12 Signs You Were A Music Major - Buzzfeed

12 Signs You Were A Music Major

Imma just gonna leave this here, because Buzzfeed understands my life.

(Also, it's finds like this that justify my tumblr addiction. add me! Herkamir at http://tangosvu.tumblr.com/)

University Launches Certificate in Music for Social Change

Chicago's North Park University has added a new music certificate to its program based on what's called the "El Sistema" movement/philosophy bit. Basically, it teaches music students to use their talents to give back to their community and create social change through free after school music programs.

Now, to be fair, this article contains the sole knowledge I have surrounding El Sistema. I've never heard of it before. But I will never argue with free music education, especially not when it connects such fresh university students who just want to give back to their community, because guess what, I'm only 2 years out from my degree, and I've already learn 10k times more through personal experience than I ever did in a classroom (to be fair, it has been largely different information, but still.).

Has anyone heard of or used this philosophy, or seen it working in your community? If so, I'd love to chat with you, pros and cons, possibilities, ect. Comment peoples!

ABC News - How Music Could Make You A Rocket Scientist

How Music Could Make You A Rocket Scientist

Once again, another news article on the brain benefits of  music education!

Go figure.

Now I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here or even beat a dead horse in the mouth. But seriously, there's been extensive proof that music and other arts education are essential to all areas of life, not just scholastically, so WHY THE HECK ARE WE STILL CUTTING MUSIC PROGRAMS?!

Thanks a lot Common Core. #sarcasm

Notate Me App

Digital Notation, Like You Imagined It’d Work: Draw Into iPhone, iPad, Android

This thing is FANTASTIC. It's not even out in full yet (you can buy the beta right now), but I heard about it several months ago during it's Kickstarter or Indiegogo or whatever campaign and it was the best support I've ever given. I am so excited about the potential for this. I know it will have some bumps along the way until it actually is as awesome as the programmers want it (and expect it) to be, but especially when you consider how expensive other programs like Finale and Sibelius are (not to mention the drama around Sibelius recently...if you're not aware, shoot me a comment and I'll update you), and how convenient to have this kind of program literally in your pocket for on the go notation, the benefits and uses are endless.

There's been some fuss that the learning curve is high, but isn't that how it is on any program like that? If you really need it, you'll learn quick. If you don't, you probably didn't need the app to begin with.

Have anybody used this yet? Please tell me your opinion! If I had an iPad I'd totally have it, but right now I'm still close enough to my University that I can just run into their computer lab with midi keyboards and bust anything out of Sibelius quick enough.

Hobey-ho!

Composers Insult Each Other

Composer Insults

Now if you think my directors come up with some doozies, try the quips some of our favorite composers gave to their fellow composers (though I'm not sure they would call them 'fellow' as that would imply too much camaraderie.)

This one's my favorite: "Bach on the wrong notes." Prokofiev on Stravinsky

Berlin the new New York of Classical Music?

Berlin and Classical Music

This NY Times article talks about the rush of classical musicians to Berlin within the last several years and the rise of classical music there. Many say it is musically what New York was 30 years ago, with all the benefits and less craziness.

Now I've never been to Berlin, but I love anything that advances classical music throughout society and also provides much needed and deserved jobs for the musicians who make all of this possible, and now it makes me want to go to Berlin! But I'm scared because I don't know German and I'm having a hard enough time learning French right now (and Spanish never did stick, even after 3 years of classes). Think it would work anyway?

Hobey-ho.

Music Joke for the Organists

Rank and Forte

Go ahead - click the link. It's just a 3 panel comic strip, but it will have you on the floor due to the pun.

And seriously, if you're not following Odd Quartet you are living a sad and unfulfilled musical life.

Hobey-ho.

Brain Seizure Music

Listen to a Brain Seizure Turned into Music

This is insane. These scientists have done something so creepy and yet fascinating and I so hope they are able to use this technology to help people and alleviate their suffering.

10 Values Marching Band Students Learn

10 Values Marching Band Students Learn

I really have so little to add to this. It's short, to the point, and unabashedly true. The only thing I would mention is that these are aspects any performing music group will teach students. I play bassoon, and I attended private schools my entire life. So, needless to say, I have never been in a marching band. But I have been in orchestras and bands (often both at the same time, and once even 3 orchestras in the same semester on top of the school band) and I have to say, all of this still applies. 

Just today actually, I was thinking about some things that I missed growing up due to music. This was brought on by passing a street advertisement for adult volleyball leagues and my dismay to find out there was no beginner group option (I played just a tiny bit in middle school, and then through my work at a high school last year, was assistant coach for the volleyball team, which refreshed my - somewhat limited - skills and reminded me of how much fun it is to play volleyball). I thought back to high school or college when I could have gained those volleyball skills easier, and yet it wasn't in a "If only I had..." or even a "Wonder what would've happened if..." moment. My thought went, "I'm sure I would've had fun doing that." But it was in no way a regret. 

Music has been hands down the best thing that has ever happened to my life for more reasons than this blog would fill.

Feel free to share your similar experiences or thoughts (or different, for that matter. PLEASE TALK TO ME! *shameless plug over*).

Hobey-ho!

Is Music the Key to Success?

Is Music the Key to Success? -NY Times Article

There are more famous successful people (several of whom may surprise you by their instrument/music training) name-dropped in this article than I care to reiterate, so I will just sum up this article using their closing paragraph:

Consider the qualities these high achievers say music has sharpened: collaboration, creativity, discipline and the capacity to reconcile conflicting ideas. All are qualities notably absent from public life. Music may not make you a genius, or rich, or even a better person. But it helps train you to think differently, to process different points of view — and most important, to take pleasure in listening.

 I have a BA in music. I have been interacting with music since I was 4 years old. Out of all the things I have learned through music, I'm not sure the four mentioned here would be my "top" list (although discipline and collaboration is certainly up there, and yet I still hate group projects with a passion, so maybe I can't claim the collaboration bit?). Even so, they are so essential to being a mature human being, much less successful in the work field, and I can definitely see how they relate to both music and our society as a whole.

What are your thoughts on what you have learned from music? Or, of those four qualities mentioned above, how have you learned them outside of music?

(If you haven't noticed, I'm desperate for some collaboration of our own on this blog, so if you're reading this - or anything on the blog - I'd love your input please!)

Hobey-ho.

New Random Interval Strategy Improves Practice

Why the progress in the practice room seems to disappear overnight

This is a fantastic article on Bulletproof Musician written by clarinetist Dr. Christine Carter. In it, she talks about what we have been doing for practicing and why it isn't working. (this in and of itself is nothing new) What is life-changing is that she then goes on to explain something called Random Practice which is all about practicing the same stuff in the same amount of time, but randomly so that our brain stays active and alert through the whole thing.

WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD THIS BEFORE?!

It is so simple. And it gives me such hope.

I'm not sure it will take the monotony out of certain practice elements (*cough scales cough* although I do love my lower octave 9-note segments, don't ask me why), and I know it will take an adjustment period to retrain my practice sessions, but just reading this article excited me so much I wanted to take my bassoon out and start practicing right away (but I have contained myself, given that it is 1:15am...).

Has anyone used this new practice technique? What are your thoughts on it? Does it work? What are the pros and cons?

GIVE ME KNOWLEDGE! :-)

Hobey-ho.

No help for the Music Majors

Sometimes, especially during the intensive undergrad years, we frequently forget that we picked this major because we enjoy music. I mean, that's the best part about college, right? That we get to study the thing we want to study? But between theory and music history and counterpoint and 47 million hours of rehearsals each week, it can just get plain exhausting. We get lost in the trees instead of frolicking in the forest, just playing notes instead of feeling the music. Which is not necessarily a skill that helps when playing wind ensemble music, as Doc pointed out on day.

"It's much more fun than you're making it. You're hiding from it guys." (I wish Blogspot would let us upload .gifs here. If there is a way to do it, please someone let me know. Otherwise, I'll just be over on Tumblr and leave this here for you: Hamster)

Later on in the piece, there was a very fast double tongue/complicated rhythm thing for the poor trumpets where they had the poly-rhythm on top of the rest of the band's simple rhythm and they just could not keep it together. At the time (almost 2 years ago - such shame!), we had five trumpets, two of whom were music majors. At such a small school, non-music majors fill over half the slots in all of our ensembles. We are very grateful for them, but sometimes it shows that they're not in private lessons or practicing 18 hours a day - although, let's get real, nobody does that but that weird Asian violinist or the the piano prodigy anyway - and this was one of those times.

So Doc tried to help them out and offered them a cheat. After running it that way, he proclaimed, "I like that fix on that, if you need it, use it. Those of you who are music majors have to play what's on the page." And then he gave this grin that was like, so pleased with himself for making life harder on those poor overworked students.

Afterwards, we ran the section again, and it was even better than before. Doc was shocked and spoke to the trumpets again. "That was acceptable. But it hasn't been up to this point. Why? You just wanted attention, huh? I understand." 

Because I mean, really, what trumpeter doesn't?

*Disclaimer: Attitudes and statements on this blog are not necessarily representative of the blog creator and are merely representations of other's opinions. I am not a trumpet player. Nor do I want to be one. 

Just so we're all clear.

Hobey-Ho!

What Is Classical Music's Women Problem?

What Is Classical Music's Women Problem?

This article actually really bothers me. I’ve been conducting handbells at all levels (beginner through advanced) for 3 years, something I never expected to do, and it’s been one of the most amazing and challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. And I’ve never gotten this sexism crap from anywhere else in the music world, so it came as a complete surprise. What the heck does my being female have to do with waving a stick to the proper beat and expressing musical concepts? I thought we did away with all of that along with the colonial age once women were allowed to play any instrument regardless of how their neck looked while doing it. This article felt like a literal punch to the gut and I almost cried, but then I remembered Betty White’s quote (I don’t think she was the first to say it, but she made it memorable and nobody remembers the other person):

"Why do people say ‘grow some balls’? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get touch, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding."

And then I said to myself, “Screw them. You’ve been trained for this. You live for this. Keep doing it.”

Music Joke

A bonus blog for you all this week! I found this several years ago who knows where and just came across it again. This is where focusing during Music Theory classes pays off. XD

So a C, an E-flat and a G walk into a bar. The bartender says, "sorry, but we don't serve minors." So E-flat leaves, and C and G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and G is out flat. F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.

A D comes in and heads for the bathroom saying, "Excuse me. I'll just be a second." Then A comes in, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor. Then the bartender notices B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and says, "Get out! You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight."

E-Flat comes back the next night in a three-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender says, "you're looking sharp tonight. Come on in, this could be a major development." Sure enough, E-flat soon takes off his suit and everything else, and is au natural. Eventually, C, who had passed out under the bar the night before, begins to sober up and realizes in horror that he's under a rest.

So, C goes to trial, is convicted of contributing to the diminution of a minor and sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an up scale correctional facility. The conviction is overturned on appeal, however, and C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.

The bartender decides, however, that since he's only had tenor so patrons, the soprano out in the bathroom and everything has become alto much treble, he needs a rest and closes the bar.

Diving Bruises

New goal: at least one new quote a week. I am over a year and a half behind in my archive, so that should be easy. No excuses, because you wouldn't want to hear them anyway.

On day in rehearsal, Doc was talking to some of the brass players. We had just come back from a weekend off, and our lack of chops were proving themselves. "Use what you gotta use, but don't bruise."

Which would've been helpful if we'd had any to use, but regardless, I'm pretty sure we all left rehearsal not wanting to talk for a week. (okay...so I probably held off the talking for like 3 minutes...but that's a record for me!)

The licks still weren't getting any better. Doc tried to motivate us on a tricky rhythm. "No heroes here. I need a 9.8 dive at least. or what did they change it to, is it 5 is perfect now?"

We just stared at him, obviously proving that we are poor college students living in a dorm with no tv/cable and having no idea of any new (or old) Olympic rules. Doc sat in the silence for a moment, then continued unabashed. "I guess it's 10. So 9.8's okay? No belly flops here please. Dum digati dum."

(Just envision this guy with a trumpet, and you'll know what we sounded like. You're welcome.)

Once again, sorry for the prolonged hiatus. It's hard to stay motivated when I'm not sure if anyone's even reading this blog or not... *insert shameless plug here*

Hobey-ho!

New Research Suggests Sight Matters More Than Sound for even Classical Musicians

Science in Musical Performance

After 20 years of competitions and performing as a professional concert pianist, psychologist Tsay connected some very interesting elements of sight and sound and how they combine in the best players.

She performed several different experiments, with both novice and experienced listeners, and determined that it was easier for all involved to identify competition winners/best players by pure sight alone. That's right - video, without sound.

But wait, you say...it's MUSIC. Isn't that purely - by definition - a sound quality? Why on earth would sight matter?

Turns out that accessing music with our eyes better conveys the elements of passion, motivation and creativity - the benchmarks of outstanding performances.

You can read the full article above for more specific details, but this truly strikes something within me. I'm not sure it's a nerve, but I'm not sure it's a good one either.

Obviously passion, motivation and creativity are incredibly important in all areas of life and music is no exception, but I'm confused as to why this comes through visually rather than through sound. Everything we teach students - even visual aspects such as posture - is used solely to ensure the best possible sound quality. That's what we tell them. That's what we've always been told. Music is worth nothing if it doesn't sound right. But this article seems to prove that in our society, once again, it doesn't matter what a person does, as long as they look right doing it.

(This can be argued quite effectively, however, by taking any well-trained musician to a movie where one of the main Hollywood stars is meant to be a famous violinist, or cellist, or pianist, or trumpeter or whatever have you. We can always tell when the person really has no idea what they're doing. If you have doubts and want some laughs - check out this tumblr whose posts revolve around actual "professional" photos of people pretending to know what to do when a violin is put in their hands: http://stockphotosofviolinists.tumblr.com/)

How does this change how we teach our students to perform their music? Should it change how we teach students? Should the focus now become on how to make playing "look good" instead?

This reminds me of Joshua Bell, famous violinist, who traded the stage lights for florescent ones in the subway - and NO ONE NOTICED.

But there's also the flip side. What of someone who performs every single note with perfect precision and emotion, and yet uses minimum movement such as would not have been noticed whatsoever by any of the people in this experiment, or the competition judges? What do we tell that student? That his perfect music isn't good enough? That we need to actually SEE her heart on her sleeve? How can we punish them for doing something completely right - and yet so utterly wrong?

How can we reconcile quality of sound with what the world notices?

Article on Band's Secondary Attention

NPR - School Bands Should Not Be Entertainment Adjunct for Sports

This short article/talk transcript from NPR discusses one of many cases where students who did not want to participate in Marching Band and/or perform at the football half-times were not allowed to join any of the other music groups such as concert band or the school orchestra.

The main pull of the article's opinion is that music is good in its own right, and doesn't have to be "entertainment" between sports rounds for it to be worth anything, and that forcing students to be such pawns is inexcusable.

But it's not just the marching band entertainment ploy that bothers me. It's how schools, high school and university level, will give many scholarships for their sports players and hardly any to deserving musicians, or certainly much less money per scholarship. While there may not be as much physical risk involved in sports, I'd like to argue that musicians actually have to pay for their own instruments and upkeep thereof, whereas many athletes can rely on school funds to cover many of that. Likewise, many sports trips have no cost to the student whatsoever, whereas student musicians must fundraise and fundraise and fundraise in the hopes of going to a competition they've been accepted into or a trip outside their own neighborhood, or heaven forbid and overseas tour!

Music trips such as these can bring just as much positive publicity as sports games and lead to a great number of potential students and sponsors. Who wants to give money to something that they've never seen or heard? When we put it out there and give it a priority, people pay attention, and they give it what it's due.

But there in lies the problem: sadly, music is NOT a priority. Not for universities, not for high schools, and certainly not for middle schools and elementary schools.

I could go into so many rants about our current education system focused on test scores and eliminating all essential brain-stimulation and "extra"curricular activities and even physical activity or just being a child (called recess), but that would take me an hour and I'm not sure anyone reads this blog anyway, so I will keep my opinions to myself for now.

As for this debate of the value of music vs. sports, or rather, as I'd like to challenge, music AND sports (why can't we value both?!), I'd love your opinions. :-)

Band is Best

Beating the Drum

Closing argument for why the best extracurricular activity is band, and more specifically, marching band: Experts say that the key to high school success is rigor, relevance and relationships. Band hits on all three: It offers the rigor of learning to play music while marching in complex formations; the relevance of the discipline and team skills that benefit teens long after high school, and relationships that can  develop and deepen over all four years of high school.

Absolutely all of my best memories from elementary up through college have been those where I was involved in music. I have met some of the best (and worst, but mainly best) people. A lot was expected of us, and we rose to the challenge. We stayed busy, and that kept most of us out of trouble. And the empathy that music encourages is only one of the hundred things that will benefit me for the rest of my life.

Compromising Polyrhythm

I distinctly remember the first time I was introduced to the musical polyrhythmic idea of playing triplets against eighth notes. I was a young student, probably ten, at summer orchestra camp where they had a short theory lesson each morning. The teacher explained the concept, modeled it, and had us try it. I was...unsuccessful, to say the least. It was frustrating. I could play one or the other, or clap one or the other, but I could not for the life of me put them together. I gave up quite quickly and the professor could not convince me that this was a skill I would need.

To help you understand this technique, try this youtube video: Polyrhythm Grafic

Or, if that one gives you metronome nightmares (admit it, we all have those. It's like the musicians' version of going through your whole day naked), try this piano version: 2 against 3

Skip forward a few years and allow me a short digression that I promise will come back full circle. Star Wars Episode II came out when I was 13. Lucas has said that he specifically marketed this particular film for 12-14 year olds, trying to bring the next generation into the fanworld. This is my main excuse for it being my favorite Star Wars movie of all times. Now before you bite my head off on the merit of that particular statement, please be aware that I watch it now and logically understand how EpVI is so much better in terms of storyline and such, but my heart will not let me back away from my love of EpII. I watched that movie every single afternoon of 7th grade. I can still quote the entire thing verbatim. I listened to a single song from the orchestral soundtrack for over a year and a half straight (oh how I wish iTunes track count existed back then. The sheer number of hours must be embarrassing): Across the Stars, the love theme.

(on the off-chance someone here doubts the brilliance of John Williams, take a listen on youtube here: Across the Stars - London Symphony Orchestra)

So you can imagine my surprise and utter glee when I found the sheet music for Across the Stars and my father bought it for me. The happiness quickly turned into frustration when I realized that nearly the whole piece was triplets against eighth notes. (the constant underlying harp/cello part is triplets, most of the melody is eighths) Now I really regretted not paying closer attention to that summer music theory class.

It took me a month of struggling and fighting and wanting to give up, but my love of the music made me persevere and finally it paid off.

I have never since had trouble with the triplet against eighth note rhythm.

Which leads us directly into today's Band Director quote:

Jacqueline (Doc's wife, who plays bass clarinet, remember?) typically does not say much during rehearsals.She is there because she enjoys playing her instrument and likes helping her husband in his work. Sometimes though, she can't help herself.

"What are you doing at measure 87? Because we have triplets but you're conducting eighths!"

Doc: "Yeah, I am."

Jacqueline: "Well don't do that!"

This made everyone laugh a bit at Jacqueline's desperation, which we all felt. But, Doc obviously learned that sometimes compromise is the best solution in both marriage and music.

Doc: "Okay, I'll compromise. I won't subdivide beat 4 but I will conduct the 8ths on beat 5."

Which we then ran through. When we finished the section, Doc smiled. "That was nice!"

Jacqueline agreed. "Yeah it was!" 

We snickered, and then ran the piece from start to finish.

At the end, Doc kept his baton up, holding, holding, waiting so long I couldn't even hear any inkling of an echo of a single note in the room. And that was the moment that Doc whispered, "I think we've got it."

And got it we did.

Memorization - Do or Do Not?

Memorizations Loosening Hold On Concert Tradition

This is a New York Times article about memorization. Not even about the benefits or the negative aspects surrounding it, but merely the main history to performing solo works only by memory, what places have gone lack on the social requirement and others that haven't. Interestingly to note, it seems that the general public could care less about memorization as long as the performance is meaningful, and yet it is the schools which train young musicians that are holding steadfastly to the memorization rule.

Now to be fair, at least on a University level, I've seen that this rule tends to be held more strictly for pianists and strings. Memorization is like, the one little break most wind players get. Now, if we do a concerto competition or something, we usually still have to, but for recitals or juries using scores is no big deal.

Personally, I have memorized pieces, and I actually find it easier on piano and violin to an extent. Piano tends to be easier because it usually requires more work and time to perfect a piece due to the complexity of everything being in your hands (literally) whereas on a woodwind, while I may use all or most of none of my fingers to create a note and have to deal with embouchure and breathing etc, I still only have that one note to worry about. On piano, by the time I've fine-tuned a piece, it's pretty close to being memorized. As far as violin playing goes, the easiness is either due to the two years I spent learning fiddle tunes in the Blue Ridge Mountains (fiddle tunes are rarely written down, they are merely played by the teacher over and over until the student has memorized the pattern and begun to manipulate it themselves - aka improvisation) or the fact that most string players start their craft at such a young age that they begin learning by ear, where everything is memorized. Once you've started in that manner, it's not hard to keep memorizing as you go no matter how advanced you get.

But then again, I wonder if the reason I find it so hard to memorize on bassoon is that I rarely have. When we are not challenged to do something, we rarely do it.

This is not to say that I am for or against memorization. I think it is a skill that all musicians should have in their ready arsenal. Something they can always do if need be, which would require practice. But should it be required? It seems to me that requiring memorization is much like requiring a musician to learn Italian, when really they'd be just fine learning the 20-40 odd Italian words typically found inside scores.

Thoughts? I'd really love to debate on this further.

Hobey-ho!