I am a Gemini, and usually I enjoy the heat, but WOWZA, so far it's been quite a week. The humidity level is rght up there (so are the pollen levels..) and for a few days we were dehumidifier-less. So far only one broken string, but I'm going to leave the harp alone today to settle down after the delivery and set-up of the new water remover. My goal for the month is to play out more and fumble less. To that end, I've put another PR CD in the mail to a small local gallery, so we'll see what develops. Maybe we'll go out to the local Farmers' Market one Saturday if the weather improves. My only other goals this month - so far, at least - are to survive the last 10 1/2 days of school and to learn the Ray Charles 'America the Beautiful' piano part for this cover band I've joined. Wish me luck!
Week #2
This was us last summer, playing at our local Farmers' Market. My hair was frizz city, and we were slobs about our music in the guitar case between us. And why didn't we put the harp case somewhere out of the picture??? Oh well, we had a good time and got some nice comments. 3 1/2 days of school left, yipppeeee! The cover band is taking up way too much practice time, but in just a few days I will be able to play the harp for an hour at a time, which will be wonderful. Have had to cancel my plans of going to the Carolan Festival in Vermont for this year :((. And so far this month have not played out even once. Well, I'll keep looking for venues.....
Week #3
School is out, scream and shout! It usually takes me a while to re-learn how to loosen up, and I have a lot of projects to complete. But today I DID download Grainne's Traditional Irish...Vol. 1. (God, I love downloadable books!) I'd like to learn/memorize O'Farrell's before the month is over. It looks a little easier than I thought it would, which is probably a sign that it will take longer than usual! I'm hoping that I can be a little less rigid about the syncopation than I usually am. Wish me luck!
Week #4
Haha, if I really think about it I can play the first of the 3 pages of Farrell's. No time, and I mean no time, to play the harp. Cleaning out a 40x40 flower bed and the carpal tunnel is wild Had a phone call from a bride looking for a harpist; sent her out our bio, the sample CD and a sample wedding contract. The response? Zilch. Sorry, I will try to be more positive. Somerset in about 4 weeks, woo woo. Getting a room by myself this year, with a 'fridge to boot. Juices on the house. So much to learn, so many wonderful concerts to attend! And I love driving down by myself.
Also learning to play the bass on Me & Julio....feeling very versatile!
ReplyDeleteSorry to be so absent lately - I was off on a long road trip college visits and a wedding - plus the heat wave was even worse the further south you went!
ReplyDeleteYay a photo!! Nice, but you do seem to be sitting awfully far away from your husband. Also, you are facing away from him. After trial and error, I realized that it is best to have my guitarist husband sitting on my right; that way we can easily look at each other. Comes in handy when a glance is all you need to signal a change in tunes or something.
ReplyDeleteHe always sits on the left so that if either of us moves, the neck and the harp don't collide. But we are usually on the diagonal, semi-facing each other. It might not be the "correct" way, but it's what works for us!
ReplyDeleteOh, there's no 'correct' way--as long as it works for you guys! I hope you find a venue or two soon. I do find I get a bit un-motivated if there are no playing out things on the horizon. Thank goodness for our open mic night which fills the gaps.
ReplyDeleteAm I going to see you on Saturday Pam? I'm quite excited. Except I've been too busy to practice as I intended..... what else is new?
ReplyDeleteAh - I see you can't be there this year.... somehow I missed that above. I'll miss you.
ReplyDeleteI will miss meeting you, too. And I practiced the heck out of so many songs in prep. Downloaded the tunes, etc, etc. Well, it is a beautiful morning here, so I'm hoping it is in Vermont, too. Please, share as many details when the weekend is done as you are able to - it will inspire me even more for next year!
ReplyDeleteThere were quite a few harpers there from New Hampshire, Pam - sorry, all the names have fallen out of my head. Mary was from Greenland, that much I can remember. She is in the Irish Harp Orchestra (is that right)? We had a few tunes and it was great fun. There were more than a few harps there, so that was very good!
ReplyDeleteAnd the practicing is never wasted!
ReplyDelete