Brother visiting, friends over... I recorded this afternoon but didn't find the time for a post. I'll update tomorrow. Thanks for understanding!
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Friday, January 26, 2018
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.
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.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Jan 25 (Var 3)
We have reached a 'swamp'. That's a technical term, from a field of mathematics called numerical analysis. Numericists (no, not numismatists) have a lot of algorithms that converge to the right answer. That doesn't mean they ever get there, but they keep getting closer and closer (like Zeno). So you repeat a calculation over and over, re-using the last result to calculate the next one, and the answers you get are changing in a certain direction. As you get close to the right answer, they change by less and less - Think of a parachutist who slows her descent as she approaches the earth. Sometimes, the only way you even know your answer is close to the right one is that it's stopped changing very much. But there are some problems where the answer will stop changing much, even for a long time, but then get back on track and change quite a bit again before finally getting close to the answer. It's a real problem.
Anyway, I feel like I'm in a bit of a swamp for the second half of this variation. It's been sub-optimal practicing for a couple of days in a row though, since I've been focused on BUYING A HOUSE. YEP, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND IT'S A WEIRD FEELING so I've been distracted. Still practicing though! I know you're listening because it tells me so, and I'm not going to let you down no matter what. But we might be stuck in a swamp together for a little while.
Anyway, I feel like I'm in a bit of a swamp for the second half of this variation. It's been sub-optimal practicing for a couple of days in a row though, since I've been focused on BUYING A HOUSE. YEP, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE AND IT'S A WEIRD FEELING so I've been distracted. Still practicing though! I know you're listening because it tells me so, and I'm not going to let you down no matter what. But we might be stuck in a swamp together for a little while.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Jan 24 (Var 3)
Today I recorded the second half too. It went terribly, which wasn't a surprise -- but it was worse than it should have been. Shortly after I started into it, coach burst out from the bedroom, where she had been sequestered with the dog while I recorded, waving her arms around as though she desperately wanted my attention. Well, she got it. Didn't want it though. Thanks coach!
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Jan 23 (Var 3)
My goal today is to play it straight through. Almost there, but I had to turn down the tempo quite a bit. Rhythm is definitely my musical weakness; I can play expressively, I can play technically. But I speed up and slow down like crazy.
Especially in a piece like this, which starts out so slowly and then suddenly explodes. And I rush the ending even more for some reason, probably because I like the ending so much. So today I broke out the ol' metronome for the recording. I've been practicing with this metronome since grade school - it's one of those ancient pyramid ones, with a spring you have to wind and a lever with a weight. It's very satisfying, but a little unreliable at especially slow tempos.
By the way, this piece is in 12/8 time, which is odd. The pulse is an eighth note, and there are 12 of them per measure. By arranging the bars a little you could rewrite it in 3/4, a much more normal time signature. That suggests to me that Bach had a point to make here, and I think the point is one of motion. Forward progress unending! And that means that once things really get moving, you don't get to pause and catch your breath until the end. Getting through with no mistakes (which I did exactly once tonight) feels like a real accomplishment in that case!
Especially in a piece like this, which starts out so slowly and then suddenly explodes. And I rush the ending even more for some reason, probably because I like the ending so much. So today I broke out the ol' metronome for the recording. I've been practicing with this metronome since grade school - it's one of those ancient pyramid ones, with a spring you have to wind and a lever with a weight. It's very satisfying, but a little unreliable at especially slow tempos.
By the way, this piece is in 12/8 time, which is odd. The pulse is an eighth note, and there are 12 of them per measure. By arranging the bars a little you could rewrite it in 3/4, a much more normal time signature. That suggests to me that Bach had a point to make here, and I think the point is one of motion. Forward progress unending! And that means that once things really get moving, you don't get to pause and catch your breath until the end. Getting through with no mistakes (which I did exactly once tonight) feels like a real accomplishment in that case!
Monday, January 22, 2018
Jan 22 (Var 3)
Another thought on learning notes vs. learning fingering today. I did it, I turned the page and started looking at the second half. It is *daunting*. I played through it hands separately and once together, just to see what was in store. I'm in store for some very precise fingering. If I just learn the notes, I'll be in trouble here, because the natural way to play these runs is not the way that's fingered in many cases. Not only do you have to play the right notes, you have to play them with the right fingers -- which sounds silly I know. How else would you have to play them? Let me explain.
There are some things that feel natural under the hand. You drill scales, for instance, where the thumb crosses under the third finger. It just does; that's what feels right. But Bach, he practiced different scales than I did. He crosses any damn finger at any time - and if you don't too, then you're going to run out of fingers at the bottom, or find an impossible reach awaits.
I will say that when it works it feels really good. There are moments like that in the first half too, and they're starting to feel more natural. Probably starting to sound more natural. This recording is just a tiny bit faster than my comfort level right now, and you'll hear it in my mistakes, but this music is fun to play fast! So I'm having fun, is what I'm saying, and I'll have fun at any damn time - and if you don't too, then... sorry.
Have fun!
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Jan 21 (Var 3)
It's a short recording today. Still just the first half of Variation 3, but I'll definitely be ready to start looking at the second half tomorrow. I'm so tired, I'm kind of amazed I made any progress at all today. I'm guessing I won't retain it tomorrow. Now, off to bed.
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