Man, Have I Been Practicing
There are times when all I want to do is practice. This is one of those times. Usually, I practice anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour a day depending on what else I've got going on. Lately, though, I've been possesed by my pipes. I've been puttin in around two hours each night squeezin' the bag. I've finished my first reed using the Brian Howard reed cane and things have been sounding great. The high octave is a breeze to play and some of the transitions that have usually given me grief have finally started working out. I don't know if it's the reed or me but one thing I can do consistently that I couldn't before was go from a high E to a high A cut, like you have to do on some of the tunes I'm learning (The Mist Covered Mountain, for example). Before when I tried that, the A would drop into the first octave as soon as I did the cut, but now, I'm doin' it all the time.
When I was first starting out, I asked everybody who was any good how long they practiced. I figured if I did what they did, then I would be able to play like they did. The answers I got varied wildly but they boiled down to this: practice a lot. Every day. A little bit each day is better that longer periods spread far apart.
I've tried to take this advice and have practiced at least 10 minutes on very busy days and longer when I can. Ten minutes is hardly time to get the reed warmed up and in tune, but it's better than nothing. Another thing I've been doing is playing through the crap. By that I mean, I don't constantly worry about whether the pipes are in tune, I just play. I need to build muscle memory in my fingers more than I need to hear music in tune (at least right now). Sometimes it's pretty bad - remember the choking peacock? - but I plow through it. I figure I waste a lot of valuable practice time futzing around with adjustments, so I just do it once in a while.
It may be time to write about another plateau.
One more thing, just found out that Lord of the Dance is coming to the Pepsi Center here in Denver in January. Heh, heh.
Should I stay or should I go?...
When I was first starting out, I asked everybody who was any good how long they practiced. I figured if I did what they did, then I would be able to play like they did. The answers I got varied wildly but they boiled down to this: practice a lot. Every day. A little bit each day is better that longer periods spread far apart.
I've tried to take this advice and have practiced at least 10 minutes on very busy days and longer when I can. Ten minutes is hardly time to get the reed warmed up and in tune, but it's better than nothing. Another thing I've been doing is playing through the crap. By that I mean, I don't constantly worry about whether the pipes are in tune, I just play. I need to build muscle memory in my fingers more than I need to hear music in tune (at least right now). Sometimes it's pretty bad - remember the choking peacock? - but I plow through it. I figure I waste a lot of valuable practice time futzing around with adjustments, so I just do it once in a while.
It may be time to write about another plateau.
One more thing, just found out that Lord of the Dance is coming to the Pepsi Center here in Denver in January. Heh, heh.
Should I stay or should I go?...
posted by Tony Darnell | 11:34 PM
1 Comments:
You should definently go.
Good nugget of info that about 10 minutes. I've currently been so swamped with things that I haven't really touched the pipes let alone played them for.... probably 2 weeks or more (!!! !!!). And not one day goes by that I don't feel bad about it.
And now i'm gonna move and start going to school, the school is bagpipe-safe. But how much time I will have i'm unsure :/.. It doesn't feel like the future as a piper is a bright one for the time being.
But.. if the 10 min is true.. I guess I should be able to squeeze it in anywhere.. On the morning while me breakfeast/cofee is warming up perhaps?
Well.. anyway... if it means progress with such little time still.. it gives me atleast some hope. Thank you for that!
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