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Londonderry Air
Here's where I'm at with Londonderry Air
Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 (0 votes) 
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JoeP

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November 20, 2012 - 1:13 am
Member Since: November 4, 2012
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....KH-yXcouv4

I've been taking lessons since January, taking them seriously since July.  This is one of several slower pieces I'm working on.

What's the worst part?

What's the best part?

If you could slap me upside the head to get me fix one thing, what would it be?

Thanks,

joe

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Fiddlestix
Michigan, USA

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November 20, 2012 - 5:41 am
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Well Joe,, I didn't know " Danny Boy", had another name. smile

I wouldn't slap you upside the head, I'd pat you on the back, that sounded great.

The one thing you should try, ( not even playing a song) is to practice longer bow stroke's, they are a wee bit short. That's the reason the bow is as long as it is. LOL

I also like the fact you're using your pinky and your intonation is real good.

Keep up the good work.          OH,,,btw, your kitty didn't run, so that say's something right there.    clap

 

Edited:  Are you from Michigan, I see the obstacle course for " Wounded Warrior's" event in June, 2013, is being held in Michigan. Another thing I noticed was, White Pine's Lake need's a cabin behind the tall tree's. What a beautifull video of the Sierra's.

 

       hats_off

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Picklefish
Merritt Island, Fla

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November 20, 2012 - 9:31 am
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What's the worst part? Your bowing

What's the best part? You played a song that sounded like a song

If you could slap me upside the head to get me fix one thing, what would it be?

You should work on isolating the shoulder movement to only up and down motion like an elevator to posistion the rest of the arm correctly to the string you are playing. Your long bows are driven at the the elbow joint involving only the forearm with your wrist leading the motion. And you should flex the wrist more to maintain a straighter, non skidding bow which will give you better string to hair contact, make your sound louder and tone better.

Easier said than done, it takes some focus, Fiddlermans video shows the correct motion for bowing. And dont worry, we all bow that way in the beginning, I havent met a person yet who didnt.

You did a great job, keep at it. Provide a different camera angle for your left hand, it seemed ok.

"Please play some wrong notes, so that we know that you are human" - said to Jascha Heifetz.

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JoeP

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November 20, 2012 - 9:54 am
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Fiddlestix said
Well Joe,, I didn't know " Danny Boy", had another name. smile

I wouldn't slap you upside the head, I'd pat you on the back, that sounded great.

The one thing you should try, ( not even playing a song) is to practice longer bow stroke's, they are a wee bit short. That's the reason the bow is as long as it is. LOL

I also like the fact you're using your pinky and your intonation is real good.

Keep up the good work.          OH,,,btw, your kitty didn't run, so that say's something right there.    clap

 

Edited:  Are you from Michigan, I see the obstacle course for " Wounded Warrior's" event in June, 2013, is being held in Michigan. Another thing I noticed was, White Pine's Lake need's a cabin behind the tall tree's. What a beautifull video of the Sierra's.

 

       hats_off

Thanks.

Not sure where you got the Michigan reference, but yes.  I was born in Lansing but grew up in California from the age of 3.

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DanielB
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November 20, 2012 - 1:58 pm
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Hi Joe.

Well done.  It was very listenable, and you chose your mic placement well and captured what seem to be some nice acoustics of the location. 

The worst part?  Well, all anyone can say is what they might do differently.  I felt some of the notes would have been held a little longer if one was listening to an accomplished singer performing it.  But it is possible that you were just playing the arrangement as written and weren't personalizing it yet.

The best part?  Oh, that is hard.  Many good points to this.  If I had to pick a favorite point of your playing, I very much liked the tone, and how even with the string changes you did well at making the instrument sound like a single voice singing.

Slap you upside the head to change one thing?  Well, the camera angle could have been just enough different to not be losing the top of your head while playing, but that is such a minor thing, and more a thought on the video than your playing.  Definitely nothing that would get a slap upside the head.

Some other points/comments.. The angle you set things up at was really nice.  It shows what you are doing well, and the perspective using the depth of the lower floor seen through the railing as backdrop was pretty brilliant and adds a lot of interest.  Sound quality was very good.  Those things don't affect your playing, but them being particularly nice was something i couldn't help but notice and appreciate.

Timing seemed a bit uncertain in some places, and I couldn't always feel the beat in your playing as well as I would have liked, but that is quite minor compared to all the things you did very well.

Oh, and I'd give a million bonus points anyway because you called the melody by it's "proper" name instead of "Danny Boy", but that is really just my personal bias against the particular name and set of lyrics sometimes applied to a beautiful melody that has been known by many names and has worn many different sets of lyrics over the years. 

clap

It was a lovely rendition of the Londonderry Air, and I enjoyed hearing it.  That would be the most important comment I can think of.

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
November 20, 2012 - 2:42 pm
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

JoeP said
I've been taking lessons since January, taking them seriously since July.

I can tell.

What's the worst part?

There is really not one thing that is so bad that we can call it the worse part. I would focus a little more on intonation (which is not bad at all) because of it's importance.

What's the best part?

That you play with feeling and with care not to make disturbing unwanted noises.

If you could slap me upside the head to get me fix one thing, what would it be?

I wouldn'tb-slapyou. I'll give you a few (sorry). Work on your bow angle, Roberts suggestion can be helpful for that. Long slow bows in front of the mirror to make sure you know when you are bowing straight. Use more elbow with your right arm.

Start using dynamics even now. Though you (as you say yourself) have a long way to go, you can obviously play well enough to both enjoy what you are doing and have others enjoy your playing as well. Dynamics for me, are colors in music.

Your intonation is not bad but always strive on perfecting it even more. Memorize the distances between your fingers when the note sounds it's best. If something is right play it 100 times. If it is wrong don't repeat it.

Lastly, watch where the bow is making contact on the strings and experiment with where you get the best quality sound.

Great job, congratulations on your progress. thumbs-up

 

Thanks,

joe

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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TerryT
Coleshill, Warwickshire
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November 20, 2012 - 5:05 pm
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Sorry but in England the 'London Derrière" sorry " Londonderry Air" has a different meaning. Maybe coz we are closer to France.

I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....

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RosinedUp

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November 20, 2012 - 8:30 pm
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Your intonation was generally very good, although noticeably a little off-key a few times.

You might try a broadside video shot of the fiddle---ideally down the length of the bow---to see whether you are keeping the bow perpendicular to the strings.  I was a little shocked when I did that for myself.

As Daniel indicated, there was a feeling that the long notes were clipped.

The worst was that you ended on E rather than G, as if it's in E-minor.  I found that kind of distracting.  I wonder whether you got it written that way or you made that change on your own.

I thought it was very presentable and wouldn't give anybody much reason to hit the stop button or head for the door.  That may not sound like much of a compliment, but to me it is not easy for most people to reach that skill level.

I play this piece too, but in C to avoid playing B in third position on the E string.  It does sound sweeter to me in G.  Maybe that will nudge me into trying third position.  I'd say we play this about equally well.

I think you did well. Thanks for showing the video.

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JoeP

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November 20, 2012 - 9:09 pm
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FYI, the E minor ending is an arrangement that my teacher and her celtic music group use.  I personally like the cheerier version (NOT Danny Boy!!!) and will probably go back to that.

Also FYI, this video was my last attempt after about 2 hours of trying to make it from one end to the other without major blunder.  I should have just stopped after the first couple tries and admitted that I wasn't ready yet.  As time went by, frustration grew and along with it tension everywhere.  I was lucky to not be gripping both the bow and neck of the violin with a fist.

I think there are a couple significant, non-musical, elements of my practice that I need to work on.

1)  Reduce performance anxiety.  Don't know how to do this yet but will be working on it.

2)  Avoid frustration.  I do know how to do this.  I just need to pay attention and be willing to lower my immediate goals & expectations when it becomes obvious that they are inconsistent with my abilities.

joe

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