Lesson with Lipsey

(After hearing our performance of first movement of John Adams' Road Movies)

"(To David) Do you like this piece? (David: Yes, I like it very much!) But you have to understand what's going on in the rhythm, you have to identify the patterns. I can here from you (pointing at me) a little bit, but not from you (David). (At me again) Although you did some but it's not enough, you can always do much more. I wanna hear the patterns.

Where did you (David) grow up? (Spain) Ah, so it's North African influenced. Just look at Flamenco music, it's very North African influenced. But this piece is not African influenced, it's very Indian. If Steve Reich, yes, he is very African influenced. He does the phasing technique by gradually speeding up one of the two unison lines and creating a new pattern. But for Adams, he uses the rhythmic division technique. Cuz Indian people has no harmony, they play in unison. How to make things interesting? They have to do something with the rhythm! Let's say when they're jamming, one person is playing 15 beats, and the other is playing in 5 beats. When the 5-beats guy finished his 3 time, that where the 15-beats guy run into each other, and they smile at each other like, 'Ah! This is it!'.

This piece is rhythmically dissonant. (I raised my eyebrows --- never heard of such a term) You're (as in David) playing 3 beats in a bar with four 16th notes in a beat, while you (as in me) are playing a three 16th notes group all the time. Now you have to have an idea of section in this music, let's say this section is the 'tonic' of the movement. (A tonic in rhythm?!) You have to play the tonic right, so that when you come back in the recapitulation, people will understand. Right? Just imagine if you play a first theme of a piece out of tune, can people recognize it when you're doing a recap?

(Lipsey started to show us how to feel the groove of rhythm by singing and clapping and stomping his foot, doing all the rhythms in our parts. Holy cow...)

As you realize, his (me) motif is fairly simple, it's just two 16th notes and a 16th rest and another 16th note. Then it develops into two 16ths followed by one 16th rest. Then all of a sudden, he added more pairs in here, 'da-da-da-dup!', it becomes for in a group! Then 'da-da-da-da-da-da-dup!!', it's six in a group. But they're developed from the same motif.

Now let's do it slow and feel the groove. Let's just pick a few bars and we'll loop it. Where should we start? (I said,"2nd to 4th bar?") Why do you wanna choose that? You think that's a pattern? (I was hesitating, and said, "Err...") Come on this is your recital! (With an evil grin. I was cold sweating... yeah in front of Prof Lipsey, I'll never know enough. Well, good to know what I dunno) OK let's do that!

(As we started looping the 3 bars slowly, he started to act like a drumset player banging different parts of the drumset. Sometimes the snare, then, "CRASH!!" cymbal crash, then high hat. Trying to make us feel the groove...)

As I noticed, you're always waiting a little too long in the 16th rest (at me). Same thing I noticed in Worker's Union (a piece that I play in the contemporary ensemble), you are always following the rhythm, you're not playing it at your own will. You should lead! Both of you should lead! (Same old chamber music saying, but when it comes out from a percussion player's mouth, man, I tell ya, it's a whole different meaning!)

(After the coaching...)

You guys shouldn't set up like this (I always stood beside David). I mean who cares how you look like on the stage when the music sounds like shit right? Face each other! Look at each other and communicate!

Take some time to read the music and look out for the things you should notice, especially you (me), it's your recital! (OK... I know...)

I think we should have a couple more coachings. (Whoa... never expected that! Awesome!)"

Quite a character, Prof Lipsey, but it's this chacracter that makes him a unique coach in my school. He's hardcore alright, but I like it. After all, that's the way our teachers from the Oriental side are, right?