(no subject)
just got back from the second new music ensemble rehearsal. i didn't post about the first one, but it was really awful. bad enough to make me doubt not only my ability to play new music but indeed any music whatsoever. to recap, everyone is a grad student but me. one guy is working on his PhD. they have all been playing at least twice as long as i have, and many have real experience with the genre instead of the vague sense of it that i have. i am also the only electric instrument, and the piece we are doing first is entirely unsuited to any sort of pizzicato for the majority of the time. you can extrapolate from that how rehearsal #1 went.
this time, though, i brought a volume pedal and the whole thing just opened up. it solved the problem of having too sharp an attack to blend in, and the volume swells match the electronic score nicely. we played through the 9-minute piece three or four times, and i have a clearer idea of what it is expected we do. and we got cds with the pieces on them, so i can actually practice instead of just worrying.
i pulled off a great extended technique thing today that fit perfectly and everyone thought was cool. it involved using the whistle on my keychain as a slide in the lower registers, though for next week i can probably find a better slide.
there were still a number of fuckups on my part, but because of the free nature of the music a fuckup is less clearly defined than elsewhere. the important thing is that i do think i possess the level of skill necessary to benefit from this, so i can continue to do it.
i bought a pint of ice cream with campus cash to celebrate, and soon i will eat it all.
also, i am definitely in two jazz ensembles now, which is excellent. and the second song my band is working on sounds significantly less proggy. so all is well on the musical front, as long as i don't actually have tendinitis.
this time, though, i brought a volume pedal and the whole thing just opened up. it solved the problem of having too sharp an attack to blend in, and the volume swells match the electronic score nicely. we played through the 9-minute piece three or four times, and i have a clearer idea of what it is expected we do. and we got cds with the pieces on them, so i can actually practice instead of just worrying.
i pulled off a great extended technique thing today that fit perfectly and everyone thought was cool. it involved using the whistle on my keychain as a slide in the lower registers, though for next week i can probably find a better slide.
there were still a number of fuckups on my part, but because of the free nature of the music a fuckup is less clearly defined than elsewhere. the important thing is that i do think i possess the level of skill necessary to benefit from this, so i can continue to do it.
i bought a pint of ice cream with campus cash to celebrate, and soon i will eat it all.
also, i am definitely in two jazz ensembles now, which is excellent. and the second song my band is working on sounds significantly less proggy. so all is well on the musical front, as long as i don't actually have tendinitis.