Rick, Dev, Brad and Chris (scribe). We tread some well-defined tonal space during our opening circulation which leads to a question about listening to tonality as it morphs during a free circulation; then for a warm up, we tackle the "hammerhead" variation of a familiar left hand exercise at a moderate tempo for a few minutes.
For repertoire work, we begin with a take of Eye of the Needle which leads to a comment and retake of the ending. It is here that we turn to our performance the previous Sunday for guidance on what to work on tonight, and Flying Home is first on the chopping block. After one take, Dev says that the biggest problem with our performance of the piece is the basses and leads not being in the pocket together; we then take turns pairing up a lead with a bass (conveniently two of each present) while the remaining players listen and offer performance notes in this regard. It sounds better when we do a full-group take again, and we even give it a shot at concert tempo with fleeting glimpses of success.
The small group takes some time to help Chris with his work on playing fast, offering some pointers and an exercise. As a group, we take on a speed-oriented version of a left hand exercise and have some fun pushing our limits.
After a short break, we return to work with Third Relation. Chris is apparently familiar with a part that makes a full-reading of the piece possible with the present configuration of the group, and that reading is given two hearings and some bass treatment. We play Calliope after some discussion of the fingering of a certain part in the bass, and we work some more on our time feel. Then a take of Bicycling to Afghanistan, Thrak, and an improv to end our work for the night.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
small group meeting, Rick's House, 8-9-11
Rick, Dev, Chris (scribe). We begin with a circulation. Dev says he has two things in mind he wants to focus on: Thrak and Morning Has Broken. In Thrak, Dev and Chris take on different parts in the middle section than those they normally play, and time is taken to loop the section and break the part down to its individual components. After this, we approach the piece head-on from the top, but the take falls apart. We bring a metronome in and notice we are losing the time frequently. After some notes and a few more retakes, we remove the metronome and are eventually able to manage a workable rendition.
Dev says that some of the details of the Morning Has Broken main melody, such as phrasing and certain ornaments, are not clear on our recordings of it. We work on putting these things together and get a clearer melody. We follow a similar vein for a trio version of Batrachomyomachy. A closing circulation, and our guitar work is done.
Dev says that some of the details of the Morning Has Broken main melody, such as phrasing and certain ornaments, are not clear on our recordings of it. We work on putting these things together and get a clearer melody. We follow a similar vein for a trio version of Batrachomyomachy. A closing circulation, and our guitar work is done.
small group meeting, Chateau McCarthy, 8-7-11
Rick, Dev, Brad, Chris (scribe). We begin our meeting with a short circulation, and warm up with a brisk version of Askesis; from this, we gravitate toward moderation on Third Relation.
An upcoming performance poses the question of what a set list would look like for this truncated group. The first piece along these lines to be looked at is Batrachomyomachy, which we approach in two configurations. After the two takes, there is some detail discussion of the melody line which leads to a memetic exercise we explored with the full group about a month earlier. Next we work on Morning Has Broken. We play through once as a trio, after which Dev says he is ready to learn the main melody; we spend some time with this, and give it two takes as a full group. Before the break, we hit Flying Home as an experiment, twice.
We take a moment to write down the set list we generated and also to discuss some logistic items, as well as share thoughts going forward into another performance season. We return to work with guitars with takes of Blockhead and Where's the Nurse. Brad and Chris give Moving Force a shot, and Chris gets some help and suggestions with his part on that piece. The last thing to be looked at before a closing circulation and send-off is Thrak, which also requires some reconfiguring for this group.
An upcoming performance poses the question of what a set list would look like for this truncated group. The first piece along these lines to be looked at is Batrachomyomachy, which we approach in two configurations. After the two takes, there is some detail discussion of the melody line which leads to a memetic exercise we explored with the full group about a month earlier. Next we work on Morning Has Broken. We play through once as a trio, after which Dev says he is ready to learn the main melody; we spend some time with this, and give it two takes as a full group. Before the break, we hit Flying Home as an experiment, twice.
We take a moment to write down the set list we generated and also to discuss some logistic items, as well as share thoughts going forward into another performance season. We return to work with guitars with takes of Blockhead and Where's the Nurse. Brad and Chris give Moving Force a shot, and Chris gets some help and suggestions with his part on that piece. The last thing to be looked at before a closing circulation and send-off is Thrak, which also requires some reconfiguring for this group.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Summer recording session #2, 7-31-11
Victor, Rick, Dev, Brad, and Chris (scribe). We are loading in equipment by 6:30. An adjustment is being made to our set up to include a monitor system; we spend some time testing this out, and listen to a few takes and improvs from last week.
We begin our session with four improvisations, and listen back. While we are at it, there is an airing of the remainder of the previously recorded material, with which perspective we decide how to proceed. We return to Eye of the Needle, having not arrived at a satisfactory performance of it last week, and take it twice; then two more takes of Where's the Nurse. Chris, Rick and Brad then give Morning Has Broken a shot as a trio in several retakes, eventually arriving at enough material for a complete performance. We play a false start and two takes of Growing Circle, and Intergalactic Boogie Express for fun, twice.
We tear down, and are once again out around 11:00.
We begin our session with four improvisations, and listen back. While we are at it, there is an airing of the remainder of the previously recorded material, with which perspective we decide how to proceed. We return to Eye of the Needle, having not arrived at a satisfactory performance of it last week, and take it twice; then two more takes of Where's the Nurse. Chris, Rick and Brad then give Morning Has Broken a shot as a trio in several retakes, eventually arriving at enough material for a complete performance. We play a false start and two takes of Growing Circle, and Intergalactic Boogie Express for fun, twice.
We tear down, and are once again out around 11:00.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Summer recording session #1, 7-24-11
Victor, Rick, Dev, Brad, and Chris (scribe). Location: the gymnasium of Thacher Montessori School. We load in equipment and begin making decisions about where to set up, how to arrange the group and what mics to use to achieve a good sonic balance on the recording. There is some creativity and a lot of trial and error involved in this process; Dev takes some pictures of the final arrangement, and the other players aid him by committing their own places to memory.
Then, testing the water with some actual recording. Eye of the Needle is the first piece up to bat, then two or three takes of Third Relation, Where's the Nurse and Growing Circle. In between and to wrap things up we attempt some improvisation, with the suggestion to 'just have fun' being made for the last one of the night. We tear down and are out by 11:00.
Then, testing the water with some actual recording. Eye of the Needle is the first piece up to bat, then two or three takes of Third Relation, Where's the Nurse and Growing Circle. In between and to wrap things up we attempt some improvisation, with the suggestion to 'just have fun' being made for the last one of the night. We tear down and are out by 11:00.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
small group meeting, Rick's basement, 7-19-11
Rick, Dev, Brad and Chris (scribe). We loosen up with circulation and improvisation, and dive into the work of marching and playing Eye of the Needle. We do three takes: first, at 66 BPM, clockwise in a small circle; then again at 63 BPM; and finally at the same speed while counting the bars; observations are shared between each take. Dev suggests we try this approach with Askesis at 88 BPM, which we do once. We have a lot of fun and get some useful observations from the team.
After a short break, we are seated again and venture to practice The Sunken Cathedral via a recording (made by Rick) which fills in the parts of tonight's absent players while providing an accented click. Rick puts the recording on a set of surround sound speakers and we play along with it once, and share thoughts afterward.
We give Growing Circle a quick hearing without a click, and then Where's the Nurse. Third Relation gets metronome treatment, and we play through it twice, the second time with some suggestions from Dev. We talk a little about our next meeting on Sunday, and depart around 10:00.
After a short break, we are seated again and venture to practice The Sunken Cathedral via a recording (made by Rick) which fills in the parts of tonight's absent players while providing an accented click. Rick puts the recording on a set of surround sound speakers and we play along with it once, and share thoughts afterward.
We give Growing Circle a quick hearing without a click, and then Where's the Nurse. Third Relation gets metronome treatment, and we play through it twice, the second time with some suggestions from Dev. We talk a little about our next meeting on Sunday, and depart around 10:00.
Monday, July 18, 2011
small group meeting, Rick's basement, 7-17-11
The first GCNE-related gathering after a two week hiatus. We have been looking seriously at doing an EP length recording over the summer, and have season two of Guitar Circle Sundays coming up in September.
Chris arrives at Rick's shortly before 8:00 and the two chew the cud before Dev and Brad roll in. Unfortunately, circumstances have prevented a needed full group meeting, but the work of the smaller group (although not well-defined at this point) supports the larger circle in subtle and significant ways.
A preliminary improvisation is the way to begin, which develops from a simple circulation into a sympathetic improv that stretches the guitarists' tonal and textural palettes. Following this keynote, Rick calls for a recital of Bicycling to Afghanistan. This piece has been out of the current repertoire since October, and is challenging for the group to work up on the fly. They are not able to make it all the way through once, and opt to work on something more manageable and to come back after warming up (maybe on a different day); Where's the Nurse fits the bill, and is also under consideration for recording.
There is some accompanying discussion to the Nurse takes, and then some talk regarding the upcoming weeks and how best to use available time going into the second season.
There was a curious amount of speeding up in the quartet's (already too brisk for comfort) takes of Bicycling and Nurse, so a metronome is employed for the next portion of rehearsal. First up is Flying Home, and interesting discrepancies and psychological experiences occur for the players as they play against the click. To push it, they take it again at concert tempo, which is much faster than the GCNE plays the piece as a group. After this, Askesis at its written speed seems very doable, and they do it, taking extra time to loop a specific section with standout unsteadiness. Dev pinpoints where the time is slipping, and the players go around individually playing their loop and receiving pointers. The last few minutes are spent on two takes of Eye of the Needle, which turns out to be strangely difficult to play against a click.
Dev has a conference call and the chaps part ways, scheduling another small group meeting during the week.
Chris arrives at Rick's shortly before 8:00 and the two chew the cud before Dev and Brad roll in. Unfortunately, circumstances have prevented a needed full group meeting, but the work of the smaller group (although not well-defined at this point) supports the larger circle in subtle and significant ways.
A preliminary improvisation is the way to begin, which develops from a simple circulation into a sympathetic improv that stretches the guitarists' tonal and textural palettes. Following this keynote, Rick calls for a recital of Bicycling to Afghanistan. This piece has been out of the current repertoire since October, and is challenging for the group to work up on the fly. They are not able to make it all the way through once, and opt to work on something more manageable and to come back after warming up (maybe on a different day); Where's the Nurse fits the bill, and is also under consideration for recording.
There is some accompanying discussion to the Nurse takes, and then some talk regarding the upcoming weeks and how best to use available time going into the second season.
There was a curious amount of speeding up in the quartet's (already too brisk for comfort) takes of Bicycling and Nurse, so a metronome is employed for the next portion of rehearsal. First up is Flying Home, and interesting discrepancies and psychological experiences occur for the players as they play against the click. To push it, they take it again at concert tempo, which is much faster than the GCNE plays the piece as a group. After this, Askesis at its written speed seems very doable, and they do it, taking extra time to loop a specific section with standout unsteadiness. Dev pinpoints where the time is slipping, and the players go around individually playing their loop and receiving pointers. The last few minutes are spent on two takes of Eye of the Needle, which turns out to be strangely difficult to play against a click.
Dev has a conference call and the chaps part ways, scheduling another small group meeting during the week.
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