Or as they say In the Heights, "paciencia e fe." One of my favorite musicals reminds me to have patience and faith. Not only with my self and the process but, perhaps most importantly, walking along the path. The path that I've set forth is gearing up to be lined with some of the toughest obstacles that I've ever had to overcome.
It was important to take a little bit of a break from the recital the last few weeks, although this can be bad for practice routines and imaging it helps tremendously with my emotional/mental state. Let's be honest if you're not happy with your self/life then nothing really matters no matter how much you say you enjoy it.
After a quick realignment of the stars, I've got back to work steadily and on track to schedule my recital which is another whole story in and of itself. Basically School of Music procedures for scheduling recitals have changed and to make a long story short, I'm going to have to push my recital further back into the semester to make it happen without haste.
On top of the whole recital prep program that I've set out for myself I received audition music for the School of Music today which just means piling more on. Let it fill me up with notes and chords. The time is now to show what I've learned and to show the sight reading skills a bit. Although I will learn this audition music properly, I won't have near as much time to prepare as I've had in the past for Ensemble Auditions but.... I can do this, I can do this well, and I can do this everyday. I've already gone through and sorted out the chords and some sticking options for the remainder of the night I will work on the snare drum audition piece as well as some sticking options for a few measures that I'm stuck with on the Koppel- Concerto.
I've definitely had to realign some priorities with practice schedules. Basically, I'm going to make sure that I have the mallet (keyboard) pieces imaged and in the bag before school starts. Then, since I read drum parts faster, I can dig out some of the multi-percussion pieces on top of keeping the mallet pieces polished.
That's the idea, I'm sure it'll change tomorrow as things always do. I just have to keep moving and adjusting and this major project will come together.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Amazing what you can accomplish with a little practice.
Hey there, the latest update...practicing is good for you. No really, consistent and patient practice is actually good for you mentally, physically, and well of course musically. I know that most of you are saying to yourself or at the screen, "no shit, sherlock." But today was one of those practice sessions where even though not a ton of music got worked on I feel super productive and I feel that what I did work on has become much stronger so when I revisit tomorrow I won't need to recap quite so much.
Today was technically a day off, from work at least, but as a musician I know that there's no such thing as a day off. So I went in to practice today got roughly four hours in on todays log, three hours this afternoon and an hour long review session just about an hour ago. In todays practice session I worked on Monte Nido which is a lovely piece that is relaxing to listen to much less play. Since I got a lot of the work done on this piece earlier this year I've been working up the third page and some transitions which is coming along nicely. It is time to start imaging this piece though which will serve as a bit of a challenge because the overall chord progression doesn't really change that much Cmin, Aflat Major, Bflat Major, there is a B diminished in thrown in there from time to time but most of it is just variations on three or four chords.
The other piece that I made time to work on today was of course the Koppel Concerto. I haven't gotten quite as far as I would have liked or hoped at this point but I am making solid progress, all be it slow, it's solid. Today the fourth page came together for me it's not quite to the tempo that I can play the rest but it's solid enough that I was able to image it so I can work on it outside of the practice room. One of the biggest reasons that I'm ok with this slow progression is that I know once I get to page six it starts to recap material which means that by the time I get to page six I'm most of the way through the whole piece. After that there's another page or two at the end and then there's the Cadenza, which is a whole other story altogether.
Patience and persistence is paying off slowly but surely. The best part about practice is that it's a great distraction from everyday drama and bullshit that exists, relationships, work, insecurities, etc. More time needs to be spent focusing on practice, focus on just one task at a time and then move on to the next.
Lots to accomplish in a seemingly short amount of time but persistence will pay off. Let's do this!
Today was technically a day off, from work at least, but as a musician I know that there's no such thing as a day off. So I went in to practice today got roughly four hours in on todays log, three hours this afternoon and an hour long review session just about an hour ago. In todays practice session I worked on Monte Nido which is a lovely piece that is relaxing to listen to much less play. Since I got a lot of the work done on this piece earlier this year I've been working up the third page and some transitions which is coming along nicely. It is time to start imaging this piece though which will serve as a bit of a challenge because the overall chord progression doesn't really change that much Cmin, Aflat Major, Bflat Major, there is a B diminished in thrown in there from time to time but most of it is just variations on three or four chords.
The other piece that I made time to work on today was of course the Koppel Concerto. I haven't gotten quite as far as I would have liked or hoped at this point but I am making solid progress, all be it slow, it's solid. Today the fourth page came together for me it's not quite to the tempo that I can play the rest but it's solid enough that I was able to image it so I can work on it outside of the practice room. One of the biggest reasons that I'm ok with this slow progression is that I know once I get to page six it starts to recap material which means that by the time I get to page six I'm most of the way through the whole piece. After that there's another page or two at the end and then there's the Cadenza, which is a whole other story altogether.
Patience and persistence is paying off slowly but surely. The best part about practice is that it's a great distraction from everyday drama and bullshit that exists, relationships, work, insecurities, etc. More time needs to be spent focusing on practice, focus on just one task at a time and then move on to the next.
Lots to accomplish in a seemingly short amount of time but persistence will pay off. Let's do this!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Update on Music Progress
I finally finished the drum set transcription for Hotdog, so now all of the parts for Prelude and Hotdog are done with the exception of the Trumpet Solo in the middle, which I'm still deciding if I want to transcribe or have the player just wing it? But since the last update I have also started learning and working on Lonely City Suite. Challenge #2 seems to be the only thing left on my plate to start learning, which will come sooner than expected. But all is going well, I still need to just continue piecing this thing together. Little by little it is coming together, I have talked with a friend to play the piano accompaniment on the Concert as well as Challenge just waiting for a reply. I have a plan for a performance space and arrangements to make that space work which if I can pull this out of my hat will be a unique experience for anyone who attends. Until I am sure it's going to happen I'm going to keep it under wraps but look for an exciting amount of fun leading up to the Recital of one Mahola P. Willikers.
The only other thing that needs to be said here is that I am in the works with a Photographer and Designer for my Recital poster, close friends and great artists both of them. We're aiming for a photo-shoot by the end of July so I'll be posting a few things around then as well updating on some design and who knows perhaps some fun along the way too.
Lonely City Suite - Baker
Monte Nido - A. Lee
Mental Separation - Barnum
White Knuckle Stroll - Cangelosi
Prelude/Hotdog - Greb
Challenge #2 - Delacluse
Wicca - Cangelosi
Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra- Koppel
Denotes Still need to learn
Denotes learned, time to polish
Denotes Currently in Process
Saddle Playing
Was good to get back in the saddle of practicing again after some awkward Holiday schedules. Reviewed the Koppell Concerto pages 1-3 and learned the bulk of page 4. Page 4-5 are turning out to be the hardest to learn/image because it's the the most different from anything else so far. There are lots of independent hand syncopation where the right hand is playing the general melodic line and the left hand is playing the accompaniment but it just so happens that the accompaniment is running sixteenth notes in an almost repetitive pattern. What makes this task so hard is that there is no time to prep for it or get into it, it quite literally just throws you in the fire and theres no turning back.
Every single note, every measure, every phrase is taking longer than anticipated for this piece. Each moment has it's very own unique style, phrasing, and challenges that need to be addressed individually and slowly before you can go on. As opposed to some pieces out there you can learn the phrase and the form and pretty much be done with it because it recaps a lot. This piece is deeming to be one of the most challenging that I've ever encountered.
When I picked this piece originally I found it on Youtube where this 15 year old girl from Poland, Marianna Bednarska, was playing this piece like a maniac. I knew right away that she was a beast of a player because there's nothing easy about this and she made it look easy, but I still thought to myself, "It'll be a challenge but if a 15 year old can do it, why can't I." I may very well eat my own words but until then I'm battling on. The best part about this concerto is that once I get past pages 4 and 5, from there until the Cadenza it's mostly all Recapitulation of material from the first 3-4 pages. So by the time I'm half way done I'll be almost three quarters of the way to the end. But then there's the Cadenza to consider which I'll deal with when I get to that point but that will be a hurdle within itself.
The other piece that I got to dig back into was the snare drum piece that I chose. I had fun picking up the tempo trying to get my singles fast enough to play it without any double strokes in the whole thing. I've seen a few videos online of people playing Lonely City Suite but most of them use diddles in far too many places. In all of the three movements there is one phrase, which is really just one measure, that may or may not need to utilize double strokes. To put into perspective there are 32nd and 64th notes being played at 85 bpm. At this point I am just a few clicks away from playing it at full tempo without any diddles, it definitely takes a lot more control and sensitivity than almost any drum piece I've ever played but it is not impossible to do this way.
Speed is matter of will and relaxation, mind over matter. I've always maintained that speed is in the mind, our hands and limbs are capable of things that often times our minds can't conceive. This is usually because someone along the way told you, "You can't do that," or, "That's too hard," or some combination of those. It is one of the hardest things to do BUT the more you relax the faster you can go. Speed is not achieved through force but through sensitivity, being aware of your body and your surroundings in a Zen like state it's really about understanding where your limits are at but then knowing how to push those limits to expand your range of speed. Then it's just a matter of patience as the saying goes, "Slow makes fast and fast makes slow," couldn't be more true. Start slow and then slowly pick it up over time. This is why practice must happen every day, even if for a short amount of time. If every day you're working toward a goal then little by little as much as you may not see it you are stepping closer and closer to that goal.
I'm working hard at not looking to far forward into the pieces that I'm learning, trying to stay focused on the task at hand and not let my mind wander to logistics and/or worrying about needless things.
Happy practicing, speaking of which...I'm going to do some more of right now.
Every single note, every measure, every phrase is taking longer than anticipated for this piece. Each moment has it's very own unique style, phrasing, and challenges that need to be addressed individually and slowly before you can go on. As opposed to some pieces out there you can learn the phrase and the form and pretty much be done with it because it recaps a lot. This piece is deeming to be one of the most challenging that I've ever encountered.
When I picked this piece originally I found it on Youtube where this 15 year old girl from Poland, Marianna Bednarska, was playing this piece like a maniac. I knew right away that she was a beast of a player because there's nothing easy about this and she made it look easy, but I still thought to myself, "It'll be a challenge but if a 15 year old can do it, why can't I." I may very well eat my own words but until then I'm battling on. The best part about this concerto is that once I get past pages 4 and 5, from there until the Cadenza it's mostly all Recapitulation of material from the first 3-4 pages. So by the time I'm half way done I'll be almost three quarters of the way to the end. But then there's the Cadenza to consider which I'll deal with when I get to that point but that will be a hurdle within itself.
The other piece that I got to dig back into was the snare drum piece that I chose. I had fun picking up the tempo trying to get my singles fast enough to play it without any double strokes in the whole thing. I've seen a few videos online of people playing Lonely City Suite but most of them use diddles in far too many places. In all of the three movements there is one phrase, which is really just one measure, that may or may not need to utilize double strokes. To put into perspective there are 32nd and 64th notes being played at 85 bpm. At this point I am just a few clicks away from playing it at full tempo without any diddles, it definitely takes a lot more control and sensitivity than almost any drum piece I've ever played but it is not impossible to do this way.
Speed is matter of will and relaxation, mind over matter. I've always maintained that speed is in the mind, our hands and limbs are capable of things that often times our minds can't conceive. This is usually because someone along the way told you, "You can't do that," or, "That's too hard," or some combination of those. It is one of the hardest things to do BUT the more you relax the faster you can go. Speed is not achieved through force but through sensitivity, being aware of your body and your surroundings in a Zen like state it's really about understanding where your limits are at but then knowing how to push those limits to expand your range of speed. Then it's just a matter of patience as the saying goes, "Slow makes fast and fast makes slow," couldn't be more true. Start slow and then slowly pick it up over time. This is why practice must happen every day, even if for a short amount of time. If every day you're working toward a goal then little by little as much as you may not see it you are stepping closer and closer to that goal.
I'm working hard at not looking to far forward into the pieces that I'm learning, trying to stay focused on the task at hand and not let my mind wander to logistics and/or worrying about needless things.
Happy practicing, speaking of which...I'm going to do some more of right now.
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