Sabato.

 

Sabre

toe

A busy day ahead. I'll be looking after my elder grandson this morning, though I will have help from Aunty Steph and Grandma. I think that Aunty Steph is his favourite, so she may do most of the work. We plan on taking him to a playground. That little guy has a lot of energy to burn.

Even ahead of a busy day, I make time to post. Peter doesn't do that. Robert has posted. He's cleaning a hall that belongs to a Presbyterian for the last time. The Presbyterian's hall. He also tells us that pain is good. I personally disagree with that. Hey, I don't want to be nailed to a cross. I'd rather not practise my violin if that was necessary.

Jesus says, "I wish I had never
touched that bloody violin now!"

I might shoot out now and pick up some nappies, just in case one is needed.

I'll also try to fit in a violin warmup, with no pain. Just gentle and relaxing.

Ciao tutti.

Practice makes better.

Gods need to be the best at everything. they need a reputation of being perfect. You never hear, of a god, "Hey, he's doing his best."

"Me almighty! I've done it again."

We humans tend to aim for perfection in many things that we do.

• Who is the best rugby player in Aotearoa?
• Who is the best cellist in Taihape?
• Who is the smartest person working at The Warehouse in Petone?
• Who can drive the fastest up the Wainuiomata hill?
• Who is the absolute best toilet cleaner in Moera?
• Who is the best at fixing laundry doors in Hobson Street, Thorndon?
• Which Catholic priest gives the best sermons in Upper Hutt?
• Which world religion has got it all right?

I honestly don't know if I'm the best violinist in Wainuiomata. For a start, I don't know all the violinists in Wainuiomata or how good they all are. Does it really matter who is the best? Maybe having your own style is more important? Maybe it's what you can express? I really don't know.

I do know that practising makes you feel better, as well as more comfortable with the instrument.

I'd better go - another busy day!

Ciao.

No rest for the wicked, no rest for the shoulder.

 

Robert is back (big surprise) and tells us we're into day two of Lent.

"Today we continue 40 days of penance and cultivate a spirit of gratitude, recognizing God's gifts in our life." he tells us. He also left a comment on my last post saying, "Actually I found the laundry post more interesting than the shoulder rest bit...strange." Well, he is a cleaner and spends more time practising cleaning things, like toilets, than he does practising his violin.

Unless you're Robert, or (probably) Peter, the idea of whether or not you should use a shoulder rest when playing the violin is quite an interesting one. Probably a lot more interesting than hearing what some Catholic drongo gave up for lent. Chewing gum? Sex? Doughnuts? Using toilet paper? 

Anyway, I think I'll continue on without a shoulder rest, though I can see advantages in both ways of playing. Ah, but no one is interested around here. Though, actually, I don't write these posts for silly old Catholics who stop using deodorant for forty days or people who post about the rooms in their house. Hey, I'm not that interested in what brand of toilet paper people choose, or what they store in their garage. Personally, I find the shoulder rest concept more interesting.

Ah well, there you go. 

No work for me today, though I will be looking after my elder grandson later in the day. I might also get to help out with grandson number two. 

Addio, lettori noiosi.

The Laundry.

 I'm waiting with much anticipation to read TC's laundry post!

The clothes dryer that Peter brought down from up north was getting a bit past the use by date. Peter did some research and found a very good model for $735. Unfortunately these dryers were all sold out when he got to the shop. No problem, he found more of them at Laundry Needs Ltd. on Thorndon Quay at the same price. He had one delivered yesterday. It fitted nicely into the gap next to his washing machine.

This is just a sample of what you can expect in this very exciting post!

A little while back I bought a very expensive shoulder rest, but I have never used it. As you know, I play without a shoulder rest. Yesterday I decided that I might give a shoulder rest a go again, so I got it out and made some adjustments to it. Shoulder rests can be made to be higher or lower. Today I'm going to try it out. Who knows, it might not work for me, but I'll give it a go. I'll let you know how it goes.

Work today. I'll head off in just over half an hour. I'm dropping my daughter off at the station on the way. She works in Wellington, in the opposite direction to me. I'm off to Upper Hutt.

Robert's blog has gone again. No big surprise there. Hey, I'm sure he'll be back to read TC's laundry post.

That's it from me.

Ciao.

Stormy Weather.

Don't know why
There's no sun up in the sky

Stormy weather
Since my gal and I ain't together
Keeps raining all the time.

Actually, that's not the case for Robert.

Congratulations Rob.
Engaged!

* * *

I doubt that Peter will be out for a walk today. He'll probably be ringing Lynn and asking for a cup of tea.

Why can't the lazy bugger make it himself?

Maybe he's too busy writing blog posts?

NO!

Well, it might be a good day for getting some practice done. 

I'll leave you there.

Stay dry.

Pretty quiet around here today.

 Nothing new from Peter.

Robert hasn't posted because he's too busy up in Cricket Land. Hey, it's not like he's getting engaged, or something!

My daughter is staying with us tonight, so I'm on dinner preparation.

Shelley and Steph are both vegetarians, so I obviously will not be preparing meat tonight.

"Phew! I'm safe."

I've done 30 minutes of practice today and will endeavour to do more this evening.

Monday tomorrow. Enjoy your evening, and sin if you feel the need.*

Ciao tutti.

* Hey, it didn't bother Brother Benedict!

10.

My grandson, Henry, is ten months old today.  Happy ten months, Henry! His big brother will be 3 at the end of next month. The boys are getting old!

That last post of Peter's was a good one. Bloody scooters!

No post from Robert in two days. Let's hope that he's not sinning up in Cricket Town.

Some people around here are calling me Itchy Richie. My meds have had the side effect of giving me lots of skin rashes and I spend a lot of time scratching. It has gone on for bloody months. It adds an extra challenge to playing unaccompanied solo violin. I guess I need to get some sort of rhythm into the scratching.

We're supposed to be getting some bad weather today. I did get the back lawn cut yesterday, so that's a plus.

+

Robert's God, I'd love a coffee right now. You know what follows me drinking coffee in the morning. I'll think about it. 

[Fully aware of the likely consequences, Richard (of RBB) goes and makes a coffee.]

Tastes good.

[Countdown time]

Well, that's it from me for this morning.

Ciao.

Exiting stuff!

 And I should know because I exited pretty damn quickly.

Finally, a new post from The Curmudgeon.

The new set up looks like this.

Notice TC's new camouflage floor mat. 

The rest of the post is just about him trying to get his computer working properly.

Boy, oh boy, what a post!

Or, as I should say, "What? A post?"

Robert's off, probably sinning (well, it is Valentine's Day) up in Cricket Town. 

So, not much happening around here.

I'm off. No, I'm not off to buy a camouflage computer chair floor mat. 

Enjoy your Valentine's Day. Oh, and fornicate if you want to.

Ciao.

The latest around the blogs.

 I got a message last night that Peter was in a bar, somewhere close to parliament, getting pissed. I assume that's why there is no new blog post, even though he has a new computer chair. God, it cost him so much to get rid of the old chair that I wonder how he can afford to spend money on booze.

"Shish! Ish shill have a shfew bob."

Robert is off to Cricket Town again to celebrate Valentine's Day with his girlfriend. Let's just hope that they don't get too excited.

"No! That would be a sin!"

Today is black Friday - Friday the Thirteenth.

It certainly looks quite dark, weather wise, outside this morning. I'm hoping to get our back lawn cut, though it's really no big deal.

Hang on! It's pissing down. Cutting the back lawn is postponed.

I'm aiming to get some quality violin practice done today. Obviously, that will involve my 10 unaccompanied tunes. I want to really get inside the chord progressions.

I also want to work on the tunes, a part that can get neglected.

I guess that I'll have more time, now that the lawn cutting has been cancelled.

Well, that's it from me. I hope you have a good Friday 13th.

Ciao e buonafortuna.

Soloman.

 

Robert mentioned Soloman in his latest post and I thought he was talking about me! The guy who practises 10 unaccompanied violin solos on a regular basis. I was tempted to start referring to myself as Soloman.

Then I noticed that he'd made a spelling mistake.

He was actually talking about a guy named Solomon - S o l o m O n.

Solomon, a guy who never played the violin.

That hurt!

I wish he'd take more care with his spelling.

On top of that, Peter informs us that he wants to get rid of one of his computer chairs.

"Two chairs for Peter." just does not work!

I'm a sad guy this morning. I might as well just wander off and do some violin practice.

Un po' più tardi.

Three Chairs!

 

Just a quick post to remind you that Peter will be posting today.

"My new computer chair arrived today. I assembled it and have positioned it in the study. Lynn was impressed and made me a cup of tea. She came down from the top floor and made my tea on the middle floor, then she brought it down to the ground floor. That's enough to make me want to write a post."

Oh, and Robert is back too with a post about sewerage and sin.

"Have fun but don't sin..." For it is from within that evil intentions emerge: Sewerage problems, bloody cycle lanes and all the rest." Mark 7:14"

Well, I'd say that those two old boys have blog posting covered today, so I'm off to work. I'll go in early and do some violin practice before the students arrive. 

Ciao tutti.

Wednesday Morning.

 Okay, okay, I made that up!

Well, after all, Jesus does wear makeup.

Pictures don't lie.

Okay, it's actually Tuesday evening.

Peter is promising a new post tomorrow because his new computer chair has arrived. Bear in mind his old chair, and Lynn's chair, and it's three chairs for Peter!

Evidently, according to Peter, Robert's blog has been wiped clean again. Does anyone really give a fuck?

Okay, I'll leave it there for today. It has been a busy day and I'm a bit tired.

Ciao tutti.

Back to work.

 There'll be no violin this morning because I'm going back to work.

Hang on! My job is to teach violin.*

Yes! My violin comes to work too!

Well, it's a better job than cleaning the Presbyterian Hall or ringing someone to bring you a cup of tea.

AND I don't have to go to a chapel and say the bloody rosary.

Catholics can keep these!

I guess I'd better get going. Work calls.

Ciao tutti.

* I also have a viola student.

Today is the feast day of Brent of Borneo.

 Who is Brent of Borneo, I hear you ask?

Actually, I just made that up because I needed a catchy title for today's blog post.

Sorry.

Yesterday I only got 30 minutes of practice done and I didn't get to cut the lawns. At the last minute I got a grandson sitting gig and then, a little later, a friend of Shelley's popped by. I finished up going to bed quite early. Still, today is another day and I've already got Brent of Borneo out of the way. 

Yesterday Peter did a post on his telephone system. It wasn't a long post. The short story is that they have a telephone system in their house and Peter made a bit of a nuisance of himself by ringing Lynn and asking for a cup of tea. 

This morning Robert's post was even shorter. He simply said, "Good morning." That was it. 

I guess that whatever I write will outdo those two dreamers.

I think I'm going to risk a cup of coffee. Hold on a sec.

Okay, I'm back.

Yesterday I bought a book that I know Rob has been listening to. Yes, listening to.

I needed something to read in the evening and I'm a bit over action stories at the moment. I was having trouble finding something when I spotted Rob's book and decided to give it a go. I've started reading it and so far I'm not really impressed, but I will read on. It has to be better than looking at Facebook. I think I might go and read a bit now, while I'm waiting for the coffee to call out, "Bathroom!" I'll keep you informed on how it turns out. At least it is something to put in a blog post that is more interesting than using a telephone to ask for a cup of tea or just saying, "Good morning."

That's it for this morning.

Ciao tutti.

Metronome Day.

 

I thought I'd play through most of my 30 tune repertoire this morning with a backing track. That's like practising with a metronome. Playing those tunes like that is also good tone practice. I can't really start playing until after 9am, so I might as well write a post. It's a sunny morning in the Nui. I plan to tidy up a bit of the section later today. "Softly, softly catchee monkey." as my dad used to say. 

For those of you who don't know what day it is, it's Sunday. Also known as God Botherer Day. There'll be a fair bit of transubstantiation happening in Catholic churches today. Church shops will be making a few bucks too. Money, money, money!

I was about to practise my scales yesterday and I thought, "Wouldn't it be a good idea to take one of my repertoire pieces and practise the scales that go with that?" It makes sense really. Like killing two birds with one stone.

I guess that, as I go through my repertoire today, there'll be chances to run a few scales, and arpeggios.

Wow, it's getting close to 9am. That's practice time. 

No new post from TC yet this morning. I doubt that his new computer chair will arrive on a Sunday. I did read Robert's post. "I here you say but I thought you said your destination was Feilding." No Rob, I was more concerned about your grammar. 

Ciao tutti. Hey, it might be a good day for a sin or two.

Try the tritone.

 'Diabolus in musica' is what silly religious people once called the tritone because it was associated with dissonance and, therefore, bad things.

It was said that the devil in music surrounded the three tones of the Holy Trinity. What bullshit!

In Jazz the #4 has become a very special sound and is probably my personal favourite sound of all time. It just adds a lovely bit of tension to a solo line. 

In the key of C it shows up between the notes F and B. The Lydian (IV) mode starts with it and it appears on the violin as four stretched fingers.

I'd better leave the tritone there. My readers aren't into music theory.

[I'm going to risk it and have a coffee]

Gosh, I'm living dangerously this morning!

First sip of coffee - lovely!

On the blog front, we got a post from Peter yesterday and a post from Robert this morning. I'm not sure if Peter has his new computer chair yet. Robert said of me, "Mea noa givea damn." I think he was referring to his trip up to Cricket Town today and what I would say about it. Ah well, mea noa givea damn. That'll make him feel fulfilled, silly Catholic.

My elder grandson might pop around today with his dad. He'll be three years old at the end of next month. Nearly as old as me! He's into bubbles big time at the moment, so we bought him a bubble maker yesterday.  He really had no need for a new computer chair. He writes less posts than Peter. 

I practised violin for 1 1/2 hours yesterday. I spent a lot of time on scales, arpeggios and 6th. and 5th. double stops. I think it was time well spent. I also listened a lot to my tone. I put a video up on Facebook the other day. A silly old folkie left a comment, "Your tone is certainly improving. Congratulations." I removed his comment and unfriended him. I don't respect his opinion, but the negative comment did unsettle me.

[Oops, might be bathroom time soon!]

It really is silly to worry about what other people say or think because they quite frequently don't know what they are talking about. I think that Rob's listening to a book on this topic at present. Listening to a book? I thought you were supposed to read them. 

When I was a young violinist, I was lazy and didn't do much practice. I was more interested in getting a girlfriend. Maybe that time would have been better spent practising the violin? At university I don't remember the teacher saying anything nice about my playing. To be fair, though, I did tell him I was doing about four hours of practice a day. Liar! Perhaps it was my fault, though I did scrape through violin with a pass. Now I am a violin teacher. I put a lot of effort into building up my students' confidence. I tell them that their ears work wonderfully and just need to be used. I tell them that they can certainly be successful with their violin playing. I am not lying to them. I have done quite a lot of study in this field. People like to confer talent onto certain people and, while there is often a good reason for this, a lot of their success comes down to hard work. Maybe they were good at getting girlfriends too?

[Coffee finished. Still waiting for a result. Shouldn't be too far away.] 

[Oops, the time has arrived! Back soon.]

[The coffee has moved on.]

Now, where was I?

Oh yes, I was talking about tritones.

In the modes of the major scale there is only one tritone, though it pops up in each mode.

• C D E F G A B C
• D E F G A B C D
• E F G A B C D E
• F G A B C D E F
• G A B C D E F G
• A B C D E F G A
• B C D E F G A B

Obviously, you can place a #4 anywhere by simply raising the second note by a semitone. C F to C F#, G C to G C#, B E to B E#, etc.

Oops, sorry, I said I'd finished with tritones.

I'm running out of things to tell you. Maybe I'll go and take my tablets. Then I could do some violin practice.

"Don't forget to take the tablets!"

Ciao tutti.