30 minutes
MHB
Invention #1
Flying Home
Calliope
16 bar exercise
I switched to a lighter pick and it made a big difference in feel and tone, plus less effort to grip the pick.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
For yesterday...
Sunday 2/22
30 Minutes
C major pentatonic scale, 1st inversion C Major arpeggios
And for today:
Monday 2/23
60 Minutes
Derailed at the Station
Mostly just putting this piece together with correct fingering, strokes and transitions. Haven't started practicing with a metronome yet. Also, working on being more relaxed while seated and playing.
Sunday 2/22
30 Minutes
C major pentatonic scale, 1st inversion C Major arpeggios
And for today:
Monday 2/23
60 Minutes
Derailed at the Station
Mostly just putting this piece together with correct fingering, strokes and transitions. Haven't started practicing with a metronome yet. Also, working on being more relaxed while seated and playing.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Recovering from spyware, backtracking...
Tuesday 2/10
40 + 20 Minutes
"Isreal", "Morning Has Broken"
Getting into some of the "detail work" talked about on Sunday. There's some good articulation exercise available in these 'chord-change' pieces, and also some metronome challenges (one a very slow 4/4, the other in 6/8, where metronome ticks are treated as dotted quarters instead of ordinary quarters). I'm also practicing playing chords with a light touch.
Some presentation work, practicing walking on and plugging in gracefully.
...
Wednesday 2/11
15 Minutes
continued Tuesday's work
I've been focusing on technique work lately, on the assumption that improved technical ability will carry over into repertoire anyway; but working with repertoire gives its own insights into technique.
...and tonight...
Friday 2/13
60 Minutes
C major pentatonic scale, 1st inverstion C major arpeggios
Haven't done fretboard knowledge work in a while.
Tuesday 2/10
40 + 20 Minutes
"Isreal", "Morning Has Broken"
Getting into some of the "detail work" talked about on Sunday. There's some good articulation exercise available in these 'chord-change' pieces, and also some metronome challenges (one a very slow 4/4, the other in 6/8, where metronome ticks are treated as dotted quarters instead of ordinary quarters). I'm also practicing playing chords with a light touch.
Some presentation work, practicing walking on and plugging in gracefully.
...
Wednesday 2/11
15 Minutes
continued Tuesday's work
I've been focusing on technique work lately, on the assumption that improved technical ability will carry over into repertoire anyway; but working with repertoire gives its own insights into technique.
...and tonight...
Friday 2/13
60 Minutes
C major pentatonic scale, 1st inverstion C major arpeggios
Haven't done fretboard knowledge work in a while.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday 2/2
20 Minutes
right hand exercise
Concentrated session. I found a good reference point for the "effortless" downstroke, and was able to return to some of the balancing relationships in the body throughout.
A theme from a year-and-a-half ago is re-emeriging, the difference between "starting" and"beginning".
20 Minutes
right hand exercise
Concentrated session. I found a good reference point for the "effortless" downstroke, and was able to return to some of the balancing relationships in the body throughout.
A theme from a year-and-a-half ago is re-emeriging, the difference between "starting" and"beginning".
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday 1/20
60 Minutes
Right and left hand exercise, "Flying Home", reviewing "Love is Green", "Morning Has Broken"
With the left hand work, learning to differentiate between the release and return of the wrist and the twisting of the arm. The feeling in the left wrist is slightly different than in the right, because there is a gentle arch in addition to releasing/returning action. There is a clear difference in the fullness of the tone with sensitive use of the wrist. "Flying Home" will provide good exercise in this area throughout the week.
For "Morning Has Broken", practicing playing the chord progressions smoothly. I noticed that they often get cut off when moving to the next chord shape, so I took the advice of "deciding when the fingers will change" and worked with that. Also, practicing playing thechords in 6/8 rather than 3/8. Rhythmically, this means 1 2 3 ^4 5 6, instead of 123 123 etc.
60 Minutes
Right and left hand exercise, "Flying Home", reviewing "Love is Green", "Morning Has Broken"
With the left hand work, learning to differentiate between the release and return of the wrist and the twisting of the arm. The feeling in the left wrist is slightly different than in the right, because there is a gentle arch in addition to releasing/returning action. There is a clear difference in the fullness of the tone with sensitive use of the wrist. "Flying Home" will provide good exercise in this area throughout the week.
For "Morning Has Broken", practicing playing the chord progressions smoothly. I noticed that they often get cut off when moving to the next chord shape, so I took the advice of "deciding when the fingers will change" and worked with that. Also, practicing playing thechords in 6/8 rather than 3/8. Rhythmically, this means 1 2 3 ^4 5 6, instead of 123 123 etc.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
For yesterday:
Monday 1/5
45 Minutes
Memorizing "Passage", calisthenic work with the right hand.
Before sitting down to practice, I wondered whether F.M. Alexander had anything to say about relaxation in his famous book "The Use of the Self". I checked the index and found not a word spent on the subject, but there were phrases like "pulls the head back" and "depressing of the larynx" which piqued my interest. This, and a few other things I've been reading, led to a change in attitude for me from "tense and stupid body > THE RELAXED STATE" to "an O.K. body > letting go of its unnecessary tension" - or holding onto it, if it wants to.
Monday 1/5
45 Minutes
Memorizing "Passage", calisthenic work with the right hand.
Before sitting down to practice, I wondered whether F.M. Alexander had anything to say about relaxation in his famous book "The Use of the Self". I checked the index and found not a word spent on the subject, but there were phrases like "pulls the head back" and "depressing of the larynx" which piqued my interest. This, and a few other things I've been reading, led to a change in attitude for me from "tense and stupid body > THE RELAXED STATE" to "an O.K. body > letting go of its unnecessary tension" - or holding onto it, if it wants to.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
For tonight:
Wednesday 12/17
60 Minutes
Alexander work, Israel, F Major triads.
Working to master the picking pattern and chord progressions in "Israel". Practicing chord changes so that "inhale of breath" doesn't occur in the playing. I find it's best to let the hand transition as a whole, rather than let it "drag" to its next position.
Wednesday 12/17
60 Minutes
Alexander work, Israel, F Major triads.
Working to master the picking pattern and chord progressions in "Israel". Practicing chord changes so that "inhale of breath" doesn't occur in the playing. I find it's best to let the hand transition as a whole, rather than let it "drag" to its next position.
For the previous two days:
Monday 12/15
30 Minutes
Alexander work.
---
Tuesday 12/16
60 Minutes
Alexander work, F Major triads, some improvisation.
If I can let go of my shoulder tension while I play, it will be a major accomplishment. This is the focus of my calisthenic work right now. Observing the body carefully and working with inhibition, relaxation, and following clear directions. There is a lot contained within the small gesture of lifting the left hand to the neck.
Monday 12/15
30 Minutes
Alexander work.
---
Tuesday 12/16
60 Minutes
Alexander work, F Major triads, some improvisation.
If I can let go of my shoulder tension while I play, it will be a major accomplishment. This is the focus of my calisthenic work right now. Observing the body carefully and working with inhibition, relaxation, and following clear directions. There is a lot contained within the small gesture of lifting the left hand to the neck.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
For yesterday:
Tuesday 12/10
30 Minutes
Liedown. Experimenting with the steps outlined by Alexander in The Use of the Self. Kind of similar to JftD, actually. I find it's effective to be as clear as possible about all the 'controls' that I am 'consciously projecting'. For example, if one of them is "thumb is in the middle of the back of the neck", knowing 'where' the thumb is exactly and what is meant by the direction makes the exercise more substantial.
Another interesting thing about this exercise is that it requires that I know how my body does what it does, and what are the best conditions for that use, so there's an aspect of experimentation and observation to it.
Tuesday 12/10
30 Minutes
Liedown. Experimenting with the steps outlined by Alexander in The Use of the Self. Kind of similar to JftD, actually. I find it's effective to be as clear as possible about all the 'controls' that I am 'consciously projecting'. For example, if one of them is "thumb is in the middle of the back of the neck", knowing 'where' the thumb is exactly and what is meant by the direction makes the exercise more substantial.
Another interesting thing about this exercise is that it requires that I know how my body does what it does, and what are the best conditions for that use, so there's an aspect of experimentation and observation to it.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Wednesday 12/03
60 Minutes
Liedown, left hand practice, right hand practice, all slow and very present to the way the hands move. Tried playing a piece with that and it didn't work. Perhaps I should try playing the piece with that kind of intention, rather than jumping right from one thing to another.
60 Minutes
Liedown, left hand practice, right hand practice, all slow and very present to the way the hands move. Tried playing a piece with that and it didn't work. Perhaps I should try playing the piece with that kind of intention, rather than jumping right from one thing to another.
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