My recharging double bass lesson

It has been a fairly tiring week. I could only be thankful that I have worked so many extra hours at work seeing clients that I could claim time-off-in-lieu to leave the office slightly early this afternoon.

Double bass lesson today was scheduled at 6.15 p.m. On my way to my double bass class, I felt so tired that I dozed off on the bus. Thank goodness that I was able to wake up in time to alight at the appropriate bus-stops.

I had dinner at an eatery at Coronation Plaza. Coronation Plaza holds a special place in my memory. I didn't like the place very very much as compared to the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay and the many museums. However, this place brings nice memory of my good old secondary school days because it is located very near the previous school building of my secondary school. I simply had to walk past Coronation Plaza in order to cross the nearby overhead bridge to get to the bus-stop on the other side of the road, before getting a bus home.

Enough about reminiscing. I was in such a rush for time today that I had to inform the one of the personnel at the eatery that I only have less than 20 minutes to wait for my food and to finish my dinner. He was kind enough to help ensure that my dinner was cooked and served as soon as possible. While I was gobbling down my dinner, I wondered if I could ever survive my double bass lesson being so awfully tired and drained from the day. I think it would be a shame to waste my lesson away playing senselessly, all because I was tired.



Well, it proved that my worries were unfounded. Double bass lesson proved with my tutor, MJ, proved to be a recharging one. I get to learn how to play my selected pieces musically, and not just play the notes! I am loving the endeavour of playing a piece as musically as possible so as to communicate effectively to my imagined audience.

In addition, the vibrations and the sounds from the double bass feel so healing to me, I simply love to have more and more of it. I think I have biased ears. My ears cringe at hearing sounds from loud-volume television sets, but they love the sounds of a double bass played musically. My ears would then send me messages that makes me feel as if I am living in heaven. How blissful. I am enjoying my marital relationship with the double bass.

For today lesson, my tutor did a reading of Lennox Berkeley's Introduction and Allegro (for double bass and piano) with me. I requested to work on this first as I needed to have a clearer understanding how I could practise this piece on my own. Actually, while Introduction and Allegro seemed weird and difficult to digest when I read the scores, it actually sounds very interesting.

I could have chosen a work from either the Classical or Romantic period and then I would be spared from reading those not so conventional rhythms and harmonies, but I shall listen to Emily's advice and perform a work from the contemporary period. Hopefully it would impressed upon the examiner that I am a versatile performer of music from the various periods.

The remaining half of my lesson was spent playing all the four movements of the Marcello's Sonata in G major for my tutor. There were some glitches. Yet there were some moments when I felt a sense of achievement: I could play some of the fairly difficult passages which I was struggling with a few weeks ago. Yes, I can totally agree with the maxim: Practice makes perfect.

For today's lesson, my tutor shared with me that for one of the passages where I have to do strings-crossing from the first (G) string to the second (D) string, my hand and arm movement would be as if I was drawing a figure "8" with my hand (and bow in the hand). I like this analogy, it works.

My rendition of the second and fourth movement of Marcello's Sonata in G major is taking shape. My task for the weeks to come would be to practise the first movement diligently with the help of a metronome. In addition, I would need more work on the third movement. It is a seemingly easy piece, with easy notes and fairly slow tempo. However, I think it is the most difficult movement of the sonata to play. It is easy to play the notes, but it is just very challenging and demanding to play the music when it comes to play this very third movement. I shall remember the golden rule: Practice, practice and more good practice.

I hope that one day when I do perform a solo on the double bass, my audience could understand what I am playing, and I can deliver the music effectively.

Anyway, this post is supposed to be about my recharging double bass lesson, so I cannot help but emphasise that I felt so recharged after the lesson that for a moment, I did not feel any tinge of tiredness. But the toils of the day eventually set in some hours later, and I could only be honest that I am actually feeling physically drained while composing this post. Nevertheless, I found my mind getting excited as I share about my double bass lesson with my readers.

Double bass lesson is fun!

With my boyfriend, the double bass. Isn't he tall, dark and handsome?