I have made progress in my CD project - burning CDs onto my hard drive in the hopes of getting rid of clutter, which has caused me to remember some of my all time favorites:
Hugh Fraser - Pas de Problemes, which boasts a very young Phil Dwyer playing both saxophone and piano. Hugh himself is a virtuoso trombonist and pianist, making him in good company amongst the Great Canadian Multi-Instrumentalists
Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life Toronto guitarist Ted Quinlan named this as one of the two most influential albums for him, so I HAD to check it out.
The Great Aretha Franklin - Aretha at age 18, accompanied by herself on piano and Ray Bryant on a few tracks (!!)
Genesis - Fox Trot (Major thanks to my old friend Derek Lewis for hipping me to vintage Genesis!)
Monday, May 7, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Memorizing tunes
About two years ago, when all my life stuff started happening at once, I booked a gig at the Cornelia Street Cafe. I decided that for this gig I was going to do all new material - a very lofty goal indeed. I managed to complete a bunch of half written things, do new arrangements of a couple of tunes, write lyrics to an instrumental piece by Dick Oatts and even compose a few new works. It was an incredibly fertile time for me and although I was absolutely terrified, it was a thrill to be able to reach my goal and perform all that new music.
Now it's two years later and I have performed those same works a few more times. I had hoped to record that material by now, but besides my personal life becoming the most important thing, I think I fell into a rut/existential crisis. I lost sight of what I was trying to do and lost some of the passion and joy I had with the process. Perhaps the joy I was feeling in my actual life was making my music life look kind of disfunctional?
Anyhow, I bring this all up because I am back to work at some of this material again. I've had 4 gigs as a leader since September, but due in part to my busy-ness and also my pregnancy and the lethargy and forgetfulness, I haven't really learned this material nearly as well as I would like. I was often reading lyrics and needed the chord changes in order to solo. This isn't the best way to carry off a performance and for me it wasn't super esteemable to be going onstage in less than at the top of my game. I almost didn't do the gigs at all, but I was trying to keep a foot in the door and challenge myself to continue making my music, even when I was being pulled in other directions.
I have started taking the steps I need to really know this music. It is a much different process than it used to be. A jazz waltz I composed called "In September" has a long form, non rhyming lyrics and complex harmony and I was having a heck of a time keeping everything going in order. I'm so out of practice in this kind of work that it felt insurmountable. That is when I have to ask myself what I would say if my student were in this predicament? I ended up taking the first phrase and working at it for almost 30 minutes, until I had a few different ways to voice the harmonies, had gotten the sound in my ears and had managed to create enough melodic material that I felt I knew it. That was Friday, and I managed to practice for 90 minutes straight while the baby napped.
In a bizarre way, I felt like myself again. I also felt a glimmer of hope that I will be able to make another CD and actually do some shows again. I started seeing all of the possibilities again. I have no idea when or how this is going to happen, so I'm going to focus on the task at hand: learning to play my music the best that I can and playing the next two shows completely off book.
Now it's two years later and I have performed those same works a few more times. I had hoped to record that material by now, but besides my personal life becoming the most important thing, I think I fell into a rut/existential crisis. I lost sight of what I was trying to do and lost some of the passion and joy I had with the process. Perhaps the joy I was feeling in my actual life was making my music life look kind of disfunctional?
Anyhow, I bring this all up because I am back to work at some of this material again. I've had 4 gigs as a leader since September, but due in part to my busy-ness and also my pregnancy and the lethargy and forgetfulness, I haven't really learned this material nearly as well as I would like. I was often reading lyrics and needed the chord changes in order to solo. This isn't the best way to carry off a performance and for me it wasn't super esteemable to be going onstage in less than at the top of my game. I almost didn't do the gigs at all, but I was trying to keep a foot in the door and challenge myself to continue making my music, even when I was being pulled in other directions.
I have started taking the steps I need to really know this music. It is a much different process than it used to be. A jazz waltz I composed called "In September" has a long form, non rhyming lyrics and complex harmony and I was having a heck of a time keeping everything going in order. I'm so out of practice in this kind of work that it felt insurmountable. That is when I have to ask myself what I would say if my student were in this predicament? I ended up taking the first phrase and working at it for almost 30 minutes, until I had a few different ways to voice the harmonies, had gotten the sound in my ears and had managed to create enough melodic material that I felt I knew it. That was Friday, and I managed to practice for 90 minutes straight while the baby napped.
In a bizarre way, I felt like myself again. I also felt a glimmer of hope that I will be able to make another CD and actually do some shows again. I started seeing all of the possibilities again. I have no idea when or how this is going to happen, so I'm going to focus on the task at hand: learning to play my music the best that I can and playing the next two shows completely off book.
The technical drill
In my last year at York University, where I did my undergrad, I spent a year doing an I dependent study on jazz piano pre-1930. I studied with and was mentored by a phenomenal pianist/composer named Bill Westcott. In addition to being an expert on ragtime, stride and boogie woogie, he also got the occasional gig playing as a soloist with orchestras. He showed me how he prepared to do these gigs, explaining how much more chops one needs to play on a 10 foot grand piano versus his own 5 foot.
He had a drill of scales, solid and broken chords, arpeggios, 8ves, three Hanon exercises and a few neat little finger busters that he did in 12 keys. He told me it took him about an hour and got him into great shape. He had connections at a couple of churches in Toronto (where I was living) who had 10 foot grands and he would go there, run the drill and work on his piece a few times a week to prepare for whatever concert he was doing. The way that he had it laid out in such an organized way was such a revelation to me!
Over the course of weeks, months and finally a year, I took Bill's drill and worked on it, often 2 hours a day. Once I could do all of the exercises in major, then I did harmonic minor, melodic minor, harmonic major and then all of the diatonic modes. I then did the diatonic minor modes, the whole tone scale and the diminished scale, and added all versions of four note chords. I then showed Bill what I had done. He thought it was an amazing idea, and also a little nuts. The good news was that my chops had never been better. His little drill that helped get him into shape before a show afforded me the chops that I had never had before.
I was thinking of this lately, as I have been getting back into practicing regularly again after my two year hiatus from regular and structured practice. While my hands are surprisingly supple considering how little I've been playing/practicing over the last long while, I still want to get back into shape again. My usual go to is the Goldberg Variations, which I have been hacking through for the last 7 or 8 years, but now I have returned again to Bill Westcott's drill. It is helping a lot and is giving me a way to measure my progress. How clean the scales sound, at what point my hand or hands get tired (always the left before the right) and how briskly I can play each exercise. I hope to be in markedly better shape by my NYC gig on June 1st. We'll see...
He had a drill of scales, solid and broken chords, arpeggios, 8ves, three Hanon exercises and a few neat little finger busters that he did in 12 keys. He told me it took him about an hour and got him into great shape. He had connections at a couple of churches in Toronto (where I was living) who had 10 foot grands and he would go there, run the drill and work on his piece a few times a week to prepare for whatever concert he was doing. The way that he had it laid out in such an organized way was such a revelation to me!
Over the course of weeks, months and finally a year, I took Bill's drill and worked on it, often 2 hours a day. Once I could do all of the exercises in major, then I did harmonic minor, melodic minor, harmonic major and then all of the diatonic modes. I then did the diatonic minor modes, the whole tone scale and the diminished scale, and added all versions of four note chords. I then showed Bill what I had done. He thought it was an amazing idea, and also a little nuts. The good news was that my chops had never been better. His little drill that helped get him into shape before a show afforded me the chops that I had never had before.
I was thinking of this lately, as I have been getting back into practicing regularly again after my two year hiatus from regular and structured practice. While my hands are surprisingly supple considering how little I've been playing/practicing over the last long while, I still want to get back into shape again. My usual go to is the Goldberg Variations, which I have been hacking through for the last 7 or 8 years, but now I have returned again to Bill Westcott's drill. It is helping a lot and is giving me a way to measure my progress. How clean the scales sound, at what point my hand or hands get tired (always the left before the right) and how briskly I can play each exercise. I hope to be in markedly better shape by my NYC gig on June 1st. We'll see...
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The end of multitasking
I am a notorious multitasker. I am one of those people who is always doing two or more things at once - I always have multiple programs open on my computer and am frequently bouncing back and forth from email to email. I do my vocal exercises while I'm cooking or doing the dishes or worse, when I bouncing back and forth from email to email. I used to feel quite on top of things whilst in the middle of one of these fits, but now I find it frustrating.
While once celebrated, the art of multitasking has garnered a lot of criticism lately. Apparently it actually cuts back on productivity rather than increasing it. My issue with it is that I feel perpetually distracted and never feel the satisfaction of focusing on and consequently completing a task. As someone who is trying her darnedest to stay "in the moment", multitasking is the worst possible way to try and do this.
Instead, I have been experimenting with giving 100% of my attention to one task at a time. My son took a short nap this morning and I used that opportunity to play through and edit an arrangement of "Everything I love", which I found extremely enjoyable. I got to my teaching gig in Brooklyn 40 minutes before my day started and I spent time working on soloing at different tempos for "Everything". I got to vocalize for 10 minutes this morning, and rather than straighten up or fold some laundry, I decided to just focus on my vocal anatomy and enjoy the time to myself.
I miss the days when I had what now feels like unlimited time to practice. The funny thing is, I never felt like that there was enough time then either! As a new mom who is trying to balance work with the household duties, I have the least amount of time I've ever had. Perhaps by living in the moment I will be able to make each moment count.
While once celebrated, the art of multitasking has garnered a lot of criticism lately. Apparently it actually cuts back on productivity rather than increasing it. My issue with it is that I feel perpetually distracted and never feel the satisfaction of focusing on and consequently completing a task. As someone who is trying her darnedest to stay "in the moment", multitasking is the worst possible way to try and do this.
Instead, I have been experimenting with giving 100% of my attention to one task at a time. My son took a short nap this morning and I used that opportunity to play through and edit an arrangement of "Everything I love", which I found extremely enjoyable. I got to my teaching gig in Brooklyn 40 minutes before my day started and I spent time working on soloing at different tempos for "Everything". I got to vocalize for 10 minutes this morning, and rather than straighten up or fold some laundry, I decided to just focus on my vocal anatomy and enjoy the time to myself.
I miss the days when I had what now feels like unlimited time to practice. The funny thing is, I never felt like that there was enough time then either! As a new mom who is trying to balance work with the household duties, I have the least amount of time I've ever had. Perhaps by living in the moment I will be able to make each moment count.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Setting Goals
What I love so far about this online journal, is the fact that I can make statements that I am putting out the world, since this blog is technically for everyone's eyes. (Unlike my written journal, which no one is allowed to see!)
I have some goals that I would like to work towards, and I feel that putting them on this blog is like putting them out into the universe. So far, here is what is on my mind. (In random order)
1. Put together set lists for my NYC show on June 1st and my Toronto show on June 15th
2. Have all selections memorized in time for the gigs. (This is a big deal for me. I was reading a lot of the music/lyrics on the gigs I did from September until February. Some combination of not having enough time to prepare and not being able to remember anything, also known as "pregnancy brain".
3. Practice piano and voice every day, even if it's just for a few minutes.
4. Get caught up with my listening. I have missed out on a lot of new CDs in the last few years, and I'd like to finally check some of this stuff out. Stacey Kent, Gretchen Parlato, Dan Tepfer's Goldberg Variations, Peter Eldridge's Mad Heaven, etc.
5. I'd like to get rid of my hard copy CDs once and for all. This requires burning many of them into my CD hard drive, so I can pack the jewel boxes away and clear out some more room in my living space.
I'm sure more will be added to this list, but for the time being this is where I'm at.
I have some goals that I would like to work towards, and I feel that putting them on this blog is like putting them out into the universe. So far, here is what is on my mind. (In random order)
1. Put together set lists for my NYC show on June 1st and my Toronto show on June 15th
2. Have all selections memorized in time for the gigs. (This is a big deal for me. I was reading a lot of the music/lyrics on the gigs I did from September until February. Some combination of not having enough time to prepare and not being able to remember anything, also known as "pregnancy brain".
3. Practice piano and voice every day, even if it's just for a few minutes.
4. Get caught up with my listening. I have missed out on a lot of new CDs in the last few years, and I'd like to finally check some of this stuff out. Stacey Kent, Gretchen Parlato, Dan Tepfer's Goldberg Variations, Peter Eldridge's Mad Heaven, etc.
5. I'd like to get rid of my hard copy CDs once and for all. This requires burning many of them into my CD hard drive, so I can pack the jewel boxes away and clear out some more room in my living space.
I'm sure more will be added to this list, but for the time being this is where I'm at.
All the time in the world
I have always been a pretty regimented person. Well, since I went to university. (In high school I was a terrible practicer, but a dedicated rehearsal-attender.) I have generally maintained a 4+ per day practice habit, which dissolved about two years ago when my life changed so dramatically. On some levels, I think I was really burnt out from so many years of banging away and working so hard. I focused my attention for a while on learning how to be a good choral conductor, planning a wedding, getting my house in order, etc.
Now that I have a newborn at home, my concept of time has totally changed. What used to take a certain period of time now has to be compressed to happen while the little man sleeps, or it doesn't happen at all. Keeping the house together, making sure there is food in the fridge, managing an almost frightening pile of laundry are huge time sucks in addition to being on call all day and all night for anything that my son might need.
However, what I'm finding is fascinating is my ability to get a lot more done in a much shorter period of time. I guess this is proof of the adaptability of humans? As soon as he goes down for a nap, I can sit for a short burst of practicing and I find a focus that wasn't there before. I have also learned to edit things down to the absolutely most important and effective activities. Necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps?
Now that I have a newborn at home, my concept of time has totally changed. What used to take a certain period of time now has to be compressed to happen while the little man sleeps, or it doesn't happen at all. Keeping the house together, making sure there is food in the fridge, managing an almost frightening pile of laundry are huge time sucks in addition to being on call all day and all night for anything that my son might need.
However, what I'm finding is fascinating is my ability to get a lot more done in a much shorter period of time. I guess this is proof of the adaptability of humans? As soon as he goes down for a nap, I can sit for a short burst of practicing and I find a focus that wasn't there before. I have also learned to edit things down to the absolutely most important and effective activities. Necessity is the mother of invention, perhaps?
Friday, April 27, 2012
Ch-ch-ch-changes
In the last twenty four months, my life has moved forward more than in the prior 5 years. I got engaged, moved three times, got married, got pregnant, started two new teaching gigs and had a baby. Most days I can't believe how lucky I am to have gotten to where I have gotten and to be living the life I'm living. Actually, I feel that every day.
For most of my adult life, I have been driven rather obsessively towards my music and my career. I literally lived and breathed for the music of Oscar Peterson, my rigorous practice schedule, keeping my touring life together and my website updated. I spent most of my time surrounded my musicians, thinking about music, working on music. Nights spent with my laptop on my sweaty lap madly following up with club owners trying to hustle gigs, promote the ones I had and sort out what music I was going to play and musicians I was going to play with. It was non stop. This brings us to 2009.
In addition to that, I was trying to continue making a living in the madly expensive New York City. I had made the choice to stop the revolving door of roommates and was keeping my two bedroom apartment in West Harlem to myself. In addition, I was in the utterly outrageous process of applying for my Green Card; a process which required a massive amount of time, organization and money. I was working. A LOT. I had a large stable of students whom I was teaching - in my home and theirs - seven days a week. I was running a program at the Ronald McDonald House. I was running the Kids In the Balcony program for the New York Pops Orchestra. I was music director at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Jersey. I was in the process of releasing my CD "Songs For A New Day" and touring with it. I was sidemaning for Diva Jazz Orchestra and Wycliffe Gordon. Etc.... I was BUSY. Then came the end of 2009, when I met Gerard.
I met Gerard right at the point where I was feeling that my work life was everything and my personal life was nothing. This kind of no-balance living seems to plague a lot of my music friends. Who has time for a life when you're trying to make music, right? I was getting ready to phase out my Sunday work, just in time to start spending time with the new man in my life. Five months later, we were engaged. Three months after that he had to move out to Rockaway while in between jobs and I chose to move with him. I liquidated a lot of my work, explored work as a classical conductor and gave myself a chance to enjoy my personal life for a while.
I have taken what I consider to be a long hiatus from my life as a Jazzgrrrl. I have devoted the last two years to the study of classical voice, taking lessons with the amazing Hilda Harris, singing a few stints with some of the semi-pro classical ensembles in town and conducting the Rutgers University Queens Chorale. I let go of my daily practice routine to devote time to creating a home with Gerard - organizing, buying, letting go of, decorating and more organizing. I have focused my energy on my teaching studio and becoming a better voice and piano teacher. I went through an exhausting pregnancy and prepared our home for our new baby while finishing a few personal projects that I had been meaning to do forever.
I have been living in the moment and allowing myself to take a break from my jazz habit. I haven't really been listening to jazz. I haven't been going out to hear it. I haven't really hung out with many of my jazz friends. I haven't taken any jazz lessons. I haven't been practicing much - just enough to get through the few gigs I booked, just to keep me in it. I lost a lot of that intense drive that I had for so many years, which was replaced with the thorough enjoyment of making a lovely home for my husband and now my child. It was a scary thing to walk away from my life's work, especially when I wasn't sure if I would want to come back again.
Now my son is 8 weeks old, and I am starting to feel my passion for jazz/music in general growing again. I have started to catch up on my listening - checking out recordings by Gretchen Parlato, Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling, etc. which I have missed in the last few years. I am starting to get ideas about projects that I would like to start and especially projects that I would like to finish. I have started practicing again (during baby's naps) and have a voice lesson scheduled for next week to dust off the cobwebs on my vocal instrument. I have booked two gigs - one in NYC on June 1st and one in Toronto (my old home) on June 15th. I am already thinking about those gigs and am feeling really excited to make music again.
I have decided to revisit this blog in an effort to map for myself (and anyone out there who might be interested) the reboost to my work as a JazzGrrrl. I am a daily journal writer, but that mostly deals with my personal thoughts and frequently turns into a list of things I need to do around the house. This blog format (I hope) will help me to stay geared towards jazz and music related topics. I would like to write about what I'm practicing, listening to, gigs I've gone to hear, articles I've read and various other not-too-personal things. I am interested to see where this whole thing goes...
For most of my adult life, I have been driven rather obsessively towards my music and my career. I literally lived and breathed for the music of Oscar Peterson, my rigorous practice schedule, keeping my touring life together and my website updated. I spent most of my time surrounded my musicians, thinking about music, working on music. Nights spent with my laptop on my sweaty lap madly following up with club owners trying to hustle gigs, promote the ones I had and sort out what music I was going to play and musicians I was going to play with. It was non stop. This brings us to 2009.
In addition to that, I was trying to continue making a living in the madly expensive New York City. I had made the choice to stop the revolving door of roommates and was keeping my two bedroom apartment in West Harlem to myself. In addition, I was in the utterly outrageous process of applying for my Green Card; a process which required a massive amount of time, organization and money. I was working. A LOT. I had a large stable of students whom I was teaching - in my home and theirs - seven days a week. I was running a program at the Ronald McDonald House. I was running the Kids In the Balcony program for the New York Pops Orchestra. I was music director at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Jersey. I was in the process of releasing my CD "Songs For A New Day" and touring with it. I was sidemaning for Diva Jazz Orchestra and Wycliffe Gordon. Etc.... I was BUSY. Then came the end of 2009, when I met Gerard.
I met Gerard right at the point where I was feeling that my work life was everything and my personal life was nothing. This kind of no-balance living seems to plague a lot of my music friends. Who has time for a life when you're trying to make music, right? I was getting ready to phase out my Sunday work, just in time to start spending time with the new man in my life. Five months later, we were engaged. Three months after that he had to move out to Rockaway while in between jobs and I chose to move with him. I liquidated a lot of my work, explored work as a classical conductor and gave myself a chance to enjoy my personal life for a while.
I have taken what I consider to be a long hiatus from my life as a Jazzgrrrl. I have devoted the last two years to the study of classical voice, taking lessons with the amazing Hilda Harris, singing a few stints with some of the semi-pro classical ensembles in town and conducting the Rutgers University Queens Chorale. I let go of my daily practice routine to devote time to creating a home with Gerard - organizing, buying, letting go of, decorating and more organizing. I have focused my energy on my teaching studio and becoming a better voice and piano teacher. I went through an exhausting pregnancy and prepared our home for our new baby while finishing a few personal projects that I had been meaning to do forever.
I have been living in the moment and allowing myself to take a break from my jazz habit. I haven't really been listening to jazz. I haven't been going out to hear it. I haven't really hung out with many of my jazz friends. I haven't taken any jazz lessons. I haven't been practicing much - just enough to get through the few gigs I booked, just to keep me in it. I lost a lot of that intense drive that I had for so many years, which was replaced with the thorough enjoyment of making a lovely home for my husband and now my child. It was a scary thing to walk away from my life's work, especially when I wasn't sure if I would want to come back again.
Now my son is 8 weeks old, and I am starting to feel my passion for jazz/music in general growing again. I have started to catch up on my listening - checking out recordings by Gretchen Parlato, Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling, etc. which I have missed in the last few years. I am starting to get ideas about projects that I would like to start and especially projects that I would like to finish. I have started practicing again (during baby's naps) and have a voice lesson scheduled for next week to dust off the cobwebs on my vocal instrument. I have booked two gigs - one in NYC on June 1st and one in Toronto (my old home) on June 15th. I am already thinking about those gigs and am feeling really excited to make music again.
I have decided to revisit this blog in an effort to map for myself (and anyone out there who might be interested) the reboost to my work as a JazzGrrrl. I am a daily journal writer, but that mostly deals with my personal thoughts and frequently turns into a list of things I need to do around the house. This blog format (I hope) will help me to stay geared towards jazz and music related topics. I would like to write about what I'm practicing, listening to, gigs I've gone to hear, articles I've read and various other not-too-personal things. I am interested to see where this whole thing goes...
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