It was a good day. Went to the local Sacred Harp meetup for the second time and noticed progress in identifying the names of the shaped notes while sight reading.

I learn most of my music by ear. Reading and singing aren’t skills I practice much, so this is a good challenge.

Cooked a curry of okra, cherry tomato, chickpea, onion, garlic, garam masala, and coconut milk over basmati rice. It was delicious.

Onto the practice log:

Whistle

• Slide Dubh @ 140 bpm.
  • Focus: articulation, staccato feel, fluidity in the B part, new variations.
• Corney is Coming / Touch Me if You Dare @ 100.
  • Again fluidity in B parts. Tightened articulation of pedal tone in B part of TMIYD. Articulate the pedal (high d) only – not the e or g.
• Going to the Well for Water – getting tune under fingers, breath, and tongue on whistle. First learned this tune while playing banjo with a box player friend of mine.

Banjo

• Humours of Quilty (Willie Clancy’s) / Craig’s Pipes @ 95.
  • Breath, light touch esp. in B part of CP.
  • Playing quietly.
• Master Crowley’s @ 95.
  • Playing quietly, esp. in B part. This smoothed the awkward register leap and hand position shift.

Both banjo sets: did many repetitions of the B parts in isolation.

We play A parts better because we’ve started the tune more times than we’ve finished it.