Monthly Archives: December 2014
Long Time No Lesson
Today marks another Wednesday with no lesson. It’s been a few weeks – the longest stretch without a lesson since I began playing just over a year ago. Though I’ve been off of work and traveling, I’m definitely getting some good practice in. I especially feel I’m improving on my new Gavotte. The minor section […]
And All the Boys Sing Mahler Eight
While in Wichita last week, I mentioned my interest in digging up more information on the boys choir in which I participated when I was about ten years old to my mother. So on Christmas morning we took a few minutes to go hunting through our family ephemera for whatever we could find. Though we […]
And All the Boys Sing Merry Christmas
When I was about 10 years old, I participated in a boys choir. The occasion was a major anniversary of some composer or some piece of music – I can no longer remember, but I do remember it was a very big deal for all involved. It was a phenomenal experience; I’ll never forget the […]
Merry Maids?
It seems I am not fated to practice in isolation. At home, the condo is in a building with 449 others. Of course only about fifteen or twenty of them can realistically experience the joyous sounds of Ryan’s Beginner Violin on a daily basis – few grace the seventeenth floor who do not live on […]
Have Violin, Will Travel
I have no real stages planned for anytime in the foreseeable future, of course, but the violin did make the annual Christmas trek to Wichita with us this year. We rented a little SUV, so we had room to include it, as opposed to the two-seater we own, which, in addition to being as useful […]
Juice Newton Live in Haysville
I have not seen many concerts. It’s never been a priority for me, and I’ve written here before about a lack of initiative in seeking out live music. That’s starting to change somewhat, but as far as pop acts go the list of folks I’ve seen live is extremely short. All the same, about 20 […]
Learning Wards off Stodgy
The other day I wrote about how happy I’ve been to fill in a couple of blanks of the “I’ve always wanted to ________” variety. I mentioned a friend who’s always wanted to play the cello. Well, I’m happy to report that she went out and rented a cello last weekend, and will start lessons […]
Puff the Magic Dragon
I don’t know much about the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, except to know that they were part of the counterculture of the 1960s and they recorded Puff the Magic Dragon. My dad loved “oldies,” and it’s the genre with which our household was the most familiar as I was growing up. When I […]
Polishing with Staccato
As my tone production is evening out somewhat, I’m able to work on some of the finer points. My current Gavotte from Mignon contrasts a main theme, reproduced throughout the piece, with two other sections. The main theme is to be played staccato, and in yesterday’s lesson Teacher was helping me with it. It’s not […]
Ryan Libel 