So over the weekend, I played cello for the Easter Masses... it was a tremendous amount of fun & I don't know if it's because it made me feel physically better from being sick, or if it's because of something deeper inside, but there were some truly beautiful music-making moments & there was this accompanying joy & sense of pride with what I was doing... it's great to feel that again.
To follow that up, I practiced for somewhere around 3 hours today ... I got some really great stuff accomplished, and I used my laptop to record & video for the first time ... so helpful. It makes a tremendous difference to pause & reflect verbally after each exercise ... and also to set goals makes a tremendous difference...
My bow technique is bothering the crap out of me after that conversation with Ostrofsky, though I love the way my left hand is coming along... truth be told, my bow hand isn't that bad... but it could be so much further... I'm going to really try to focus on it as much as possible... it's sort of like focusing on your left hand when practicing piano...
One thing that helps tremendously is if I think about the bow motion coming from the upper arm muscles, and think of the elbow as a hinge (I really need to just work/study with Ostrofsky ... all of his ideas & concepts 3 years later still work great for me... I love my teacher, there's just certain limits he has in his concepts of technique & his idea of playing & I'm not saying that I know better than him or that I know more, because I don't ... I'm just saying that there's other things that I need ... other ways to do and learn... still, I could write a whole post on the good things about my teacher... maybe I should do that sometime...)
Speaking of other teachers... I'm absolutely calling Julia Lichten tomorrow ... making myself do it... been putting it off way too long...
Also speaking of other teachers, Richard Slade conducted our chorus rehearsal tonight instead of our usual conductor (he's listed on the links to the right as Richard the Tenor) ... what a tremendous difference! We got so much more done, not to mention the general morale was a lot higher & I felt like I actually learned a ton in the class, because the teacher actually talked about musical and technical issues, instead of just taking a brute force approach to things... sort of another example ... our usual teacher is not a bad teacher, but there's just so much more that could be done...
Anyway, point is, some good music stuff has been going on lately & I'm gonna keep it up! So thrilled to be back in my inner performing world... I realize I still never responded to peoples' comments... I think I'm gonna have to let those ones go at this point... thanks for the support from anyone who did comment though...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How bout me enjoying the moment for once?
Hung out with my good friend Danny Gray last night ... also visited my old high school the other day (I'll be playing at the Palisades Mall with them tomorrow which means I need to wake up waaaay too early!)
It was great to chill with Danny, cuz it's been way too long. We got to talk about a bunch of music stuff and I ended up burning all the Nightwish cds I had for him ... it was so cool watching vids/listening to music w/ him ... him and Andrew really get into this stuff in a way that other people don't & I was so excited to be around that again... also, it's crazy how much he can just pick up the chords and structure of something just from listening to it... truly inspiring (I stayed up all night playing along w/ Dream Theater... about time!)
Danny also just got accepted to an *amazing* film scoring program that accepts 20 people a year: http://web.mac.com/smptv/iWeb/SMPTVUSC/THE%20PROGRAM.html
So the downside to that is that in a few months, he'll be moving out to California...
In other news, I bought a Macbook Pro recently & it's truly amazing... I don't have any of the really cool/extraordinary software like Pro Tools or reason, but I do have Audacity & Garage Band, and for right now, that's sufficient ... it's great for songwriting & jamming ... and I can record vids. w/ it too .. it's so nice to be able to record myself again.
Also... I finally started playing cello again. With both cello & keys (keyboards), it's amazing how much more relaxed I am now, and how much more focused my mind is. I'm finally starting to push myself out of my comfort zone w/ the keys and move into other key areas that I don't normally play in. I've realized from listening to Dream Theater that what my songwriting is lacking at the moment is mood/direction ... I can come up w/ melodies/harmonies/lyrics, but everything needs to have a feel to it. One of the ways they do that is through key changes (you can of course also do this stuff with patch changes and other tonal things) ... so it's stuff to think about...
It's been great being home... and its phenomenal to finally reconnect with my musical roots (cuz when it comes down to it, Nightwish is my heart & Dream Theater is my mind, and I learn so much that way...)
Speaking of which, I've decided to move past my resentment with classical music and all that stuff... music is just music... what matters is that I enjoy it & do creative things with it... I'm not going to box myself into being a type of musician... my music is my music and it incorporates all elements .. amazing musicianship and composition can be found in basically any genre, classical included. (I swear it all goes back to Bach ... every time I'm really at odds with this stuff, I just go back to him & Beethoven, but Bach especially b/c he's so personal, and everything just makes sense again).
I've also decided to take an extra semester at school & to quit my retail job so I can focus on music (about time!) ... Also, I'm playing on a few people's Sr. Recitals (quite exciting) & next week is Easter (that means money!!)
Now I just need to line up a summer job & maybe find another student... I think a goal to accomplish within a year from now is to setup some kind of teaching studio or at least to not have to drive around to lessons as much... it's very time-consuming/draining.
That's all I'm gonna write for now ... glad to be practicing again .. and glad to be practicing for its own sake ... self-indulgence can be so fulfilling sometimes...
(PS - Thanks for all of you who left comments on the last couple of entries - I know I haven't necessarily responded to everything, but thank you! I'll try and respond to anything I've left untouched soon...)
It was great to chill with Danny, cuz it's been way too long. We got to talk about a bunch of music stuff and I ended up burning all the Nightwish cds I had for him ... it was so cool watching vids/listening to music w/ him ... him and Andrew really get into this stuff in a way that other people don't & I was so excited to be around that again... also, it's crazy how much he can just pick up the chords and structure of something just from listening to it... truly inspiring (I stayed up all night playing along w/ Dream Theater... about time!)
Danny also just got accepted to an *amazing* film scoring program that accepts 20 people a year: http://web.mac.com/smptv/iWeb/SMPTVUSC/THE%20PROGRAM.html
So the downside to that is that in a few months, he'll be moving out to California...
In other news, I bought a Macbook Pro recently & it's truly amazing... I don't have any of the really cool/extraordinary software like Pro Tools or reason, but I do have Audacity & Garage Band, and for right now, that's sufficient ... it's great for songwriting & jamming ... and I can record vids. w/ it too .. it's so nice to be able to record myself again.
Also... I finally started playing cello again. With both cello & keys (keyboards), it's amazing how much more relaxed I am now, and how much more focused my mind is. I'm finally starting to push myself out of my comfort zone w/ the keys and move into other key areas that I don't normally play in. I've realized from listening to Dream Theater that what my songwriting is lacking at the moment is mood/direction ... I can come up w/ melodies/harmonies/lyrics, but everything needs to have a feel to it. One of the ways they do that is through key changes (you can of course also do this stuff with patch changes and other tonal things) ... so it's stuff to think about...
It's been great being home... and its phenomenal to finally reconnect with my musical roots (cuz when it comes down to it, Nightwish is my heart & Dream Theater is my mind, and I learn so much that way...)
Speaking of which, I've decided to move past my resentment with classical music and all that stuff... music is just music... what matters is that I enjoy it & do creative things with it... I'm not going to box myself into being a type of musician... my music is my music and it incorporates all elements .. amazing musicianship and composition can be found in basically any genre, classical included. (I swear it all goes back to Bach ... every time I'm really at odds with this stuff, I just go back to him & Beethoven, but Bach especially b/c he's so personal, and everything just makes sense again).
I've also decided to take an extra semester at school & to quit my retail job so I can focus on music (about time!) ... Also, I'm playing on a few people's Sr. Recitals (quite exciting) & next week is Easter (that means money!!)
Now I just need to line up a summer job & maybe find another student... I think a goal to accomplish within a year from now is to setup some kind of teaching studio or at least to not have to drive around to lessons as much... it's very time-consuming/draining.
That's all I'm gonna write for now ... glad to be practicing again .. and glad to be practicing for its own sake ... self-indulgence can be so fulfilling sometimes...
(PS - Thanks for all of you who left comments on the last couple of entries - I know I haven't necessarily responded to everything, but thank you! I'll try and respond to anything I've left untouched soon...)
Friday, February 15, 2008
Songwriting...
Did some more songwriting tonight... well maybe piece-writing would be more appropriate (where as the piano thing I wrote recently is a full song concept that I worked out a basic arrangement for, these were just ideas or sections... probably of separate songs)
It ended on a good note, and I really liked some of he stuff I was doing... I often get into this creative block w/ piano and improvisation, where I keep going doing/playing the same pattern or patterns...
Doing it on a keyboard (as opposed to a piano ) really helped... I'm very encouraged by it & I ended feeling good... I want to write more but I need to chill...
Still burnt out on this whole music thing... my cello teacher said that was natural (cuz I had the competition last week) .. maybe he's right...
Anyway, we did Beethoven & Irish Folk Music in the lesson today... it was a good break... in the meantime, I have all this non-music stuff I need to catch up with, but all I want to do is make (write/create) music...
Got asked about being in a band and might have another cello student... excited about both of those... also concerned... though depending on what lessons pay, maybe I'll finally be able to quit Barnes & Nobles??
Sometimes we just need to step away and breathe... I'm considering the possibility of maybe staying an extra semester so that I don't have to keep credit overloading myself... if I did that, I'd be able to drop a class now & not take as full of a schedule next semester... I don't know if that makes sense or not though... I'll think about it, then bring it up w/ my advisor...
Edit: Terry, thanks for your response on my other post... I'm probably gonna answer it up with a follow-up post (as opposed to just a comment) soon.
It ended on a good note, and I really liked some of he stuff I was doing... I often get into this creative block w/ piano and improvisation, where I keep going doing/playing the same pattern or patterns...
Doing it on a keyboard (as opposed to a piano ) really helped... I'm very encouraged by it & I ended feeling good... I want to write more but I need to chill...
Still burnt out on this whole music thing... my cello teacher said that was natural (cuz I had the competition last week) .. maybe he's right...
Anyway, we did Beethoven & Irish Folk Music in the lesson today... it was a good break... in the meantime, I have all this non-music stuff I need to catch up with, but all I want to do is make (write/create) music...
Got asked about being in a band and might have another cello student... excited about both of those... also concerned... though depending on what lessons pay, maybe I'll finally be able to quit Barnes & Nobles??
Sometimes we just need to step away and breathe... I'm considering the possibility of maybe staying an extra semester so that I don't have to keep credit overloading myself... if I did that, I'd be able to drop a class now & not take as full of a schedule next semester... I don't know if that makes sense or not though... I'll think about it, then bring it up w/ my advisor...
Edit: Terry, thanks for your response on my other post... I'm probably gonna answer it up with a follow-up post (as opposed to just a comment) soon.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
The Concerto Competition, followed by Amahl & the Night Visitors
2 Very awesome experiences. First, the concerto competition, it was great to get to work on the Elgar Concerto w/ Dr. B & Dr. Kuan. I feel like I'd be able to play that movement with anyone at this point, and playing it with piano really expanded my conception of it. It had a really interesting result, which is that it was declared that none of us won ... the official reason for that was that the judges & the orchestra conductor felt that none of the pieces would be ready for a public performance... it's very strange to say the least... We still do get to read through it with the orchestra though, so that's cool. Personally, I don't really care that I didn't win per se... as cool as it would have been, I've got so much stuff going on anyway that it's just Dust in the Wind...
Amahl... let me start off with the bad, and get it out of the way. I missed a show!!! Um, holy fuck. Can we talk about my worst nightmare?? I've only missed a gig once before and I utterly hate doing it. It's only been in the last 6 months too... never before has this kinda thing been a problem... there used to be a time where I was always early for anything I was doing... that's changed here at Manhattanville. I'm working on changing it back...
Now for the cool stuff:
1. I got the Oboe player the gig, she was a friend of mine (Caitlin Walters) from the Mville Orchestra & it was great to have her in the pit... turns out that she new David Jutt's (the pianist) sister and that they had been out of touch for a while... nice to know that I helped facilitate that exchange of info.
2. I got to play with a mix of students & pros & semi-pros. Playing with pros is great, b/c they of course are at a whole different level than you are. The Bass player's daughter apparently does Electric Cello stuff... was cool to discover, she said she's gonna send me a cd. The Harpist has an ensemble that does celtic music (how cool is that??).
3. David Toby is a really cool guy. He started off freelancing and has done a ton of really interesting stuff. It was great to get some stories & perspective of someone who has done all that stuff. But much cooler than that, he apparently plays with Von Cello (Aaron Minsky) from time to time!! How amazing... he's hopefully gonna put me in touch with him, next time they're in touch. That would be so cool.
4. I ran into Ms. Garnett!! (an old art teacher who I was out of touch with because she retired). I got to talk to her a bit & it was so exciting, she gave me her number so that I can give her a call. She was such an awesome teacher & person. Looking back, I just think of the amount of creativity & achievement that came out of her students. There were some really talented kids under her wing (some of them were/are friends of mine too!)
5. I've now played an Operetta, it was a fun gig all in all, even though I was exhausted and burnt out for most of it...
Anyway, on to the next post...
Amahl... let me start off with the bad, and get it out of the way. I missed a show!!! Um, holy fuck. Can we talk about my worst nightmare?? I've only missed a gig once before and I utterly hate doing it. It's only been in the last 6 months too... never before has this kinda thing been a problem... there used to be a time where I was always early for anything I was doing... that's changed here at Manhattanville. I'm working on changing it back...
Now for the cool stuff:
1. I got the Oboe player the gig, she was a friend of mine (Caitlin Walters) from the Mville Orchestra & it was great to have her in the pit... turns out that she new David Jutt's (the pianist) sister and that they had been out of touch for a while... nice to know that I helped facilitate that exchange of info.
2. I got to play with a mix of students & pros & semi-pros. Playing with pros is great, b/c they of course are at a whole different level than you are. The Bass player's daughter apparently does Electric Cello stuff... was cool to discover, she said she's gonna send me a cd. The Harpist has an ensemble that does celtic music (how cool is that??).
3. David Toby is a really cool guy. He started off freelancing and has done a ton of really interesting stuff. It was great to get some stories & perspective of someone who has done all that stuff. But much cooler than that, he apparently plays with Von Cello (Aaron Minsky) from time to time!! How amazing... he's hopefully gonna put me in touch with him, next time they're in touch. That would be so cool.
4. I ran into Ms. Garnett!! (an old art teacher who I was out of touch with because she retired). I got to talk to her a bit & it was so exciting, she gave me her number so that I can give her a call. She was such an awesome teacher & person. Looking back, I just think of the amount of creativity & achievement that came out of her students. There were some really talented kids under her wing (some of them were/are friends of mine too!)
5. I've now played an Operetta, it was a fun gig all in all, even though I was exhausted and burnt out for most of it...
Anyway, on to the next post...
Sometimes it's really hard to remember why I do this in the first place..
I just need to write... to get it all out. It keeps penting up inside of me, no matter what I do. I'm trying to stay on top of things, to time manage to work on all my classes & projects, but it's just so ridiculously overwhelming... well maybe not overwhelming, but it's so unsatisfying. I'm really getting sick and tired of classical music. It's uninspiring and anachronistic... there's so many different ways to make music & I want to create & experiment. Classical music just doesn't have any outlet to do that with (sure there's classical composition, but that's so limiting, because like I said, it's anachronistic, and more importantly, it's not what excites me)
Stuff that has been going well and fun are the following: Working with Reason. Just finished an audio recording project... now there's making music the way I like to... create different textures, layering things. writing & improving over... etc.. basically, recording & editing... The next thing that's been going well has been writing, though I haven't made as much progress as I'd like... I have this piano part & really want to write out a vocal melody for it, since I've got some lyrics... then I've got more to write... that stuff's really flowing thankfully, and all my work with improv. is really helping. I'm returning to Jordan Rudess' stuff finally (from his online conservatory - http://www.jroc.us) & now that I'm musically and technically more mature, it makes a lot more sense/means a lot more than it did the first time I explored it (damn am I glad it's a lifetime membership!)...
I guess that's part of the good thing about being in school for music & constantly doing all this classical stuff, it's given me a foundation & a method... but I just find myself constantly wondering how much more I can actually benefit from this ... even though it's inherently helpful, it's just so far from what I want to do...
One of my teachers passed on a mailing she got for an Artist in Residency Program w/ a community symphony orchestra... requirements were I think 3 concertos a yr. & sitting principal cello with a stipend of $30,000 ... now, even if I was at that level, my immediate reaction was "I'd never want to do this, I'd be unhappy and miserable" & I passed it on to the other cellist, who also wasn't interested. To clarify, $30,000 seems like a tremendous amount of money to me right now, but I think I'd be so unhappy in an orchestral setting, I'd rather not go for something like that at all (It's also in Alabama, but that's in the details...).
I was thinking more about this as the day went on, and particularly in the last few hours, and I realized, the symphony orchestra is extremely boring. It is one of the only ensembles where you will have 10 instruments playing the exact same thing!! Not 10 different instruments w/ different timbres, but 10 instruments that are pretty much exactly the same playing the exact same thing... what about tonal variety anyone??? I've pointed this out before, that an orchestra's size could be reduced through the use of amplifiers (and then we'd be able to do much more complex music, not to mention be able to hear the damn group), but the classical people always have reservations about the sound, and the fact that it "just wouldn't be the same" ... it's so fucking frustrating... there's no experimentation... everything has to be exact and fit in to a little stupid preconceived notion of how things should go... performing shouldn't be about exact replication. It should be about expanding, about arranging. That's why I like the jazz classes I take, there's that element of doing something more... even still though, it always seems to be following a formula (a lot of the time anyway) ... seems to be fitting itself into a box... guess that's where MIDI Band comes in... it's an entity to its own... it doesn't have much of a tradition (electronic music is in my opinion one of the most non-traditional styles out there)
So I sit here frustrated.. I've just played guitar for an hour messing around with my Multi-FX pedal (which, now that I have the instruction manual, actually makes sense to me) & I got a lot of this out & experimented & found some cool tonalities & patterns, and I'm just thinking to myself that making music that way, or improvising over loops in reason, or fooling around with layering & panning & audio engineering is what I really want to do. It's always been the stuff I've connected with & been excited by and all that... it always will be...
Someone asked me what I wanted to do with music... well people ask me that all the time ... my answer is that I want to be in a rock band. I mean that seriously, that's what I want to do professionally. Writing rock music, and collaborating is where I get the most fulfillment from. I realize that it's not pretty & glamorous all the time, and I certainly wouldn't be in it for the fame or any of that bull shit. I also realize that it's extremely hard to make it as a band, and that finances will almost always be tough. But the other thing that I really want to do, that I can see myself being happy in is I want to freelance, and that's got basically the same set of problems... I think realistically I'll do both. I need to be doing a lot of things at once. I have so many different musical impulses & by not exploring all these different areas, I feel stifled...
So in that context, with a year left of school, and a (year in between) ... I raise the question (almost daily ... particularly every time I think of giving Julia Lichten a call)... Is Grad. School worth it?? Does it make any sense?? If so, do I really want to do a performance program, what about a composition or audio engineering program...
If anyone has any thoughts, they're greatly appreciated... if not, thanks for taking the time to read... I'm gonna have a few more posts following this, focusing on Amahl, recent purchases & inspirations, the concerto competition, Emily Wright, Greg Sandow, my brother & anything else that might cross my thoughts...
P.S. Just to clarify, there are plenty of things in classical music that inspire me, plenty of people, both alive and dead, as well as works. I don't mean to diminish those. I want to give special thanks to Emily Wright, Greg Sandow & Eric Edberg, Steven Isserlis, Hillary (my student), Mike Meade (my teacher) & all the musicians and teachers I've worked with and really had a great time with. There's something fulfilling about this classical music stuff, definitely... just not when I'm confined to it...
Stuff that has been going well and fun are the following: Working with Reason. Just finished an audio recording project... now there's making music the way I like to... create different textures, layering things. writing & improving over... etc.. basically, recording & editing... The next thing that's been going well has been writing, though I haven't made as much progress as I'd like... I have this piano part & really want to write out a vocal melody for it, since I've got some lyrics... then I've got more to write... that stuff's really flowing thankfully, and all my work with improv. is really helping. I'm returning to Jordan Rudess' stuff finally (from his online conservatory - http://www.jroc.us) & now that I'm musically and technically more mature, it makes a lot more sense/means a lot more than it did the first time I explored it (damn am I glad it's a lifetime membership!)...
I guess that's part of the good thing about being in school for music & constantly doing all this classical stuff, it's given me a foundation & a method... but I just find myself constantly wondering how much more I can actually benefit from this ... even though it's inherently helpful, it's just so far from what I want to do...
One of my teachers passed on a mailing she got for an Artist in Residency Program w/ a community symphony orchestra... requirements were I think 3 concertos a yr. & sitting principal cello with a stipend of $30,000 ... now, even if I was at that level, my immediate reaction was "I'd never want to do this, I'd be unhappy and miserable" & I passed it on to the other cellist, who also wasn't interested. To clarify, $30,000 seems like a tremendous amount of money to me right now, but I think I'd be so unhappy in an orchestral setting, I'd rather not go for something like that at all (It's also in Alabama, but that's in the details...).
I was thinking more about this as the day went on, and particularly in the last few hours, and I realized, the symphony orchestra is extremely boring. It is one of the only ensembles where you will have 10 instruments playing the exact same thing!! Not 10 different instruments w/ different timbres, but 10 instruments that are pretty much exactly the same playing the exact same thing... what about tonal variety anyone??? I've pointed this out before, that an orchestra's size could be reduced through the use of amplifiers (and then we'd be able to do much more complex music, not to mention be able to hear the damn group), but the classical people always have reservations about the sound, and the fact that it "just wouldn't be the same" ... it's so fucking frustrating... there's no experimentation... everything has to be exact and fit in to a little stupid preconceived notion of how things should go... performing shouldn't be about exact replication. It should be about expanding, about arranging. That's why I like the jazz classes I take, there's that element of doing something more... even still though, it always seems to be following a formula (a lot of the time anyway) ... seems to be fitting itself into a box... guess that's where MIDI Band comes in... it's an entity to its own... it doesn't have much of a tradition (electronic music is in my opinion one of the most non-traditional styles out there)
So I sit here frustrated.. I've just played guitar for an hour messing around with my Multi-FX pedal (which, now that I have the instruction manual, actually makes sense to me) & I got a lot of this out & experimented & found some cool tonalities & patterns, and I'm just thinking to myself that making music that way, or improvising over loops in reason, or fooling around with layering & panning & audio engineering is what I really want to do. It's always been the stuff I've connected with & been excited by and all that... it always will be...
Someone asked me what I wanted to do with music... well people ask me that all the time ... my answer is that I want to be in a rock band. I mean that seriously, that's what I want to do professionally. Writing rock music, and collaborating is where I get the most fulfillment from. I realize that it's not pretty & glamorous all the time, and I certainly wouldn't be in it for the fame or any of that bull shit. I also realize that it's extremely hard to make it as a band, and that finances will almost always be tough. But the other thing that I really want to do, that I can see myself being happy in is I want to freelance, and that's got basically the same set of problems... I think realistically I'll do both. I need to be doing a lot of things at once. I have so many different musical impulses & by not exploring all these different areas, I feel stifled...
So in that context, with a year left of school, and a (year in between) ... I raise the question (almost daily ... particularly every time I think of giving Julia Lichten a call)... Is Grad. School worth it?? Does it make any sense?? If so, do I really want to do a performance program, what about a composition or audio engineering program...
If anyone has any thoughts, they're greatly appreciated... if not, thanks for taking the time to read... I'm gonna have a few more posts following this, focusing on Amahl, recent purchases & inspirations, the concerto competition, Emily Wright, Greg Sandow, my brother & anything else that might cross my thoughts...
P.S. Just to clarify, there are plenty of things in classical music that inspire me, plenty of people, both alive and dead, as well as works. I don't mean to diminish those. I want to give special thanks to Emily Wright, Greg Sandow & Eric Edberg, Steven Isserlis, Hillary (my student), Mike Meade (my teacher) & all the musicians and teachers I've worked with and really had a great time with. There's something fulfilling about this classical music stuff, definitely... just not when I'm confined to it...
Saturday, February 2, 2008
A step away
So much has been going on since last week. For one thing, I bought a *ton* of cd's (Which I will be blogging about) because borders went out of business (Edit: to clarify, this is Borders in White Plains, NY). Lots of new inspiration there. On top of that, I rediscovered some Stabbing Westward videos & finally gave Bass Communion (one of Steven Wilson's side projects) a listen. I'm very impressed with it - very ambient, electronica-ish kinda ... I'll be picking it up next weekend).
Outside of that, I've started some songwriting (and no, this isn't the first time I've done this, but it's the first time I've actually written up some music & lyrics - that need to be revised - and had a vocal line in my head - will be writing out & then recording a demo very soon). It's for piano & voice & was very inspired both by Blackfield & Tori Amos (If you haven't already, go check out her video of the song Muhammad w/ Maynard James Keenan From Tool: )... also my discovery of Sus chords (well I knew about them before, but had never really used them...)
On top
of that, I've worked with Dr. B on the Elgar Concert, which is absolutely thrilling. For one thing, it's tremendously exciting to see the progression I've made mentally and musically & the level I can work on the concerto . For another, it's so amazing how the cello part comes alive with the piano accompaniment, and how much more meaningful it is... I saw a DVD of Jacueline DuPre, but I had already grabbed too many cds to justify grabbin' (only have so much money...).
In other news, I've been writing a lot & trying to keep myself as stimulated as possible - I almost forgot that that's really the way to be creative & successful... to always work on something, well on a lot of things, and bounce back from one to the other... I might start up another blog for poetry/song lyrics/ideas/essays/rants... that sort of thing... the sort of thing I used to do in high school, when I was more myself (I've really spent a lot of the last year redefining myself by incorporating all the best elements of who I used to be)
I've also started exercising, which has helped my playing tremendously (especially since, I've barely been able to practice in the last week...). Speaking of, I've decided from now on, that if I'm in my room relaxing & or being idle in front of my computer, I'm aways going to pull out my bass & metronome & improvise or practice scales o figure tunes out... whatever it is, as long as I'm musically stimulating myself in some way (whatever it is... as long as I'm doing something & not wasting my time...)
I'm really hearing music more and more fully lately, it's tremendously inspiring...
In other news, I'm probably going to be cowriting (adding a cello part to) a piece with Melanie Lamoreaux (a pianist/vocalist that I'm in MIDI Band with). I'm absolutely thrilled about it... can't wait. It's exactly that collaborative kind of thing that I find fun...
Speaking of collaborative & fun... small Jazz band is beyond amazing & we're doing some really cool stuff with that... also, MIDI Band is pretty interesting... we're experimenting w/ doing a Bach Invention with loops and improvisation using the Live Ableton software... very interesting stuff... I can't wait to see what the full results of that are...
Also, one of my teachers & I exchanged blogs (http://richardthetenor.blogspot.com/)
I'm gong to include an inspiration section at the end of all my posts (at least where it's appropriate/I'm inspired) from now on, linking to any bands/songs/literature/vids/anything else that inspires me... so, here goes...
Inspired By:
1. Stabbing Westward - So Far Away: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5bqKSv5-8
2. Stabbing Westward - Nothing: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EMfkFwRmn44
3. Stabbing Westward - Lies: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3zXZFZBJI0g
4. Stabbing Westward - What Do I Have To Do: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ajVLfxD58Is
5. Stabbing Westward - Shame: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6xkUhaeY4qY
6. Stabbing Westward - Save Yourself: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oE5JjQuabB8
7. Intro to the Home Studio of Jordan Rudess: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2q7tIOAoIZw
8. Dream Theater - Constant Motion: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ2RENhejPk
9. Steven Wilson & Aviv Geffen - Thank You: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X4MAvwwhiPE
10. Steven Wilson Interview: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VLkQkrk6DDk
11. Steven Wilson: http://www.swhq.co.uk/
12. Blackfield: http://www.blackfield.org
13. Bass Communion: http://www.myspace.com/basscommunion
14. Tori Amos & Maynard James Keenan - Muhammad My Friend: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-SxHJBMrVhI
15. Dream Theater - Forsaken: http://mville.facebook.com/share_redirect.php?h=f5ebe68f6fc78fd5ea15641def39ab0c&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2k4WjoQA1bg&sid=8130298441
Outside of that, I've started some songwriting (and no, this isn't the first time I've done this, but it's the first time I've actually written up some music & lyrics - that need to be revised - and had a vocal line in my head - will be writing out & then recording a demo very soon). It's for piano & voice & was very inspired both by Blackfield & Tori Amos (If you haven't already, go check out her video of the song Muhammad w/ Maynard James Keenan From Tool: )... also my discovery of Sus chords (well I knew about them before, but had never really used them...)
On top
of that, I've worked with Dr. B on the Elgar Concert, which is absolutely thrilling. For one thing, it's tremendously exciting to see the progression I've made mentally and musically & the level I can work on the concerto . For another, it's so amazing how the cello part comes alive with the piano accompaniment, and how much more meaningful it is... I saw a DVD of Jacueline DuPre, but I had already grabbed too many cds to justify grabbin' (only have so much money...).
In other news, I've been writing a lot & trying to keep myself as stimulated as possible - I almost forgot that that's really the way to be creative & successful... to always work on something, well on a lot of things, and bounce back from one to the other... I might start up another blog for poetry/song lyrics/ideas/essays/rants... that sort of thing... the sort of thing I used to do in high school, when I was more myself (I've really spent a lot of the last year redefining myself by incorporating all the best elements of who I used to be)
I've also started exercising, which has helped my playing tremendously (especially since, I've barely been able to practice in the last week...). Speaking of, I've decided from now on, that if I'm in my room relaxing & or being idle in front of my computer, I'm aways going to pull out my bass & metronome & improvise or practice scales o figure tunes out... whatever it is, as long as I'm musically stimulating myself in some way (whatever it is... as long as I'm doing something & not wasting my time...)
I'm really hearing music more and more fully lately, it's tremendously inspiring...
In other news, I'm probably going to be cowriting (adding a cello part to) a piece with Melanie Lamoreaux (a pianist/vocalist that I'm in MIDI Band with). I'm absolutely thrilled about it... can't wait. It's exactly that collaborative kind of thing that I find fun...
Speaking of collaborative & fun... small Jazz band is beyond amazing & we're doing some really cool stuff with that... also, MIDI Band is pretty interesting... we're experimenting w/ doing a Bach Invention with loops and improvisation using the Live Ableton software... very interesting stuff... I can't wait to see what the full results of that are...
Also, one of my teachers & I exchanged blogs (http://richardthetenor.blogspot.com/)
I'm gong to include an inspiration section at the end of all my posts (at least where it's appropriate/I'm inspired) from now on, linking to any bands/songs/literature/vids/anything else that inspires me... so, here goes...
Inspired By:
1. Stabbing Westward - So Far Away: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mG5bqKSv5-8
2. Stabbing Westward - Nothing: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EMfkFwRmn44
3. Stabbing Westward - Lies: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3zXZFZBJI0g
4. Stabbing Westward - What Do I Have To Do: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ajVLfxD58Is
5. Stabbing Westward - Shame: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6xkUhaeY4qY
6. Stabbing Westward - Save Yourself: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oE5JjQuabB8
7. Intro to the Home Studio of Jordan Rudess: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2q7tIOAoIZw
8. Dream Theater - Constant Motion: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ2RENhejPk
9. Steven Wilson & Aviv Geffen - Thank You: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X4MAvwwhiPE
10. Steven Wilson Interview: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VLkQkrk6DDk
11. Steven Wilson: http://www.swhq.co.uk/
12. Blackfield: http://www.blackfield.org
13. Bass Communion: http://www.myspace.com/basscommunion
14. Tori Amos & Maynard James Keenan - Muhammad My Friend: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-SxHJBMrVhI
15. Dream Theater - Forsaken: http://mville.facebook.com/share_redirect.php?h=f5ebe68f6fc78fd5ea15641def39ab0c&url=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2k4WjoQA1bg&sid=8130298441
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Scratch That...
So forget what I said about lack of passion... I dunno what happened, whether it's just because I pushed myself back into things, or because of all the underclassmen I've been meeting, but seriously, I'm having my expectations pushed way up here & loving it! My classes are challenging (particularly Jazz Improv, which I'm in the advanced section & Piano for the Classroom Teacher - everything I could hope for in a piano class...)
MIDI Band is rocking this year!! I definitely miss Sam Crawford a lot (he was the guitarist last year, and I worked with him on some other stuff... that kid is such an inspiration... he took a leave of absence to go work on music and do the things he needed to) ... on the other hand though, there's such a diverse combination of kids in MIDI Band this year, and I've improved a lot thanks to the jazz improv class (and my metronome work!!). We start out classes with a free improv session now & have talked a bit more about the theory of some stuff and doing projects with electronics... it's all quite cool!!
Speaking of Jazz Improv, it's really pushing me... got lots of theory and practicing to do for that... we're writing solos & working with modes... it's basically really amazing... I'm so lucky to get to study with Jay (Azzolina) can't wait for Small Ensemble...
Chamber's going awesome too... Dvorak & Weber & possibly Rorem... if not, then Beethoven... either way, cool shit...
In other news, I'm working towards recording that cd (making up a set list & hopefully recording all of it in the next week or two).
I've been playing a lot of Rock Band lately - it's amazing!! It's great to play a video game where the focus is music performance, b/c I can play and work on my music skills at the same time (not to mention, it's fun!!)
Recent Music Purchases:
I started a list recently to keep track of what's going through my musical consciousness... here's some stuff I've bought recently:
CD:
Blackfield - Blackfield II
Yes - The Yes Album
Queen - Night at the Opera
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
DVD:
Blackfield - Live in NYC
Black Sabbath - The Last Supper
Testament - Live in London
Book:
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal - Ian Christe
Queen & Testament are the only ones I haven't gotten around to listening to yet... otherwise, I'm really enjoying everything else I've picked up... gonna need to get some staff paper soon... I watched the Sabbath DVD the other night - man was that a trip!! I feel like I learned so much about what their music actualy is & about music itself from watching it!! And Blackfield... Let me say, I love Steve Wilson & Aviv Geffen... they're both amazing, and so is this project ... the songwriting, the lyrics, the music, the production, everything's perfect about it... it's been so great to watch the DVD of the concert I was at & to listen to the album almost non-stop...also, they have a really cool cover of "Thank You" - by Alannis Morisette...' I'm gonna go find thereal version at some point...
Finally, as recommended by Jordan Rudess (because he's that damn cool & actually posts on his forums.
Artist: Kiln
Album: Duster
Great electronic music... http://www.ghostly.com/1.0/ghostly/gi56.shtml
Actually last finally... I had a solo gig last thursday.. it went well, I got a few people interested in my music... unfortunately, there was barely anyone at the restaurant b/c of the snow... hopeflly I'll do another one soon...
MIDI Band is rocking this year!! I definitely miss Sam Crawford a lot (he was the guitarist last year, and I worked with him on some other stuff... that kid is such an inspiration... he took a leave of absence to go work on music and do the things he needed to) ... on the other hand though, there's such a diverse combination of kids in MIDI Band this year, and I've improved a lot thanks to the jazz improv class (and my metronome work!!). We start out classes with a free improv session now & have talked a bit more about the theory of some stuff and doing projects with electronics... it's all quite cool!!
Speaking of Jazz Improv, it's really pushing me... got lots of theory and practicing to do for that... we're writing solos & working with modes... it's basically really amazing... I'm so lucky to get to study with Jay (Azzolina) can't wait for Small Ensemble...
Chamber's going awesome too... Dvorak & Weber & possibly Rorem... if not, then Beethoven... either way, cool shit...
In other news, I'm working towards recording that cd (making up a set list & hopefully recording all of it in the next week or two).
I've been playing a lot of Rock Band lately - it's amazing!! It's great to play a video game where the focus is music performance, b/c I can play and work on my music skills at the same time (not to mention, it's fun!!)
Recent Music Purchases:
I started a list recently to keep track of what's going through my musical consciousness... here's some stuff I've bought recently:
CD:
Blackfield - Blackfield II
Yes - The Yes Album
Queen - Night at the Opera
Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
DVD:
Blackfield - Live in NYC
Black Sabbath - The Last Supper
Testament - Live in London
Book:
Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal - Ian Christe
Queen & Testament are the only ones I haven't gotten around to listening to yet... otherwise, I'm really enjoying everything else I've picked up... gonna need to get some staff paper soon... I watched the Sabbath DVD the other night - man was that a trip!! I feel like I learned so much about what their music actualy is & about music itself from watching it!! And Blackfield... Let me say, I love Steve Wilson & Aviv Geffen... they're both amazing, and so is this project ... the songwriting, the lyrics, the music, the production, everything's perfect about it... it's been so great to watch the DVD of the concert I was at & to listen to the album almost non-stop...also, they have a really cool cover of "Thank You" - by Alannis Morisette...' I'm gonna go find thereal version at some point...
Finally, as recommended by Jordan Rudess (because he's that damn cool & actually posts on his forums.
Artist: Kiln
Album: Duster
Great electronic music... http://www.ghostly.com/1.0/ghostly/gi56.shtml
Actually last finally... I had a solo gig last thursday.. it went well, I got a few people interested in my music... unfortunately, there was barely anyone at the restaurant b/c of the snow... hopeflly I'll do another one soon...
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