The shoulder rest is gone!

 

BACK TO NO SHOULDER REST!

I think I'll start today with a coffee.

 

Gosh! Going to an opera is very expensive! Fortunately, I don't want to go to any operas. I'd rather have a coffee and face an extra trip to the bathroom. The only obvious cost is some toilet paper.

Oh, and I suppose the price of the coffee and milk.

Still, it's a lot cheaper than going to a silly opera.

Going back to using a shoulder rest has been quite a big decision.

I think I'll go with it though. As I've said, the idea was to look after my smaller fingers. I can't guarantee that this is the correct solution, but I feel like I need to give it a good go. There are probably advantages both ways, with and without the shoulder rest. Sometimes, though, one has to persevere with an idea. Ah well, I can always take it off again if things don't work out.

I'll put in some quality time with the shoulder rest today. I need to do some good double bass practice too.

My elder grandson was calling my violin and my double basses guitars. I've put him right on that and he is now familiar with all their names. I remember the first time I took his dad into a music shop at about the same age (3). At the time I was playing a lot of bass guitar. He looked around at all the guitars in the shop and said, "Look at all the basses!" As it turns out, my son is now an excellent bass guitarist. The double basses in my living room are still a bit too big for Harrison to play. 

I'm thinking that, if I put on my 'Playing With Myself' concert in August, I might charge $200 per person. What do you think? People might think that, at that price, it has to be good. 

[Bathroom time.]

[Done.]

It feels a bit like my bell might disagree with my pricing for the concert. 

"Hey, that's far too much!
Go to the bathroom and think about it!"

As Peter pointed out somewhere, you can hear that old guy in the Cuba Mall play his mouth organ for free.  Do money and the arts have to go together? Like Akish, I do find it hard to understand how a painting can be worth a million dollars. I certainly don't play music to make money. Ah well.

That's about it from me this morning. I see that Robert has written a short post. There is nothing new from Peter, though he did leave a couple of rude comments on my last post.

"Philistines are everywhere." "It’s the only growth strategy in Richard’s Bass Bag."

Who knows? Perhaps he dropped his phone in the bath again and was pissed off? Maybe he has mislaid his bagpipes? Actually, I don't know if he actually knows how to play them. Probably doesn't matter with the bagpipes though. You just carry them around and wear a skirt.

Ciao tutti. Tieni i pantaloni addosso.

Not much time this morning.

 I have an early start - I'm dropping off my elder grandson at childcare and my son at the railway station in the Hutt.

I did see that TC has had a go at Akish, but I won't bother commenting.

"Well, he could have just commented
on my blog, but that seems to be beneath him."

Friends asked if we'd like to go with them to an opera in Wellington in August. It turns out that tickets are $162.11 each.

Ridiculous!

It would be $324.22 for two tickets! That's why we need people like Akish!

See you later, alligator.

"In a while, crocodile."

Nothing new in the Stinks this morning.

 And no comments from Stinks in the Links.

Business as usual, I guess.

The shoulder rest is slowly settling in and seems to be helping the hands. It is taking a while to get comfortable. Hey, I've gone six years without one!

I'm off to work soon. I'll go in early and get some violin practice done. I start at 10am., so there is time to get in some good practice.

That's it.

Ciao.

Ho acceso il riscaldamento.

Potrei anche scriverlo in italiano. Chi lo legge, in fin dei conti?

Another cold morning with little happening around the blogs, though Akish, Evil Dr. R and AG are making a very good effort. 

Peter and Robert?

Same shit, different day. Robert doesn't post when his girlfriend is there and Peter is far too busy walking around Wellington to write regular posts.

It really wouldn't make any difference if they both just buggered off.

I practised for two hours yesterday. Half an hour on the double bass and 1 1/2 hours on the violin. I'm experimenting with using a shoulder rest in an attempt to help protect my hands. My decision? I've decided to go both ways. Sometimes I'll use a shoulder rest and sometimes I won't. Let's see which works best in the longer term.

I'm about to have some little pies for breakfast. Why not?

I'm only having four.

Mi riscaldano nelle mattine fredde. Al momento li sto gustando con un po' di salsa di pomodoro.

Maybe I should just remove Robert and Peter from my LINKS list and move on without them? I'll think about it.

Pies finished. That was nice and worth a trip to the bathroom, if necessary.

I might take my elder grandson out today, to give mummy and daddy a break. Obviously, I'll be getting some practice done too. Getting used to that shoulder rest again. 

Bene, ecco fatto.

Buona giornata. Il tempo sembra buono.

Rifletti se desideri rimanere nella nostra lista LINK e cosa puoi fare al riguardo.

Ciao.

[Bathroom visit. Done.]

Heater on...

 IT'S BLOGGING TIME!

No coffee this morning. Just a banana toasted sandwich.

I see that Monday (tomorrow) is a holiday. Unless, of course, you work in a supermarket.

I don't work on a Monday, but I guess it means that I won't be picking my boy up from childcare.

It's nice to be by that heater!

I don't know any songs about heaters. That's a shame because heaters deserve a song.

"I'm cold."

Said he to her.

"What can I do about it?"

She said, "You need a detour.

Go and sit by your heater."

Heater,

Heater, heater.

You're making this day

Neater.

It's Mortal Sin Day today for Catholics who don't go to mass.

That means a trip to Hell if they unexpectedly die.

When you think about it, not going to mass doesn't really hurt anyone else. All it really means is one clear space on a pew.

I suppose it would get more serious
if no one turned up.

Well, that would save on having to clean the church and it would also save on electricity. It would also mean a sleep in for those people who have to pass the money plates around. Church shop people would get a break too. Quite a few good points there.

[Oops, that banana toasted sandwich is sending me to the bathroom!]

Do bananas contain coffee?

[Back.]

I'm going to have to give my hill walk a miss today. It didn't seem to do me any good yesterday. In fact, it had the opposite effect, but I won't bore you with the details. I think I'll try a flat walk today.

I tried a shoulder rest on my violin (again) yesterday. It didn't really work for me. I'm trying to find ways to protect my fingers. I guess I'll just have to be really careful and not overdo the practice lengths.

Well, that's about it for today. 

Ciao tutti.

Peanut butter, you can eat it in the gutter.

 That's something we used to say when I was a kid. I don't know why. Probably because it rhymed.

On toast. Nice.

I've also got the heater on and I'm having a coffee.

No post from Robert because he has his lady staying. It's good to see other bloggers (like Angry Jesus and Evil Doctor Richard) getting involved in the comments. We even got something from The Wine Guy. It's a cold morning, which is one of the reasons why I'm posting. The heater by our computer is nice and warm. It has to be the warmest spot in our house on a cold morning.

I did quite a bit of practice yesterday, but my hands are playing up. The 3rd and 4th fingers on my left hand are cramping up a bit. Not good. That probably rules out doing any long solo gigs at the moment. But, hey, I've got to play. Softly, softly catchee monkey, as my dad used to say.

I'm trying to do lots of hand exercises. I also went for a walk up the steep path (Harry Todd Reserve) behind our house yesterday. I don't know how that's supposed to help my hands, but it will help with my fitness. I did a quarter of the walk that I used to do. Softly, softly... I plan to do it again today. I'll slowly build up the distance.

[No bathroom trip yet.]

I'll try to do some very gentle practice today. I've been doing a lot of work on violin chords lately. There are three types of chords that are very handy.

1) 3rd & 7th voicings. These give a nice jazzy effect. They take a bit of practice because there is no root to help find them quickly.

2) Major and minor double stops. These sound good when they are shifted up and down the fingerboard. You can also slip in notes, like 6ths and 7ths.

3) Major and minor chords. There are only 6 shapes here (3 major and 3 minor). It sounds good when you roll your bow over these chords.

[Bathroom time. Back soon.]

[Back.]

Well, I'm running out of things to tell you. Maybe one or two of the other bloggers on our LINKS service might write a post? Have a look.

Ciao tutti.

Coffee, a heater and a peanut butter sandwich.

 

Oh yes, and a bathroom standing by.

Certainly no jam today.

Well, actually I might have a personal jam at home today as I play through my repertoire.

It's Friday 24th. of April. Tomorrow is ANZAC Day and I'll be sleeping in for the first time in many, many years.

There are no other posts around the blogs this morning but that's not unusual. Peter is probably still in his Dutch Oven and Robert is probably running up a sin or two. Well, he has got confession to put it right.

Jesus got up and put on his makeup. He took particular care with the eye liner. He also straightened up his beard. A little snip here and a little snip there. He didn't have to use the toilet, he just thought and made the poos go away. His job today would be watching over 9am Friday Mass and checking on who turns up for confession. In his mind no sin was too small that it didn't need confessing. He thought about Adam and Eve and Original Sin and how it all started. He thought about the state of the world at present. He didn't think about that for long because it wasn't his problem. He smiled as he thought about the Ten Commandments. What a good idea that was! He remembered his father saying to Moses, "Don't forget to take the tablets." He allowed himself to smile. He thought about how his name sounded like a Gsus chord. Gsus what though? The most used Gsus chord was called Gsus4 and it was all about resolving onto a major chord - G C D resolves onto G B D. Jesus had never really been to a jazz jam. That type of music was not popular during his time on Earth. Though it was Classical musicians who used the Gsus4 chord a lot.

[Bathroom? No, not yet.]

It was a funny thing how Jesus was a son. You see, like his father, he had been around forever. He remembered life in those early days being quite boring. There were only him and dad and that bird.

They had always been, all three of them, they hadn't come to be. Eternity is a very long time. Immeasurably long. How could one entity be defined as the son of another? God only knows, as they say.

The bird had changed his name from the Holy Ghost to the Holy Spirit. Sort of an upgrade. Probably so humans wouldn't think he was a ghost. Maybe the Holy Bird would have worked better?

So, why did dad decide to make people? He could have just made animals. 

Why did dad decide that he needed an enemy (Satan)? Gosh, he must have been bored. Really bored! It seems that it wasn't the best deal for all those humans. What was the advantage of free will? Did dad stuff up with that one?

Gosh, there are so many questions.

[Bathroom visit getting close.]

[Better go now.]

[Mission accomplished.]

That sun is out. That means that TC will be walking somewhere. Rob will probably be going to op shops, with fish 'n chips for lunch. 

I'm on Harrison pick up duty today. This is something I do five days a week. I often take him around to see Grandma before taking him home. We chat as I drive and we have many jokes. The little guy is three years old with a HUGE vocabulary. He often calls me Silly Grandad. Hey, I do ask for it with my constant jokes and teasing. 

Steph has finished work and moves to Melbourne in a week. Then it'll only be me and Shelley living here again. Still, Harrison pops around a lot. Henry is one year old now and really growing up. It's fun having grandkids. It can also be fairly hard work, but it's worth it. 

Well, that's it from me. I wonder if poor old TC has dropped his phone in the bath?

Splash!

I think he does that quite often.

Oh well, it'll dry out.

Eventually.

Ciao tutti.

Peanut Butter is not a jam!

 

I've rekindled my liking for peanut butter lately. It is so nice on toast. 

I went to a jazz jam last night. I awaited my turn to play. Lots of people started coming up in groups that were obviously friends. After one lot finished, I headed towards the stage with my violin and my little amp. I then realised that I was standing among a group of young people who had already started playing All of Me. This tune is usually played in C. I got ready to join in and then realised that they were playing it in F, obviously to suit their singer. This was not a jam, it was a rehearsed piece. Normally, at a jam, a piece is jointly decided on. This happens on the spot. No one gets to do forward planning. I realised that I was not taking part in a jam. This must be peanut butter!

Okay, as I said, I like peanut butter BUT it is not a jam.

In music jamming has a spontaneous element. You often finish up joining in on tunes you hardly know. The unexpectedness of the procedure makes it fun. It is not supposed to run like a rehearsed concert. 

Ah well, I guess I'm stuck playing my unaccompanied tunes these days. I'll put out the empty jam jar.

Boy, I deserve a coffee after that!

[Keep that bathroom free!]

A rainy day in Nui town.

 

...and I've got to drive to Upper Hutt!

I'll take my pills and head off at about 7.30am because I need to drop Nef at Waterloo Station.

I've booked a motel in Wellington so I can go to that Jazz jam. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I'll go ahead with it now. It's on at a place called The Undercurrent in Tory St. and starts at 8pm. A late night for me!

Fun.

Enjoy your day.

Sin, if you need to.

Stormy Weather.

 Don't know why 

There's no sun up in the sky,

Stormy weather,

Since my babe and I 

Ain't together,

Keeps raining all the time.

LISTEN HERE.

              * * *

Firstly, huge thanks to Peter and Lynn for the offer of a bed for the night. Fortunately, our house is fine. They obviously heard about the flooding in the Nui. We're lucky that our house is on the side of a hill. Thanks though, guys. Much appreciated.

I spent a lot of last night listening to the rain and wondering if I would / could go into work. It could be a difficult drive to Upper Hutt, what with all the flooding. I awoke, just after 6am, to an email that told me the school was closed. 

YES!!!

I've just had a coffee to celebrate.

I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[Bathroom visit coming up.]

[Now.]

[Done.]

So, I see that Old One Good Foot (Rob) is busy recording violin tunes. I suppose that keeps him busy. I guess I'll get a bit of practice done today. I'm not going to the open mic on Thursday evening now. It is possible that I might go to a jazz jam in Wellington tomorrow night, but it depends on the weather. It's like practising with a metronome - time will tell.

Well, there you go, that's my post for this morning.

Don't forget to read the posts in our LINKS.

Ciao tutti.

Driving on SH2 could be classed as a sin today.

My Bebop playing is under fire.

 Two comments were left on my last posts.

Gosh!

Robert comes back after fucking off for a few weeks (his blog was all closed up) and now he's a Bebop expert! AND he's putting words into my mouth!

Actually, I'm happy to have a Bebop play off with Robert any time. I don't think that he has played a proper jazz gig in his life. 

* * *

It's raining as I write, and as I drink my coffee.

Yes, yes, Peter, I know. Allow for bathroom time before driving my daughter to the station in Lower Hutt. Steph is moving to Melbourne in a couple of weeks and this is her last week at work. I'm back at work tomorrow, weather permitting. There is supposed to be quite a lot more rain and I need to drive to Upper Hutt tomorrow. SH2 was flooded yesterday, or was it the day before?

I practised for 1 1/2 hours yesterday. My time was down a bit because I have to be careful about my hands. I'm still thinking of going to an open mic night on Thursday. The plan is to play The Accordion Lady and OBS. I'll have SGB up my sleeve for the very off chance that I get to play an encore. Hey, it pays to be prepared. Coffee finished - that was nice! [Bathroom time.] That was quick!

* * *

I really started to get into Jazz around 1974. I'd bought a cheap bass guitar. Hearing the Rodger Fox big band at university was a big influence - those guys just seemed to be having so much fun! I also fell in love with the sound of a walking bass. I bought my first Fender Precision bass around 1976. I also started working on double bass around 1975. The violin took second place for quite a while. It was fun coming back to the violin quite a while later, though I did play some viola for a while. I was helping with the youth orchestra in Tauranga and they needed violas.

Oops, sorry, I have to go and get Steph to the station!

Ciao tutti!

Coffee needed.

 And you know what that means.

Ah well, I've already visited that room three times during a long cold night.

I did 2 1/2 hours of practice yesterday. 2 hours on the violin. I'm thinking of going to an open mic night next Thursday. If I do, I'll probably play The Orange Blossom Special and The Accordion Lady, with Sweet Georgia Brown as a backup. I'm being very careful with the hands and elbow. Fortunately they seem to be holding out.

Ah, it's nice to be sitting by my heater!

I'm also enjoying my coffee.

I won't be playing A Night in Tunisia at the open mic night (if I go) because I don't think that Bebop would go down well there. It'll probably be full of folkies and Bluegrass fans. The OBS is a piece that I've worked on for many, many years and I keep making little 'improvements' to it. It's a fun piece to play. 

Well, that's my lot for this morning.

Ciao tutti.

For Robert.

 Check out 'A Night in Tunisia' HERE.

Party Time!

We're attending a 1st. birthday party this morning. The birthday boy is a good friend of mine. His older brother is a good friend of mine too.

It's pissing down in the Nui. Really pissing down! Never mind, the party will be inside.

My hands are feeling a bit better this morning, though my right elbow is still very sore. I'll go very easy on the practice today. Maybe it will be more 'head practice'? 

I've added Robert's blog back into our LINKS list. I see he's building rosary beads now. Why doesn't he just use his ten fingers? 

Peter will probably be off to see (listen to) the Mozart Requiem this evening. He certainly knows how to have fun! Well, I can't actually be certain about that.

Robert must be getting sick of Haydn's cello concertos because he's talking about having a go at A Night in Tunisia. That could be interesting. I wonder if he'll record it?

I'm presently having a coffee. Yes, yes, I know!

Today's party starts at 10am. It's all built around when little ones need to sleep. There will just be family there - from mummy's side and daddy's side. It'll be nice to catch up with the people from mummy's side. 

Back to work next week. Well, I only work for two days and those are both short days. I can handle that, as can my bell.

The weather is not improving. Robert might need waterproof rosary beads today. Peter might need to wear long trousers this evening.

I do hope he tidies himself up a bit.

Actually, I'm very keen to do some improvising work over the last chords (sort of like a coda) of 'A Night in Tunisia'.

There are some interesting chords there. The 'melody' that goes over them 
is interesting too.

I might have a bash at that before going to the party. Don't worry, I'll be careful.

Ciao tutti e stai attento.