Well my school days have been keeping me jumping through hoops. It seems so much of my time is gobbled up and when I have a free moment I either crash on the couch or grab a guitar and play for a bit. I have been working on memorizing Walbert's arrangement of "If I Fell". I am feeling pretty good about my progress. I am getting the notes down and now my next job will be to really look at the timing and eventually use a metronome with the piece. These days I rarely have a sustained period of practice time and today when I grabbed my guitar to play for a bit during lunch, I felt as if I was greeting a long lost friend. The end of lunch signaled the attack of the teenagers and the conclusion of my bonding period.
Our weather continues to parallel that of Ireland. I have the weather for Clonakilty and South Bend posted on my desktop and it seems we are in nearly complete synchronization, temps in the 60's here and the same there, rain here sprinkles there. Yes, I am obsessing about Ireland.
I have been thinking about approaches to guitar playing and the contrast between what I do and what the typical electric rock player does. So many rock players attempt to squeeze enormous numbers of notes into every measure. If their guitars were weapons they'd be holding down the trigger of a music machine gun. On the other hand when I play I prefer to make certain each note is celebrated. I suppose if my guitar were a weapon, it'd be a sniper's rifle. The mega fast rock player doesn't have time to cherish individual notes. I prefer to give each note the respect it deserves. Of course I am far from possessing the skills of a speed demon guitarist and maybe my note sanctification is just my excuse for playing slowly and carefully. Let's look at this from the perspective of how the guitarist views his/her audience. That Maserati guitar player's primary intention seems to encourage a visceral reaction from the audience. There is nothing wrong with that goal. Some players seem to even assault their listeners by cranking up the volume to the point of creating at the very least temporary hearing loss. Now I have some real qualms about that because the potential for lasting physical damage exits. Perhaps this is the territory of youth because from my teens and through my thirties I willingly paid the admission to be a sonic victim. Still even back then I did not enjoy having "concert ears". Now I refuse to subject myself to those levels of sounds.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Reflections Part 2
It was wonderfully sunny and cool today with a breeze that rustled my hair into the pleasant disarray of an " I don't have to be at work today" attitude. I have actually had to move myself indoors to compose this entry because I finally admitted I was cold sitting at the garden table on my back deck. Now I've plopped myself into my favorite recliner. I have been quickly joined by Miyagi, our Maine Coon-mix cat who enjoys lying on my legs. Admittedly his body draped on top of my shins is providing a nice bit of radiant heat and therefore I will resist the urge to move against the somewhat trapped feeling.
This time last year John and I were anxiously preparing for our first overseas journey together. Previously, he had been out of the country as an airman. I traveled to England with Jim, my first husband and Naomi, our daughter in the summer of 1993. I again visited England in 1994 as part of a healing journey after Jim had taken his life in August of 1993. Both visits were hosted by our dear English friends, Dennis and Sylvia.
Here it is September of 2011, nearly twenty years since my first big journey and one year since the Lilly trip to Ireland. I have to admit I truly love the UK and Ireland. Of course this affection is filtered through a visitor's eyes. My friend Dennis, an English native, has told me on numerous occasions that although he loves to travel there is no place he'd rather live than in England. The climate suites me. In fact today's weather here at home brings with it a deep nostalgic feeling that nags at my emotions. Do you ever feel like you are in the wrong place? Today I feel that way. Actually I've been suppressing that feeling since returning from Ireland last year. I've been sitting here remembering what it was like to amble along the streets of Clonakilty and the other towns we visited, taking in the sights and smells, the feel of polished brick walkways, the narrow streets, the flower boxes, ancient stones, church bells, sounds of English spoken in a variety of Irish dialects and the sounds of the Irish language itself, the ocean crashing against craggy coast lines, the creaking of the old wooden floors that are everywhere that there aren't even older stone floors, the sounds of children running and playing in the Emmet Square, music...live music of all sorts oozing out of the doorways of pubs, hotels and squares. Guitars of all sorts carried by and played by all sorts of people. The challenge of navigating the road system, the gentle scrape of fuscia against the side of the car as I drive down the teeny tiny twisty rural roads. Clouds billowing across the skies. Brief showers that are shut off by the sun as it bursts through and transforms drizzle into glistening honey drops. The land of hills, stone fences, and dramatically craggy grazing land that only sheep, who dot hillsides like spilled cotton balls, could navigate without tripping. I am sure there are mean people in Ireland but we didn't meet any of them, so I am guessing there just may be a smaller percentage of them. Go ahead accuse me of wearing rose colored glasses. I really don't care. All I know is that the Clonakilty International Guitar Fest is just around the corner and I won't be there. Sigh.............Perhaps they could use a pottery teacher in Clon?
This time last year John and I were anxiously preparing for our first overseas journey together. Previously, he had been out of the country as an airman. I traveled to England with Jim, my first husband and Naomi, our daughter in the summer of 1993. I again visited England in 1994 as part of a healing journey after Jim had taken his life in August of 1993. Both visits were hosted by our dear English friends, Dennis and Sylvia.
Here it is September of 2011, nearly twenty years since my first big journey and one year since the Lilly trip to Ireland. I have to admit I truly love the UK and Ireland. Of course this affection is filtered through a visitor's eyes. My friend Dennis, an English native, has told me on numerous occasions that although he loves to travel there is no place he'd rather live than in England. The climate suites me. In fact today's weather here at home brings with it a deep nostalgic feeling that nags at my emotions. Do you ever feel like you are in the wrong place? Today I feel that way. Actually I've been suppressing that feeling since returning from Ireland last year. I've been sitting here remembering what it was like to amble along the streets of Clonakilty and the other towns we visited, taking in the sights and smells, the feel of polished brick walkways, the narrow streets, the flower boxes, ancient stones, church bells, sounds of English spoken in a variety of Irish dialects and the sounds of the Irish language itself, the ocean crashing against craggy coast lines, the creaking of the old wooden floors that are everywhere that there aren't even older stone floors, the sounds of children running and playing in the Emmet Square, music...live music of all sorts oozing out of the doorways of pubs, hotels and squares. Guitars of all sorts carried by and played by all sorts of people. The challenge of navigating the road system, the gentle scrape of fuscia against the side of the car as I drive down the teeny tiny twisty rural roads. Clouds billowing across the skies. Brief showers that are shut off by the sun as it bursts through and transforms drizzle into glistening honey drops. The land of hills, stone fences, and dramatically craggy grazing land that only sheep, who dot hillsides like spilled cotton balls, could navigate without tripping. I am sure there are mean people in Ireland but we didn't meet any of them, so I am guessing there just may be a smaller percentage of them. Go ahead accuse me of wearing rose colored glasses. I really don't care. All I know is that the Clonakilty International Guitar Fest is just around the corner and I won't be there. Sigh.............Perhaps they could use a pottery teacher in Clon?
Reflections Part 1
It is Labor Day, September 5th, 2011. I have been enjoying a work free day unlike many folks in this country who continue to suffer without a paycheck because they have been lacking work for months and even years. As I was driving to Fire Arts this evening I made a point of making a photographic record of the beleaguered remains of the Studebaker industrial sites. Nearly all the remnants of that once proud and vibrant company are gone. As I pulled up to the Chapin Street side of the remaining structure I reminisced about the times my mother and I would pick my father up from work. You see my father was not a pleasant person. He was an alcoholic in the grand Polish tradition which professed: Unless interrupted by sleep or food, one should be consuming beer or hard liqueur. My dad did not disappoint that tradition and it ended his life at the relatively young age of 56. He was a mean drunk and in retrospect I often wonder what drew my mother to pairing up with this man. Although they were destroyed in the fire that took my studio in 1993, I found evidence in family photos that alcohol was a constant companion for my father. It seemed as though every picture showed him with a bottle of beer in his hand. It was always a Drewry's because my Uncle Ed had the perfect job for a South Bend Pole. He was a foreman at the brewing plant. Oddly my Uncle Eddie seemed the least possessed with this Polish disease and he lived decades past my father who was his younger brother. My dad's alcoholism kept our little family strapped for cash, even though he did work a weekend job as well. He held a sales position at El's Liqueur Store, go figure. He was never paid in cash but took home his compensation in the form of fifths and unending cases of Drewry's. My Uncle El owned that liqueur store. This wasn't enough for Dad although because the evening ritual included picking up Dad from Studebaker's, dropping him off at the local bar and heading home until he called for a ride or had a friend drop him off. It seems as though any time my parents spent together was characterized by ugly arguments laced with copious amounts of profanity and ultimately with my father in a drunken rage, lashing out physically at my mother. Even as a youngster I wondered at the irony of driving to church on Sunday mornings with my parents explosively arguing all the way there and back. The only good thing about mass was that they had to be quiet. I have no recollection of my dad driving. I know he must have but......What drove my father's alcoholism? Maybe it was the realization that his life would never improve, that he was in a loveless marriage of his own making and that he was destined to work until death at hard labor that seemed to pay less than the rest of his family's and neighbors' occupations.
My mom held the family together by working a fulltime factory job as well. This was in that wonderful era when women earned 50% of the pay for working the exact same job as the man stationed next to them. This angered Mom intensely. She was active in unions where they existed and I know she became a steward at one factory and lobbied hard for equal pay rights. I think headway was made on that front by the time she approached retirement. Mom was an incredibly hard worker. She'd come home from the factory and then task herself with cleaning, cooking and sewing(which she loved to do). Often she complained of sore feet, aching bones and her hands bore the cuts and scrapes that evidenced the brutality of her day job. Now Dad on the other hand would come home and he was also grubby from head to toe but his evenings consisted of sitting in front of the television, drinking beer and eating his staple diet of crackers and milk. Mom did provide a supper meal but I cannot remember him eating it with us.
Anyway...as I was photographing today all these memories emerged. I grabbed two brick fragments that had escaped the confines of the fenced wrecking zone. I plan on placing them in the garden here at home, not because of pleasant associations but because they represent a bit of history. Someone decades ago helped build an automotive empire with those bricks, but as all empires must do eventually, Studebaker crumbled to ruin taking with it thousands of jobs and throwing the lives connected to the jobs into disarray. Studebaker was a victim of it own faults, symbolized by the only new car my family ever purchased. It was the ugliest thing....pukey beige and the cheapest model of Lark. It leaked oil from the first day it was parked in our garage. Mind you the milk man who lived next door had a Golden Hawk and the fireman's family down the street drove around in the splendor of a Red '57 Chevy station wagon. Yep keep that damn Lark parked in the garage. It'd be kind of cool to have that Lark in mint condition now but it'd still be way better to have a Hawk or '57 Chevy.
My mom held the family together by working a fulltime factory job as well. This was in that wonderful era when women earned 50% of the pay for working the exact same job as the man stationed next to them. This angered Mom intensely. She was active in unions where they existed and I know she became a steward at one factory and lobbied hard for equal pay rights. I think headway was made on that front by the time she approached retirement. Mom was an incredibly hard worker. She'd come home from the factory and then task herself with cleaning, cooking and sewing(which she loved to do). Often she complained of sore feet, aching bones and her hands bore the cuts and scrapes that evidenced the brutality of her day job. Now Dad on the other hand would come home and he was also grubby from head to toe but his evenings consisted of sitting in front of the television, drinking beer and eating his staple diet of crackers and milk. Mom did provide a supper meal but I cannot remember him eating it with us.
Anyway...as I was photographing today all these memories emerged. I grabbed two brick fragments that had escaped the confines of the fenced wrecking zone. I plan on placing them in the garden here at home, not because of pleasant associations but because they represent a bit of history. Someone decades ago helped build an automotive empire with those bricks, but as all empires must do eventually, Studebaker crumbled to ruin taking with it thousands of jobs and throwing the lives connected to the jobs into disarray. Studebaker was a victim of it own faults, symbolized by the only new car my family ever purchased. It was the ugliest thing....pukey beige and the cheapest model of Lark. It leaked oil from the first day it was parked in our garage. Mind you the milk man who lived next door had a Golden Hawk and the fireman's family down the street drove around in the splendor of a Red '57 Chevy station wagon. Yep keep that damn Lark parked in the garage. It'd be kind of cool to have that Lark in mint condition now but it'd still be way better to have a Hawk or '57 Chevy.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Not So Perfect Summer
In about 22.5 hours I will again be fully engaged in my daytime gig as an art teacher. New students will come flooding into my classroom. I dearly hope they bring with them the enthusiasm and energy necessary to light and kindle their creative spark. I spent most of last week preparing my room for the onslaught and unfortunately it is still not ready. That is the way it goes, one can only do what time and energy allow.
Usually I am able to approach each school year with fresh eyes and renewed spirits but this summer was a challenge to the heart. June was devoted to my father-in-law whose failing health led to his passing from the struggle of life on the 27th. I could write more about this but somehow this feels like private territory. Suffice to say I was left feeling emotionally drained and if you've ever been there, you know your body follows your spirit. I found myself, on more occasions than I care to admit, paralyzed by lethargy. Mood and physical pain contribute to this state as my arthritic knees provide me with pain as a nearly constant companion. Enough whining. I did get off of my butt enough times to be productive in my favorite ways.
I spent a good deal of time at Fire Arts in downtown South Bend where I am a founding member of this non-profit devoted to promoting and producing sculpture and pottery. This was the fourth or fifth year that I offered a summer studio camp for talented high school students. Three students participated and I believe each had a very productive experience. Penn Hs, Mishawaka HS and my school New Prairie HS were represented. The kids will have an opening on August 23rd where they will display their creations. Come on over to the Fire Arts Showroom at 305 E. Colfax between 5:30 and 8:00 pm to see their sculpture and pottery and share in their success. As these students worked I guided them when needed but for the most part they worked independently which was the goal of the experience. I used my mentoring time to create some fresh work of my own including functional ware and a couple of sculptural pieces. I also made a series of proto-type porcelain guitar slides. These were initially requested by a local guitarist. I took his requests and worked from there. I took some of these slides to the Troy Gillacamp last weekend and had just the right number to gift each player with their own Desrosiers slide. It was serendipitous that I had the right number of slides and that even though each was significantly different, each found an owner who liked that particular slide. Richard really liked the one he picked out. This has reaffirmed my decision to produce more of these slides. They are not the easiest object to make but if I can settle in and get consistent results that could make them marketable.
EVART 3.0
July was a month that brought two music experiences. The first was the Non-Electric Music Festival in Evart, Mi,(formerly the Original Hammered Dulcimer Players FunFest). John and I purchased a used mini pop-up camper to pull behind my Scion XB. Our goal was to make this third year of attending the festival a comprehensive experience by camping in the midst of all the other devotees. We had a great deal of difficulty getting started because of a dirty trick nature decided to pull on the day before departure. We had set up the camper as a practice run and to air it out a bit before going. A sudden wind storm kicked up while I was away getting the license plate for the camper. I returned just in time to see the wind pummel the structure of the camper forcing pole fittings to contort and snap. "The horror, the horror of it all." Clearly our departure would be delayed. I almost immediately began camper triage. I assessed the damage and it was extensive. I essentially had to re-manufacture all of the poles. This meant trying to source and gerry rig parts. I made many trips to the Lowe's, a marina in a nearby town, and ultimately worked into the wee hours. Finally got it working again, next adventure was installing a wiring harness for the lights. This had its own set of challenges and frustrations and I still think I have a defective harness. In the end we missed the opening day of the festival. By the time we arrived most of the camping spaces were gobbled up. Since our camper is so petite we were able to squeeze into a prime mini space and even had an electrical outlet to charge our phones etc. This spot was fantastic because we were actually in the thick of the action.
I put aside my trepidation and participated in jam sessions this year. I played in three different sessions, two Ole Timey and one Celtic. The Celtic one was my favorite since I really love that genre. I did not attempt to stand out although because I'm still trying to recognize keys by ear and sort out the best chords to play as a rhythm backup for the fiddlers who dominate the lead in both styles of music.
Our camping spot was located adjacent to a group of musicians who represent the center of a major solar system at Evart. The festival is like a universe that has solar systems located throughout the fair grounds. Each solar system has its own characteristics, dominated by a core group of players who know each other well and other musicians of varying skill levels, like myself, who are temporarily pulled into the orbit. The core musicians are incredibly skilled and provide the driving force. Saturday night is marathon jam night. The solar system, located near us and under a canopy of festive lights, literally jammed all night long. We fell asleep to the sound of dulcimers, fiddle, guitars, bass fiddle, tin whistle and bodhran and awakened to the same, albeit played much more quietly and with far fewer participants. Warning! Although the festival enforces a personally welcomed ban on alcoholic drinks and smoking, there are no quiet zones or quiet hours. Bring your ear plugs if you can't sleep with the sound of music in the background. I enjoyed it and found myself rocked to sleep by the surging rhythms.
We had a week's reprieve before heading down to Bloomington, IN. for a workshop that John signed up for with mandolin maestro Jim Richter. This workshop focused upon Blues and Rock mandolin technique, theory, and jamming. John's actual class-time was on Saturday. We arrived Friday late afternoon and checked into the Grant St. Inn, the B & B that hosted the workshop. I can only say WOW what beautiful inn. Our room was glorious and I spent hours using it as my guitar practice zone. I was invited to participate in two jam sessions that started after dinner time and lasted into the wee hours. These were informal sessions and I was pleasantly surprised to be included since I neither play mandolin and did not sign up for the workshop. I was also the only woman present. I guess mandolin workshops fit into Richard's "tupperware party for men" formula. Sorry guys for breaking with tradition.
Once we returned to South Bend, I felt the urge to force myself to start painting the livingroom area that had been on my list for over two years. I finished one wall area and started on the adjacent spaces, ran out of paint and now have run out of free time since school is starting. Hummm......hope it doesn't take me another two years to wrap this up.
August opened with one of my favorite activities: Richard Gilewitz's Gillacamp!!!! Another great weekend of immersion. This was my fourth Troy, OH. Gillacamp!!!! Damn time flies when your having fun. I count Gillacamps by the type of treats I bring. First year it was coconut cookies, second year it was the first annual Gillanut cake(Richard's Bday is in August), third year Gillanut cake with John's image imprinted on the frosting, and this year Zombie Gillanut cake. What the heck am I going to do for next year????? Well besides that annual treat we spent serious time working tunes: Last Steam Engine Train, Spanish Two Step, Yesterday, If I Fell(added spontaneously), Both Sides Now, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and Steve Talbot on the Keddie Wye We also spent time with some warm ups, and slide guitar using exercises from Richard's new "Slide Guide" course produced by TrueFire.com. On Friday evening Richard also took out some time to add details to the music for "Dumonde Blonde". I've been wanting to add this piece to my repertoire. Gillacamp is pretty intense and even though I manage to keep up with what is thrown my way, I realize I will always be the "least" experienced and proficient player in the core group. This is a simple reality because my guitar buds, Leibert, John and Camille(when she can attend) have copious years of experience beyond my few years. John has youth on his side and the reinforcement of musical background with his school band studies. He has been playing out regularly and to say that he has family support in his endeavors is a huge understatement. I need to remind myself at times that this is not a competition. I play for intrinsic reasons, gaining pleasure from the challenge and expressive nature of music. I always want to do better. I come home from Gillacamp humbled and with more repertoire and skill targets for which to aim.
I had the dreaded realization that as the beginning of school approached I did not feel renewed from summer break as I usually do. The beginning of summer left me sucked dry for a bit. Like a drought-drained well, my energy level is only now beginning to show signs of recovery. Here's hoping that the students and their energy(positive) will dump some healthy buckets of spiritual water into my vessel.
Usually I am able to approach each school year with fresh eyes and renewed spirits but this summer was a challenge to the heart. June was devoted to my father-in-law whose failing health led to his passing from the struggle of life on the 27th. I could write more about this but somehow this feels like private territory. Suffice to say I was left feeling emotionally drained and if you've ever been there, you know your body follows your spirit. I found myself, on more occasions than I care to admit, paralyzed by lethargy. Mood and physical pain contribute to this state as my arthritic knees provide me with pain as a nearly constant companion. Enough whining. I did get off of my butt enough times to be productive in my favorite ways.
I spent a good deal of time at Fire Arts in downtown South Bend where I am a founding member of this non-profit devoted to promoting and producing sculpture and pottery. This was the fourth or fifth year that I offered a summer studio camp for talented high school students. Three students participated and I believe each had a very productive experience. Penn Hs, Mishawaka HS and my school New Prairie HS were represented. The kids will have an opening on August 23rd where they will display their creations. Come on over to the Fire Arts Showroom at 305 E. Colfax between 5:30 and 8:00 pm to see their sculpture and pottery and share in their success. As these students worked I guided them when needed but for the most part they worked independently which was the goal of the experience. I used my mentoring time to create some fresh work of my own including functional ware and a couple of sculptural pieces. I also made a series of proto-type porcelain guitar slides. These were initially requested by a local guitarist. I took his requests and worked from there. I took some of these slides to the Troy Gillacamp last weekend and had just the right number to gift each player with their own Desrosiers slide. It was serendipitous that I had the right number of slides and that even though each was significantly different, each found an owner who liked that particular slide. Richard really liked the one he picked out. This has reaffirmed my decision to produce more of these slides. They are not the easiest object to make but if I can settle in and get consistent results that could make them marketable.
EVART 3.0
July was a month that brought two music experiences. The first was the Non-Electric Music Festival in Evart, Mi,(formerly the Original Hammered Dulcimer Players FunFest). John and I purchased a used mini pop-up camper to pull behind my Scion XB. Our goal was to make this third year of attending the festival a comprehensive experience by camping in the midst of all the other devotees. We had a great deal of difficulty getting started because of a dirty trick nature decided to pull on the day before departure. We had set up the camper as a practice run and to air it out a bit before going. A sudden wind storm kicked up while I was away getting the license plate for the camper. I returned just in time to see the wind pummel the structure of the camper forcing pole fittings to contort and snap. "The horror, the horror of it all." Clearly our departure would be delayed. I almost immediately began camper triage. I assessed the damage and it was extensive. I essentially had to re-manufacture all of the poles. This meant trying to source and gerry rig parts. I made many trips to the Lowe's, a marina in a nearby town, and ultimately worked into the wee hours. Finally got it working again, next adventure was installing a wiring harness for the lights. This had its own set of challenges and frustrations and I still think I have a defective harness. In the end we missed the opening day of the festival. By the time we arrived most of the camping spaces were gobbled up. Since our camper is so petite we were able to squeeze into a prime mini space and even had an electrical outlet to charge our phones etc. This spot was fantastic because we were actually in the thick of the action.
I put aside my trepidation and participated in jam sessions this year. I played in three different sessions, two Ole Timey and one Celtic. The Celtic one was my favorite since I really love that genre. I did not attempt to stand out although because I'm still trying to recognize keys by ear and sort out the best chords to play as a rhythm backup for the fiddlers who dominate the lead in both styles of music.
Our camping spot was located adjacent to a group of musicians who represent the center of a major solar system at Evart. The festival is like a universe that has solar systems located throughout the fair grounds. Each solar system has its own characteristics, dominated by a core group of players who know each other well and other musicians of varying skill levels, like myself, who are temporarily pulled into the orbit. The core musicians are incredibly skilled and provide the driving force. Saturday night is marathon jam night. The solar system, located near us and under a canopy of festive lights, literally jammed all night long. We fell asleep to the sound of dulcimers, fiddle, guitars, bass fiddle, tin whistle and bodhran and awakened to the same, albeit played much more quietly and with far fewer participants. Warning! Although the festival enforces a personally welcomed ban on alcoholic drinks and smoking, there are no quiet zones or quiet hours. Bring your ear plugs if you can't sleep with the sound of music in the background. I enjoyed it and found myself rocked to sleep by the surging rhythms.
We had a week's reprieve before heading down to Bloomington, IN. for a workshop that John signed up for with mandolin maestro Jim Richter. This workshop focused upon Blues and Rock mandolin technique, theory, and jamming. John's actual class-time was on Saturday. We arrived Friday late afternoon and checked into the Grant St. Inn, the B & B that hosted the workshop. I can only say WOW what beautiful inn. Our room was glorious and I spent hours using it as my guitar practice zone. I was invited to participate in two jam sessions that started after dinner time and lasted into the wee hours. These were informal sessions and I was pleasantly surprised to be included since I neither play mandolin and did not sign up for the workshop. I was also the only woman present. I guess mandolin workshops fit into Richard's "tupperware party for men" formula. Sorry guys for breaking with tradition.
Once we returned to South Bend, I felt the urge to force myself to start painting the livingroom area that had been on my list for over two years. I finished one wall area and started on the adjacent spaces, ran out of paint and now have run out of free time since school is starting. Hummm......hope it doesn't take me another two years to wrap this up.
August opened with one of my favorite activities: Richard Gilewitz's Gillacamp!!!! Another great weekend of immersion. This was my fourth Troy, OH. Gillacamp!!!! Damn time flies when your having fun. I count Gillacamps by the type of treats I bring. First year it was coconut cookies, second year it was the first annual Gillanut cake(Richard's Bday is in August), third year Gillanut cake with John's image imprinted on the frosting, and this year Zombie Gillanut cake. What the heck am I going to do for next year????? Well besides that annual treat we spent serious time working tunes: Last Steam Engine Train, Spanish Two Step, Yesterday, If I Fell(added spontaneously), Both Sides Now, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and Steve Talbot on the Keddie Wye We also spent time with some warm ups, and slide guitar using exercises from Richard's new "Slide Guide" course produced by TrueFire.com. On Friday evening Richard also took out some time to add details to the music for "Dumonde Blonde". I've been wanting to add this piece to my repertoire. Gillacamp is pretty intense and even though I manage to keep up with what is thrown my way, I realize I will always be the "least" experienced and proficient player in the core group. This is a simple reality because my guitar buds, Leibert, John and Camille(when she can attend) have copious years of experience beyond my few years. John has youth on his side and the reinforcement of musical background with his school band studies. He has been playing out regularly and to say that he has family support in his endeavors is a huge understatement. I need to remind myself at times that this is not a competition. I play for intrinsic reasons, gaining pleasure from the challenge and expressive nature of music. I always want to do better. I come home from Gillacamp humbled and with more repertoire and skill targets for which to aim.
I had the dreaded realization that as the beginning of school approached I did not feel renewed from summer break as I usually do. The beginning of summer left me sucked dry for a bit. Like a drought-drained well, my energy level is only now beginning to show signs of recovery. Here's hoping that the students and their energy(positive) will dump some healthy buckets of spiritual water into my vessel.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Post Perfect Summer-Not a Great Start
June has come and gone, was dominated by concern for my father-in-law and culminated with the inevitable. Dad had been dealing with kidney failure as a result of diabetes and he passed away on the 28th. My husband, John, sister-in-law Andrea and I kept vigil through the night. At around 5am, Andrea was the first realize that the steady yet dwindling cadence of his breathing weakened and ceased. So far we are all handling it pretty well. We knew this day was approaching as he had several health issues multiplying and his refusal to take dialysis sealed the deal.
He suffered a serious physical crisis the previous week that forced him to be hospitalized for a few days. When it became apparent that he was very near the end of his time, hospice care was arranged and he was moved back to his assisted living facility. Even though he was quite ill and not always lucid, he expressed pleasure when informed that he was going back home. He did like living at Inwood Hills, his assisted living home. His health deteriorated rapidly after mom died, forcing a move from the independence of living alone in his own home to somewhere that he could have the daily chores seen to and his medications monitored and administered. He had made friends at Inwood, mainly lady friends and the staff seemed to do good job attending to his needs. He will be dearly missed by us. The funeral consisted only of the three of us and my daughter, Naomi, son-in-law, Dan and eldest grandchild, Austin. A few visitors showed up for the viewing but it seems that the majority of dad's friends had pretty much lost touch or had passed before him. His siblings are quite elderly and could not make the journey to South Bend.
Through all of this I have found it difficult to play guitar very much. It is not ignored but I think for the time being I am a bit emotionally drained. Thank goodness it is summer and I have not had to deal with going to work through this whole ordeal. I'm trying to be a support for John and Andrea but I'm not too certain how well I'm doing at that. Anyway instead of immersing myself in creative efforts, I find the couch frequently pulls me off my feet and forces me to collapse. So in a month's time I've gone from being horribly plagued with insomnia to near narcolepsy. Hopefully by the time August rolls around I will discover the middle ground.
Even though I'm not absolutely consumed with the guitar at the moment, I manage to play each day. My lofty goals of being prepared for the Troy Gillacamp threaten to be stalemated. I wanted to be able to have each of the targeted pieces of music sorted out and on the road to memorization. Seems that will be an impossible challenge since there are only four short weeks until camp. John and I are trying to make a couple of trips this month, a three-peat to the Original Hammered Dulcimer Players Festival in Evart, Mi and I will tag along as he participates in his first mandolin workshop in Bloomington, IN. and conducted by Jim Richter. The mandolin workshop should provide me with the chance to tuck myself away and focus on my playing while John is in his classes. This event is being held at what looks to be a very nice B&B and there is a porch off of our booked room that beckons for me to use as a practice space.
I am still working on trying to memorize the Beatles' tunes When I'm 64 and Imagine. I have Yesterday and Across the Universe pretty much committed to memory but they are in need of massive amounts of polishing. These are arrangements by David Walbert and they are phenomenal! I am trying to get Richard's hypnotizing arrangement of Sunflower River Blues in open C tuning, squared away. I find myself easily slipping into improvisation when I practice this piece. Sometimes I find the groove and sometimes my fingers stumble over each other and it becomes counter-productive. I've been keeping my Breedlove J22 in Open C and using it exclusively for playing this piece. Recently I strung it with D'addario's EJ24 strings for DADGAD and boy does this guitar thump with that combination. I've been especially drawn by Gilewitz's arrangement of this John Fahey tune ever since I heard Richard play it over 2 years ago now. I think the alternating bass must be in synch with my own heartbeat.
I have acquired a nylon string guitar. It is a classical model with a cutaway body,solid red cedar top, solid mahogany sides and back, and rosewood fingerboard. It is produced by Lag, a French company. It is a Tramontane TN100ACE. I have been using it primarily to play in DADGAD tuning and I must admit it has a sweet tone and is very responsive for a relatively reasonable price tag. I believe although there is no marking to note it, that it is actually constructed in China. The build and materials quality are excellent and the sound has actually improved since March when I originally received it. Adjusting to the wider fingerboard is a bit of a challenge although.
He suffered a serious physical crisis the previous week that forced him to be hospitalized for a few days. When it became apparent that he was very near the end of his time, hospice care was arranged and he was moved back to his assisted living facility. Even though he was quite ill and not always lucid, he expressed pleasure when informed that he was going back home. He did like living at Inwood Hills, his assisted living home. His health deteriorated rapidly after mom died, forcing a move from the independence of living alone in his own home to somewhere that he could have the daily chores seen to and his medications monitored and administered. He had made friends at Inwood, mainly lady friends and the staff seemed to do good job attending to his needs. He will be dearly missed by us. The funeral consisted only of the three of us and my daughter, Naomi, son-in-law, Dan and eldest grandchild, Austin. A few visitors showed up for the viewing but it seems that the majority of dad's friends had pretty much lost touch or had passed before him. His siblings are quite elderly and could not make the journey to South Bend.
Through all of this I have found it difficult to play guitar very much. It is not ignored but I think for the time being I am a bit emotionally drained. Thank goodness it is summer and I have not had to deal with going to work through this whole ordeal. I'm trying to be a support for John and Andrea but I'm not too certain how well I'm doing at that. Anyway instead of immersing myself in creative efforts, I find the couch frequently pulls me off my feet and forces me to collapse. So in a month's time I've gone from being horribly plagued with insomnia to near narcolepsy. Hopefully by the time August rolls around I will discover the middle ground.
Even though I'm not absolutely consumed with the guitar at the moment, I manage to play each day. My lofty goals of being prepared for the Troy Gillacamp threaten to be stalemated. I wanted to be able to have each of the targeted pieces of music sorted out and on the road to memorization. Seems that will be an impossible challenge since there are only four short weeks until camp. John and I are trying to make a couple of trips this month, a three-peat to the Original Hammered Dulcimer Players Festival in Evart, Mi and I will tag along as he participates in his first mandolin workshop in Bloomington, IN. and conducted by Jim Richter. The mandolin workshop should provide me with the chance to tuck myself away and focus on my playing while John is in his classes. This event is being held at what looks to be a very nice B&B and there is a porch off of our booked room that beckons for me to use as a practice space.
I am still working on trying to memorize the Beatles' tunes When I'm 64 and Imagine. I have Yesterday and Across the Universe pretty much committed to memory but they are in need of massive amounts of polishing. These are arrangements by David Walbert and they are phenomenal! I am trying to get Richard's hypnotizing arrangement of Sunflower River Blues in open C tuning, squared away. I find myself easily slipping into improvisation when I practice this piece. Sometimes I find the groove and sometimes my fingers stumble over each other and it becomes counter-productive. I've been keeping my Breedlove J22 in Open C and using it exclusively for playing this piece. Recently I strung it with D'addario's EJ24 strings for DADGAD and boy does this guitar thump with that combination. I've been especially drawn by Gilewitz's arrangement of this John Fahey tune ever since I heard Richard play it over 2 years ago now. I think the alternating bass must be in synch with my own heartbeat.
I have acquired a nylon string guitar. It is a classical model with a cutaway body,solid red cedar top, solid mahogany sides and back, and rosewood fingerboard. It is produced by Lag, a French company. It is a Tramontane TN100ACE. I have been using it primarily to play in DADGAD tuning and I must admit it has a sweet tone and is very responsive for a relatively reasonable price tag. I believe although there is no marking to note it, that it is actually constructed in China. The build and materials quality are excellent and the sound has actually improved since March when I originally received it. Adjusting to the wider fingerboard is a bit of a challenge although.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
The Lilly Fellowship School Year is Coming to a Close
This summer will be quite different from the summer of 2010. An obvious change will be that I will spend much more time here in No. Indiana. I confess to having developed an "itch" for travel. Now that my grant funds have been spent scratching that itch is much more difficult. For all intents and purposes my Lilly project has concluded. The changes I've gone through, the people I've met, the challenges I've faced, the places I've visited, and the time I've devoted in the pursuit of becoming a better fingerstyle guitarist have easily culminated into one of the most rewarding years of my life. The wonderful thing about all of this is that I will be forever positively changed for the experiences.
Now I face the summer of 2011 with a definite increase in my skill level as a guitarist, a bit more courage as a performer and the desire to build on the phenomenal foundation that my grant activities facilitated. I've come to the conclusion that I must take the time to really plan out my practice time. I have so many pieces of music that I want to learn but there is not enough time to absorb them all. Quality is intrinsically more important than quantity. So a fair share of my time will be spent improving and internalizing the pieces I have memorized and then add some other pieces. I do not want to trade off tunes in my repertoire. I want to strengthen and build my repertoire. I want to play a core set of pieces without fear of stumbling through them and instill expression into my performance as well. Perhaps this summer will bring with it a spark for musical composition.
Now I face the summer of 2011 with a definite increase in my skill level as a guitarist, a bit more courage as a performer and the desire to build on the phenomenal foundation that my grant activities facilitated. I've come to the conclusion that I must take the time to really plan out my practice time. I have so many pieces of music that I want to learn but there is not enough time to absorb them all. Quality is intrinsically more important than quantity. So a fair share of my time will be spent improving and internalizing the pieces I have memorized and then add some other pieces. I do not want to trade off tunes in my repertoire. I want to strengthen and build my repertoire. I want to play a core set of pieces without fear of stumbling through them and instill expression into my performance as well. Perhaps this summer will bring with it a spark for musical composition.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Desperate Conclusion to Spring Break
I think we all agree that humans are affected by the weather. Today, the Sunday before returning to school after Spring Break, was an absolutely gorgeous day. It was Summer today, 83 degrees at one point and sunshine all day long. Who could feel lousy on a day like today? Well I know that is possible but for me the weather today was a major boost to my mood. I admit that I was pretty useless and sluggish the past week. Just couldn't muster much excitement about much of anything. Until today, the best two days of the Week of Freedom were shared with my grandsons. I had a great time taking them to see "Hop" and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I also admit having an excellent time picking on my eldest grandson Austin. The boys seemed have a great time too. Skyler got out of the car twice to hug me goodbye when step-dad picked them up. Sure made me feel loved. John and I went to see "Hanna" yesterday and we decided it was a pretty good flick. Wide open for sequel. Since John had to work all this week that was our one "fun" activity, that and getting our tax return prepared(can you sense the fonts oozing sarcasm).
Today I managed to actually finish up some work on my computer. I had replaced the hard drive over a month ago and because I lacked screws to mount the drive my computer case was left wide open with its guts exposed. I also purchased a new DVD/CD/BluRay drive because my current one is mechanically starting to fail. So I installed the new one today and installed the software that accompanies it. Seems like that job went smoothly. I took things a step further because I dug out the Edirol audio interface and installed that as well. This gives me the capability to plug in a guitar and record directly to my computer. I have been using Acoustica's Mixcraft software. I must admit it was a pain the A$$ to tweak the settings to get it play nicely with the Edirol. Eventually I was successful and that led into spending about 4 hours recording a few tunes. It was excellent practice and a good way to evaluate my playing. Now I have a about five tunes recorded and added to my iTunes library. Funnily, iTunes gave me the option to put my name down as artist and to create an album title. Since some of what I recorded was noodling and improvisation I decided a fitting album title is "Don't Expect Me to Play That Again".
Oops it's 11pm, must go to bed.
Today I managed to actually finish up some work on my computer. I had replaced the hard drive over a month ago and because I lacked screws to mount the drive my computer case was left wide open with its guts exposed. I also purchased a new DVD/CD/BluRay drive because my current one is mechanically starting to fail. So I installed the new one today and installed the software that accompanies it. Seems like that job went smoothly. I took things a step further because I dug out the Edirol audio interface and installed that as well. This gives me the capability to plug in a guitar and record directly to my computer. I have been using Acoustica's Mixcraft software. I must admit it was a pain the A$$ to tweak the settings to get it play nicely with the Edirol. Eventually I was successful and that led into spending about 4 hours recording a few tunes. It was excellent practice and a good way to evaluate my playing. Now I have a about five tunes recorded and added to my iTunes library. Funnily, iTunes gave me the option to put my name down as artist and to create an album title. Since some of what I recorded was noodling and improvisation I decided a fitting album title is "Don't Expect Me to Play That Again".
Oops it's 11pm, must go to bed.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Progress Being Made
It's been awhile since I visited my own blog. It is amazing how much time school takes up and how exhausted one can feel after a day with the kids. It is a mere two weeks before Spring Break and I believe everyone at school is ready to relax for a week and recoup some energy to close out the end of 2010/11 school year. Winter's ugly grip may have finally eased and in fact today the temperature managed to rise to 70 degrees! The last of the artificially made snow mountains have actually melted in the past day or two. Oddly we have not had one of our intense rain storms that usually does this work. Does this hearken a dry growing season? Our farmers won't be pleased with that. Hopefully the protracted and snow filled Winter has put a major dent in the fleas, tick and mosquito populations.
I have been making time for guitar practice on a daily basis. In fact I cannot remember a time when I didn't manage at least an hour of playing time each day. Well wait a minute there was the day we flew back from Ireland. It's pretty tough to play guitar when it is packed away in the bowels of an airplane.
Certainly the high point of the past few months has been my trip to Inverness, Florida for the Floral City Gillacamp held at Full Moon Concerts the venue owned and operated by David and Terri Hartman. This intensive workshop filled the final weekend of February and it again required that I pack up my gear and board a plane. Although I am still quite an "amateur", I am becoming much more comfortable with negotiating flight arrangements, rental cars, airports etc.
Gillacamp, as always, was a fantastic experience! I had the privilege of meeting another batch of dedicated guitarists from Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, Arkansas and Illinois. It was especially nice to reconnect with friends. My friend Camille graciously provided me with lodging, yummy breakfast oatmeal and tours of the area including an opportunity to get my feet wet in the ocean. We spent a number of hours discussing our approaches to guitar and playing tunes. Mark, a very seasoned player and his spouse, Jennifer traveled from Chicago to attend camp. Their joyful approach to life is infectious. Richard provided us with excellent instruction as we freshened our skills and broached new musical territory. It seemed as though the topics and structure of camp fit my needs and desires perfectly. I had the opportunity to improve upon "Scarborough Faire" and to work on developing some sort of comfort level with slide. We planted the seeds for learning "Thumbsing", one of my favorite Gilewitz tunes and for Richard's arrangement of "Sunflower River Blues", a John Fahey piece I have wanted to learn since I first heard Richard play his arrangement nearly three years ago. The camp location at the Full Moon concert venue was perfect. The owners have an amazingly nice venue situated on their farm. They have converted a barn into a little concert hall complete with a really nice sound system, lighting and enough space to accommodate an audience numbering of around 100.
Saturday's menu included some timing work to warm us up, picking pattern practice that Richard used to orchestrate us into an ensemble, slide exercises and Scarborough Faire. After we worked on "Scarborough Faire" on Saturday, Richard had me come up and play it for the group using his LR Baggs Acoustic Reference Amp for sound. I think I may have been the only student with experience playing that particular arrangement prior to Saturday's session. Richard quickly targeted my timing flaws. There isn't much that gets past el Maestro. Since I've been working on this piece for over a year my mistakes are pretty entrenched. He upped my apprehension by telling me I'd be playing the piece again on Sunday on the "BIG STAGE". Holy Panic! Batman! Although I was nervous during my mini performance, I was calm enough to avoid the dreaded adrenalin hand tremors. All in all Saturday's activities offered up really big delicious and nutritious musical meal. Can you tell that I composed that last sentence while being hungry.
Saturday evening was truly grand. After a bit of a break, Camille and I returned to Full Moon for the evening's concert. David and Terri played a fun and varied opening set that featured vocals, guitar and piano. I can see why they put together their own little theatre paradise because they obviously enjoyed performing together and their set was solid and entertaining. Richard followed with a spectacular two set concert. He was hot from the first number to the last and the crowd was very receptive. In fact Dave and Terri said Richard's show set a new attendance record. I just love these opportunities to see Richard play. I try to absorb as much of his technique as possible, but I'm don't possess the ability to pick up music from listening to it. I definitely envy those who have that advantage. Maybe this is something I will develop as I become more experienced but it does seem to be a natural thing for some players. I, in contrast, need as many visible crutches as possible like having the music to reference. I do benefit from listening to the music I am learning and practicing. It helps me internalize the tunes and rhythms.
Sunday morning started pleasantly. Camille and I rose reasonably early with the intention of heading to the ocean. I had lamented that last June, even though I had spent seven days in Coral Gables, I never made it to the ocean. Camille was determined to rectify that situation so we used a couple hours of free time to go to the beach where we got our feet wet and watched the surf. As I said a great way to start the day. This adventure was followed by brunch with the Gillacampers and back to work at Full Moon where we worked on learning Thumbsing and Sunflower River Blues and participated in a master class. The master class format had each of us performing up on stage. I was the first one up and did a reprise of Scarborough Faire. I surprised myself and settled right into playing. I stumbled in a couple places but was able to continue playing despite of the bloopers. Then each camper, David, Terri and Richard all made comments. Lots of helpful stuff was shared and one of the campers, a newer player, said I was his new hero. He was very complimentary. It felt good to have someone appreciate my playing but I was quickly brought back to earth by the critiques of the more experienced folks and Richard who able to give me some excellent pointers that covered stage presence, dynamics and timing. It meant a lot when Richard said that I appeared to be relaxed during my performance and he was looking for me to show signs of stress. He said I had entered the next stage, the first stage is becoming so stressed that you screw up and cannot complete the tune. The next stage is being able to mask the nervousness. I think I like this thing of performing first, if I have to wait for everyone else to play then the apprehension builds. After I was finished I was able to relax and focus upon trying to provide helpful critiques for the other players. Mark did a really nice job of showcasing one of his compositions and he has a nice relaxed stage presence. Another guitarist name John also played a really nice personal composition with a zen like quality. Camille was the Gillacamp idol although when she played one of her tunes. Everyone was very impressed and she was pleasantly shocked by the positive reaction. At the conclusion of the master class Gillacamp was officially over and it was time to pack up the gear and direct our attention to a post camp party where we all had the chance to kick back, socialize and reflect on the weekend's activities. I found myself feeling a bit blue. This has become a Gillacamp pattern because I simply do not want the workshop to end. We returned to Camille's home after the party and I had to get myself packed for an early morning exit. In fact I was driving down the highway towards the Orlando airport by 6am. Yawn.
With each Gillacamp experience, my appetite for learning increases and my capacity of internalization expands. In the beginning it was everything I could do to get my right hand fingers to hit the correct strings in the proper order. I had no concept about timing and rhythm. Music theory was something I knew existed but I completely lacked any knowledge base. I was like one of those journals you can buy from B and N with blank pages waiting to be filled. Some of those pages are being filled but there are an infinite number waiting for attention. I am having a great time working on alternating bass rhythms and a wide range picking patterns with increasing dexterity and speed. Memorization of pieces of music has shifted from being absolute frustration to being an absorbing challenge. I can work out the timing of many pieces, my notation reading is improving and I am developing a fundamental knowledge of theory. Richard has remarked that my tone and hand position are good so my efforts on those mechanics are paying off. It is especially exciting is that my energy and drive have not dissipated. I actually have a repertoire. It is varied and in need of constant attention as I work to get each piece worthy of playing for an audience. Realistically none of the pieces are polished enough for performance. I have been making gains and at the same time I have much to learn as this journey continues.
I have been making time for guitar practice on a daily basis. In fact I cannot remember a time when I didn't manage at least an hour of playing time each day. Well wait a minute there was the day we flew back from Ireland. It's pretty tough to play guitar when it is packed away in the bowels of an airplane.
Certainly the high point of the past few months has been my trip to Inverness, Florida for the Floral City Gillacamp held at Full Moon Concerts the venue owned and operated by David and Terri Hartman. This intensive workshop filled the final weekend of February and it again required that I pack up my gear and board a plane. Although I am still quite an "amateur", I am becoming much more comfortable with negotiating flight arrangements, rental cars, airports etc.
Gillacamp, as always, was a fantastic experience! I had the privilege of meeting another batch of dedicated guitarists from Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, Arkansas and Illinois. It was especially nice to reconnect with friends. My friend Camille graciously provided me with lodging, yummy breakfast oatmeal and tours of the area including an opportunity to get my feet wet in the ocean. We spent a number of hours discussing our approaches to guitar and playing tunes. Mark, a very seasoned player and his spouse, Jennifer traveled from Chicago to attend camp. Their joyful approach to life is infectious. Richard provided us with excellent instruction as we freshened our skills and broached new musical territory. It seemed as though the topics and structure of camp fit my needs and desires perfectly. I had the opportunity to improve upon "Scarborough Faire" and to work on developing some sort of comfort level with slide. We planted the seeds for learning "Thumbsing", one of my favorite Gilewitz tunes and for Richard's arrangement of "Sunflower River Blues", a John Fahey piece I have wanted to learn since I first heard Richard play his arrangement nearly three years ago. The camp location at the Full Moon concert venue was perfect. The owners have an amazingly nice venue situated on their farm. They have converted a barn into a little concert hall complete with a really nice sound system, lighting and enough space to accommodate an audience numbering of around 100.
Saturday's menu included some timing work to warm us up, picking pattern practice that Richard used to orchestrate us into an ensemble, slide exercises and Scarborough Faire. After we worked on "Scarborough Faire" on Saturday, Richard had me come up and play it for the group using his LR Baggs Acoustic Reference Amp for sound. I think I may have been the only student with experience playing that particular arrangement prior to Saturday's session. Richard quickly targeted my timing flaws. There isn't much that gets past el Maestro. Since I've been working on this piece for over a year my mistakes are pretty entrenched. He upped my apprehension by telling me I'd be playing the piece again on Sunday on the "BIG STAGE". Holy Panic! Batman! Although I was nervous during my mini performance, I was calm enough to avoid the dreaded adrenalin hand tremors. All in all Saturday's activities offered up really big delicious and nutritious musical meal. Can you tell that I composed that last sentence while being hungry.
Saturday evening was truly grand. After a bit of a break, Camille and I returned to Full Moon for the evening's concert. David and Terri played a fun and varied opening set that featured vocals, guitar and piano. I can see why they put together their own little theatre paradise because they obviously enjoyed performing together and their set was solid and entertaining. Richard followed with a spectacular two set concert. He was hot from the first number to the last and the crowd was very receptive. In fact Dave and Terri said Richard's show set a new attendance record. I just love these opportunities to see Richard play. I try to absorb as much of his technique as possible, but I'm don't possess the ability to pick up music from listening to it. I definitely envy those who have that advantage. Maybe this is something I will develop as I become more experienced but it does seem to be a natural thing for some players. I, in contrast, need as many visible crutches as possible like having the music to reference. I do benefit from listening to the music I am learning and practicing. It helps me internalize the tunes and rhythms.
Sunday morning started pleasantly. Camille and I rose reasonably early with the intention of heading to the ocean. I had lamented that last June, even though I had spent seven days in Coral Gables, I never made it to the ocean. Camille was determined to rectify that situation so we used a couple hours of free time to go to the beach where we got our feet wet and watched the surf. As I said a great way to start the day. This adventure was followed by brunch with the Gillacampers and back to work at Full Moon where we worked on learning Thumbsing and Sunflower River Blues and participated in a master class. The master class format had each of us performing up on stage. I was the first one up and did a reprise of Scarborough Faire. I surprised myself and settled right into playing. I stumbled in a couple places but was able to continue playing despite of the bloopers. Then each camper, David, Terri and Richard all made comments. Lots of helpful stuff was shared and one of the campers, a newer player, said I was his new hero. He was very complimentary. It felt good to have someone appreciate my playing but I was quickly brought back to earth by the critiques of the more experienced folks and Richard who able to give me some excellent pointers that covered stage presence, dynamics and timing. It meant a lot when Richard said that I appeared to be relaxed during my performance and he was looking for me to show signs of stress. He said I had entered the next stage, the first stage is becoming so stressed that you screw up and cannot complete the tune. The next stage is being able to mask the nervousness. I think I like this thing of performing first, if I have to wait for everyone else to play then the apprehension builds. After I was finished I was able to relax and focus upon trying to provide helpful critiques for the other players. Mark did a really nice job of showcasing one of his compositions and he has a nice relaxed stage presence. Another guitarist name John also played a really nice personal composition with a zen like quality. Camille was the Gillacamp idol although when she played one of her tunes. Everyone was very impressed and she was pleasantly shocked by the positive reaction. At the conclusion of the master class Gillacamp was officially over and it was time to pack up the gear and direct our attention to a post camp party where we all had the chance to kick back, socialize and reflect on the weekend's activities. I found myself feeling a bit blue. This has become a Gillacamp pattern because I simply do not want the workshop to end. We returned to Camille's home after the party and I had to get myself packed for an early morning exit. In fact I was driving down the highway towards the Orlando airport by 6am. Yawn.
With each Gillacamp experience, my appetite for learning increases and my capacity of internalization expands. In the beginning it was everything I could do to get my right hand fingers to hit the correct strings in the proper order. I had no concept about timing and rhythm. Music theory was something I knew existed but I completely lacked any knowledge base. I was like one of those journals you can buy from B and N with blank pages waiting to be filled. Some of those pages are being filled but there are an infinite number waiting for attention. I am having a great time working on alternating bass rhythms and a wide range picking patterns with increasing dexterity and speed. Memorization of pieces of music has shifted from being absolute frustration to being an absorbing challenge. I can work out the timing of many pieces, my notation reading is improving and I am developing a fundamental knowledge of theory. Richard has remarked that my tone and hand position are good so my efforts on those mechanics are paying off. It is especially exciting is that my energy and drive have not dissipated. I actually have a repertoire. It is varied and in need of constant attention as I work to get each piece worthy of playing for an audience. Realistically none of the pieces are polished enough for performance. I have been making gains and at the same time I have much to learn as this journey continues.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Autumn Has Been Non-Stop With Activity-Oct.&Nov.2010
This October and November have been filled with an incredible amount of activity. In October NP UNplugged finally had its first Open Mic Night. It was arranged in record time to coordinate with the annual NPHS Open House. We had four acts consisting of eight performers, including myself. I provided impromptu guitar accompaniment for two singers. What a challenge, especially since I was only afforded a couple hours to get my head around two songs I had never heard before. For one of the tunes, I had 15 minutes preparation prior to performance time. The kids had a great time and parents seemed to appreciate their children having an opportunity to perform. Playing the role of back up musician gave me a bit of much needed stage time towards conquering the stage fright gremlin that I constantly harbor. I video-taped the performances but really haven't had the chance to review the recordings. I was very proud of the students.
Much of my time during the past four months has been directed towards preparing for Richard Gilewitz's visit to Michiana. I had orchestrated programs at all of our schools in the NPUSC district and for a concert/workshop at Fire Arts Inc.(the 3-D art based non-profit that I helped found)in South Bend.
Nearly a year earlier I made arrangements for Richard to appear on the Back Porch for an interview with show co-producer, Norm Mast. The Back Porch is a live acoustic music radio show broadcast on Sunday evenings on WVPE by our local NPR affiliate. This interview opened up the week's events with Richard. The broadcast went great as Richard masterfully handled the situation. He displays confidence while dealing with an audience whether they are connected by radio waves or sharing space in the same room. Somehow he manages to be simultaneously entertaining, artistically impressive, humorous, informative and engaging. I again experienced that privileged "fly on a wall" feeling since I was allowed to be in the studio during his interview.
This whole period has been an exciting time marked by hustling here and there, arranging for sound equipment(my Stagepas 500 portable PA played an invaluable role in Cougar Den and at Fire Arts), coordinating concert staging and sound checks at NPHS with Gail Bannister and Greg Hulbert, getting all the ducks in a row for Richard's compensation, countless emails written, school announcements and phone calls made, filling out forms for this that and the other, developing schedules for the school day performances/clinics at NPHS, NPMS, Olive, Prairie View and Rolling Prairie Elementary Schools, arranging lodging for Richard and generally keeping all the stake holders informed and prepared.
In October, I used my artistic and photoshop skills to create two posters for the concerts at NPHS and Fire Arts. I was pleased with the results. Once these were printed I delivered the Fire Arts' concert posters to businesses and public venues in the South Bend area and the LaPorte area received posters for the NPHS concert. I also wrote up event announcements and submitted them to every news agency I could think of within the geographic area as well as to educational and civic organizations in the area.
Here is how the week progressed and after reviewing everything, I am not sure how Richard survived it all.
Sunday-The Back Porch interview
Monday-Morning concert and seminars at NPMS
Tuesday-Workshops and seminars at NPHS
Thursday-Morning concerts/seminars at three elementary schools
Friday-evening concert at NPHS
Saturday-workshop and concert in Livonia, Mi
Sunday-workshop and concert at Fire Arts
This simple list merely outlines all the activities and doesn't come close to detailing the energy needed to make it happen.
Richard's week at the schools opened with a very early morning concert at NPMS. Can you image presenting a concert to a whole school of kids(around 700 students) at 7:30 am. I sometimes have difficulty facing a group of 20 kids for my first class of the day at that time. Well Richard managed to pull that off and then he followed it up with a series of classroom presentations that didn't conclude until around noon. I received very positive feed-back from three of the instructors at the middle schools. They were extremely pleased with Richard's presentations. One down and two more intense school days to go as Tuesday brought a day of activities to NPHS.
I want to include some of detail about Tuesday's activities at the HS since I was able to observe one of the workshop sessions that was open to student guitarists and the seminar for the band classes. We had between 15 and 20 students attend the guitar workshops. From my point of view the participants were attentive and engaged throughout both sessions. Richard adapted to the group's "needs" after his discovery that the experienced kids really wanted to perform and have him critique their performances. The kids ate this up and they were very supportive of each other as well. I enjoyed seeing that aspect blossom. Because I was teaching a class, I missed the first workshop but during this one Richard went over fingerstyle technique and introduced a couple of pieces of music to the students. I had a number of students approach me the next day to tell me how much they enjoyed both of their workshop experiences. At the close of the second workshop the kids begged Richard to play some tunes for them. Of course they had to request "Stairway to Heaven" and Richard had them "drop-jawed" as he played and embellished the well-known riffs of this Led Zeppelin piece. I enjoyed watching the students' faces light up and huge smiles break across their faces while they watched Richard nimbly negotiate the fretboard. They were equally appreciative of his rendition of The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun". I think some of them left with bruised arms as their neighbors elbowed them to share and indicate enthusiastic approval.
Later in the day we shifted activity to the Cougar Den, a large classroom with a stage and terraced seating. Every one of the 100+ seats was filled by members of the band, choir classes and the workshop attendees. This time Richard performed several tunes and responded to questions from the audience. Again the kids were riveted. Questions flowed especially from the workshop kids who felt the most comfortable since they had developed a rapport with Richard. He also used these students to help set up and break down the stage area. Their conscripted efforts became a learning experience as Richard explained speaker and mic arrangement, sound adjustment etc.
Richard had a well-deserved day off on Wednesday as I went through my daily teaching routine. Our evenings throughout the week consisted of going over the week's schedule, sharing meals at local eateries, and squeezing in a movie or two. I confess to hacking away at sleeping time to make everything happen. Especially valuable for me were the opportunities to work in some individual lesson time which is wonderful compensation for the stress that naturally accompanies this sort of activity. During our lesson time Richard introduced some slide technique, critiqued my right hand mechanics and helped me improve upon the performance of some of my tunes. I found myself feeling almost desperate to take advantage Richard's accessibility. I have this constant drive fueling my efforts to learn whether it is through observation by attending Richard's concerts or direct instruction. There is this nagging pressure to take advantage of having a master teacher within reach. Every minute lost is truly expended and cannot be regained. I felt this same desperation to take advantage of opportunities when I had my lesson time with David Walbert. Life is short and my opportunities to improve as a musician are limited. A negatively minded person would develop a "why bother" attitude but I seem to possess an intrinsic bend towards the creative process. Being creatively productive is as necessary as breathing, sleeping and eating. Richard once asked me why I will bother to attend three of his consecutive concerts when it is geographically possible. I have only recently been able to put the answer to words. His concerts are not mere entertainment for me. They are educational opportunities. I observe his techniques, listen to timing, cadence, and note quality as I essentially try to internalize as much as possible about the mechanics and aesthetics of the performances.
It's a good thing Richard had a day of rest on Wednesday because Thursday made up for it. He started the day at Olive Elementary, then moved onto Prairie View and concluded at Rolling Prairie. He presented concerts and Q & A sessions for the student bodies of each school starting at 8:00 am and finally wrapping up at 2:45 pm. In all over 1500 students were entertained and informed. Reports have come back to me that the kids really enjoyed themselves. Later in the evening Richard and I went back to the district where we met Gail Bannister and Greg Hulbert for a sound and lighting check for the Friday evening concert. This session went very smoothly and the sound was the best it's been in three years. In fact, using Richard's tweaks, Gail and Greg agreed that the sound was the best they had ever heard in the auditorium. Everyone left feeling rather euphoric and anticipating the concert the next evening.
My first chance within this tour to experience Richard in concert was conveniently staged at NPHS in our auditorium. The sound, with Richard's expert guidance, wonderfully filled this large space. This is the third annual concert here and familiarity has bred exceptional auditory results. Richard as the artist and Gail and Greg as supportive personnel have become quite a team that together produced a very professional and quality experience for an impressed and appreciative audience. Richard nailed his tunes and his humor gave everyone a much needed opportunity to sit back and shuck all the stress of the work week.
Early Saturday morning I drove to Livonia, Mi to attend a Gillacamp and the second of three of his weekend concerts. The workshop and concert were staged at Trinity House Theatre which is one of my favorite intimate venues. Since I had this tune memorized, I came into the workshop with the goal of improving the piece and making it a real part of my personal repertoire. I again took a stab at the hot seat by performing "Anji" and one of the other more experienced participants jumped aboard my train and we performed it as a duet until I allowed it to become derailed resulting in some vocal protestations from Richard. ARggh.
Richard again nailed his tunes and jokes throughout that evening's concert. Even though much of the menu was different from the NPHS concert the quality of the performance was exceptional, attesting to his vast and accomplished repertoire. I truly don't know how someone can keep that much music in their head and be able to randomly perform it and at such a high level. Actually I suppose I do know....something like desire and dedicated practice laser focused for decades at the goal of being the best possible guitarist.
Round three began early Sunday morning as I drug myself out of my cozy bed at the Hyatt(thanks Hotwire for the cheap luxury room)and got out on the road arriving home in time to make it to Fire Arts ahead of Richard and make sure things were set for that evening's performance and to get things arranged for the workshop that afternoon. I consider the workshops to be my "selfish" time and I again had a few hours to devout to improving my repertoire. This time my focus was on Walbert's "Study for Margot" and I gleaned some ways to adjust left hand fingering and to add interest and smoothness to the notes. It is always fun to nudge a piece towards improvement.
The evening brought the final concert of Gilewitz Immersion 2010. We staged this fund raising event in the gallery of Fire Arts which is a cozy and unique atmosphere enhanced by being surrounded by displays of the sculpture and pottery of our member artists. An enthusiastic audience was treated to Richard's third two-set concert of the weekend. Even though he was understandably tired from a very intense week of performances, seminars, programs and workshops, no one could discern it. He approached this wrap-up show with as much energy and enthusiasm as the first show on the previous Friday. During all three concerts I don't believe a single member of these audiences left feeling like they weren't treated to anything less than exceptional displays of fingerstyle guitar skill presented in an unpretentious and relaxed atmosphere that was made even more valuable by the opportunity for laugh therapy.
So how does all this affect me as a guitarist? How could it not? Simply planning and implementing the events that I was responsible for tested and contributed to my knowledge of the life of a performing artist. In a sense I was a conductor and at times a delegator. I had many opportunities to learn about playing guitar, including technique, staging and sound adjustment, to learn about developing a repertoire, connecting with an audience, pushing past exhaustion, and making helpful people feel appreciated. I tend to be a spur of the moment sort of person. Everything would have fallen to bits if I applied that attitude to these events. I am constantly reminded of the rewards of hard work. My playing has certainly improved since Gillacamp 2008 and that is the result of two factors, having an excellent instructor and possessing the willingness to do the work. Will I ever develop the confidence to officially throw myself at the mercy of an audience? That remains to be seen. I'd say I am closer to that prospect than ever, but not there yet. Confidence in my repertoire is building, but I still haven't learned to relax, I still get the jitters bad enough to cause mental hiccups. All in due time....
Much of my time during the past four months has been directed towards preparing for Richard Gilewitz's visit to Michiana. I had orchestrated programs at all of our schools in the NPUSC district and for a concert/workshop at Fire Arts Inc.(the 3-D art based non-profit that I helped found)in South Bend.
Nearly a year earlier I made arrangements for Richard to appear on the Back Porch for an interview with show co-producer, Norm Mast. The Back Porch is a live acoustic music radio show broadcast on Sunday evenings on WVPE by our local NPR affiliate. This interview opened up the week's events with Richard. The broadcast went great as Richard masterfully handled the situation. He displays confidence while dealing with an audience whether they are connected by radio waves or sharing space in the same room. Somehow he manages to be simultaneously entertaining, artistically impressive, humorous, informative and engaging. I again experienced that privileged "fly on a wall" feeling since I was allowed to be in the studio during his interview.
This whole period has been an exciting time marked by hustling here and there, arranging for sound equipment(my Stagepas 500 portable PA played an invaluable role in Cougar Den and at Fire Arts), coordinating concert staging and sound checks at NPHS with Gail Bannister and Greg Hulbert, getting all the ducks in a row for Richard's compensation, countless emails written, school announcements and phone calls made, filling out forms for this that and the other, developing schedules for the school day performances/clinics at NPHS, NPMS, Olive, Prairie View and Rolling Prairie Elementary Schools, arranging lodging for Richard and generally keeping all the stake holders informed and prepared.
In October, I used my artistic and photoshop skills to create two posters for the concerts at NPHS and Fire Arts. I was pleased with the results. Once these were printed I delivered the Fire Arts' concert posters to businesses and public venues in the South Bend area and the LaPorte area received posters for the NPHS concert. I also wrote up event announcements and submitted them to every news agency I could think of within the geographic area as well as to educational and civic organizations in the area.
Here is how the week progressed and after reviewing everything, I am not sure how Richard survived it all.
Sunday-The Back Porch interview
Monday-Morning concert and seminars at NPMS
Tuesday-Workshops and seminars at NPHS
Thursday-Morning concerts/seminars at three elementary schools
Friday-evening concert at NPHS
Saturday-workshop and concert in Livonia, Mi
Sunday-workshop and concert at Fire Arts
This simple list merely outlines all the activities and doesn't come close to detailing the energy needed to make it happen.
Richard's week at the schools opened with a very early morning concert at NPMS. Can you image presenting a concert to a whole school of kids(around 700 students) at 7:30 am. I sometimes have difficulty facing a group of 20 kids for my first class of the day at that time. Well Richard managed to pull that off and then he followed it up with a series of classroom presentations that didn't conclude until around noon. I received very positive feed-back from three of the instructors at the middle schools. They were extremely pleased with Richard's presentations. One down and two more intense school days to go as Tuesday brought a day of activities to NPHS.
I want to include some of detail about Tuesday's activities at the HS since I was able to observe one of the workshop sessions that was open to student guitarists and the seminar for the band classes. We had between 15 and 20 students attend the guitar workshops. From my point of view the participants were attentive and engaged throughout both sessions. Richard adapted to the group's "needs" after his discovery that the experienced kids really wanted to perform and have him critique their performances. The kids ate this up and they were very supportive of each other as well. I enjoyed seeing that aspect blossom. Because I was teaching a class, I missed the first workshop but during this one Richard went over fingerstyle technique and introduced a couple of pieces of music to the students. I had a number of students approach me the next day to tell me how much they enjoyed both of their workshop experiences. At the close of the second workshop the kids begged Richard to play some tunes for them. Of course they had to request "Stairway to Heaven" and Richard had them "drop-jawed" as he played and embellished the well-known riffs of this Led Zeppelin piece. I enjoyed watching the students' faces light up and huge smiles break across their faces while they watched Richard nimbly negotiate the fretboard. They were equally appreciative of his rendition of The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun". I think some of them left with bruised arms as their neighbors elbowed them to share and indicate enthusiastic approval.
Later in the day we shifted activity to the Cougar Den, a large classroom with a stage and terraced seating. Every one of the 100+ seats was filled by members of the band, choir classes and the workshop attendees. This time Richard performed several tunes and responded to questions from the audience. Again the kids were riveted. Questions flowed especially from the workshop kids who felt the most comfortable since they had developed a rapport with Richard. He also used these students to help set up and break down the stage area. Their conscripted efforts became a learning experience as Richard explained speaker and mic arrangement, sound adjustment etc.
Richard had a well-deserved day off on Wednesday as I went through my daily teaching routine. Our evenings throughout the week consisted of going over the week's schedule, sharing meals at local eateries, and squeezing in a movie or two. I confess to hacking away at sleeping time to make everything happen. Especially valuable for me were the opportunities to work in some individual lesson time which is wonderful compensation for the stress that naturally accompanies this sort of activity. During our lesson time Richard introduced some slide technique, critiqued my right hand mechanics and helped me improve upon the performance of some of my tunes. I found myself feeling almost desperate to take advantage Richard's accessibility. I have this constant drive fueling my efforts to learn whether it is through observation by attending Richard's concerts or direct instruction. There is this nagging pressure to take advantage of having a master teacher within reach. Every minute lost is truly expended and cannot be regained. I felt this same desperation to take advantage of opportunities when I had my lesson time with David Walbert. Life is short and my opportunities to improve as a musician are limited. A negatively minded person would develop a "why bother" attitude but I seem to possess an intrinsic bend towards the creative process. Being creatively productive is as necessary as breathing, sleeping and eating. Richard once asked me why I will bother to attend three of his consecutive concerts when it is geographically possible. I have only recently been able to put the answer to words. His concerts are not mere entertainment for me. They are educational opportunities. I observe his techniques, listen to timing, cadence, and note quality as I essentially try to internalize as much as possible about the mechanics and aesthetics of the performances.
It's a good thing Richard had a day of rest on Wednesday because Thursday made up for it. He started the day at Olive Elementary, then moved onto Prairie View and concluded at Rolling Prairie. He presented concerts and Q & A sessions for the student bodies of each school starting at 8:00 am and finally wrapping up at 2:45 pm. In all over 1500 students were entertained and informed. Reports have come back to me that the kids really enjoyed themselves. Later in the evening Richard and I went back to the district where we met Gail Bannister and Greg Hulbert for a sound and lighting check for the Friday evening concert. This session went very smoothly and the sound was the best it's been in three years. In fact, using Richard's tweaks, Gail and Greg agreed that the sound was the best they had ever heard in the auditorium. Everyone left feeling rather euphoric and anticipating the concert the next evening.
My first chance within this tour to experience Richard in concert was conveniently staged at NPHS in our auditorium. The sound, with Richard's expert guidance, wonderfully filled this large space. This is the third annual concert here and familiarity has bred exceptional auditory results. Richard as the artist and Gail and Greg as supportive personnel have become quite a team that together produced a very professional and quality experience for an impressed and appreciative audience. Richard nailed his tunes and his humor gave everyone a much needed opportunity to sit back and shuck all the stress of the work week.
Early Saturday morning I drove to Livonia, Mi to attend a Gillacamp and the second of three of his weekend concerts. The workshop and concert were staged at Trinity House Theatre which is one of my favorite intimate venues. Since I had this tune memorized, I came into the workshop with the goal of improving the piece and making it a real part of my personal repertoire. I again took a stab at the hot seat by performing "Anji" and one of the other more experienced participants jumped aboard my train and we performed it as a duet until I allowed it to become derailed resulting in some vocal protestations from Richard. ARggh.
Richard again nailed his tunes and jokes throughout that evening's concert. Even though much of the menu was different from the NPHS concert the quality of the performance was exceptional, attesting to his vast and accomplished repertoire. I truly don't know how someone can keep that much music in their head and be able to randomly perform it and at such a high level. Actually I suppose I do know....something like desire and dedicated practice laser focused for decades at the goal of being the best possible guitarist.
Round three began early Sunday morning as I drug myself out of my cozy bed at the Hyatt(thanks Hotwire for the cheap luxury room)and got out on the road arriving home in time to make it to Fire Arts ahead of Richard and make sure things were set for that evening's performance and to get things arranged for the workshop that afternoon. I consider the workshops to be my "selfish" time and I again had a few hours to devout to improving my repertoire. This time my focus was on Walbert's "Study for Margot" and I gleaned some ways to adjust left hand fingering and to add interest and smoothness to the notes. It is always fun to nudge a piece towards improvement.
The evening brought the final concert of Gilewitz Immersion 2010. We staged this fund raising event in the gallery of Fire Arts which is a cozy and unique atmosphere enhanced by being surrounded by displays of the sculpture and pottery of our member artists. An enthusiastic audience was treated to Richard's third two-set concert of the weekend. Even though he was understandably tired from a very intense week of performances, seminars, programs and workshops, no one could discern it. He approached this wrap-up show with as much energy and enthusiasm as the first show on the previous Friday. During all three concerts I don't believe a single member of these audiences left feeling like they weren't treated to anything less than exceptional displays of fingerstyle guitar skill presented in an unpretentious and relaxed atmosphere that was made even more valuable by the opportunity for laugh therapy.
So how does all this affect me as a guitarist? How could it not? Simply planning and implementing the events that I was responsible for tested and contributed to my knowledge of the life of a performing artist. In a sense I was a conductor and at times a delegator. I had many opportunities to learn about playing guitar, including technique, staging and sound adjustment, to learn about developing a repertoire, connecting with an audience, pushing past exhaustion, and making helpful people feel appreciated. I tend to be a spur of the moment sort of person. Everything would have fallen to bits if I applied that attitude to these events. I am constantly reminded of the rewards of hard work. My playing has certainly improved since Gillacamp 2008 and that is the result of two factors, having an excellent instructor and possessing the willingness to do the work. Will I ever develop the confidence to officially throw myself at the mercy of an audience? That remains to be seen. I'd say I am closer to that prospect than ever, but not there yet. Confidence in my repertoire is building, but I still haven't learned to relax, I still get the jitters bad enough to cause mental hiccups. All in due time....
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