I was reminded of the importance of stagecraft recently. I went to a concert where the artist was clearly nervous and inexperienced performer. They apologised and said they were nervous and told us that they didn't want to speak to the audience, and when finished, took all the stuff off the violin. They were then asked to do an encore but hadn't prepared us one and told us so, but then played anyway - not properly prepared - so she had to stop and sort her violin. Well it will have been part of the learning curve for her and no doubt she will never go on stage again without having an encore prepared. We should all be as well prepared as possible and know whether or not we might be asked to do an encore. Try not to show any sign of being worried if possible - it spreads to the audience! Performing is so difficult. We were worried too! Anyway, if by any chance, the person concerned reads this - well done for having the courage to get up on stage and you will have learned a lot which you can use in the future.
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My shoulder issues continue so I have had to down my practice time. However, I am still playing, often 2- 4 hours, a day just with things I am committed to. I have started some physiotherapy. I have also been looking at my set up. If you read my last blog you will see that I decided to try a Wolf shoulder rest. They are fantastically adjustable but they didn't improve things. I had bought higher screws for my Kun rest and I find the shaping as comfortable as the Wolf (don't be put off though - the Wolfs are great rests and may people love them).
My next try is with a Mach one rest. These are quite high and formed in quite a nice shape. I have added a longer screw to see if that helps. I have also bought a much higher chin rest. So we shall see. If that doesn't work my next plan is to try a Bon Musica one which has a hook. I have been learning Danish tunes this weekend with Hal Parfitt Murray and Nikolaj Busk - both amazing musicians at the Northern Strems event which foster links between Scandnavian and Scottish music. It has inspired me to look at Danish Music more. I can't really afford the time at the moment but I booked ages ago. Practice continues although I am trying to keep this to short bursts and then rest. Improvisation is coming up on Tuesday so that is the immediate priority. Dorian and mixolydian scales in Bb, Eb, F, Db and all sorts of other highly inconvenient keys on the fiddle, as well as blues scales and riffs. After that it will be back to my recital pieces for some relief in A and A minor. There is folk band work. We are preparing for three upcoming performances in May and June - good new tunes. I also have Grade 8 - I will be using my recital pieces but there are far more sets to add. I also have strings group preparation (Dido and Aeneas, which is amazing. Very fast section. I currently use a Kun shoulder rest. I have been playing a lot and have developed a stiff shoulder. I have been looking at whether I need a higher should rest. Wolf shoulder rests are the highest and come with plenty of scope for shaping and adapting. Time t tried one, although I do love the Kun rests too. They are light and comfortable and I've used one for years up until now without problems.
There is a lot of playing to do just now. We have started Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) and will be performing this in June, with a choir. In complete, contrast we are also doing a piece called Fiddle Faddle. There is also the work for my solo recital. I had a rehearsal for that yesterday to begin to work out the accompaniment and to hear it with a harmony I am performing. We have also started some new pieces for a folk group and finally I am working at improvisation. Four of us had a session yesterday. Simple is best.
A week of the holidays has whizzed by. I have 101 things to do but my practice continues in amongst being the Easter bunny (my kids), visiting my mother in hospital, building shelves, shopping, cooking and all the normal stuff. I have been practicising my recital pieces mainly. I'm not actually sure I'm making much difference. I am trying to make the Strathspey bowing smoother as my teacher has said. i am not totally convinced this is traditional but its better for tone.
I am also trying to fit in improvisation practice. I volunteered to go fairly early for my improv exam - 30 April. Leaves more time later for the other things I have coming up. Also doing position work (various studies by people like (Mazs, Hohmann and Scholz) and technique (vibrato and bowing). This is all helping. i have ordered some more books on bowing (both from the Library and Amazon) - keeps me motivated. Played with the Edinburgh Film Music Orchestra last night at its Spring concert. It was a big orchestra and there were quite a few players from Edinburgh College helping out. It was fun.
Interesting program of new writing and better known pieces featuring music from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. First time I've performed these pieces. Programme: Z. Preisner - Bolero J. Pernell - Orion L. Holland - Blade (Weapons) Y. Durant - Potemkin W. Kilar - Dracula We performed on Thursday which was great. I performed in string group, folk band and choir. I felt the performances went well. We played Brandenberg Ghosts by Richard Meyer. The parts are quite challenging. We sand a few things in choir (Handel and Bach) and also Mack the Knife. I have had a cold for about five weeks and still feel that I have only about half the amount of breath I should have. It makes sustaining the notes difficult and my voice gets tired more quickly. My daughter recorded the folk band set and when I listened to it I realised that I never hear the balanced band as its heard by the audience. I noticed the percussion beats particularly. It feels like the first time I've really heard them. When we normally play I must hear them from a distance but they are so drowned out by own fiddle and those around me that I don't hear them the same way. What could have gone better? I felt the strings group was great from the seconds point of view. I couldn't really hear if things went wrong elsewhere in the group. The audience seemed to enjoy it.Folk band was quite fast. Washington Square (one of the tunes we played) felt a bit on edge but sounds good on the recording. The links we did in the middle are tricky. The jigs went pretty well (Whelan's and Paddy Callaghan's) and the last tune - a serbian tune called Ducino Kolo was a good one to finish with. I have agreed to play with the Edinburgh Film orchestra for their last two rehearsals and performance on 26th March so that is the next thing I'll be practising. I am also continuing to works on material for my recital. More of that is on my HND1 page. Meanwhile here is one of our folk band tunes below and some pics of strings group playing Ghosts of Brandenburg. Performances coming up tomorrow. We had strings group rehearsal today. Much of my practice has been on the performance material this week.
We are playing Ghosts of Brandenburg. Its technically quite tricky for our group. The second violins have enough in numbers to sound quite strong. But the rest of the group was down in number today at rehearsal. We talked about the need to play out confidently. The audience can pick up if we are playing tentatively. This seems to be code for we are all worried. Its a cool arrangement though. I can get through the notes Ok but the bowing patterns are tricky and I find them quite alien - even now. I have been practising with Audacity at home to work out where the part fits. Most of it is Ok But there are still one or two entries where it seems easy to lose count when playing with the group. Its difficult to hear and of course we have assigned parts to different instruments as we don't have all the instruments to play the original score. I also went to my lesson yesterday. I am trying to improve hook bowing. Its difficult to play the stops cleanly and annoyingly I sometimes feel the bow slipping back giving a slight skipping. Very sweet but not quite a strathspey. I have also been playing a lament. I have been improvising a lot, finding lines. Of course i am off into orbit but my teacher is making the sensible point that improvisation should be recognisably the tune. I am having trouble with the timing of the lament. i think I have listened to a recording too many times where it is certainly not played as notated. It has contaminated me. In fact the recording plays the piece in a sort of 6/8 rather than 4/4 in parts. Other parts are free timing. Every time I play I have to check myself or I am off into 6/8 or worse. I am working in ornaments and playing the octave down. Trying to get vibrato in. I have been learning an arm vibrato but I am apparently naturally playing more of a wrist vibrato. Hmm . Ideally its good to be able to do them both. Slow practice required to get the bowing better. Triple stopping needs to be smoother. Very sad to read that Alvin Lee has died. A fantastic guitarist and vocalist. Playing at the Scottish Parliament Played at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday evening. It was great. There were three of us on fiddle . The feedback was good and people seemed to enjoy it. We were well rehearsed and the band sounded great. More performances coming up next Thursday at St Nicholas Church, Sighthill Loan. |
Fiona Harrison
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