Doper Musicians - What are you working on these days?

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Dear Doper Musicians - amateurs, pros, teachers, composers, arrangers - I'm just curious what everyone is practicing or otherwise working on these days?

I'll start - Singing, I'm working on a pair of chamber pieces by Omar Daniel and Jean Coulthardt for Baritone and Piano Quintet. The Daniel is called 'You Are Where You Are', and the Coulthardt is called 'Tarantella'.

Guitar - I'm still trying to keep to my schedule of writing one composition, arranging one chord/melody standard, transcribing one piece and playing one transcription per month. I just got an 8-string, which is totally messing with my head. 'Skylark' is this month's standard, I'm transcribing the George Van Eps 'Tangerine', I'm playing a transcription of Joe Pass playing 'I Can't Get Started', and I'm still working on an original. (I name them for the first piece of spam I get after I write the last note - that way, I'll never run out of names.)

Piano - I'm working on the first movement of a Kuhlau Sonata (Op. 59, #1), the Mendelssohn Andante Sostenuto (Op. 72, #2), Bach's 6th Invention E Major and a Matt Dennis arrangement of 'Somebody Loves Me'.

Just writing this down makes me feel like I need to go practice for a bit. What's everyone else doing?

[fachverwirrt]

I'm preparing the role of Andrew Borden in a production of Jack Beeson's Lizzie Borden, put on by the opera program at the university I teach at. My performance schedule has slowed down considerably since I started pursuing my teaching certificate; I've more or less decided that full time professional opera singer is not for me. So that's about it, besides my student teaching schedule (currently in elementary) and teaching about twelve hours worth of voice lessons a week at university. A couple of choir jobs and random gigs, but those aren't much to talk about.

[Kythereia]

I'm mostly working on brushing up my technique--I'm hoping to start grade 8 in the fall (at the Royal Conservatory of Music) and I really need to get my scales and arpeggios back in shape.

Plus, my theory is in shambles--especially transposition.

[Figaro]

I'm brushing up a new song cycle (premiered last summer) for its second outing -- on a faculty concert next weekend at the University where I teach.

Aside from that, I'm learning a bunch of Russian songs and arias for a benefit concert in April, and working up the Schubert Mass in A-flat for a series of concerts in March.

My schedule is pretty sparse...

[Flander]

Getting together with the other guitarist tonight to polish up a new songs (punk band) and piece together some new riffs and ideas. I want to get another 4 solid songs out to put a demo out. It's been a few years since the last one and we are going to need new songs so we can start doing more shows again.

[An Arky]

I'm currently engaged in the final mixing of my band's forthcoming album. Then we have to get it mastered, do the pressing, packaging, etc. We'll be on the grid (iTunes, etc.) by summer, I reckon.

It's a frustrating time, though. The urge is to get your stuff out there immediately, but it takes time to get all the i's dotted and t's crossed. It takes a damn long time. In the meantime, I'm writing songs that are even better than what's going to be on the album and I'm already wanting to do the next one. ARRRGH!!!

We're playing the DC Independent Film Festival next month, which is a welcome break from the piss-stench rock club scene.

[GorillaMan]

Last week I had my regular 'oh my GOD I'm rusty' session trying to get around Rimsky-Korsakov's Russian Easter Festival Overture. Compared to that, the familiar territory of The Firebird was a welcome relief!

Anyway, that's out of the way, so there's plenty of other things to be getting on with. Thing pupils are learning which I really should get polished include the Schumann A minor sonata, a silly Rachmaninov showpiece which I can't remember the name of, and various bits of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. A few accompaniments to sort out, too, and for some reason I tend to do these more readily than anything on the violin. But I really should do the latter, because I'm developing some bad posture habits while teaching and need to start rectifying them before they cause me problems.

I've recently had a slight urge to try learning some Ferneyhough, which happens every so often, normally quickly followed by a sense of deep frustration. However I need to get the music back from a pupil first (who isn't learning it, just looking at it!) And on a completely different theme, I've spend half of today transcribing a second-rate sixteenth-century Requiem setting.

[Flander]

Plus, my theory is in shambles--especially transposition.

[off topic]

My brother and I have an inside joke about the phrase "in shambles". I saw some documentary on mudslides on the Hitler Channel some years ago and the narrator used that phrase at least 6 times. Now, anytime something gets ruined or demolished or something, we have to describe the situation newscaster style in your best "almost Tom Brokaw" voice:

"Kythereia's lack of musical practice took a tole on scales and arpeggio as well as leaving her theory...[dramatic pause]...in shaaambllleees."


I'm cracking up just typing it.

[/OT]

...in shaaamblllless

[Musicat]

I've always been keyboard or woodwind oriented, but I always wanted to learn bass guitar (not regular guitar and not string bass, but fretted, 4-string electric bass). I think in bass lines, hear them in every song. Maybe this is the year I'll actually get a bass and learn. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Bass guitar players look sooo cool, man. :cool:

[WordMan]

Bass guitar players look sooo cool, man. :cool:


My bass player would be the first to agree with you!

Let's see:

- Electric band is currently just playing gigs when all of our lives allow us to do so - we're all super busy right now. No new songs.

- However, some of us are working on an acoustic set of songs for a more "unplugged" type of performance where we can play different venues. All new songs, new arrangements, etc. - so plenty to learn. We also have moved my electric band bass player to lead guitar (he started as a guitarist and does great, almost mandolin-type stuff up the neck with a capo) and we have added a stand-up bassist, who does both walking and bowed stuff, depending on the song. Last night we worked on everything from Can't Find My Way Home by Blind Faith and Femme Fatale by the Velvet Underground (excellent with bowed bass) to Underneath it All by No Doubt and Back to Me by Kathleen Edwards. Very fun.

- I have been experimenting with a different set of settings for one of my electric guitar-amp rigs. I found this very saturated, thick tone that is still very clear and articulate - when I start playing, I can't put it down! Very inspiring - especially for lead work, which I have typically avoided like the plague.

- Hybrid picking - where you hold a flatpick with your thumb and index, but also fingerpick with your middle finger - and ring and pinkie if you have the inclination and ability. Something I have always wanted to learn, and for some reason I have stumbled into an approach that I can do and sounds good, so it is slowly getting incorporated into my natural style...

Cool thread - reading what you all are working on is interesting.

An Arky - you darn well better post your release info on the SDMB when you're ready!!!

[si_blakely]

Well, I've started piano lessons again to get some structure to my practice and playing. I'll work through the grade 3/4 classical book aiming to hit grade 5 level, then start on some Jazz and Blues stuff.

But...

my wife has joined a community choir, which is on during my piano lessons, so I want to reschedule piano and do that, too.

Guitar-wise, I am trying to put together an acoustic rock set, maybe with some backing from the laptop, for gigs at our friends pub - Eagles, Dire Straits, Crowded House, Clapton, yada yada.

My electric guitar has been put away until I get the study back (my stepson is sleeping in there temporarily).

Si

[DfrntBreign]

Gawd, I'm so lazy!

Until yesterday I would say I've been staring blindly at my little digital recorder trying to think of something interesting to play. Or sitting at the piano in the dark playing "pretty chords" and not writing them down because "oh, I'll remember that."

Yesterday, though, I had to put all (well, most) of that stuff away to make room for the other guys. My guitarist and bass player came over for our not-so-regular jam. We "practised" (improvised, actually) for around five hours. It was great fun, but accomplished f*%^-all. Still, it was fun and reminded me that I can still play drums when I want to.

So I guess the answer to your question is, "Nothing, really." I have no discipline.

[Eonwe]

I'm crazy busy.

I'm working as music director for two shows right now; a high school production of Pippin, and a middle school production of Dear Edwina. I'm the accompanist for a University production of the show This Changes Everything.

I've got a small pick-up band going for our local Mardi Gras parade on the 23rd of this month.

My 80s cover band is on temporary hiatus while one of the guitar players is unavailable for two months.

And, I'm getting geared up for a community theater production of Bat Boy: The Musical, which I'm music directing this summer; our auditions are over spring break in March.

[GorillaMan]

Gawd, I'm so lazy!

Take heart. My earlier post was basically a list of things I should have done a long time ago!

[Beware of Doug]

I'll be playing and arranging for a very special CD this summer, a tribute to the pioneering sax group The Six Brown Brothers (http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=Aai0eMo6QXcC&dq=six+brown+brothers&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=A73Ta23eoe&sig=xX3iiXCZK7K1468UVQpXIOysqo4).

Lately I've been playing a lot of bass sax and flute, which I haven't done in a while. Both are slippery, uncooperative instruments, but of course in totally different ways. Yet both want to roll out of your hands as you play, despite one weighing 18 pounds and the other, what, maybe 18 ounces?

I'm still working on an original. (I name them for the first piece of spam I get after I write the last note - that way, I'll never run out of names.)I eagerly await the premiere of Enlarge Your Penis. :D

[Kilvert's Pagan]

I've always been keyboard or woodwind oriented, but I always wanted to learn bass guitar (not regular guitar and not string bass, but fretted, 4-string electric bass). I think in bass lines, hear them in every song. Maybe this is the year I'll actually get a bass and learn. Then hie yer butt down to the music shop and pick one up! I played keyboards for, umm, 35 years before picking up a bass, and I wish I had started WAYYYY earlier in life. I think bass is relatively easy to learn, and, as a keyboardist, may come very naturally to you. 4 strings, each tuned a fourth apart... pretty straightforward.

To answer the OP - I've got a bass, several boards, and a CD player run thru a cheap mixing board into a set of headphones. This allows me to spend a lot of time woodshedding bass (or Hammond or synth or piano) parts that I've been listening to for years. Mostly prog CDs and Frank Zappa stuff.

[Drum God]

Wow.

And now for something completely different.

With my middle school band, I am working on a Mike Story arrangement of Sousa's The Thunderer, along with Meyer's Knights of Dunvegan, and a new piece called Moscow, 1941 by Balmages. Sadly, the Balmages is not going real well. I will likely have to dump it in favor of something a bit shorter -- probably Australian Folk Sketches by Mark Williams (who was murdered in a horrible family tragedy about a month ago). All of this is in preparation for our concert and sight reading contest. Besides the literature, we're also working on musical fundamentals such as tuning, scale exercises, rhythm exercises, and general middle school stuff.

With our high school, we just finished our region's solo and ensemble contest. My daughter's woodwind trio earned a First Division and will be in the State Solo and Ensemble Contest. Sadly, I don't remember the piece. I led a percussion ensemble to a First Division with Fisher Tull's Sonatina for four percussionists. They too will go to the state contest. My other percussion ensemble, made up of less mature players, performed a cute little number called Strike, Shake, and Stomp by George Frock. They did not prepare as well and did not get the top mark. We also had several other ensembles advance to state, but no solos this time around. We had several solos get a First Division, but none were certified for State. Our high school is also getting ready for concert and sight reading contest and we just firmed up the literature this afternoon.

After writing all that down, maybe I've got more going on than I thought. No wonder I'm tired.

[Eonwe]

Then hie yer butt down to the music shop and pick one up! I played keyboards for, umm, 35 years before picking up a bass, and I wish I had started WAYYYY earlier in life. I think bass is relatively easy to learn, and, as a keyboardist, may come very naturally to you. 4 strings, each tuned a fourth apart... pretty straightforward.


I second that! I'm a keyboard player, but I've got a bass and was able to hit an advanced intermediate playing ability with very little work. And, since I read music, I actually end up an arm and a leg over some other more proficient players as far as hire-ability.

Wow.

And now for something completely different.


Hats off to you. I'm returning to college this fall (never quite finished) to get my degree so I can pursue my career in the public schools (hard to get hired for any non-stipend position without a degree), but I could never make a career as a middle school band director. You've got to have so much patience. But, it's guys like you that give a great start to people like me, so keep on keeping on!

And, I loved playing The Thunderer and other Sousa marches in middle school. Good stuff. My favorite piece for band (that I've played) is Holst's Military Suite in F. I played bari sax for about eight years, and that one was a lot of fun.

[sleestak]

I haven't been able to do jack recently. Work, school, girlfriend, trip to St Thomas and moving into a new house have eaten all my time.

The last thing I was working on was this thing (http://members.aol.com/sleethestak/music/DaGroove.wma), which I haven't finished writing yet. The solo goes to crap at about 59 seconds in. I know what the solo is going to do next and I have a good idea what will happen with the rest of it.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to playing with in a week or two. I haven't had a chance to play at all. When I do get time to play I'll end up having to do scales for a week or so to get back up to speed. Before I ran out of playing time I got serious about my arpeggios, picking each note. None of the sweep stuff. Once I get back up to speed it'll be arpeggio work for a while and hopefully I'll finish writing/recording more stuff.

Slee

[ErinPuff]

I'm preparing for my senior recital, which is in April. I'm a composition major, so half of it is my compositions and the other half is me playing other people's music.

For the performance part, I'm doing Poulenc's flute sonata, Bach's E major sonata, and Soliloquy by Lowell Liebermann. The Bach is proving to be the biggest bitch, because I don't do much Baroque music (I tend to stick to the 20th century).

My compositions include a woodwind trio (which I'm playing in); a transcription of a woodwind quintet (because getting an actual quintet together would have been more trouble than it's worth) for flute, clarinet, and piano (I'm in that too); a choir piece that was written for a Christmas performance last year but didn't end up on the program for various reasons; and a marimba solo for my brother (this is the only piece I haven't actually finished writing yet).

[Ins&Outs&What-have-yous]

I'm currently composing and recording original music using ProTools software and hardware that I purchased last year. I would describe this music as instrumental multi-layered ambient sitar music, and I plan to fill all 32 tracks in each sound scape. The final songs will be sound scapes linked together. As for the instruments, I'm using acoustic sitar, electric sitar, synthesized sitar sounds, electric bass, and to a lesser extent electric guitar. Some tracks are given effects such as reverb, flanging, chorus, reversal, and delay echoes to maximize the 'trippiness' of the music. I doubt that I will add any percussion but I haven't ruled the possibility of bongos.

I hope to have a full album (~ 60 minutes) worth of music finished within a few months but I have set no deadlines. This is just a hobby for me as a seasoned amateur musician.

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Gang - I'm astounded and fascinated. I sensed there would be an interesting range of styles, levels and instruments on the Board, but I had no idea it would be like this. Keep 'em coming!

[TubaDiva]

Oh wow, what a great thread, thanks for asking!

Doing frequent gigs with the Seed and Feed Marching Abominable -- we're reading something new every week to potentially add to our rotating set list and polishing our act, adding more schtick, etc. See www.seedandfeed.org for details.

Working with the Band of America to get our spring concert date nailed down. Playing a water-themed concert, including the "Sinbad's Ship" section of Scheherazade, Cesarin's Blue Horizons, Francis McBeth's Of Sailors and Whales, Robert Smith's Into the Storm, etc.

Just discovered the PANArt Hang Drum. Oh man, wish I had time/resources to get into this! http://www.hang-music.com/.

Working up the solo on Robert Farnon's Blow the Wind Southerly with an eye towards performing it within the year on F tuba, which I haven't done, ever. The piece was written for Dizzy Gillespie on flugelhorn so it's quite a challenge. I'm digging it, though.

I need to find/write a grant so I can do that piece on an upcoming program sometime, somewhere, maybe with the Band of America. I'm envisioning playing this along with some Mingus and an excerpt from Oliver Nelson's Jazzhattan Suite. Planning that out too.

More juggling practice. Lots more juggling practice. Lots of picking up. Lots.

[TubaDiva]

Oh, and more bass -- if I had more time. Which I don't. Dammit.

[WordMan]

Gang - I'm astounded and fascinated. I sensed there would be an interesting range of styles, levels and instruments on the Board, but I had no idea it would be like this. Keep 'em coming!


Hey Ministre - since you're guesting here (by the way - welcome; based on this thread, I hope you join!), can you give us a bit of background on your musical history? I mean, jeez, the stuff your tackling for guitar is a very big deal - 8-string Van Eps lap-piano type stuff, let alone Joe Pass, who is a jazz monster. I can't comment on the degree of difficulty for the piano and voice stuff - but the very fact that you do them is impressive enough. What's your main musical activity? Are you a professional?

[SiXSwordS]

<snip>I always wanted to learn bass guitar .. I think in bass lines, hear them in every song. Maybe this is the year I'll actually get a bass and learn. Yeah, that's the ticket.

When I first came across this thread, before there were any posts, I was too intimidated to say, "Well, I'm trying to work out the bass line to Black Cow."

As other posters have pointed out, the bass is pretty straight forward, but it can be very rewarding to play.

I have picked out any number of tunes suggested in this (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=439129) thread and tried to pick them up. There are so many different approaches to the instrument, from classical (http://www.activemusician.com/Bach-s-Invention-No-13-In-A-Minor--t13i125) to heavy metal to simple pedal lines like Smoke on the Water.

James Jamerson is now recognized as a great bass player, but if you listen to a song like "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher" you'll see that it's a "simple" repetition. It took me several days to get the feel of that line right and it opened my eyes.

Oh, and I've also been trying to get down the feel for "Jumping Someone Else's Train"

[Octalcode]

-snip-

Bass guitar players look sooo cool, man. :cool:

Bass player here - ummm thanks !!!

Going into the studio Feb.21 to start work on our 2nd CD since reforming.

early 70's glam - punk - 60's rock.

Still doing some studio work for others a few days a week.

Flander - Best of luck to you !!!!

[Eonwe]

James Jamerson is now recognized as a great bass player, but if you listen to a song like "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher" you'll see that it's a "simple" repetition. It took me several days to get the feel of that line right and it opened my eyes.


One of my favorite songs, and the bass is key to that arrangement.

[CateAyo]

I am working on really "learning" the fiddle and building a repertoire. I play a little bluegrass fiddle and guitar with some musicians locally. Also, I have just this week been invited back to play a couple of benefits in late spring in Florida. A friend has a working blues band and we enjoy playing together. It gives me an excuse to dust the strat and telecasters off. The dates are still up in the air and I may get some session work with him while I am there, if they have studio time booked as well.

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Hey Ministre - since you're guesting here (by the way - welcome; based on this thread, I hope you join!), can you give us a bit of background on your musical history? <polite snip> What's your main musical activity? Are you a professional?

Dear WordMan:

Okay, I won't be brief, because I'm not very good at it.

Singing is my main thing - I've been singing professionally since 1982. 85% opera, 10% oratorio/concert, 5% musical theatre. Almost all of it in Canada, 4 shows in the US, 1 gig ever in Germany. I've got this weird little niche where I sing lots of comic roles and a ton of contemporary music, lots of it hard core. It's a blast! I also teach singing to anyone who doesn't run fast enough. (Fachverwirrt - I have a feeling we should split a virtual bottle of Gewürztraminer and trade stories someday)

I've been playing guitar since I was in Grade 8 at school 32 years ago. I'm a pretty good guitarist, but I'm not a great guitarist. Please don't be fooled by the rep. I happen to be currently flailing at - I want to steal from the best, but it doesn't mean I'm ready to publicize myself as a substitute for Bucky Pizzarelli (unless I want to eat a lot of salad that night!)

Guitar has been a constant companion over the years (I had to learn the role of Wozzeck on the road, and so I spent many nights playing through the vocal line on the guitar. It sounds pretty cool with a bottleneck...), but it has only been in the last 8 years that I've got serious about it. Guitar has gone from hobby to obsession to profession - I'm either at the highest rung of amateur status or the lowest rung of professional status. I was a subway musician in Toronto for 3 years, and these days I get a couple of gigs a year. I also teach, and I have a great gig at the Royal Conservatory being an assistant for the group guitar classes - Sing Along With Your Guitar, Guitar From Scratch, Cover Tunes.

I started piano 5 years ago - it began as a way to improve my voice teaching, and I thought I could just work on nothing but song accompaniments. Turns out most of the Schubert, Schumann, Fauré, etc. is way harder than was worth working on, so we started with piano repertoire. Damned if I didn't fall in love with the instrument, and here I am. I doubt I'll ever do much more than play for my students, but especially since I found the 'Popular Repertoire List' (for younger students, you can substitute an arrangement of a Disney song for a study, for old farts like me, it means you can substitute 'Fascinatin' Rhythm' or 'Take Five' for a study.) (Kythereia - I've been in Grade 8 at the Royal Con. for the last couple of years)

I have to confess that I suffer from a severe case of GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) and it is only through constant application of Painful Reality Therapy that I keep it from blossoming into a full-fledged case of OOEFMIAS (One Of Every F***in' Musical Instrument Acquisition Syndrome) . I haven't had a tuba in years, (TubaDiva - remind me to tell you about playing one of those cheap fiberglass marching Sousaphones on the back of a pickup truck for one parade... ) and I deeply miss it, I'd love to get some saxes and maybe a sarrusaphone, but my studio already looks like a failed antique store. (Beware of Doug - how do you manage the difference in breath control between a flute and a bass sax? I bow down, Sir!)

Anyway, I'm tired and going to sleep. I'm a very lucky man who grew up in just the right small town in Manitoba to get exposed to choirs, bands, orchestras, guitars, jazz, the collegium musicum, bluegrass, rock (among other); and I'm privileged to be simultaneously a pro, a teacher, a semi-pro and a rank amateur all at the same time. I'm loving every minute of it!

Best wishes to all of you,

Le Ministre de l'au-déla

[Beware of Doug]

Beware of Doug - how do you manage the difference in breath control between a flute and a bass sax? I bow down, Sir!Not very well, actually. It actually helps that the embouchures have zilch to do with one another. On the bass it's all about the air, on flute it's all about the control.

[Moe]

I moved to Berlin (from NY) last September with only a guitar and a halfway decent effects processor, so I've been working on using those to put together a solo guitar thing that I've been gigging with here.

Basically I use the delay as a loop machine and improvise, often in a very minimalist style. Have a listen (http://www.myspace.com/moescafe1) and tell me what you all think!

Also I'm teaching private guitar lessons (some classical, some folk, some rock) so I'm constantly working on new lessons.

I've got a couple of other projects brewing but nothing that's taken a distinct shape just yet.

Great thread BTW!

[WordMan]

I have to confess that I suffer from a severe case of GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)


Don't we all, sir, don't we all. Great overview - you have done, and get to do, a lot of cool music stuff.

[fachverwirrt]

Singing is my main thing - I've been singing professionally since 1982. 85% opera, 10% oratorio/concert, 5% musical theatre. Almost all of it in Canada, 4 shows in the US, 1 gig ever in Germany. I've got this weird little niche where I sing lots of comic roles and a ton of contemporary music, lots of it hard core. It's a blast! I also teach singing to anyone who doesn't run fast enough. (Fachverwirrt - I have a feeling we should split a virtual bottle of Gewürztraminer and trade stories someday)

Well, I don't have much to tell, really. Most of my roles have been at university (although they tend to do twentieth century American stuff, so it's never easy) with just the odd professional role here and there. I never really go off the ground with the whole career thing (I basically settled on having an income and a family). Basically, I'd say I have the talent for some sort of career (probably not high level), but I lack the ambition (and somewhat lack the discipline). On the other hand, I'm always up for a little music talk, so bring it on!

(Although I prefer a nice pinot noir. The German wines are a little sweet for me.)

[Musicat]

James Jamerson is now recognized as a great bass player, but if you listen to a song like "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher" you'll see that it's a "simple" repetition. It took me several days to get the feel of that line right and it opened my eyes.Just in case you haven't run across this video, both as instruction and history: Standing in the shadows of Motown. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314725/)One of my favorite songs, and the bass is key to that arrangement.Some of my favorites are songs where the bass IS the arrangement, or the primary melody, or focus, or whatever, but maybe I'm biased because I think bottom up...like Rescue Me (Fontella Bass version) or Lalo Schifrin's Mountain Dance, or some Temptations tunes. And Jamerson is tops.Bass player here - ummm thanks !!!As a rock bass player, you must:

Stand very still on stage. The sound's not coming from you, it's over there where the humongous speakers are.

Look half asleep.

Hold the guitar slung low on your body. It's an extension of your manhood, as we all know, so treat it accordingly. (If you're a girl, it's an extension of something else, but you'll have to do the math yourself. The bass player in Fanny was hot, and she was a she, so that works, too.)

Make significant sounds with minimal movement of fingers. Let the amp do the work.

Look bored, like you could have phoned in this one.

Don't watch your fingers. They must move automatically. Stare out over the audience, scanning for hot chicks that will do you later.

Make all tunes look easy, even the hard ones. You're a bass player and need to think about only one string at a time, you lucky bastard. Pity the poor guitarists -- too many strings, man!

Keep your eyelids half closed. You're thinking about later, right?

[SiXSwordS]

Just in case you haven't run across this video, both as instruction and history: Standing in the shadows of Motown. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314725/)[

Good timing. I've heard about it but never watched it.

I just put it on hold! Thanks.

[Panurge]

Since my son was born in October I haven't found much time to practice. I play tabla and have done so for 6 years, studying with a master in India for long periods. It can be a frustrating instrument because you absolutely have to practice every day or you will lose speed very quickly. Just this week I started again - playing a few simple compositions, and was happy to find that the speed returns pretty quickly. Apart from playing, I have been reading James Kippen's Gurudev's Drumming Legacy where he reconstructs techniques and compositions more than 100 years old. They're pretty interesting, and I have commited some of them to memory. As soon as I feel confident again in front of the drums I'll have a go on those.
Apart from not playing tabla? - Not much. I try to play flute or jew's harp for my son every day. He seems to enjoy it, but apart from that neither instrument can satisfy my thirst for the complexity and dexterity the tabla demands.

Oh, and Ministre - I see that you are a guest. Welcome, I really hope you will stay. This is a great place, and starting this thread it seems you will fit right in.

[Wrylie]

I'm going through all of Al Hirt's records trying to get as close as possible to his rhythm and stress. It's not easy. Those 'iconic' sounds are easy to get just wrong enough to upset an audience, especially in a small club.

[Cyberhwk]

Violist here.

Paganini Caprice No. 9, some Campagnoli etude, and shifting exercises.

Going pretty slowly. :(