? The first part was easy: I teach in student’s own homes. The second part was quite difficult. For several years I paid removalists to shift the Thürmer from one house sit to another, often leap-frogging one or more short bookings. Then I got local Hills Choir stalwart and inventor, Ivan Halbert, to modify a trailer so I could shift the piano on my own with a hand winch and several bits of custom-made equipment.

Customised trailer by Ivan, seen here in GEH, Chidlow

Shift the piano on my own? I did try this once but then thought I’m never doing that again, so usually I slipped a few bucks to my long-suffering eldest brother, Lawrence, to help me move it. Because the equipment was quite different to what professionals use it always took at least three hours, anything up to five hours. We must have moved this piano (plus a few friends’ pianos) about twenty times and I’m SOOOO glad I won’t be doing that again.

Lawrence, 2013
2018

The trailer was sold six months ago so last week the piano was moved to its new home nearby by pushing it along the road.

Pushing the piano with supervisors staying well back (they learn fast)

The new owner got it as a surprise early Christmas gift from her husband. I am over the moon that the piano, almost human to me, has gone to a good home where it will be greatly appreciated and played so well.

At the birthday party in 2003 Dave & Wendy gave me this info: “At present Thürmer pianos are not commercially imported into Australia, however if you would like one, it could be arranged for approximately $35,000 to $40,000 Australian for an upright.” One of the best brands, for sure, and built to last in Meissen, Germany. With another recondition a decade or two from now this one might outlive the new owners and their children.

These days I practice and often perform on digital pianos. No moving or tuning issues and I can literally carry one under my arm! At night I can practice and compose with the headphones on if people are sleeping nearby.

My final play before selling, at a soiree in the Hills, November 2019
2015, me vainly trying to learn how to tune
And they say practice makes perfect. Hmm, maybe not.
On the move, early 2018
Storing in Toodyay, from mid-2016

See these other pages on my website:

Piano chair boxes to adjust your sitting height
How to sit correctly at the piano
Piano chairs and benches
Piano hydration (water) beakers to maintain pitch (but note this contrary advice from the piano tuner’s association: www.aptta.org.au/faqs.aspx)
Piano music stands / sheet music holders: rigid or foldable (portable, DIY)

Chidlow Recital, May 2016

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With a couple of friends I held a classical music recital last week. We were  SO  STOKED  at the big attendance and all the great comments we got. Everyone had a great time and it seems it was a tremendous success. Yay us!

We three had a lot of fun preparing for the event, and we really enjoyed playing and singing our favourite music. It is such a joy to share music you love with a really appreciative audience. We held it at the Chidlow Hall, built in 1905 in the Shire of Mundaring, way out east past the hills of Perth, Western Australia. In recent years the Shire wanted to do away with the hall but now the local residents have taken it over and are refurbishing it.

Audience at Chidlow Hall

Audience at Chidlow Hall

Many people told us they loved the way we all spoke about the music before playing it. They said they found the music easier to follow and it made it all the more enjoyable. I can well understand that as I got used to hearing quite a bit of spoken introduction in countless wonderful performances I attended when I was a university student. It just seems like common sense to me and I don’t understand why anyone would do otherwise. In many situations it would be disrespectful, and unnatural, to simply walk up to the instrument and play without saying anything.

For my part, I talked about how I used to find Mozart’s music rather boring until I realised I was listening for something that is not in it. When I figured out how his style worked about ten years ago it was a revelation to me, and I think that resonated a lot with the big audience.

I illustrated the Bulgarian rhythm of a Bartók piece before playing it, and showed how it is identical to one of the most common and most loved rock or pop rhythms, sometimes known as the frug. Later someone asked me if that was from Bach, and I realised he thought I’d said ‘fugue.’

Naomi and Tony also gave very useful spoken insights into their guitar solos and songs, respectively (see the full programme below).

I took the opportunity to play a couple of original piano solos. I wrote Androgyne Prophecy in 1977 around my 16th birthday. Puck at Parkerville was completed just a month ago, and depicts the mischievous elf or sprite Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, from Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play was produced in my family’s Parkerville Amphitheatre ca. 1974.

Naomi Millett, classical guitar

Naomi Millett, classical guitar

Our programme:

Mix Margaret & Friends
Classical Music, Old and New

Naomi Millett, guitar
Toni Arndt, soprano
Margaret D. Jones, piano

Naomi
Courante and Galliard by Silvus Leopold Weiss
The Maids in Constrite from the Jane Pickering Lute Book
Go From My Window from the Jane Pickering Lute Book
Allegretto in A major Op. 10 No. 4 by Matteo Carcassi
Alla Polacca (Polonaise) by Ferdinando Carulli

Toni
Lieder by Franz Schubert (b. 1797, d.1828) (accomp. by MDJ)
Romanze (from Rosamunde)
Frühlingsglaube
Liebhaber in Allen Gestalten
An Die Musik

Margaret
Piano Sonata in C, K309 (first movement) (1777) by W.A. Mozart
Androgyne Prophecy (1977) by MDJ (sheet music available)
No. 6 of Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm (from Mikrokosmos, 1926 – 1939) by Béla Bartók

INTERVAL   Free refreshments

Naomi
Sarabande by Francis Poulenc
Llanura by Reginald Smith Brindle
Estudio Sencillos No. V ‘Allegretto Montuno’ by Leo Brouwer
Allegro No. 26 by Brouwer
Movido/Rapido No. 20 by Brouwer

Toni
Two arias from Mozart’s opera, The Marriage of Figaro (1786) (accomp. by MDJ):
Porgi Amor
Non So Più

Margaret
Song Without Words, Op. 19 No. 3 in A (1829-30) by Felix Mendelssohn
Sonatine (second movement) (1905) by Maurice Ravel
Puck at Parkerville by MDJ (2016)

About Naomi
For many years Naomi was the presenter of The Guitar Show on RTR 92.1 FM community radio. (The show is now called Plucked Strings.)

As a fine soloist and performer she has played guitar or mandola in many duos and other ensembles. She was an Arts journalist with The West Australian newspaper for fourteen years, where she interviewed many leading classical guitarists, and has been a leader in the classical guitar (and mandolin) community of Perth behind the scenes. For many years Naomi has been an examiner for the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).

Since having two children and moving to the Wheatbelt in 2007 Naomi has continued to teach, write, perform, record CDs and adjudicate at eisteddfodau, most recently the successful Pilbara Music Festival held in Port Hedland. She works part time in consumer advocate/peer support areas with the WA Health Department.

About Toni
Well-known to Hills audiences for her many solo appearances at concerts with the Hills Choir, Toni has a great love of soprano arias and art song. Her extensive repertoire includes Lieder and other music by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Fauré.

About Margaret
Margaret grew up inside the Parkerville Amphitheatre, which her family founded and ran from 1966 to 2001. See www.parkerville-amphitheatre.com

For five years Margaret studied composition at UWA with Roger Smalley AM. Margaret’s piano compositions have been in the AMEB exam syllabus for many years. See her extensive website at www.mixmargaret.com for sheet music, free recordings and videos, and information about her many musical qualifications and accomplishments. Margaret is available to play her wide repertoire of classical music for private functions, cafes, exhibitions and book launches.

Margaret is an androgyne (a type of non-binary transgender) and is referred to as she or they. Instead of Miss or Mr, her title is Mx (Mix). Margaret has continuously used Mx since 2002 and is one of its earliest adopters. This honorific title was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its online form in 2015 (see Margaret’s major online article on Mx/Mix, with a little about the singular they).

Many thanks to Kim Graham (Chidlow Progress Association), young Clive (Fuzzy) Millett, and to all those who helped spread the word.

More info (including how to buy scores online): www.mixmargaret.com

7.30pm Friday May 20, 2016 at Chidlow Hall, Chidlow, Western Australia.