Tuesday March 23, 2010 – Final Guitar Craft Course - Day 3

Tuesday March 23, 2010 – Final Guitar Craft Course - Day 3

The Guitar Circle I
Guitar Craft 25th Anniversary Completion Course
Special Project: The Orchestra Of Crafty Guitarists III
Convento La Pace, Sassoferrato (Ancona), Italy

6:53am

I have yet to need my alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. Not going to get cocky, but it is something I just noticed. It would also seem, if today is typical, that the right time to use the shower is first thing in the morning. Not a lot of water pressure, but what water there was, was actually hot. After last night’s House of Guitars, I really wanted/needed a shower before bed, but the water was dead cold, and I wasn’t feeling virtuous enough for that.

It is only Day 3. Or, it is already Day 3. Both feel true. A critical point coming up, I think. It is a very short time for 100 people to learn to improvise coherently together, and become a real group. The character of our rehearsals has been to encourage dropping inhibitions and to allow ourselves free reign. At some point, refinement, hopefully without censorship, will be necessary, and it feels like that point is very soon; today perhaps.

Rehearsed with the Tuning the Air team yesterday. It was a most welcome respite.

2:49pm

Morning House and Kitchen meeting. No one enjoys meetings. Few people enjoy meetings less than me. Nevertheless, an important meeting for the course, so entered into with joy. Next, a meeting for those with experience leading circles, and Robert, to look at what it means to work in a circle and how we might manage “section leadership” within the Orchestra, introducing discipline without imposing behavioral dictates and/or attenuating creativity.

The “Guitar Circle I” course began in earnest, with Martin and myself splitting the group and working with Guitar Circle essentials. This primarily, in my group, meant circulating – or, more specifically, listening while circulating. After a couple days of Orchestral Brouhaha, this brought things back to earth a bit, in a good way.

Tai Chi out on the football field. Always a life saver.

At lunch, a parade of performances. There have been not a lot of mealtime performances so far, and I was beginning to wonder. Now, the floodgates seem to have been opened.

After lunch the Tuning the Air producers had a meeting with Chris. It went something like this:

Jax: “Well, Chris, we wanted to talk to you because you have emerged as the new Music Director for Tuning the Air.”

Chris: “I know.”

After that, it’s all just details.

Managed to divert all responsibilities for the afternoon. Victor will take my group in the second meeting of the “Guitar Circle I” course. After tea, potential for a TTA rehearsal, which is something worth looking forward to.

Maybe I’ll shave. Such are the big decisions of my life right now.

8:47pm

Did shave.

Practiced until tea. After tea, a TTA rehearsal, with honorary guest TTAers Bill, Tony, and for The Wig Maker, Cathy Stevens on viola. Practiced a bit more. Learned the “canon” part to Batrachomyomachy. Tai Chi with Luciano.

For dinner, TTA+ opened. Now, off to an NAFGC meeting with Robert, followed by The Orchestra.

11:46pm

Nafgoose meeting somewhat different than what I had expected. Began with an incoming phone call from the absent, but never apart, Tom. Discussion then moved to Jaxie’s seeing regarding a school in Seattle. This more or less dominated the hour, which was good, and something would seem to be ignited. Other business touched on as well, but this was key.

On to the Orchestra, which I was frankly dreading. I have no doubt that last night’s blast of exuberance (more than one person has used a “Lord of the Flies” reference when speaking to me about it) but I was not eager for a repeat, and less eager for a lame attempt at a repeat. We entered the room in a snake which formed a spiral in the room. In addition to the guitars, there was one viola and a harp. Following on from some discussion in the earlier meeting with circle leaders and buddies, Robert took the opportunity to talk about some of the basic tenets of work in the Circle, including a number of essential elements that it is possible some people here have never encountered, or at least heard articulated clearly. For me, I felt things change right away, in the sense that I had the feeling that this changed the overall realization of personal responsibility for what happens in these events. Then Robert introduced the concept of the “section leaders”. Without identifying us specifically, he gave the nine of us the instruction to begin when ready, and in that way we would identify ourselves. The rest of the players were instructed to gravitate to one of the section leaders. So, when ready, we began. I opened with a clear but gentle high “G”, and the others responded. Finally, something clear, intentional and unambiguous to set the thing rolling. A handful of folks found their way to me, and we were off and running. Good fun, and some real Music. My favorite moments were actually when my group was contributing Silence, and we could just listen to the sound in the room. Inevitably, what needed to be added would make itself very clearly known. Sometimes that meant joining in on something that had a head of steam from another group. Other times, I would just wait until there was an opening and take things in a different direction. Sometimes we would move to another part of the room, or combine with another group. Everything was permissible, and everything worked. Great interaction between the groups. A bit of theatre, but never the sense that anything was going off the rails. Always in service to something real. The end was so clear, that no one could have possibly missed it. Was it 10 minutes or an hour? I actually do not know.

Robert invited us out into the corridor where we formed two lines, one on either side. Notes assigned, and the Whiz formally introduced. Again, a sense that this is something many had only experienced informally, so it has never quite taken wing when it appears in the Orchestra improvs. It took a while for the 4 initiators to fully grow into the necessary viciousness, but eventually there it was – The Whiz. Never quite transcendent, but very definite moments in which we achieved at least a little bit of levitation.

Currently less desperate about Friday’s performance.

Now excruciatingly tired, and going to bed.