Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.

Many friends from Derby Concert Band have just taken part in a grade-1-a-thon to raise money for charity. I have blatently stolen their idea but I am doing a Grade-8-a-thon. The instrument I have chosen is the Double Bass  (I already play violin, viola and cello so this will complete the set) and I hired an instrument on February the 20th to start learning. The exam will take place in Summer at Ashfield school.

A Big THANK-YOU to everyone who has sponsored me so far!

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Jessie's Fund gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!

August 7th - It's all over and I passed - WITH DISTINCTION. 131 marks. And amazingly, full marks for the aural tests! I also have the bass for another year courtesy of the Djanogly Community Orchestra who let me play with them while I was doing this (and I'm there to stay!). total raised including on-line donations - £344.10!!! yey!

July 23rd - night before the exam. Feeling sick, exhausted and horrendously nervous. Even contemplating withdrawing from the exam until sept. I'm still not confident with the higher scales, my fingers are covered in blisters and I'm sure a bass isn't supposed to sound quite like it does when I play it.... I guess there's no turning back now...

June 8th - this is going too fast and I'm starting to get a bit edgy now! There has been a bit of a set-back with a back problem that has crept up on me but I am perservering with the practice anyway!

June 1st - Wow! can't believe it's June already - this is really descending fast! The pressure is really hitting me now as I try to prepare for gigs, but then get sidetracked by the big lump of wood dominating my living room. Slurred scales are the issue now. Who designed bass bows and why are they so darn short? Struggling to slur 5 notes, never mind 8! Total frustration is kicking in now!

May 24th 09 - Interesting lesson. I've discovered how difficult it is to produce a wide dynamic range on a bass. So far I only seem to have achieved mp to mf and it's all a little dull. Scales are now really scaring me, but I will persevere. Massive thanks to Tony for putting up with me making all these noises and pointing me in the right direction. I knew you were the right man for the job!

May 9th 09 - The Lydian Music Quartet (www.lydianmusic.co.uk) and The British Bassoon Corporation held a concert at Stanton By Dale old school which raised £75 for Jessie's fund. I'm really pleased with that! The bass practise was on hold for a week, though as I find it really hard to switch between 6 instruments at a time!  Revisiting the Ariel & Caliban this week. 1st page... fine... then all hell breaks lose as I fumble around in thumb position and guess the notes!

April 29th 09 - Sore fingers AND backache! Getting the thing in and out of the car should be worth 10 points alone! Pieces are starting to pull together now. Beethoven is driving me crackers, cos I keep hearing it on the radio, too! Scales are... well, they're scales and I'm Deena - what do you expect?

April 9th 09 - Sore fingers... very sore fingers.... ouch! Vibrato is really hard work on a bass for it to have any effect... I'm exhausted!.

April 4th 09 - I had my second lesson last night... minor scales are a bit more tricky, but I have two of them up my sleeve with a couple of minor arpeggios to match! I've started the C pieces (two orchestral excerpt studies). I've aimed for contrast with Stravinsky Pulcinella and Beethoven's 5th symphony.  Really slow at the moment but I will speed up when I can get the positions secured. The first piece (Marcello Sonata) seems to be fine until I reach the dreaded word 'Allegro'!...

March 09 -   After 1 lesson, I am getting into the first piece and have managed 4 of the 9 major scales and a couple of arpeggios! There's hope!!!