Vancouver Open Circle 3

A Tuning the Air Journal

Sunday January 31, 2010 – Third Meeting of the Vancouver Open Circle

I was up early and on the road for British Columbia by 8am. It was rather rainy, but no traffic to speak of. No one at all at the border. The Olympics begin in a couple of weeks, so I suspect that will change markedly. Had Patti Smith’s Horses on the stereo most of the way, which is how I account for missing a key turnoff on a route I know pretty well.

Arrive at Pablo and Melina’s place at 10:30. Spent a little time with the boys, and had a cup of coffee. Pablo and I went off to grab some breakfast and to take care of an errand, and then headed for the circle. Arrived at about 12:30. The facility was in a sprawling neighborhood center, much of which is currently surrounded by double fences and heavy security for the athletes who are using it as an Olympic training facility. The room we used was a corner kitchen/dining area at the end of an elementary school.

Small group today. Pablo and Sotirios were there, plus two folks who had attended earlier circles. Since it was not going to be a circle for absolute beginners, and due to the small size, I elected to sit down in the circle. At 1pm we began with a bit of freeform circulation. Then, for the first half of the meeting we worked on a 4-octave pentatonic scale circulation, which by the end of the hour was modulating successfully from C to Eb to F# to A and back to C – or, more technically, from C Major to C Minor, which has the same notes as Eb Major, and so from Eb Major to Eb Minor, which has the same notes as F# Major, and so from F# Major to F# Minor, which has the same notes as A Major. The next modulation brought us back to A Minor which has the same notes as C Major. At this point we would reset to our original notes and repeated. Taken to its full potential, we would have actually continued the sequence from there but with everyone playing different notes than the first time around. This was a much more ambitious exercise than I generally introduce at these circles, but there was substantial interest in upping the challenge, and the team rose to the occasion.

A short break, and then we returned to the circle, where I presented all of the parts of One of a Thousand Regrets. The precise arrangement of the piece was not presented, but all of the elements, including some in-depth looks at the counting of the piece and the rhythmic elements. Got much further than I had anticipated in the available hour. A very good afternoon of work. A sense that if the team can manage some work together between my visits, some real forward movement is possible.

Pablo and his son had an afternoon birthday party to go to, so we were prompt to close down the room at 3pm, return the key, and hit the road. I dropped him off and headed home. The rain had abated. I missed no turns this time, and the border crossing, though intrusive as always, was easy with only a short wait.