Actual Free Ornamentation (II)
A bit of a thinkpiece before getting into specific examples...
Read MoreGuitar Craft Aphorism du Jour
If we can ask our body to do nothing for half an hour,
perhaps we can ask our body to do something for half an hour.
Thoughts on Free Ornamentation (VI), or: Actual Free Ornamentation (I)
Unlike the kinds of ornamentation we've discussed so far, free ornamentation involves elaborations and embellishments that cannot be expressed in shorthand symbols...
Read MoreProposed Addition to the Lexicon
feng-shoehorn (v., portmanteau of feng shui and shoehorn)
Read MoreThoughts on Free Ornamentation (V)
This post will discuss a few of the other agrèments that you may encounter in the suites. (An agrèment, you will recall, is any one of a number of French ornaments that are expressed in shorthand symbols within a piece of music.)
Read MoreThoughts on Free Ornamentation (IV)
As promised, our discussion of ornamentation continues—today's post addresses the metered or unmetered execution of trills. As with the starting-note issue and the concept of support, most of what is presented here will be in the form of guidelines as opposed to hard-and-fast rules.
Read MoreThoughts on Free Ornamentation (III)
In addition to the starting-note question, there are a couple other characteristics of trills that are worth addressing. This post discusses supported and unsupported trills.
Read MorePremiering a piece at PASIC!
Just a quick announcement: I'm thrilled to be giving the world premiere performance of Stuart Saunders Smith's The Such Falling Voice with Percussion at PASIC Focus Day this year! Stuart's music is always rich and thought-provoking, and this piece is no exception. I hope to see you there!
New Open Source Mallets Video up on YouTube! (Part 5: Wrap Angles)
From the OSM Workbench: Rubber-Core Multi-tonal Set
More information to come soon...
Thoughts on Free Ornamentation (II)
I think it's a good idea to talk about some basics before jumping into the zany, freewheeling world of free ornamentation. Trills are a good place to start, because anyone who plays Bach needs to navigate them...
Read MoreThoughts on Free Ornamentation
I've been on a huge lute kick for the past couple of months, and it's informing my Bach performance in a significant way. I've felt for a long time that there is a lot of good stuff that we can borrow from guitarists and lutenists...
Read MoreRandall Munroe (xkcd.com) on excellence/perfectionism
"I find that when someone’s taking time to do something right in the present, they’re a perfectionist with no ability to prioritize, whereas when someone took the time to do something right in the past, they’re a master artisan of great foresight."