...Izee's Thread

[Medi]

..."Muscle Memory"...

The human body is truly amazing...and especially the way the minds interacts with it.  Usually, we are telling our bodies what to do, but other times, our bodies tell our minds what to do...like..."Get some sleep...feed me...slow down, you are moving too fast"...

What I find most amazing, is when our bodies do complex things, without our mind dictating each movement.  Dancers do that...I have heard that a skilled man in a real fight will put down his opponent...but have no memory of how he did it.

When I was learning to play the cello, I experienced 'muscle memory', although I didn't call it that.  I was young, and I had a very vivid imagination, and I just imagined that my hands were sentient beings, and I was teaching them to play the cello.  I would talk to them, and scold them VERY often in the early stages.  (And in my mind, they YELLED BACK at me!     We would 'make up', and get back to work...and I would give them a nice manicure as a reward...with short fingernails...can't have long nails when you play a cello.  My hands made me learn to apply 'press-on nails' when I had a date, they wanted to look elegant at such times.   )  Learning the cello meant that I spent many hours every week, alone in my bedroom, just sawing away at the strings with my bow, and trying to get the fingers of my left hand to land in the right place on the fingerboard. 

(More below)

[Medi]

...I was in H.S., and our chamber orchestra was performing a difficult work by an English Composer, it was in C# Major, and it was awkward.  I was the Principal cellist, and was really struggling...I couldn't play any phrase in tune...my fingers were always slightly out of position.  I brought the score to my private teacher, and asked for help.  He had me play about 1/4 of the 1st page, and then stopped me, and held out his hand, and I handed him my cello.  (*S*  He had a very fine and expensive instrument, but he would always demonstrate a passage to me on my cello.  I asked him once... 'why?'...and he said..."So you can hear what you should be hearing when you practice."   )

...He played the 1st page, and I grumbled..."I should be able to play that, too."  He looked at me, and laughed, and said..."Who do you think you are?"  I argued back, "I can play a C# Major scale, and I can play difficult music."  He laughed again, and then got serious.  He leaned towards me, and we spoke.  He said, "This is not an easy work, it looks simple, but the intervals between the notes are complex...it is not a scale."  He then sat back, and said, "THIS is how you HAVE to practice a work like this."  He then played the 1st note...and held it...and then played the 2nd note...and held it...and then played the two notes together...and adjusted the interval on the 2nd note.  He said, "Make sure that the two notes are in harmony, if you are on the same string, just sing the interval as you play each note to make sure you have it."  He then proceeded to do the same thing on each note in the first ten measures...it took about five minutes.  He then did the same thing again, and handed my cello back to me, and said..."You try it."   

I did so...it took me longer...he kept stopping me...and saying..."No, the interval is wrong, fix it before you play the next note."  I finished, and he nodded, and said, "That is how you have to practice a work like this, do each phrase five times like that, at first, don't even think about the tempo, and then move onto the next phrase."  I gave him my best "ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR FUCKING MIND" expression... ...He just laughed...he was well used to seeing THAT look on my sweet, innocent, young face...and said..."Yes, you have to do that at first with such a new work, your fingers will remember where to go next."

(Remainder below)

[Medi]

...I grumbled when I set aside the Brahms Sonata. the next evening, so I could practice the Orchestral work...but my Teacher was RIGHT!  I had to calm down, and focus on getting each finger in the right place on the fingerboard (That has NO FRETS!!!)...and as the days passed...it got easier!   

...During the Orchestra Class at school, the teacher was frustrated because our section was playing so badly out of tune.  Once, before class started, I called the other cellists to me, and demonstrated, and said..."You gotta practice it like this, the intervals are very awkward."  Usually, they listened to me...but this time...they ignored me...and our section still sounded like Hel.  Four cellists, each playing a different version of a D# is just NOT pretty.

...The Conductor finally decided to make that movement of the work a 'string quartet' when we performed...I was happy...

(Final below...)

[Medi]

...Just so everyone knows that I, too, have my 'moments' when playing the cello...

..."Performance" on a cello is very unpredictable.  It is a difficult and cranky instrument, and the human body is not a machine.  The body sometimes just doesn't want to do what we want it to, at times, and the cello can decide..."I don't like the humidity in here...I am going to let my C-string relax...and bend my neck a bit...and after I have been under those hot stage lights for a while...I am going let other things  go."  (The cello is just a very cranky and delicate piece of lumber. I always enter the stage early before a concert, and pretend that I am practicing, but I am just getting the instrument to adjust to the stage.  That is, also, why you see the basses laying on their sides on the stage before a concert, their players leave them on the stage to warm up)  That is also why, sometimes, a cellist will check the tuning between movements.   

...I was once accompanying a singer in a short work during a recital where there were several performers.  I thought I was going to do well, but I had walked across campus in a cold windstorm, in 3 1/2" heels, my cello strapped to my back, music clutched in my arms, and had almost slipped and fallen twice.  But, I arrived early, and cleaned up my hair, freshened my makeup, and let my cello out of his case so he could warm up.     I went below the stage before the concert, and practiced my part...twice...and all seemed well...until THE G/D CONCERT!!!!   

...I still have no idea why it happened...I had not partaken of any mind-altering substances...and felt focused...but I REALLY SUCKED!!!     I kept hitting out of tune notes.  The singer, a very handsome Bass/Baritone, sang louder to drown me out...I kept trying to focus...playing louder...he sang louder...and I played louder...until he gave me a very "subtle" hand gesture to draw back...I did...but my playing didn't get any better.   

...I quickly slunk off the stage...I can do a very expressive 'slunk'...(I can also do a very nice and expressive 'slink' when I am in the mood... )...and came face to face with the cellist who was my stand partner, and who thought he should be section leader.  He grinned at me, and said, "Interesting piece, I didn't know that that Composer was experimenting with 12-tone harmony." 

...Another musician quickly stepped between us...I was ready to go 'verbal panther' on my stand partner, and I was raising my bow...and the musician pushed my stand partner aside...and pushed me further into the wings...and so I just continued my 'slunk' into the wings, packed up my cello...and left...'slunking' my way back to my Apt...in the windstorm...which turned into a thunderstorm when I was almost back...and so I ran so that my cello case wouldn't get too wet. 

...I opened a 1/2 bottle of wine when I got back, and sat on my bed, and drank a little while thinking.  "..."P", 10% of the time, you astonish yourself when you perform, everything is SO PERFECT... 80% of the time, you do OK, you think of passages you could have done better, or a few notes you missed, but it was OK...and the OTHER 10%...well...just forget them!!!" 

...I went ahead and told my roommates to stay out of the bathroom, and brought the bottle into the bathtub with me, drank it while soaking for a long time, and then went to bed.   

[Medi]

...Izee' brought a Turian Minstrel Group to perform at the Main Fire.  Problem was...she neglected to feed them...or pay them in advance...so they ended their performance in an interesting way.   

https://youtu.be/kjFeDk6Kr3U

...(I played this once, in H.S....we had a BLAST being 'creative' in how we left the stage.  We had a Conductor, and she was 'getting angry' as we, person by person, left the stage...and then she just looked at the audience...shrugged...and walked off half way through.  I understand that Haydn wrote this as a 'hint' to his Patron that the musicians weren't being paid enough.   )

[Medi]

...A String Quartet can be hard to listen to, unless you REALLY like 'classical music'.     Just four players...and they don't sound very loud.

...This is one of my MOST FAVORITE works!!!     IMHO, Mozart almost crossed the hurdle between the 'Classical' and 'Romantic' periods in music.  This movement of the "Dissonant" quartet is slow, and starts like a Classical work.  But, then, it gets very Romantic...and then gets back to sounding Classical.

...(Mozart died young...and Beethoven arrived and, singlehandedly...guided music into the 'Romantic' period.)

...I am being very 'Cellist' in my analysis of the work...since I have played it several times.  Again, the cello is just a 'supporting player' at first...which is usual in a 'Classical' quartet.  But then...with just simple repeated 8th notes...the cello gets ominous...and the other instruments fall in line...and you can hear the 'dissonance' in the harmony which ends as they all get back into the melody.   

...But then...the cello starts the repeated phrase several times, demanding that the other instruments pay attention.  At the end, the cello just doesn't quickly get back into the 'tune'...it gets louder because the others aren't listening...and more demanding and ominous...and briefly takes over the work...and then calms down.

...Once, when some friends and I were at a cabin at Lake Tahoe, we played this work.  I REALLY EMOTED as I played this movement...I didn't follow the volume markings...and the Host...the 1st violin...said..."Let's take a break."  I took a glass of wine out to the porch, and slowly sipped it...the 1st violinist came out after a while, and hugged me, and said..."Hey, we have two passages to finish, and we have your favorite, the Dvorak to play."  I finished my wine...hugged him...and went back inside.   

Here it is...and I PLAYED IT BETTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://youtu.be/GAymeSR2SIY

[Medi]

...Izee', sitting alone...remembering Marcus...

https://youtu.be/SNlMH_HyDLE

[Medi]

...The Ubar assigns Izee' to hire a 'very refined' group of Troubadors to perform at the Main Fires for an important event.  Izee' finds, in her mind, a 'VERY FINE' group of Troubadors...problem was, her attention span was briefly diverted from Ragnar when a hoard of her children raced by...each clutching handfuls of tastas...pursued by the Head Camp Baker.  She made her excuse, and raced after them...intending to get some tastas for herself.  Izee' hadn't picked up the 'full' second word of the request.     Izee', days later, sat, eating tastas, and wondering why Ragnar was glaring at her as the 'very fine' troubadors performed.   

https://youtu.be/aCg6FdvTUgA

...((There was some very CREATIVE comedy in those days...my Grandparents spoke of actually seeing Spike in Vegas... ))

...((And...this IS OOC...Izee' would NEVER not focus on Rags when He spoke to her in IC... ))

[Medi]

...A WONDERFUL string quartet performed by a string chamber orchestra     It is Schuberts 'Death and the Maiden', a very poignant composition.  I had never heard it performed by a chamber orchestra until now, and I am very glad to have watched the video.  The moods of the work are really well expressed by the combined strings.  The conductor, Seiji Ozawa, really does a magnificent job, especially with the dynamic markers...at times you can barely hear the players...other times they fill the hall.   

...Of course...my favorite part is at 21:00 or so.  It is the sad second movement, and the cellos take up the theme, and perform a tribute to the Maiden.  Once, I performed this in a quartet, and after the concert, the violist came over and hugged me, and said, "You interned Her very well."   

https://youtu.be/xBkLExPkOH8

...PS:  A funny story about Ozawa.  He was conducting the SF Symphony, and Zubin Mehta was the soloist for the Mendelsohn Violin Concerto.  Partway through the 1st movement, Mehta broke a string on his violin.  He immediately handed his violin to the Concertmaster, and the Concertmaster handed Mehta his violin.  The Concertmaster then passed Mehtas' violin to the violinist behind him, and took that players violin.  The process repeated, with the outside players passing Mehtas' violin back...and taking the others' instrument.  Mehtas' violin arrived at the last stand, and after handing over his instrument, the musician pulled out a replacement string from his pocket, and fixed Mehtas' violin, tuned it...and then passed it back forward.  Keep in mind that the concert was STILL going on...they hadn't stopped!     The process repeated itself, in reverse...until Mehtas' violin arrived at the 1st stand.  It arrived JUST as the orchestra played, and held, the 5/4 chord to announce the cadenza...and the Concertmaster held out Mehtas' violin to him!!!!!   

...Everyone in the Orchestra started laughing, and even Mehta did.  Ozawa pressed his face into his stand, and...after laughing his ass off...let Mehta perform the cadenza.   

[Medi]

...One of my "Finest Moments"   

I wanted to become a professional cellist when I was in H.S.  I practiced all hours of the day and night, and gave up all of my science courses...I had wanted to become a Marine Biologist.  I was a bit 'manic', and didn't need much sleep...I bought a huge mute for my cello so my parents could sleep.   

I argued with my private teacher over the work I needed, she wanted me to do the Brahms Sonata, I wanted to do the Elgar Cello Concerto.  She told me that my technique wasn't good enough for the fast passages of the Elgar, but I argued..."Well, that is how I will get better."  She finally just gave in...

She was right...I could barely do the fast passages, even after a LOT of practicing...but I LOVED the opening.    When I auditioned at the Conservatory, I announced that I would play the 1st Movement of the Elgar.  I settled in, the pianist started the opening...and then...as it is written...I INTERUPPTED...and played the opening cadenza.  I REALLY got carried away...and Hell broke loose when I did the pizzacatos...

When strumming the strings, I would usually just grip the bow, and use my thumb...the callous there is thick.  This time...I got carried away...and just extended my middle finger and strummed.      I was too enthusiastic, and tore open my middle finger.     I just kept playing, blood dripping over my bow and cello, and the Professors told me to stop.  They thanked me, and said that I could study as a cello performance major...and I walked out.  I waited until I was out of the room before I began sucking on my middle finger...the tip of my finger was torn open.

I walked down the Hall, holding my cello and bow in my left hand, and sucking on the middle finger of my right hand.  For some reason...the other students didn't meet my eyes...although I was glaring...


Again...one of my Finer Moments....

[Medi]

...Here is the Concerto...I also got carried away playing the slow movement.  Once, I was REALLY working on it, and my husband came in, and stopped me.  He asked, "Why are you making Pavane CRY so hard?"  (("Pavane" is the name of one of my cellos...the other one is "Katherine"...my gamba is named "Rose"...Rose is really cute, she has six strings and she doesn't have a loud voice...she makes me hold her bow in a difficult way...and her pure gut strings easily get out of tune...and she makes me stop and tune her.  She also doesn't have an 'end-pin'...I have to hold her between my legs))

...I just left, and took a LONG walk...it was late at night...I had a weapon with me...and my cellphone...My hair was bound up...and I looked like a bum.

...I pondered over the walk...I thought long over why Pavane had cried so hard...and realized that I was crying though Him...

https://youtu.be/7rVW4Z70TfE

[Medi]

...The Great Gate of Kiev  (Mussorgski)

Here is the original piano composition by the famous Russian composer, this young lady plays it very well!     Actually, the first part is 'The Hut of Baba Yaga', the 'Gate' starts with the slow, full chords.  Towards the end, you hear all of the Church Bells ringing!!!!     This is just two of the movements of the work called 'Pictures at an Exhibition',  Mussorgski (sp) composed the whole work in just ONE MONTH!!!     I studied this piece when I was majoring in Music at a Conservatory, and it was REALLY HARD!!!  I was NEVER able to play the work without making a LOT of mistakes.    

https://youtu.be/eudSW4cM7qs

I got REALLY put into my place when I invited a boyfriend to visit me at my apartment for dinner.  He was a Theory/Comp Major, and played the french horn and the piano.  I had my small, personal upright piano in my apartment, it was old, and wasn't very good, (I only had $250 to spend on a piano).  The strings were so old, that when I called in a man to tune the piano after I got it, he said that he couldn't tune it to a proper 440 'A'...something about it being too old...the strings and the internal frame could break or warp.  He tuned it a half step down, so my 'A' strings were actually tuned to 'G Sharp'...and so on for all of the strings, they were ALL a half step down.

I was studying the 'Gate', and had the music open, sitting on the rack.  Ken sat down on the bench, and began playing the piece...at the proper tempo...and hitting ALL of the chords.  I watched for a little while...and got pissed...he was playing it so well...and told him..."You are TOTALLY out of tune, the piano is tuned a half step down."  I expected him to stop, but he immediately transposed ALL of the chords a half step down, and continued without stopping!!!!     I swatted him on the back of his head and went into the kitchen to prepare our dinner.   

Here is an orchestration of the work. 

https://youtu.be/b8gs4TozJbQ

[Medi]

...Correction...he transposed ALL of the chords and notes a HALF STEP UP!!!!!     (It is late...I should really be in bed... )

[Medi]

...My Soul...

...I took a 'Test' this morning, before I finished my morning coffee...

...I better not do that again...

...Result

     It's time to face the facts: Your soul is as dark as it gets. There's nobody with a darker soul than you, and that's honestly something to be proud of. Take pride in your darkness!

[RAGNAR]

My True Raziel has obviously not taken that test.