Practice Session

Alright, this was easily a fun night.

It was me and my piano-playing buddy; we had a bit of a quasi-practice/jam-session last night over at my place. It was good. We had to work on a few things for this wedding that we're playing at this weekend. We did some fun piano-bass re-arranging and re-harmonizing. Also, we worked on a tune we haven't worked on in a while that our client requested. After all that, it turned into a nice little piano-bass jam session. We basically re-hashed all the tunes that we literally haven't touched this year. That, in itself, is refreshing.

I can only hope for more sessions like this. Hopefully with more people involved next time. Moreover, I hope it to be as fun as last night. If anything, it's a good time to get caught up with a good bud.

Thoughts for Today

"A willing heart adds feather to the heel"
- Joanna Baillie

"A willing heel adds to a faster heart-rate"
-BassBassDude

Golf Stuff

It's about time I started putting my golf thoughts down. Just past Sunday, me and a couple others went and played 18 holes. I have to tell you golf is fun. But, it's even more fun when you take people's money. Granted it's bragging rights that have it's worth in weight in gold, but it's nice to have a heavier pocket after playing a round.

Here's to friendly competition.

Gig Recap

Well, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. Blue skies and playing outdoors under a gazeebo for a wedding reception turned out to be a treat. We played well and had fun up in Markham for this newly-wed couple and their guests; all of which had high regards for our performance that day for their cocktail reception. I can't help how miserable I might have been had the weather been not as fortunate.

Also, my friends from Retrocity (an eighties acappella group) will be performing on October 8th at a place called Clinton's in Toronto. It should be a lot of fun as they usually are. Doors open at 8:30pm and they may be handing out some Rainbow Brite dolls. Should be a good time.

Wedding Gig

Looks like I've got another gig coming up this Saturday. For now, it sounds like I'll be playing with the guys from MV. Cocktails and possibly playing through dinner could be the way things will turn out.

There's actually a good chance you may see me in a public gig sometime in October. MV and myself may be playing every once in a while in a hotel in Oakville. To those in the west end of T.O. and those willing to drive out to listen to some young musicians, I'll keep you posted.

Thoughts for the day

"Everyone take heart, it'll be a good year."
- Peter Breinholt

"Everyone, don't believe the saying: It'll take just an hour to change your oil."
-BassBassDude

Practice Tips

A guitar buddy of mine brought up a neat concept in practicing. First of all, he teaches guitar lessons to kids on the side. One day, one of his students showed my buddy how hard he was practicing. He had learned a really fast song and played it at the set tempo. My buddy then asked him to play the song at half-speed. His student could not do it; he kept fudging through the song. Anyway, practicing slowly gives you a chance to focus on your intonation, tone and, most importantly, accuracy. By slowing him down , my buddy was essentially trying to get his student to think about what his hands were doing rather than let his fingers run through the tune with just muscle memory. They could essentially digest the essence of the musical piece with regards to phrasing, intonation and emotion. At a slower speed, it was easier for the student to analyze the piece and absorb everything.

The moral of this story, slow down, take your time and enjoy every meal.

Gig Wrap-up

Well, the drive up from Toronto for MV and myself took about 2 hours. We played well and had a good time up there. The cocktail reception took place outside which was nice. We were just happy that the dining hall had AC (It was a humid day). Sometimes it's nice to get out of the city once and a while and play. Anyway, the drive back was in the middle of the night, so it's always interesting if the directions you received were accurate. That's probably the last thing you would want; getting a flat tire and not knowing where you are and trying to explain that to a towing company when they try to locate your car in the middle of the night. All in all, a fun event.

Non-Gig

Well, it looks like the gig this Friday will be at another day. But, there should be some up-coming ones just around the corner. I'll keep you posted.

Music Tips - Practicing II

(Continued from Friday, August 27, 2004)

In my previous post I had stated that practicing requires a degree of discipline. That is, our body should remain in practice motion. Follow a set schedule and try to stick with it. Well, to continue on that point of inertia, a person who practices should also get into a certain routine that they practice within. First off, I believe that you should have a set place that is designated for practicing. Similar to how we have set places to sleep, eat, and go to the washroom; we should also have a place to that is known to be for practicing.

Also, once we get into the actual practicing, there should also be a type of routine to get into. On a bass forum that I stumbled upon, people talked about how they're practicing habits. A majority of people on that forum had come with similar routines. That is, they would start out slow with a little warm-up with a couple of scales and chord arpeggios. Then they would get into the meat and work on various pieces or transcribing. After that, there would be a bit of a "cool-down". That is, a return back to scales. Granted this form of practicing may not be for everybody, but, it is one way of trying something new. If this isn't much of a problem, keep raising the ante on the warm-up section. Whether it be working on speed and time with a metronome, or focusing on working on accuracy and tone.

Whatever your practice routine is, the important thing is that you get your hands/body on your instrument. You can never over-prepare, but, it is possible to over-work yourself though.

More to come...