Diary of the last few days

[JKA]

I thought it might be fun to see what you guys and gals have been up to musically over the past few days to get a flavour of the variety that's going on in the world at this moment.

I'll offer up my past few days just to throw it out there.

Monday: spent about three hours with my 335 going into a looper pedal just noodling and trying to develop song/melody

Tuesday: spend about an hour playing my Flatiron trying to speed up my Man of Constant Sorrow lead break

Wednesday: Took back delivery of an Epiphone MM-50 (A great Mandolin for all it's faults) that I'd lent to a friend on long term loan. Set my back room up for band practice 6.30 to 11pm. Played my Guild D55 during rehearsal. We spent most of that time working on Gillian Welch's Annabelle as we're incorporating a nod to Nick Drakes Cello Song as an intro. Our wonderful bass player Mike has dug out his nemesis (the bow) with fabulous results.

Thursday: Played the MM-50 for an hour with much joy. Just noodling really but speeding up slowly. Did my chores then ended the evening (well, it's actually 2.30am of Friday now) playing my National and practicing Nusrat/ Eddie Vedders The Long Road as we're thinking of including it in our set.

Back to reality tomorrow with some light carpentry/house cleaning/shopping but if I get the chance...

[Gelsenbury]

Monday to Thursday: No musical activity at all. Still, you have to be grateful for your job.

[Beanzy]

Saturday: Fiddle orchestra (on violin)am. Mandolin orchestra(mandoloncello) pm. Playing mandolin at a party pm
Sunday: Vivaldi La Follia practice (mandolin1). Irish fiddle tune practice on mandolin foloowed by English folk tune practice on fiddle pm
Monday: La Follia, DuoStyle & crosspicking practice pm
Tuesday: La Follia, DuoStyle & Scottish tune practice pm
Wednesday: regular Session am. La Follia & Ceccere Amaj Concerto, practice pm
Thursday: Bluegrass chops for about six tunes, getting East Tennessee Blues, salt Creek & Kentucky mandolin off with no peeking. Run through on LaFollia
Today; later today more LaFollia, some exercises & getting some Irish sets down with no breaks

[midwinterspring]

I've been working on the minuets from Bach's first cello suite and the Irish tunes "Strayaway Child" and "Union Street Session" (actually, I think that last one may be from Cape Breton).

[fatt-dad]

It's always somethin'. Bach, old-time, Celtic, Telemann, O'Carolan, duets (practice), etc. I've also had my mandolin, guitar and 12-string in hand along the way.

f-d

[soliver]

Monday and Tuesday: Spent minimal time practicing tunes for a planned jam with a family member at the coming Thanksgiving. Namely: The Blarney Pilgrim, Coleman's March, Seneca Square dance, Shoes and Stockings and Shoo Fly. Tuesday primarily focused on linking the latter 3 together as they are intended as a medley (Seneca, Shoes and stockings then Shoo Fly).

Wednesday: Met some coworkers on lunch (3 guitarists and a Pianist with an A harmonica) for a lunchtime Jam. I tried to show them Whiskey before Breakfast, but that died a painful death. Played a lot of classic rock tunes, primarily The Eagles (Hotel California was fun)... I mostly followed along with chords and figured out melody when I could.

Thursday: no time to practice

[Paul Busman]

Nothing - I cut the top of my right index finger rather badly on Tuesday while opening a bag of lawn fertilizer, so it's been heavily wrapped since then. The only thing I could play now would be harmonica.

[Hany Hayek]

I recently bought a classical guitar and have been playing daily for the past week an hour of guitar and an hour of mandolin in the evening when I am back from work. Today early morning (it's the weekend in Egypt) I played an hour and a half on my bowl back. Arpeggios from the scioglia dita second book (Munier), some scales exercises and right hand different picking movements (Munier scuola del mandolino second book) and finally worked on a piece from 20 Studi melodici e progressivi, triplets movements. Later I picked up my guitar and worked for an hour on Parkening method. Unfortunately my fingers can't take any more. I'll probably play a little bit in the evening, just some Italian pieces on the mandolin that require lots of tremolo.

[Paul Merlo]

I was playing the Grateful Dead's Loser and Sugaree last night, as well as a gypsy-jazz style version of Eleanor Rigby I came up with. During this session, it occurred to me that I need to put a new set of strings on my Weber. Also of note is that I'm trying out a new pick - Dunlop's Ultex triangle flat pick (1.14mm) The sharper points are much clearer than the rounded Dawg pick I'm accustomed to, but I like the Dawg's thickness better.

[Caleb]

Lots of O'Carolan tunes ("Castle Music," as my little girl calls it), Lavenders Blue, Shenandoah, some scraps of my own tunes, and I've been working up a solo version of Annie Laurie in D that's coming along nicely.

[allenhopkins]

Here's my recent musi-tinerary:

Sunday, Oct. 2: Played the Harvest Festival at Helmer Nature Center
Monday, Oct.3: Played the Presbyterian Home, seniors' program
Tuesday, Oct. 4: Played Unity St. Mary's Campus, seniors' program
Wednesday, Oct. 5: MC/host at Tunes By the Tracks, Clifton Springs NY
Thursday, Oct. 6: Nothin' doin'
Friday, Oct. 7: Played the Greenhouse Cafe
Saturday, Oct. 8: Back at the Presbyterian Home, another seniors' program
Sunday-Monday, Oct. 9-10: Couple days off
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Played Baywinde Sage Harbor, seniors' program
Wednesday, Oct. 12: Cut the lawn, no music
Thursday, Oct. 13: Played Clark Manor House in Canandaigua, seniors' program
Friday, Oct. 14: Playing Ashton Place in Clifton Springs, seniors program

I have a memorial service to play at tomorrow (Saturday), and a gig at St. Ann's Home Sunday. This is really what my days are like now -- not always this busy, but pretty close. Down side is that I don't get as much time to practice and develop new repertoire as I would like, but I do value the opportunities I get to "play out."

[McIrish]

I played a gig at a theater in Three Lakes WI last Saturday (surrounded by 700 miles of driving to get there and back. Got a chance to play my new Gibson Fern in the show. Monday and Tuesday were recording sessions for our next album. The rest of this week has been spent putting in laminate flooring. I used all the money on the mandolin that would have been used to hire someone to do it for me. Well worth it. :-) Tomorrow I get another full day of recording and a gig on Sunday. Can't wait to finish all the floors so I can get back to more music.

[Jim Garber]

Wednesday, Oct. 12: Cut the lawn, no music

That reminds me: I have to cut my lawn and change the strings on my weed whacker.

[T.D.Nydn]

The last few days...Wednesday: practiced 5 times thru the day and night like normal,,been playing in Bb a lot lately,,Thursday,,kind of felt tired all day and weird,,only played for 20 minutes....Friday,today,,woke up sick with some kind of brutal stomach virus or some flu ,,tried playimg,,nothing makes sense, might have invented a new key...this better not last long....

[Ky Slim]

Monday, Oct 10th I tinkered with the mandolin for a little while before going to bed. I remember playing Banish Misfortune and Jerusalem Ridge.

Tuesday I played around with Sitting Alone in the Moonlight and Lonesome Moonlight Waltz. I've been working on my tremolo.

Wednesday, Oct 12th I played out with a little BG/OT band for a "Moonshine Tasting" tour group over at Jenny Wiley State Park . Basically, a working moonshine still is set up and this guy gives a presentation about how moonshine is made and tells a little about the history of moonshine/whiskey in Appalachia. We play for the dinner and tasting that follows. The "moonshine" that is served is the legal taxes paid types available at retail (eg. Ole Smokey). The tour group was from Pennsylvania and Maryland and they enjoyed the music as well as the shine. We play tunes like Good Corn Liquor, Hot Corn Cold Corn, Mountain Dew, Drunkards Hiccups, The Intoxicated Rat and as well as other BG/OT stuff.

Last night, Thursday Oct 13 I played along with Dylans Highway 61 Revisited album in honor of him winning that Nobel Prize. I tried for about a half hour to learn Bob's harmonica solo on Desolation Row. I was trying to learn it on mando of course. It was much harder to "sound out" than I expected.

[Paul Hird]

Been working on "Lovesick Blues" and "Poor Boy's Delight" the last week or so for tonight's pickin' circle.

[Dave Sheets]

Monday- didn't have to work! Practiced fiddle in the morning, celtic tunes. Practice with the alt country band in the evening, mandolin, fiddle, guitar. Borrowed a bandmates banjo to have a go at.
Tuesday, still no work- practiced in afternoon with the contra band (mandolin/guitar), contra tunes again in the evening with our caller, going over some dances to help her prepare.
Wednesday- fiddle (celtic tunes) and banjo practice (getting started on rolls) after work, run through contra tunes with my better half in the evening
Thursday- Fiddle and banjo practice in the morning before work, contra tunes on mandolin with my better half in the evening.
Friday- 3 o'clock- still at work (sigh)-go home and practice!

[jaycat]

The last few days...Wednesday: practiced 5 times thru the day and night like normal,,been playing in Bb a lot lately,,Thursday,,kind of felt tired all day and weird,,only played for 20 minutes....Friday,today,,woke up sick with some kind of brutal stomach virus or some flu ,,tried playimg,,nothing makes sense, might have invented a new key...this better not last long....

Ugh, that's no fun, sorry to hear it.

I have started going thru my old notebooks (dating to 1992) full of lyrics and song ideas. It's a daunting project but here and there I have found a grain of wheat amongst the chaff . . .

[NewKid]

No mandolin Monday and Tuesday night and felt sad. Repaired tenor ukulele arrived after one month away and played that for two hours on Wednesday night. Thursday I started with uke again (after hardly playing it since I got my mandolin last November) then finally got back to mandolin. Worked on Bach Prelude for Cello, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring and Jessamyn's Reel from Joe K. Walsh Peghead Nation online lesson.

All week on my commute home I've been listening to Joe K. Walsh's new album "Borderland". It makes me feel like I'm in a movie soundtrack while riding the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. I highly recommend it!

[JeffD]

Lets see...

Tuesday - jam session - old time and contra dance repertory

Wednesday - practice stuff- some work from Wohlfahrt violin studies, stuff from The Mandolin Companion, by Alison Stephens and Chris Acquavella, and Fretboard Studies by Todd Collins

Thursday - band practice with my Charlie Poole tribute band

Friday - get out the electric mandolin and messing around with my new POG octave pedal - making loud angry fiddle tunes

[Mark Gunter]

Great week, picked up a piano and now have it here, too cool. Will have it serviced soon, but it's in good playing shape as is. Learned Nancy Blake's Father's Hall on the mandolin and practiced several fiddle tunes on the mandolin every day. A teeny bit of guitar noodling in open D.

My grandson was out of school this week and has been here all week long with his ukelele, nice to hear him practicing the uke around the house. One of my sons who lives here with me has been learning his way around that piano, and my grandson's been on it as well.

Laissez les bon temps rouler

[Paul Busman]

Sunday: Vivaldi La Follia practice (mandolin1). Irish fiddle tune practice on mandolin foloowed by English folk tune practice on fiddle pm

Where can I get the Vivaldi Folia sheet music?

[T.D.Nydn]

[QUOTE=JeffD;





Friday -" get out the electric mandolin and - making loud angry fiddle tunes[/QUOTE]"

Now to me,,this sounds like a good time!....

[HonketyHank]

I have been looking for an excuse to visit Tejon St Music for some time. I have a cousin in southwest Colorado and I have been looking for an excuse to visit him too. Finally I have been itching to take a grand tour road trip recently.

Last Friday Tejon St put a very nice Collins MT2-O up for sale at a very attractive price. That was the tipping point. I got in the car and departed from Portland, OR, Monday. Drove 2 days. Stopped to visit an in law. Arrived at Tejon St Thursday. The MT2-O was sold and shipped. Rats!

The Ramsey's, Pere et fils, proprietors, were quite friendly and accommodating but ultimately I departed empty handed.

Am now in SW Colorado and will be headed back North and west tomorrow. Colorado is beautiful, Tejon St. Music is a great place to visit and the ants in my pants have been calmed down (at least for a while).

[Beanzy]

Where can I get the Vivaldi Folia sheet music?

This is the edition our trio are playing from
http://www.kotta.info/en/product/135...-FOR-STRINGS-2
They are collections of progressively graded pieces for chamber music. This one has 11 pieces as score and parts.
It is an excellent series for any ensemble to use to grow skills together.

Swerveing back to people's diaries again. I'm loving the insight.