A Tuning the Air Journal
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 – Extracurricular group workout 2
Mary Beth, Greg, Chris, Carl and Curt met for 2 hours at Curt’s apartment again this afternoon to get a bit of extra work in.
Carl, Chris and I were first, and so we began by running a trio version of “LTiA”. Parts are solid, and it is primarily the ensemble-ness of the feel and phrasing that is in need of work at this point – that and some woodshedding on a couple of dodgy transitions. Greg and Mary Beth arrived and joined in. We looked a couple of timing questions and ran the piece several more times. I demonstrated a pull-off/hammer-on approach to a very quick bit in the bass part, but in practice it was not quite ready to be employed. Personal work for me on that.
We moved on to “Mad World”. Earlier in the week I had emailed part assignments to everyone, so we all arrived more or less knowing the parts, which are not difficult or complex in any case: 2 on the chord accompaniment, 3 on the melody, 2 on the hocketed arpeggio, and 2 on the cello. So everyone arrived knowing their part, and only needing clarity on the arrangement. I walked through it, and we played it several times. Bob and Jaxie are on the arpeggio, but were not at the rehearsal, and I covered that one for today so that we could hear the full arrangement. The most important work that presented itself as we got it up and running was the need for the melody players to establish their feel and phrasing as a group – it needs to be humanized (it is a vocal part, after all) and breathe, rather than and being mechanically in time.
We revisited “Gnossienne”, shoring up the arrangement and reviewing the melody. This is also not a technically difficult piece, but the feel and phrasing are make-or-break. For the next rehearsal, we will begin to incorporate Satie’s qualitative musical indications.
We did 2 or 3 runthroughs of “Space Circus”, tightening up the hocketed left hand. I also caught Chris up on a couple of refinements to the melody that Bob and I discovered at Monday’s rehearsal.
Before calling it a day, Carl began to present his composition, “Little Red Truck”. Without working to memorize parts, or even assign them at this stage, we simply walked through the bits, with everyone trying everything, in order to get a sense of where the piece might go. There is a lot of room for input and tasteful improvisation in the piece, and we will come back to it on Saturday.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Performance team rehearsal
A Tuning the Air Journal
Monday, August 29, 2011 – Performance team rehearsal
The performance team met at Bob and Jaxie’s home this evening. Travis and Chris were away with other commitments, so I was asked to drive the rehearsal. Bob and Jaxie were not at either Wednesday’s extracurricular group practice or Saturday’s rehearsal, so we focused on getting them up to speed on the pieces we addressed last week.
We began by showing them their parts for “Space Circus Part I”. Jaxie is in the pole position of the hocketed left hand part, while Bob will be joining Chris and me on the right hand melody. The piece is fairly simple, and in 30 minutes is was up and running.
The bulk of the rehearsal was then dedicated to “Larks’ Tongues Part II”. We walked through it section by section. Bob is joining me on the bass part, and Jaxie on one of the guitar parts. Details of timing and fingering addressed. One feature of this piece has been reconciling the ways we individually understand and experience the pulse and timing, and that was again a topic of some discussion. The piece rather quickly came functionally together, and by the break (which was somewhat later than usual) we were managing “hell or high water” renditions with only minor disasters.
With everyone now at the same place on these to pieces, they move out of nuts and bolts and into rehearsal mode.
After the break we addressed Satie’s “Gnossienne”. Greg walked Bob and Jaxie through the melody – simple to learn, but requiring a lot attention to feel and phrasing; especially as six players (and an oboist, when available?) will need to phrase as a unit. For those of us who first learned this on Saturday, an opportunity to practice and get a better understanding of the whole. For the next phase, we will begin to look at Satie’s musical indications, which include directions for individual passages such as “Très luisant (Shining)”, “Questionnez (Questioning)”, “Du bout de la pensée (From the tip of the thought)”, and “Postulez en vous-même (wonder about yourself)”.
We had time to run each of the three pieces once more before we called it a night.
Another opportunity for extracurricular group work at my place on Wednesday, and then full group rehearsal on Saturday.
Monday, August 29, 2011 – Performance team rehearsal
The performance team met at Bob and Jaxie’s home this evening. Travis and Chris were away with other commitments, so I was asked to drive the rehearsal. Bob and Jaxie were not at either Wednesday’s extracurricular group practice or Saturday’s rehearsal, so we focused on getting them up to speed on the pieces we addressed last week.
We began by showing them their parts for “Space Circus Part I”. Jaxie is in the pole position of the hocketed left hand part, while Bob will be joining Chris and me on the right hand melody. The piece is fairly simple, and in 30 minutes is was up and running.
The bulk of the rehearsal was then dedicated to “Larks’ Tongues Part II”. We walked through it section by section. Bob is joining me on the bass part, and Jaxie on one of the guitar parts. Details of timing and fingering addressed. One feature of this piece has been reconciling the ways we individually understand and experience the pulse and timing, and that was again a topic of some discussion. The piece rather quickly came functionally together, and by the break (which was somewhat later than usual) we were managing “hell or high water” renditions with only minor disasters.
With everyone now at the same place on these to pieces, they move out of nuts and bolts and into rehearsal mode.
After the break we addressed Satie’s “Gnossienne”. Greg walked Bob and Jaxie through the melody – simple to learn, but requiring a lot attention to feel and phrasing; especially as six players (and an oboist, when available?) will need to phrase as a unit. For those of us who first learned this on Saturday, an opportunity to practice and get a better understanding of the whole. For the next phase, we will begin to look at Satie’s musical indications, which include directions for individual passages such as “Très luisant (Shining)”, “Questionnez (Questioning)”, “Du bout de la pensée (From the tip of the thought)”, and “Postulez en vous-même (wonder about yourself)”.
We had time to run each of the three pieces once more before we called it a night.
Another opportunity for extracurricular group work at my place on Wednesday, and then full group rehearsal on Saturday.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday Rehearsal
A Tuning the Air Journal
Saturday, August 27, 2011 – Saturday Rehearsal
Performance team rehearsal at Curt’s place from 9:30 to 12:30 this morning. Chris, Curt, Carl, Mary Beth, Taylor, Greg and Travis on board; Bob and Jaxie out of town this weekend.
Following up on the Wednesday extracurricular rehearsal, we began with “Space Circle Part I”. We got Travis and Taylor, who were not available on Wednesday, up to speed on parts, and got the arrangement up on its feet. Thirty minutes or so and it was sounding presentable. It needs to be played at a reliable 110 bpm, with the hocketed “left hand” parts both flowing and blending. Chris and Curt, on melody, began to hone the phrasing. Bob will join us on this part, and Jax will join the left hand, and so we should have everyone up to speed by Monday’s rehearsal.
Next to “Larks’ Tongues”. This was a bit more work. Much improved from Wednesday, but there is more to do. A number of the players are still relying on the sheet music for this one, and the Music Director made it unambiguously clear that in order to get an entire set of new material up, running and presentable by opening night, we need to arrive at every rehearsal with a command of our individual parts, so that we can focus our limited time together on group work rather than personal practice. By the end of the rehearsal, the piece was playable in its entirety – not great art, but with practical competence.
After a break, we began with a quick discussion about “Chant from a Holy Book”, with Curt observing that on a practical level it is probably something for a duo (a trio with Darlene on oboe when she is available) rather than a full group piece. We then moved on to three smaller pieces. A Curt presented the basics of “Mad World”; primarily so that the group could hear it, get a picture of how it might be arranged, and make a decision about whether to pursue it or drop it. The Music Director said “pursue it.” Next, we jumped in on “Slow Burn”, just to see what we had retained. Although it is technically a piece we have performed before, it appeared late last season and was only performed twice, so (along with “Hanging Gardens…”) it has been deemed “new material”. Some discussion of how to approach the cascades in the middle section. The Sgt Bones team (Greg, Mary Beth and Carl) then presented “Gnossienne” by Eric Satie. We all learned the melody, with some discussion about phrasing and articulation. Curt, Carl and Travis gravitated to the chord accompaniment, and after a few runthroughs, a working arrangement emerged.
We closed with one more runthrough of both “Space Circus” and “Larks’ Tongues”, both of which held together remarkably well.
The Music Director will not be at rehearsal on Monday, so Curt will sub for that role. We will spend as much time as necessary getting Bob and Jaxie up to speed on the material we have been working on this week, and if time permits we will then begin to look at what the next batch of material to be addressed might be.
Saturday, August 27, 2011 – Saturday Rehearsal
Performance team rehearsal at Curt’s place from 9:30 to 12:30 this morning. Chris, Curt, Carl, Mary Beth, Taylor, Greg and Travis on board; Bob and Jaxie out of town this weekend.
Following up on the Wednesday extracurricular rehearsal, we began with “Space Circle Part I”. We got Travis and Taylor, who were not available on Wednesday, up to speed on parts, and got the arrangement up on its feet. Thirty minutes or so and it was sounding presentable. It needs to be played at a reliable 110 bpm, with the hocketed “left hand” parts both flowing and blending. Chris and Curt, on melody, began to hone the phrasing. Bob will join us on this part, and Jax will join the left hand, and so we should have everyone up to speed by Monday’s rehearsal.
Next to “Larks’ Tongues”. This was a bit more work. Much improved from Wednesday, but there is more to do. A number of the players are still relying on the sheet music for this one, and the Music Director made it unambiguously clear that in order to get an entire set of new material up, running and presentable by opening night, we need to arrive at every rehearsal with a command of our individual parts, so that we can focus our limited time together on group work rather than personal practice. By the end of the rehearsal, the piece was playable in its entirety – not great art, but with practical competence.
After a break, we began with a quick discussion about “Chant from a Holy Book”, with Curt observing that on a practical level it is probably something for a duo (a trio with Darlene on oboe when she is available) rather than a full group piece. We then moved on to three smaller pieces. A Curt presented the basics of “Mad World”; primarily so that the group could hear it, get a picture of how it might be arranged, and make a decision about whether to pursue it or drop it. The Music Director said “pursue it.” Next, we jumped in on “Slow Burn”, just to see what we had retained. Although it is technically a piece we have performed before, it appeared late last season and was only performed twice, so (along with “Hanging Gardens…”) it has been deemed “new material”. Some discussion of how to approach the cascades in the middle section. The Sgt Bones team (Greg, Mary Beth and Carl) then presented “Gnossienne” by Eric Satie. We all learned the melody, with some discussion about phrasing and articulation. Curt, Carl and Travis gravitated to the chord accompaniment, and after a few runthroughs, a working arrangement emerged.
We closed with one more runthrough of both “Space Circus” and “Larks’ Tongues”, both of which held together remarkably well.
The Music Director will not be at rehearsal on Monday, so Curt will sub for that role. We will spend as much time as necessary getting Bob and Jaxie up to speed on the material we have been working on this week, and if time permits we will then begin to look at what the next batch of material to be addressed might be.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Extracurricular group workout
A Tuning the Air Journal
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 – Extracurricular group workout
Mary Beth, Greg, Chris, Carl and Curt met for 2 hours at Curt’s apartment this afternoon to get a bit of extra work in. We will continue this, weekly and open to anyone who can get away from work in the afternoon, until the show opens on October 6.
First, Curt presented his arrangement of Chick Corea’s “Space Circus Part I”. All of the parts were represented in this quintet, so we were able to work through and learn the entire arrangement, and get it up to the working target tempo of 110bpm.
After a short break, we began to address Martin DeAguirre’s arrangement of “Lark’s Tongues In Aspic Part II”. We are going to get the piece up and running in its entirety and then, from what we hear, make some decisions about editing. It will be a while before it is up and running.
Next rehearsal is Saturday morning.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 – Extracurricular group workout
Mary Beth, Greg, Chris, Carl and Curt met for 2 hours at Curt’s apartment this afternoon to get a bit of extra work in. We will continue this, weekly and open to anyone who can get away from work in the afternoon, until the show opens on October 6.
First, Curt presented his arrangement of Chick Corea’s “Space Circus Part I”. All of the parts were represented in this quintet, so we were able to work through and learn the entire arrangement, and get it up to the working target tempo of 110bpm.
After a short break, we began to address Martin DeAguirre’s arrangement of “Lark’s Tongues In Aspic Part II”. We are going to get the piece up and running in its entirety and then, from what we hear, make some decisions about editing. It will be a while before it is up and running.
Next rehearsal is Saturday morning.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Working Repertoire List
A Tuning the Air Journal
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 – Working Repertoire list
Following up from the opening meeting, the Music Director compiled this list of potential repertoire to be explored for Season Twelve:
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 – Working Repertoire list
Following up from the opening meeting, the Music Director compiled this list of potential repertoire to be explored for Season Twelve:
- Ahhh Water (Bob and Jax)
- Balancing Act III (Greg)
- Bicycling to Afghanistan
- Blinded Me With Science
- Breathless
- Cantina Song
- Chant from a Holy Book
- Constellations (MB)
- Driving Force
- Fallout (Chris)
- Gnossienne (Satie)
- Hanging Gardens, Hanging Man
- I Am the Walrus
- I Will
- Larks’ Tongues In Aspic Part II
- The Little Red Rruck (Carl)
- Mad World
- Prelude from Well-Tempered Clavier
- Slow Burn
- Space Circus Part I
- Tico Tico
- Vashon Ferry (Travis)
Monday, August 22, 2011
Opening meeting and first rehearsal for Season Twelve
A Tuning the Air Journal
Monday, August 22, 2011 – Opening meeting and first rehearsal for Season Twelve
The performance team met to rehearse at Bob and Jaxie’s this evening. In addition to the 9 guitarists who will be performing in the circle weekly, oboist Darlene Franz who will sit in on as many performances as her schedule will allow was there. Also our resident Ears, Bill R, was present.
Bill opened the meeting with a surprise, a recipe he has been working with for a traditional “Salad”. That, and the necessary accompanying libation, made it an unusual rehearsal to be sure.
Chris opened with the rehearsal schedule for the preseason, and some discussion about who will be out when, and some of the variables for Tech rehearsals depending on when the Abbey is available. His plan is to do all new material this season, and he had asked us to come prepared with compositions, arrangements, and suggestions for new pieces to be considered. We went around the room and shared what we had brought with us. About 20 pieces were put on the table.
After a short break, we reconvened with guitars and oboes, and looked at the state of the pieces under consideration. Several are existing “small group” pieces that are substantially up and running, and the only question is whether or not they will be expanded to include more players. Others are still very much on the drawing board, and only some examples of parts or sections could be demonstrated. Still others are more or less ready to go, but would have involved a fair amount of learning to get up in the group, and will be allowed to emerge within the rehearsal process. All pieces are in the audition stage, and it will be several weeks before we begin to make decisions about them. Bob has a circulated arrangement of a Bach Fugue that we learned and ran several bars of, as a kind of “proof of concept”; very energizing.
The first rehearsal is always a bit daunting, as the work ahead of us looms large and seems insurmountable. This first rehearsal was no exception. Nearly seven years of experience assures us that we will get it done and we WILL be ready. But at this stage it is always a bit difficult to imagine how.
Monday, August 22, 2011 – Opening meeting and first rehearsal for Season Twelve
The performance team met to rehearse at Bob and Jaxie’s this evening. In addition to the 9 guitarists who will be performing in the circle weekly, oboist Darlene Franz who will sit in on as many performances as her schedule will allow was there. Also our resident Ears, Bill R, was present.
Bill opened the meeting with a surprise, a recipe he has been working with for a traditional “Salad”. That, and the necessary accompanying libation, made it an unusual rehearsal to be sure.
Chris opened with the rehearsal schedule for the preseason, and some discussion about who will be out when, and some of the variables for Tech rehearsals depending on when the Abbey is available. His plan is to do all new material this season, and he had asked us to come prepared with compositions, arrangements, and suggestions for new pieces to be considered. We went around the room and shared what we had brought with us. About 20 pieces were put on the table.
After a short break, we reconvened with guitars and oboes, and looked at the state of the pieces under consideration. Several are existing “small group” pieces that are substantially up and running, and the only question is whether or not they will be expanded to include more players. Others are still very much on the drawing board, and only some examples of parts or sections could be demonstrated. Still others are more or less ready to go, but would have involved a fair amount of learning to get up in the group, and will be allowed to emerge within the rehearsal process. All pieces are in the audition stage, and it will be several weeks before we begin to make decisions about them. Bob has a circulated arrangement of a Bach Fugue that we learned and ran several bars of, as a kind of “proof of concept”; very energizing.
The first rehearsal is always a bit daunting, as the work ahead of us looms large and seems insurmountable. This first rehearsal was no exception. Nearly seven years of experience assures us that we will get it done and we WILL be ready. But at this stage it is always a bit difficult to imagine how.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Email from the music director
A Tuning the Air Journal
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 – Email from the music director
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 – Email from the music director
I have had a very strong feeling that we need to begin together. Curt will be out of town on Sat Aug 20th. I propose we begin with a rehearsal on Monday Aug 22. Curt will be back for this.
Now for the fun part. I am asking that everyone come prepared with one piece of new music - original or not - completed or not. The first step we take this season will set the tone for the whole.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tuning the Air Autumn 2011 Season
A Tuning the Air Journal
Friday August 5, 2011 – Tuning the Air Autumn 2011 Season
The next season of Tuning the Air is on the calendar:
We will open on October 6 and run through December 15, 2011 at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, 4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103. Shows every Thursday at 8pm, doors open at 7:45. There will no performance Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 24.
For a number of reasons, I have the sense that this is a season that needs to be documented, so I am going to revibrate the blog. Rehearsal begins at the end of August. For now, this will have to do... Roberto Duse's design for the season.
Stay tuned.
Friday August 5, 2011 – Tuning the Air Autumn 2011 Season
The next season of Tuning the Air is on the calendar:
We will open on October 6 and run through December 15, 2011 at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, 4272 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103. Shows every Thursday at 8pm, doors open at 7:45. There will no performance Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 24.
For a number of reasons, I have the sense that this is a season that needs to be documented, so I am going to revibrate the blog. Rehearsal begins at the end of August. For now, this will have to do... Roberto Duse's design for the season.
Stay tuned.
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