Playing without Pain

This was a concert weekend which meant lots and lots of playing the viola. Two hour dress rehearsal, concert Saturday night (one and a quarter hour) with repeat performance this afternoon.

This morning my friend Wendy, trained in Alexander Technique, came to our Women's Choir at church and worked with us a bit on how to use our bodies more naturally for better tone production.

It got me thinking about the pain I have been having on the left side of my back when I play viola for a long time, and I think it has to do with how I share the stand with my stand partner. I asked Wendy about this and if she knew of anything to do, and she said that it is just a matter of trial and error. I think this problem is compounded with violists since our instruments are larger than violins and can really get in the way of each other.

So just before the concert this afternoon, my stand partner and I worked on a new arrangement that put her closer to the music and me looking at it straight on instead of twisting a bit. We were both happier and more comfortable about this new arrangement, and we wonder why we haven't worked it out sooner.

Now if only the notes were bigger and clearer so we could see better, and if only the Eroica was not so intense for so long a time and it was easier to concentrate through that whole symphony.

Prepared Xylophone

Yesterday I went to an Orff workshop where the presenters (Lissie Quishenberry and Rachael Doudrek) used rubber bands in several great ways. First of all, they used large bands around xylophone bars ala John Cage. One can "pluck" the bands to create a new timbre, but also stick things underneath the bands to create a "prepared xylophone" with yet a new timbre.

Another cool thing to do with rubber bands is to use them to color code each note (ala boomwhackers) which can go with any visual that you might create.

More on Wedding Music

Just curious. Why do brides want music from The Phantom of the Opera at their weddings? Maybe they like the tunes, but they come from a musical where a girl is stalked and kidnapped.

Parents...

Just a few stories from the start-up of this year's Elementary Instrumental Music Program.

1) Some students did not show up for the first day of class. I emailed each family to remind them to come, and that I hoped that their child was not sick (there's a rash of illness going around lately). Today I got an email from a parent that said they were happy to get my email because they weren't sure if their daughter was "in." I replied that, for future reference, for our program when you fill out an application, you are automatically "in." (Although, if one turns in an application very late, they may not automatically be "in.")

2) One student came to the first day of class yesterday and had not turned in his registration form ahead of time. He handed it to me and then wondered where his instrument was. Like we can read their minds? His mom took him to the district today asking about the instrument, and he will just have to be a little patient.

I am always glad once these kinds of things are straightened out and we can get down to the business of making music!

Private LA Phil Concert

Out driving today, I was tuned to 91.5 KUSC and the people on it were talking about the first set of concerts for the LA Phil this year. This is Gustavo Dudamel's 4th season with the orchestra and the 9th season in the Disney Music Hall. As the announcers continued, it became clear to me that they were about to broadcast the concert live on the station, so I hurried home so I could listen to it on my home stereo.

On the program today, Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess, the world premiere of Stucky's Symphony, and Stravinksy's Rite of Spring.

I know it would have been much better to have been IN Disney Hall, but I was pleased to be able to enjoy the concert from the comfort of my living room. Steven Stucky discusses his work at the LA Phil website here. It generally takes a listener time to get to know a piece, and sometimes the first hearing is not too favorable to the listener's ear. Stucky's piece is definitely accessible and I hope to find a way to be able to hear it again soon.

Attention Spans

I have been trying to figure out why my students seem to have much shorter attention spans this year from last. At first I thought it might just be the beginning of the school year. But then it dawned on me that I now teach just before and just after lunch, which are not great times to learn anything.

So, I am going to have to figure out ways to combat this....

Teaching Improvisation

Having attended a goodly number of Orff workshops in the past 8 years or so, I can definitely say that Saturday's workshop with Julie Scott was one of the very best. She presented a chronological and immensely practical approach to teaching improvisation from the youngest children on up. I particularly enjoyed this way of playing drums, and I think I may just have to incorporate that into my upper grade lesson plans very soon.