Quote of the Week

"Management by objectives works if you first think through your objectives. Ninety percent of the time you haven't." - Peter F. Drucker

"Keep these three points in mind. One: There are lies, two: there are big lies, and three: there are Statistics. Ninety percent of people asked know this." - BassBassDude

Practice Last Night

I had finished a 4-part choral arrangement over the weekend and last night was the first time the choir looked at it. Overall, things went pretty well. I can't complain too much but when you put a lot of time and effort into something, you sometimes expect the same when you are trying to teach it. Such is not normally the case. Yes, I realize we're a bunch of friends that are just doing this for fun, but, I know that we can always get better. Last night, I had to tighten up sometimes with everything, but, that's okay. We only have a couple of weeks before we have to sing this piece, so a little push is not a bad thing. I just have to watch what I say, these are a good bunch of friends.

Lastly, wine does help take the edge off.

Retrocity: Friday December 9

Friday Dec. 9th, Club 279

Retrocity will be performing its biggest gig ever on Friday December 9th, 2005. They are playing Club 279 (at Yonge and Dundas, above the Hard Rock Café), and they want every single one of you there!

Doors at 9pm, performance at 9:30pm, cover $10

Here's a map for directions









visit:
www.retrocity.ca

Practice time

I've found that as much as I enjoy practicing, especially with a goal in mind, I often find myself struggling with various items. I usually get frustrated with my tone, time, phrasing, or inability to get to through some passages. Last night was not an exception. It was a prime example of me getting peeved with different elements of my abilities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to give up and pack it in. In fact, I enjoy going through these tough times. I find that these struggling points as growth (pardon the cheese). Even though while I am practicing, I'm vocally trying to "motivate" myself, I find it's helping me get over some mental hills. Anyway, there's a lot of hills on the way and it will always be an uphill battle, otherwise, I would be going nowhere fast.

Wibijazz'n Winter Showcase 2005

Here's the scoop to Wibi's Winter Showcase:

DATE: December 3rd 2005

TIME: 7:30pm

GEOLOGICAL LOCATION: Winters Dining Hall (Winters College, York U)

Come out and support these guys. Tons of fun. Tons of energy. Great Tones.

visit:
www.wibijazzn.com

Bass-ic Protection

One week ago, I decided to upgrade the gig bag that I had been using for the past eight years. The case of yester-year was a shade too snug for my double bass, had numerous holes and tears and had all but one of the handles torn off. On top of that, this was not the original case that this bass came in. The first cover was basically an over-sized garage rag with two broken buckle straps. Anyway, my new case is the Mooradian Standard Double Bass Bag. I'm a big fan of something that can hold everthing including my bass wheel and protects my double bass. Also, big thanks to the great people of The Sound Post for helping me with the bag... and everything else double bass related.

For more on these bags visit www.Mooradian.com or www.thesoundpost.com

email me at michael.penafiel@gmail.com

North York Concert Orchestra

Last night was my first practice with the North York Concert Orchestra. Overall, it went well. I haven't sight-read music in a while in a setting where it was a little quick paced. I enjoyed it a lot, even while I was stumbling through everything. I must say, the hardest part of joining was actually taking my first steps into the room with my double bass. It was a bit of a surreal feeling being the "new-kid-on-the-block" but it was a very relaxed setting that helped me feel less like a pig on roller skates. Anyway, I have a lot to work on and I need a little bit more confidence in my playing but otherwise, I think I will be okay.

Visit
www.nyco.on.ca

Practice. Little better than none

I found last night, due to different factors that were out of my control, that I could only practice for a few minutes. I must say, it is a little frustrating when you want to practice and once you feel like you're ready to get into the meaty stuff, it's time to pack it in. Oh well, at least I tried.

Finding Motivation

Finding motivation to practice can be hard, especially when you haven't been at it for a while. Little distractions begin to fill your time and slowly take over. Even to the point of becoming a priority. I, unfortunately, reached this apex and it has taken me a long time to re-focus and re-kindle my passion for the double bass.

Actually, it was a two-pronged effort that helped bring this into action. First, I decided to join a community orchestra. My greatest weakness on double bass has been classical playing and my arco technique. Being a person that enjoys challenges and discovering new things; I found this to be a suitable endeavor. I love learning new music and sight-reading, plus, I haven't played with a large group of people in many years. I now find that I am practicing every chance I get and there isn't a moment in the day where I cannot think about the many aspects of the double bass. I am currently looking at Bach's Suite1: Prelude for Cello. This piece of work is absolutely gorgeous and to be able to play on the double bass will take some time, but it is something I enjoy practicing. Just on a side note, compositions and etudes by Bach are great for study from a performance and theoretical standpoint if you are interested.

The second part of getting me motivated to practice was more of a materialistic maneuvere. I decided to purchase a brand new bow. Prior to this purchase, I had an old student bow that was never re-haired, was slightly warped and bent, but most importantly, was never taken care of. I am partially to blame for this but that could be due to my ignorace with this device. Over the years, I have developed a greater knowledge with taking care of this instrument which I will hopefully incorporate into my brand new bow. With regards to practicing, this has been one of the greatest pleasures. I never realized how easily playing arco would be with this tool. I felt more confident in my abilities and the tone that it produced was remarkable. Although my pocket and bank account are somewhat less burdened, my playing has reaped the benefits.

Anyway, I guess in some ways you can buy confidence.

Quote of the Week

"How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterwards" - Amy Tan

"How lucky do you think you will be when you land on Chance in Monopoly?" - BassBassDude

Angus Glen Half-Marathon Results

Well, I finished standing up.
It took me a while to post because I was trying to recover from the run. My finish time was 2:21 and I'm pretty sore but not as sore as I was expecting. The last 5k were the hardest. I thought I would try to push just a little at that point but then I found myself really hurting with 2k to go. Overall, I'm just happy to finish. I found that my breathing was fine throughout the race from holding back a bit. Overall, I think I held it together pretty well; it's my legs that pretty much died at the end. I wanted to push but they couldn't do it. I decieded before the race that I would take quick walking breaks when I hit a water station which helped a little but I really want to increase my tempo. The biggest challenge was the weather; more specifically, the wind. I usually can turn it up a bit on the downhills but all of those were negated by the wind. Oh well. I finished (10/10 in my category) and on the last kilometer into the clubhouse, finished strong.

Keep Practicin'

Stairway via ElectricBass
Originally uploaded by BassBassDude.

Check this guy out.

http://www.devilducky.com

Although, I think anything more that a 6-string bass seems a little excessive. Granted, that's my opinion.

Quote of the Week

"He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive." -Joseph Heller

"Your mission should you choose to accept it is to climb a mountain. Don't fall again." -BassBassDude