Using the I Ching to guide my practice

I recently attended a master class given by drummer Jim Black.  He emphasized the importance of being able to distinguish between long (3 eighth notes) and short (2 eighth notes).  A rhythm in 7/8 could be thought of as short-short-long, and a rhythm in 11/8 could be thought of as long-long-short-short-long.  I wanted to incorporate this into my daily practice.

In a previous blog entry, I described how I practice all the scales I know in all keys in a span of 6 weeks, practicing 3 scales a day in 2 different keys.  I wanted to have a similar grid to practice time signatures and intervals.  But, the question was how to practice a different time signature with a different interval in a different scale in different keys without getting completely confused?  Randomness.

I turned to the ancient oracle, the I Ching.  I use the 3 coins method of building hexagrams.  I toss 3 coins 6 times, and that determines what time signature I will practice, and in what intervals.  This can apply to the scales and keys I am practicing that day.  For example, today's coin tosses were "K'un" and "Sun," meaning I was to practice 7th degree intervals in the time signature 13/8.  I was able to apply that to today's scales, Lydian, Harmonic Minor, and Augmented, in F and B.  It was also interesting to hear major or dominant 7ths arpeggiate (increasing in pitch F, E, Eb, D).  All determined by chance!

Today's Hexagram, Kuan, describes "contemplation."

Last night I met some amazing Cuban musicians at Les Bobards.  Their bass player, Rene, had hurt his hand in a car accident, and I had the great pleasure of sitting in and playing some tumbao when he needed a rest.  Other than that, the French is coming along, I am setting up the Montreal Organic Sound Lab Studio, and playing my ass off.  Every monday night, we play and host a jam session at L'Escalier.  This past weekend I met some great classical musicians at a warehouse party down in Old Montreal.  The opening band played a Philip Glass quartet.  People were sitting on the floor, listening, digging on it, and I was like "I have arrived!"