a group who encourage and motivate one another to stick to, and get the most out of, our practice time

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Checking In: One Important Realization

From VioletMoon on 5/27/2014 8:35:44 AM

As I mentioned earlier, my goal is to lose the complacency, and I think I've made a bit of progress in that direction. 

I'm still working on Roustabout and between the genealogy conference booth sitting and my weekend in Lanesboro (Bluff Country Gathering) I've played the heck out of the tune and then some. A week or so ago, it felt like it was really coming along and then I listened to Riley Baugus and a few others play it and I realized how far I have to go. : )

I'd say I listen "a lot" and I play "a lot" but I've been lax in marrying the two. I'm now trying to set aside time each day to listen for new ideas and try my hand at playing them. And then, when I just pick up the banjo, I have a few new things to try to remember to work in instead of just mucking around in the same old place.

It's the most obvious thing in the world--listening/playing--and I find myself wondering why I haven't done more of it? The answer might be that I just wasn't ready to push forward in that way.

It's the little things that I'm picking up from listening/playing that will make a long-term difference in my playing, I think. For example, in one spot, I noticed that my teacher plays a thumb where I was leaving it out. Either one is okay, but adding it in gives the tune a little extra something. That's got to be the case in other places in other tunes, too.

I've also been working on a tune called Rabbit Skip, kind of a study in syncopation. A few weeks ago, the tune was in my head and it felt like it was coming along. I went back and listened carefully to an example recording--the step that is so easy for me to leave out--and I noticed a tiny brush sound that I hadn't been getting.

Back to the drawing board and I think the tune has improved. And the neat thing about it is -- I was listening to Dan Gellert's Going Across the Sea (slowed down) this morning and the extra work that I've been putting into Rabbit Skip seemed to help me hear things in Dan's playing that I hadn't noticed before.

It's all one big happy ongoing circle of hard work and and happiness, isn't it? This practice thing? Onward!

Cyndy

3 Comments
	skiptomylou says: 5/27/2014 1:36:29 PM good observation Cyndy - i notice when i stop doing the listening and playing together, because i think i know a tune, when i do go back and listen i'm surprised and disappointed at little things i've forgotten and started missing out. when you think about it, it's truly a gift to be able to listen to these masters we have available to us on cds, youtube etc, glad you are getting so much out of your practice, best Jill
	Zischkale says: 5/28/2014 7:48:06 AM Was just listening to Cockerham do Roustabout this morning--what tuning are you using to play it, Cyndy? You've got the right idea on the small things--the ornamentation is where you can make a tune yours. No need to replicate someone else's ornamentation if you're not feeling it, though. But it never hurts to learn how to do a specific technique. I'm interested in Rabbit Skip--is it an actual tune, or more of an exercise? I'm definitely familiar with skips from Mike Iverson's site and Ken Perlman's book. If you want any more practice on syncopation by way of skips, Iverson's got some great arrangements for it. It's amazing how much detail there is to gather from such structurally simple tunes and songs. Keep up the good work!!
	VioletMoon says: 5/28/2014 7:56:23 AM Tuning: gCGBD And here's a thread that talks a bit about Rabbit Skip. Looks like it's a Hammons tune often taught by Dan Gellert? Makes sense. I got it from my teacher. banjohangout.org/topic/248690/6
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