Day Eight: Anyone See This yet?

I know this blog is in it's early stages. Just wondering if by some long shot anyone has seen it yet. I worked later than I care to for the Post-Standard last night and consequently didn't get to bed until midnight. I got up and at 'em at 6:45am. I much prefer getting to bed earlier, because it seems I can never sleep in to compensate for getting to bed late. Anyhow, I digress. This morning I am off to the fire hall in Chaumont to take the US Census test. Ten years ago I thought it would be interesting to do the census job, but I wasn't able to fit it in. This time around I'm able to give it a try. This is an experience that only comes around every ten years. Why not try it? Later I have two new guitar students that will have their first lesson with me at Musicology, a music store at 241 State St., Watertown, NY. They will also be the first students & lessons I have done in probably 15 years. I'm looking forward to it.
I made today's photo back in November 2009 when I a family member was moving into their new home. This is another image that I refer to as a picture in a picture

Day Seven: This Is A Test

I put this photo up as a test of how to place a photo in this blog that is linked elsewhwere, as opposed to my uploading directly to the blog. The story behind this photo is: I had just gotten home from a long day in which I shot three jobs and drove over two hundred miles. I noticed that I had visitors and this youngster was one of them. He peaked out at me through the screen door as I approached with cameras in hand. Before he could blink I raised a camera to my eye and grabbed this photo.

Day Six: Basketball & Estudio Brillante

Well, it was 28 degrees again this morning when I got up, later than I care to. I prefer to be up and at it by 6:00am. But here's the deal. I had to photograph high school basketball finals in Utica NY. It was 10:30PM by the time I got home. I was beat. That's OK because I fell asleep quickly, however, I awoke at 4:00am and laid there. At 5:30 I was still awake but knew I did not get enough sleep to function at 100%. I toyed with the idea of getting up, but didn't. Dozed off at 6:00 and finally got out of the rack at 7:00. I don't like it. It throws my day off. Anyway, if you would like to see some of my photos click here.

This mornings guitar practice started late. I spent the first hour working on a great composition by Francisco Tarrega titled Estudio Brillante. It's also known as Study in A. Christopher Parkening describes the piece as "An extremely difficult and beautiful arpeggio study". I spent the entire time on the 2nd half of measure 13 through measure 17. This passage is physically difficult for the left hand. The challenges are accenting the bass notes on the first beats, executing the chord changes cleanly and in time, and playing the scale passage of slurred notes cleanly and in time. It requires slow, disciplined repetition.

The area outlined in red is the passage I am talking about here. Below is the scale passage. I play this scale with a full bar at the fourth fret. It is tricky to play in time with a metronome and to get all of the notes sounding CLEARLY. It took many, many hours of slow repetition for me to get it.

I practiced this passage over and over with a metronome set at a slow tempo. I played each individual note as a quarter note, one note on every beat. I then practiced each triplet on it's own beat as if it were written in 4/4 time as opposed to 2/4 time. It was tricky for me to get the slurred notes on the off beat in proper time. Over the years I would occassionaly read through the piece but when I began to seriously work on it two years ago, I had no idea what I was in for! This is a tough piece to master and requires discipline and dedication. It's still not where I want it, but I remeber my early days with the guitar when it seemed impossible to switch from a C chord to an F chord. Well, we all finally master that and so we progress. One of the rewards of this piece is the overall improvement in your technique as you master the challenging sections.

Day Five: Two More Photos

28 degrees (farenheit, that is) when I got up this morning in Chaumont, NY. Sunshine again. So far March appears to be coming in like a lamb here. Incidentally, the photo of the city traffic at twilight was photographed from the drivers seat of my car while stopped at a red light on Public Square, Watertown, NY.

The guitar gig at Musicology went pretty good, but there were things I didn't like. Also, I didn't play Eleanor Rigby. I'd like to go into more detail about it, but, my time is limited. I must go to Utica today and photograph two basketball games. That's a ninety mile drive one way from where I live. Now, the photo of the bicycle. It was about 1:30 yesterday, a half hour befor I was to play at the new store. I walked out their front door to get something from my car and what did I see? This bicycle directly outside their door! It caught my eye instantly. Once again, have a camera with you always and you will be ready to grab a photo on the fly.




Click here see some photos of Musicology.



Need a photographer? Please visit my web site at:
href="http://www.garywalts.com">www.garywalts.com
All photos and text contained in this blog are copyright Gary

Walts 2010

Day Four: Guitar Gig Today

I'm a classical guitarist (well, I try) and this afternoon at 2:00 I'll be playing at the grand opening of a new music store in Watertown, NY. It's Musicology, located at 241 State St. It is the creation of Tim Martuzas and Howard Brinson. They are two intersting guys with great personalities. Click here to learn more about it and them. I will also be teaching guitar there.

Today's photos are of my brother Al. I shot it last night as he performed at North Country Idol at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Al is not a contestant, he just opened the show up, breaking the ice for the contestants.


Now, where do I begin? I got up this morning and it was 18 degrees and sunshine here in Chaumont. Chilly but nice. As is usual, I get some coffee and go to the guitar. I try to put in two hours every morning befor I do anything else. Usually 6:00 to 8:00am. This morning I started to review a couple of pieces I have played for YEARS, but just not lately. There in lies the frustration. If I do not have a weekly gig to play, I don't keep up my repertoir. Instead I spend most time working on new material, or work at polishing a few pieces in my repertoir. But I don't play EVERY piece. Consequently some of those pieces begin to deteriorate. Case in point: Eleanor Rigby arranged by John Knowles. It's a great arrangement, not physically difficult, but there is an underlying base pedal note that drives the piece. Playing the melody against that can get tricky. I have played it for so many years that I pretty much ignore it, just play it during a gig. Well, it's been probably three months since I played it last. This morning as I reviewed it I fumbled in a couple of spots. They are the same spots that gave me dificulty when I first learned the arrangement, a lot of years ago. Anyway, I started to work it back out and after awhile said the hell with it. When it's time to play later today I'll just see how I feel. If the performance is going well I might jump into it and try it. If I'm not comfortable with how the set is going, I'll just leave the piece out. Now, there are a couple of things that can happen. If I decide to play it I just might pull it off beautifully. That sometimes happens. Or, I may fumble in one of those spots. If I do, I just keep moving forward and no one will really notice. Or they will notice, but it will be there and gone so fast it will quickly be forgotten. The thing I try to do is make sure I have a good ending to the piece. A lot can be forgiven if it's wrapped up with a good finish. Now, one more note on this subject. A fumble or fret buzz or some other unwanted abberation in the performance of a piece is one thing. It's transient. However, one should never settle for that in a recording.
Now, a final note: I am always struggling with not having enough time. One of my concerns about doing this blog is that It is a new thing that siphons away some of my time. All of this time could have been spent straightening out that passage in Eleanor Rigby. So, we live with the choices we make and learn from them.

Day Three: Two Photos

Last night I happened to look out the bathroom window and saw this colorful sky through the trees. I quickly grabbed a camera made this image. This morning I stepped out on the front porch and liked how the sun was shining on the patchy snow in the yard. It's nice to see the sun and the receding snow in March. So far March has been coming in like a lamb. Hopefully it will go out the same way.
I am constantly snapping photos for variety of reasons. The photos posted today were images that just caught my eye around the house in Chaumont, NY. A view of my backyard and a photo of my front yard. Are these great photos? Probably not. But they reveal what catches my eye. I cannot shut my eyes off or how I view the world. Everything I look at I see as if through a camera. Do these photos say anything or have any meaning. Probably. Especially sunsets. They fall into the category of pretty pictures. Usually they are immedieatly appealing. People like the colors. The silouettes.
The snow photo is not exactly a pretty picture, but I believe it conveys a message: the approach of Spring. For those who live in our reagion Spring is something to get excited about.

Day Two

So the furnace issue was simple. It's an oil burner and we simply ran out. Called our supplier and they delivered some a couple of hour later. That was easy. Shame on me for not paying attention to it. On the other hand, one doesn't inadvertantly run out of firewood. Your hands are in the wood pile on a regular basis, bringing it in to burn. From Fall to Spring you watch the pile disappear, block by block, cord by cord, it dwindles down. Burning wood isn't for everyone, but I find it satisfying on several levels. First, and most obvious is I would rather burn wood than give my money to Mobil / Exxon. Next is the aesthetic part of it. It adds some ambieance to your surroundings. Handling the wood, though, is part of it that some folks don't like. I find it oddly satisfying. It's almost like sculpture. Turning a disorganised pile of split wood into a neat, geometric pattern of cords. There is more to it than first meets the eye. There's a creative aspect whereby various shapes and sizes of the wood are placed adjacent to each other so as to create a stack that is stable and free standing. Another aspect I truly love is the exercise derived from handling the wood.
Now the brake job. I replaced the pads on that van a year ago. I couldn't understand how they could have worn out so fast. Fortunately for me I bought pads at Auto Zone that are gauranteed for life. Remove the old ones, take them to the store and they give you the new ones FREE!. And they do it with a smile. My original price was just under $25.00. Anyway, I pulled off the front wheels and discovered that only one of the four pads was worn. And that one was worn completely, starting to chew up the rotor. It turns out that the brake caliper was not working properly so it wore out just the one pad. I worked the caliper piston back and forth and may have it working properly now. However, I think I should replace the caliper with a new one. That's a job for another day.
Now, the morning is quickly evaporating and there is so much more to do. Paint the bathroom in the rental that became vacant. Go to the job fair at the NY State Office Building in Watertown, NY. What I WANT to do is practice my guitar for a few hours. That isn't happening. Maybe this evening.

Hello World: Day One

Hello out there. This is day one of my new blog. Quite a morning here in Chaumont, NY. I get up and the furnace has quit running. Not a real problem because we have a great wood stove. The furnace fills in when the stove goes cold. However, fresh out of bed I don't need a household project to troubleshoot. You see, I'm a real "do it yourselfer" kind of guy. I try to figure it out and fix it myself first. The biggest problem this morning is that I have a laundry list of things to take care of: Number one was to create and begin a blog. Add to that bills, paperwork, and replace front brake pads on our 2005 Dodge Caravan. I'm also a landlord and one of my tenents moved out suddenly, so, I need to address that. I really don't need a furnace problem too. Hopefully it's something simple. (and inexpensive!) The photo is of our wood stove, saving the day.

As you can see, I stuck to my guns and created this blog. Now it's off to do the brake job. Replacing front brake pads is easier than you might think. On this particular vehicle it almost takes longer to remove the wheels than to actually replace the pads.

For those who are curious, the stove is a Regency, medium size, air tight, non-catalytic. It's terrific! Installed it all myself as well as the tile work.

Until later-
Gary