VoyForums

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: [1], 2, 3 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:17:53 07/16/05 Sat
Author: Jim Ryan
Subject: Re: Last Night's Practice
In reply to: Jim Ryan 's message, "Last Night's Practice" on 11:12:50 07/16/05 Sat

Hey,

If you are a bagpiper in the Grade III band, please make sure you read for comprehension the above post. It details what I've noticed in our playing of the jigs over the past 6 weeks.

If you are not sure what I'm talking about, call me on my cell at 480 239-2444

jr


>All,
>
>Jeanne, Diane, Cory and I have decided we're going to
>compete in Scotland this year as a quartet.
>
>Just kidding, but we really had a terrific practice.
>
>We ran thru the set about 6 times, if I recall
>correctly. Let me tell you, playing for 5 sides was
>quite the thrill. I hope everyone works hard to make
>the grade so we can go out with that many in Scotland.
> That includes the pipers. If the grade III goes out
>with only 9 pipes, say, I think we'd be hard pressed
>to run 5 sides out there because it would throw the
>entire ensemble outta whack. KEEP PRACTICING.
>
>Each Friday night in July, I've tried to focus our
>attention on one particular area of the medley. We
>then have reviewed the material on the following
>Tuesday. Last night, we focused our attention on the
>jigs. This is one of the "big rocks" that we do need
>to focus our attention on. Shame on me for picking
>the night everyone is in (or going to) Flagstaff to
>work on them.
>
>There were really two areas of concern with the jigs
>that I heard. One was our tendency to slow down the
>tempo as we progressed thru the tunes. We attacked
>that pretty vigorously, with some very good results.
>In fact, I personally now have to make a conscious
>effort to not go TOO fast in the 2nd part of the 2nd
>jig. I'll work on it.
>
>The 2nd area of concern was at the end of each part.
>We're playing the jigs pretty round, as is typical in
>the band idiom. In the first jig, on the "D" at the
>end of the parts, after the g-grace/strike, we don't
>want to hold that D too long. Some of us were/are
>doing that, and the tune loses the flow that we've
>established. We could certainly play it that way, but
>we're not. It's not "wrong", but it's not what we're
>doing. So make sure the D at the end of each part
>comes out as a 1/4 note, and the subsequent pickup
>note (low A on the repeat, E going into the 2nd part)
>is a full 1/8th note. That will keep us in the
>rythmic flow we've established for the tune.
>
>For the 2nd jig, we've been doing a very good job of
>playing the first part at tempo. We addressed some
>sluggish playing in the 2nd measure of the first part
>(g-grace F, High A, E - g-grace F, High A, F) where
>that particular note combination of 6 notes can tend
>to get weighed down. When we had people focused on
>that, there was noticeable improvement in the unison.
>
>
>The 2nd part has some minor issues with unison and
>dropping tempo. We worked on that last night as well.
> The very first High A doubling doesn't need the
>stress some of us are putting on it. Also, on the
>next beat, the E-doubling tends to act like a kind of
>"speed bump" to slow us down a bit. Make sure you're
>adhering to the tempo in those two spots, and that jig
>is really going to be spot on.
>
>Remember that we want to play the jigs pretty round,
>with no loss in that rounded expression in any of your
>groups of three.
>
>
>Man, we sounded and played awesome last night. We are
>hitting our peak at just the right time. On Tuesday,
>we will continue to cover some of the ground we
>covered last night. The results have been truly
>spectacular, and I am incredibly pleased with the
>progress we've made.
>
>This coming Friday, we will work on the reels. When
>we get those hammered out, that will be the set. Once
>in Scotland, it will just be a matter of reviewing the
>set a few times on PC's/Pads, playing it on pipes,
>then working on stops/starts/breaks. We will also pay
>some more attention to some blowing issues. Not to
>single anyone out, but Dianne has made tremendous
>strides in controlling her blowing, and I am very
>proud of her commitment and willingnes to work on
>these things.
>
>Good luck in Flagstaff this weekend!
>
>jr

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-7
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.