Scales, Revisited

So much to practice, so much to process. For now, I'll keep the discussion to scales. I have started reviewing them in the event of an audition in the next couple of months for a community orchestra. Last week I worked on G major and E minor. 

The good news is that by revisiting the G major scale, I recognized how much smoother my shifting has gotten since Ms. L started working with me on that. It's still something I have to be vigilant about, but I can do it. The main things I have to focus on are keeping my hand loose and taking my time with the shifts. "Taking my time" doesn't necessarily require me to slow down--it just means I move my hand in more of a "tai chi"-type fashion as opposed to an "accidentally touched a 400-degree oven rack"-type fashion.

The bad news is that I "practiced" the E minor scale last week over and over again apparently without realizing that the top four or five notes were out of tune, especially on the way down. When I played it at my lesson on Friday, Ms. L pounced on that. She had me start from the top and work down through the top octave again and again, making minute adjustments to get the intonation right while she played an octave lower than me. I'd had no idea it was off!

It is just so freaking hard to hear those notes when you're just a couple of centimeters from the end of the fingerboard. There's a lot less string to vibrate than there normally is, so does that mean there are fewer overtones to help flesh out the sound and give more clues to the pitch? Or, are the overtones all closer together and thus harder for the ear to sort out? I sort of have a working grasp of the acoustic stuff related to the violin, but then again, sort of don't. 

I should clarify that I'm not getting fancy with this. I'm doing four notes per bow, at a pace of about 69-80 bpm (one beat = one note). No dotted anything, just straight, even notes. I just want to be able to play them in tune, on demand, without looking at fingerings or half-step markings or any other form of cheat sheet.

Anyway, this week I moved on to A flat major and F minor. Unfortunately for my neighbors, this coincided with the weather warming up and me opening my windows. I pity the fools who have caught a whiff of my F minor scale while walking the dog or taking out the trash.

Video via YouTube and Dragon71484. Repeat to self...smooth shifts...smooth shifts...

Stalking Orchestra 2

So last weekend I went to check out two community orchestras' concerts to get a sense of how good a fit they might be for me. My impressions of Orchestra 2 were pretty much the same as my impressions of Orchestra 1. One important difference is that Orchestra 2 has fewer violins, so maybe they have more room for me!

I also noticed significant differences between Orchestras 1 and 2 on a front I had not expected to consider: funding and audience. Presumably each orchestra needs to rent the hall for their four or five concerts per year and pay the conductors. (Maybe they each pay section leaders too--it wasn't clear from the programs.) Both orchestras charge for at least some of their tickets, and both get financial support from a mixture of local businesses, state and regional agencies, and individual donors (i.e., some subset of the audience). 

At Orchestra 1's concert, the audience was big, but it definitely skewed old. At 41, I think I was younger than 80% of the audience. To me, the program seemed to reflect a very traditional symphony orchestra atmosphere. It listed named chairs at the head of every section, the program notes had a rather sober tone, etc. 

At Orchestra 2's concert, the audience was maybe a quarter smaller than the Orchestra 1 audience, but definitely younger. The program had more ads, and rather than just slapping ads in there, it actually had a couple of nice tie-in offers from local businesses. The program notes and conductor bio included bits of corny humor--corny, but enthusiastic! Orchestra 2 also clearly has connections to school music programs--maybe that's where the younger audience came from.

I don't mean to make more of this than I should--this is just me looking for a place to exercise a hobby. However, knowing how members of arts organizations (or sports teams, or education institutions, or, or, or...) get drafted into fundraising efforts, I find the long-term prospects of an orchestra worth noticing.

In the meantime, I also got a response to my email from Orchestra 2. It was a very cheerful and welcoming message, so I look forward to finding out more about the audition process. However, there is one significant hitch: they rehearse on the night that my second language conversation group meets. We've been getting a great turnout for the conversation table on that night, so I hesitate to ask fellow regulars to move it. I don't want to give it up, either. Sigh. I guess I will figure that out later. 

Maybe Orchestra 1 will offer an alternative--assuming, of course, that my audition(s) give me that option. Forget critiquing programs or analyzing marketing...I should be practicing.

Stalking Orchestra 1

Still no answers to my emails to Orchestras 1 and 2, the orchestras that Ms. L. recommended I consider if I want to join a community orchestra in the fall. That makes me a little impatient, though I know how it is to be a volunteer at the receiving end of a generic organizational email account. In any case, both orchestras happen to have concerts this weekend, so I want to stalk them check them out. I figured this would be a good way to gauge their level, and--Ms. L.'s informed opinion aside--conclude for myself where I would fit in, skill-wise. Tonight was Orchestra 1.

An amateur orchestra is never going to have the sleek, powerful sound of the pros. (If it did, no one would be suggesting that I could hang with them.) Having said that, by the time Orchestra 1's concert was over, I found myself listening to what was there instead of what wasn't. They closed out the concert with Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, which I had forgotten that I knew. 

As soon as it started, I flashed back to a time early in my freshman year of college, popping that cassette tape into my circa 1988 boom box while studying. No sooner did a measure or two play than my roommate (who was from Sweden) exclaimed, "Sibelius!" and proudly announced, "He's Finnish-Swedish!" She then gave me a quick primer on the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, and, while she was at it, much of the previous 150 years of the history of northern Europe. She smoked and dyed her hair black and dated a football player and dressed as Cleopatra for Halloween, none of which I have done to this day, and she knew her history, and we bonded over Sibelius. 

In Orchestra 1's rendition, the winds were pretty solid, and so were the lower strings. In the first violins--I couldn't hear the seconds very well--there was clearly a range of skill levels. At times I thought I could hear the front couple of stands carrying the rest of the section. But they finished strong. By the time I left, I wanted to listen to nothing in the car on the way home except Sibelius.

My conclusion, in short: I could hang with these guys. I could maybe even contribute. They are probably about the caliber of my college orchestra. However, they already have a ton of violins. 

The Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi, via YouTube and ArioniaTellus2

And there are some great program notes about the Sibelius from the CSO.

Waiting!

Sent emails today to Orchestra 1 and Orchestra 2 to briefly introduce myself and ask about their audition process. Now anxiously awaiting responses. I have already invested a lot of thought into doing this--already mentally assessed my collection of long black, already started reviewing major and minor three-octave scales, already told friends and family about it. I even told my boss about it for no apparent reason in our regular meeting last week when she asked me, "Anything else going on?" (She was supportive--she takes piano on the side.) I want it to happen! 

Community Orchestras

After 18 months of violin lessons (following about 18 years of musical inactivity), I am finally starting to actively investigate community orchestras to join. Ms. L. has recommended three orchestras for me to consider.

The rehearsal schedule is a big variable. I would have to work around some regularly scheduled work commitments in the evening and another evening that's regularly booked.

The biggest factor for me, though, is atmosphere. I want the chance to play good music with friendly people and a conductor that has standards/expectations but understands that people with non-musical day jobs can only bring a certain level of commitment. Musically, the ideal would be for me to be in the middle of a pack where the range of musical skills is not huge. I want to feel that I am pulling my weight, but I don't feel a need to be "above average." 

This prospect is firing me up again. Working on the cadenza to the Haydn really slowed me down. After a while, there was not much to say about it except, "Still plugging away. Progress still incremental." I don't know who wrote that cadenza, but it was kicking my tail.

Ms. L. seemed to pick up on the fact that I was losing momentum, and started me on the Rieder Concerto in G Major, "a student piece." Although I was ready for a change of scenery and happy to tackle something less intimidating, I was also a tad disappointed to play a piece that has less "there" there than the Haydn or the Bach. However, I think it's been good for me to regain the feeling of making steady progress on something.

With something like an audition in front of me--my first audition in 22 years!--I will feel more fired up to come back to the Haydn.