Transposition

and timing.

i am an impatient one at times. so when i finally have down Autumn Leaves only to find that the key of my version, and the key of the piano version is off kilter, it can get frustrating.

the good news is, i like the way the sax is sounding these days. the bad news is i will need to figure out how to transpose all of my parts. and i need to slow down. the piano version is a slow 4/4 tempo, and i'm trying to jazz things up. like i said. impatient.

but another 45 min to the repertoire! huzzah

Muuuucha practica

in the past two days, i have had the opportunity to practice so very much. i am working on a specific song which might be mixed with some piano and drums and recorded for real. it's weird. i am definitely feeling inadequate for the job, but at least i am trying.

in the end, i have practiced 2 hours and 20 minutes! lots of attempts to record what i am playing. lots of perfecting Entertainer as well as Autumn Leaves. it reminds me of my time playing for the talent show back in colorado. though.. more jazz and ragtime instead of ska.

i stick to working on the scales for the first ten minutes which is critical for my tone. steph comes on friday to hopefully give more music!

Distracted

i tried practicing for an hour today. but i had made pretzels. which meant i invited one of the local teens over to eat them. which means right after playing my scales, he comes over and interrupts. sure, he wants to hear a bit of what i can play, but mainly he just wants to watch youtube videos.

then he leaves and it's windy. i mean, chicago windy. i start playing a song and whoosh! page turns.. book closes.. papers fly..

i recorded a little bit and it still sounded good. that is, up to the point when you hear a crash and that's because the wind knocked my music over.

i also have a goal of playing a new song, Autumn Leaves. which means i'm gonna need to work on those low notes s'more before i get it. it's a beautiful piece!

one hour?? more like half of one. but i guess that's still something!

She could. go. all. the. wayyyyy...

45 minutes of a little Pink Panther, a little What a Wonderful World, more scales, O Canada, and finally, the infamous Entertainer. all the way through!!! it included a few mistakes here and there, but most noteworthy (ha, noteworthy), was the fact that i didn't run out of air.

even though it was the last thing i played! how fun! okay, that is all for today.

Sweet sound

30 minutes of sweet, sweet tone. on top of that, i got the first part of the Entertainer perfect. twice.

it was a great little moment there, and i am encouraged to keep going!!! not much else to say about that.. haha

Post run

i think i have learned that it is best to run after a practice on the saxophone. the only thing is, i will get carried away with either one. i will play extra long, or run extra long, and both will leave me out of breath. all that to say that i aimed for an hour's practice, but only got in 45 min.

i guess that's still pretty good.

and hey, tone and scales are looking tip top. thanks God!

Two for one

i was in a hurry to get to maria elena's, so much so that i ended up running there.. haha.. so much so that i also didn't get a chance to write in here that i practiced for an hour yesterday! woo!!! i can feel the growth in the tone, and the agility of the fingers as i play the various scales.

yes, i still focus on scales.

there are a few different new musical terms to learn as well. harmonics. natural. minor scales... in due time. better if i write them down so i remember to look them up! haha.. we shall see...

then today, i squeezed in 20 minutes, because it was getting late and i had gotten home later than expected after a lovely 5.4 mile run. another woo with three exclamation points.

in sum, 1 hour, 20 minutes to add to my total. where does that put me?

ahh.. 128.95

La lluvia..

it has been raining all day. nonetheless, i wanted to play, and the Lord was good to me to give me a little time tonight not only without rain, but i was all alone in the house as well. the scales were quite lovely, and a couple of the songs continue to get better.

tone wasn't so hot, but that's okay. tengo q practicar, sí o sí. the more you practice, the better, even with bad days.

1 hour.

Good tone

after a "short" run, i felt the need to work on the scales some more. and it worked out quite nicely. great tone.. ha.. apart from a few squeaks because i was tired and the air just wouldn't come out.

practiced some songs too, and "salio re-bien!"

35 minutes ya!

All is well

i visited romina today, sharing tea and conversation. it's been awhile due to christmas vacation and summer planning. her cat was sick though, so it meant we took her to the local vet. my first time to the veterinarian's office, i realized, so i was fascinated by the injections they gave little arturo. poor guy.

why this detail? because it meant that the timing was perfect. right as we were going back home, we saw my neighbor, coming from another part of town, on his motorcycle. i greeted him and he gave the usual salutations. nothing strange. well, apart from us crossing at this moment, and my coinciding desire to play the sax.

i've passed their house a couple times now, with the idea of knocking and asking about everything, but i always turn up scared. this encounter, plus walking back to my place right when he was parking made things too perfect to be true. i thanked God, as well as asked for the words.

it seems it was someone visiting for the weekend that was sick and had gone to bed early. still a little unclear, but not as important as the fact that everyone now knows that i'm the one behind the noise. the neighbors seem to like me, almost as if to say, "oh it's just you playing? then keep going!!"

"it doesn't bother me," said the man that i'm almost certain was the shouter. and as his wife came to the entrance he said, "this is the girl playing the sax. she wanted to apologize for being inconvenient, and see when is a good time to play."

sigh of relief.

so i ate a quick dinner and practiced for thirty minutes. the scales are getting more crisp. very encouraging. and i may or may not be encouraged to play better, so as not to sound bad for the neighbors. an odd motivator, but a motivator nonetheless!!

30min.

Spoke to soon...

remember when i wrote about no one complaining...

you see, we have some neighbors that are notorious for complaining about anything. once we watered the plants, and someone told the neighborhood government (yeah, i didn't know they existed here either). who knew you weren't supposed to water plants with the hose? any way, about twenty minutes into my practice tonight i hear, (and don't worry, translation will be right after),

"BASTA CON EL SAXO HERMANO! ME PONE LOCO ESTE RUIDO. SI VAS A TOCARLO, TOCAS EN UN CLUB O ALGO, PERO AHORA NO. DALE HERMANO!!!"

"ENOUGH WITH THE SAXOPHONE BROTHER! THE SOUND IS MAKING ME CRAZY. IF YOU'RE GOING TO PLAY, PLAY IN A CLUB (that is to say, a practice room or something of that nature) OR SOMETHING, BUT NOW, NO. C'MON BRO!!!"

needless to say, i was shocked by this faceless person yelling at me in another language, after i had already begun to play for several minutes. i also had looked at my watch. i was purposeful in not playing too late at night this time. i had started at 8:20pm on a friday night. no one, and i mean NO ONE in argentina is sleeping at this hour. so after a few seconds, i did the unthinkable.

i yelled back.

"BUENO, HERMANO. CUANDO VOY A TOCAR? Y CON QUE PLATA LO TOCARE EN UN CLUB??? SOLO TOCO UNA HORITA, NADA MAS. TE PROMETO."

"OK, BROTHER. WHEN DO I PLAY? AND WITH WHAT MONEY AM I TO PLAY IN A CLUB? I WILL ONLY PLAY FOR AN HOUR, NO MORE. PROMISE."

nothing.

i think faceless he was surprised to hear a female voice yell back.

"EN SERIO. QUE HAGO YO?" "SERIOUSLY. WHAT DO I DO?"

still nothing.

i called out a few more times with "hola?", but all to no avail. i warned him that i would keep playing (though with a softer tone, as soft as possible that is) until he responded back.

so i played a few more songs, a few scales, and thirty minutes later came the familiar sound of our doorbell. eva told me later that he said, "can i talk with the flaquito that is playing the saxophone?" that is to say, he didn't get the memo about the GIRL playing the sax.. nonetheless, i came forward.

the young man i have seen many a time. we are on good terms actually; always greeting each other in the streets. even when he saw me, he was a little stunned. he explained that his aunt is not feeling well, and would it be all right if i stopped playing for now?

i asked when it was okay to play, and it seems like it's just today that the aunt has taken some medicine that makes her more sensitive than normal. that she had even called him over to come to our door to explain the situation. so faceless has yet to make himself known. intriguing.

all that to say, i only practiced 50 minutes. but i practiced all the same. okay, a little nervous, because that was a weird moment. i talked it over with eva and laura, and we all think it best i wait until sunday afternoon to play again. here's hoping. and por lo menos, another adventure in córdoba. haha