I'm going to do some more practice on Variation 1 today.

Okay, I suspect that Robert is going to be the only reader interested in this post. Let me say from the outset that I am not seeking to prove you wrong Rob, I'm just looking at this interesting piece that I've watched quite a few people finger in different ways with success. There obviously isn't one correct answer to how to finger it.

You can see, on this printed edition, that someone has already made a few fingering and positional 'suggestions'. In all likelihood this was a music editor and not Paganini. Though, as Robert would say, I could be wrong.  

Yesterday Robert posted a copy with fingerings written on it.

The writing looks like either Robert's or mine. If I was responsible, it would be in my very early days of working out a fingering system and it is certainly NOT the fingerings I have memorized. These days I have a very different solution, but I'm not going to write it out on this post because that would look like I was giving the correct answer. I don't believe that my fingering would necessarily work for everyone.

I started studying this piece on March 31st of this year - exactly nine months ago. Okay, I've had interruptions, but that time has been well spent and I've learnt quite a lot. As a jazz musician, one of the first things I did was to check out the chords. They're what you'd expect but I was interested to see bar 9 (I'm not counting the repeat). It is made up of the notes G# B D and F (each note played twice in descending order). This is a G# diminished chord that suggests the sound of E7b9. Diminished chords are, by their structure, very symmetrical. They pop up a lot in the improvised music that I love to play, so I think I worked out quite a unique (for Classical musicians), and easy, way to play it.

For anyone who might be interested, and might not know too much about chords, here is the chord progression:

||Am |E |Am |E ||A |Dm |G |C |E7b9 |Am |Bdim E |Am ||

That 11th. bar could also just be defined as E7b9 for the whole bar.

Well, I'd better go and do some practice. I'll make a recording if things go well.

Ciao tutti.

The key to Heaven may have been hung on a nail, but church signs are good to perch on.

 Okay, it's a fact that all god fearing birds are very keen to please Oscar, God of all Birds, but within this devotion to a single bird there are different factions. For example, seagulls are known by other birds as Presbyterians - a term stolen from one form of human church.

Okay, to be honest, you'd be hard pressed to find a single bird who would understand that thing about the nail. Their English is pretty basic and usually limited to individual words. Their interpretation of 'Presbyterian' would probably be something like, "A comfortable sign." It is said by birds that most Presbyterian signs are pretty comfortable, though it is seagulls who have made them their own. 

As you know, birds don't really sit on signs, they perch - when a bird alights or rests on something.

Kevin Sparrow was not the most religious of birds and considered himself a bit of an agnostic, but he was drawn to the human Catholic Church because of its communion hosts. 

At the top of Tory Street in Wellington, in the 1960s, there was a school for boys. Tory Street led you into the back of the school. There was a boy that birds, especially sparrows, learnt to watch out for.

This third former was just learning to deal in communion hosts. He seemed to give them to other boys in exchange for money. Nothing lasts forever* and, when hosts got past the use by date, this boy would dump them in the nearest gutter in Tory Street. He did this while everyone else was in class. Birds reported hearing the phrase, "Father, can I go to the toilet?" They surmised that the sentence meant something like, "I'll just get rid of some old hosts."

Kevin and his mates were waiting.

 So, in an act of deceit, this boy from 3P was actually supplying a lifeline to sparrows. All Kevin's mates could vouch for that - Bill Sparrow, Cindy Sparrow, Caesar Sparrow, Paola Sparrow, to name a few. Kevin and his friends were always careful to leave a couple of hosts for Oscar, God of all Birds. They'd never actually seen him but, for many sparrows, their faith was strong.

The key to Avery was sitting beneath
a communion host.

* Except Oscar, God of all Birds.

2022 comes to an end.

 Tomorrow is the last day of 2022.

Now is a time when some may wonder what they achieved in 2022. 

Did YOU achieve resolutions that you set for yourself a year ago?

Actually, it doesn't matter at all. 

You most likely did some wonderful work on some things that are really important, and you probably didn't give yourself due credit. WELL DONE TO YOU!

Too often we look at the negative aspects of what we have attempted.

I read this the other day, "A baby takes his first step and then falls onto his bottom. We cheer and rejoice that our baby is walking!"

Let's make 2023 the year when we look out for successes; in ourselves and others.

* * *

Okay, lecture over.

Yesterday I looked at the music to Caprice 24 for the first time in a while. Don't get me wrong, I often play through bits of different variations, but yesterday I looked at the music.

Look at the date penciled in at the top - March 31, 2022.

That was the first day I started to look at how to play this music. I worked on the tune and six variations - there are eleven variations in total. I memorized a few, got better at playing some and failed miserably with one. Variation 1 (shown above) is the one that I continued to play most days, even when my practice was disrupted by a major event that took up a lot of my time. Two days ago an ex-student came around. I had previously given him a copy of this music. He had tried to play Variation 1. Without thinking, I played it for him. Yesterday I practised it for just under two hours. I can actually play it pretty well. I'll probably make a recording later today to give you a taste.

How did I get there? Careful analysis and lots of repetition. Also, by working on the basics of violin playing. I see these variations as giving me lots of ideas for playing my improvised repertoire.

* * *

Okay, okay, I hear you. This post is too serious. You want need some silly stuff!

Let's see.

Kevin Sparrow stood on a branch high up in a tree.

He only had a small brain and, right now, most of it was occupied with thinking about food - a nice juicy but slightly dirt tasting worm would fit the bill. He whispered a short prayer to Oscar, God of all Birds. "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

Oscar, God of all Birds.

It was chirped that, if you remembered to leave a small piece of your worm catch in case Oscar was hungry, there would be a place in Avery for you.

It is chirped that Graham the Duck will meet you at the gate.

It must be pointed out that some birds are atheists.

On this day Kevin was in a thinking mood. "Why do all sparrows have the surname 'Sparrow'? Why were all ducks known as 'the Duck'? Are there also birds with 'Bird' as a surname? Imagine if humans had names like John American or Nancy European or Brent Human."

I guess you could say that Kevin Sparrow was a thinking kind of bird, much in the same way that Phillip Edward Nis is a thinking kind of guy.

Phillip Edward Nis - a thinking
kind of guy.

Well, I'll leave you there for today. Watch out for a post with Variation 1.

Ciao tutti.

The Post About Nothing Much In Particular.

Sometimes I just start writing and I don't know what I'm going to say.

This is one of those days.

- insert a smart comment from TC here -

TC before a haircut.

What will TC say to those opening lines?

"So, what's new?"

Very possibly.

I had a two hour violin session with an ex-student, who is now 24, yesterday. He'd bought a new violin and wanted to show it to me. I also helped him with the first variation from the 24th. Caprice.

Then I told him about Paganini's one scale on the violin and showed him how knowing it makes it easy to play in the very high register. 

There are only three days left of this year, but you already know that. Robert would say that Jesus is now five days old. Going along with that logic, I would be just over four months old. 

Peter would be older.

After attempting to eat hot corn on the cob.

Actually, if you've just burnt your lip eating hot corn on the cob, you really shouldn't be smiling. You'd probably have just said, "Sheesh!"

Then The Old Girl would have said something like, "I did warn you to be careful Matey."

Still, for a guy who falls down banks at golf courses, this was simply a minor inconvenience. 

Thursday is a good day for Robert the apathetic sanctimonious sinner and toilet cleaner because he doesn't have to go to mass or clean that Presbyterian church. A few quick prayers and he's free today. Though they'd have to be sincere prayers. I guess sincerity, like many things, is on a scale. It's like playing the violin - some days you just don't play your best.

I wonder what it's like being God and being perfect?

"I hate this artist for painting me bald!
I mean, I'm supposed to be perfect!"

Maybe bald people are somehow more perfect?

I guess to a slater I might appear to be perfect.

"That guy Richard (of RBB), who writes the Holy
Blog, is perfect!"

Well, I suspect that you didn't have to be in 3P in 1966 to be smarter that a slater. Are we like slaters to God?

Sunday at St. Peter's Catholic Church.

Though God did supposedly say that He made us in His own image.

Maybe God is a very big, perfect slater?

Well, it's possible. Maybe we just have an illusion of looking like humans?

Maybe I should wrap it up there?

- another smart comment from TC -

Ciao tutti.

Inside out.

Richard was up early because he had a busy day ahead. As usual, his first job was to clean the Greek Orthodox Church - that place that fell short when it came to some graven images and missed out on some important pieces of doctrine. He said a quick prayer to Saint Maria of Timaru, the young nun who had predicted the death of Jesus when she was only seventeen.

Richard thought about what he had read on his quick browse through the blogs while he has having breakfast. 

The Nitpicker had gone on about a trip to Lower Hutt to buy some spanners. As usual he'd included a music clip but Richard hadn't watched it. Nor had he bothered to read the bit where the post turned to trying to say that Christmas was a pagan festival.

As usual, Peter's Dragonetti Bow went on about violin practice and the silly idea that Paganini had claimed there was only one scale on the violin. "If that were true, how come we have twelve major keys? And how does the chromatic scale fit into that?" Richard thought.

Peter was obsessed with getting comments and he even had made up characters, like Ron Sole and Handy Bins, who left anonymous comments to help build up numbers. The Nitpicker wasn't averse to a few (well, quite a few actually) made up characters. He wrote posts as The Theological Nitpicker, The Thinking Nitpicker and The Alcohol Expert - to name a few. To get back at The Alcohol Expert, Peter wrote of his liking for Methylated Spirits.

Robert (the old guy behind The Nitpicker) never really responded to the 'joke'.

After cleaning for the opposition, Richard made his way to the church shop.

As he did a quick tidy up, he thought about what he might make for dinner - it was best to think about this in advance because he'd need to mention it on his blog.

Steak, eggs and chips.

4am is the coldest part of the day.

 The sun has just started work but, like an early shift cleaner, is not yet up to full steam yet. 

This time of the year there are different light intensities between 4am, 5am and 6am. The number of clouds in the sky, or lack of them, is the best indicator of what sort of day you should expect.

Five days to go for 2022 and the sky is clear. Not a cloud in sight.

How has your practice gone this year? Have you counted the hours? Was it quality practice or were you just wiggling your fingers a lot of the time?

There are different thoughts about practice on a musical instrument.

Different ideas about what success is on a particular instrument.

Some musicians play by ear and some take nearly all their playing from the written compositions of others. You could probably say that there are two parts that influence what sort of musician you will become:

• Knowing and using technical stuff and
• Using your ears.

One thing is for sure - most non musician listeners will judge with their ears.

This makes sense because music, in the end, is all about sound.

Still, some styles of music demand a good level of technique.

Producing a good sound on the violin is dependent on quite a few techniques coming from both hands.

I think it's good to know how your instrument works and how to get the best out of it, but we must always be aware of the music we are producing - that sound has the ability to touch a lot of people.

Peter will be waking up soon.

This is the closest image I have
to how he looks in the sleeping position.

Violin fingerings will not be the first thing to enter his waking mind. Perhaps it will be a golf club or an idea for a blog post, though he will also have to think about which Curmudgeon will write it.

"I could write something to wind Robert up. Or maybe I'll take inspiration from one of Richard (of RBB)'s posts?"

Robert will have been up since about 4am, the coldest part of the day.

Oops, sorry, that's Father
Patrick. Let's try again.

 

"Good morning Father."

It's possible that the violin might be among Robert's first waking thoughts but most probably he is thinking about the most immediate tasks that lay ahead. Bathroom, breakfast, the day's plan - that sort of thing.

Five days to go for 2022.

Some people will stay up to see 2023 in.

Old guys like Peter and Robert will probably be asleep by 9pm, at the latest. Remember that, for old people, 9pm is the new midnight.

Will 2023 really bring significant change? I doubt it.

Will Peter and Robert have new year's resolutions? I doubt it.

New year's resolutions belong more with young people:

• I'll work for a promotion this year.
• I'll go to church every week.
• I'll get really fit and lose my belly.
• I'll get a fancy sports car.
• I'm going to make a lot of money.
• I'm going to make sure that I've always got a ready supply of Cleanskins.
• I'm going to be the best tennis player at our club.
• I will not fall down any banks while collecting golf balls.

Hang on, those last few sound a bit familiar. Maybe some old guys need new year's resolutions too?

Well, I'm going to leave you there for this morning. Leave a comment if you like. It's nice to get a lot of a few comments.

Ciao tutti.

"I like this post!"

On Christmas day we celebrate the birth of Nicolo Paganini.

 

This great man let slip two things:

• There is only one scale on the violin.
• There is only one position on the violin.

While he was speaking a little philosophically, what he was saying was basically true. 

I could explain this to you, and I have tried before, but I find that other musicians seldom listen to me.

However, I do know that my very old friend Peter is interested.

"I'm listening."

Thanks Peter.

Anyway today, Christmas Day, is a good day to truly reinforce things that you believe in. I mean, there has to be some point to the day. I have spent a lot of time thinking about Nicolo's claims and I am sure that he is correct.

Please give me a thumbs up if you agree Peter.

And please wave a rainbow flag if you agree Robert.

Ah, it is good to know that I have two loyal supporters!

Buon Natale a tutti.

Have a good day everyone.

 

A little Christmas grammar joke.

The weather is okay in Nuova Lazio, so we will be having an indoor / outdoor late lunch. Late meaning after 12.30pm. We will be joined by our two children, our daughter in law and our unborn grandson.

Fancy designer outside furniture.
That table is certainly a great resting
place for one's glasses and a Cleanskin.

The one problem is that we have four white stools and 5 1/2 people. Okay, the 1/2 person gets to sit when his mother sits, but we're still one stool short. Maybe I'll put up a sign saying, "No more than four people at a time please in outside area."

I just hope that everybody follows the instructions.

Have a good day.

Ciao tutti.

The wonderful creation of an outside living area - a dream becomes a reality.

 Okay, our long time readers will know that, way up north, The Curmudgeon has had an outside living area for quite a long time. Hey, it has even had to weather a few vicious devastating mild storms.

I decided it was time we moved into this elite group of people with an outside living space.

I already owned four little white stools that I had bought to put some amplifiers on for a gig, so all I really needed was a table. Fortunately, I found one that came with assembly instructions - hey, these things can be difficult to put together without precise instructions. I was lucky.

I was careful to follow the instructions slowly and carefully.

The first job was to identify the parts.

One of the parts (Part 1) needed to be opened.

The other part (Part 2) had to be placed on top of it.

After a bit of a struggle, I finally got it all together.

With two of our white stools (we can seat four).

And from another angle - a good place to put a 
glass of Cleanskin, as well as your reading glasses.
Plenty of room for all!

We have certainly moved up the social ladder by quite a few steps!

Ciao tutti.

An alternative look at Christmas and the dangers of punning.

 The 25th of December was not Johhny's favourite day and he blamed his mum Mercy for this.

Mercy was a small woman who had married Bert Loud, a dairy farmer who liked to pun. For example, he often said of his wife, "She's a small Mercy." Because of her environment, with milking going on every morning, Mercy got interested in making cheese. Soon she was making camembert, havarti, brie, parmesan, mozzarella, colby, cheddar and cottage cheese. 

Her cheeses were a huge hit the local country markets and it wasn't long before shops were offering to sell her wares. She called her product Loud Cheeses.

Johnny was a teenager when his friends started ribbing him. They'd attended the local Catholic church. The priest gave a sermon about enterprise and how successful deeds were inspired by God and his son. Without thinking, the priest finished off with a statement that was inspired by Mercy's endeavour.

"Thank the Lord Jesus for Loud Cheeses."

After that morning Johnny was a marked man and all of his teenage mates called him Loud Cheeses. The name followed him around for years. The Christmas period was a particularly bad time for him. It was a reminder to anyone who had known him or had heard of the name calling. 

Eventually, when Johnny was in his late thirties, he moved to America to escape the punning. He unwittingly moved right into the bible belt. 

Fortunately, the Christians in this area had no sense of humor (American spelling) and he was saved.

See, this story has a happy ending.

"Thanks be to Cod."  

As Bert Loud liked to say.