Zoe, Zoe, Zoe and More Zoe

Again, I must say, Zoe Keating rocks the hell out if her cello.

I've finally explored all of her published pieces and they're all good -- well, except for one (the second track, the one  after Tango, in collaboration with a singer) but I don't think she had full control over that song. Besides, it's just not my thing. I bet a lot if people love it but I find it too noisy. I listened to those two on her website. 

This is another of Zoe's masterpieces called Legions.

http://youtu.be/AlhkwHSZMyg

'They' call her style Avant Guard. I don't think she fits into a genre. Perhaps, she's created her own. 

Zoe, you are a fracking ROCK STAR!

Damn you Schubert, you dick

Well, I'm sure he was perfectly nice but this piece is killing me (and my poor little dog). Oh and every one else within hearing distance.

I think I'll eventually be able to play it as I've actually improved since last week even. At least now, it's starting to resemble some kind of song. Or so my lovely ( generous and forgiving... Did I mention patient? Yes, definitely patient...) husband tells me. Bless him.

I will continue to murder Schubert on a daily basis then until ... Well for a very long time. Most likely. Lets just hope it doesn't go the way of "Claire de Lune".

Hopefully, one day, I can play somewhere near as good as this high school student

This guy blows my mind. Strad Viola. OMG

I'm obsessed with Zoe Keating

I've been listening to my "Zoe Keating" playlist on my pod nonstop -- sometimes on repeat for hours -- since I managed to download the mp3s. It's a great playlist; it allows me to concentrate on what I'm reading without distracting me and even more surprising is the fact that I can actually write while listening as well. That, in my experience, is the sign of a truly excellent trance song.

The playlist:

The Optimist http://youtu.be/uIdgNJ4ufkU

Escape Artist http://youtu.be/i3sq4vPn6Hs

Into the Trees

Walking Man

The Path

Frozen Angels http://youtu.be/PzTUTKpFYT4

Sun Will Set http://youtu.be/tgw-bW0g1Mw

I plan on adding to it as I discover more pieces of her work. Until then I'll continue to work out the notes (using Audacity's Analyze Pitch plugin) of Escape Artist so that I can learn how to play it on my viola.

So far I've worked out a few measures only. Here's what I've got so far with a few embellishments of my own.

🎻🎼(Alto)  C🎱   D🎱   DE🎵F🎱   FE🎵D   D🎶

 

Update: Xmas music

I started practicing Xmas music about a month ago. I collected as many as I could find at first but after several plays I quickly realized which ones were too difficult for me or just plain not-fun. 

I've definitely been rather lax in recording my progress in recent months. I think it's partly due to the fact that I'm practicing in a different room than the computer is in, making it less convenient. Especially since I've switched my practice time to after the dogs have walked. It's getting so dark, so early and S is typically watching TV by that time and the TV is in the same room as the computer. 

To overcome this little problem I've set up my iPhone (free courtesy of my generous semester) to record video. The sound and video quality are probably quite different but I think it's good enough for my purposes.

So, out of all the songs I've managed to download (for addresses see bottom of post) I've narrowed the list down to my five favorites, which are:

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Joy to the World

Silent Night

Oh Holy Night

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I'm really looking forward to our family Xmas dinner party because I want to play for my family. It's been so many years since I've made them sit down and suffer through a music recital. This time I think I can make beautiful music. I used to play the baritone so can you imagine the cacophony ? 

2013.08.05 Practice Update

Viola Practice

Warm-up

Tuning  - using the iPhone app: Tuxtuner		Tonalization  [tone production]: Mis--si--ssip--pi   Stop -- Stop  000 121 02 11 0 [Au Claire de Lune]
Intervals  [Red book] p4. seconds, thirds		*Finger Patterns  need practice moving from D to C# [or C] & moving from Ab to G

C MAJOR SCALE

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star [C&G]
2. Coventry Gardens 
3.  Stay [Rhianna]
4. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
5. Hora Lunga - Sonata [Gyorgy Ligeti]

---

G MAJOR SCALE [F#]

1.  Mary Had a Little Lamb
2.  Skyfall [Adele] - very little progress
3. Joy to the World
4. BBC Sherlock – Main Theme (preferred version)

---

D MAJOR SCALE [F#, C#]

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star [D&A]
2. French Folk Song
3. Lightly Row
4. Song of the Wind
5. Pachelbel's Canon in D

---

F FLAT MAJOR [Bb]

1. Moon River

---

B FLAT MAJOR [Bb, Eb]

1. Silent Night

---

E FLAT MAJOR SCALE [Bb, Eb, Ab]

1. Sherlock Theme - abandoned
2. Sonate – hardly attempted

---

D FLAT MAJOR [Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb]

1. Claire de Lune [Debussy]

Callous Development

1st - well on its way, can hardly feel pressure any more

2nd - not thick enough to prevent nail from cracking yet

3rd - still hurts like a bitch after I practice for an hour or more but the scar tissue is finally thickening up

I've been working on intervals - fingering speed, accuracy and rhythm. The red book is very effective. I also made myself a practice sheet with all the Major Flat Scales on one page using MuseScore. What a great program.

I love, love, love my viola.

2013.07.13 Practice Plan Changes

I was organizing my notes about my practice order and I had an epiphany.  I always start with scales - usually one or two or until I get annoyed or bored, which ever comes first. I was thinking about how certain pieces are easier if I play them in a certain order. The important variable seems to be which scales I practice first, which makes sense of course. So, I guess it's time to re-order my practice sessions. 

Practice Order:

Warm-up

Tuning - using the iPhone app: Tuxtuner

Tonalization [tone production]:

• Mis--si--ssip--pi   Stop -- Stop 
• 000 121 02 11 0

*Intervals [Red book] - sometimes
*Finger Patterns 

• need practice moving from D to C# [or C]
• moving from Ab to G

-----------------

Scale 1 - D Major Scale

• [Red book p.5 or Suzuki Book p.7]
• 1st finger-pattern used in TTLS [F# C#] and perhaps MHALL [just F#]
• Practice several times. Go very slowly the first time so that the sound is as perfect as you can get it. Watch the tuner. Make corrections immediately. 
• Increase speed when it seems too slow
• Remember: Don't practice mistakes. Unlearning sucks.

-----------------

Songs in D Major

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star [TTLS on D & A strings "Theme" - Suzuki Book p.9 - D Major Scale - F# C#] 
2. French Folk Song [FFS - Suzuki Book p.10 - D Major Scale - F# C#]
3. Lightly Row [LR - Suzuki Book p.11 - D Major Scale - F# C#]
4. Song of the Wind [SOFW - Suzuki Book p.11 - D Major Scale - F# C#]
5. Pachelbel's Canon in D [PC - solo and duet sheet]

-----------------------

Scale 2 - C Major Scale

• [Red book p.5 or Suzuki Book p.19]
• finger-pattern used in TTLS when played on C & G strings [No #'s] 
• C3 - C4
• Practice several times. Go very slowly the first time so that the sound is as perfect as you can get it. Watch the tuner. Make corrections immediately. 
• Increase speed when it seems too slow
• Remember: Don't practice mistakes. Unlearning sucks.

------------------------------

Songs in C Major

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star [TTLS on C & G strings "Theme in C Major" - Suzuki Book p.19 - C Major Scale 
2. Coventry Gardens [start with first 5 measures and then build on that]
3. Stay [Rhianna] - can do the whole song, some parts are better than others but it does sound like a song now.

-------------------------------------------

Scale 3 - E flat Major Scale

Songs in E flat Major

1. Sherlock Theme - sounds okay but go very slow

-----------------------------

Scale 4 - G Major Scale

Songs in G Major

1. Mary Had a Little Lamb [MHALL - F# - sheet]
2. Skyfall [Adele] - F# - Damn this song, it's so hard. I can do the first page but not very well. The best parts are: This is the end... and Let the Sky_fall, Let it crum_ble...

----------------------------------

I Still haven't Found What I'm Looking For [U2] - D flat Major - I can play: I have climbed the highest mountains...  and  I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

Hora Lunga - Sonata [Gyorgy Ligeti] - No idea what key this is in. There are so many notations that being in a key seems improbable. I can play most of it but I would call it my interpretation. This is my favourite song right now. I want more like this Sonata.

Callous Update

First finger is a go, second finger at step two, third finger still hurts like a bitch

2013.07.12 Progress

I took a bunch of video today because I wanted to check my posture, left hand position and overall sound. These videos are not edited so be forewarned.

First, I tuned my viola using Tuxtuner [iphone app] and then I practiced a couple of scales: the D major and the C major scales.

Then, I did my book warm-up which includes some intonation work, namely mississippi stop stop and the 000 121 02 11 0 thing. I have no idea what that thing is called but it's a great warm-up.

There are number of short pieces that I work my way through in no particular order. Including: Mary Had a Little Lamb, Coventry Gardens, Canon and the Sherlock theme song.


I've been working on 'Stay' by Rhinna everyday for about 20 days. I've finally made my way through the whole song. I actually found this great program called MuseScore that allows me to download midi files and turn them into sheet music. It's a great program. The more I fiddle around with it, the more I realize it can do.

I also try very hard to play 'Skyfall' by Adele but it is extremely painful - even more painful that Canon if you can believe it. But I'm determined to learn that damn song, even if it kills me. Nice attitude hey? I should probably seek professional help for that unhealthy level of masochism.

Anyways, that's all for today. I'll leave the rest off. Next time, I plan on recording my favourite piece called 'Hora Lunga' which is an ode to the C string.