Now what?

Hopefully you believed me and at least started making your index card file.  If so, you’ll have started the cards going, and once you’re caught up, adding your new material will require a less herculean effort!

But you’ve asked – now what?  What are you supposed to do with this?

Well, there’s a reason I suggested this card catalog rather than just a list (however, if you opted for a list, that’s ok too – keep reading, it's down below!).  If you’ve made a card catalog, no matter if you are sorting by title or by tune type – you should also include another set of divisions:

Know |  Don’t Know  |  Needs Polish

(you can also add additional dividers if you want to be more specific or to fit the way you think about it)

At each practice, you can pull the cards you need.  Clearly, you will put the things you are actively working (from the "Don’t Know" section).  The tricky bit is what else to pull.  It is tempting to think the “Needs Polish” should come out infrequently, but you’d be wrong.  These should be in your regular rotation for practice.  

“Needs Polish” is code for, “I’d like to think I know this, but if push came to shove, I’d have to admit that I don’t really know it cold”.  So, add those tunes to your regular practice.  Also acknowledge that “Needs Polish” may be the weirdest/broadest category, so don’t despair. You will get there if you keep working on these tunes!

But how do you use the “Know” cards?  Pull one at random from the box at each practice.  Play the tune and see how it goes.  If you play it well – Yea! and put it back into the box. If it is wobbly when you play it, it goes into the “Needs Polish” section so you can get it back to scratch.  And if it is a struggle (or you don’t remember large chunks of it*) put it back into “Don’t Know”.  The number of “Knows” you pull out in each practice is up to you (and typically based on how much time you have each day).

If you’ve made a list (or set of lists) here are some other ideas.  I’d suggest you use a spreadsheet (so you can move tunes easily from one section to another), but any format that works for you is the right one!  You’ll still need to identify your categories and all that is above still applies.  When it comes to choosing a tune from the “Know” pile, just close your eyes and point to a title. Or use a random number generator. Or roll some dice.  Whatever works – just so you can select a tune to include each day.

No matter if you make cards or lists, you might want to make another, more flexible category and label it ❤ - these are the tunes you’re currently in love with (or just infatuated).  We all have them.  They are like summer loves – they make your heart go pitter pat just thinking about them.  You play them obsessively and to the exclusion of many others.  They quickly make the “Know” category.  You can even put a ❤ on the card – you love them that much!  I suggest this because, as so often happens with summer loves, they flame out quickly, only to be forgotten.  When you pull one of these out, it is fun – like pulling out old summer photos.  You can play these with a bit of wistfulness, and a chuckle at what you had become so obsessed with at the time.  Some will make it back into your repertoire which will be fun.  And even if you don’t put it back into your regular repertoire, it will be fun to see how you’ve grown!

 

You need to manage the number of pieces you’re working on at a time.  It is very easy to attempt to work on too many tunes (especially after a great summer event like Ohio Scottish Arts School when you come home with boatloads of new tunes!).  You want to work on them all – but you need to pace yourself or you’ll end up with nothing.  Using the cards gives you an easy way to keep track of what you need to work on, what you need to polish, what you need to review, and what you want to get to soon.

If you make a plan for each practice you will be able to add tunes, move them along in learning and make strong additions to your repertoire.  What are you adding right now?

How do you know that you know what you know? The trap of the large repertoire

Blogspotters - I have been gradually nudging you to move over to the blog on my website.  Please go over there and subscribe (on the upper left of the screen) so you don't miss anything.  That platform just gives us more functionality, so after 30 June I'll post the link here to the blog posted there.  Save yourself the step and head over to subscribe - which gets you an email reminder of the latest posts, the occasional free content, and more as we continue to grow.  As always, sharing my thoughts, occasionally offering a travel opportunity, book or CD. 

There is a false freedom in having a large repertoire:

• You feel more confident when every tune in your set is a well-honed workhorse.
• You don’t have to work too hard to play a wedding, a funeral, a tea party, and a concert back to back because you have the rep in hand.
• The looks you get from other musicians when you play a three-hour gig with just a set list (yes, it is juvenile and silly…but also honest (and lighter than carrying a music stand and a binder or ipad)).

But that same large repertoire is a trap!

• Because you are “set” to play just about any set, the motivation to add tunes can be pretty low. 
• Because when you play the same stuff all the time, it will get stale, no matter how much you love it.
• Because when you put a long time between learning new tunes, it begins to feel harder to learn the tune, to master it, to smooth it out, and to eventually perform it.
• Because when you’re not growing…you’re dying!

So, you need to walk the line between settling into a large repertoire you can confidently and comfortably pull it out at a moment’s notice and living (maybe on the edge while learning new stuff that you may not have completely comfortable with it before you walk it out on stage!*)

If you’re going to escape this repertoire trap, you need to do a couple of things:

1. You need to know what you already know.  Write down that repertoire!  You can make a list, or you can make a caldron: For each tune you know (and eventually those you are learning) write an index card.  Include the title, composer (if appropriate), tune type, the key you play it in (or the number of sharps or flats to set), the source, and if you need it, copy the first couple of measures (and anything else that will help you remember the tune so you can play it).  You can file the cards any way that helps you – alphabetical by title or by tune types (all jigs together, all reels together, etc.), or by use (all wedding prelude tunes together, all “party pieces” together, all tunes “in progress” together (helpful hints – don’t mix filing types (some by title, some by tune type); no matter what language the title is in, and no matter how many titles the tune might have, file the card under the  title that you think of for the tune (for instance, although it is best titled “Crodh Laoigh nam Bodach”, I know it as “Old Man’s Young Calves” so I filed it under “O” not “C”).  Once you have it going, you have a representation of your repertoire in one place and in a form that will help you make up set lists, practice, and know what you know. 
2. You need to know what you do not already know.  Make a list – of all the tunes you don’t know, but wish you did.  You can wish you did because they get played in your session all the time, or because you really like the tune, or because someone has requested you play it, or because you need more hornpipes.  The reason is immaterial – so long as you know what you’re going to work on next!  This list will always be dauntingly large, will always grow, and will be constantly reshuffled.  So, it might be a good idea for these to also be index cards (so you can seamlessly move them into the learned pile!).
3. You need to move tunes from one group to the other.  Use these lists to organize your practice – you already know you don’t keep that much music in your head without refreshing it – but now you can actively structure your practice to include refreshers and just plain fresh (or maybe “under-ripe”?) – but this way you’re learning and building and keeping up with yourself.

What are your repertoire traps?  How do you escape your repertoire traps?  Let us know in the comments below.

* here you need to be completely honest with yourself – don’t put yourself into the situation of having to perform something that just is not ready!  It is not kind to yourself, to the audience, or to the tune itself!

Speaking Theoretically – Inversions

I know, I have said the “T” word (theory).  But you’re still reading, so that’s a good sign!  And you know that when something starts with the “T” word, you might not enjoy it, but it will probably serve you (and sooner than later). So, let’s just wade in.

I received a nice compliment the other day when someone noted that I never play a tune the same way, even in the repeats.  This struck me because I had just been thinking about how I needed to really work on changing things up while playing so tunes won’t get stale to the listener!  While thinking through the juxtaposition of these comments, it became clear that the space between was based on our different perceptions of the chords that underlie the tune.  And that’s how we ended up here in the “T” zone.

There is an easy way to change up the accompaniment and harmony (typically in the left hand) so you to will never play something the same way every time.  But it does require that you not only know some theory, but that you practice it too!

You know this stuff – let’s just make it front of mind!  Let’s work in the key of C major (it works in every key, but let’s stay with a relatively simple example).

First we have the triad – in C that will be C – E – G (played with 3 – 2 – 1).  This is called the “Root” position and the “name” of the scale is in the root position.  This is a nice solid chord and gets used a great deal.  However, after a while, you might want something new.  So what to do?

Well, we could move to the “First Inversion” in which we take the Root note and pop it on the top of the chord.  So now we have E – G – c (we moved the C off the bottom and replaced on the top).  Listen to that – you can hear that it’s the same, but different.  So now you have another option.

But only one option is just not going to be enough!  So we can move the third (which is now on the bottom) up to the top – and now we have the second inversion!  You’ll note that this again sounds the same, and yet has a really different “ear – taste”.

Go sit at your harp (you don’t fool me, I know you are reading and haven’t actually heard this yet!) and play these inversions (they are in the graphic if looking at the dots will help you process this).  You can work your way up the harp – start by playing the Root, then reposition and play the first inversion, and then move again and play the second inversion.  And it might sound a little “off” so go ahead and move the 5^th to the top – and now you’re back to the root, just an octave higher. 

Now, play through again and really listen to the differences between the inversions – each of them has it’s own “flavor”.  See which ones you like or which ones evoke specific moods or feelings.  With practice, you’ll remember which is which and you’ll be able to match that to the feeling you want to invoke with a specific tune.  Of course this is more likely with an air but fast tunes also benefit with some thinking about the feeling the chord imparts to the tune. 

If you haven’t done this before, you might have to work a little bit to move between the inversions.  But with a little practice you’ll be able to make those movements easily.  And with that practice, you will get faster at remembering which notes are included and which notes go where.  The exercise can be blocked chords – Root -- > 1^st Inversion -- > 2^nd Inversion -- > root (either the octave above or where you started – it’s up to you).  Just remember to place, play, move, and place the next shape.  When you’re solid on these blocked chords you’ll be ready to move onto broken or arpeggiated versions. 

Once you’re comfortable with the inversions themselves, you can start inserting them into tunes you already know.  Replace your same ol’-same ol’ root chords with the inversion you like and listen to the difference.  Play around – you can also get out of the inverted triad and use ideas that might come up as you play.  You could use a 10^th or play just the 3^rd – you get the idea.  Find the things you like and work them into the tunes you play. 

What do you like best?  Share your ideas in the comments below.

Blogspotters - I am gradually moving the blog over to my website - please go over there, subscribe (on the upper left of the screen) so you don't miss anything. Unfortunately, blogspot doesn't have all the functionality available on the website, so this site will eventually go away. Until then, I'll post the same content but please begin to watch that space!