GCNE Meeting/Rehearsal 11-14-10

Chris, Victor, Brad, Dev

C arrives upstairs around 8:00, without guitar (at the luthier's for much needed renovation) to the sound of V and B rehearsing the lead section of Calliope: tonight, B has picked up the mirror for this part of the piece.

C is kindly offered the use of a guitar brought by V. This guitar has action worse than that in the shop, but possesses an other-worldly passive pick-up - an adjustment in the mix is needed to accommodate its bodacious presence. A mixer tutorial is improvised to assist C in this purpose.

The meeting formally begins, as many do, with silent acknowledgment. Following this, V asks C, "what were you doing?" to which C replies, "sitting still." This begins discussion and role playing that brings the inquiry to bear on all members of the group, which ties into the previous weeks' thread of having a sense of the impulse of the group's and our own individual work, rather than falling back on habit/convention/appealing to scriptural authority. For additional commentary on this matter, V proffers his favorite Zen anecdote and recommends the work of R.H. Blithe.

There will be guitar playing, however. B decides that it is best to have a larger group presence before continuing work with his arrangement of Debussy. V asks what the group would like to work on; D would like to improvise, with which B is comfortable, and C suggests Calliope. A thirty-minute improv with some intense moments ensues, and a break is called at approximately 9:08.

Back at 9:26

Calliope is given a hearing. There is some talk of the best way to phrase the bass part for the main section. The basses and leads are both given independent run-throughs, and the appraisal is similar: the phrasing of the notes, in terms of grouping (e.g. da, taka, taka dimi) is somewhat lacking. It is suggested that such work is not laborious, but merely requires a small period of extra attention.

The group tackles Batrachomyomachy. A click track is used to keep this piece steady, and much section work follows. A new lead configuration (V, B and D) works out the arrangement for the round in the "frog" section, and several attempts are made before this is played accurately. A question arises regarding the role of vibrato and the significance of just intonation.

The meeting ends, in silence, around 10:30.