Points out of ten!

Hi,

I've started the league table for my practice progress! Every piece will be given a score out of ten every week from now until the competition....the contest starts around April 10th.
Here is my very makeshift table of scores, ranging this week from a paltry couple of 1 out of 10s, to a rather confident 10 out of 10 for Thomas Hewitt Jones's recording-ready 'Shades of Grief'.

The lowest score this week is 1/10...I have only just started work on Reminiscences of Tranquillity by Yinam Leef and The Crown of Ariadne by Schafer. Here are a couple of pics of what my percussion set-up looks like so far!

Left table - the CD player is to play my pre-recorded backing track for the Labyrinth Dance. I recorded the backing track ('Recorded Harp' rather than 'Live Harp' in Schafer's score) last year, when I hadn't really had a chance to get to grips with the percussion set up at all! I had to hire a set of crotales (large, heavy, circular antique cymbals - thick ones that are 'ting-ed' with a beater, not crashed together!) mounted on a special stand. They cost about £300 to hire for a couple of days...to buy them would cost well over £1000 so I am making do with my son's glockenspiel and a few chime bars for now. However, for the pre-recording, it HAD to be the real thing and they do sound magical!

This is a really bad view of just a few of the things that are on the right hand side of the harp....including said glockenspiel! Also, my electric tuner, lots of pencils in a pot and several different triangle beaters. So far, I have discovered that one triagle or finger cymbal has as many different tones and personalities as you have triangle beaters/wooden sticks/fingers to 'ting' it with!

So, off I go for some rest. In my next post I hope to share with you some progress about Ariadne's Dance - coordinating the 7/8 and 6/8 alternate bars of the feet tapping away (with their ankle bells attached) in one repeated rhythm, while the fingers of both hands do other complex rhythms is NOT easy!

I am now going to bed to seek some inspiration for Dance of the Night Insects...in my dreams only, NOT in my bed, I hope!!!

Ellie