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02/11/2007
The Mystery of Mr. Ricochet
So like I mentioned in my previous blog entry, we just had a couple of concerts this weekend, and one of the pieces we played was the Rodrigo guitar concerto, with soloist Daniel Bolshoy. I really like that music, but the only problem is that getting that trademark "dum du-du-dum dum du-du-dum" rhythm is usually done with ricochet bowing. In other words, that last "du-du-dum" is not three separate bows, but rather three bounces of the bow, all in the same direction. This requires, ahem, being able to control a bouncing bow, and not only that, but making sure it's actually bouncing at the same rate that the "du-du-dum" should be going at. Some people found it easy somehow, but for me, it's easier said than done!
So, I practiced it for a while, and I managed to get a reasonable facsimile of a ricochet bowing going. That was, until I got to the rehearsal and it was supposed to go about three times faster than what I was doing. Doh! So, as always when I get into nice tight spots like this, I do what any sensible person would: fake it.
Then, at the dress rehearsal for the concert, I was so busy faking it that I barely noticed when I actually discovered that when I wasn't paying attention to getting it right, it started coming to me. Yay! Not that I would base my career right now on a faultless ricochet bowstroke, but hey, I'm not as hopeless as I thought!
21:22 Posted in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this