Mendy Smith on Violinist.com

When Words Fail

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:13:00 GMT

John (Buddy) Howard Bradford was born March 21, 1917. He served in the Army during WWI in the Philippines. & nbsp; After the war was over, he moved back to the ranch in Texas where he met my grandmother Viola (Ollie) Gieble. & nbsp; They married after she finished high school. & nbsp; He was a machinist at Reynold's Aluminum (now Alcoa) and retired at the age of 60.

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My childhood memories of him are filled with summers at the lake house, learning to ride horses, fix tack and barbed wire fencing, learning to drive tractors and boats, playing competitive dominoes, and learning his craft - machining. & nbsp; It is from him that I got my early training that inspired my career in manufacturing. & nbsp; A few years ago he finally gave me his 1927 South Bend lathe and helped me re-assemble it and get it running again.

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When I was living in Oregon, he spent the summer with me to supervise my house remodel. & nbsp; During that time, we developed a nightly routine. & nbsp; After dinner, he would sit in my music room and waited for me to begin practicing viola. & nbsp; After I worked on my scales, etudes and Bach Suite, he'd request favorite tunes - Tennessee Waltz, Irish Washer Woman, Cotton Eye'd Joe, and other Western & amp; Southern tunes while his dog sat under the stand listening.

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If you look through my music library, you would find a few pieces with a hand-written note at the top marking the passing of a loved one. & nbsp; On March 9, 2010 my grandfather passed away peacefully with my mother at his side and I marked the Barber quartet Op. 11 Adagio movement. & nbsp;

Music for the Soul

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:23:21 GMT

This past week has been a rough one.� Last Monday I received a call I'd been dreading: if I wanted to see my grandfather again, it had to be soon - within hours.� I quickly packed, grabbed the viola and headed out the door to make the drive up to Tennessee.� I made it to the hospital at midnight, slept by his bed along with my mother.� The next morning, we were able to talk - a little.� The doctor expected him to pass away within hours/days at the most.� Well, GP (grand-pa) had his own ideas.� By Friday we moved him into the nursing home for hospice care.�

After we got�GP settled in to the nursing home, I walked around the facility.� It is a very nice place as far as nursing homes are concerned.� But it tore my heart to see so many people (mostly women) in their wheelchairs gathered around the various nursing stations staring at each other and talking mostly to themselves as their daily social activity.� I found the administrator and asked if they would like a viola recital.� Definitely!� Yes!!!� We scheduled a time for Saturday.

Saturday morning, I went back to the nursing home and sat with my grandfather.� In the afternoon, a nurse poked her head into the room letting me know it was time.� I grabbed my viola and headed towards the cafeteria and started setting up as several residents were brought in.� Some of the women dressed up with coifed hair, red lipstick and fancy necklaces.� One of the few men at the home was right up front.� I'd seen him the previous day sitting quietly watching TV with a blank stare.�

I rifled through my music and pulled out Bach, feeling very thankful that I�spent a good portion of my adult viola-life working on the Suites, and began with the 2nd movement of the 1st Suite.� It didn't� even cross my mind to be fearful of performing.� I was completely focused on making the music that was in my mind come out in my own playing. � Within a few measures it felt like the viola was playing herself, telling me what to do to make the sound more beautiful.� Between each movement, the residents applauded enthusiastically.� I continued through the Suites, picking a movement or two from each and ended the afternoon playing Ashoken's Farewell and the Sarabande from the 6th Suite.

As I packed up, two of the women spoke with me.� They were thankful for the music and said I played beautifully.� We talked for a bit, and then I�headed back to my grandfather's room.� The door was open.� When I walked in, my aunt and a friend of the family were sitting by my grandfather.� I put my viola down and went to sit once again by his bed.� My aunt said they could hear me from the room.� I don't know if my grandfather heard or not.� He was asleep.� He had been sleeping for 3 days solid.�

I held his hand and felt the warmth.� It had been cold the other day.� Then I heard "the rattle".� I was louder than the previous day.� It won't be much longer now.

Identity Crisis

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:31:11 GMT

I am a violist.�� I have always been a violist.� I grew up reading alto clef and only started reading treble and bass clefs later in my musical life.� (I dabbled around with cello whilst living in Malaysia.)� I�never played violin - until recently.

After moving to Houston, I�found myself involved in a plethera of musical groups, from the traditional community orchestra and various chamber ensembles, to the not-so-traditional groups.� I play in a pit orchestra for the Houston Bar Association's musical production Night Court (a yearly charity event) and the Fab40 (a group that reproduces Beatles songs).� Surprisingly, there have been times when there was a shortage of violin players in the smaller chamber groups and not-so-traditional groups.� So, I�figured, why not buy a violin?� It's just like a viola, but smaller, right???�

So, my friend and I went violin shopping.� I was quickly proven wrong in my assumption that the violin was just a little viola.� First and foremost, all the strings are shifted to the left, a challenge that had me playing on the wrong string half the time at first. The smallness in size posed different challenges.� The bridge is much closer to my nose, requiring adjustments to my bowing, and the relative placement of fingers are much closer together.� For weeks, I was playing everything wide - very wide.� Only after many-o-hours of practice did I�consider myself competent enough to even think of playing violin in a performance setting.

This coming week, I'll be performing both violin & viola with the Houston Bar Association.� We are doing a 20th anniversary show, and a good portion of the regular pit orchestra cannot make it.� So us strings are picking up brass and woodwind parts for one number to fill in for th emissing instruments.� The contra-bass is playing the tuba part, the cello - bassoon, my viola friend - Bb clarinet, and me and one other violinist - 1st and 2nd flute.

While I no longer struggle with what string to play on, and am capable of playing in tune in ordinary circumstances, this particular piece (a western medley), is causing me some troubles.� While 3 flats may be easy to play on viola, it is a bear on violin. I'm struggling with fingerings.� Should I take advantage of my "stretch" ability I learned from years playing viola to simply play the Ab to G with a simple stretch or not?� I'm finding myself a bit lost on the fingerboard in higher positions, especially on the e-string.�

While this has been a fun diversion, I was happy at the end of the day to revert back to alto clef and an instrument with a c-string.�

Lessons Re-Learned

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:34:09 GMT

For the past several weeks, the pieces that my teacher and I have been working on has been stopped early into lessons to address basic bowing or intonation issues. Issues that should never happen several minutes into lessons.

Years ago I learned that starting lessons (or practice for that matter) with a 3-octave scale, any scale, makes a difference in how productive the next hour would be. I think of scales as a musical-meditative technique to begin my musical "day". The few moments that it takes to play a scale gets me literally in-tune with my musical mind.

The first pass at one beat per bow sets my hand so that the notes begin to ring and I feel the vibrations in my hand and body. Any tension begins to fade away and my hand "remembers" where it should be to play in tune. By three beats per bow, my shifts smoothe out. By six beats per bow my left and right hands have become syncronized. By eight or more beats per bow, I consider myself sufficiently warmed up to tackle any piece that I'm working on at the moment.

This lesson was a very painful one to learn that I had vowed not to forget. But somehow I did in all the excitement of moving across country, completing my Bach by 40 goal, starting a new by 50 goal, and starting with a new teacher. I broke cardinal lesson rule #1: always begin lessons with a scale. How could I have forgotten such a difficult lesson learned? I hold to that rule during practice at home, but somehow have forgotten to apply it at the start of lessons.

Like re-visiting my viola and bow hold, warm-up routines need to be revisited from time to time.

Etudes in Odd Places

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:00:10 GMT

A few years back when I was learning to play the Moldau, my teacher at the time threatened to give it to me as an etude, and later followed up on that threat.� It turned out to be an excellent etude for 2nd position as well as endurance.�

After that experience, I began looking at the pieces that I was learning in a different way and started identifying passages that posed a particular technical challenge that I could use as etudes: Bloch's Suite Hebraique for the cadenza up in the stratosphere, Bridge's Lament for its double-stops, Brandenburg #6 for its low 2nd (F-nat) & 4th (A-nat) passage, the list goes on.

I discovered a new piece/etude recently:� Vieuxtemp's Cappricio measures 28 & 29.� These two measures has a whopping 53 notes with many string crossings.� The challenge, besides managing so many notes in two measures, is to make each note clear in tone - a matter of bowing technique.� Taking these two measures at a very slow tempo while looking in a mirror is helping me work on my bowing - from my bow hold, right hand flexibility, right arm height for each string, to the "push/pull" of the bow stroke.�

You never know where you will fine a good etude.

Back into the Chamber

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:00:06 GMT

Since migrating south to Houston, I've performed more in the past year than I ever did in my three years living in Portland.� Mostly the venues have been with larger groups, though I've performed a few solos and duets.� Though my musical calendar is quite full, there is still an empty space begging to be filled:� chamber music.

There is an intimacy in chamber music that cannot be duplicated in a larger orchestral setting: no "hiding" in a sea of instruments, no 3rd party conductor, no "following the leader" (principals).� Just you and a few friends relying on each other to make beautiful music.� Every note, entrance, tempo and dynamic change must be made with intent and thoughtfulness.� You have to be mindful of when to play under or over your partners.� Things like tonal color and minute tunings with each other become important.� Group rubato without a conductor is an art form in and of itself.�

Let's not forget other things like having a bit of apple pie and hot tea during break while sharing personal stories, coaching each other, choosing what to play next, deciding when and what to perform.� These things don't happen often in a larger group setting.

After going so long without these small musical pleasures in life, I'm getting back into the chamber again.� I've made friends who are interested in playing together that cover the span of instruments needed to form a chamber group.� Next weekend promices to be our first gathering.� Time to clear off the extra stands, pull out the chairs, and warm up some tea.

Composer - V

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:12:25 GMT

I was able to check off� "V" in my A-Z composer's goal today.� This morning I performed a Largo movement of Vivaldi's Sonata in A Minor at church with a harpsichord.

It is not a technically difficult piece, but one that is challenging to make musical.� It is challenging to build tension while maintaining a slow tempo without having the piece sound no more interesting than a slow scale.� Before I performed this piece, I experimented with rubato, use of vibrato and sans vibrato, and changes in dynamics.� After working on this piece for a few weeks, I made my first ever independant interpretive decisions and "performed" it for my teacher for evaluation.� It got two thumbs up.�

When I performed the piece in the early service, I noticed something that I've never noticed before.� I looked up for a moment and saw some people with their eyes closed and a smile on their face.� I saw their bodies move in response to the music - from an intake of breath, to the relaxation of the body - in time with the ending of one phrase and the beginning of another. It was a profound moment.�

I also discovered that my stage fright has not entirely disappeared, it has simply changed.� Though I no longer get the "shakey bow syndrome" and lose utter control, my body tenses up, especially in the left arm.� My left forearm was actually sore after playing what can be considered a relaxing piece.� Something to work on.

Now, time for "S"...

Vivaldi????

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:33:39 GMT

I sent a friend of mine a clip of me playing a largo movement of Vivaldi that I & nbsp;was working on. & nbsp; This is what he sent back to me. & nbsp; My first thought was & quot;THIS & nbsp;is Vivaldi????? & quot;

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http://sylvanpoet.com/music/new/Mendy_Vivaldi1.mp3

Wow!

Bach BEFORE 40

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:02:29 GMT

You may have read about my Bach by 40 goal before on some of my older blogs here on this site. & nbsp; Back in 2003 when I restarted viola, I began what was to be a seven year long endeavor: & nbsp; to learn how to play all of the Bach Cello Suites before I & nbsp;turned 40. & nbsp; They didn't have to be played perfectly, nor at a performance standard, just competently without struggling, pausing, stopping and starting over, or major mistakes.

It started as a typical Saturday, doing laundry and practicing throughout the day. & nbsp;I started with the Suites from the beginning. & nbsp; By the evening I had worked my way up to the 6th Suite. & nbsp; There were two movements in this Suite that I had not tried before: & nbsp; the Sarabande and Gigue. & nbsp; After playing through the other movements in this Suite that I have played before, I decided to give the other two a go and see what happened. & nbsp; To my utter surprise, I was able to play them without stumbling or any major mistakes. & nbsp;

Bach BEFORE 40? & nbsp; Yes, and 9 months ahead of schedule to boot! & nbsp; I still can't quite believe that I actually accomplished this goal. & nbsp; & nbsp;

Working on this goal over the past 7 years, I learned many things about playing viola: good intonation, clear string crossings, vibrato, double stops and chords,shifting well above 3rd position, scordatura tuning, phrasing, articulation, overcoming stage fright ... & nbsp; the list goes on and on. & nbsp; But the two things I learned the most was that if I put my mind to something, I can achieve just about any goal I place before me; and that playing music is more than just mastering the technical aspects of playing an instrument, it is about giving life and meaning to the notes printed on the page.

Now it is time to move on to my next goal: & nbsp; Composers Z-A by 50. & nbsp; It promises to be a fun adventure! & nbsp; Does anyone know of any composers whose last name starts with the letter Q who wrote something for viola (or could be transcribed for viola)?

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Way back when

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:57:16 GMT

Apparently the theme this week on FB is retro - posting an old photo of yourself. & nbsp; When I was digging through my old photos I & nbsp;found a few from my early viola days. & nbsp; There are the ones of me playing viola while my father accompanied me on accordion. & nbsp; This reminded me the odd things I used in the past to tune with - the accordion, an oscilloscope, and finally an & quot;old fashioned & quot; pitch pipe. & nbsp;

I also ran across a few photos from when I went to Sewannee Music Camp back in the early '80's. & nbsp; One was of me playing my dorm-mate's cello, and another of the final concert. & nbsp; The conductor wore all white, I wore a white flowery dress (concert black was apparently not required). & nbsp; But what struck me most was the size of the viola in proportion to me. & nbsp; Then I remembered: & nbsp; my teacher at camp that summer loaned me her viola to perform with at the concert. & nbsp;

I'm sure I have more viola replated photos hidden away if I look. & nbsp; It will be interesting to see what I & nbsp;can dig up from my musical past.