It Worked!

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

We put ninety minutes into Good Vibrations on Sunday, and made a lot of progress. We could feel things coming together, and we were laughing and having fun the whole time! A good time was had by all.

We did have to solve a couple of little things, like “wait… how do I move six feet in zero time?” But the solutions (e.g. take B3 chime six feet to the left at before we start) actually were easy to find, and even though it led to a similar question (with the answer “go over there and steal it back from Caroline”).

Shtick happens, too. It’s liberating to be able to go where the impulse leads (well, as long as it’s legal), just to see whether it works with the music. Hmmm… do other handbell ensembles to this sort of thing spontaneously? Anyway, we worked a bit of that out, too – but you’ll have to wait till the performance to see it!

Mo’ Sco’

Posted on December 3, 2011 by admin

Hooray! The revision of California Dreamin’ is done. The next step will be to see whether it actually works, of course, but I think this one has a much better chance than the last one.

We continue to discover just how much time a complete spelling-out of the actual parts saves. It seems our learning time is shortened by over 50% from when we were working from more piano-like scores, especially because some attempt at solving the assignment issues has been made up front. Hey, like my friend Terry Normandie says, “If you give ‘em something – anything – at least they’ll have something to throw rocks at.”

Works for me!

Strange is Good

Posted on December 2, 2011 by admin

Of course that’s true: “Strange is Good”. That’s how we got started, that’s how we operate, and that’s how we expect to continue being. The idea is to find new vistas to explore; otherwise we’d be traversing already-blazed trails.

Although there’s nothing wrong with going where someone else has been, it does mean that some of the Pure Adventure is already gone. That’s because it, whatever it is, has already been seen. Once again, that’s perfectly okay.

But there’s a strange pull that emanates from the idea of “going where no man (or woman, or banana slug) has gone before.” And so we’re driven to find new forms of insanity, and to seek to make them less crazy, or downright normal (shudder!), all for the mere purpose of being able to pursue more insanity.

Strange is good. Maybe it should just be “strange is life”, because you’re not really living unless you’re willing to discover something new.

More Vibrations

Posted on November 30, 2011 by admin

Good Vibrations has turned out to be a bit of a bear. I think it’s because of the large number of different musical lines that weave their way through the piece. You know… the “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations” line, the “bop bop”, the “good-good-good-good vibrations”, etc. The Beach Boys have demonstrated a mastery of musical overlay that surpasses many other groups – and all we have do is to cover it!

So yes, there appears to be a solution – but it seems to require four or five soloists acting in tandem! We’ll see if we can work it out… more news to come!

Revisions, Revisions

Posted on November 28, 2011 by admin

It’s almost inevitable that a new LDZ arrangement brings with it a need to revise furiously. Part of it, most certainly, is that I’m still learning how to put them together. Some of the things to watch have been:

Jumping from one place to another. Going from C5 to G5 is a step to the right; going from C3 to G3 is more of a controlled fall in that direction.
Speed. Most of us can learn to four-in-hand CDEF6; not many of us have a good feeling about doing so with CDEF3.
Coordination between ringers. In treble ensembles (for instance, your normal twelve-bell group ringing C5-G6), a scale generally goes from left-to-right or right-to-left… and only one time. Dropping that sort of passage a couple of octaves means that the previous two considerations may require some… uh, imaginative assignments – and that means the aforementioned scale may skip between ringers several times, or even on each note!

So… the Beach Boys arrangements need some serious work. C’est la vie, I think… maybe next time I’ll get a better hold of what I should do!

Back to the Drawing Board…

Posted on November 27, 2011 by admin

We tried Good Vibrations and California Dreamin’ today, and… well, the two pieces would have gone a lot better if we had eight-foot arms. So, back to work on making them more reasonable. Okay… “less unreasonable”.

All of which just underscores our main operating paradigm: To do things that others claim are impossible or impractical, and to so with a sense of humor and a pervasive joy. By the way, did you know that there apparently still are bell clinicians who teach that you can’t Shelley or four-in-hand bells below G4? We’re ignoring that advice, and using multiple bell techniques well down into, and occasionally below, C3 now (at least some of us).

The moral, possibly, is that if you don’t risk being considered crazy to show that the unconventional actually is reasonable, (some segment of) mankind won’t make progress. Try “crazy”, and there are rewards waiting.

Black Friday

Posted on November 25, 2011 by admin

“Black Friday” conjures up some extreme images, doesn’t it? Financial disasters, of course, but for most of today the push and shove of dealing with shoppers bent on getting that particular item a nanosecond before you can attain possession of it. It’s you against the masses: Resistance is futile.

Well… unless you’re shopping here! A previous post mentions that LDZ has polo shirts that you can buy. You can order them in black, of course, and we’re even going out or a limb by offering them in navy blue as well. Each one includes an embroidered LDZ logo and if you like, one of the additional captions, such as “Support Low Standards” or “Worth the Weight.”

And the great thing: No lines or crowds!

And now: Back to your regularly-scheduled Black Friday in-real-life mayhem…

Happy Thanksgiving from Low Ding Zone!

Posted on November 24, 2011 by admin

It’s time for the traditional American overindulgence session with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and football. Family and friends? Well, you really can’t literally overdo having great times, can you?

All y’all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, whether you’re staying home or traveling, whether you have a big celebration or a small one – and may the spirit of gratitude that marks the holiday surround, and even overwhelm you, today!

Happy Thanksgiving from Low Ding Zone!

Good Vibrations

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

The Beach Boys give us a question to answer: When they sing way up there, can we remain simultaneously true to the original score, and true to being a bass-only handbell ensemble?After all, you can just notate everything in the bass clef, even if you end up with lots of ledger lines (okay, maybe that’s cheating…).

After a bit of deliberation, it occurred to me that even though Brian Wilson and friends are singing (yes, even after all these years!) wayyyyy up in the soprano range, it actually hasn’t affected their gendral status. They’re still guys, albeit with upper ranges that might intimidate some altos. So I figure it’s okay for LDZ to play notes in the 5s or even the low 6s.

Well… if we can see them.

History Report

Posted on November 21, 2011 by admin

At long last, the pages here for Low Ding Zone’s history have been added! Take a look… and if you remember anything that should be added, let us know!

It’s fun to realize that we’re approaching our five-year anniversary in a couple of months – we’ve had fun making music, and making our audiences smile, and generally having a great time doing so. Thank you to all of you for encouraging our insanity – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Well, okay, we could have, and would have, but it wouldn’t have been anywhere as much fun…