Nothing much new happened during this week's lesson. I had practiced Hana No Uta diligently this week but found that I was not understanding completely the tempo changes. This is the first piece that I have practiced that has any real tempo changes to speak of.
The piece starts out at an 80 tempo for 56 measures; moves down to 66 for 24 measures; shoots up to 108 for 40 measures; then really hauls at 116 to the end (88 measures). One tempo is hard enough!!! Getting those changes right is a real challenge for me. More work on that is needed Big Time.
No lesson next week as the Master has a performance commitment. So we will be skipping Week 48 Lesson and going straight to Week 49 Lesson when it comes.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Shamisen Week 46 Lesson
Well, there wasn't one. I was involved in a personal move and so had to cancel my sangen lesson this week. However, I continued to practice the song Hana No Uta.
The song is 9 pages, 208 measures long. The longest song to date that I have studied.There are a few difficult measures that require speed; some measures that use an off beat (playing a note on the upbeat instead of the downbeat); and, of course, the ubiquitous troublesome transitions of 5, 7, 8 and Octave 1.
If I can ever master those particular positions I will be sitting pretty. As of now, I ain't sitting very well. Oh, well. Back to fingering the sao.
The song is 9 pages, 208 measures long. The longest song to date that I have studied.There are a few difficult measures that require speed; some measures that use an off beat (playing a note on the upbeat instead of the downbeat); and, of course, the ubiquitous troublesome transitions of 5, 7, 8 and Octave 1.
If I can ever master those particular positions I will be sitting pretty. As of now, I ain't sitting very well. Oh, well. Back to fingering the sao.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Shamisen Week 45 Lesson
The
new song to learn is a modern piece written for the koto, bass
koto, shakuhachi,
and sangen. It is called Hana no uta or Song of Flowers. It is more
difficult than Wakamizu as to beat. It is 2/4 time but with lots of
measures with the note being played on the upbeat instead of the
downbeat.
I still have not mastered counting when getting the rhythm and beat of the music I practice. With Wakamizu, there were no
upbeats in the music. In this song, not only are there plenty of
upbeats but it is a faster tempo with plenty of 7, 8 and Octave 1
transitions. Since I have not mastered the 7, 8, or Octave 1
positions, even after months with Wakamizu, this piece is a real
challenge.
The Master chose this song (before I begin learning classical
pieces) so that I can get better at counting and to be more
consistent in finding the 7, 8, and Octave 1 positions. Need to work hard.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Shamisen Week 44 Lesson--I'm on to New Material
After 18 continuous weeks, 15 hours of instruction, and 70 hours of practice, I finally DO NOT master the song Wakamizu written by Michio Miyagi (circa 1661-1673). However, I do it well enough to move on to new material! Whew. I thought I would be playing that forever.
As you can tell from the above, I ain't no speed genius when it comes to musical accomplishment. It is slow going to the extreme. But I love the music. I love the sangen. I enjoy it so much that soon I will be learning the koto concurrently.
Playing Japanese music is like therapy for me. It helps me relax and concentrate at the same time. I find peace in the music where I do not in other aspects of my life. It is truly a calming, zen-like experience every time I take up the instrument. I had no idea playing music would have that effect on me. I'm sure this calming ability of playing a musical instrument is shared by many.
During our time with Wakamizu, I expressed an interest to the Master in also learning the koto. The master approved as the instruments complement each other and are often played together in many Japanese pieces. The timing of taking on the additional duty of learning the koto I have left to my instructor.
One blessing is that the Master could not find a suitable instrument for me and so has graciously allowed me to acquire one of her own kotos. It will need to be restrung and I will need to acquire some other necessary accessories. But soon the sangen will be joined with the koto. When that happens, I will start a separate koto blog of my first year experience learning to play that instrument.
My blog for the sangen will soon be coming to an end. I started learning the sangen in April of 2013. I said at the beginning of this journey that I would write the blog for one year. In only two months, my one-year anniversary will arrive. When that comes, I will bid farewell to this blog.
In the meantime, weekly updates are back since we are on new material with many challenges. I will be posting more information on the current song I am learning in the future.
As you can tell from the above, I ain't no speed genius when it comes to musical accomplishment. It is slow going to the extreme. But I love the music. I love the sangen. I enjoy it so much that soon I will be learning the koto concurrently.
Playing Japanese music is like therapy for me. It helps me relax and concentrate at the same time. I find peace in the music where I do not in other aspects of my life. It is truly a calming, zen-like experience every time I take up the instrument. I had no idea playing music would have that effect on me. I'm sure this calming ability of playing a musical instrument is shared by many.
During our time with Wakamizu, I expressed an interest to the Master in also learning the koto. The master approved as the instruments complement each other and are often played together in many Japanese pieces. The timing of taking on the additional duty of learning the koto I have left to my instructor.
One blessing is that the Master could not find a suitable instrument for me and so has graciously allowed me to acquire one of her own kotos. It will need to be restrung and I will need to acquire some other necessary accessories. But soon the sangen will be joined with the koto. When that happens, I will start a separate koto blog of my first year experience learning to play that instrument.
My blog for the sangen will soon be coming to an end. I started learning the sangen in April of 2013. I said at the beginning of this journey that I would write the blog for one year. In only two months, my one-year anniversary will arrive. When that comes, I will bid farewell to this blog.
In the meantime, weekly updates are back since we are on new material with many challenges. I will be posting more information on the current song I am learning in the future.
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