I didn't go to the Contact jam this morning. I had a hard time deciding. I now look at my room and it is a mess of clothes on the floor. In fact they were not worn after I washed them last week, (or was it before then?) but for some reason I had to leave before they dryer cycle was complete. I was late for something, and I took them out half wet, and forgot about them. Since then they stayed in their basket and now have acquired an unpleasant smell, and have to be washed again. This has been a source of mechanical suffering this week. i will wash them today.
So it's a bit of a mess. I've been quite busy this week, only came home to sleep most nights and left in the morning. Tuesday we had our Group meeting. I was grateful and discovered a great unease in sitting for the duration of the meeting, I wanted to move around, couldn't sit still.
Last night was K's Renewal of the vows. This is the girl that got married in Vancouver, going for a silent walk before the wedding. I played for them, not the traditional wedding stuff, I only played a little Kurdish wedding tune for them. Several people mentioned how they liked this tune. I think I'll record it for them, I'll have to find out the words, maybe get someone to sing them, and translate the words. It's true these are lovely little tunes Kurdish so called "folk" music. You know it was interesting there is usually 3 sectioned, an instrumental introduction, and two verses. The second verse usually goes higher in the register and resolves again. I got people to clap when I played, it's a dancing tune after all. As I played I somehow decided to play the second verse quite a bit quieter, and I was surprised to find out that the clappers, also got quieter with me... ("oh so they're listening!" I thought.)It was a goo night all together. not too long and not too formal, which was good.
I've been feeling good about my violin this past couple of days. I prepared something (Legende by Wieniawski) to play for Jacques, the conductor of this orchestra in practically 1 day. It wasn't anything big, and though it really wasn't ready for performance or anything, I felt good. One can work if it is necessary. Now I've enjoyed (and it includes the ego also, which is not at all bad!) playing some of this. I had worked on playing thirds earlier this year and sometime last year, and having left it aside and come back to it, I see that it had been worthwhile, now it works much better, and octaves too, which I have no idea why.
I would have liked to play some violin at this teacher's concert and the school where I teach, but they really don't have a pianist. And one really needs a piano to play anything exciting, and I didn't have a Bach fast movement ready. But I played Kamanche with the 'band', we rehearsed 3 times and put together a decent performance for a half hour. You know one has to memorize the music too, and one can clearly fake it easily since everything is in unison, but still.
You know, I've noticed what an incredible amount of stuff goes on inside me while I play. Mainly decision making, and considering. Decision making regarding "covering up" mistakes and also regarding contributing to colour and orchestration (when can I change octaves, when to play more legato, when staccato, these are all rather improvised) at the same time as remembering and forgetting the melodies, and hopefully listening. I know I have a tendency to play this particular note off. and I can't quite hear what's going on in the performance.
There is a girl, a student of the school who was waiting to play as one of the senior students. I'd heard her play. She plays santur, a kind of a dulcimer. She was quite nervous, I talked to her a bit about how she felt and when she played I thought something is lacking. The music doesn't speak. she was just going through the practiced moves, but not listening to them, not hearing the music happening... I thought I might be able to help her. Could I offer her a lesson? Or wait until next time I see her practicing?
Perhaps I should go and practice, but wait, I mean to take advantage of you as a lever for my life. I mean, you can help me, by my reporting to you what I have done in the line of 'setting up a savings account for traveling', and volunteering for schools, and so on. Well I talked to my bank and they suggested an eSavings account, and I tried to set it up but it didn't work. So I'll have to check why. And about the volunteering I talked to one teacher so far, and she said call me. That was yesterday. So maybe I'll do that, but I should say I don't know her and she seems a bit scary, strict or something, but hey why not? I'll call her school too. You see this is how I mean you can help me.
Oh and there is a 3 week Contact workshop in eastern MA, a place called Earth Dance with Nancy Stark-Smith. She's one of the 'pioneers' of Contact, and her work is Work. She was in Toronto and i took a workshop and she was amazing! working with awareness, intention, listening, experience of the passing of time, I mean she goes deep and to a different level. dancing is not an art for her it seems, but a way of work. I had this thought that I might take the course. It's in January. And I thought perhaps I can pay you a visit too, if you might be in town then. But it's kind of expensive. Perhaps I will save some $ by then. I have to decide soonish by November.
