Performance Team Rehearsal

A Tuning the Air Journal

Monday September 13, 2010 – Performance Team Rehearsal

The Music Director had to work tonight, but left a couple of instructions that boiled down to “Circulate” and Vroom.

We began with some free circulations, helping us to get back into the group groove. Next, a bit of the C Augmented Scale (C-C#-E-F-G#-A), which had the dual virtues of keeping us circulating, while continuing to explore one of the tonalities used in the Voodoo Situation.

Straight on to Vroom. The bass players (Mary Beth, Travis and myself – Chris is also on bass, but was absent tonight) excused ourselves and headed to the back room to address a particular passage with very tricky timing. This took some time. The lead players drilled their parts with the metronome. When we rejoined the group, we began by putting the bass part we were concerned with into context by playing it all together. This helped to make sense of what feels like a strangely disjointed rhythm when played alone. Expanded the part we were practicing, adding the sections that come before and after, eventually opening up to the entire piece which we ran several times. Not yet presentable, but very definite progress and an increased sense that this is doable. Some insights into where the metronome does and does not work with this piece. We are asked to be off book for Thursday’s rehearsal, so there is personal work to be done.

It was already late at this point. We took a short break and then reconvened for the final 20 minutes to run some of the newer material from last season; specifically A Day In The Life and The Children’s Hour. Travis had missed Saturday’s rehearsal when we confronted all of the current repertoire. He has very specific roles to play on these pieces, and it took a little while for him to get them back into his hands.

Next rehearsal: Thursday evening.