Bach: Two-part invention in D minor

Ah, I see I'm neglecting the blog already. Never fear, it doesn't mean I've been neglecting Mycroft, just that I've had a few too many fails with technology and have become a bit disgruntled with it.

I was determined to record duets with myself (seeing I don't have a jamming buddy) but it turns out all those cute little YouTube videos of people for example singing all 6 parts of such-and-such a capella must be made using some fancy program... because I sure as hell can't find something that will allow me to essentially merge the audio and visuals of two videos together! Nothing free at any rate.

Anyway, rant over. I gave in and had to extract the audio from two videos to make this one. It's the Bach D minor two part invention (originally written for piano... and I have played it many years ago on piano too, if memory serves me). Had to transpose most of the lower part up the octave as it was written in bass clef. Now there's a nice way to screw with your mind - transpose on a not very familiar instrument! Had a bit of difficulty syncing the two tracks correctly, but I think I got them pretty close in the end. Some wayward rubato tripped my up when I was trying to record the second part. It's harder than I anticipated to duet with a partner who is COMPLETELY inflexible. Oh, and my trills are pathetic. Obviously I need to work on those!

Bach again

Right, here we go again. The Bach is almost up to speed now, but still with mistakes. Stupid nerves.

Temporary solution to the crap strap problem: use it like a necklace! Gets the mando into more or less the right position, but that thin round braid really cuts into the neck. I ordered a beautiful flat braided strap to arrive from Lakota. Can't wait for it to arrive.

Progress at one month

I've been playing mandolin for a little over one month now, so I thought it was time to share how I'm going with the Bach again. It's still nowhere near ready, but I've more or less memorised all of the notes now. A few mistakes, and I'm suffering from a bit of alzheimer's towards the end, but I hope to work on this in the coming weeks.

Can't seem to stabilise my pick-grip, which is a bit annoying, because it makes a surprisingly big difference to the tone. The one I'm using in this take is probably a bit unconventional... oh well, call the mando-police! I might just keep experimenting.