Compromise

I sat down with the fan to try out On the Ocean again. The moment he reminded me of the starting note I was away. A part done and dusted.

The B part is proving trickier. Partly because it simply is more complex, more varied than the A. It's also at least in part the top note, using (for the first time ever) my extra key. Trying to grace that note, or to move between it and something - anything - other than the next note down is quite a tall order. Having all of my top hand off the chanter, other than my thumb against the key, feels distinctly odd.

The B is also tricky because the fan sometimes forgets the variation he has created for me to make the tune playable within the range of the pipes, and sometimes he updates and amends the variations as we go along. It did my head in, as they say. In the end, he played, explained and guided me, I played, and then I wrote down the notes I had played. So the A was born dotless, as it were, never having existed in any other state for me. The B started dotless, and now has dots, which I suppose I will use to learn from. It's not necessarily the best of both worlds, but it gets me out of a corner.

Now, I wonder what would sound good with The Ocean?