one of these years I might learn
Jun. 22nd, 2019 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaberettSpecifically: I hit this point in term and I'm actually, like, halfway competent at the horn! I hit most of the right notes most of the time on the first attempt! I start getting to think about how to sound more musical!
... and then we play the concert (I am currently at home getting dinner and changed between rehearsal and gig) and I get overwhelmed by something else and don't touch the horn again 'til next term, even though playing makes me feel better (for a variety of reasons, via a variety of mechanisms).
Nice bits today: I finally managed to (approximately) play a phrase I'd been having trouble with all term in about the right place, at about the right speed, with about the right notes, so I'll have done that at least once in context by the time this is all over bar the shouting (hey, Alex, that was five minutes' dedicated practice, it makes a difference and you enjoy it, <3); and, yesterday, my first turned to me after we'd played through a movement of the Débussy and said "... can you play that bar?"
Because, see, it's a relatively straightforward movement! It didn't need a lot of work doing! I think we'd played it through once or maybe twice before near the beginning of term? So at that point, the fact that we'd both flubbed it hadn't been particularly concerning, what with it being relatively fast semiquavers that were over relatively quickly.
Yesterday, however, we had a Dawning Horror.
We came to the conclusion that whoever had orchestrated the piece (it was originally a piano piece, as I understand things) had never picked up a horn in their life, so had written something that was absolutely fine for e.g. the bassoons but unambiguously an absolute pig to play on the horn. We spent some time staring at it, and got nowhere.
This afternoon I worked out a playable fingering.
It took my first a few goes to realise what I was suggesting, but now all of a sudden we can both approximately play this single sodding bar.
And it was very satisfying.
... and then we play the concert (I am currently at home getting dinner and changed between rehearsal and gig) and I get overwhelmed by something else and don't touch the horn again 'til next term, even though playing makes me feel better (for a variety of reasons, via a variety of mechanisms).
Nice bits today: I finally managed to (approximately) play a phrase I'd been having trouble with all term in about the right place, at about the right speed, with about the right notes, so I'll have done that at least once in context by the time this is all over bar the shouting (hey, Alex, that was five minutes' dedicated practice, it makes a difference and you enjoy it, <3); and, yesterday, my first turned to me after we'd played through a movement of the Débussy and said "... can you play that bar?"
Because, see, it's a relatively straightforward movement! It didn't need a lot of work doing! I think we'd played it through once or maybe twice before near the beginning of term? So at that point, the fact that we'd both flubbed it hadn't been particularly concerning, what with it being relatively fast semiquavers that were over relatively quickly.
Yesterday, however, we had a Dawning Horror.
We came to the conclusion that whoever had orchestrated the piece (it was originally a piano piece, as I understand things) had never picked up a horn in their life, so had written something that was absolutely fine for e.g. the bassoons but unambiguously an absolute pig to play on the horn. We spent some time staring at it, and got nowhere.
This afternoon I worked out a playable fingering.
It took my first a few goes to realise what I was suggesting, but now all of a sudden we can both approximately play this single sodding bar.
And it was very satisfying.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 05:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 06:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 06:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 07:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 08:02 pm (UTC)Well done for working out something workable, at any rate.
Duets sometime this summer?
(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-22 10:37 pm (UTC)And where I was flubbing notes it was mostly due to lack-of-lip not losing-where-the-note-was-chromatically, so I'll take that as a win, too.
(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-23 02:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-25 06:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-26 03:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-23 02:07 am (UTC)out of curiosity, do you live sufficiently apart from any neighbors etc. to be able to practice at home, or do you have to go elsewhere? i've often thought that it would be nice to get back into the instrument i played for years in grade school now that i could feasibly rent one but the notion of having to (a) find (b) rent and (c) venture out of the house to some variety of practice room is so gahhhh
(no subject)
Date: 2019-06-23 11:18 pm (UTC)Hahahahaha no, I'm in a block of flats. Admittedly the room I practice in has only two neighbours, and I try to practice during the day (given that most of my work can be done from my sofa or indeed my bed), and I have politely introduced myself to everyone and told them to PLEASE tell me if I'm disturbing them. And also I often practise with a mute in.
And also my upstairs neighbour routinely has her TV on SO LOUD that I don't actually even feel terribly guilty.
So I more or less get away with it, but I'm very aware that I mightn't always and also that I'm lucky. (I grew up in a detached house, which... was a very different beast.)