Sunday

First posted Jul 29th, 2012 by newpiper

I am still here. I played earlier in the week without blogging, but just the once. What’s been stopping me playing? Not sure, although I am reading a lot of books at present. Filling in time until I go on holiday, for which I've bought Kirsty Gunn’s Big Music. Hope it’s worth the wait.

The other evening I tried Joe McGann’s fiddle - just the first part, but it shaped up quite nicely, quite quickly. It’s one of those tunes that ceases to be recognisable below a certain speed, and when I can’t hear the tune as I feel it should sound when I'm playing it then the dots are hard to read, if that makes any sort of sense. The Barren Rocks coming along at a good speed, although I had stripped out all grace notes and feel it might be nice to throw a handful of simple ones back in. Actually – having just played it through again I see I do grace some notes – I just have to have my wits about me to catch myself doing it. It’s clearly sort of automatic. I’m just dropping my D finger down between the two Ds at the end of each part and a strike to G would be better, I think, if I can do it cleanly. The problem is that when you’re not even aware you've been doing something it’s quite difficult to stop or alter it.

No recording. Fan at a session and no sign of the recorder. He may have taken it, or it may be in one of the many drawers and cupboards in this room...