Today was a good day and a bad day.
Come to think of it, that's always how days are. Days are never perfect, and days are never absolutely terrible. What I'm trying to say is, overall, my day was average. I guess.
I woke up at 8, an hour early, and went to the gym, which was a good way to start my morning. I don't know why it took my so long to realize that working out wakes you up, but I just figured it out like two weeks ago, and I've been using or avoiding the gym depending on whether or not I should be in bed soon.
I went to Aural Skills, and as a class we were reasonable today. Go team.
Then I practiced for an hour, but I was still struggling to keep afloat in my percussion ensemble today. Singers was productive, but I guess anything could be productive compared to Percussion Group today.
I've dropped the ball almost daily in there, and I'm getting tired of it, as I'm sure everyone else is. So I'm doing some spring cleaning, not only for my room, but for my study habits, productivity and character in general. I've been slacking off recently, and with only two weeks until spring break (and less than that until midterms), I shouldn't be doing that.
My lesson wasn't very good today either. Sorry Ryan.
Around African Ensemble, things started to look up. It was a pretty good hour of rehearsal, and I came back home and organized all of my papers, put away my laundry and cleaned my room, spent some of my weekend paycheck at Sukhothai, and did my theory homework.
This evening, I attended a very well organized, thorough and entertaining Master's Recital courtesy of my Jazz Singers II director, Kathryn Stachitus. The music selection was interesting, and the arrangements were very nice. There wasn't a bad tune in the set, and I'm really glad I went to see it. Kathryn, if you ever read this, good job.
So, part bad day, part good day, but it ended on the good day section, so right now I'm doing just fine.
I had a good weekend. I brought home $25 and a pizza on the handlebars of my bike after the church service on Sunday. The show Senor Fin played on Friday was awesome, and we played an encore and melted various faces. We're playing again on Saturday, on my birthday, and the day after an African Concert and a Snarky Puppy concert. I'm so excited for this weekend. Goodness.
If you haven't heard of Snarky Puppy, here's a video:
After you watch it, you'll probably realize why I'm so excited for this weekend.
Well that's not the only reason. But still.
M
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
2/24
I just got back from a concert, Kurt Rosenwinkel with the One O'Clock Lab Band. There were some good and bad things.
I'll start with the good things first. They were all excellent musicians. Kurt's quartet played first, and he played with Aaron Goldberg, Ben Street, and Ted Poor. I love Aaron's solos, I always have and I probably always will. There's something about them that just always blow my mind. I hadn't heard much of the other two, but Ben was a very solid, creative but steadfast bass player, and Ted musicality, expression and rhythmic feel were pretty incredible. And Kurt was definitely worth the hype.
The One O'Clock boys were also good, as usual, with their screaming lead trumpet parts, groovy sax solos and tricky compositions. I always enjoy it when they play.
But, there were a couple of things that I wasn't very impressed with. First of all, why the Murchison? I understand that there were a lot of people that wanted to see him play, but the acoustics of Winspear Hall are much too resonant for the performance tonight; it sounded like I was listening to jazz underwater. Kurt's guitar lines were sometimes too much of a blur to comprehend, and in contrast to all of the other instruments, the drums sounded a little funny cutting when all of the other instruments were muddled.
There were some other things about the MPAC that I didn't like as well. This was the first show I've ever been to where seats were assigned, and from the number of people that had no idea where their seat was, I'd guess it was the same way for a lot of people. That mess delayed the start for probably 15 minutes and was just generally a hassle. And, usually, the staff want all of the people out of the Murchison before 10:30. Kurt's quartet didn't finish until 9:40, and the One O'Clock didn't start until around ten... I didn't stick around to see all of it, but the One only played 2 tunes instead of three, and I bet one of Kurt's tunes was cut too.
I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Kurt's music; sometimes it seemed like the changes never went in the direction you were expecting them to, and others it seemed like the tunes were complex beyond practicality, not in a rhythmic sense but maybe in a tonal sense, and sometimes it seemed like ideas were exhausted too easily or too few of them existed in a certain phrase or song. But, I will say that he's very good at what he does, and that he's very creative and has very good taste in sidemen.
I guess I can't really pick any jazz guitar player and say I really enjoy their music, like I do with some drummers, pianists or other musicians. Maybe I'm just not a guitar jazz person for some reason.
Despite my recently exposed, unexplained lack of empathy towards jazz guitar, I'm glad I went to the show. There was a lot of good music, and I learned a lot. I'm really feeling more supportive than critical right now, even if it doesn't show.
What else did I do today... I went to theory in my pajamas, jammed with the Jesses and Ronan, and played in African Ensemble, which is slowly but surely consuming my life.
Tomorrow I'm playing with African at SMU, I hope... I don't know if anyone who's going is driving, and if no one is driving we can't get there. So that might be a hassle. I'm also going to a party and playing with the band I'm in with the Jesses and Ronan; we're called Senor Fin, with a tilde over the n and an accent over the i, and you should "like" us on Facebook.
Yes, it's kind of a silly name.
Have a good Friday,
M
I'll start with the good things first. They were all excellent musicians. Kurt's quartet played first, and he played with Aaron Goldberg, Ben Street, and Ted Poor. I love Aaron's solos, I always have and I probably always will. There's something about them that just always blow my mind. I hadn't heard much of the other two, but Ben was a very solid, creative but steadfast bass player, and Ted musicality, expression and rhythmic feel were pretty incredible. And Kurt was definitely worth the hype.
The One O'Clock boys were also good, as usual, with their screaming lead trumpet parts, groovy sax solos and tricky compositions. I always enjoy it when they play.
But, there were a couple of things that I wasn't very impressed with. First of all, why the Murchison? I understand that there were a lot of people that wanted to see him play, but the acoustics of Winspear Hall are much too resonant for the performance tonight; it sounded like I was listening to jazz underwater. Kurt's guitar lines were sometimes too much of a blur to comprehend, and in contrast to all of the other instruments, the drums sounded a little funny cutting when all of the other instruments were muddled.
There were some other things about the MPAC that I didn't like as well. This was the first show I've ever been to where seats were assigned, and from the number of people that had no idea where their seat was, I'd guess it was the same way for a lot of people. That mess delayed the start for probably 15 minutes and was just generally a hassle. And, usually, the staff want all of the people out of the Murchison before 10:30. Kurt's quartet didn't finish until 9:40, and the One O'Clock didn't start until around ten... I didn't stick around to see all of it, but the One only played 2 tunes instead of three, and I bet one of Kurt's tunes was cut too.
I can't say I'm the biggest fan of Kurt's music; sometimes it seemed like the changes never went in the direction you were expecting them to, and others it seemed like the tunes were complex beyond practicality, not in a rhythmic sense but maybe in a tonal sense, and sometimes it seemed like ideas were exhausted too easily or too few of them existed in a certain phrase or song. But, I will say that he's very good at what he does, and that he's very creative and has very good taste in sidemen.
I guess I can't really pick any jazz guitar player and say I really enjoy their music, like I do with some drummers, pianists or other musicians. Maybe I'm just not a guitar jazz person for some reason.
Despite my recently exposed, unexplained lack of empathy towards jazz guitar, I'm glad I went to the show. There was a lot of good music, and I learned a lot. I'm really feeling more supportive than critical right now, even if it doesn't show.
What else did I do today... I went to theory in my pajamas, jammed with the Jesses and Ronan, and played in African Ensemble, which is slowly but surely consuming my life.
Tomorrow I'm playing with African at SMU, I hope... I don't know if anyone who's going is driving, and if no one is driving we can't get there. So that might be a hassle. I'm also going to a party and playing with the band I'm in with the Jesses and Ronan; we're called Senor Fin, with a tilde over the n and an accent over the i, and you should "like" us on Facebook.
Yes, it's kind of a silly name.
Have a good Friday,
M
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2/23
I feel like today was an important day once. I don't remember why.
Today I got up at 7 to load the drums at 8 for African Ensemble. We played at an elementary school a little east of Mesquite, and it was pretty fun. The drive was pretty long just for that one concert, but you don't see me complaining.
After that I went to Singers, which wasn't very productive today. It took a while to get started, and I just feel like we didn't get very much done.
My percussion group rehearsal was crazy, because I hadn't practiced enough and all of my notes were probably wrong. So I'm going to go practice after I write this.
Today felt really long, yet somehow I also feel like I didn't get very much done.
But tomorrow I'll have theory, and that's it, and I can practice and be proactive and get things done. And then Friday I'll have cool classes and play at SMU and then rock out at a house party. It'll get better.
M
Today I got up at 7 to load the drums at 8 for African Ensemble. We played at an elementary school a little east of Mesquite, and it was pretty fun. The drive was pretty long just for that one concert, but you don't see me complaining.
After that I went to Singers, which wasn't very productive today. It took a while to get started, and I just feel like we didn't get very much done.
My percussion group rehearsal was crazy, because I hadn't practiced enough and all of my notes were probably wrong. So I'm going to go practice after I write this.
Today felt really long, yet somehow I also feel like I didn't get very much done.
But tomorrow I'll have theory, and that's it, and I can practice and be proactive and get things done. And then Friday I'll have cool classes and play at SMU and then rock out at a house party. It'll get better.
M
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
2/22 #2
Let's go backwards today.
I guess you guys already know as much about gamelan as I do, except for what it looks like. So:
There you go.
I just got done with that. I'm playing gender on our hard tune, Jaya Semara, which the ensemble played when they went to PASIC. It's ridiculous. And I'm playing jegogan on the song I already put up here. I like that also.
Found Jaya Semara!
http://www.gsj.org/node/65
Before that, I had dinner and a sectional, and before that I had band practice.
This afternoon Kurt played at the lecture series and rocked. I have video, but slow internet restrains me from uploading it. So be it.
I went to the lecture series after my lesson with Christopher Deane, in which we talked about some different methods of dampening timpani, as well as how chain drive timpani work and all sorts of cool things. I love those lessons.
Theory was good, my test went okay. Today has flown by, and I feel like I should probably go do something before it's too late to go do something. I'll probably practice.
Tomorrow I'm going to SMU and playing there pretty early in the morning with African Ensemble. I shouldn't miss too many classes.
Hope you've had a good week so far, thanks for reading.
M
I guess you guys already know as much about gamelan as I do, except for what it looks like. So:
There you go.
I just got done with that. I'm playing gender on our hard tune, Jaya Semara, which the ensemble played when they went to PASIC. It's ridiculous. And I'm playing jegogan on the song I already put up here. I like that also.
Found Jaya Semara!
http://www.gsj.org/node/65
Before that, I had dinner and a sectional, and before that I had band practice.
This afternoon Kurt played at the lecture series and rocked. I have video, but slow internet restrains me from uploading it. So be it.
I went to the lecture series after my lesson with Christopher Deane, in which we talked about some different methods of dampening timpani, as well as how chain drive timpani work and all sorts of cool things. I love those lessons.
Theory was good, my test went okay. Today has flown by, and I feel like I should probably go do something before it's too late to go do something. I'll probably practice.
Tomorrow I'm going to SMU and playing there pretty early in the morning with African Ensemble. I shouldn't miss too many classes.
Hope you've had a good week so far, thanks for reading.
M
2/22
Hey everyone.
Blue Knights camp was awesome. The food was really good, I slept pretty nicely. All of the music is really fun, and I have some parts that are difficult enough to be interesting, but not too difficult to ever get. I'm really excited, and I'm going to keep the music a secret so you have to come see me on tour.
Ha.
I flew first class to and from camp, which was pretty nice, especially since it was free (frequent flier miles). They gave me water in a legit, breakable glass, and I could lean my chair back.and I got off the plane first. Besides those things, and getting through security faster at DIA, it's basically the same.
Today I had a Jazz Singers rehearsal, which went pretty well, two Percussion Group rehearsals, which went pretty well overall, and one and a half African rehearsals, which were groovy as usual.
We're playing a piece called Sharpened Stick in Percussion Group, and my part is pretty fun. Here's a cool video of it:
It's hard to follow at first, but if you listen to it a couple of times it gets easier to understand. What we can play as an ensemble right now sounds pretty good, and I'm excited for more rehearsals.
Kurt Rosenwinkel is here at UNT this week, and if you don't know who he is, you should google him. I watched him rehearse with the One O'Clock tonight and not only does he have some chops, but he has good input and seems like a pretty nice guy. I'm looking forward to his big concert on Thursday, and his lecture tomorrow, which I will record parts of.
It takes a ridiculous amount of time to upload a video here at Bruce, so I think I'll just put all of my videos up over spring break, and once they're up I'll repost them on here.
Right now, I'm doing laundry and studying for my Poli Sci test tomorrow. I probably should have started earlier. It's pretty late.
That's all for now.
M
Blue Knights camp was awesome. The food was really good, I slept pretty nicely. All of the music is really fun, and I have some parts that are difficult enough to be interesting, but not too difficult to ever get. I'm really excited, and I'm going to keep the music a secret so you have to come see me on tour.
Ha.
I flew first class to and from camp, which was pretty nice, especially since it was free (frequent flier miles). They gave me water in a legit, breakable glass, and I could lean my chair back.and I got off the plane first. Besides those things, and getting through security faster at DIA, it's basically the same.
Today I had a Jazz Singers rehearsal, which went pretty well, two Percussion Group rehearsals, which went pretty well overall, and one and a half African rehearsals, which were groovy as usual.
We're playing a piece called Sharpened Stick in Percussion Group, and my part is pretty fun. Here's a cool video of it:
It's hard to follow at first, but if you listen to it a couple of times it gets easier to understand. What we can play as an ensemble right now sounds pretty good, and I'm excited for more rehearsals.
Kurt Rosenwinkel is here at UNT this week, and if you don't know who he is, you should google him. I watched him rehearse with the One O'Clock tonight and not only does he have some chops, but he has good input and seems like a pretty nice guy. I'm looking forward to his big concert on Thursday, and his lecture tomorrow, which I will record parts of.
It takes a ridiculous amount of time to upload a video here at Bruce, so I think I'll just put all of my videos up over spring break, and once they're up I'll repost them on here.
Right now, I'm doing laundry and studying for my Poli Sci test tomorrow. I probably should have started earlier. It's pretty late.
That's all for now.
M
Thursday, February 17, 2011
2/17
Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I was pretty busy, and I've been pretty busy today.
Yesterday I went to classes, and tangoed, and went to hear the 4 and 2 O'Clock lab bands at the Syndicate. Ridiculously good. I'm jealous.
Today, I went to theory, and got my Kurt Rosenwinkel w/the One O'Clock ticket, and went to the big African Ensemble class. A couple of hours ago I was at the Wind Symphony concert, and right now I should be composing and doing homework, so I think that's what I'm going to do.
This weekend I'll be at Blue Knights camp, so you won't be hearing from me again until Monday.
But I'll write a lot then, because I'll talk about tomorrow and my whole big busy weekend.
Thanks for reading,
M
Yesterday I went to classes, and tangoed, and went to hear the 4 and 2 O'Clock lab bands at the Syndicate. Ridiculously good. I'm jealous.
Today, I went to theory, and got my Kurt Rosenwinkel w/the One O'Clock ticket, and went to the big African Ensemble class. A couple of hours ago I was at the Wind Symphony concert, and right now I should be composing and doing homework, so I think that's what I'm going to do.
This weekend I'll be at Blue Knights camp, so you won't be hearing from me again until Monday.
But I'll write a lot then, because I'll talk about tomorrow and my whole big busy weekend.
Thanks for reading,
M
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
2/15
Today was a little weird.
I didn't go to government. I don't anymore. I spend the time sleeping, or preparing for other classes. At night, I go over the powerpoints and read the book a little. It's less time, used more effectively.
So I went to theory, and we were quizzed over secondary dominants and stuff. After our quiz, I wrote a melody for my comp class, because it was due after my theory class. Theory got out early, and I sang my melody for composition pretty well, and he liked it.
Ate some lunch, took a break, went to my lesson with Chris Deane. He's a very insightful person, and he knows the perfect way to explain every single concept he teaches. I think I want to be him when I grow up.
He showed me, on a music stand, how playing through a surface doesn't necessary create the best tone. When he flung a towel and played through the stand, the stand shook and almost tipped over, but didn't make a pretty sound. But when he got just enough of the stand for it to vibrate, it sounded as good as a music stand will ever sound, because his stroke made just enough contact to cause vibration, and not enough contact to take any vibration away.
After my lesson, I went to the lecture series, with Adam Nussbaum. I'll put some videos up when my computer decides to load things at a decent speed... instead of waiting for 3 hours to upload a video. But he was very good. Probably the most musical drummer I've ever seen and heard.
He produced sounds I never expected, in grooves and feels that sometimes were completely different than the groove or feel he started on, and he didn't take a single note for granted. When he meant to play fast, he did, and when he played slow, he knew that was what he should do... and the same with volumes, and velocities, and surfaces, and every little thing you could ever think of. Every once in a while, he would crack a big rim shot in the middle of his quiet little solo, just to wake everyone up and make sure we were paying attention.
Not only was he a great musician, but he was a great person. He was really funny, and had a lot of good things to say about his background and what we were doing here. I like him a lot.
I'll show you someone else's Adam Nussbaum video.
Talk about musical talent. Hand farts.
After that, I had a sectional, which was pretty good, and then I went to Fort Worth to watch Stefan Karlsson and Lynn Seaton play with Adam at a studio downtown. They were awesome, and I got more of the same. No video, though... it would have been shaky and gross.
I guess that's it for today.
M
I didn't go to government. I don't anymore. I spend the time sleeping, or preparing for other classes. At night, I go over the powerpoints and read the book a little. It's less time, used more effectively.
So I went to theory, and we were quizzed over secondary dominants and stuff. After our quiz, I wrote a melody for my comp class, because it was due after my theory class. Theory got out early, and I sang my melody for composition pretty well, and he liked it.
Ate some lunch, took a break, went to my lesson with Chris Deane. He's a very insightful person, and he knows the perfect way to explain every single concept he teaches. I think I want to be him when I grow up.
He showed me, on a music stand, how playing through a surface doesn't necessary create the best tone. When he flung a towel and played through the stand, the stand shook and almost tipped over, but didn't make a pretty sound. But when he got just enough of the stand for it to vibrate, it sounded as good as a music stand will ever sound, because his stroke made just enough contact to cause vibration, and not enough contact to take any vibration away.
After my lesson, I went to the lecture series, with Adam Nussbaum. I'll put some videos up when my computer decides to load things at a decent speed... instead of waiting for 3 hours to upload a video. But he was very good. Probably the most musical drummer I've ever seen and heard.
He produced sounds I never expected, in grooves and feels that sometimes were completely different than the groove or feel he started on, and he didn't take a single note for granted. When he meant to play fast, he did, and when he played slow, he knew that was what he should do... and the same with volumes, and velocities, and surfaces, and every little thing you could ever think of. Every once in a while, he would crack a big rim shot in the middle of his quiet little solo, just to wake everyone up and make sure we were paying attention.
Not only was he a great musician, but he was a great person. He was really funny, and had a lot of good things to say about his background and what we were doing here. I like him a lot.
I'll show you someone else's Adam Nussbaum video.
Talk about musical talent. Hand farts.
After that, I had a sectional, which was pretty good, and then I went to Fort Worth to watch Stefan Karlsson and Lynn Seaton play with Adam at a studio downtown. They were awesome, and I got more of the same. No video, though... it would have been shaky and gross.
I guess that's it for today.
M
Monday, February 14, 2011
2/14
It's the first time I've been single on Valentine's Day in a long time. Hm.
I hope you had a good one.
I had a good time in Aural Skills, and we analyzed Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste in Composition, specifically the First Movement.
The piece starts with a chromatic melody, on an A, and has obvious peaks at an Eb (a tritone), then E (a fifth up), and Bb (a tritone from E). This would almost signify a tonality shift, if one could recognize one in the chromatic melody, but it becomes more clear when the next part plays the same melody up a perfect 5th, starting on concert E. The next part starts on a D, a perfect 5th below the starting A. Each new part comes in alternating between a perfect 5th above or below the previous entrance, which makes for some interesting dissonances. When all of the parts in, by measure 56, the tonal center has made its way all the way to Eb, the opposite of A. You should read this, the music is on it somewhere:
http://www.courses.unt.edu/jklein/files/80-90_STRUCTURE-FORM-PROCESS_S08_0.pdf
It blew my mind. I hope you enjoyed it.
Then I went to Singers and we sang with the sound system today, which was fun.
I hadn't worked on my music very much for Percussion Ensemble, so that was a little rough today.
Then I got a lunch break, then went to a lesson with Ryan. I like him. He's very positive and always knows what to fix, but he's not a softie and I'm sure if I ever don't do something he'll crack the whip. Thanks, Ryan.
Anyways, I'm doing Rotation II, by Eric Sammut, for one of my solos this year, I think. It should be fun.
Then I went to African and played for a while, and came home and read my book and ate some crackers. I went to another African rehearsal, this time at the the dance class for all of the people that are trying to make it as dancers. He asked a couple of us to come play with the group tonight, and it was pretty fun.
This is my first real break, aside from my little one in between African Ensembles, but I still have to write a melody and study for a test I have tomorrow.
I'm pretty busy, and I'll be honest, I love it. I don't understand how people take 13 or 14 credits... I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, some nights I can't anyways. If I sit around too much doing nothing, I get antsy and start feeling guilty. And it's not like I'm busy with math homework or doing a lame job. I'm at one of the best music schools in the world, doing everything I want to do (almost), and loving the crap out of it.
It's like every day here is a little present.
Happy Valentine's Day, self.
M
I hope you had a good one.
I had a good time in Aural Skills, and we analyzed Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste in Composition, specifically the First Movement.
The piece starts with a chromatic melody, on an A, and has obvious peaks at an Eb (a tritone), then E (a fifth up), and Bb (a tritone from E). This would almost signify a tonality shift, if one could recognize one in the chromatic melody, but it becomes more clear when the next part plays the same melody up a perfect 5th, starting on concert E. The next part starts on a D, a perfect 5th below the starting A. Each new part comes in alternating between a perfect 5th above or below the previous entrance, which makes for some interesting dissonances. When all of the parts in, by measure 56, the tonal center has made its way all the way to Eb, the opposite of A. You should read this, the music is on it somewhere:
http://www.courses.unt.edu/jklein/files/80-90_STRUCTURE-FORM-PROCESS_S08_0.pdf
It blew my mind. I hope you enjoyed it.
Then I went to Singers and we sang with the sound system today, which was fun.
I hadn't worked on my music very much for Percussion Ensemble, so that was a little rough today.
Then I got a lunch break, then went to a lesson with Ryan. I like him. He's very positive and always knows what to fix, but he's not a softie and I'm sure if I ever don't do something he'll crack the whip. Thanks, Ryan.
Anyways, I'm doing Rotation II, by Eric Sammut, for one of my solos this year, I think. It should be fun.
Then I went to African and played for a while, and came home and read my book and ate some crackers. I went to another African rehearsal, this time at the the dance class for all of the people that are trying to make it as dancers. He asked a couple of us to come play with the group tonight, and it was pretty fun.
This is my first real break, aside from my little one in between African Ensembles, but I still have to write a melody and study for a test I have tomorrow.
I'm pretty busy, and I'll be honest, I love it. I don't understand how people take 13 or 14 credits... I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, some nights I can't anyways. If I sit around too much doing nothing, I get antsy and start feeling guilty. And it's not like I'm busy with math homework or doing a lame job. I'm at one of the best music schools in the world, doing everything I want to do (almost), and loving the crap out of it.
It's like every day here is a little present.
Happy Valentine's Day, self.
M
Friday, February 11, 2011
2/11
Some days don't go the way you want them to.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
I did really terribly in Aural Skills, the guys slacked in Jazz Singers and we dropped the ball, and I failed all of my barriers. Every single one.
On days like these, it's crucial to not only keep your head up, and keep trying and to work harder, but it's also good to look back and see what you've done, what you have and who's out there to help. The easiest way to pick yourself back up after falling is to remember how awesome it was all of the time you were standing on your own feet.
If failing the barriers is a consistent problem, then I'll have to reevaluate my life, and I don't know what I'll do, mostly because I don't know what I'm doing in the first place.
If any of my teachers or professors or friends read this, you should know that I'm sorry for the times I was ever a jerk or a stubborn ass, and I'm committed to respecting you and being genuine with you. I probably took you for granted, and that is a really terrible thing to do.
M
Thursday, February 10, 2011
2/10
Today has been quite the day.
I didn't go to sleep last night. I tried for an hour, and at 3am, I was still up (and so was Dean). So I decided to seize the day and make the best of my sleeplessness.
I biked to Big Mike's in the cold, without gloves, which I immediately regretted. I had a couple sips of a mocha, and a lot of water, because I thought was getting sick. I wrote a letter, and did my theory homework, and caught up in composition, all before going back to Bruce to eat breakfast when the cafeteria opened at 7am and watching the sunrise.
I ran around doing little things until theory, which was pretty slow.
After theory I took a well-deserved nap, until four, which was a little longer than I had planned to be asleep. But I got up in time to run some errands and go to African Ensemble.
I played kagan on two new beats, and I don't remember their names.
The first one had the typical 12/8 bell pattern: X - X - X X - X - X - X X - X - X X - X - X - X:||
And, I played this: x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx:||
I would write it out on Sibelius, but I am le tired.
The tricky part was that the sogo and kidi were playing in subdivisions of 4 instead of subdivisions of 3.
So, try playing the bell pattern while tapping your foot every 3 8th notes, and then do it every 4 8th notes.
I never really figured out where I could tap my foot to make my part feel the best, but I played it alright.
The next one had the same bell pattern, but in the time it took for the bell to play one measure of 12/8, I played a measure of 4/4: x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx:|| (that's two measures)
The bell and some shakers were in 12/8, while all of the drums were in 4/4, and a couple of shakers kept just the beat.
I put an earplug in on the side the bell was just to block out the side with the bell and shakers in 12.
Then we played Gahu, and I played kidi, and I played some bell on Tokoe. It was a lot of fun, even if I was really tired and focusing too much on playing my part.
After the rehearsal, Gideon got all of the drummers together and told us about a church gig, that supposedly pays decently. It's at a Zionist church, and all of the instruments are already there. I'm excited to go, and I would probably do it for free, just to play and jam with people on free instruments, but since it's on Sunday morning... that's pretty early to do it for free.
I practiced my mallet stuff today, because I'm doing my barriers tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes well and I can pick up where I left off in lessons instead of taking everything over again.
I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading.
M
I didn't go to sleep last night. I tried for an hour, and at 3am, I was still up (and so was Dean). So I decided to seize the day and make the best of my sleeplessness.
I biked to Big Mike's in the cold, without gloves, which I immediately regretted. I had a couple sips of a mocha, and a lot of water, because I thought was getting sick. I wrote a letter, and did my theory homework, and caught up in composition, all before going back to Bruce to eat breakfast when the cafeteria opened at 7am and watching the sunrise.
I ran around doing little things until theory, which was pretty slow.
After theory I took a well-deserved nap, until four, which was a little longer than I had planned to be asleep. But I got up in time to run some errands and go to African Ensemble.
I played kagan on two new beats, and I don't remember their names.
The first one had the typical 12/8 bell pattern: X - X - X X - X - X - X X - X - X X - X - X - X:||
And, I played this: x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx x xx:||
I would write it out on Sibelius, but I am le tired.
The tricky part was that the sogo and kidi were playing in subdivisions of 4 instead of subdivisions of 3.
So, try playing the bell pattern while tapping your foot every 3 8th notes, and then do it every 4 8th notes.
I never really figured out where I could tap my foot to make my part feel the best, but I played it alright.
The next one had the same bell pattern, but in the time it took for the bell to play one measure of 12/8, I played a measure of 4/4: x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx-x-xx-xx:|| (that's two measures)
The bell and some shakers were in 12/8, while all of the drums were in 4/4, and a couple of shakers kept just the beat.
I put an earplug in on the side the bell was just to block out the side with the bell and shakers in 12.
Then we played Gahu, and I played kidi, and I played some bell on Tokoe. It was a lot of fun, even if I was really tired and focusing too much on playing my part.
After the rehearsal, Gideon got all of the drummers together and told us about a church gig, that supposedly pays decently. It's at a Zionist church, and all of the instruments are already there. I'm excited to go, and I would probably do it for free, just to play and jam with people on free instruments, but since it's on Sunday morning... that's pretty early to do it for free.
I practiced my mallet stuff today, because I'm doing my barriers tomorrow. Hopefully everything goes well and I can pick up where I left off in lessons instead of taking everything over again.
I'm going to bed. Thanks for reading.
M
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
2/9 - Another snow day
I never thought snow days would be something that would make me angry. But that seems to be the case this year.
Today, UNT had another snow day, caused by a severe dusting of snow that covered the grass and parts of the sidewalks. Either that, or it was just too cold for a Texan to go anywhere today.
I miss Colorado.
So today, I slept in, and wrote something on piano. It sounds pretty good. I'm sick of playing it right now, so I'll probably record it and put it up some time later.
I jammed with the Jesses and Ronan for two hours, and it was exceptionally fun today. We had new stuff to play, and new ideas to use on old tunes, and it just worked.
For example, one of our songs starts in 6/8, but the subdivision switches around between 2s and 3s. Then they play a lick in 4 while I play in 6, and then they play in 5 while I play in 6. And there are parts that have beats moved around to other measures, and sometimes I play in a different time signature just to mess with everyone's heads. It's a workout, and I love it.
I'm practicing for early barriers, but since the practice rooms weren't open, I've only done snare stuff today.
I guess that's about it.
M
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
2/8
Larry Goldings came to UNT today.
I didn't know very much about him before today, but I liked what I got to know today. He had a lot of good ideas about improvisation and ear training, and he could sound like whatever instrument he wanted and create whatever emotion he wanted to. I liked that a lot.
Gamelan was good, theory was good (and hilarious), my singers sectional was good.
I missed a lesson today, only because I totally forgot about it. I hadn't had one in two weeks and I couldn't remember what time we were meeting. I'll talk to him tomorrow and hopefully straighten everything out.
Ed Soph passed me in the hallway today and said "So, I heard you're starting to like me?" I was confused. Turns out he reads this every once in a while.
Lesson for the day:
Watch what you say, because on the internet, anyone can see it.
Class dismissed.
M
P.S.,
Mr. Soph, if you're reading this one, could we do a drumset lesson? I like the way you play.
I didn't know very much about him before today, but I liked what I got to know today. He had a lot of good ideas about improvisation and ear training, and he could sound like whatever instrument he wanted and create whatever emotion he wanted to. I liked that a lot.
Gamelan was good, theory was good (and hilarious), my singers sectional was good.
I missed a lesson today, only because I totally forgot about it. I hadn't had one in two weeks and I couldn't remember what time we were meeting. I'll talk to him tomorrow and hopefully straighten everything out.
Ed Soph passed me in the hallway today and said "So, I heard you're starting to like me?" I was confused. Turns out he reads this every once in a while.
Lesson for the day:
Watch what you say, because on the internet, anyone can see it.
Class dismissed.
M
P.S.,
Mr. Soph, if you're reading this one, could we do a drumset lesson? I like the way you play.
Monday, February 7, 2011
2/7
From now on, I think, I won't force myself to title every page. Some days are just smorgasbords of goodies, like today, and it's really tough to sum it all up without calling every day "A Good Day."
In Composition today, we learned about melodies, and types of motion and phrases and contour and accents and text setting. My professor usually gives funny examples of how to do something wrong before (or instead of) giving one that shows how to do something correctly. Today's was how awfully "Walk Like An Egyptian" by the Bangles was set, to show us that music sounds better with certain syllables emphasized, and this usually means emphasizing them naturally; you don't say pain-TINGS, you shouldn't sing it either.
Everything you could possibly want to know about Beginner's Music Composition is on my professor's website, which is open to anyone in the whole world to look at. I think that's pretty cool.
Then Jennifer Barnes did a master class during my Singers rehearsal time, and she was very good.
They interviewing a few people for the spot that Paris Rutherford had before he retired, director of Vocal Jazz Studies at UNT. Just so you know.
I didn't have percussion group rehearsal today, but I did have a lesson at 2:30, which went pretty well.
African Ensemble learned Gahu today:
It's not as hard as the one before.
And I went to the library and got a lot of Mendelssohn, stuff for Comp and my jazz lecture thing, and Frank Zappa's "Apostrophe."
Generally, a good day, and a good start to what should be a good week.
M
2/6 - Random Stuff.
Hey everyone.
Whoever said Tuvan Throat Singing was sick... thanks?
I appreciate it.
I've decided I should organize all of the videos and photos and stuff of all of my musical adventures. So tomorrow I'll attempt to put all of my music pictures in one spot, and I'll put a link up here.
There's already a video version of that, it's here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dawizard737
But, for now, I can talk about the concert I went to Saturday, I guess.
On Saturday, I went to see D'Drum perform Gamelan D'Drum, a piece written by Stewart Copeland (from the Police) for the 5 member percussion ensemble and orchestra. It was awesome.
Here's what the stage looked like from my seat. I lucked out.
The intro is pretty rough, I'll admit. But it's still cool that it just happened in the lobby of my dorm.
Whoever said Tuvan Throat Singing was sick... thanks?
I appreciate it.
I've decided I should organize all of the videos and photos and stuff of all of my musical adventures. So tomorrow I'll attempt to put all of my music pictures in one spot, and I'll put a link up here.
There's already a video version of that, it's here: http://www.youtube.com/user/dawizard737
I'm trying to upload a video of the big band that formed out of boredom here at Bruce on Wednesday, but it's going to take two hours. I think I'd rather go to bed.
I'll do it in the morning.
But, for now, I can talk about the concert I went to Saturday, I guess.
On Saturday, I went to see D'Drum perform Gamelan D'Drum, a piece written by Stewart Copeland (from the Police) for the 5 member percussion ensemble and orchestra. It was awesome.
I wish there was a recording of the piece somewhere, and there probably will be eventually. But since it's new, I don't really have anything to reference. Generally, it was fantastic, and if they ever do it again, I highly recommend it.
After an intermission, the orchestra played Mendelssohn's 3rd Symphony in A minor, Opus 56 "Scottish." I liked it a lot, and I sat right behind the timpanist; it was a treat to not only see up close how he played every note but to kind of follow along in his part.
Here's what the stage looked like from my seat. I lucked out.
From the left, you'll see the gamelan gongs, small and large, various hand drums, the most awesome rainstick ever, 5 djembes, a marimba with crotales, their ethnic drumset, a cimbalom, and a rice... crusher... thing, to be used with the stick that's in front of the cimbalom. Off stage to the left were some wooden wind chime things, and they were played by an electric fan.
From the left, you'll see the huge bass drum, two metallophones (probably gender), a black vibraphone, reyong (the little tuned gongs in the red chest), and two large gongs accompanied by large drums on the side.
Some of the brass players also had those wooden frogs... the ones that have ridges on their back, and if you run a stick along the ridges, it sounds like a frog.
I was about to say that this was the best 15 dollars I'd ever spent on a concert, but it's pretty tough to beat Ravi Shankar. Sorry guys.
M
Update:
Here's the video:
The intro is pretty rough, I'll admit. But it's still cool that it just happened in the lobby of my dorm.
Friday, February 4, 2011
2/4 - Tuvan Throat Singing
First of all:
I received a cd of Huun Huur Tu today. Out of boredom and lack of anything better to do, I'm going to see where I can take this.
Huun Huur Tu is a quartet of musicians from Tuva, a Russian province on the border of Mongolia. They play igil and doshpuluur, the stringed instruments; some drums and a Khomus, which is kind of a like a Jew's harp; but their real claim to fame is their throat singing, which consists of singing a drone while singing an overtone (or overtones) of that note. I can kind of do it, but it's pretty tricky.
In Tuva, they have a contest at a festival each year to see who's the best throat singer in each of the styles: Khoomei, Sygyt, and Kargyraa. There are also combinations of the styles, like Chylandyk, and there's even a style where they sing through their nose:
Sorry, that guy's not Tuvan. But it's the best one I could find.
He's goofy.
Here's the article on it, if you're curious. I definitely was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvan_throat_singing
Or, the Alash Ensemble has a great website, with examples on each of the styles:
http://www.alashensemble.com/about_tts.htm
Anyways, I was listening to my cd, and I could hear parts of the music that sounded like they were inspired by other regions of the world. Like this one for example, sounds similar
I mean, sure, different scales, and Indian classical music uses gamekas and stuff to embellish, whereas the throat singers have a much more limited scale. But I thought it was interesting how both cultures use the drone, and have a lead vocal, and use other instruments to complement or add to what the lead vocalist is doing.
There's another track in the CD called "Dangyna;" it uses something that sounds like an accordion, and has a Russian feel to it. I guess that makes sense, since technically, Tuva is a part of Russia, but I always feel like they're almost Mongolia, and this one track has such a different, distinctively Russian sound unlike any of the other tracks.
I found it, but I can't embed it, because it's in a different language:
http://www.vidyoara.com/izle/447389733079/huun-huur-tu-dangyna/
You have to close out of the ad, so click "ragat" which is on the lower right corner, and say how old you are. It'll load after that.
Little parts of this cd remind me of Chinese or other oriental music, and different parts remind me of Native American music. I really like how it all fits together.
This is the last one for now. It might be my favorite.
Have a good day, and thanks for reading.
M
I received a cd of Huun Huur Tu today. Out of boredom and lack of anything better to do, I'm going to see where I can take this.
Huun Huur Tu is a quartet of musicians from Tuva, a Russian province on the border of Mongolia. They play igil and doshpuluur, the stringed instruments; some drums and a Khomus, which is kind of a like a Jew's harp; but their real claim to fame is their throat singing, which consists of singing a drone while singing an overtone (or overtones) of that note. I can kind of do it, but it's pretty tricky.
In Tuva, they have a contest at a festival each year to see who's the best throat singer in each of the styles: Khoomei, Sygyt, and Kargyraa. There are also combinations of the styles, like Chylandyk, and there's even a style where they sing through their nose:
Sorry, that guy's not Tuvan. But it's the best one I could find.
He's goofy.
Here's the article on it, if you're curious. I definitely was.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvan_throat_singing
Or, the Alash Ensemble has a great website, with examples on each of the styles:
http://www.alashensemble.com/about_tts.htm
Anyways, I was listening to my cd, and I could hear parts of the music that sounded like they were inspired by other regions of the world. Like this one for example, sounds similar
I mean, sure, different scales, and Indian classical music uses gamekas and stuff to embellish, whereas the throat singers have a much more limited scale. But I thought it was interesting how both cultures use the drone, and have a lead vocal, and use other instruments to complement or add to what the lead vocalist is doing.
There's another track in the CD called "Dangyna;" it uses something that sounds like an accordion, and has a Russian feel to it. I guess that makes sense, since technically, Tuva is a part of Russia, but I always feel like they're almost Mongolia, and this one track has such a different, distinctively Russian sound unlike any of the other tracks.
I found it, but I can't embed it, because it's in a different language:
http://www.vidyoara.com/izle/447389733079/huun-huur-tu-dangyna/
You have to close out of the ad, so click "ragat" which is on the lower right corner, and say how old you are. It'll load after that.
Little parts of this cd remind me of Chinese or other oriental music, and different parts remind me of Native American music. I really like how it all fits together.
This is the last one for now. It might be my favorite.
Have a good day, and thanks for reading.
M
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
2/1
Sorry about yesterday.
Yesterday I skipped composition to practice for percussion ensemble. Singers was alright, percussion ensemble went pretty well. African ensemble was really confusing. And I went to an interesting concert later that night, showcasing percussion and live electronics.
This is adzogbo, what we learned in African Ensemble:
Basically, the gankogui and the two lower drums are in 4, but the two shekere parts and the kagan (or kidi, in this notation) are playing in three. To make it more complicated, the kagan plays in the holes where the first shekere isn't, and the two lower drums alternate their pattern.
It blew our minds.
The percussion concert had two multi-percussion pieces, a piece for amplified maracas, and hi-hat. They all either had a backing track or had a nifty computer program follow their movements and play it back to them in all sorts of cool ways. It was really complicated and awesome, but probably not for much more than the hour that the concert was.
Today, I haven't done anything, just because I haven't felt like it. It's a snow day, and tomorrow's a snow day, for minimal snowfall and blowing snow, possibly ice, I don't really know, I haven't been outside yet.
So I won't have anything to write about tomorrow.
M
Yesterday I skipped composition to practice for percussion ensemble. Singers was alright, percussion ensemble went pretty well. African ensemble was really confusing. And I went to an interesting concert later that night, showcasing percussion and live electronics.
This is adzogbo, what we learned in African Ensemble:
Basically, the gankogui and the two lower drums are in 4, but the two shekere parts and the kagan (or kidi, in this notation) are playing in three. To make it more complicated, the kagan plays in the holes where the first shekere isn't, and the two lower drums alternate their pattern.
It blew our minds.
The percussion concert had two multi-percussion pieces, a piece for amplified maracas, and hi-hat. They all either had a backing track or had a nifty computer program follow their movements and play it back to them in all sorts of cool ways. It was really complicated and awesome, but probably not for much more than the hour that the concert was.
Today, I haven't done anything, just because I haven't felt like it. It's a snow day, and tomorrow's a snow day, for minimal snowfall and blowing snow, possibly ice, I don't really know, I haven't been outside yet.
So I won't have anything to write about tomorrow.
M
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