Jan 26 (Var 3)

Frustrating record tonight. Parts of Variation 3 that have been solid, in the pocket, automatic, totally escaped me tonight. Just wrong wrong wrong and in a confusing way that I don't know how to fix. Just, something I knew 30 minutes ago suddenly I can't even remember what it felt like to know it. Ugh. I was prepped for a really good first half and a solid second. Before I hit "record" that's exactly what I was doing. But that magic red button got me tonight. It's fatigue, I'm sure. Long day. ANYWAY ENOUGH ABOUT MY TROUBLES

The dog squeaks along with me most nights now. It's wonderful; I sit down to start playing and she goes and gets the possum (it squeaks the best). There is no doubt in my mind that to her we're doing the same thing, and that fills me with joy. It's so distracting!! Pretty sure there's some squeaking in the recording, but she mostly was done by the time I hit record. 

One other thing: I've been thinking more about the time signature of this variation, 12/8. That's 12 eighth notes per measure. They're divided into threes, so four sets of three - if you wanted to be a jerk you'd notate in 4/8 and the pulse would be a 16th note triplet. Luckily, whatever else he was Bach wasn't a jerk, so we're in 12/8. But the *real* pulse of this song, and what has really grown on me in the last week or so, is the 16th note doublets under the 8ths. DA-da-DA-da-DA-da etc. Of course it's not notated this way at all (remember: harpsichord) but adding that pulse improves the thing for sure. You'll be able to tell what I mean in the second half, when I mess it up and play the final arpeggio as 2 triplets instead of three doublets - DA-da-da-DA-da-da-DA instead of DA-da-DA-da-DA-da-DA. Ugh. There's a bonus recording today, too, of me illustrating the difference between the two sounds on the last measure of the first half. Of course I butcher most of the measure both times I play it, but the pulse should come through at the end regardless.