(no subject)

Today Malika taught me the first half of the Du Nasr section of the tasnif I've been working on - slowly I'm starting to get through it. She also started teaching me Rohat, which Carolyn requested that I learn while I was here - it is a cute piece with a couple of trick rhythms and strykhs in it. After I digested all of Rohat that I could she told me that the first time she was a guest in Rustam aka's house they requested that she play Rohat - she didn't know it well, so just played it as she could - not accurately, but kinda sorta. They didn't say anything but of course they noticed because Rustam is quite a musician (she didn't know this at the time). Later apparently it was requested of her to play it on the radio and Rustam aka heard this and told her that she has to learn it now because the people are requesting it. So she learned it, but was commenting about how it's not really her style. She's right - its not very lyrical and there aren't really places where kashish (pitch bending ornaments) are appropriate - it is flashy rhythmically and with right hand technique (strykhs) - both of which she can do well, but don't show off her strengths. I think it is really interesting that my strengths as a musician - lyrical playing, tone, expression, etc are her strengtrhs as well - maybe it was fate that I find a dutar teacher with a similar musical personality to mine.

Malika's student, bekhzod, came with us to Rustam aka's lab today because he's got shoulder pain and side pain and is due to enter a competition in December. Around Malika he was amazingly shy with me - he maybe said all of 3 words to me. Then after hanging out at the lab Malika left to catch her bus and Bekhzod and I took the metro together - I started a friendly interrogation - asking him about his family, his studies, etc and he started asking me about my American life - I think I really got him to open up to me. I told him about my thesis topic and he talked to me a little about his education - it was very nice.