A new axe.

I have made the first step into having a new instrument made for me.

A new Baliset is what is required and I have contacted the 12thFret in Toronto about this. Many moons ago they (Grant MacNeill) built a six string fretless bass for me and before that had done numerous repair and setup work on my instruments. Needless to say they have my confidence and I look forward to working with them again.




These images are what my current axe looks like. It was made by Peter Tamas and has served me well for many years.

Annie

Started rehearsals for the Orpheus production of Annie this weekend.

Looks to be a good show. The singers are strong and the band is tight.

The run is from November 12 to 21 with Monday November 15 being an off night.

Show starts at 7:30 PM on weeknights and 2 PM on Sundays.

Work In Progress pt.3

Wow time flies. It has been a while since I last posted but not for a lack of activity.

I recorded a bunch of tunes with my group (Mike Tremblay - sax, Mark Rehder - drums) and just posted a tune from that session on MySpace. It is called "30202008". Don't ask me where the titles come from just trust me that the music is better.

More soon.

Work in Progress Pt. 2

Here is tune number 2.

It has a title.

Smoke.

A little explanation about the title. My children were making their first attempts at playing something coherent at the piano a few years ago and they had both picked up the riff from 'Smoke On The Water'. Now this a fine tune but, after the nth time hearing it thrashed out by an over enthusiastic child something had to be done.

I sat at the piano one afternoon and came up with a raft of alternate changes and after a while a melody presented itself to me and I was off to the races. Through in some bars of 3/4 and hey presto a new tune. Easy, no?

Work In Progress

And so begins the road to another CD release.

The first order of business is to demo tunes. This allows me to sit back and, with a critical ear, hear what I have written away from my instrument.

The first tune up has no title yet (you'll see that phrase a few times) so it is numbered 11112007.

This could go a few ways. It could be a solo piece, with drums (percussion?), or include a horn (sax? trumpet?).

There are artistic and financial considerations at play.

I'm projecting either a fall release or next spring.

Happy Australia Day

The title says it all.

I put up a version of Waltzing Matilda on Myspace.

What is this thing called Konokol.

The way in I first introduce the concept of Konokol to students is by means of an exercise designed to ease the transition from quarter notes, to eighth notes, and sixteenth notes.

The first step is to say the rhythms. Da - da - da - da for quarter notes. Ta ka - ta ka - ta ka - ta ka for eighth notes. ta ka di mi - ta ka di mi - ta ka di mi - ta ka di mi for sixteenth notes. This is best done out of time so that the student can get used to the sounds.

Next comes the 'say and play' portion. This can be done out of time a few times but the metronome should be used fairly soon. I recommend 60 bpm.

Work on an even transition into each section neither speeding up or slowing down.

Once the student feels confident at 60 bpm two tempo changes need to be followed. Slowly increase and decrease the tempo.

My approach to teaching.

Having spent over two decades playing music professionally, I have many thoughts on how to best put forward my ideas on how to become a better musician.

The best players in most fields are musically literate. I am aware of, and have worked with, some brilliant intuitive players, but they are the exception. Being musically literate means one is able to clearly interpret, and communicate, the music at hand, as no matter what the style there is always a framework within which musicians work. If each player in a group has a good level of understanding of the form being played they can perform at a higher level as a group.

Two important components of being musically literate are rhythm and harmony.

After spending many years counting the traditional way (say it with me 1 e & a, 2 e & a) I was introduced to a system called Konokol that facilitates a quicker and deeper understanding of rhythm. Konokol is the South Indian classical method of counting. It is a phonetic approach and allows the rhythms to be internalized quickly and communicated easily. A good approach is to say the rhythm, say and play it and then play it. With this oral/aural approach even challenging rhythms are easy to master at a slow tempos, then speeding them up is merely a matter of mechanics. The next step, reading the rhythms, is a relatively simple process made easier by the ability to say the phrases.

Harmony is the other building block. Again it is important to focus on an oral/aural methodology. Hearing the various notes within the chord, being able to identify and sing them (not like Pavarotti more like Tom Waits ;)) is vital to deciding what to play. There are a few harmonic progressions that form the basis for allot of music, so being able to hear them clearly aids greatly in ones playing.

Reading and writing music is important as it is a good way of archiving what has been learned. Just as we learned to speak before we could read I believe that this is the best way to approach music. Take away some of the mystique surrounding the notes and see them merely as a system of communication.

After the basics rhythm and harmony have been dealt with there are many avenues that can be pursued with greater ease.