I booked a day of workshops months ago. So its off to The Sage in Gateshead. For the first workshop I played fiddle with Lori Watson. She specialises in Border tunes and I learned a James Hogg tune called the Tussielaw Lines and another attributed to him - or possibly collected by him, Johnny Faa. Great tunes which have been recorded by Rule of Three. James Hogg was a shepherd in Borders area. He taught himself to read music and play and became a writer, poet and musician. He is sometimes compared with Burns. Its interesting that in the borders there are a lot of fiddle tunes which have several lines of rhythmic fiddle accompaniment. This was because the fiddle was often the only instrument around. James Hogg's violin is in Edinburgh at the University's museum.
I then went to Bella Hardy's workshop on fiddle singing. She uses three techniques to sing with the fiddle. One is to play the tune, another is to chug/double stop, and the third is harmony. We had a go at this - its quite difficult. It takes a while to work out in your head. The last workshop was with Calum MacCrimmon - the Breabach piper and whistler. His workshop was on Scottish session tunes which was great too. Breabach are playing everywhere at the moment since Meg Henderson joined them. Fantastic band. All of the workshops were enjoyable. The standard was very high with most participants playing with bands, or on the folk degree course in Newcastle which was good. Newcaste is easy to reach by train and its worth keeping an eye on. I booked another workshop in February for my daughter and I - ukelele! Looking forward to that.
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Ever felt stressed or overwhelmed? Too much to do too little time? How should you plan your time and development? I have had a career involving the scariest time management. I have been in tears because I knew that I simply could not be in two places at once i.e at an important meeting while I should be collecting my children from nursery on the other side of town. Sometimes its unavoidable but I can tell you - its not a good place to be. Being a full time musician brings additional challenges. So how do you plan and manage time? There are some key principles that you need to work at. To manage your time better you need to understand your habits by monitoring how you use time. That will let you know when you are being productive and when you are wasting time. I used a Google calendar to do this - colour coding things like practice time, being my children's taxi, household things, travel, college, going out, work and other commitments. Its helpful to check what spare time might be available. Prioritise. Work out what has to be done first. And I extend this to my whole life - not just my music or work. Most of us have commitments - for example family commitments or whatever. Where do these sit in your list of priotities. It will be different for different people and sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Set objectives (preferably SMART - i.e. specific, measurable, achievable or attainable - but stretching, relevant and timed.) Keep these under review. Many appraisal systems are founded on these principles. Objectives are set, at least annually, using these criteria. But I have never yet seen objectives the same at the end of the year as at the beginning. New unforeseen things crash in and others go on the back burner. Its a dynamic picture The new year is a good time to reflect (more on this in a future blog). Who is the task for? In my last job I would always do things for Ministers before doing things for my boss and doing things for HR would be last on my list (sorry) - it just wasn't important in the whole cut and thrust of policy work. So work out which of your tasks are important taking this into account. What is it for? In college, it might be more important to make sure you plan work to get through your assessment before something else that could be put off a couple off weeks without dire consequences? As a working musician it will be important to do the work that brings enables you to pay the rent and earn your living. Know your deadlines and plan. Order the tasks. Different people plan in different ways so find a way that works for you. Personally I can't abide lists on bits of paper. I use an electronic "to do list" - a simple and effective (and free!)technique. Set electronic reminders if necessary. There are absolutely loads of planning tools available on the web. As I said above plan in practice time, family time, the time at College and so on. Don't just leave the tasks until the day before they are due. You must look at them and plan what it takes to achieve them. Sometimes this can result in a whole series of subtasks that need to be planned in before you can complete the principle task. For example, to get that DFM, there are a lot of subtasks - blogs, technical playing, performances, composition - all to be to different timescales. There is nothing more annoying than discovering at the last minute that you can't finish because of some piece of information or other work that needs done first - and you don't have enough time to do it. Its really project management and depending on the complexity, there is project management software (e.g. some of which are free) which you can use. But be warned. There are people spend much too long planning and kid themselves they are working hard and progressing when in actual fact they never start the task or leave it too late!. Cut your cloth. Consider what the essentials of the task are. If you have an exam coming up - what do you already know - and where are you weak points. What are you likely to be asked? Concentrate on the weak points that you are likely to be asked first. Its like doing a risk assessment. My point here is to spend only the time you need to. There is a trade off. You will get most of the basics in about the first 20-50% of the time most people spend on an issue. The other 50% is often spent fiddling and fretting for not much more gain. That's fine if you have the time and you are a perfectionist. But if not - cut your cloth and move on. Remember the longer term tasks. The danger of being focussed on first tasks first is the tendency to put longer term tasks on the back burner - until its too late or you can't do a decent job. Longer term tasks - eg that Grade 8 or whatever - can be so daunting that you keep putting off getting down to work convincing yourself you still have plenty time. Hmm. The easiest way to deal with this is to be honest with yourself about which tasks seem too big to contemplate starting and then break them down into a first small step. Then a second and so on. So - imagine eating an elephant. It just too big to know where to start. However, you can eat it if you break it down into bit size chunks - elephant hamburgers!. Apply that principle to your large task. And be pleased with taking your small steps towards the goal. For music practice, keeping a practice schedule could be helpful. I try to set myself practice targets. There are also helpful websites on how to practice productively. Don't take on other peoples burdens. Don't get tied up doing things that should really be someone else's job. You would be surprised how difficult it is to avoid other peoples work. We naturally all want to help. There's a slim line between this and being seen as difficult and obstructive or not a team worker - so think about this too. Educate yourself about time management techniques and tools that are right for you. Its an interesting fact that out of any workforce there are about five percent that are mentally unstable (but probably undiagnosed) to the point that they should consider treatment. Now look around your colleagues. If there are twenty of you that means in all likelihood one of you is in trouble. Stress is a killer. Each person is different and coping strategies/time management strategies for each individual need to be tailored. For example I find orchestral playing hard with all the classical techniques - having come upthrough an aural traditional route. My coping strategy is to plan in some time to listen to recordings and follow the music. I slow them, if necessary, to understand how the parts fit together. I think this is a much quicker process - for me - than simply trying to sight read the music without knowing the piece. Audacity is a wonderful thing for me. My sight reading gradually improves too. My daughter is dyslexic. She has to plan time management techniques around learning to touch type because it takes too long to write. There are free training programmes on the web for this sort of thing. In my last job, I had to read a ton of papers all the time so I learned to speed read. Now all I need to do is transfer this to reading music! I mentioned project management earlier. There are all sorts of complicated Project management techniques to help depending on the complexity of the task. I am actually a trained PRINCE 2 project manager. Its too complicated for everyday life as a musician but some of the ideas are helpful. For example I find the idea of tolerances, and resource planning helpful, as well as some of the principles which you should follow if you really know your goal is unachievable. In playing music, the tolerances will be pretty small - one wrong note is too many. But there is more leeway in some of the written assessments. A pass is a pass, as they say. Resources usually means people, money, equipment e.g. IT etc. So if you are about to record, you might need session musicians, money to pay them, the recording studio, rehearsal time etc and access to the equipment to record. Plan these in if they give you the advantage in time you are seeking. I bought Sibelius because its just such a hassle not having it. I am not sure its saving me time at the moment but hopefully it will pay off as I learn and it gives me higher quality output than not having it. If all else fails - and you know you don't have the resources (time, people, money) , you can seek to negotiate to either get more of these or to change the output of the "project". Could you get deadlines extended? Or could you agree to reduce the spec of the project. So if that performance can't be put off and you know its unachievable - perhaps you shorten the set, play easier pieces or whatever. The last thing is to relax. People often feel they are the only ones not coping as well as they might be. But I can tell you that you are not alone. If you are finding life difficult - the likelihood is that others are too. It can often help to talk about it - two heads can be better than one. Put it into perspective. Whatever the problem - its only small part of your life. If you get seriously stressed - and I have seen this time and again in work - colleagues crash out - it can have devastating consequences. It happens in the music like any other work. You need to take action. At the end of the day your health and happiness comes first. Sometimes all that is required is a way to take the pressure off for a few weeks. But if you time manage well you are unlikely to get to this in the first place, you will feel more in control and able to achieve your full potential. We know that makes sense don't we? First week back after the break. I have been doing a lot of playing. Strings group isplaying Vaughn Williams' Fantasia on Greensleeves. Everyone knows the tune. Its quite difficult to play on the violin as it has four flats - F minor. It also has tremelo and pizzicato.
We also played Corelli's Concerto XII Adagio, Sarabanda and Giga- which are lovely. We will be playing Telemann's Chaconne on Friday - again in F minor with some tricky bits on the violin. Its a pretty piece though. I am enjoying playing classical music far more than I though I would. Folk band is quite intense with five tunes and specific bowing all needing to be learned in very short order. We have had two rehearsals so far and they have involved sight reading at speed. The tunes are good fun and all involve different prescribed bowing. But its a good learning exercise and works better! Its a challenge. Its good to be forced to try to do something differently. Choir has also been more challenging and the pace is faster this block. We are singing Ezekiel and The Nightingale.. I have a new bow buddy! What is a bow buddy? Its a contraption that you can fit to your bow which immediately makes you hold the bow in the right way. After years of fiddling, sometimes my fingers tend to sit on top of the bow. This bow buddy forces me to wrap my fingers around it. Its really for kids but its quite effective and comfortable. Anyone teaching should think about it for their pupils. You can buy them at Amazon or from Things 4 Strings. After only one week I am back in the groove and my bow hold is back to what it should be. That gives a bit more control. Santa and the Xmas break is a good opportunity to get some new books and so some reading. I bought four books recently, Investigating musical styles, General Musicianship and History of Music (all second hand) by Roy Bennet and one sight singing book by Paul Harris and Mike Brewer. The Roy Bennet ones are useful in giving a fairly potted account of all things classical (and not just the classical period). So by January, I shall obviously know it all !! I wish! Here are the links to Amazon if you are interested. I recommend them.
I was married on 21 December - a long time ago. To celebrate we went to see We will Rock You at the Edinburgh Playhouse. Wow - what a show! It was fabulous. The singing performances were great. Especially Amanda Coutts as Scaramouche. And they had a LOT to live up to. Freddy Mercury, Queen There will only ever be one Freddy Mercury. He was larger than life and so creative! And what a voice. Queen turned out some masterpieces e.g. Bohemian Rhapsody, We will Rock You, Somebody to Love, Who Wants to Live Forever? These and others have stood the test of time. How on earth did they come up with these classics? There was really nothing else even close (musically) at the time. You can't replace or repeat it. It was down to those individuals at that particular time. They were just fantastic. But the stage show interpretation was just about right. They did not try to mimic Freddy's performances but gave an energising, fun performance around a light story. I loved it. I also liked the Scottish twists - kilts, tartan and stuff. It must be tough and tiring to turn in such full-on performances that seem fresh every night for months on end. But that's professionalism.
The cast were brilliant and the dancing high octane. It must be very difficult. It was difficult enough for our choir to all sway in the same direction! The only slight downside for our family was my 16 year old came away with a headache from the flashing lights and noise! Can you believe it? He has very blue eyes and is a bit photosensitive. Just shows that youngsters can't stand the pace - or maybe he really does need some cool shades!. Performance block this week. I joined the Rock Choir and we are singing Rocking Around the Xmas Tree, originally sung by Brenda Lee as well as Mariah Carey's All I need for Christmas is You. Rehearsals in Monday and Tuesday. The performance was on Wednesday 21 December. We worked to a tight timescale - only a couple of rehearsals, Learning the words was the challenge! I am a musician and I normally have such a strong ear for the melody that I often don't notice the words. Quite a few fiddlers I know are the same. The discipline of choir singing has been a great experience. This is now the second choral performance I have done and I'd like to sing more. I have signed up for a fiddle singing workshop at the Sage on 14 January. There is also something very emotional about singing in a group. I quite often feel a bit teary - more so than playing the fiddle. It was great fun. The staff also did a few numbers and there were various other acts too including the concert band. Tricky timing on the flutes. Well done to everyone! I think our choir was at least as good as Mariah Carey. Samantha, our wonderful soloist could certainly give Mariah a run for her money. I wish I had a video of our choir - but in the meantime here is Mariah Carey to get you in the Xmas mood Lots of practice in singing scales, triads, sevenths, intervals, rythmn dictation over the last week, all using www.teoria.com - a great free resource. I am getting better. .. Working on major, minor and dominant sevenths Youtube has some good videos for internalising sevenths. Its has just struck me that the a dominant seventh is the first few notes of Pretty Woman. Ah - haaa! I have it now! For intervals, I now have quite a few songs in my head that helps me recognise them. Earmaster has a good free resource online for intervals that you can personalise for songs that you know. For me, The Simpsons for a third, Amazing Grace for a perfect fourth, Stat Wars for a fifth. My Bonnie for a sixth etc. Practising scales G, A, Ab, Bb C, D, and relative minors two octaves to the shruti box. Also with grace notes. Doing G, C and D pentatonic scales for improvisation. We've moved onto country style improvisation - which is closer to home for me than playing in Bb or F blues and jazz styles. Doing a LOT of tunes as well. Metronome on to do a particular lament that I am learning which is technically very challenging. I have listened to recordings but they are definitely pushed and pulled and not played according to the strict score - often the case with folk. I am trying to learn to have more discipline - at least to learn the tune and then you can decide whether to push/pull it. Fiddle lesson tomorrow. Exams later this week - lots of swotting, ear training and general hard work! Spent ages today (and over the last few weeks) ear training. Major and minor triads, augmented and diminished. Singing scales (major, natural minor, pentatonic and blues). Seventh chords, rythmns. It has been a lot to take on board. The best free resource seems to www.teoria.com.
For singing scales I have also been doing this with a keyboard - singing first and checking. Its amazing that if you don't practice for a few days (because you are busy on something else) its easy to forget. So regular practice is important! I have found recognition of the chords difficult. Although I play be ear I have not had formal aural training in the past and so this is a steep learning curve for me. I have been taking it small steps limiting to two types of chord at a time and trying to work out strategies to differentiate them. Listening for the thirds and fifths is important. I am improving but I find that after I've been doing it for a long time I start to get worse again. Why is that? Too tired? Ear gets confused because by the end of the session you have done so many? Hey ho. |
Fiona Harrison
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