I've been playing off and on, just not posting.

Started transcribing Insónia.

I thought another rainy day would have inspired me to hole up in my room and practice, but it simply inspired me not to be inspired.

I did, however:
Work a little on Prelude 2.
Download insónia, which is, happily, licensed under the creative commons.
Download an mp3 of Monastery Bells which was not available the last time I checked amazon.

I think I was also superannoyed because of several technology fails today, the main one being my iPod turns the volume down on its own. Yes, I've tried resetting it, and I'm not looking forward to having to exchange it/visit the apple store/research something else to replace it.

I received Bortniansky's Concerto in D major sheet music from ILL. I now know how some of the sounds I like are made; the ones I couldn't separate out with my ear.

And here's a fun music quiz from the New York Times.
I picked the blend of human and machine 75% of the time. CYBORG MUSIC!

Here Comes the Flood is mostly done. I finished transcribing it, transposed it up a 1/2 step, and recorded it. It is on my website under Peter Gabriel. However, I forgot to tune before recording and I was still trying to figure out what chords I was hearing while playing. So it's a bit bumpy.

Almost finished with PG. Some chords are still not quite right.

Recorded Zarabanda cold, then practiced a bit and recorded again. Dynamics way better than first time.
Things I liked:
Quiet dynamics are the right level.
Notes I emphasized are emphasized.
Mistakes covered by counting.

Things to improve:
Tempo - it's not a race.
Despite not playing in rhythm, it sounds like I'm playing with a metronome.
Loud sections are not loud enough and sound flat.

And I have blisters?

Did music things for 3 hours, but not consecutively. Do I like that? My right arm gave out at the end of the 3rd hour.

I got more PG done.

I am at the nit-picky point with Z.

Prelude 1 is impossible to play cold. That will probably not be a recital piece.

Getting Partita in C from ILL to check if E♭ is really E♭ and not D♯.

PG - I hear something different every time I listen to it. Determining what the bass note is a process of elimination - It is not in an octave with the treble F, therefore it must be the A♮.

Prelude 1: apparently the same muscles I was using to wash the car.

No practicing due to a 3 hour washing of car and not being able to use my arms afterward.

Zarabanda: Found another place where the left hand is unnecessarily playing right hand notes. Looking forward to recording this.

And...

COUNTING! Counting, counting, counting!

Played through things slowly and counted.

Prelude 2: Test recording showed things - my hands are not together, nor my fingers, and dynamics are too loud. I also completely messed up a section, but the average listener would not have been able to tell because a) it's modern and b) I stayed on the beat! Counting is definitely working.

Prelude 1: Tried to play to speed. Finally made peace with the fact that I can't play it at speed. Played ♩ = 96. Then, for kicks, set metronome at 126 and played it almost perfectly with one false start. WTF. Of course I was not recording.

Prelude 3: Started on 2nd page.

Zarabanda: Back was stiff at this point so stopped. Which reminds me I need to go stretch.

Breathing and relaxing is helpful.

Spent an hour working on Here Comes the Flood, which seems to be my limit. I think once I get the first verse completed, the rest will click into place. I still can't tell if the lower notes are D, A or F.

Worked on Prelude 1 trouble spots identified from recording. I fixed the problem spots, sort of, but then had whole new problem spots. I'm fearing I'm never going to get this to a recordable status.

Played Prelude 2 with and without metronome. That will be recordable soon.

Played 1st page of Prelude 3 at ♪=160 and got tangled up at the G♮ - ♯ - ♮ - ♯ + B♭.

Recorded Zarabanda. Happily, I had exactly the dynamics I hoped I had in one section and the other sections just need a little work and focus. I think this could be ready to record soon, too.

Also played a little Grey Donkeys. I can play everything except the beginning. Nice. It's got some really beautiful sounds in it so I need to figure out a way to get into it without anyone noticing the bad beginning.

Mostly, though, the new Y△CHT is keeping my musical attention.

More attempts at transcribing - what I learned in school about how I listen is still holding up. I can listen to one voice at a time. I can listen to the bass OR soprano OR treble, but not all at once. And I can't transcribe for longer than an hour or everything starts to jumble together.

Worked on 1st 3 Preludes. Gave myself 2nd finger blisters - both hands!

Figured out I need to lean back from my harp in order to play the top register without doing weird (and double-jointed) things to my fingers.

Started trying to transcribe Peter Gabriel's "Here Comes the Flood". In order to be in tune with the recording I have, I have to be in all flats. However, the chords (I think) are D♭m7 and B♭♭m7 (playing A♮). It would make more sense these would be Dm7 and B♭m7 in the realm of sensible chords. Are these sensible chords? I guess if you're Peter Gabriel, you can do whatever the heck you want.

I also canNOT hear notes in the lower registers. I could not distinguish between 5th octave A and D. My music theory instructor said that would come with practice, but I'm not so sure.

Today is one of those days where nothing seems to go right.

I'm not able to play Prelude 1 in rhythm. It sounds uneven when I listen to the recording. I don't know how to resolve this.

And I'm in the middle of dyeing, so that's it for today.

Playing Prelude 3 is like hugging thin person with a right arm the size of a beer keg.

Turning the metronome on and off seems to help me learn faster? Or maybe it seems that way because it's new.

Haven't posted the past couple sessions because of torn cuticle and painful hot finger, but did play a little.

Worked on Prelude 3 today. Weird counting; I'm either counting 1-2-1-2-3, or 1-1-2- 1-2-3, when it should be 1-2-3-1-2 or 1-2-3-4-5. My brain knows where I should be in later measures, but not sure where that exactly occurs, either. Trying Kondonassis' recommendation to turn metronome on and off, and I seem to pay more attention with it off.

Actually getting better at counting, though, from practicing counting.

On Playing the Harp

On Playing the Harp by Yolanda Kondonassis

I checked this out from, once again, our lovely Inter-Library Loan system and sat down at the harp and read through it tonight.

I wish I'd had this last year when I was trying to figure out the proper positions for my fingers and elbows. Used as a sequel to Method for the Harp, this book has more than enough details and strengthening exercises to help me out.

Some of the tips that stood out:

Rhythm
I'm notoriously bad about counting measures, and am never sure where I am if I lose the beat. I do play well with a metronome, however. Kondonassis recommends

"when using a metronome," ... "playing through a given passage first without the metronome at a reasonable practice tempo. When you have finished, do the exact same passage again with the metronome."

And she recommends switching back and forth each time the passage is practiced.

The Art of Practicing

'Make sure you aren't reinforcing mistakes by trying to play through things "just to get the overall idea."'

That would be me!

Strengthening and Conditioning

"Add volume to your exercises as you would add weights to a barbell."

This is so blindingly obvious now that it's been pointed out to me.

A reassuring thought:

"People err who think my art comes easily to me. I assure you, dear friend, nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not industriously studied many times." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

And a thought to chew on:

"Music is what happens between the notes." -Claude Debussy

What does that mean?

Started work on Prelude 1 again; getting some focus after talking to friends and family. :)

Also, started to work on Zarabanda again to get it up to snuff. After spending time in school, I realize I may need to practice like I study - in shifts where I don't spend more than one hour on one subject.

Downloaded Peter Gabriel's Here Comes the Flood to my iPod so's I can maybe transcribe it and finally pay back my sound guy. !