Week 22 of year 2007 on the double bass

27 May 2007, Sun: I spent part of the morning practising on the double bass.

In the afternoon, I met XM, QH and Emily for the double bass ensemble rehearsal. We spent about 2 hours rehearsing.

More about the double bass ensemble rehearsal held on 27 May 2007 can be found below:
Emily's post: Rehearsals, dinner and shopping
d'Bassists behind the scene

28 May 2007, Mon: Before the double bass ensemble rehearsal, I attempted to play Marcello's Sonata in G major and Keyper's Romance and Rondo. Aloysius who was present did a sight-read and accompanied me on the piano.

The double bass ensemble rehearsal follows thereafter, and a good more than one hour was spent rehearsing. Aloysius lended us his ears, and we played for him what might be considered a preview of the programme for our performance on 30 and 31 May 2007.

29 May 2007, Tue: I took leave from work that day. I remember that I spent the day time practising, but alas, I can't remember what I had practised.

In the evening, I met my tutor, MJ, for double bass lesson. For the lesson, I had a work-out on Keyper's Romance and Rondo. MJ, who grew up in Poland, also shared with me tips on playing Polonaise. The key to it is that the first beat of each bar is important and needs to be emphasised.

For the lesson, MJ also spent a good 5 minutes at least to debate whether Capuzzi's Concerto in D major should be played an octave higher.

30 May 2007, Wed: In the late morning and early afternoon, I practised on the double bass, going through all the key parts that I would have to play for d'Bassists' performance At the Concourse: Basso Bravo.

Then in the evening, as part of d'Bassists, I rehearsed our programme during the sound-check, and then played the double bass for two sets of 30-minutes programme.

I felt very touched that several friends and supporters came to support the concert. Thanks folks.

31 May 2007, Thu: In the day, I practised on the double bass for more than 15 minutes. Practising scales was a necessity. Then in the evening, two more enjoyable sets of 30-minutes of performances on the double bass. The programme was of fair level of challenge, and certainly was fun. Double bass rocks!

1 Jun 2007, Fri: I didn't quite practise much on the double bass on 1 June. My hand muscles felt strained and so I did not want to overwork them. Nevertheless, I hope I have approximately spent about 15 minutes practising Berkeley's Introduction and Allegro.

2 Jun 2007, Sat: I continued to work on Berkeley's Introduction and Allegro. I hope I can master it soon.

This week seems like a double bass week for me. I have been practising or playing on the double bass for at least 15 minutes, every day! I realised this was probably possible because I took several days away from work, and only had to report for work on Monday.