Farmers Market was shorter than I wanted today... started a bit early, did 75 minutes and then 30 in a new spot outside, under the ferry landing. I got driven out at 10am by a banjo player who set up a bit away, in his usual spot in the middle of foot traffic in hopes of getting tips. I later tried to play down the promenade but the bones player carried too far... found another spot further down towards the end but this time a vagrant was too odd. Ended up packing up.

New tunes included Estudiantina, Germaine, Kid on the Mountain... rarer tunes included Detour, The Entertainer, Sadegur Khosidl, Rocky Road to Dublin, Bohemian Rag... frequent tunes included Passion, Manouche, Original Rags, Stack of Barley/Wheat, Someday You'll Call My Name, Take Me Out To The Ballgame, Point Aux Piques, Brise Napolitaine.

I woke up in the middle of the night and had a session... Estudiantina, Clarinet Polka, something else... I realized that I'm getting this type of modified-Weiser style going on, where I'm using target notes in the melody but reaching them (and reaching around them) differently on each pass. Unlike Weiser fiddle style there's a lot more distinction between how the notes are connected, and more emphasis on rhythmic patterns... over the last week I've been listening pretty exclusively to norteno, and I hear these rhythmic elements coming through. I don't think I can get this consistent around people yet... I'm still doublechecking phrases while practicing privately... but it's an interesting way of thinking of playing some of these tunes with strong melodies, as a slightly norteno-inflected contest-fiddling style. (Valerio Longoria's "Adios Muchachos" has the type of phrasing I'm thinking of here, rather than Tony de la Rosa.)

During the week I've been listening to norteno on the commute, and still repeating Duke Eliington disks at the home computer. For reading, it has mostly been fakebooks rather than text... just going through and reading the tunes at tempo in my head. During practice I've been spending more time in the Real Little Classical Fakebook than in the one with larger print, mostly because of greater selection, more tunes and more sections in some of them, and because I have greater trust that the former doesn't transpose to easier keys. I haven't really committed any of them to memory yet (save Estundiantina)... I want to get more time practicing left-hand techniques and styles across a range of them before risking freezing any of them into a certain approach.

Inside the Ferry Building today I realized that, with the echos, I can't sing against just bass as I can in a dryer environment... there really needs to be some right hand to support the vocal harmonically. When I don't have an instrument in my hand I'm doing a lot of vocalizing (sometimes for words, sometimes just for timbre), but I haven't made much progress over the month in merging this with the instrument. I suspect this may be because using headphones with the MIDI box changes the blend so dramatically... it may be that I need to find an appropriate *place* to play in order to practice these techniques.

I hope to get out to Golden Gate Park tomorrow.
posted by macromed5 at 12:11 PM

Farmers Market session was a good one, even though I didn't pack quite all my brain inside my head before leaving the house that morning. I intro'd Bourrasque (musette in D), Barnyard Dance (for Louie Bluie), a few others I don't recall now. Did a 90-minute set inside, then 45 minutes outside.

Rags were difficult... kept on forgetting what key I was in. I did get some people moving to Fun von der Khupe outside, slower, beatier, fun. Reaction was stronger inside than outside. Got two invites to do wedding gigs, but I'm not there yet, need more classical and show tunes.

Vocals haven't been working... I don't cut loose... haven't even tried blending vocals with instrument for my own sake... have just been concentrating on fingers the last few sessions.

I don't have a lead yet for an evening session somewhere. It might be getting to the stage where I can sit at a cafe or restaurant. I've got enough material, but need to hone a range so I can pick the right tune for the moment.

Went to the East Bay potluck Sunday, but it wasn't really happening... August slowdown. Had one session playing with the bluebook singers, but overall there was no rhythmic groove, no meaning.

I'm getting a steady two sessions a day, sometimes three... heavy on the classical, exploring the area... in practice some rags are getting personalized... read through a musette book Saturday afternoon, fun. Estudiantina from Waldtufel is very nice... Strauss is getting a good workout.

Later this autumn I'll be up to five years playing, and I'm about where I had hoped I would be. I see the path, and have clearly set out on it, but it will likely take another five years beyond that until I'm doing it close to the way I want to do it.

Need to work on website.
posted by macromed5 at 11:10 PM