Friday, January 18, 2013

Counting

A short post to honour summer.  Hot, hot days and sometimes restless nights.  Swimming laps, lazing, reading and hanging with friends.

Been back at work for a few weeks though, so over the daytime hours it's hard to be completely restful.  There is plenty to do, I enjoy my job and it may keep me going for several years.

Part of me is counting though.  Knowing that I will reach a point in a year or so when it will be viable to stop working for a while, or longer.  I have a long list of things I'd like to do then.  Writing, traveling, perhaps working overseas.  Exploring other cultures.  And learning - music and Indonesian - whether formally or just to have more time to teach myself.  So I am counting days and months till I might take an extended break.

Ironically, counting is the thing I need to focus on with music.  My playing has stretched into time signatures other than 4/4 and 3/4 and understanding the differences can be a challenge.  I seem to be able to identify the notes quite readily now, and do understand that some notes are a half or a quarter as long as others.  There are unwanted pauses at the end of bars though, and sometimes my playing just doesn't reflect the tune.

The good news is I'm able to adjust, and it seems that rhythm is something I'm much better at by ear, by listening to how a tune should be played.  I think this is because I've listened to lots of music over my life.

I know the solution is to count out the rhythm then play it, and I try to use a metronome, but that seems another layer of concentration when I'd much rather be able to disappear into the tunes.  Guess that's the aim though, to let the tune take over, and the counting is just the way to get there.

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