Another windy day expected.

 We're off to see our grandsons this morning. Between them they have three years.

Harrison can claim 5/6 of that time. The other 1/6 belongs to Henry. These are the new Prowse brothers.

The original Prowse brothers.

I'm going to do some double bass practice before heading out this morning. I only did violin yesterday and there won't really be time for double bass tomorrow. 

Well, that's about it for this morning.

If it's a toss up for you between having fun or sinning, get some practice done.

Ciao tutti.

All alone on the blogs.

Well, since I'm the only one around here, I thought I'd watch some old videos. For some reason this video makes us all look fat! This video is from 14 years ago.

Watch Here.

Hey, it's 1.10pm and it is still - Robert - no, Peter - no, Richard - yes, as far as posting goes.

I'll be very surprised if anyone watches this video.

Ciao mio.

The number of new posts this morning has just doubled.

 Robert - yes. Peter - no. Richard - yes.

As the old song says, "Two out of three ain't bad."

It's by a guy called Meat Loaf. You can look it up on Youtube. 

I wonder why he chose that name?

I wonder what name Peter would choose if he was a rock star?

• Bitten Lip?
• Sheesh!?
• Mea Culpa?
• Long Distance Driver?
• McDonald Tee Rump?
• Tennis Guy?
• Baggy Pipes?

And what about Robert?

• The Presbyterian?
• Rosary Rob?
• Beana Cleana?
• Hell's Bells?
• Cello Tape?
• Heaven Knows?
• Don't Sin?

Ah well, we can only wonder. Actually, Peter might go with 'No Post'. Yeah, and Robert might go with 'Mary's Pal'.

Who knows?

What else can I tell you this morning?

My practice has been a bit slow this week, the average day has been one hour. Yes, I know, that's not good enough. Today might be a bit slow too because I might have to 'help' our neighbour with the fence. I say 'help' because I won't really be much help. He's really on to it and I just try not to get in his way. 

I have been doing some double bass practice. Yesterday I finished up moving my violin chinrest slightly more to the left. Just a little bit so that it wouldn't lean onto the tailpiece. I practised 'I'll take you home again, Kathleen'. I really like that song! No Rob, I don't care where it was written!

Well, I think I'll leave it there for today.

If you play rugby, don't finish up in the sin bin.

Ciao tutti.

*** * **** ** ******.

 ******* * **** ** ****. *** * ** ****** ** * ***? 

***** *** ******** Wairakei. ** **** * ******** *****?

******** **** **** ** ***** * *****!

** ****** * **** **** ** ***** **.

***** ** *** ***** * *****.

*** ******* ** **** * **** **.

**** *** ***** ***!

****.

Windy Wainuiomata.

 

Got to win de race!

We're expecting very bad winds today. We're being advised to stay home. That means it might be a good practice day for me.

I practised both violin and double bass yesterday. Gospel Luke 12:49-53 "Am I here to bring peace to earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on in a household of five it will be divided three against two." What a stupid shit Luke was! Don't be stupid enough to believe all you read. Go and get some practice done instead. I felt good after my double bass practice yesterday. I'd felt very tired beforehand. This proves that music practice is better for you than silly religions.

I assume that Peter is in Windy Wellington now. He wrote some silly comments on my last post last night.

It probably would have been better if he'd just gone to bed.

As anyone who can understand English, and doesn't need to say, "Mea culpa." all the time will understand, I was talking about the two approaches that musicians take to playing music. 

Ah well, Peter can have a look and see if Robert has written a post. He seems to enjoy those.

That's it from me this morning.

Get your practice done!

Ciao.

The blind leading the blind.

 

I wonder which blind is leading the other?

I've read some strange music topic things on Facebook. I read one yesterday that said you don't need music theory. There is also a guitar teacher who says a similar thing. He talks about a series of notes that is all any guitarist needs to sound great. I checked out his 'wonderful series of notes that you can move all over the guitar'. It is actually a three octave major scale. Hello, that sounds like music theory to me! The argument I read yesterday was that true musicians play by ear and don't need theory. This is like saying that we don't need science. 

Music theory simply tells you how things fit together and work. It's there, whether you like it or not. There are two sides to music - playing by ear and the theory behind how our western system of music works. You need both. Ah, I won't waste any more time on this!

* * *

Don't expect to find many posts around the blogs this morning. Peter is driving to Wellington and Robert may post something from his gospels a little later. Maybe he'll post something by Clive this morning?

Clive 12:11 A man asked for proof of God. It was Brent who gave a reply. "There are many gods. Which one are you talking about?" "The one true god." the man replied. "That depends on where you were born." said Brent. 

Hey, it's time for me to get ready for work. 

Do some music practice that includes playing by ear and theory.

Ciao.

I wasn't going to bother posting this morning.

 

I do have lots of posts already.

But then I realised that it's not even seven o'clock and I don't leave for work until 7.30am.

I can't really practise violin at this hour of the morning but, once I get to school, I'll be into it. I did two hours yesterday, so I'm building up again. No gigs on the immediate horizon though. I guess it's just an act of love.

I'll get to school by about 8.20am. Once I find someone to let me into my room it'll be practice time. My first student should come at 9am. Obviously I'll start with long bows, then Atomic Habits. 

It is very windy around here. The wind is outside, not like when Peter gets windy. It has been blowing for days now. It is supposed to rain too. Maybe I should have a quick shave. Ah, I might leave it for today. I'll leave you there for this morning. I see that Robert has posted, so there is something else for you to read. I warn you, it'll probably be the Holy Gospel according to someone. Who knows, it might be Brent today. Or Nigel.

That's it.

Ciao.

Good Monday Morning.

 

This is what a reader evidently said. We won't go into names.

"I took the liberty of reading through the posts on this blog [The Curmudgeon] and on Richard's blog and have concluded that Peter aka The Curmudgeon and Richard aka RBB are like a couple of silly old men who try to outdo each other on writing silly and time-wasting blog posts."

Gosh, I'd better change my ways!

No, that's not going to happen.

If you don't like it, don't read it. It really is that simple.

* * *

Moving right along.

Okay, I know that a lot of people aren't interested in my violin practice. I guess I'll have to repeat myself here. If you don't like it, don't read it. Violin playing is a big thing in my life. If that's not your thing, stay away. When I get up in the morning, I find that writing a post is a nice way to start the day. A nice way to wake up. 

I started playing the violin in 1961. I was eight years old at the time. My mother brought home a couple of violins from a school fair and asked who would like to learn to play them. At that time I only had two brothers. Rob and I put our hands up first. I started learning from a nun named Sister Joachim, at St. Mary's Convent. Sister Joachim was nice enough, though she did whack the fingers of students with her violin bow. I would rank her as a good teacher. I remember her fondly. When we didn't practise, which was quite often, our mother used to pack up our violins and put them near the front door, like she was going to give them away. I don't think it made us practise more. At that time, in my young life, playing rugby was more important. I finished up studying violin at university, though my main field of study was composition. I still didn't practise too much. To be honest, I was more interested in getting a girlfriend. I did work pretty hard on my composing. The violin teacher was a very good musician, but he didn't really inspire me. I did finish up with an honours degree, so I couldn't have done too badly. In my last year at university I started playing the bass guitar and that became a passion.

A little later I started taking a few double bass lessons with Harry Botham. We finished up working together, as teachers. We became friends and, when I got married, he was a Justice of the Peace and presided over the wedding ceremony.

For many years the double bass and the bass guitar were my main instruments, though I did play quite a few other instruments at various times. 

On the 5th. of May, in 2012, I started practising the violin again. I got rid of my shoulder rest on the 13th. of May, in 2020. By this time I had become rather serious about practising the violin. The self-doubt that I carried in my earlier days had largely disappeared. No one has to tell me to practise the violin anymore. I'm practising much harder than I ever did. I feel free to learn as much as I like. I feel that there are so many things I can show others. I teach violin at two secondary schools. I don't teach privately. For many years, when people have asked for help, I have helped them for free. The funny thing is that, when you don't charge people money, they seem to think that you are no good. I don't do that much these days. Let them pay someone, if that makes them feel better.

Well, that's it for this morning.

Don't make carved images, but it's okay to have a statue of Mary.

What???

Ciao.

A quiet, windy Sunday morning.

 

Not really Wellington, but it
gives you the idea.

Don't expect any posts from the two old men this morning.

The two old men?

Oh, I'm talking about Peter and Robert. Peter will be busy in his Dutch Oven and Robert has his friend staying. So, it'll just be me posting this morning.*

Let's get down to business.

I only did half an hour's practice yesterday. It was a busy day. Among other things, my neighbour was working on our fence, so I spent a lot of time out there with him. I didn't really do anything, I just supplied a presence. All the great work on the fence was done by him. His wife helped too. Ah, sorry, you want to hear about the violin. It'll be my goal today to put in some good hours. There are no immediate gigs on the horizon so I will need to invent some motivation. Richard, remember those Atomic Habits! 

It the type of improvised music that I like to play the ascending form of the melodic minor scale has many uses. Let me give you one example. Imagine that you want to play over an Am7b5 chord. It's often good not to start with the root. Here you can use the ascending form of the C melodic minor scale. You'll get the notes C D Eb F G A B C. The scale that goes with the Am7b5 chord is A Bb C D Eb F G A - the Locrian mode. You'll notice that one note is different - Bb becomes B. At first I wasn't sure about this, but the B gives a really nice effect. Though, I don't know how it would work out on the bagpipes. 

The rain has finally arrived, as promised by the weather forecast. Good old wet, windy Wellington or, in this case, Wainuiomata. Have you ever noticed that Wainuiomata contains one more letter than Wellington? Whangarei, where Peter is in his Dutch Oven, only contains nine letters. Moera only has five. This puts Wainuiomata in front, though you could argue that Palmerston North has fifteen letters. Actually, it's only called that because some idiot didn't realise that there was already a Palmerston way down south. Without the 'North' bit Palmerston only scores a ten. Good try, Palmerston.

It's Sunday, so most Catholics will be off to Mass. It's compulsory on a Sunday and, unless you have a sneaky way out, you'll get landed with a Mortal Sin. The Mortal Sin is the serious one. A sin is a transgression against divine law. Some religions don't believe in the concept of a sin, but Catholics do and an unconfessed Mortal Sin can get you into Hell.

So, how do you commit a sin? That happens when you don't follow one of the Ten Commandments. Here they are...

You shall have no other gods before Me. (Exodus 20:3)
You shall not make for yourself a carved image. (Exodus 20:4)
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)
Honor your father and your mother. (Exodus 20:12)
You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. (Exodus 20:16)

You shall not covert. (Exodus 20:17)

I think that covert means to conceal or hide something.

Yep, it's all spelt out in Exodus, but the important thing is what God said to Moses when he was about to leave Mount Sinai. It is well documented that God said to Moses, "Don't forget to take the tablets."

Now I take tablets every morning and every evening, so I think I am fulfilling God's wish of me.

Okay, I'm now going to give you some advice. 

Don't worry about sin, just take the tablets.

There you go, problem solved.

That's it from me.

Ciao tutti.

* Whoops! Robert HAS posted!

Flyday.

 

Breaking news!

""Take me home again, Kathleen" isn't Irish oh older and sometimes wiser brother. It was written in the USA by Thomas Westendorf in 1875. It was popularized by home sick Irish tenors. Likewise the Lyrics of Danny Boy were written by an English lawyer, Frederick Weatherly. Isn't AI wonderful."

Well, over a billion people worldwide believe all that Catholic nonsense, so I've decided to believe that 'Take me home again, Kathleen' is an Irish song.

It's quite fitting that I've misspelt Friday in this post's title because that 'good Catholic' Rob likes to feed stunned flies to his fly eating plants. Ah well, in earlier days the leaders of his church liked to burn women who gathered herbs. To me that makes it sound pretty unimportant to have a song in my Irish medley that was written somewhere else.

I only did an hour's practice on my violin yesterday, but I did spend quite a bit of time thinking about fingerings for major, minor and dominant 7th. scales on the violin. It comes back to those Atomic Habits, you've got to be regularly thinking of the important things about violin playing. Who wrote 'Take me home again, Kathleen' is not one of those important things. You'd probably be wiser thinking about why one member of the Holy Trinity is represented by a bird.

We're heading to Wellington at a little before 2pm today because Shelley wishes to attend a book launch that features a friend of hers. We'll stay the night at the James Cook Hotel. I won't take my violin, but I will do practice before we go AND I will spend time thinking about those scales. On Saturday morning I'll say to Shelley, "I'll take you home again, Shelley."

What about Peter?

He's busy loading stuff into his car but he has promised a long post. Whether or not that happens will no doubt require a bit of waiting to see. However, this busy guy did find time to play tennis. He also gave away some furniture. I doubt that he did any bagpipes practice. 

That's it.

Hey, you're lucky to get a post.

Sin, if you want.

Ciao.

Thursday turns up regardless.

 My last post went down well.

Did you know that the band Led Zeppelin spelt the first word in their name that way because they didn't want it to sound like their band was all about lead (guitar) breaks?

Well, I guess that the lack of any comments about my last post means that it was a success.

Moving right along.

Obviously there will be some violin practice happening this morning. I'll try to squeeze in some double bass practice too. Metronome practice is important. I was reminded of this at a string group practice at one of my schools yesterday. One violinist was playing quite loudly and racing. A good time feel is very important. Playing along with a backing track is a fun way to get in 'metronome' time. Personally, I think I need to put in some good time on 'Take me home again, Kathleen'. This song is in my Irish medley and I need to memorise it. I think it's a good song. Why have I included an Irish medley in my repertoire? Well, one reason is that I have a good friend who is Irish. Often, when we are together, I get asked to play some tunes. Obviously, he really enjoys Irish tunes. So it is good to have a few up my sleeve. It also makes for a bit of variety, as do my Neapolitan tunes and the OBS. 

I see that quite a lot of musicians are replacing AI with AG because there is no 'I' in the musical alphabet. AG is what we call a minor 7th. In jazz it sounds good to play C & G over Am7. As I've said before, I think it is very important to be able to play your violin like a singer. Do you want to do this? Just think of a song you know and play it without music. That's what we do when we sing. Singers don't need to know that there is a major 6th. here or an octave there, they just sing. Also, don't stick to your safest key. Hey, there are only four fingerings for a major scale - learn them! Remember that minor scales and the dominant 7th. scale are just modes of the major scale. Yes, yes, I know that people like to add an accidental to the 7th. note of a minor scale, and sometimes to the 6th. No big deal! Just do it!

As I've said in posts before,
this would be a big deal.

I hope that this post is as successful as my last and nobody sees anything that needs questioning.

Sii gentile, but don't buy into shit.

Ciao.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen."

 

The title of this post demands three questions.

1) Is the third member of this trinity (the bird) male or female? The question is answered by the final word that could be expressed as 'Ah, men'.

2) Should that third member be called 'Holy Ghost' or 'Holy Spirit'. Here is an explanation that I read. "The names refer to the same entity, the third person of the Trinity in Christianity, but the terminology differs due to translation history and the evolving meaning of the word 'ghost'. 'Holy Ghost' was used in older translations like the King James version. In Elizabethan English 'ghost' was a valid translation for an immaterial being. However, modern English increasingly associates 'ghost' with the spirit of a dead person, even an evil one, leading most contemporary translations and usage to prefer 'Holy Spirit'." Okay, I'm going to go with Holy Ghost.

3) God the Father has presumably been around forever, but what about God the Son? Hey, let's not even try to work out where the bird came from, or why he's a bird, right now. In the time that humans have studied what they call The Blessed Trinity no one has ever had trouble with the words Father and Son. If these terms are accurate, they imply that God the Son is at least around fourteen years younger than God the Father. Okay, that's not a long period when we talk about eternity, but it does mean that 'the Son' was not there at the very beginning. Yes, yes, I know he has been around for most of the time, but not all of it. It seems that God the Father somehow brought him into existence. Maybe it was a lot, lot longer than fourteen years? Don't worry about looking for a Mrs. God. God the Father, for all we know, may contain female parts too and could have fucked himself to make it happen. Though, if this hypothesis is true, the Catholic Church may want to write off the sin of masturbation.

Eternity is a very long time. A VERY long time. According to the Holy Bible, God (the Father) made man in his own image. He obviously had to be more creative with woman because there don't appear to have been any around (I think angels were sexless - though the Bible evidently describes them as men). Hey, I think he made a good job there (with those women)! Before he made man, he made beings called angels. Man was his second choice. Before all of this started, for an unimaginable time, there were just the three of them - two men and a bird. Maybe God the Father did make some other creatures before he got around to making angels, maybe he didn't. He really stuffed up on one angel who evidently tried to defeat him in a fight. This guy angel was called Lucifer. As punishment, when he was beaten in the fight, his name was changed to Satan. He was also referred to as The Devil. Satan's name lives on and he is very well known. He gets around to tempt Christians, and he can even change into a snake. Satan was obviously left with some special powers, almost like God the Father wanted him around. Like he had a purpose to serve. Hey, it was Satan who tempted Eve and got Original Sin given to the rest of us. The only solution God the Father could see to this problem was to have God the Son nailed up to a cross. Maybe he should have had the humility to ask for help? Maybe he was just not designed to be a good father?

That'll do for today.

Ciao tutti.

A short post with no AI.

This is NOT an AI
version of Rob.

No post from Peter because he was tired after a long drive.

Robert posted with the help of AI. He has a special version that can do grammatical errors so that it looks like he wrote it. 

I'm off to work soon and I need a shower and a shave. 

I'll use my electric razor this morning.

I did half an hour of double bass practice yesterday after a day at work.

I also did an hour of violin practice. 

It was good to get in some time on the double bass. I have never put a double bass in the Note, but I know it will fit. I have a double bass gig in Raumati coming up in January. 

I will take (the) Note.

I have done a lot of double bass practice in my lifetime, so it doesn't take long to get it 'going' again.

I think Rob is cleaning a Buddhist church this morning. Then he'll probably move on to a Druze church. That's a religion that combines Islam, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. It also features a mystery religion. I don't think that big 'Z' word has anything to do with that masked character Zorro.

Well, time to get ready for work.

Rob finishes his post with the message, "Have fun and honour Mary."

I wouldn't worry about that.

Ciao tutti.
Sii gentile.

No post this morning yet from Rabbit.

 Sorry, I used AI to write that title.

I see that Peter is up early, as is the non-posting Rabbit (sorry, AI again).

I hope you like my AI picture.

There was a message on my last post and a response from Peter.

I didn't understand Rabbit's last sentence either. Ah well, maybe that's just AI for you?

I'm off to work today. It seems that year 7 and 9 students won't be there because there is a strike on. I'm actually a PPTA member, so I'll lose 10% of my pay. Ah well, I suppose it'll be quite a quiet day because I think I'll only have three students. The good thing is that I'll have my violin at work. 

Peter might be hitting the road early this morning. Rob (I've finished with AI) will probably be at work by now, cleaning a Hindu temple. 

Hey! Rob has just put a post up!

It features a video by Tent Horn.

I watched a bit but then got bored. Not really my cup of tea.

Well, I'd better start thinking about taking my pills and getting ready for work. I went to visit a friend in hospital yesterday. I fell over on a footpath outside the hospital where I had parked my car. I finished up flat on the ground. My right leg is now quite sore. I guess that's the luck of the draw. I blame my silly shoes that are supposed to be good for your feet. I've had them for quite a while. They weren't cheap (I think they're called Skechers) but sometimes they sort of stick to the ground. I think I'll wear some of my old shoes today. 

Enjoy your Tuesday and don't take a route with a few curves - it might turn out to be a sin.

Try not to fall over too. It really hurts.

Ciao tutti.

Sii gentile.