Monthly Archives: January 2015
“It’s a Harmonic Minor Scale, Right?”
One way to learn about something is to do it. I’ve written on my confusion about this harmonic minor scale concept and my novice perception, due to the key signature, that the Lully Gavotte is in C major, while it’s really in A minor. I’m still not really getting that, but I am getting closer […]
O’Connor in a Haystack at the Jazz Record Mart
Supremely Gifted Musical Sister and her husband, also Supremely Musically Gifted, are in town for a few days, and we’ve had a great time. One to-do on their Chicago list was a trip to Jazz Record Mart – a little bit of heaven for enthusiasts like my brother-in-law. Their hotel is within easy walking distance […]
Fit as a Fiddle
I have a new Fitbit device – a little bracelet that records all of my movement activity. It’s really a souped-up pedometer that connects to an online database that logs my activities via my computer or other wireless devices. It tracks physical activity and also provides interesting sleep tracking data. It’s marketed as a fitness […]
Hearing Scales
My new gavotte, by Lully, is coming along – I’m only about five lines in. The piece has a very minor feel/sound, overall, which I’m finding lovely and really enjoying producing. Other pieces have included sections of minor sound, but this is the first full-on minor piece I’m playing, and it sounds great and it’s […]
Pentatonix Got Talent
I’ve always enjoyed music a cappella. From barbershop quartets to chorale music, unaided voices can really get the musical job done. One group I’ve had my eye on for the past couple of years is Pentatonix. They do covers of others’ music, and they’re upbeat and peppy and seem to have a lot of fun […]
Simple Gifts
I put a few items on an online wish list at Christmas time – one of them was a practice mute. The list paid off in spades, and, much to my delight, I came home from Wichita with the thing. It works quite well; I had my first full practice session with it yesterday. It’s […]
Bow Boldly
Boldly bowing became a point of discussion in yesterday’s lesson – I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, but I think it’s the first time Teacher and I have really discussed it in a lesson. She’s trying to get me to pay more attention to rhythm and the accented beats in the music, which, […]
Fanny Crosby
I’ve written before about my background making music for God when I was a child – my church life was my real life, while school and the rest of the world were secondary passions. One of my favorite things to do at church was sing – whether it was congregational worship choruses, The Great Hymns […]
Day by Day and Year by Year
I didn’t practice Thursday or Friday last week – not a terribly uncommon occurrence. While I almost always practice at least five days a week, it’s unfortunate that my most likely to skip days often are the two following my Wednesday lessons – days that tend to be longer for me at work. The final […]
A Lesson at Last
Another lesson, another gavotte – I told Teacher yesterday that I’m trying to get into the gavotte groove rhythmically – feel the gavotte. The French dance form is now represented in three pieces I’m playing – Gavotte by Gossec, Gavotte from Mignon, by Thomas, and the new Gavotte by Lully. All three are indeed French, […]
Ryan Libel 