What Are You Practising / Composing Now?

[RichardB]

I've been videoing myself a fair amount over the past few evenings playing this piece. I'm now at a place where I feel, at least this evening, that many of the technical difficulties I once had with it have been solved

I think you're right. I get the feeling that although you still might not be at the point of playing it all through without anything going wrong, that goal is clearly within sight. Good work!

[Joseph K]

I think you're right. I get the feeling that although you still might not be at the point of playing it all through without anything going wrong, that goal is clearly within sight. Good work!

Thank you!

[Dave2002]

I've been videoing myself a fair amount over the past few evenings playing this piece.

Looks intricate. Keep going - well done!

[Joseph K]

Looks intricate. Keep going - well done!

Thanks.

[RichardB]

Only a few days into 2022 and already a new score finished... although actually I promised myself it would have the date of 2021 written in it and that didn't quite happen. It's a duo for soprano saxophone and electronic keyboard which I've mentioned here before. Beginning to clear the backlog of things that have been lying around in unfinished form during the no-concert seasons.

March: premiere of this work (finished) and another for vocalising violinist and electronic sounds (half finished)
May: premiere of new works for piano (finished), tenor saxophone (finished), contrabass (not finished), harp/contrabass/percussion (finished), cello/electronics/ensemble (not finished)
August: premiere of new work for soprano, flute and clarinet (not started)

New year resolution: get the heck on with these things. Of course it still may be that none of these things will actually happen, but I have to assume that they will. Oh, and:

four CDs to edit and mix (only one of which is "all my own work")

... not that many people will notice any of this ...

[Serial_Apologist]

... not that many people will notice any of this ...

Oh if any of this comes in this direction I will - as will our gardener, who uses the garage below me to practise his saxophone; and the man upstairs, who's a city accountant, currently working from home!

Anyway, best of luck with everything there, Richard!

[Joseph K]

Only a few days into 2022 and already a new score finished... although actually I promised myself it would have the date of 2021 written in it and that didn't quite happen. It's a duo for soprano saxophone and electronic keyboard which I've mentioned here before. Beginning to clear the backlog of things that have been lying around in unfinished form during the no-concert seasons.

March: premiere of this work (finished) and another for vocalising violinist and electronic sounds (half finished)
May: premiere of new works for piano (finished), tenor saxophone (finished), contrabass (not finished), harp/contrabass/percussion (finished), cello/electronics/ensemble (not finished)
August: premiere of new work for soprano, flute and clarinet (not started)

New year resolution: get the heck on with these things. Of course it still may be that none of these things will actually happen, but I have to assume that they will. Oh, and:

four CDs to edit and mix (only one of which is "all my own work")

... not that many people will notice any of this ...

Exciting stuff indeed!

[RichardB]

Oh yes and I forgot I have to get another book ready by the middle of the year...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Not actually composing. However, I composed a march for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, 20 years ago, called Golden Reign. Originally for concert band, I’m now rearranging it for a brass band to play it in this Platinum Jubilee year.

I had to obtain permission (in 2002) to dedicate it to the Queen. Early 2002 wasn’t a good time for her, as her mother and sister both died during that time, but permission was eventually granted after I presented a copy of the score.

It hasn’t been performed since then, so I’ll be pleased to hear the brass band alternative.

[RichardB]

Oh if any of this comes in this direction I will

Thanks! - although it was more organisations like the BBC I had in mind, rather than people...

[Joseph K]

Still needs practising, mostly the central section...

[Dave2002]

Keep going - good to see. I had to check back to your earlier videos to see what guitars you've been using. For Bluesette you were using an electric of some sort, but here you are using what I think is a classical guitar. I assumed until very recently that acoustic guitars are the same as classical guitars, but then I found web pages which informed me that they're not - quite. So called acoustic guitars have metal strings and a slightly different profile from classical or Spanish guitars. All this was completely unknown to me. So who uses acoustic guitars (using that "definition") compared with classical/Spanish guitars?

I've just tried to use/access BandLab - as someone has sent me some music to play and I'll try to get a recording put up in due course. Bandlab seems a bit like an online version of an audio editor - but how sophisticated it is I don't know. Also I don't want to put up any recordings of my playing unless I can be sure of privacy and quality. If I record into a local audio editor or DAW then until (or if) I decide to release any recording nobody will know how lousy my tone was on a particular day, or which notes I missed out, but if I try recordings into an online system such as Bandlab then imperfections will be out there for anyone else to see.

Maybe your videos to Youtube have the same kind of privacy issues - so I think you're very brave to do those - though if you have the right kit you can presumably make the videos first privately, then decide whether you want to upload them or not.

Have you tried Bandlab?

[RichardB]

Keep going - good to see. I had to check back to your earlier videos to see what guitars you've been using. For Bluesette you were using an electric of some sort, but here you are using what I think is a classical guitar. I assumed until very recently that acoustic guitars are the same as classical guitars, but then I found web pages which informed me that they're not - quite. So called acoustic guitars have metal strings and a slightly different profile from classical or Spanish guitars. All this was completely unknown to me. So who uses acoustic guitars (using that "definition") compared with classical/Spanish guitars?

You seem very confused. There are electric guitars and there are acoustic guitars. Electric guitars have magnetic pickups, acoustic guitars don't. Acoustic guitars come in various varieties: baroque guitars, classical (or "Spanish") guitars, 10-string classical guitars, folk guitars, resonator guitars etc. etc. which differ in aspects like the material the strings are made of, the material and size of the body, and so on. People who play classical guitar music play it on classical guitars, I guess the clue is in the name.

[Bryn]

Now that's what I call classical guitar playing!

[Jonathan]

My Liszt Society journal music section arrived the other day, lots of little things of interest, many of which have never been published! Great.