Cheers!

I think in terms of “lining up” technique it still might be said the ‘d’ gracenote is the technical plum line. Like solid posts supporting a strong fence (holes well dug and cemented) the ‘d’gracenote ensures so much of our technique is balanced and in place. I’d say it’s the light or missed ‘d’ gracenote and resulting missed – and ill-timed – embellishment that creates rythmic offsets and and phrasing missteps.

Yeah, the ‘g’ is important – not sure about paramount. Try playing a simple tune complete but minus the ‘g’ gracenotes; then try the same without ‘d’ gracenotes. Suggest the tune suffers more from the loss of ‘d’ gracenotes (there’s today’s wierd piping challenge!)

6/8 march playing that really swings and moves the feet forward is a dieing skill, it seems to me. I don’t connect ‘d’ gracenote proficiency to 6/8 marches particularly – that’s just me. But agree, practicing DM of Lewis until it was right would sort out most ‘d’ gracenote troubles in other tunes! M.

What are your thoughts on Gregor’s observations about using 6/8 marches as exercises in technique, especially the D gracenotes?

I’ve always been taught that the G gracenote is paramount, especially as it pertains to lining up the embellishments/phrasing with the beat.

In the last few years, I’ve seen fewer students (myself included) learning 6/8 marches, possibly b/c they aren’t typically found on solo entry forms, or because the band only has 2-3 ‘standard’ 6/8s that are played.

Maybe if students mastered 6/8s that are full of D gracenotes (eg: Donald MacLean of Lewis) they would see their technique improve?

Thoughts?
JEFF

Now, I am not exactly stupid, but sometimes, these things take a long time to ‘settle’ in. By hanging around some positive influences here in Victoria last year, and by listening to A LOT more solo recordings (as opposed to band recordings), I started to make some very fundamental changes. In terms of actual playing, I came to two equally important realizations:

1) Fingers move at the joint. They do not require much force at all – in fact, using too much force (especially for a relatively ‘strong’ individual like myself) can be detrimental.

2) Opening up bottom hand execution (by ensuring a strong, meaty ‘d’ gracenote) has an immeasurable effect on one’s playing. It helps to ‘even out’ embellishments throughout one’s playing, and serves to improve the degree of consistency that one enjoys.

By taking the time to make these observations (and also to spend a great deal of time playing 6/8 marches) I have begun to realize an immeasurable difference in regards to my relaxation when playing, the quality of my performances, and my overall standard of play. Not only that, by my tempo contro, rhythm, etc, has all improved as a result. All of last year, my comments (and in some cases, results) kept getting better, and better (although I did not play a large number of contests).

Also, in teaching, I have been able to really drill this into the kids at the cadet camp last summer. One of the Staff Cadets in particular, was much like me – good hands, but played ‘jammy’ and moved off the beat as a result. He had a few decent showings in Grade 4, but nothing consistent. I worked with him all summer, just enforcing the points that I had learned. I should note that he has been a student of well-known player for a couple of years, and I am sure that has more to do with his successes … but by his own admission, this helped to improve the consistency of his playing and his results. He won all four Grade 4 events at the Mini-Gatherings (a feat that has not been accomplished in those events in recent memory). He moved to Grade 3, and won the Aggregate at his first games (Comox). His next games, Victoria, he missed out in one event (but received great comments), and was second in the Jig.

To make a long story short, these are a couple of real examples of what you are talking about!

At any rate, I won’t get much of a chance to play this year – I finished my second degree in April, my wife is pregnant, and I am entering a Post-Degree Professional Program in Secondary Education in July. I am aiming to do Calgary/Canmore this year, and that is all. Next year, however, I hope to make it to all of the BC Games.

Thanks for reifying what I have been contemplating for a long time!

Great article, thanks for the advice,

Reid