A Silly Month Indeed!!
Pam- I am so sorry about your harp accident!!! But, I LOVE the folks at the Harp Connection in Salem, Mass!!! THE place to go for harp repairs and regulating your harp! So glad you found the help you needed- and for shipping as well. Kudos!
I have just returned from SummerKeys camp in Lubec, Maine, where Sue Richards led a group of 5 of us harpers (all skill levels) in learning new tunes and ensemble work (well- duets played amongst the group as we could manage). Private lessons followed thruout the day. I was really working on picking up more tunes "by ear", as it seems IF I can learn a piece that way, it seems to stay in my memory banks longer, and I master it faster, than my usual "paper trained" approach! For a visual learner, that is a puzzlement to me- why would I master it faster learning by ear...? But, that is really the second step from sightreading, I guess...getting the tune in my head! Once it is in the head, and I am humming it everywhere I go, and can't stop thinking about it til I try it again on the strings...pretty quick to getting it! This was especially true of the Scandanavian tunes we worked on- Var Det Du was a repeat from last year, then I added Josefin's waltz and an absolutely WILD contemporary piece called Amanda by a Swedish "rock group" named Vasen (with an umlatt over the a) (they play an instrument called the nyckelharpa, as well as guitar and fiddle- really fast!!!) that sounded very ancient and possibly a little Middle Eastern! And you tune the harp with fsharps and bflats! ( My music theory is weak...my daughter says it is melodic minor, but not exactly...some mode perhaps??) Definitely enjoying adding a bit of Scandanavia to the Celtic repertoire!
Also really enjoyed getting to know my new harp better- still nervous about the heat and humidity fluctuations down here! Ugh!
I believe Grainne and her hubby Will are both coming to do a concert in Dublin, NH on October 9th.
I have been so blessed to have had workshops with both of them when Mary Graham was organizing such wonderful events in Wilton. Grainne is just amazing, and so very sweet besides...I may have to try Somerset out next year by hook or by crook, just to have the chance to learn some more from her!
Pam, I am so jealous that you have such a great and willing musical partner to play gigs with you! I have a house full of musicians and can only get my daughter to play with me on rare occasions...If you are not over performance anxiety by month's end, I will be as surprised as JP! And, as someone else blogged, and Sue Richards also emphasized: "it isn't about you...it is about the music and the audience." Still....working on that! Hope you get your Dusty back soon, safe and sound!
Thanks, ladies- you are all an inspiration!! Sharon
Shadow - what a lovely post this is, and I haven't been skulking around here as much as I should.
ReplyDeleteThere is a neurological reason why you remember the tune better when you learn it by ear. The same would go for memorizing anything - if you learn anything off a recording or repetition of a person speaking you will learn faster better and more permanently. Our brains are wired to do that, reading is a short cut to acquire information and the information has to bop around in a more complex way to make it to long-term storage. I will try to find an article about it for you - I've read several!
Your time with Sue sounds lovely.
So when schools decided to forgo "rote" learning, and less memorizing, they threw the baby out with the bathwater!! Very interesting! Another reason why music is so important!!
DeleteAre you willing to share the Josephin arrangement, Sharon? I love the Shelley Phillips version, and the nickel harpa (sp) versions I've seen on YouTube. My late Mother-in-law's name was Josephine, so JP and I would like to play it in her memory. We are going to play Var det at the September coffeehouse and Martha Carlson-Bradley is going to read a famous poem that my brain can't remember at the moment; I got the idea from a podcast where Sue Richards played the same song under a reading of the same poem. Not enough about Summerkeys! Did you make new friends that you'll play with in the future? Go island hopping, or back to Campobello? And are you going to Del Rossi's to see Grainne and Billy Jackson???
ReplyDeleteWell, I haven't nailed it yet, and still waiting on Sue's print version, but absolutely would be happy to share the arrangement. Are you and JP doing both parts of Var Det Du? I love the tinkly runs the 2nd harp part has! Summerkeys- definitely feel like I made new friends, and possibly to play with, but not exactly around the corner! Most were from Maine- really nice, fun group of gals! Only made it to Campobello one night for dinner with Sue- she was low on gas, and since the island is an hour ahead, and the restaurants close at 8, we thought we could eat- then get gas- then hit some of the really pretty spots for the sunset that we visited last year...only there turns out to be NO GAS STATION AT ALL on Campobello!! Everytime they need gas, they have to come to Lubec! Passports and all! Wacky! So, needless to say, after dinner we just headed home! I took the water taxi to Eastport again midday, and had another fabulous lunch at the Greek restaurant there, and good poking/shopping. Mostly I was pretty quiet- we had the group thing at 9-10 then private lessons followed. Mine were at 3:15, so the middle of the day was spent practicing, having lunch, and some browsing downtown. The day I went to Eastport I took a later lesson time (5pm) which I almost was late for as the tide was way out, the route back took longer, and the ramp was so steep to get from the water level to the dock, people were slipping backwards and really struggling to get up!! Blew me away! Have to tell that in person! Hoping very much to see Grainne and Billy - on Oct 9th, right?? Anyway, I was less touristy and more focused on practicing and relaxing while there- and the week still went too fast!
DeleteI am worried that you didn't make a reservation yet at Del Rossi's and that you won't get a seat - please tell me that you already called! Last time they were there it filled up so quickly!
ReplyDeleteNo- I haven't called to make a reservation- when I saw them last, we just showed up, and had no plans to eat there...it is a strange kind of venue, isn't it? We got seated and ordered a beer, I think! And once before my son and I had popped in to hear Alex DeGrassi (great guitarist)- same thing, no reservation, no plans to eat there, and we got a seat...Now you are worrying me! Perhaps I will call today!! Thanks for the heads up!!!
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