First Sunday rehearsal for May

Sunny weather. Not cloudy. Just after noon hours. At this kind of weather condition, I found myself yesterday walking from a bus-stop nearby the National University Hospital to the Prince George's Park Residences which is a place of residence meant for graduate students. The entire journey took close to 15 minutes on foot. Maybe I should view this walking as a form of exercise, that is great for healthy living?

Our orchestra has moved to a temporary rehearsal venue at Prince George's Park Residence. This place is situated at one of the remote areas of the university. Maybe I should have brought my camera along yesterday so that I could take a photo of my journey on foot to the rehearsal venue. I am fine with walking, but I dread to imagine that the bow in my bow case might soon melt from the hot sun. Well, maybe the bow can't melt, but the rosin might.

For your general knowledge, string players use rosin on their bows in order to help better grip the string. And also for your general knowledge again, here's a site that offers some clues about what a double bass is: http://www.answers.com/topic/double-bass

Anyway, I eventually got to the rehearsal venue. The rehearsal room's doors weren't opened yet. There was a ruling that on Sundays, someone must go to the security point and sign in the log-book before one of the technicians could help us open the room. I must say, unless one is a resident of the compound (Prince George's Park), one may find difficulties finding the security point intuitively. Anyway, eventually the room was opened with some patience and a good sense of searching skills required to find the security point.

We started the rehearsals playing Mendelssohn's Fingals Cave. Most of my section mates from the double bass section were not able to come, and one of them who would come was late. In the end, I ended up playing all alone by myself, on the double bass, with the rest of the orchestra. I could only be thankful that my tutor had went through Fingals Cave with the section, and that I have been diligent to practise it. So I had managed to play a considerable amount of the entire overture. Yet, there were several passages that I had found myself struggling to play perfectly. Well, more practice would be needed.

The orchestra is preparing to go to Aberdeen for a music festival, i.e. the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. Yours truly will be going. Like any diligent and responsible player, I guess I could best do my part by practising. I am no professional musician, yet I could do my best to play well by practising. Playing scales and studies have been helpful, so I figured I needed to be consistent in doing so.

After the break, the orchestra played the fourth movement of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. I am liking the symphony more and more. Somehow, my ears are proned to symphonies that seem to depict inner struggles, and I felt this Fifth Symphony was one. The fourth movement is one of the more technically challenging movements of this symphony for the double bass. Now, I could manage this movement better than I did more than four months ago. I suppose this in itself is a small breakthrough?

Following the fourth movement of the Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, we practised the third movement of the same symphony. It was not too difficult technically, but it requires diligent counting.

For a few moments, I wish I could play the rehearsal yesterday with more double bassists. Then the double bass section would produce a more stronger and louder sound. The double bass section sounds best, in my opinion, when it is strong enough to support the rest of the orchestra, and lay a good foundation for the orchestra.

That's all for the day. Sometimes I wish I have a driver to shuttle me to the new temporary rehearsal venue, which is quite out of the way by public buses, especially on Sundays. Until then, I shall bear with what seems to be physical exertion.