my ukulele progress

[ripock]

I'm really outside of my comfort zone today in the kitchen. Being isomorphic to a vegetarian as I am, I do not have a good feel for cooking meat. Also if I ever eat steak, I eat it basically raw. I like to sear to outside and that's it; I like the flesh to be cherry-red and gelatinous--so soft and edible.
However that doesn't transfer to making meat that is edible to other people. I have a tendency to undercook meat. But I am making my wife some General Tso's chicken: thighs fried and then glazed. We'll see if I was able to fend off my instincts to remove the meat from the flame much sooner than appropriate.

 

[ripock]

I took the trouble to upload a screenshot of the scale that I am using over that Am that I've been playing. It is the G Ionian #5, if you are playing re-entrant. If you are playing Linear and can play the three bass strings it is the D# Super Lokrian bb7. Of course, if you're playing linear, you can play both the D# Super Lokrian bb7 and the G Ionian #5 at the same time. That's why I prefer the linear tuning. It gives a lot more options. Once you know the scales all you have to do is pick your notes

 

[ripock]

I became a bit side-tracked with life. There was some mid-semester turmoil in my classes, I had to get my head together for an interview for a job promotion, and my wife has some internal bleeding.

But I crested that bump in the road and now I am back on track. I went to the store and got some daikon, sweet potatoes, and kale and I am ready to get back to my chosen life.

I've been reading a few threads around the forum and it reminded me of a few things which I never mention since I take them for granted. I always play with a metronome. A real metronome. Not some online thing which is a recording of a metronome. A real percussion instrument whose beat is felt as well as heard. And I pace around as I play. And I think that's essential as well. I apply body English while playing. It is like playing the flute: I remember having to look up to play the upper octaves. Same thing with uke. Some things work better leaning into it or arching back a bit. I know there are performers like Taimane who do it too much and use movement and sexuality as a marketing tool, but I believe moving your body moderately through space gives the music something that sitting in a chair doesn't have.

 

[Down Up Dick]

Hi, ripock. I usta stand or pace around when I played too, especially the flute, but I can no longer do it for long enough to make it worth while. I tried it with my tenor guitar, because it was bigger than I liked. It was ok, but only for a bit. I’m a sitter now.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, especially the family ones. I’m glad things are better now.

 

[ripock]

Hi, ripock. I usta stand or pace around when I played too, especially the flute, but I can no longer do it for long enough to make it worth while. I tried it with my tenor guitar, because it was bigger than I liked. It was ok, but only for a bit. I’m a sitter now.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, especially the family ones. I’m glad things are better now.

I understand. I am still transitioning from young to old. I'm still fighting it. I cannot lift as much as I used to, my metabolism is slowing, the mobility is ebbing away. As I said I am still engaged in the futility of trying to preserve some modicum of homeostasis by jumping rope and lifting weights. And I easily can imagine losing the frenetic energy of moving around and playing music. Growing old isn't for sissies.

 

[ripock]

I hurt my pinky finger playing those darned dominant chords rooted on the E string (e.g., the F7, 2313). I don't know if anyone gets this affliction but it feels like a blood blister, but there is no blood or a blister. The tip of my finger is sensitive to the touch but there is no visible damage like a blister. It feels like the damage is deep,if that makes any sense--as if the damage is at the dermis level while the epidermis has no symptoms at all. In the past I've had the issue with my index finger. This is the first time that I can remember it on the pinky. I'm going to just grin and bear it, although I will avoid playing any steel strings.

I'm practicing mixing up chord and a melody line. I have been hovering around the 7th fret just because it is closer to the middle of the fret board. Obviously I am playing in A and playing B7b5, E7, and Am. From Am, I have been launching into the G Ionian #5 scale because it contains all the chord tones of the Am. I have been approaching the melody in terms of geometry versus any intervallic consideration. What I mean by geometry is moving in a linear fashion. For example, think of a circle and then from the A on the C string, you move vertically to the B, from the B you move horizontally to the D# on the E string. From the D# you move diagonally down to the G on the A string. Then from the G, you move to the F#, C, and return to A. I know it is hard to visualize, but if you look at a fret board map it is completely obvious that I am just making a circular circuit.

I'm not saying it sounds good. It sounds vaguely appropriate because all the notes are in the shape. However, that's just what I'm doing. I'm just moving through geometrical shapes and when I hear a sequence I like, I stick with it. Of course, someone with a smattering of theory could have predicted that I would ultimately choose; this is just a thoughtless way to reach the same end point, and have some fun along the way.

 

[ripock]

I have some very pressing deadlines tonight, so dinner is just a hodge podge. I am re-heating some chicken I made over the weekend. As I mentioned earlier, I am horrible at cooking meat, so the chicken was undercooked and it needed to be re-cooked before my wife would consider it. So I threw the chicken in with some potatoes that I was roasting. Also I re-heated some lentils I had and threw in a can of greens that I bought because I knew this deadline was coming up and I would need something quick. After dinner and completing the work of my deadline I will play around with my minor 2-5-1 in A and the interlarded G Ionian #5, and annotate anything interesting.

 

[ripock]

Things didn't turn out quite as I had envisioned them. My point of departure was the Am rooted on the 9th fret, but instead of going into the G Ionian #5, I descended down the fret board using double stops from the E Harmonic minor: E+A, D#+G, C+F#, B+E, A+D#. At that point I was at the 2nd fret and I made an impromptu progression:

Am add#9
Am add9
Am
E7#5
E7
Am