In attendance: Victor, Dev, Brad, Chris, Glenn
Dev running a bit late due to work.
Warming up with 5th Primary work (CMaj, 4th string, up to 12th fret and back). Beginning on the slower side, around 80, and slowly increasing speed. As we hit 88, Victor asks us to make a conscious effort to listen to the other players in the circle: with one pass up and down the neck, listening to a player's sound directly as it's coming from the guitar, and on the next pass, listening to the whole sound and ambiance of the player. On the next pass, move to the next person, and repeat the process. Some comments about looking away from the neck.
Third Relation loop: second Dm section, 1st Am section, F#m descending section, Am section, repeat. Victor drills Brad on the Am section and makes a couple of suggestions.
Calliope, 1st Cmaj section loop. Dividing Attention and counting as 4 bars of 3, followed by 6 bars of 4. A full runthrough of the piece. Victor suggests really digging in and observing how long we can hold our
attention, and what happens when we lose our attention (and why it keeps happening at a certain point).
A break. Dev arrives. A bit of discussion on genetics, and how far back they go, and how they can be followed.
Back in the circle, and with Dev, some circulation work. High pitches to low pitches, and back again, key of C Natural Minor. The primary rule is to make sure you are lower than the person before you (or higher, if you're climbing back up). Several passes, with increasing speed. Finally, an extended pass, with multiple traverses up and down and up again, stretching outside of the key.
Reaching back to an exercise we'd done in 2010: each person takes a turn beginning/establishing an improv, and the rest of the circle has to figure out the tonic and join in. Some discussion follows, about give and take, when to remain in one area and when to move on, and drama.
Revisiting The Guitarist Inside, extending the exercise. It's suggested that we work with this as we can.
A final moment, and finishing for the night.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Supplemental Practice 7/5
GCNE
2012-07-05, 1345-1531
Dev, Brad and Rick
Once Rick arrives and chairs are arranged the meeting begins. An opening circulation centered on "C" and "G" with several changes of direction and a few double-time shifts morphs into improv about halfway in. Then a revisiting of a recent exercise tentatively called "step on your buddies' toes" circulation with more direction changes, stacatto/legato/sostenuto as well as timbral variances and a few fits of laughing.
Dev needs to take an aspirin break at 1423.
Back at 1428 and after a brief discussion on what might be played at the coming "Movie Night" gig, the team works on Askesis; the first run through is aborted and deemed too fast, the second is taken all the way through with the team agreeing that the mistakes might be due to lack of warm-up.
At 1445 Rick takes a phone call of necessity.
Resuming work at 1450 the subject of the future of GCNE comes up in discussion but the suggestion that this is saved for the upcoming meeting with the full team is adopted. The team then plays Third Relation twice. The first time through many mistakes are apparent to the team so Rick makes a suggestion of attempting to show no emotional or physical reaction to mistakes and it is applied to a second run through.
A play-through of Intergalactic Boogie Express is next at 1520. Brad offers the opinion that this is one of the group's better-played pieces while Dev offer's the advice not to "ham the ending." Then Where is The Nurse is played once though and an observation is made that this is also a piece that the team plays well.
Dev takes a few minutes to review the "Rock and Roll 5's" in THRAK and then it is given some attention; first in sections and them once through complete. The team is less critical of the outcome of the play through given that Dev is playing a less familiar part but it is agreed upon that being able to play multiple parts in repertoire gives the team added flexibility and is a challenge that might be worth exploring.
A final circulation revisits most of the strategies employed during the opening 2 circulations.
The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday July 8th.
This meeting is adjourned at 1531.
2012-07-05, 1345-1531
Dev, Brad and Rick
Once Rick arrives and chairs are arranged the meeting begins. An opening circulation centered on "C" and "G" with several changes of direction and a few double-time shifts morphs into improv about halfway in. Then a revisiting of a recent exercise tentatively called "step on your buddies' toes" circulation with more direction changes, stacatto/legato/sostenuto as well as timbral variances and a few fits of laughing.
Dev needs to take an aspirin break at 1423.
Back at 1428 and after a brief discussion on what might be played at the coming "Movie Night" gig, the team works on Askesis; the first run through is aborted and deemed too fast, the second is taken all the way through with the team agreeing that the mistakes might be due to lack of warm-up.
At 1445 Rick takes a phone call of necessity.
Resuming work at 1450 the subject of the future of GCNE comes up in discussion but the suggestion that this is saved for the upcoming meeting with the full team is adopted. The team then plays Third Relation twice. The first time through many mistakes are apparent to the team so Rick makes a suggestion of attempting to show no emotional or physical reaction to mistakes and it is applied to a second run through.
A play-through of Intergalactic Boogie Express is next at 1520. Brad offers the opinion that this is one of the group's better-played pieces while Dev offer's the advice not to "ham the ending." Then Where is The Nurse is played once though and an observation is made that this is also a piece that the team plays well.
Dev takes a few minutes to review the "Rock and Roll 5's" in THRAK and then it is given some attention; first in sections and them once through complete. The team is less critical of the outcome of the play through given that Dev is playing a less familiar part but it is agreed upon that being able to play multiple parts in repertoire gives the team added flexibility and is a challenge that might be worth exploring.
A final circulation revisits most of the strategies employed during the opening 2 circulations.
The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday July 8th.
This meeting is adjourned at 1531.
Monday, July 2, 2012
small group meeting 7/1
Chris, Brad, Wayne, Scott in attendance
Brad's pad
Chris, Brad and Wayne meet on the grass and begin at 8:00 with a circulation. to warm up, they take four first primary patterns in a sequence that alternates when changing direction on the neck to ascending or descending (with the 13th position as the pivot), in sixteenth notes at 80 BPM. Scott arrives shortly after this work begins, and the group retakes the exercise; a small adjustment in tempo is made.
next, the group splits off into pairs to work on Growing Circle - Brad teaching Scott the bass part, and Chris teaching Wayne the intro and main section of the lead. as it begins to get dark, the group reconvenes and relocates upstairs for some ensemble practice: two takes of just the intro and main section, to get the new players' feet wet; then, a couple takes counting the bars while playing.
this latter work leads to some ideas for division of attention practice, and to a counting exercise using the main theme from Invocation. Brad prefaces this with the suggestion that we should be working to expand our capacity to do this kind of work for greater lengths of time, e.g. to be able to divide attention for ten or fifteen minutes, or more. tonight the egg timer is set for eight minutes. Wayne departs shortly after this at 9:31, on family-related business.
Chris gives an exposition on a C Major exercise he has been working with based on closed triads on the top three strings. some of the chords are difficult, and the group winds up taking the 3rd inversion sequence for actual work, visualizing moving fragments of C Major across three strings. Chris even demonstrates how such fragments can be incorporated into dance music.
a final circulation to close the meeting, shortly after 10:00.
Brad's pad
Chris, Brad and Wayne meet on the grass and begin at 8:00 with a circulation. to warm up, they take four first primary patterns in a sequence that alternates when changing direction on the neck to ascending or descending (with the 13th position as the pivot), in sixteenth notes at 80 BPM. Scott arrives shortly after this work begins, and the group retakes the exercise; a small adjustment in tempo is made.
next, the group splits off into pairs to work on Growing Circle - Brad teaching Scott the bass part, and Chris teaching Wayne the intro and main section of the lead. as it begins to get dark, the group reconvenes and relocates upstairs for some ensemble practice: two takes of just the intro and main section, to get the new players' feet wet; then, a couple takes counting the bars while playing.
this latter work leads to some ideas for division of attention practice, and to a counting exercise using the main theme from Invocation. Brad prefaces this with the suggestion that we should be working to expand our capacity to do this kind of work for greater lengths of time, e.g. to be able to divide attention for ten or fifteen minutes, or more. tonight the egg timer is set for eight minutes. Wayne departs shortly after this at 9:31, on family-related business.
Chris gives an exposition on a C Major exercise he has been working with based on closed triads on the top three strings. some of the chords are difficult, and the group winds up taking the 3rd inversion sequence for actual work, visualizing moving fragments of C Major across three strings. Chris even demonstrates how such fragments can be incorporated into dance music.
a final circulation to close the meeting, shortly after 10:00.
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