Double Fault

First Posted Jun 29th, 2012 by newpiper

I've been humming Ae Fond Kiss all day so have played that a few times this evening. In the mood for slower things so have also gone over Friday Harbor. There’s a G, B then a B,C,D triplet where the first two parts of the triplet are faster than the last (there will be a proper name for that, but I know not what). I can’t get this to work – the two Bs have to be graced to separate them and that mucks up the timing. So I've fiddled about and have settled on G, B and then a grip up to the C then D, and that seems to go better. It’s also making it easier to get the timing on the next bar right: normally I’m too busy thinking about how badly that bar has gone to notice what’s coming next and manage to play the long note short and the short note long.

I’m being distracted by horrible drones. My middle drone not only sounds bad it sounds very thin and seems to be kicking in and out. I think this is the drone that fell out entirely when Morag was being passed around the family, so I hope the reed isn't damaged.

I’m still using too much right arm so that my drones come and go. Actually – scrap that. I think I’m just not easing up properly on the bag when I pump so I’m getting surges of pressure. Why? This is so basic – I feel I’m going backwards, and before I felt I was doing so well.

My other distraction is a certain Roger Federer, looking cool, calm and collected in the face of apparent disaster out on Centre Court, clawing his way back to two sets all – and I think it’s having half my concentration on the fifth set that is making the piping go so badly.

The recording is Ae Fond Kiss. Wavery, timing patchy, last note not held long enough and, pace my recent comments on sets, it sounds really odd without the fiddly twiddly bit that the band stick on the end when they play it (as an actual song). Ugh - I think it actually sounds worse than my previous effort back in February. Admittedly that time I had some backing as distraction, but there's certainly no noticeable improvement of any kind.

Recording - Ae Fond Kiss.


Ae Fond Kiss on Chirbit