30 August 2011

Piobaireachd Tuesday

Over the last few weeks, I've been working (independently) on a new piobaireachd called "Sheep in Buchts, Kye in Fiels" by Jeanette Montague.  You can read about it here and be sure to listen to P/M Roger Huth play it - follow the link at the bottom - the music is there too.  I really like this piece - it's not terribly difficult, but it's extremely melodic and (I think) lends itself well to interpretation.

I don't play it exactly the way P/M Huth does.  I play it a bit up-tempo, as I think of it as a 'calling tune'...P/M Huth plays it a bit more pastoral.  The difference in my mind is between the shepherd calling in the sheep and cows versus sitting in the fields with them watching them munch on grass and stuff.  (What do I know about cows and sheep anyway?  Don't listen to me!)  Besides that, I think the biggest difference is that he holds onto the cut note in the 3rd beat of each phrase, where I cut them a little shorter (Dan calls them the "and" notes and he was always telling me to not overlook them), but instead I accentuate the cheredes in the first beats.  And my edres and dares need GOBS more work.  And I want to go back and review both the rhythms of the cadences on C & B as well as the hiharin as I'm playing both movements quite differently.

I debated with myself whether I was going to upload the video of myself playing the tune.  I got a little too close and overwhelmed the mic just a bit with the chanter.  And my drones are out of tune.  It wasn't so noticeable to me (and I have a pretty decent ear for my drones), but on the recording, it's awful.  But I thought to present an honest picture of self-critique, I had to post it and acknowledge its awfulness.  So, here it is...watch at your own risk:



Things to work on:
1.  Rhythms of cadences to C & B.
2.  Rhythm of hiharins.
3.  Tighten up edres and dares.
4.  Stand farther from mic & make sure drones are in better tune!
 

29 August 2011

Monday March Work

Today I worked on "Jim McBay's Welcome", the 2/4 march I'm working on for solo competition next season.  Lately, I've gotten really sloppy on the last part, and I figured I'd spend this practice trying to figure out what exactly I was doing wrong and how to fix it. 

There is a very tricky hold-cut-cut-hold rhythm in the second bar that goes: (g gracenote) D, F, (g gracenote) C, E  that my brain just can't seem to wrap my fingers around.  I can play it just fine if I omit the g gracenote before the C, but I'd get docked for that, so somehow I have to figure out how to get it in there.  I've tried my tricks of slowing it way down and building it backwards from the problem spot...still, no dice. 

After about 40 minutes of working on just this part, I think I finally figured out what I'm doing wrong.  I think that I was still false-fingering the C a little bit when I lift to finger the E.  My bottom hand was just not coming down fast enough.  So I slowed it down AGAIN - so much so that the taorluaths are starting to interrupt the flow - and I think I might have worked it out.  Here's the video:


Bagpipes are a humbling mistress.  If you're not paying attention to them on a regular basis, they'll make sure you know they're feeling neglected.  I'll let this percolate overnight and maybe tomorrow I'll put it up on pipes to see if it stuck.

28 August 2011

Sunday Sight Reading

On Sundays, I like to go through my music book and find a good tune to practice and hone my sight reading skills.  I'll go for any kind of tune, as long as it's catchy.  Generally, these tunes do not become part of my permanent repertoire - they are one day stands.  Rarely do I even put them up on pipes.
 
For this Sunday's sight reading practice, I chose "Balkan Hills", a 2/4 march (#215 in Scots Guards Vol. I).  I like this tune a lot.  It has a great bounce and some interesting (and tricky) rhythms, not to mention the rodins from D down to low A.  I love it when piobaireachd movements make it into the light music.  I may work on getting this one polished up and getting it up on pipes.  Who knows - it may replace "Jim McBay's Welcome" as my 2/4 march of choice...

Anyway, here's the video:
Few things to note:
1.  The first D throw is muddy and needs to be better articulated.
2.  I missed the high A doubling in the 3rd bar of the second part BOTH TIMES!
3.  I missed the E doubling in the run on the 3rd bar of the second part BOTH TIMES!
4.  I missed the E doubling in the run on the 3rd bar of the third part BOTH TIMES!
5.  I added a high G doubling in the run on the 3rd bar of the third part the second time through instead of playing the high A gracenote.
6.  I muddied the grip on high A in the 3rd bar of the fourth part the second time through.
7.  I missed a few high A gracenotes throughout.

All in all, it's not bad.