From getting to my monthly Jori lesson in Seattle!
It seemed the universe was conspiring against me on Tuesday. First the 8:05 boat out of FH was running late due to the intensely thick fog, then traffic was backed up from 145th street exit near Shoreline because of a fatal car accident (which damaged the overhead sign over Northbound I5) if that wasn't bad enough, a crew was painting new left turn lane stripes at 145th and Aurora Ave!
I was 15 minutes late to my lesson. Being late is a major bummer because it cuts into my lesson time with Jori. Even so, I always get a lot out of my time with him and this day was no different. We worked through the 2/4 march I have been working on and continued to fine tune the weak spots.
Clearly my lack of practice is really starting to show and I desperately need to get back to my regular exercises so I can clean up my doublings, d-throws and, well, just about everything! I guess it isn't that bad, but its still obvious that some effort needs to be put forth.
I was able to get on the pipes and things were just not sounding very good, particularly with my Bass drone. Jori suggested I consider an upgrade on my Bass drone reeds since the Ez-Drones I was using are known for their weak bass drone reeds. I commented that I had an inverted bass reed that I purchased a while back. So we went ahead and popped that baby in there and viola! What a difference, easier strike in, better tone, all in all, a much better sound.
I'll still spring for a new Bass reed, probably a Kinaird, or maybe a Crozier? I don't recall exactly what Jori suggested, I know Kinaird was one of them.
I did get some new tunes to work on, two jigs and a few marches, which of course means MORE PRACTICE! Its a vicious circle, but I love it!
