Recording: Listen and Learn

Recording of Robin's latest classical guitar CD is getting under way here and he disappears for hours at a time.
When he does venture out of the studio he is usually armed with his latest 'take'.
We then settle down and listen through a number of times.
There are so many aspects to recording, not just the technical side of things, but one of the areas that I'm most involved in is the listening.

I don't mean just listening but really scrutinising every last note.
When we listen to playbacks we are not only checking that the notes are all fine, but the sound quality, tone, flow of the piece and generally that the interpretation is the one that Robin is trying to achieve.
Fortunately, we both have very clear ideas as to the way most pieces should be performed, and luckily they are the same.
This makes the whole process of listening back a much easier one.

Robin learns so much more about a piece as he records it.

As Glenn Gould once said:

"The tape recorder is the finest teacher."

He should know, he abandoned his concert career in his early thirties to concentrate exclusively on recording until his death aged 51.

I can understand that.
A completely different frame of mind is required for recording than is needed for live performance.

Good preparation is essential.
The music has to be learnt and memorised but the learning process doesn't end there.
The more a piece is recorded, the more it is understood, and, hopefully, a close approximation of an ideal is achieved.

I was also very pleased to have positive feedback.
After listening for some time to a Barrios piece Robin commented that my input was invaluable as I could bring extra objectivity to the whole process.
One of the problems with recording is that it is very easy to become so engrossed in the minutiae that the overall picture is lost.
As I generally am out of the way for the recording part I'm able to keep that distance.

I did manage to get insulted at one point though.
Robin announced that he had emailed me an mp3 of the latest movement so that he could hear what it sounded like on my 'tinny' computer!
Well, we can't all have the latest technology can we...?

Recording will be interrupted as of tomorrow, but, only for a few days, as Robin has to prepare for a concert.
Next week, on Wednesday 14th November, Robin is performing at Dewsbury Town Hall as part of the 'Lunchtime Chamber Concerts' series.
This is a rare chance to see Robin play in the UK, so anyone interested and able to get there, doors open at 11.30, the concert starts at 12.30, and will finish at 1,30.
Contact the box office on 01484 22 32 00 for more details.

Birthday to Bach

Today we were invited into school for 'birthday assembly'.
As you can imagine, it is very exciting for a small boy to stand in front of the school, and show two of his newly acquired birthday gifts, especially as your parents are able to watch.
Son number one obviously gets his stage presence from his Dad, as he didn't appear at all phased by proceedings, even when he had to talk to the headmistress about his toys.
Maybe those 'performing' genes are inherited, we'll have to wait and see...

There was one thing we were both very impressed about.
Each week a piece of classical music is selected, and played to the children as they go into assembly, and again when they leave.
They are all told what the music is, and, encouraged to listen to it as they wait.
What an excellent way to expose young and impressionable minds to some wholesome and nourishing music.

This weeks choice was Aria, from Bach's Goldburg Variations.
A particularly calm and serene piece and ideal to maintain order amongst a throng of under 7's.
We are both very familiar with this piece and it was a delight to sit and listen as all the children filed in and out.
It wasn't a version we are familiar with though and I'm afraid I don't know who was performing it on this occasion.
However, I do know it wasn't Glenn Gould, as the characteristic humming and singing along, present on all his recordings, was absent.
I really had to restrain myself from adding them myself, and, I later found out that Robin was having the same problem.

Neumann microphones and the Art of the Tremelo

All is going well in the recording department.
The microphone we finally settled on is a Neumann.
The reason for this, is that it is the only microphone we have tried, which is able to capture the full natural sound of the guitar without losing any quality.
A problem we had with all the other microphones we tried, was that, although the bass strings recorded well, the treble strings had a 'metallic' sound, which wasn't doing Robin's fabulous Miguel Rodriguez guitar justice.
Not so with the Neumann.
Having reported on the testing process the other day, and all 109 takes, the final test was to shut Robin in his music room, with guitar and also freshly recorded piece, then the rest of the family stood outside, listened, and tried to identify whether it was live or recorded.
The Neumann passed the test, and the children think we've gone mad....

Robin isn't one to make life easy for himself.
His first chosen piece is, 'Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios' by Agustin Barrios, which translated means, 'An Alm for the Love of God'.
This, and 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra' by Francisco Tarrega, are probably the two most famous 'tremelo' pieces which, as well as making huge demands on the right hand, are also very tricky in the left hand.

The tremelo is one of the most difficult effects and techniques to master on the guitar, as it relies on the rapidity of execution between the thumb, anular, middle and index fingers, p,a,m,i, of the right hand, for the 'classical tremelo', and for the 'flamenco tremelo', which has five notes, the fingering is, p,i,a,m,i.

It's made all the more difficult in the aforementioned examples as they constantly change from top string to inner strings for the tremelo notes while the right hand thumb provides the arpeggiated accompaniment.
The left hand , particularly in the Barrios, has many awkward stretches and hardly ever repeats itself. The tremelo is such an impressive technique that, when Robin introduces a piece in concert, involving the tremelo, he now gives a demonstration of how it works, very slowly initially, and then, at full speed.
Audiences love it.

Fortunately Robin is well prepared.
When he wrote 'The Guitar Gymnasium', (or see my links section for Amazon UK and USA), the right hand exercises were written with the intention of developing and strengthening the independence of the right hand fingers, for just this reason, alongside the Tarrega exercises, which are also in the book.

So Robin is now able to record, listen, learn, then re-record until he is satisfied.
As Glenn Gould said, "The tape recorder is the finest teacher."

From, Fish - Brain Food for Musicians, to Oscar Peterson, to Elgar

We had an interesting discussion last night.
Robin declared that prior to each concert on board the QM2, he had the desire/need to eat fish, salmon for breakfast, and whatever was available for lunch.
Now, it has long been known that fish is 'brain food', and this, Robin felt, was the root of his need.
One could think that it was maybe caused by a return to the basic hunter/gatherer instinct, he was after all mid-Atlantic, and therefore, presumably, surrounded by many thousands of our scaly friends.
But I think not.
His body was telling him that his brain needed a little extra on the days of his concerts.
During the talk, I went down the path of, 'well, you have a good, balanced diet, and the majority of the need must be in your fingers and their agility.'
No.
Robin is adamant, and I'm sure he's right, that when performing, the hands are acting in a well rehearsed, mechanical way, with both motor and neural memory involved.
But what makes a performance special, is the mind. It's here that the interpretation takes place, the fingers are merely following orders.

To quote Glenn Gould:
"One plays the piano with one's mind not one's fingers."

Robin's theory seemed to serve him well, after all, he delivered two hugely successful guitar concerts.
Naturally, I now get the feeling, that I will be required to add exciting, lovingly prepared fish dishes, to the agenda, as a pre concert ritual.
I'd better go and acquaint myself with the local fishmonger.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, 'Oscar Peterson Misses His Own Tribute'. Simon Houpt reported on a sell out concert in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. Unfortunately the jazz legend wasn't well enough to make the journey.
However, a large photograph of him at the piano and smiling broadly, was placed on the stage.
His wife, Kelly, and daughter, Celine, were both in attendance, and were touched by the whole evening.
I'm sure they will return home and tell him how much the public appreciate his contribution to music.

Also, there has been a lot of talk in the UK about Elgar and his 150th anniversary, with many saying that celebrations of Elgar's works, may not necessarily be found abroad.
I was therefore pleased to see this report in the 'Chicago Tribune', 'Elgar At 150. Anybody Care?' by Alan G.Artner.
Artner feels that after 40 years of listening to Elgar's music, that people should care.
Well done.