How easy it is to forget...

Burning the Brandy...

I've discovered I can forget pieces really fast if I don't play them every week or so.  When I was playing weekly at the Alzheimer's unit this wasn't a problem, but now I'm eking out my playing in little bits so as not to aggravate my arm, that isn't happening.    Yesterday as a break from working on the same piece I've had for several weeks, I thought I'd just run through some of the pieces I can more-or-less play.   Oh dear, not so fast...seems like only parts of them, those parts not necessarily joined together, are still there.  How my brain decides which bits to keep and which bits to forget I will never know, but it can be guaranteed the mistakes never disappear ...

https://soundcloud.com/creamburmese/plum-pudding

Anyway, instead of practicing yesterday I spent a couple of my 15 minute increments "relearning" Andrew York's Royal Plum Pudding.  I have to admit at least half the attraction with this piece is it's name (the other half is it's short so easy to relearn!).   It could still use some interesting dynamics, but at least I got the notes back, and to celebrate I did an Iphone recording. I will say at one time recording myself was an exercise in frustration - it would take 20 minutes or so before I could calm down because of the "red button"syndrome, and then maybe 10 or 12 attempts to get a recording without too many errors.  I've used the phone so much now to hear what I actually sound like that it's become routine - this took only a couple of tries.  Admittedly the tempo needs work and it's not the height of technical sophistication but given I only have short periods of playing...  With a name like "Royal Plum Pudding" the tune would really be more appropriate for Christmas, but I would probably have forgotten it again by then, so I'll post it now.

(BTW - it's traditional to pour brandy over the plum pudding and light it before  cutting into it.  Spectactular (and I've never yet managed to burn even so much as a tablecloth!)

"If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today" -E Joseph Cossman