Apologies for my lack of blogging in recent times, things have been rather busy in the Degg houseshold recently!
My husband Carl ruptured his Achilles tendon (ouch!) at the end of April and as a result has been at home recovering after his operation. I have therefore been acting as part time nurse in addition to my other activities as he has been unable to do a great deal whilst on crutches!
Thankfully there have been several days when I have felt suitably inspired and motivated to continue working on my newest piece; a Czardas for Clarinet & piano (alto sax version will probably follow soon!). I have soooo enjoyed working on this piece as I was able to connect with it as it has a number of moods within it which I feel reflects my own personality in many ways...can be deep, but always open to some fun, light hearted.... and the Clarinet (and saxophone) will be excellent to show off these characteristics.
The subject of personalities brings me to my next musing...... I think it's so interesting how you can get quite a clear picture of someones personality through their playing/performance. I have a few new students and it's amazing how after a few lessons and hearing them play I can start to get a fairly accurate picture of their personality! One lady student played her practiced piece very well, and accurately, and, to my surprise managed to hold the last note for the FULL 16 beats (not something I would always expect from a new starter!) I then queried (in a friendly voice) "Are you quite a stubborn sort of person would you say?" at which her immediate answer was "yes, definitely!" .
As a general observation I've found that the teenage girls (and actually any female student!) will tentatively have a go but apologise throughout when slips are made, teenage boys can be reluctant to try, but after encouragement often achieve a great result and surprise themselves, and adult males can be rather nervous, analytical and hard on themselves! I love working with so many different personalities and finding the best way to teach that student; finding the best way that they will learn.....
People have often kindly remarked on the sound/expression that I create on my instruments, and it is curious how in tests they have set up identical instruments/ligatures/reeds/ mouthpieces and then recorded several different players, with remarkable differences in the sound produced. This only reinforces my suspicion that the real music actually comes from inside you. You need to picture the sound before the air even leaves your lungs. I find I need to constantly top up my 'inspiration level' by listening to favourite players, walking, reflecting on the beauty of nature (I particularly love the sea, skies, and trees!) and just getting lost in that other world sat at my piano. Hmmmm, that's a bit poetic for a Saturday evening, on to my next news...
I am delighted to have completed my 'Czardas' for Clarinet and piano (alto saxophone version may follow soon) and have thoroughly enjoyed working on this. It is a real audience pleaser, quite flighty on the fingers, so probably around grade 7 or so. All going well I should be recording this in the next couple of weeks, and so far it is going down very favourably with my more advanced students! It will probably appear for sale in the SHOP section at some point in the near future, watch this space.....
And lastly; I have been doing quite a lot more piano accompanying lately and have been loving being part of such an intimate ensemble, supporting, and hopefully bringing out the best in the soloist. There's something distinctly special about playing duets or accompaniments, especially if you get that magical connection where you are both involved with the music in the same way, a real goosebump effect in more sensitive pieces. I have experienced this a number of times and always leaves me with a feeling of awe at the power music has, and a silence afterwards at not wanting to break the spell...... Hope you all get to experience this (if you haven't already).
Right, musings over for tonight, but check back again soon and remember I'm at Hucknall methodist church (Nottingham) on Saturday 3rd July, 7pm in concert with the 'Carousel singers' where I will be playing three sets of music (Saxophone, Clarinet, and possibly EWI) with a wide range of genres; jazz, movies, and more....... bye for now :D
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