Wednesday is the date of my second knee arthro this year (I'm thinking it's just time for a new knee!) and I am curious to know how my practicing will be affected. More crunchy bits being removed probably means more medication/more time off from work - will I haul myself over to practice, keeping the leg both straightened and elevated? I didn't take more than 2 Oxys last time, because I hate the fuzzy way I feel on them. But my guitarist husband - please, I'm changing my mention of him to just JP -and I have worked out a beautiful harmony on Ashokan, and if I don't keep playing it, it will all go down the tubes. I'll probably be housebound for a week, so I'd love to play 90 minutes a day, with lots and lots of sight reading. Wish me luck!
Monday - Ugh, ugly day with the knee at work; who wants to cry in front of their students? Heading upstairs now to practice, though. My 2 new favorite songs are A Fig for a Kiss and Geese in the Bog. Hope to have Boys of Ballisodare firmly under my fingers by Friday, too. Does anyone have ideas for increasing speed besides being patient and beginning slowly? (Maybe I don't have the patient part quite down yet....) The Mister came up to speed on Ashokan - now I am the slacker!
Tuesday - Stayed home from work after Monday's knee episodes. Played the harp for a little more than an hour. Worked on the songs listed above; decided to improve on some given fingerings and ornaments with good-for-my-ego results! Decided to retire, play the harp all day, and watch the $ roll in. Then reality set in....
Wednesday - The day of the dreaded knee surgery. No harp strings plucked as a result. Looking forward to three sick days and lots of playing.
Ouch! I hope you won't be in too much pain....
ReplyDeleteIt's great having a guitarist husband, isn't it?
Totally wishing you the best of luck. When I broke my ankle it took longer than I thought to feel ready to play but I did get quite good at playing with my foot elevated!
ReplyDeleteKathy always used to say to me "you can't play it fast until you can play it slow". And that means evenly and without mistakes. It's the only way really.
ReplyDeleteWell, Tuesday is the day I practice reeeeallly sloooowly, so we'll see what happens. Thanks for the advice!
ReplyDeleteOh--you do know who Kathy is, right? She's the teacher Laura, Lucy, and I all shared (along with loads of other students--ha ha!).
ReplyDeleteAndee is completely right. You just have to play it and play it. I sometimes use a metronome. When I can play it right at speed x, I kick it up a notch and keep going until I make mistakes, then I go back a few notches and work forward again. What I have noticed is that at a certain point I make a LEAP forward..... also no more than 20 min. at a time working - time itself, a break even if it is just to work on other tunes, lets yr. brain do some of the work and seems to help progress.
ReplyDeleteKathy runs Somerset! So you certainly do know her!
ReplyDeleteWell, sometimes I get involved and work more than 20 min, but the minute you feel tired or the mistakes just won't stop, that is time to stop.
ReplyDeleteI know Kathy-I even sat next to her 2 years ago at the Somerset Banquet! ( but she wouldn't know me from a hole in the wall.....)
ReplyDeleteHow is the knee?
ReplyDeleteYou are so nice - and thanks for your permission to invest my $ in another harp! My knee is perking right up, but soon it will be time to get the plastic/titanium version. Worse than that - I just came back down from pretending to practice the harp, and things are not great there, either. Humidity up from the giant sleet storm we had today - spring?? - and tuning was next to impossible, as were my fingers. Tried to play right through the Sue Richards O'Carolan book with only fumbling success. (Big sigh) Tomorrow I need to get on the stick! Has anyone here every started a Celtic Ensemble? I would like to play with a little group - play in, play out, I don't care! - and am not sure how to go about this, besides trolling on Craig's List......
ReplyDeleteWasn't that some storm! I haven't got any advice really. Since I play the concertina too I've made friends with a number of musicians here and play in a session and they like the harp too, so I take it around to private sessions. One thing leads to another - as I've found some folks I love to play with, w we then get together, somewhat informally to play.
ReplyDelete