0 Comments
First I'd like to say..... learning to play jazz is really hard.
Next I'd like to say..... writing music is hard Don't get me wrong I've really enjoyed writing this solo but it's giving me a lot of trouble. To start with, I didn't start. I somehow wrote the ending to my song before I wrote the beginning or middle to the song. I've also realized that I made my ending melody based around one chord. And I want to keep the song based around this same chord. I'll probably upload images of my score as soon as I finish the solo. I also have to write a song for Wind Ensemble because we are doing online work now. So it's actually kind of hard switching between these two modes of music writing. I had planned on using a friends microphone to record myself during this project. But with this corona thing, that is no longer an option. So I think I have to use my phone to record now. I'm experimenting playing in different areas to see which one sounds good. In my bedroom there is an awful echo that the microphone picks up. So I think I will have to record outside when I finally do record this song. To all those musicians out there off from school, remember to keep practicing and don't slack off. This week has been more involved with the restoration than the playing, and if you want to read about the restoration, go to the restoration page on my website.
What little playing I did do this week was very different then the last two weeks. Instead of just doing basic scales, I decided to begin work on my jazz scales. Because in this project I want to get into many styles of playing, I decided to begin working on my jazz this week. Jazz is the most foreign style of playing for me, but I love jazz. I began by learning the b-flat and c blues scales. I started in normal style, then as I learned them I began to swing the notes. I also tried, to no avail, to write a short jazz solo. I never found one that I liked. I'm going to keep trying to write more songs, and if I write one that I enjoy, I will definitely share it with you all. This week made me feel a lot more hopeful than last week did. This week I did more scales practice, and worked on more than just the b- flat scale. I also worked on the a-flat scale and the e-flat scale. I hope to be ready to do a recording of these songs by the end of this week.
I am in the process of making a practice log. I have tried many different options and don't know which one I like the most. I need a log that can show all of the scales I am learning and be changed later to include whichever songs I end up learning. But hopefully by next weeks blog post I will be able to include the practice log in the blog post. I will also try to include the recordings of my work in each blog post, so that you all can follow my progress as this project continues. Hopefully after only a few more weeks of practicing I can start on learning real songs. At first this should be fairly easy and should only take about a week per song. But as I choose progressively more difficult songs, I will have to take more time to learn the piece. This week included my first few practice sessions on the trombone in about two and a half years. It's difficult coming back to something that I gave up such a long time ago. But I didn't realize how much I missed playing the trombone until I started playing again. I can't help but wonder how good I could be at the trombone now if I hadn't stopped playing.
For my first two practice sessions I haven't been able to do much playing. It's been a real struggle to just play. Unless you have played the trombone most people will never know why it is so hard to play the instrument. Trombone is a very difficult instrument, because it requires your entire arm to move the slide. And you can't just pick it up and play the positions. It takes a long time to develop the necessary muscle memory to play the trombone. I do have it a lot easier than I could have it. While I haven't been playing the trombone in a long while, I still remember all of the slide positions, so I don't need to relearn those. And I have been using the same mouthpiece on my euphonium. I honestly believe that my tone is better now than when I stopped playing trombone 3 years ago. |
Details
AuthorMy name is Owen Fender and I will be taking the next 12 weeks to relearn how to play trombone. At the same time I will be restoring a trombone from my school that I will also be playing. I am restoring an Olds Ambassador Trombone. Over these next weeks I will be updating you all along the way. ArchivesNo Archives |