Beginning my third week on the Lungs of Steel workout program. And I’m still stuck on freakin’ “SWH”. STILL!! Why can’t I get this stupid tune down??? Why?
Well, for starters, I can’t get the rhythm of the second measure down. I’ve pretty much gotten the first part. Heck, I’m halfway to having the thing memorized. I can play the second part without the embellishments, but once I add in the gracenotes, all of a sudden, I can’t play it anymore. Ironically, I can manage the D throw pretty well, since it comes near to the end and the final bar is the same as the first part. I can play the final bar really well, actually. So it’s really only the entire middle of the tune that sounds like total crap. I’ve tried looking on YouTube for other people playing it (WOW! There are a lot of people posting their PC recordings. I thought I was the only one. NOT SO!). Anyways, I’ve watched several people playing it and instructing how it should be played, and I still don’t get it. (And worse, I get distracted watching all these other bagpipers playing at the World Championships and stuff.)
I’m dying to start practice with the band. I feel stuck. So, I’m NOT going to be posting a recording of myself today. Maybe not even this week.
I’ve had to trim my practice sessions. Playing for several hours, while fun, makes me feel like I’m going to pass out. And I’ve been neglecting my chores around the house (my grass won’t mow itself while I labor over “SWH”, you know). So I’ve condensed my sessions to one half hour of intense practice every day. This way, I don’t get too tired and I can concentrate. I’ve gotten the scale down and my transitions are pretty good, I think. So I do some warm-ups for maybe 5 minutes and go right into practicing my tunes. It’s worked so far this week.
