Mandolin Reflection #5

Am C G

------------------0--------------0-x-----------------------0-----------x-0-------------------3
----------0--------------0---------x----------3-----------------3-----x------------2---------
--------------2--------------2-----x----------------2--------------2--x----------------0----
-----5------------------------------x----0-----------------------------x---------0-------------



G

---------------3-----------------------3----------------3------------------0------------0
-----2-------------------2-------------------2---------------------0-----------0--------
----------0---------------------0------------------0--------------------2-----------2----
--------------------0--------------------------------------------5-------------------------



G Am C
----------------3------------3-------------------0--------------0--------------------0------------0
-------2------------2-------------------0-------------0--------------------3-------------3---------
-----------0------------0-------------------2--------------2--------------------2-------------2----
---0--------------------------------5-----------------------------------0----------------------------



Am G Am
---------------0---------------0------------------3-------------3-----------------0------------0
-------0-------------0--------------------2-----------2--------------------0----------0--------
-----------2--------------2-------------------0------------0-------------------2-----------2---
---5----------------------------------0---------------------------------5------------------------




C G Am
--------------0------------0------------------3-------------3------------------0
-------3------------3----------------2------------2------------------0---------
-----------2------------2-----------------0------------0-------------------2---
---0-----------------------------0-------------------------------5---------------


Repeat x 2, with harmony second time.


This is the tablature to a song that I composed on the mandolin (which has lyrics that I will not post). It has a fairly basic chord progression, essentially just Am, C, Am, G with some variation, but the plucking pattern is more complex. If you are at all familiar with reading tabs, you will understand; if not, what this says is basically to pluck the bottom string, pluck the third string from the bottom, pluck the second string from the bottom, pluck the last string. That pattern goes for each chord with a smooth transition. At the end of the first verse, the plucking turns into strumming in the same meter, which continues into the third verse; halfway through the third verse, the strumming slows and gets quieter, then turns into the plucking again. I don't know how to post recordings to my blog, but once I do I will. Composing this song was a lot of fun, and it's also brought me some new challenges. Right now I am working on a song built around two chords, but that uses plucking and variations on the chords. It's harder because I have to discover new things and new chords and new sound combinations, but it sounds beautiful so far.

Ballet Reflection # 9

I had missed ballet for the two weeks prior to this class due to a foot injury (tendonitis in my heel) so I was a bit rusty when I came back into class. I noticed that missing the two weeks had a slight impact on my performance: I wasn't as flexible at barre stretches, I got dizzy while doing the turns, etc. However, as the class went on I got back into the swing of things. We were doing a lot of jumping and running type moves. For example, some rather fancy footwork reminiscent of figure skating that involves a backwards shastee, a leap, and a turn in the air that lands in arabesque. I actually found that I did better on these more complex moves than I had when we first learned them the class before, so that was a relief. It was an exhausting class and I went home and slept like a log afterwards. I have discovered that I am quite good at fluid movements -- for example, the swan lake arms and the "ending" part, which involves swan lake arms, then tandue, put one leg behind you while raising one arm up in fifth position over your head and then bowing on one leg, all in one sweeping movement. This bodes well for my future ballet endeavors.

LIFE Reflection #2

I made plans with Barbara this weekend to play at the enxt open mic night for LIFE. It benefits the organization, and members of the group can perform as well. This is the first I've gotten to talk to Barbara about more I can do for LIFE, so I am excited to be able to do something that I love to do to help the organization. She is going to tell me the date soon.

Homemade for the Holidays #1

I am currently in the process of crocheting a hat for Homemade for the Holidays. I know that I said I would do 3 scarves, and I plan to. However, I have been wanting to learn how to crochet for a while now, and I thought that this is a good opportunity to do so, as hats are needed just as much as scarves in this program. It's a fairly complicated pattern, and it should make a warm thing for somebody to wear. I am almost finished with it and will be able to start with my new project, which will be a crocheted scarf with a different kind of crochet pattern. This gives me almost 1 thing to donate to the program, which brings me a third of the way to my goal (which I plan to surpass anyways).

Mandolin Reflection #4

Because I have some idea that I might like to be a musician later in life, I have been trying to become more familiar with the mandolin by composing simple songs on it. It's a lot of fun and I actually prefer it to composing on guitar, and more importantly it's been helpful with learning about chords and variations. Generally, I start with one chord as a base; for example, in a recent song, C. I then place one finger on a different fret on a different string, the effect of which is that it flows smoothly and that it creates a varied, but beautiful sound. It's really great because I have gotten to experiment with chords and picking, how to incorporate the two, moving beyond chords and different methods of playing, dissonance, and more things that are more sophisticated, musically. I will post the tablature for some of the songs I've written, or find a way to attach an audio file.

Mandolin Reflection #3

While waiting to sign up for lessons at Jack's Drum Shop again, I thought that I would continue to practice what I hard started in my 4 lessons so I don't get rusty. Recently, I've been working on strumming, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. In order to pick/strum efficiently, one has to keep a consistent beat, but you will have to skip strums, depending on the song. It's very hard to stay to one pattern of picking when it's far easier and more natural to just strum when you have to and change up your pattern according to where you are in the song. It's hard to do, and it feels unnatural, but it's good form, and if I don't learn it, it will only hinder me later when I become more advanced.To practice this, I've been playing more songs from my lesson book and also learning chord songs. I figured it would be easier to start with chords songs, because that way I don't have to worry about which strings to pick in addition to worrying about strum pattern. The songs I've been practicing on are "The Captain and Hourglass" by Laura Marling, which has a fairly complex strumming pattern and only 3 chords (Em, G, and D), "Time on Your Side" by Emily Jane White, which has a strum pattern that is good to practice because it sounds inconsistent, so I have to be on my toes about when to strum but not hit the strings and has more complicated chords (C, G, Em, Dm, E, and a few others), and 'All My Lovin'" by the Beatles, which I already knew but have been practicing with because of its simple chord progression and fairly simple strum pattern. It doesn't feel entirely natural all the time, but I notice that if I just start by playing a consistent strum pattern and slowly start to drop strums in the right places, it starts to feel natural, and generally sounds better. I plan to continue practicing this way on my own, at least 10 minutes every other day.

Mandolin Reflection #2

I still need to sign up for Mandolin lessons at Jack's Drum shop again, but in the meantime I have been playing a lot independently. I thought that a good activity would be to use my mandolin lesson book to get more involved with the music theory aspects of mandolin, the more technical side. I started with practicing my scales, and learning the notes on each string. Once I felt comfortable playing scales, I began to learn songs from my lesson book that involved rapidly playing different notes, first on one string, then as the songs got more complicated, incorporating more strings. It's hard to move fast, because not only do I have to remember where to put my fingers, there are multiple strings I have to be switching between. Furthermore, the songs call for playing only one string at a time, which is very difficult to do, because I have to watch my form with the pick. However, I've definitely gotten more comfortable with that, and it shows in my guitar playing as well as my mandolin playing.