Here’s a four song video from that little set I did in Limerick recently at a songwriters session down there.
Set list in the video:
The Guinness was good there, that’s all I’m gonna say, and thanks to the guys behind the Limerick SongWriters night for recording the video!
I’ve begun to notice that I have a few little habits that I fall back on when arranging music for strings, and it irked me today. I don’t think I’m very good at writing string parts and I run the risk of being very one-note when I write fuller arrangements for my songs. The piano parts come pretty easily to me, as that’s what I write the songs on, and sometimes other instrument parts or vocal parts are very clear pretty instantly, but other times I have a rough idea of what I want, but am not so successful at putting those parts together. However, I figured a way to get out of this was to start playing violin again, so I joined an amateur string orchestra here in Galway that is aimed at adult beginners, or adults who used to play but haven’t had the chance to play with a group in years.
It’s been really good, actually, and the age range is really diverse. It’s all organised and conducted by one of the string teachers in the new Galway School of Music, and I guess was primarily aimed at their adult string students, who are over the age cut off for the youth orchestra, and don’t have access to an amateur orchestra for learners.
I’m not a good violinist. I took lessons for a year or so, and played in the school orchestra for the six years I was in secondary school, but the experience of playing in an orchestra was invaluable to someone who was used to playing alone mostly as a classical piano student.
When I took on the role of conductor of the NUIG Choral Society this past year, I decided to try and do as much vocal arranging as I could myself, to try and stretch my choral arranging skills. I got to try out whatever I wanted to do, and did arrangements of everything from Swedish folkmusic, to Spirituals, to Beatles and Elvis songs, while also working on classical pieces and traditional Xmas carols. Being able to work in so many different styles with one group was invaluable, and I really learned a lot in the 8 months or so that I’ve had so far working with the group.
I guess I’m hoping that playing in the string orchestra will give me the same broad scope of experience of music arrangements for string instruments and that my own arrangements will benefit as a result. Regardless, it’s nice to be involved in something that I don’t have to be very good at, and I can just enjoy and play music purely for pleasure, and not for work, or an audience, or whatever.
Oh, except they’ve asked me to play the harpsichord part in the Vivaldi piece we’ve been doing, so I guess my piano hands will be coming out in there.