2-25-7 art loft

david, glenn, MB, martin, victor

we started off doing some click track work to warm up. sections of 3rd relation, first Amin to Dmin with alternate endings, then just Amin then just the Second variation of the Amin section. we started at 78 bpm, but then moved back to 74 bpm.

this was very challenging for the group.

we worked on the new circulation piece, but david didn't bring his sheet for this, and after a time we found that we didn't know the piece well enough to proceed.

we played through invention #1 a few times, there were some good moments, but on the whole we still don't have it in the hands.

we played through growing circle. once slowly and once quickly.

we worked on eye of the needle. there is some ambiguity about where the beat falls. to really clarify how this is we played through with the click track, and then in particular worked on the Dmin section with the click.

we are asked to be able to tap our foot, place the vocal count of the beat, and play the note precisely at the same moment as the wieght of the attack of the click or metronome.

we are not meeting next week, though hopefully will meet twice the week after that, in preparation for the sevice at the old cambridge baptist church.

2-18-7 art loft

david, victor, and mb...

this was in many ways more of a private lesson with david, though mary beth showed up at the end too. we did discover the importance of holding the pick in the middle of the pick. we also worked some on counting the lead line of askesis as 7 bars of 6.....

2-11-7 art loft.

david mb victor.

work began with speed drills on the A string and then adding the D string. for a moment we touched on adding a 1234 fingering with the left hand. we worked on 3rd relation. and on askesis. we looked at an exercise involving counting the main melody in 7 bars of 6. we looked at taking numerous sequential approaches to the body and hands in practicing. we worked a little on the new piece. we spent a little time trying to figure out why it sounds so diffent if victor is playing with mary beth and david or not.

from previous correspondence this week:


MB made a couple of comments as we were driving home that I think had merit:

*We should begin each session with some calisthenics, for perhaps a half hour. (My suggestion would be to take turns leading this.)

*We should play each piece of repertoire that is currently "active" at least once per session.

So if our sessions are two and a half hours long: the first half hour would be warm-up, the next hour would be playing repertoire that we already know, and the last hour would be for working on new material, or going back over things that need work.

MB is right for the most part. especially the full group pieces. i pulled us off that track last night because it would be much more productive for us to wait one more week for work martin and i are doing to settle in and it gave us an opportunity to get to your thing. managing the few hours we have together is always a challenge for me as there is so much to tackle. every choice is also an exclusion. while you are gone we will start up preparations for ocbc, and usually my focus turns to the whole repertoire as a performance approaches, (and towards technique, group interaction and currently group specific composition during the in between time). i'm not sure why, but i have a feeling that we are going to be heading into a time where we perform more regularly and possibly in front of more people soon enough. and there is also a performative aspect of preparing for the circulation project.

some nights i have found that we are too tired at the end of the night to accomplish working on new material.

and ideally of course people would show up to the circle having already practiced that day, fairly warmed up....

so generally her suggestion is not far from what i hope to implement depending on what mode we are headed.

at the beginning i look for the piece or exercise that will warm us up for what our state that particular night is. please bear in mind though, that this might be something challenging our interactivity, or ability to hold a pattern in our mind (aspects which we are equally weak at), as well using our hands.

and then to address repertoire or new material as our energy, time and performance commitments necessitate.


my hope and to some extent expectation is that we are keeping these pieces alive on our own even if they are not being played/worked in the group. it is a good idea to have a list and at least a few times a week (preferably every day) be checking to see how everything is. putting the tough ones on the front burner. ideally, there should be no ground lost if, say, we focus on thrak in november and then play it again in february.... also usually, a piece should be focussed on until it is completely mastered, right now the pieces for that is 3rd relation and askesis. (we still have only momentarily played eye of the needle, as our last effort to vocalize the bass line showed us)

unless/until we move to two meetings a week and/or everyone starts coming for regular private lessons, this kind of personal maintenance will be key, especially if we are to take the circle to next level.

another facet of this is that we have rather different weaknesses in our playing. when going through the repertoire we need to be attentive that we are working the thing the group needs us to work on, and not on what our habitual thinking of what that is.

i probably should iterate that there is a shift taking place because of the strides we have made up to now. and it means that the way that we each have worked has to be slightly reorganized. it might mean working more, but also it means just this kind of clarification. our needs are shifting.

for my part it is crucial to get this kind of input. one way or another.....

aspiration
third relation
askesis
eye of the needle
hommage a jsb
invention #1
growing circle
calliope
bicycling to afghanistan
larks/thrak
chrysanthemum
moving force
asturius
C maj up and down the neck.

2-4-7

the usual 5.

work began on invention #1 until marting showed up. mostly repetition towards competence of parts. when we know our notes it works. further work on the new piece as a warm up, and then work on circulation#1 (working title) again, the larger challenge shems to be continuity of focus... everyone seems quite overworked. we played 3rd relation twice and askesis. glenn presented his approach to fast picking, to a speed of 152 bpm we explored loose wrist shaking, even tapping starting with right hand, starting with left hand tapping side of hand, scraping with the pick, brush picking, picking. afterwards we tried the new piece again , 3rd relation one last time.