2015 Term 3 Recital

This is my second recital. I played in one with Laura's students last year around Christmas time.

The experience this time was better than the last recital. I put that down to a few things. It might have been the banana I ate before playing. Laura has mentioned that helps steady nerves and I think it worked for me. It might have been less nerves because this was not my first recital. It was easier to get up and play this time. Perhaps it was the decision to perform was made about a week ago so I had less time to worry about it, Or perhaps I was more familiar with the pieces I was playing this time around.

I was near the end, right after Princess Sage played Sherlock Holmes on the piano. She was very good and hid her nerves well. My pieces were in tine! The only issue was the tendency to rush. I tried very hard to remember the dynamics and the tempo and for the most part it worked.

Hopefully for the next recital I can steal the Russian piece another young lady played.

And perhaps, if I can convince Laura and we work something out, I can play The Final Countdown (without the big hair and tight leather pants).

Violin lesson #125

This is the last lesson before the recital so  it spent on preparing pieces for tomorrow.

My first piece will be Mexican Fiesta. It's not a hard piece to learn but it is a challenge to get my fingers in the right place when I play in third position. And I play it too fast. Not only that, but when I start slow I almost always speed up by the end of it. I don't know why I find it so hard to keep to a slower and steadier tempo.

Laura never taught me to play Ode To Joy, but it was in the book, and mostly in third position, so I played that one. It was pretty good. Laura's suggestion was to play the third quarter of the piece with a soft floaty feel, then give the last three notes some oomph before the final quarter. The proof that practice and attention is paying off was in the second run through, where it was obvious from Laura's excitement that I had played it well :) Again, the biggest problem is my tendency to rush. This symphony is not played as quickly as some modern renditions would have you believe. A slow and steady pace is required here too.

I did work my way through Paris Cafe. The first half was pretty good. Then Laura walked me through the second half and I had problems with getting the correct notes. I don't pick the new music up as quickly as I would like, Typically I will get home and be able to play it well the next day. Getting it right on the spot is still a challenge. We decided not to do this one and just stick with the first two pieces.

Tomorrow should be a good day :)

Violin lesson #121-124

Now this is embarrassing... since moving to Saturday lessons the blogs are getting further and further apart, yet I don't think it's all about the lessons being on Saturday. The Sage has many irons in the fire - sometimes I think too many - and obviously this blog is getting less fire than it used to do. The good news is that my lessons are still going strong.

These last four lessons have been mainly about shifting to and playing in third position. Initially I used talcum powder to help but I have not used it for a while. I feel quite comfortable playing in third position. The fingers are closer together than in first position, so I have to be a little more careful with my "sausage" fingers.

Apparently there is also a half-position, which is the lowest position there is on the violin. This is the position for the E-flat major scale.

The sprinters book has songs that suit both of those positions, and as if that was not enough, I brought (via my mother and her Uncle Paul) a gift for Laura: The Hot Canary by Paul Nero. It is a virtuoso "show-off" piece and quite cheeky. The story goes when Uncle Paul saw me after he found out I was learning the violin he requested this song. Recently he was on a cruise that had a violinist (now there's a pretty cool career option). When he asked the passengers for requests, Uncle Paul promptly called out "The Hot Canary", and lo and behold the violinist knew it and played it. Uncle Paul was good enough to track down the music, which he passed on to my mother who gave it to me. I showed Laura. and after looking it over a little, she played it too. Very cool! Even cooler was Laura showing me how to play some of it. It doesn't have all of the tricks and things I have yet to learn, but it is surely recognisable as The Hot Canary. It's going to take a little while before I am ready to show anyone but I have made a start.

There is a recital this Sunday (September 20) and a week out Laura and I decided I could play a piece. Laura suggested Mexican Fiesta or Paris Cafe. At first I thought it was going to take longer than that but Laura knows best and I am sure Mexican Fiesta will be ready (more ready than Paris Cafe).

And one more thing, Sirisha came back, albeit briefly, and I got to meet Keerthan, her son. He is adorable. Sirisha and Anand are going to take the option of lessons at Laura's place on the north (aka the dark) side. Robertson is far too convenient for The Princess and I to give up.

The next post will cover the lesson and the recital this coming weekend.

Violin lesson #118, #119, #120

Yes, I have been terribly slack with blogging lately and I apologise. Stuff has been happening that has taken time and motivation away from blogging. Mostly this has been the kitchen renovation. While it is now almost 100% complete it has been a struggle to get there.

My lessons have been continuing. I still find getting practice time to be somewhat difficult. Life and the universe do not bend themselves to my whim so I continue to try and do the best I can with what I get and be happy with that.

The first and second of these lessons were focussed around the B-flat major scale. It has two flats, and  a  low first finger position. There are two things I distinctly remember about learning the B-flat major scale. The first is that while Laura has been playing for far more years than I have, making her hands and fingers ever more suited to violin, she has had yoga instructors tell her she is hyper-flexible (not double jointed, which is bad for violinists) which means it is easier for her to get her fingers to go where she wants them to when she is playing. The Sage, however, is the opposite. He is hyper-unflexi. It might be due to having played less violin, or to having fingers that have been great for coding / typing in the years Laura has been playing violin, or just something that is what it is, I struggle to get my fingers to behave the way I want. Not impossible. Just hard to do, so I need to be patient and kind to myself. The second thing is that while my hand / fingers are hyper-unflexi they are rather suited to this scale. My fingers naturally sit more comfortably in the correct position for this scale than they do for other scales I have learned thus far.

I have also noticed it is better to have one finger down at a time rather than trying to have multiple fingers down at once, especially when they are close together. If I want two fingers down in that case then one has to sit up right behind the other. If they don't have to be down and close together it appears to be easier to have them down separately.

The third of these lessons dealt with shifting. I did a little of this with some musical exercises some time ago. The time has come to tackle this again, and to back up exercises with a very pretty piece called Midnight Melodies. Perhaps a little unexpectedly, with this lesson came a revelation. To keep a good hand/palm shape always pretend you are about to play a fourth (pinky) finger. When I kept this in mind, it was far easier for me to shift to third position and be able to keep the good palm shape and thus play the correct note in third position.

Third position requires the mathematical ability to add two. By that I mean that an open string in first position is equivalent to a second finger in third position. Also, I can remember that seeing a finger position of 1 on a note in first position and a finger position of 1 on a note two tones higher (so line to line or space to space)  indicates a time to shift from first to third position (or third to first);

There are also some exercises to help with shifting, and I look forward to practicing those. I must confess to having played in third position for a few songs I have learned. The first in an improvisation to the ending of O Solo Mio. The second is for a Greek song I taught myself called I Mana Mou Me Derni (My Mother Beats Me). Domestic violence is not funny, but this song is mostly tongue-in-cheek so please don't take it too seriously.

One final note. There is a violinist trick to shifting, especially for people who have sweaty palms. A little talcum powder on the violin hand does wonders in helping the sliding motion. I don't tend to get sweaty palms so I'll probably not need it so much.

Playing in third position did make me think of Sirisha, who has been absent from classes since she became a first time mum. I hope her and Anand and little Keerthan are all doing well. I found a link to what I believe Laura was talking about - a baby wearing orchestra. Acoustic instruments have a tone that is soothing to infants. So I hope Sirisha and Anand are playing beautiful music for Keerthan =)

Violin lesson #117

It has been a fair while since the last lesson, and that is mostly due to school holidays, the new Sage kitchen (it has taken waaay longer than expected) and Laura moving house. Today itself was very busy and the Sage was running around right up until the lesson.

Part of the driving around was to get to Animato to meet Laura to try out violas. Yes. Violas. For a while now, a long while actually, it has been suggested I make a move from the violin to the viola. My build and my fingers are more suited to the larger instrument - I tried out the 16" size model - than to the violin. It doesn't mean I can't play the violin. Rather it means it will be easier to play than the violin. And it has a different sound which, now that I have heard it, I quite rather like. It is a half-octave lower and has a richer more mellow tone. So, having said all that, I am open to the idea of switching to the viola if I can find an instrument I like.

As far as the lesson went, I admitted I had little time for practice since the last one. We went over the B-flat major scale and followed that up with The Honeysuckle. It was short and sweet and I was happy to have had my lesson.

Just a little on time. If you subscribe to the principle that 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” are needed to become world-class in any field, it would take over 27 years at an hour a day to achieve this mastery. An hour? An hour a day? I don't get an hour a day. I am lucky to get a half hour a day, and there will be many days with no practice at all. Does that mean I will never master the violin (or viola)? Perhaps. But then, I know I don't have the ten thousand hours to dedicate to learning to play those stringed instruments. So for me, mastery is not the goal. My goal is to be the best that I can be, to play music for my own enjoyment, and where possible, for the enjoyment of others. I have come to accept that sometimes I can practice for a half hour and sometimes I can go three days with no practice at all. It is what it is, especially for a man with a wife and two kids and a full-time job.

The journey continues, and as always, I wonder what's going to happen next.

Deep Blue: India Stories

Now I know why I found myself in the front row for this Brisbane Powerhouse performance. It's a little hard to see the stage from there. But I don't care because I was watching Deep Blue and the show was amazing from start to finish.

Deep Blue are a string ensemble who combine string playing with theatrics and audience interaction (via smartphones and tablets) and in this case story-telling and sand-art as well as an excellent tabla player. I loved them when I saw them on Australia's Got Talent in 2011 (you know with Cosentino and Timomatic and Jack Vidgen) where they made it to the Semi Final round. I liked them even more when I realised Greta Kelly was one of the group. For those who don't know I'm a fan of Brisbane world music group MZAZA for which Greta plays violin (geez, what a surprise, the Sage likes the violinist) and Persian spiked fiddle.

Deep Blue started with three members playing classical music. I'm sorry but I don't know their names, and they were not introduced. They were charming and rather funny - two of them on violin and one on cello. The cellists spent most of the performance carrying their instruments, so they are obviously a rather fit group :) They joked that for the people who had accidentally wandered in expecting a classical concert that that was it.

The show was based around the groups visit to India and they told and portrayed stories of their experiences there. They visited one of the largest slums in the world where people made a living recycling everything that was thrown away. There was music and choreography that mimicked celebrations and fighting. Being as close as I was, the "fight" scene was very intense and dramatic, and the expressions on the faces were very intense. As well as the choreography there was playing on stilts, and playing while jumping rope. There was singing (which was as good as it was unexpected). There was a "clock" scene that reminded me of Metropolis - I don't know if that was intentional. There were people that were playing as they stood on a double-bass. One thing I saw that I wanted to learn was the duet: two people close together, both playing the violin, only they would each play the left hand on their own violin and use the bow on the other person's violin! There were kids who had been taught a song that day - they were awesome too, and made me miss my Patience. The music was all Indian-themed, even the version of Paint It Black. And there was a choir to finish off. The encore started with a tabla solo, during which I thought that guy had like three or four hands, Turns out he was just really really good.

Perhaps the only thing missing was pyrotechnics and a trapeze LOL

The only part I could not get into was the electronic interactivity. Sorry for being old-fashioned and all, but there was too much going on stage for me to be watching the monitors and texting answers to questions like "what would make you turn to crime" (a starving and desperate family) or "if you saw a red door would you paint it black" (no, but I might wonder why it was red). The screens were getting plenty of interactivity without my help. I was happy just to watch and listen.

If you get a chance to see these guys and girls, take it. They may have started off as an experiment in contemporary orchestra but I think they are certainly going in the right direction.

Brent Miller: Points Of Departure

Princess Sage has been very fortunate to have had percussion lessons with Brent Miller. Today he performed Points Of Departure as part of his Masters thesis, and the princess and I were there.

The program was as follows:

Sudhana's Steps: Ananyagamin
Point of Departure #1
Eight pieces for Timpani: Saeta
Point of Departure #2
Sudhana's Steps: Asha
Point of Departure #3
Eight pieces for Timpani: Improvisation
Point of Departure #4
Sudhana's Steps: Priyadarsana
Marimba Concerto

Brent actually played the pieces that were NOT titled Points of Departure. They were played by Ba Da Boom - a group composed of nine players from the Conservatorium.

The pieces Brent played were a joy to listen to as well as watch. His performance had plenty of energy and was enhanced by the lighting that went along with the show. He used the time when Ba Da Boom were playing to re-arrange his instruments for the next piece and I imagine to catch his breath :)

The only downside of having nine timpanists playing at once was that it was hard to watch all of them at once. I felt like I didn't want to miss anything so I was constantly looking from one to another to see what each was doing. At least when Brent was playing we could focus on what he was doing.

The last performance was great too, as much for the piano as for the marimba. Both Brent and Kathy Sander (on piano) looked like they were enjoying themselves, and Brent's performance was at times theatrical. He made playing the marimba look almost effortless (though I know he was working very hard).

The Princess and I spoke to him after the show and shared our thoughts with him. We look forward to seeing him in his next performance in September.

Violin lesson #114, #115, #116

I apologise for the tardiness of this post. The Sage has many things going on at once, which has pushed this blog to the back-burner again.

The subtitle for this post might be "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad". The first two of the three were good, and the last is one of the kind that make the good lessons good.

Laura and I have been working on El Padrino and Click Go The Shears. Until the last lesson El Padrino was going really well. The intonation good and it was starting to get some good feeling, especially when Laura suggested I "paint with my wrist" meaning that I keep the bow flowing smoothly and evenly whether I am playing shorter notes or longer notes. This is supposed to be a love theme (though to me it sounds sad at times) so I have to keep that in mind when playing. However, in the last lesson, the performance had deteriorated :( There were moments in the previous week when Laura and I were playing at the same time where the two violins sounded so similar (to me) and it was great. But then this week it was like a few steps back. Laura explained that when I want to play this piece for someone, it is more important to play it with emotion / feeling / passion than to get every note correct. I have said it before and I will say it again ...

“To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.”

Beethoven was right. Perhaps I was not feeling it this week? I don't know why it sounded the way it did. There were technical reasons, sure, but perhaps it was more to do with frame of mind. I will work hard at getting that frame of mind right so I can play this for Horacio before he goes back to the UK at the end of the month.

Laura has taught me much about the music I play, so I was glad to be able to tell her a little about Click Go The Shears. To me this almost an iconic Aussie tune. It's not quite Waltzing Matilda of course, but I expect most kids learn this some time through primary school when studying colonial Australia. This was the first time Laura had heard this song (having not grown up here that's understandable) so when I varied the tune to be a little more like the singing and less like the notation, I explained why to Laura and she went along with it, even showing me how to swing it correctly.

We also started on an Irish reel called "Still Reeling". Note-wise it's not too difficult but there is some bowing in there that will take some practice to get right. Laura mentioned many Irish fiddlers she has seen have had poor technique and went on to tell me that you can still get that good Irish sound without compromising the fingering or the bowing. I have had little time to work on it but I think I am really going to like it.

And in the last lesson we talked about playing different major scales. Well, there is really only one major scale. It is played identically with only the starting note varied. Being the good programmer I am, I could see the pattern, and so with only a little help from Laura I was able to learn the B-flat major scale, and start on The Honeysuckle. Hopefully Princess Sage will help me with my timing. She is learning percussion with Brent Miller and by all accounts she has excellent timing so I am sure she won't mind helping out her dear old dad.

During the week I was at work late. So before going home I took Patience to the atrium. It has great acoustics. I didn't dare use the bow but just the pizzicato sounded so loud. The reverb in that place is great. When I build up some courage I will dare to record a piece in there.

There won't be lessons next week since it school holidays and our teachers will be unavailable. Also the Sages are required to be at a family function so it works out well. I trust the next lesson will return to the good standard. I will work hard to make sure it does so.

Violin lesson #113

The Sage had another great lesson this week. We covered a lot of areas. I don't know what Laura had prepared, but she showed she was able to incorporate my questions, which was very cool.

During the week, Sirisha linke us with this video. It is an Indian player, sitting cross-legged on a bed, playing violin. Essentially the violin is upside-down but he seemed to have no trouble playing it and getting a great sound. Contrast this with Greta Kelly sitting in a similar position but holding the violin differently. I wonder whether each could play the other's style of music without changing how they hold the violin. I then wanted to know how to play sitting up (cross-legged can come later). So Laura showed me how best to sit on the corner of the chair where my legs are naturally apart, so with a good posture I can still play all strings with the full bow.

After this we moved on to scales again. This week I played an ascending scale but after each note I played the one two notes further along, so I would play 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd, 5th note and so on. I should say "we" played because Laura played the same pattern one bar behind me, so it was played as a round. For something so simple it sounded beautiful. If people are practising together it is a great way to experience playing scales. The other pattern we played was 1-2-3-1-2-3, 2-3-4-2-3-4, etc. Once the patterns are memorised it is easier to think about bow position and string crossing.

The first piece I played was El Padrino (The Godfather). I did some very good during the week and it was sounding pretty sweet. Laura had a few pointers for me to work on before the next lesson. I don't need to play this song quickly which means there is more time to give love to each note.

Then I played Click Go The Shears. This was sounding good too. I need to work on bow positioning to get the best sound for some of the longer notes. Also, I need to work on my fingering. There is one place where I need to put my first finger on a higher string than the second and third fingers. This proved to be quite a challenge. I need to relax my hand to be able to move the fingers independently without affecting the shape of the palm. Relaxing your hand sounds easy, but I can see it's going to take me a little while to be able to manage this without the brain getting in the way.

More than two years on I am still loving my lessons as much as ever.

On a side note, this month I participated in Mindful In May. This had two purposes: a) to teach mindfulness through meditation, and b) to raise funds for clean water projects around the world. I mention this because I think I can apply mindfulness training to the way I practice. Indeed I might find out that Laura's teaching will lead to the same result. There's only one way to find out...

Violin lesson #111, #112

The Sage has been slack again, but that does not mean he has not done his best to keep up his practice and lessons. There was a lesson on May 2nd and two weeks off before another lesson on May 23rd.

One thing I have learned lately is the bow pinky is not very helpful right now. In fact, Laura encouraged me to try and play without putting the pinky on the bow and that was a big improvement. Obviously I can't play like this all the time, but for now it is a useful exercise, and I can gradually introduce the pinky again with as little pressure as possible.

I have started two new pieces. The first is Click Go The Shears - an old Aussie classic. The tune is very familiar to me, and possibly one I tried to play on the violin previously. Now I have sheet music and it includes harmonics as well as a variation on the theme. The second is El Padrino, aka the love theme from The Godfather. I have wanted to learn this for ages, and after this post on Facebook, my wish has been granted. Horacio (one of the programmers at work) will thank you for this too, as he has expressed a wish for me to play it, and as we know, music makes people happy. And while we are speaking of The Godfather, Chris Peck (another programmer at work and fellow curmudgeon) has loaned me the box set of The Godfather movies. It saddens me to say I have not seen them and look forward to doing so when I find time.

Last lesson I felt a little lost. I was not sure about grading for ABRSM. Laura explained that she has seen many parents (and it is usually the parents) rush their children as quickly as possible through AMEB grading without enjoying the journey or exploring branches along the way. As far as I understand it, Laura's plan for me is to grade, but to also play non-grading pieces that are interesting or have something different to offer. If that is the case, that is fine with me.

I have long thought so, and Laura showed again in one lesson, how versatile scales are. Like I often say, once you learn the notes of a scale, any scale, you can then use it as a platform to learn and practice different rhythms and bow techniques. Because you can focus less on the notes themselves, you can focus more on other things. So most times I try and spend at least a little time with scales.

Just briefly, I want to mention here that Laura and Dave have put me on onto Brent Miller who has kindly offered to teach Maria percussion lessons to go along with the piano and theory Dave is teaching her. Maria's percussion tutor from school was more interested in drum kit where Maria likes various percussion instruments (tuned and untuned). I will never push my daughter with her music, but I will encourage her to make the most of something she likes and does well.

The Sage will do his best to keep up with the blog and with his music even though times lately have been rather busy.

The Dragon Sings

This was a show by the Camerata of St Johns and The Orava Quartet to launch a book called The Dragon Sings by Helen Clancy McBride.

While the link is up, click it for details.

It was on at 7pm in St Johns Cathedral on Ann Street.

This morning Laura asked me if I wanted to take tickets to the show. I certainly did, which is how the princess and I found ourselves at the event. When we went to collect the tickets at the door the ushers had no idea what we were talking about. Eventually we found ourselves at the front of the church where I rang Laura to find out what was going on. While I was waiting for a reply we were approached by a lady in black. She was working with the Camerata and setting up the chairs and stands. We told her what had happened and she said to us "why don't you sit over there next to the other young girl". She was indicating seats in the front row! So we thanked her and sat down. Eventually Dave came by with our tickets and we settled down for the show.

Following is a list of the pieces played:

Purcell - When I Am Laid In Earth (Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas)
Wirén - March from Serenade for Strings
Biber - Der Mars from Battalia
Grandage - When Time Stops (excerpt from commission by Expressions Dance Company for Natalie Weir's When Time Stops)
Hindemith - Trauermusik, for Solo Viola and String Orchestra
Shostakovich - Chamber Symphony, Op.110a (8th Quartet, arr. Barshai)
Debussy - String Quartet in G Minor, Movement III
Bach - Erbarme Dich from St Matthew Passion
Olivero - Achot Ketana for Soprano, Three Solo Violins, Clarinet and String Orchestra
McCurdy - The Strangest Dream

The opening really set the tone. The soprano Shelli Hulcombe did a fabulous job (as did the musicians) in setting the tone.This was meant to be a meditation on the journey that is war. I am not shy about sharing my view on war: The War Prayer sums it up nicely. It is even harder for me since my brother is a Major in the Australian Army.

The music and the poetry matched really well. Barbar Lowing's reading was very effective. The audience was asked to hold all applause until the end of the concert. I am so glad it was this way because it allowed the mood to build up across the pieces.

Thanks once more to Laura for providing another wonderful musical experience, coinciding with ANZAC Day, specifically the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli, Indeed, on the way back to the train after the show we walked by Anzac Square to visit the Eternal Flame. It was very solemn.

Violin lesson #198, #109 and #110???

Szechuan, what's going on? It has been a month (and three lessons) since your last post. Stuff has been getting in the way which means blogging has taken a back seat.

To sum up, I have been working on my assigned pieces from ABRSM Exam Book #2 plus Farewell To Skye. They are at the stage where I know the notes and can play them in tune for the most part. The pieces now require polish before they can be played in front of an examiner.

The biggest lesson I have learned in this time is to break pieces down to small enough sections to focus on in the practice time I can manage. A section is usually a bar or two and sometimes can be a few notes.There is not a lot of point in continually playing the entire piece from start to finish. If I do that it is harder to zero in on the problems I have with the piece.

Once again, scales are my friend. I can sort out so many bowing issues while playing scales (or even parts of scales). Scales take away concerns about learning to play notes and concentrate on bow work. Yes, like using whole bows and working out when to spend-and-save the bow especially for longer notes.

Lessons have settled down to 1230 on Saturdays, and that includes time for violin for Sirisha and I as well as piano time for Anand and the princess.

I will do my best to be more vigilant with my blogging in the future.

Dami Im concert for Compassion

This week-end was very busy and more hectic than usual for the Sage family. The prince had turned fifteen and to celebrate there was a gathering of about two dozen teenagers at our house on Friday night. Half of them ended up staying the night. Early in the morning we discovered two of them were daft enough to bring alcohol (luckily they stayed away from my stash). That tainted the whole gathering and resulted in increased stress for his parents. On top of this we had a family gathering on the Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, the concert had been booked so I attended, and I was so glad I did.

The concert was at the Brisbane Full Gospel Church in Eight Mile Plains at 7pm. It was quite an experience to go to a church that no doubt was used to hosting Korean congregations. I am sure the staff expected a crowd different to the one that would usually turn up. They were all very friendly and welcoming.

The concert opened with a violin and piano duo. This was an unexpected bonus for me. I had no idea. And they were awesome. They opened with a medley of Disney movie themes which included a great rendition of Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Even I can play this passably well, but in the hands of the young lady with the violin it went to a whole other level. She was fast, and precise and included a wonderful run towards the end. Outstanding. And the best part is that after the medley she came back with a cellist and the piano trio continued with a few more sets. They played traditional / classical music and modern songs as well. A few that stuck with me were Amazing Grace + Bach Cello Suite No 1 prelude, "Nearer, My God, to Thee" and Moon River. I would have been happy with them performing for the whole show but it was not to be. I doubt few cheered and applauded louder than I did for their music.

They were followed by a young man named Victor who was in X-Factor the same year (2013) as Dami. As he said "since most of you don't know who I am I did not do very well". Safe to say, not as well as Dami. He sang two songs, and was joined in his version of Hallelujah by Dami herself.

Dami started with a few of the songs she did on X-Factor (first up was Bridge Over Troubled Water). Then she played the songs she has released so far. She is so sweet. She stereotyped her concert crowds: Australian, Asian and Church. She did some songs in Korean too, which sounded so pretty.

Noah (her husband) came on and spoke about Compassion. They help to sponsor children living in poverty in Jesus name. As this was a fundraiser for Compassion I learned a fair bit about the organisation. They do wonderful work, no doubt, and I felt a little bad that I could not sponsor a child that night. I did talk about it when I got home and we hope to be able to organise to do something eventually.

They finished up the show with Dami singing the Endless Love duet with Victor.

It was a great night (not least of all for the unexpected violin) and I learned a lot. And after the events of the weekend it was much needed.

Violin lesson #106, #107

There has been a bit of a shake-up with lessons. No longer is the Sage going to Browning Street. Lessons have moved to Farringdon Street in Robinson. No longer does the Sage have something to look forward to on Tuesday evening. The lessons are on Saturday. The Sage is feeling the love though. Not only is the Sage going to Robinson, but so is Sirisha, and so is Princess Sage, and so is Anand, because Laura is teaching there with Dave, who is teaching the Princess and Anand piano. So it's like one big musical family. Nawww...

I am still going with the same pieces, making progress most of the time, pausing now and then to refine one aspect or another. The last lesson was one of those refinement lessons. Laura pointed out there are different levels of mastery when playing scales. No longer am I at the bottom level. Neither am I at the top, yet there are certain expectations now when I play, and there are skills I must have when playing for an examiner. This is one of the reasons scales are so cool. I know what a scale sounds like, so I can concentrate on getting a good even tone on up-bow and down-bow at both ends of the bow. I can concentrate on changing strings cleanly at both ends of the bow so there is no scratching.

The Princess felt bad for me because she thought Laura was going mad on me or picking on me. Of course it was not like that, but that is how she felt. I told her "if Daddy wanted to be a half-arsed violinist he would have found a half-arsed teacher". I want to use my whole arse, that is to say, to play the best that I am capable of playing. I will never out-Hahn Hilary or out-Bell Joshua, and that has never been my goal. I want to do my best without worrying about comparing myself to anyone else.

Right now that means working hard to get my scales sounding better.

There will be a break over Easter. Family duties call as much as I would like a lesson. The lessons will be there after Easter.

Mzaza Album Launch: Ghosts

Congratulations to Mzaza (pronounced EMzaza) on the launch of their album Ghosts. It's on iTunes and you can get the CD from their web site. I already have my copy since I was part of the pozible campaign to crowdfund the album. My award was a wooden USB stick with the Mzaza logo (and URL) and a signed copy of the album.

I was there at Brisbane Powerhouse on both nights but not both of them were for Mzaza. The first night was for Miranda Sings. No link for her. Don't bother. She is a character of American Colleen Ballinger. Not important. More important and far more fascinating than her was the Nikon Walkley 2014 Photo Exhibition. For those who don't know, the Walkleys are awards given to photojournalists for outstanding photography. The pictures were displayed throughout the Powerhouse. I will admit that the photos themselves are not always so spectacular until you hear the story behind them. It was the opening night and there was a gentleman there talking about the various photographers and their photos. It finished with him talking to the gentleman who took the ONLY photo of Gerard Baden Clay on the day he was found guilty of murdering his wife. It was not so much a photo of him, but a photo of him on a security monitor inside the vehicle that was taking him from court to jail. Not a bad effort, until you realise the vehicle was on the Centenary highway at the time doing a hundred kilometers per hour, and the photographer had about ten seconds to take that shot...

I did actually see some of Mzaza that night. I spoke for a moment to Jordan (percussion) and said hello to Greta (violin) and introduced her to my daughter (who was there for Miranda Sings along with her cousin Regina and my sister).

Had I not come to Brisbane Powerhouse to take my princess to the show I never would have had the introduction to the Walkley exhibit. The photos were still there on the Friday night.

I was back again on Friday for the performance. Before the show I was standing at the Alto Bar looking out across the river. Then a lady said to me "you should be playing". I was at a loss to what she was talking about until I realised she meant Patience. I had come straight from work so I was holding my bag and my violin, I had actually been paying in Newfarm Park before getting to the Powerhouse. I told her I was learning and she thought that was lovely. Then she wandered away with her group. Eventually I went down to the Vizy theater to escape the Miranda fans and wait for the show.

When we were finally allowed in, the lovely security lady with the cool tattoo sleeve told me I could leave my bag and violin at the front door (since this was a seated event) and she would look after it. Awesome, because there are no cloakrooms at the Powerhouse (for shame). Once I took a seat I realised it was behind a familiar face. It belonged to a gentleman I first met at the vintage shop that hosted Mzaza one time and then saw again at The Bearded Lady early this year (with The Underscore Orkestra, who, coincidentally, were playing the previous night at Vision Gallery, where I first saw Mzaza play with Chaika but I digress).

The show was to be opened by the Ewan MacKenzie Trio, but he was sick. He was replaced by the very capable, and charming, Andrew Vievers. He was at Post Office Square on the same night as Mzaza some time ago, and I was looking forward to seeing him until I had to go home earlier than I expected... He is absolutely fabulous on Spanish guitar. His right hand was mesmerising. It was obvious he has been doing this for decades. He made it look so easy. He is also a bit of a larrikin. He told a story about a piece he had written for his wife, translated to "little chicken". He had titled the piece using the masculine gender. Since he had written for his wife he decided to use the feminine gender. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, a friend of his who was a native Spanish speaker saw the piece and asked him about it. Andrew told him why he had the named the piece the way he did. His friend then said "No no no Andrew. This word is slang for 'small penis'". LOL So he changed it back to the masculine. I look forward to seeing Andrew play again in the future.

Then it was time for Mzaza. Huzzah for Mzaza. They had the usual arrangement on stage, and a little more. Firstly, there was a screen on stage. During in the evening it had clips of lyrics to introduce each song, and were visuals as well. Nice one. Part of me enjoyed the aspect of visuals on the screen, especially because some of them were quite stunning. Another part thought they distracted me from what was happening on stage, like Greta shredding on the violin (I'm not kidding) and Stephen going gangbusters on the accordion. They played the track list from Ghosts, so the songs were very familiar to  me. The other thing that changed it up was the addition of friends to the stage. There was one lady who backed up Pauline's vocals. If you have heard Pauline sing you know she doesn't need backup but the presence of an additional voice provided another dimension to the songs. There was a chap who joined them with an oud. Another gentleman played cimbalom with them for a few songs. I know! How cool was that??? I love hearing that sound, and this guy was awesome. They also had another gentleman take over on double bass for what turned out to be my favourite song of the night - Esta Montanya D'enfrente - (something about a mountain). The tone of that song and the haunting vocals that went with it were outstanding. Oh, and there was one more guest. Michael, who I believe is dating Pauline, came on stage for a duet in French (Dying To Dance With The Devil). He looked so nervous but he did a great job.

Mzaza came back for an encore that finished with the audience singing a Ladino song "Adio Kerida" which contains such charming lyrics as "When your mother delivered you and brought you to the world she did not give you a heart to love with". I'd sing this song to Mrs Sage until I found the translation. Oh dear,,,

After the show there was a meet and greet. I spoke to Greta briefly and Pauline for a little too, I really wanted to chat to Stephen about the accordion but that will have to wait for another time. Then it was off to the ferry for a quiet and pleasant trip to South Bank for a train home. But wait ... who was that sitting waiting for the Gold Coast train? Yes, the lady from Alto with her three companions. We had another chat. She was lovely. It turns out she likes gypsy music and wandered about Paris looking for buskers who played. I told her about Mzaza and I think she was keen enough to look them up. Tally up another random encounter thanks, in part, to Patience.

It was a great night. The show was wonderful (though I think my favourite gig was still The Bearded Lady for the dance space). All the best to Mzaza and fingers crossed for a safe and happy return for another show.

Violin lesson #105

Last week Laura asked me to write out the G Major scales in the way I had to play them. I didn't get around to doing that, but, I did write out an arrangement of Onward Christian Soldiers. Why? Let me explain...

I think I have written before about Tom. He is a kind gentleman, older than me, who is in the Salvation Army. He collects at the South Brisbane train station most Fridays. He also plays a brass instrument (a horn of some kind which I am embarrassed right now to say I can't identify). Last Friday he was playing his horn as he was collecting. And he was playing Onward Christian Soldiers. Now, I know that song though it was different to the version he played. So I asked Laura if she would help me to learn his version of I provided the sheet music. I found it on 8notes.com but had to transpose it to a key signature I know how to play.I did this on my noteflight account. Yeah, a computer nerd like me writes his music online. It's how I roll.

To the lesson... we were back in the original studios at #17 Browning Street. Sirisha went first this week, and she played splendidly.

Then it was my turn. I started with Farewell To Skye. The first thing I had to do was fan out the fingers on my left hand. I have spoken before about my larger than average fingers (well, wider than average I suppose is more accurate). Sirisha, and of course Laura, have a good spread with their fingers. And apparently I do to when I remember to spread them out. While on the subject of my left hand, my thumb is unusual. How unusual? Laura says I am the only person she knows who can't turn his thumb around to place the front pad on the neck of the violin. If I do that, I can't get proper finger positions. If I use correct finger positions it is the side of my thumb that rests against the violin. I have tried to use the front of my thumb but I just can't manage it. I wonder if years from now when I am dead whether someone will dissect my hand to find out why this is so...

My intonation was better this week *phew* so it was only that one week where it was off. My rhythm for this piece is not quite correct so that's something to work on for next week. And again I had trouble with first and second finger close together on the E-string. Will this be the case with the viola? Time will tell.

After this Laura helped me with Onward Christian Soldiers. I knew the tune and had practiced it a fair bit in the key I had selected (G-Major). I mostly wanted some tips from Laura on how to play.We ran through it a few times and she made some notes. On the last pass through Laura accompanied me, but did not play what I played. She played a counterpoint (or harmony, I am not sure which). I knew the piece well enough to be able to play it with one part of my brain while I listened to what Laura was doing. It sounded so cool. Yes, at times like this I wish I recorded my lessons. These moments cone along once in a while and I know they will stay with me for a while but I would also love to share them.

Finally was Londonderry Air. This was an improvement over last week, especially when I used - come on, say it with me ... MORE BOW. I think Laura said last time, and repeated again this week, that the bow is where the expression comes from. Vibrato is a nice effect when used correctly, but it's only a small part of the feeling that can be put into the music. If the bow work is not there then vibrato will not matter so much. I think I was getting the hang of it towards the end. I have improved on how much bow I use and when, but there's still a little way to go. Laura told us this was one of the pieces she played in a nursing home recently and she milked it for all it was worth. Now when a professional musician tells you that, you *know* it had to be good. So good in fact that people were crying (in a good way) and residents who don't normally get up did so. Music is wonderful. 'nuff said.

All in all I feel I had a good lesson. And afterwards Sirisha told me she could feel her baby moving around as she sat and watched my lesson. I told her Uncle Szechuan would love to play for Sirisha Junior (or Anand Junior, or something else) one day. Yes, music is wonderful.

Violin lesson #104

After the disappointment of last week's lesson, and trying to decorate my cake before I baked it (that is trying to add the finesse to my pieces before getting the basics right), I was a little bit down.

The first practice I was able to do after that lesson I spent working on my intonation. At first I started using Pitchlabs then eventually worked without it. I was playing notes up and down, partial scales, working on each string in turn. It was boring, yes, but necessary, and I was focussed.

The other thing that helped lift me was a quote Laura posted on FaceBook:

"To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable"

After hearing that I tried to play my pieces with more feeling, and I think it worked. Well, I felt better at the very least =) It's odd, but there are pieces I know how to play - things I have learned outside my lessons - that I think sound really good. Sometimes I think it is because I have more confidence with those pieces, or because I am more familiar with them, so I am able to worry less about wrong notes and think more about the music I want to play.

The work paid off in today's lesson. My intonation was much better than last week.And I tried to play my pieces with more bow and more energy. For the most part it worked. Mango Walk sounded pretty good today. There were some timing issues but it was pretty good. I'll need to work on the opening two bars (which are repeated a little later). They sound sweet when played with confidence but I don't always play them that way.

Even when Sirisha walked in with Anand, her husband, I kept my composure.

After this I worked on Londonderry Air. I need to become more aware of how much bow I use to make sure I don't run out at one end or the other. So, apart from learning what notes to play, I need to plan how to use the bow (more than just whether or not it is an up bow or down bow or a slur). I think I will need to play it a little slower and stop when I run out of bow to figure out why and how to fix the bowing leading up to that point. I was really happy to be able to get to the end when I played the first time. I didn't stop even when I knew I had messed up. I just kept going, and it felt pretty good. All in all I enjoyed playing it, warts and all.

There was time at the end to talk about scales. I am going to write them down, partly as a way to learn them and partly to have the music in front of me the way that I am supposed to play.

I enjoyed my lesson today and look forward to my practice and my next lesson.

Violin lesson #103

After going to the awesome Lindsey Stirling concert the previous Friday and having a pretty full-on weekend it was back down to earth today.

I tried to practice as much as I could in between everything else and even deleted a few games from the tablet to free up some more time. Perhaps it was this lack of practice or perhaps it was one of those days but the lesson this afternoon was not one of my best. After helping Laura out with a E-string (thankfully she did not break the string on the other side of the violin LOL) it was mostly downhill.

My thumb does not sit on the neck of the violin the way most other people's thumbs do. To put it  in the correct position felt awkward, though I do think it improved my intonation. Once I get home and relax everything I expect it will feel more natural and I will adapt to it.

My intonation was all over the place today. I couldn't get a consistent good sound. It might be I was too concerned about my thumb to remember the rest of the fingers.

I had trouble getting some of the rhythm right for Farewell To Skye and Mr Handel's March. I must start listening to the CD and / or playing with a metronome. Granted sometimes I have to snatch practice time when I can and it is not always possible to have these things but it doesn't mean I should not try where possible.

After all this time I still have trouble recognising notes in unfamiliar music. I expect this is something that will need extra attention. Part of the reason I don't play unfamiliar music confidently is that I am not so confident about the notes to play. This week I am going to be more diligent about the second part of the pieces I played today (or rather the B section of the ABA arrangement).

When it was Sirisha's turn I was more than happy to sit down. She played beautifully today. Perhaps her practice is enhanced with Anand's decision to start learning piano. From all accounts he is doing very well =)

After the lesson Sirisha and I met Nab, a gentleman with a Middle-Eastern background who plays the oud and the tabla. He knows both Mzaza and Wazia and mentioned both Bill and Greta by name. He was a very friendly man and very encouraging. He even sang a song from India that Sirisha recognised. It certainly helped me feel better, and inspired me to practice better for my lesson next week.

Lindsey Stirling

Disclaimer: I am a big fan of Lindsey Stirling and her concert was great so I'm going to ramble a lot. You have been warned.

I had the day off for the concert because I didn't know what time the VIP activity was happening. As it turns out, it happened at 630pm, an hour before the doors opened for the concert. Cyclone Marcia was hanging around the Central Queensland coast so the weather in Brisbane was showery. Media reports were suggesting low lying areas in Brisbane might be flooded. Not only that but with severe weather the trains stop running. So to err on the side of caution I arrived at The Tivoli around 330. Even so, I was not the first one there. A group of four young men were standing around the front door. The rain was not heavy so I decided to find a coffee shop.

That was easier said than done. That part of Fortitude Valley/. Bowen Hills does not have many coffee shops. In the end I walked around a few blocks and ended up back at the food court near Brunswick Street Station. After a tour of McWhirters and lots of dithering I decided on dinner at a salad place. It was actually pretty good. I also bought some water and chocolate, for later. On the way back to The Tivoli I stopped at a bakery that had a sign for their coffee. I walked in, not expecting much from a bakery, and was pleasantly surprised. They were serving Vietnamese style coffee. Score! The nice made me a very good black coffee (the white coffee with condensed milk would have been far too sweet). Pleased with the find, I drank the coffee all the way to The Tivoli.

By now it was 430. The crowd had grown slightly larger. I still out-aged them by at least a third. I expect many of them were in their 20s. In front of me was a couple dressed mostly in black. The guy was "goth" - long hair, skinny, black nail polish and carrying a stuffed goat (more about that later. I kid you not. If you don't believe me, search for goat). I did talk to them a little. They were at the last concert. They went on to say Lindsey was over two and a half hours late, and came on without any explanation why. By the time she started several people had walked out. I call them imbeciles. Behind me were two computer "nerds" prattling on and on and on about different topics like hacking and network security. It was almost hurting my ears. While I was looking around I was hard pressed to find anyone near my age.I did notice some people turn up with violins. They were for Lindsey to sign.

I thought about this. While I did miss carrying Patience around, I realised The Tivoli had no cloak room. This meant I would have to carry her around all night. I was not averse to this but under the circumstances I didn't want to do it in a crowded club. Also, I didn't like the idea of someone, even Lindsey Stirling, signing my baby. Patience is a violin, not a CD or a poster. Okay, she's a student violin but she is all mine and I didn't think it right to mark her like that. The people who did get them signed did not have them later so I expect they drove to the venue and put their violins away.

When 630 arrived someone came to the door and asked for VIPs to step forward. I was surprised to see about six people in front of me move in. What? The rest of them were just there for the concert? All the better for me. We were ushered inside where our confirmations were checked (mine was done without asking for ID). I was issued with a lanyard and was asked to join a queue near the sound desk. The guy behind me was a character. Literally. He was a dude from Assassins Creed. Don't ask me which one because I don't know, There might just be one. In any case, he WON his VIP pass in a contest. He had to dress up as a video game character. He won. So he decided to turn up in his costume, which as far as I could tell was a black shirt and pants and two leather forearm guards (bracers I believe they are called) with metal symbols on them.

Almost before I knew it I was ushered forward. I already had a copy of the Shatter Me CD for Lindsey to sign. She asked my name and hugged me and thanked me for coming. Garvy (the keyboard player) took the photo of Lindsey and I. I struck the "Asian" pose (flashing a peace sign) so when Lindsey noticed that she struck a similar pose. While she signed the CD I asked them about holding the koala. They said they had a great time. Next time I will consider stalking Lone Pine. Wait, did I type that out loud??? And that was it for the close encounter. There are many jokes going around about her height, or lack of height, so to me she was taller than I expected. I watched a lot of the other VIP get the treatment. I counted at least three violins. The Assassins Creed chap had his bracers signed. Some people presented Lindsey with gifts. I could not make out most of them. But the next-to-last guy had a hug bag with him. In it were three very large black-and-grey drawings of Lindsey Stirling. They were very good and she was really impressed.

After some mingling it was time for the Q&A. Lindsey started by introducing her entourage. All of them and not just the band (Garvy on keyboards and Drew on drums). She was asked, among other things, about vegemite (tried it and did not like it because she spread it on like jam), people she wanted to collaborate with (Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding and others), what she would say to the America's Got Talent judges (she would not be rude but would just say "I did it"). Someone asked her about doing a cover of How To Train Your Dragon. She said that was cool but in a "similar demographic" to some of her other covers she is working on Doctor Who. Huh? Similar demographic? Doctor Who? The same Doctor Who that was being produced three years before I was born? Surely she was kidding. She has never played a Strad but she would like to (duh I would like to play one too).

I got to ask two questions. I asked about her trip to Kenya to record her cover of We Found Love. She was dating the guy who shot the video at the time. She went along as part of the crew, When they got there they thought it would be a good idea to film a video of her playing there. The video really got to me. Whether it was the song, her playing, the singing, the joy of the people she met (especially the children and some of the elders). It's just amazing. She said it was a life changing experience and she really wants to go back there. I think it was when I found this video that I really took notice of her. It is what gets me to thinking I would one day like to teach  kids to play violin or teaching in third world countries. I kinda wonder how many other people there knew what I was talking about. I would like to think most, but I would not bet on it. I also asked her about her violins. She has eleven of them. She went on to say six were for video shoots, and the other five she plays and records with regularly (including a black glittery electric violin named Cleopatra). To wrap up they played an acoustic  cover of Shatter Me.

As they walked security guards came around to ask for ID. No, I didn't get asked (thank goodness for the beard) but I did have one kid show me his drivers license because he thought I was with security. WTF? Just because I had a black shirt and pants? Oh yeah, the beard. Kids these days...

While Lindsey and the lads went to prepare for the show, we were entertained by two DJs. Or, more to the point, I was. I don't think many of the other concert goers were paying them much attention. The girl could certainly move with the music. The guy not so much. One person near me commented on the diversity of the crowd. By this time the place was pretty full. And he was right. For the most part it was twenty-something computer-game-playing types (in my opinion) but I dare say there were some fans of hers before she became know for her Dragon Age video. Okay, yes, she does look pretty hot as Zelda too. The DJs were ushered off and not long after that, almost right on 830, it was on!

She belted out three songs before she took her first breather. She did not stop moving. She was dancing about all over that stage so much it was almost hard to keep up. And her playing was as energetic as her dancing. And I notice she as using the whole bow.

Forgive me here if I get things out of sequence. There was a lot happening.

She did the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant and got the obligatory response. She showed us her Australian accent, which quite frankly wasn't great but was a good effort. She commented on the weather and the crowd told her "welcome to Queensland". She was upset that she asked for fine weather and did not get it, joking that she always gets what she wants. Well, she did, in the end, because it had stopped raining and I walked half way back to the train station before I realised I had forgotten my umbrella.

After one energetic song she commented how unfit she was. She did not train before the tour and was now paying for it. Fortunately she had been working out with leg weights and while her arms were puny here quads were fantastic. This might be the caveman in me talking but I thought all of her looked fantastic. I taker her point about fitness though, especially when she moves so much. Even when she was sitting down there was a sense of pent-up movement.

Lindsey was telling us how the band came together. A week before her first show she realised she needed someone to play live music. Her friends of friends came through in the form of Garvy and Drew. They learned seventeen songs in two days These are not songs, as such. They are instrumentals, which don't have hooks and choruses and so on and that made their job even harder. Lindsey did not expect them to stick around after the first show, figuring it was a one-off deal, but to her surprise, the group has stayed together ever since, She is a firm believer that at different times people come into your life for a reason. I used to think that, then I didn't and now I am not so sure. It was during this segment that she notice the goat for the first time. GoatBoy was stroking his stuffed toy and she thought he had a pet rabbit. He tossed the goat to Garvy, who tossed it to Lindsey. She played with it before giving it to Drew who through it back.

I can't quite remember what started it but at one point Garvy asked what the goat was called, and that led to a Ma-zzy Ma-zzy Ma-zzy chant. I did not expect that, and it's something that will be unique to Brisbane =)

In another segment she talked about how she wrote music. Sometimes she came up with a theme and then tried to find music to match. A theme like steampunk western. The crowd cheered for Roundtable Rival. She teased by saying it was not next up but they did play it soon after that. It was perhaps my favourite performance. If you've not clicked the link, here comes a spoiler: the part of the guitar-wielding bandit was played by a keytar wielding Garvy! There was great interplay between them (as well a fantastic music).

Lindsey used no props, as can be imagined. She did have a video screen, which was especially handy for those songs like Shatter Me and We Are Giants which feature guest vocals. It also helped with getting the context of the song (Crystallize had the ice caverns for example, and Master Of Tides a water theme). It was also great for Lindsey to show a montage of home movies while she and the lads took a well earned break.

About Crystallize, this was her break-out electronic dance music (EDM) hit inspired by Skrillex.She wrote this music six or seven times before she felt it was ready. Thank goodness she did not give up.

Smart-phones. I hate them at concerts. I really do. What a shame I did not have a smart-phone swatter. Lamentably I could not find a Ramones seven-inch vinyl record, or a drumstick, and Stabby would have been confiscated (although there was no pat-down and no metal detector). The phones remind me of the current time, when I would rather be in the moment. I still don't get why people want to record something like this when they could be present for it. One rare plus side was that when Lindsey was out of view on the other side of the stage, I could still see her. BUT I STILL HATE THEM!

She told us she has heard of six couples who met at a Lindsey Stirling show and got married. Garvy pointed out she was single and before she knew it she had been auctioned off for $1,000. That's about a millionth of what I think she is worth. Then a guy asked rather loudly if Garvy was single, which cracked everyone up, This is how they were. They loved the banter and were willing to go with the crowd. This was her segue into a cover of John Legend's All Of Me. This is where I missed Mts Sage the most. And damn you for this Lindsey ... she asked people to hold up lights (ie smart phones) ... damn you

A lot of the concerts I have been to had breath-taking moments. This was one of two for this concert. The crowd was singing along with the chorus and it was just beautiful. At the end of it, GoatBoy was making out with the goat. Garvy noticed. Lindsey couldn't believe she missed it so he obligingly did it again. Like, ew.

The second such moment was when Lindsey was playing a Lord Of The Rings medley. Half way through she stopped playing ... and started singing.It was magic. I have been led to believe that, in general, musicians will develop a very good pitch, so it is no surprise that can translate to the musician's voice. It certainly did for her. It was amazing, and so surprising. Hopefully she will sing on her next album.

Towards the end Lindsey mentioned that some artists are bankrolled by record companies with deep pockets and world-wide advertising access so they can very quickly gain a huge amount of recognition and fan base. Lindsey pointed out that she had none of that. She was putting stuff up on YouTube like so many others and her fans did the rest. She was so grateful to everyone that had supported her and allowed to her to do what she loved, and to share what she loved.

There were times when she was choking up talking about how hard it was to be in a dark place and needing to have faith to take a step before making it into the light, and how hard it was to be different and to fight for what you want in spite of your differences. She told us we all have different skills and talents. Even though I try to look for the "sames" in people I know where she is coming from and understand her message.

She was fabulous. What you see is what you get. You can feel the love of playing and performing that she has. I've been to a number of shows over the last few years, mostly for the violin, and while all performers show love of playing in one way or another, it really stood out with Lindsey Stirling. Perhaps it was her energy. Perhaps it was because I was only standing a few meters away. Whatever it was, it was palpable yet undefinable.

It was just on 1030 when she finished. Wow, that was some show. She gave it everything. I went home so happy after that. It was everything I expected and a little more.

Gosh, I think that's it. I might come back and add stuff as I remember. Thanks for reading if you get this far. This blog is mostly for my benefit to record what I can remember when I want to look back at it.

Violin lesson #101, #102

These are in the one post (a) because I behind in my ToDo list and didn't devote enough time to blogging last week and (b) because they are kind of related.

Both weeks I spent much of the lesson focussed on Londonderry Air. I had not played this for Laura before so we thought it was time to see how it was going. There were good points and bad points.

It appears I carry a lot of tension in my hands. Laura said a good way to relieve the tension was to strangle small puppies with my bare hands. Actually, that part is not true. I just have to learn not to hold the violin and the bow so tightly. So now when I practice I stop randomly and check my grip. I don't hold pencils or the steering wheel of the car tightly and it will be the same with the violin and bow ... eventually.

My elbow does not point towards the ground. This means I can't get a good curve on my violin fingers which means it is harder to get good intonation and do some of the fast and fancy playing Laura does. I like fast and fancy. It reminds me of a Ferrari, or an ex-flame of mine, but I digress...

I don't use enough bow. This is really important especially for Londonderry Air because it is so lyrical. I can't believe over a hundred lessons on and Laura still has to remind me "more bow, more bow". I think I am getting there. Hopefully I am using more bow than I used to even though I don't always get to the heel or tip.

In #101 Laura helped me polish O Sole Mio. I appreciated her efforts. I feel like I can play it well. Having said all that it didn't go down to well when I played it for Mrs Sage at Valentines Day. It was partly the way I played and partly her lack of interest. I think I picked a bad song, or perhaps the key was too high.

This brings me around to the subject of the viola. Laura and I talked about taking violin to ABRSM3 and then considering a switch. This might be a good idea. I have to give +1 to Mrs Sage who remembered one of the students at the recital playing viola. She said she liked the sound of the viola more than the violin, so perhaps it is not a bad way to go, though I expect I will miss playing Patience. I can't imagine I will be able to play her while learning a viola at the same time, at least not initially. However, this is all quite some time away so there is little point worrying about that now.

Generally my playing is pretty good. Laura told Sirisha and I we no longer sound like beginners, but every now and then we slip up and show our beginner-ness. As you know, I am not satisfied with "pretty good" which is why I go to Laura and why I'll keep on with lessons.

Also I have dumped some of the games I play on the tablet in an effort to make more time for more productive pursuits, like blogging and playing violin,

One Direction (+McBusted and Samantha Jade)

I never thought it would happen, The Szechuan Sage went to a One Direction concert. How could he let this happen? First of all Mrs Sage was supposed to take The Princess and Stacia (dear friend of The Princess). Then The Aunt was going to take her. It turns out neither of them could make it so The Sage took one for the team.

Getting there was pretty sweet, even though I made the only mistake of the night. Stacia had sprained her foot in a gymnastics-related accident so she was on crutches. She said she would be fine to get to and from the concert. What a trooper! We went to Garden City to take a free bus to Suncorp Stadium. My mistake was in not dropping off the ladies at the drop-off zone. I parked at Park And Ride which meant we had to walk to the bus. Stacia was great, I couldn't stop apologising all the way to the bus. The first bus was full and since we needed a seat we waited all of five minutes for the next one. Once we were on it did not take long to fill up. Yeah it was TERRIBLE being squashed in a bus with mostly-attractive women, getting flicked in the head with long hair and stuff. I was OUTRAGED!

We got to Suncorp Stadium in good time despite the drizzly weather and the expected worse-than-peak-hour traffic. It has been many years since I had been to the stadium. I think it was still called Lang Park when I was last there =) I was very impressed with the facility. The bus station is downstairs. We headed for a lift and were soon up in front of Gate B. After accidentally queueing in a VIP merchandise line for a while, we made it into the stadium. I really can't complain about the seats. "Straight ahead, down those stairs and a little to the right". Rocking! No long walks to get to the seats. We were directly facing the stage too which is always preferable to sitting along the sides.

Samantha Jade was up first. She belted out five songs before she had to go. She's still got it. For  me she was the best performer. The stadium did not help. I think she is far more suited to a smaller more intimate venue like a dance club or The Tivoli ot  places like that.

After this we went for water and soft drinks. I thanked the coffee gods once because there was a Grinders stand, and a second time because they agreed to make me a double espresso. Yeah, that's right, and it was good coffee. We all bought a bottle of water each but no food - the ladies had eaten at McDonalds on the way to the bus. Stacia lined up for merchandise and didn't have to wait too long. Nothing was far from our seats. It was really convenient.

Eventually McBusted came on - the amalgam of McFly and Busted. I didn't know any of their songs, even the one that is currently on the charts. They did have lots of energy and were very entertaining and charming, especially the drummer who was implementing a "no shirt" policy. I suppose the girls (and some of they guys) loved it. They got the job done and we were left waiting for 1D.

There was quite a gap between McBusted and One Direction. The crowd mostly entertained itself. The Mexican wave went around a few times. After that there was some music over the loud-speakers that got the crowd up and dancing. You know, songs like Macarena and All The Single Ladies and Dynamite. Having said that, the crowd was loving it and there was much singing and dancing. Eventually though, it was time to cue the screams... the boys were on.

They are good performers. Very good. They sing well, have a great rapport with each other, and have learned how to work the crowd. I am not a fan of their music I must say. A lot of it is lite and generic and rather unsatisfying. Of course the fans were lapping it up, Stacia and The Princess were having a fantastic time. I tried not to let the sea of smart-phones bother me. It's inevitable. I will never, and The Sage means NEVER understand why people do that. Be present in the moment dudes. Live in the now. Don't filter your life through a tiny screen ... and so on. I will admit to recording some of the show for The Princess when it looked like her arm was getting tired. The boys were very grateful to the fans. They know the ride they are on will not last forever. Once again I was amazed that people were leaving before the encore. What? No dessert? The ladies knew to stay put and sure enough One Direction were back for two more songs.

After the show we waited for most of the patrons to leave so Stacia could have an easier time navigating the stairs. It was also convenient to have the short walk back to the bus station. We queued up at one platform, and just as we thought we were going to get a bus they closed it off and directed us to another platform where we had to start waiting again. Once more we waited until we were sure the ladies could get a seat, and even I stayed sitting down this time. The rain gods must also love One Direction because while clouds had been threatening most of the evening, there was no rain until we boarded the bus. This time I had the girls wait at the bus stop until I could bring the car around. By the time we got Stacia to her place and returned home it was almost midnight.

To sum up, it was a great night. My princess and her friend enjoyed it so I was happy. I'm still not a 1D fan but they did not give the worst concert I had ever attended.

Violin lesson #100

Unless I am mistaken, today was my 100th violin lesson.

The practice leading up to the lesson was good. I managed to practice scales each time and run through each of the four pieces I am working on right now. The pay-off for practicing only half of each piece paid off in todays lesson with marked improvement in Mango Walk and Farewell To Skye.

Not only that but Laura used music shorthand to show me how to play O Sole Mio (aka It's Now Or Never for you Elvis fans). Earlier in the day I asked if she would help me learn something romantic. Last year we spoke about that and Laura played this song. The key was changed to something I recognise and it sounds very cool.

Sirisha has found another Indian song she wants to learn. She passed a YouTube video on to Laura who wrote a score for her. It sounds lovely and evokes India very well. It is a song Sirisha knew as a child so it is somewhat sentimental too.

OMG. That's it. Is this really Szechuan Sage writing this? Where's the rest of it?

Yup. This is it. Happy centennial lesson with hopefully many more to come.

Violin lesson #99

Thank goodness school holidays are nearly over. I say that because I get back to a regular routine with, hopefully, more time to practice. Having said that, I think irregular practice forced me to focus more on what I was doing to get the most out of practice time.

What I learned this week:

Practicing small sections more often yields better results. After the lesson last week I decided to focus on a few bars or a phrase of each of the four pieces I am working on at the moment. I think this paid dividends because while I did not play much, I did play it better than last week.

I need to channel my inner ballerina. No, that does not mean I am going to outdance Lindsey Stirling any time soon. It does mean my bowing will become a little more fluid and a little less rigid to create a more - hm, there doesn't seem to be a single word - organic / expressive / emotive sound. It's hard to define because it's so subtle. I really notice it when Laura plays both ways one after the other, and for sure the second way sounds so much nicer.

Part of this involved swaying from foot to foot while bowing. If last week's lesson amused Sirisha she would have loved this week. It also helps to break down self-consciousness as it is not altogether natural to move that way (at least not for me, who looked like a rugby player trying to do a ballet move). I have noticed that when I play music with which I am more familiar that I do move around a little so I can see the sense in doing this - up to a point.

A little pull with the first finger on the bow yields a sharper cleaner sound. I must remember that what I hear under my ear is not what others will here, even in a setting as small as the studio.

Laura added a stripe to remind me of the first finger position. With some music, especially in the scale of G on the lower two strings, there is a big gap between first and third finger. To help this, it was suggested not to always keep my first finger down. This is a beginner trait as the first finger helps to anchor the rest of them. It turns out keeping this habit is actually detrimental to techniques coming up later. Also, because of my freakishly wide fingers (they aren't really that wide, I just wanted to use that phrase) it is sometimes hard to keep the first finger down while playing a low second as the fingers are almost on top of each other.

I was better this week with using the whole bow. I surely won't be able to play these pieces well if I don't use the whole bow.

Accenting the start of the bar will help with the Jamaican music. It uses syncopation, so I play on off-beats while Laura's piano plays on the beat. This song in particular is one where it just sounds wrong playing without expressive bowing. There is nothing in particular written on the music, so it is up to the player to make it sound musical. That is where experience comes in ... and a good teacher =)

I felt better about my playing after this lesson and I am looking forward to the new month next week, and to lesson ONE HUNDRED!

Violin lesson #97,#98

Wow, it's been some time since my last post. Christmas and New Year have come and gone. We have had the recital. There has been a family holiday to Redcliffe (hey, any break away from home is a good one). MZAZA played a show with The Underscore Orkestra and that was fantastic. I also received my new MZAZA CD and wooden USB stick in the post. Both items are way cool.

The recital was a great experience. I learned I still get nervous. Thanks to Laura for helping to cover my mistakes. I noticed even if no-one else did. Hopefully there will be more performance opportunities through the year. That might be the only way I will learn to handle nerves. The one thing I would do over is to warm up before playing. I should probably try to do that before lessons too. It's something I have noticed from home. I practice better when I have played a little before getting into it.

I have a few shows lined up already. Lindsey Stirling is here on February 20th. I get to meet and greet her. MZAZA (and friends) are launching the new CD, Ghosts, at The Powerhouse at the end of March.

While I was away I ordered the ABRSM Violin Grade 2 book, which came with a CD of accompaniments and a pull out book of the accompaniment music. Next time I won't order from Vivace and just get it online. Having said that, Vivace do have a cool music shop and I love looking at the pianos downstairs.

I was talking about music grades with one of the guys at work who played the flute. He said he sat for AMUS, which is what you do after finishing Grade 8. Yes, he's that good. Part of his exam was a forty  minute recital.

My 97th lesson started with learning about the ABRSM exam. I have to play pieces, obviously, as well as scales and arpeggios. There will also be sight reading and aural components too. This is what daunts me the most. I have never been a confident singer despite both my parents being pretty good. One aural test requires me to hear one note and sing back another at a particular interval. I must admit it was kind of fun. And I can see how this will help me learn songs by ear a little better.

To recognise intervals it helps to think of certain songs.

For a second and third interval I can sing "Doe A Deer"
For a fourth "Here Comes The Bride"
For a fifth "Twinkle Twinkle"
For a sixth "My Bonny Lies Over The Ocean"
There is nothing that comes to mind for a seventh because it is noticeably discordant.
For an eight (octave) "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

Some of this came back to me. I remember Pip talking about this when she was studying music.

We declared the songs I had been playing at the end of the 2014 as done. This meant 2015 could start with a clean slate. I will just give an idea of three of the nine songs that are in the book. The first is Mr Handel's March. It is, obviously, a march by Handel. This is the first piece I have had to play with trills, and boy did I trill. A little too much =) A trill is an ornamentation so it shouldn't be overdone.

The next piece is Londonderry Air which is also known as Danny Boy. This is something Laura played last year and I have been muddling along on my own since I received the book. When this is ready I really want to record this in the atrium at work because it has cool acoustics. Oh, and another place I found with good acoustics was the underground car park at the unit we stayed in at Redcliffe. It has been carved out of the rock and the rock was still exposed. I played a little while I was there.

The third piece is a Jamaican piece which sounds pretty funky. Here I have to pay close attention to the rhythm for this song has syncopation. I also have to be aware of the bowing to give the songs a Caribbean feel. Sirisha has done a song in the same style so it's not totally new.

Lesson #98 was not my finest lesson.

I have not been practicing Handel or Mango Walk (the Jamaican song) the right way. I just couldn't get it going.Two years on and I still can't be kind to myself. No doubt everything Laura told me will kick in the next day. Perhaps this week I will realise what "use more bow" means... On top of the review of those pieces we started another piece called Farewell To Skye (a Scottish waltz). It's kind of pretty and a little sad too.

So, plenty for The Sage to get on with. It's going to be a great year with some fantastic music and a passing grade in ABRSM.