Da Musically Inclined Bomb

2006-12-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

is that pig over there?

Learning Absolute Pitch by Children: A Cross Sectional Study

2006-12-04T08:25:00.000-05:00

Hello. I am here today to discuss the article, Learning Absolute Pitch by Children: A Cross Sectional Study by Ken’ichi Miyazaki & Yoko Ogawa.

Fist off, I thought I’d start by letting you know about some key words I will be using throughout my presentation. Absolute Pitch or AP is the ability to recognize or sing a given isolated note, and it is also called “perfect pitch. Early learning is the view that AP is learned by extensive training or repeated exposure to musical stimuli. Critical period is the time during early childhood when AP develops, and after this critical period training cannot produce AP. Pitch naming is producing the correct location of a tone
Finally, Music training is formalized training in conceptual musicianship.

In order to understand this study, you must be familiar with AP. AP listeners are able to name, accurately and quickly, the musical pitch of isolated tones presented in the absence of musical pitch. Proportions of AP possessors supposed range from 1:1,500 to 1:10,000. The percentage of AP possessors among musicians ranges from 3.4% to 15%. No one is certain how people acquire AP, or if it can truly be acquired. However, it could be the result of early musical training. Previous studies have shown that virtually all tested AP possessors had music training by the age of six. Those people who are considered to be “self-reported” AP possessors had all commences earlier music training, meaning they had begun music training as early as ages three to five.

The purpose of this report is to attempt to investigate the learning process of AP. The researchers involved took a cross-section of children aged 4-10 on their pitch naming ability. Because it is a cross-sectional not longitudinal test, the factor of training could not be manipulated for the purpose of the experiment. Also, the effects of the training couldn’t be evaluated.

The musical training of these children was in Tokyo, Japan. The aim of this school was to get children to develop the capability to express themselves by music, not to train professional musicians. The children at the school took a two-year primary course where they had a one-hour weekly lesson, fundamental music skills, and ear training. In this course the teaching method highlighted listening, singing, and playing piano. Children first learn the notes, C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, and C3. Then the children sing with lyrics, sing on solfege, play on piano, and play on piano while singing in solfege in order to remember the pitches. After the children have mastered the white keys, they move onto black ones. When the children have finished the Primary Course, they are able to continue onto the Advances Course, which is just an extension of the basic and applied music skills. Here, the children get to play, compose, arrange, and improvise.

The Method of this test was relatively simple. There were 104 participants (children) aging from 4-10. They were all tested after three months into the school year. The test itself contained a grand piano and an electric piano. The tester would play thirty-six chromatic pitches over a series of three octaves in random order. More than a perfect fifth always separated the successive tones. There were never any octaves so the student couldn’t use relative pitch. The testers wet to every precaution to make the children feel at ease. The students aged 4 were not tested with an electric organ, and all students were given introductory sessions before they were tested.

The primary focus of the results was on the piano tones because not all students were tested with organ. There was a general tendency for accuracy to increase with age, but the accuracy for children ages 5 and 6 was still widely distributed. Also, there was a distinct difference between the fluidity of the children’s knowledge of white keys versus black keys. Most ten year olds knew all of the white keynotes, but still struggled with the black keys. Also, the accuracy with the organ was lower with the organ, particularly with children seven and up. However, all response times remained quick, much to the surprise of the testers.

There are many factors that come into the validity of this test. First of all, all of the children tested came out with varying degrees of absolute pitch. Whether or not they actually had it is debatable. All children were volunteers whose parents responded to a solicitation, so it wasn’t really random selection. Children from the Advanced Course were chosen because of their progress in piano skills, whereas the students from the Primary Course were unselected. Depending on the child, there could be varying degrees of motivation to do well on the test. One could argue that there are notable outcomes if you compare this data with data from a school that isn’t focused on music, but that has yet to be done. This test doesn’t really address the difference of timbres within the experiment or how it affected the performance of the children. Also, it could have been possible for some of the children to use relative pitch, though it would have been difficult.

I would like to end my presentation with some questions that remain after this test was finished. What about standard behavioral physical development in children? Should timbres be introduced at an earlier age? Are the differences in comprehension of white and black keys due to training? Is it actually more difficult for a child to understand black keys? Is this confusion due to a misunderstanding of musical concept? Did they test the Eguchi method for AP training where the children identify chords first, instead of pitches causing them to focus on whole tonal characteristics? Does AP really matter to musicians? Does it interfere with the development of relative pitch?

Thank you for listening.

The effects of repeated exposure on liking and judgements of musical unity on intact and patchwork compostitons

2006-12-03T22:47:00.000-05:00

One of the biggest problems in composing music is how to combine different musical ideas into a coherent music composition. Western music however tends to use "repetition and variation of musical ideas" to combat this query. Compositions tend to use the same musical themes that are memorable and can be recognized easily to be brought back through, "repetition of in a varied form throughout the piece." Repetition is a very important in music, however variety is essential to composer's music. Using new idea and themes keep listeners interested. The central idea, however, is that music must be connected. Music is often explained from a musicians point of view often with the written score, but not much attention has been paid to the casual listener. "Can a casual listener appreciate the differences between compositions that are well-untied and those that are not?" As stated in the article," Some studies that we may overestimate the ability of listeners to listen anolitcally. Even musically trained participants often do mot focus on motifs of themes of repetition of musical ideas in music listening tasks unless directed to do so." (408) Showing that most people even musically trained people just plainly listen to music.
The procedure of the experiment are as follows:
The study was done on two seperate days (a Tuesday and a thursday). The partcipants were seated at individual tables so that everyone's responses would be genuine. There were 74 participants in three groups of 22 to 26. Intact compositions are piece that have not been altered in anyway, patchwork compositions are pieces that have been spliced together composed of many different pieces. On each day three intact compostitions and three patchworks were played twice each, also a filler compostion were played one time eachto seperate the examples. All fourteen examples were played in random order. For example:
I(1) P(6) F(4) I(7) P(2) etc.
By the end of the experiment, both intact and patchwork compositions were played four times each and the four fillers once each. The proctor of the experiment told the participants to rate the pieces on varying factors.
The participants rated the music after it was played. They rated simply if they like the piece as well as unity, changes in mood, pitch, and tempo, as well as how good the ending was. All the rating scales were found to be signifcant predicters for the unity ratings of musically and unmusically trained partcipants. In the rest of the examples, hearings 2 through 14, partcipants were asked to indicate if the peice had been played eariler or if it was the first time played. The second session took place on Thursday. The same 74 participants were asked to do the same things as the first session. At the end, the students were debriefed, given the music used in the study, and given a musically themed candy bar. The first session lasted 65 minutes and the second lasted 55 minutes.
Hypothosis
If the partcipants are sensitive to unity then, intact pieces should be rated higher then patchwork pieces. Also patchwork should be rated lower on repeated hearings. The differences should be more pronounced the musically trained partcipants then non trained. The mere exposure hypothosis, both should go up on repeated hearings.
The Results:
Overall trend across the hearings. Goodness of ending had a significant trend. There was more of a trend for goodness of ending then overall liking. Goodness of ending increased across hearings in each case.
Liking:
General increasein means from session 1 to session 2, but didn't increase from hearing to hearing.
No significant trends were found for unity clarity of themes, or repetition across hearings, but there were significant were foundfor variables of interest. Significant trends for goodness of ending and liking, which helps the mere exposure hyothosis. For the goodness of ending and liking increased in patchwork and not intact. No significant trends for anything. Patchworks had a general upward trend, while intact had a general downward trend.
At first intact higher, because it was optimally complex and supracomplex. The change is due to both seeming less complex, but patchworks had higher levels of interest. Few differences were also found in musicians and non musicians.
The limitations were that partcipants ability to recognize thematic and structured features often improves with repeated hearings. Most accurate ratings on first hearings then repeated work, meaning the partcipants loss interest. Immediate repetitions may be necessary to facilitate deeper analytical listening. Unity is important, but only if a listener can fully appreciate unity is still an open question.

Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Human Evolution by Aniruddh D. Patel

2006-12-03T19:56:00.001-05:00

A recent debate has been one of the evolutionary status of music. Some argue that humans have been shaped by evolution to be musical while others say that there is no natural selection involved in the process and that music is merely an alternative use of our basic cognitive skills. In order to solve this debate, we have to look at a couple of questions. First we have to ask if basic components of music are innate, specific to music, and unique to humans. There have been studies to prove that musical pitch perception does not involve natural selection. However, to answer this question we can use musical rhythm as an example. Unfortunately this subject has been left highly unexplored. So our question now is whether or not musical rhythm can be proven to be evolutional in humans.

This hypothesis was first explored by Darwin. Arguments were started when skeptics claimed that love of music is “a mere incidental peculiarity of the nervous system, with no teleological significance.” In simpler terms this means that we can understand music because we are interested in it; we were not designed to automatically know about it. So to prove these skeptics wrong, we need to find the basic musical concepts that cannot be an alternative use of basic cognitive skills.

When we look at musical rhythm, we have to look at its similarities with the rhythm of language. Both types of rhythm have group boundaries, pitch, and duration. Grouping in both musical rhythm and linguistic rhythm use the same part of the brain. Every type of music, from every culture, uses a regular beat that nay listener can recognize and clap along with. Unlike music, however, there is no recurring syllable stress in language. In other words there is no recognizable pattern in the rhythm of language. The two rhythms are still related in that they both have meter which means that some beats are stronger than others. Even though the stressed syllables in linguistic rhythm do not create a regular pulse, it can be assumed that this grouping of stressed and unstressed beats originated in language and was later used in music. So here is the argument: Humans can follow language which consists of complex and irregular beats. Therefore we can assume humans are more than suitable to be prepared for a regular beat. The proof to support this argument is that listeners usually tap ahead of the beat while listening to music. The ability to recognize beat is called beat perception and synchronization or BPS. BPS is unique to music and did not originate in language so separate studies are required for BPS.

When talking about BPS, we need to know several factors. One factor is whether or not BPS is innate or present at birth. The argument for BPS being innate is that babies cannot tap a beat yet they also cannot speak. Since speech is considered innate it would be illogical to claim that BPS is not innate. Therefore BPS would have to be studied developmentally. There are factors preventing this study. We do not know how old a child is when he can tap a beat and we do not know the percentage of adults who can tap a beat.

Another factor of BPS we need to know is if it is specifically related to the brain. There are two different ways to look at this. The first is that brain damage that affects BPS also affects other nonmusical cognitive skills. The second is that brain damage that affects certain functions does not harm others. An example of this is when rhythmic abilities are affected, pitch processing remains relatively undamaged. As you may have guessed, there are factors preventing this study as well. There are no studies on relationship between shortage in BPS and other cognitive skills. Nothing proves that music is a byproduct of other brain functions.

The third and final factor of BPS is whether or not it is specific to humans. The question here is if nonhuman animals naturally produce music. If an animal can acquire or develop the ability to produce music, then the ability would not be an adaptation of music. So can animals learn beat? Primates are taught sign language, but there is no record of anyone ever teaching an animal to tap, peck, or move to a beat. If animals could learn beat, then natural selection for music is not necessary for BPS. The animals we would choose to study would be chimps and bonobos because they already drum with their hands and feet voluntarily as part of their behavior and they are the most intelligent of their kind. The question that follows is whether or not apes are capable of BPS. To figure this out we need to understand basal ganglia. Basal ganglion are any of four deeply placed masses of gray matter in each cerebral hemisphere of the brain. Rhythms with regular beat are associated with increased activity in the basal ganglia. Basal ganglia are also involved in interval timing, motor control, and sequencing. Therefore, the brain structure that keeps beat also controls the coordination of patterned movement. So if BPS only required interval timing and motor control, apes would be capable of BPS because they have basal ganglia as well. However, BPS also requires a relationship between being able to hear intervals and tap them out. The reason we are able to do this is because human evolution has modified our basal ganglia to have that relationship. BPS also requires a relationship between auditory input and motor output, which is also known as vocal learning. This trait has also been a modification of our basal ganglia through evolution.

The conclusion is that being capable of vocal learning is absolutely necessary in order to synchronize with an auditory beat. This hypothesis shows that teaching primates BPS would be unsuccessful, which would prove that it is too early to conclude that BPS is unique to humans.

Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Humane Evolution

2006-12-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Humane Evolution

By: Aniruddh D. Patel, Neuroscience Institute

Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Humane Evolution is an article discussing the contrasting interests in the ideas of music shaped by natural selection or developed by cognitive abilities. The article was developed following a similar article discussing the idea of pitch regarding evolution and cognitive skills

The first argument, evolution, which was introduced by Darwin, in 1871, is developed based on the idea that humans have changed and adapted to new concepts to understand music. The second argument, adaptive cognitive skills, established by William James, says music is understood by using skills like thinking, reasoning, remembering, imagining, or learning.

Can music be related to the way we talk? Pitch movement and duration develops in our speech habits early in life. According to evidence discovered by neuropsychology and neuron-imaging, similar parts of the brain are used to group what we say and what we play. However, beats in music are determined by meter and the beats in what we say have no particular timing.

BPS: Innateness

Innateness is defined as being born with a skill or ability. So are we born with BPS? As far as we know, infants do not synchronize their movements to a musical beat at birth. But we can’t be sure they don’t have BPS because they may not be able to physically show it (i.e. they don’t talk.) So to address the theory of “born with natural beat synchronizing” developmental studies must take place. Through testing we would be able discover if the brain is specifically prepared with BPS. If we discover they are not, we can use other studies to determine at what age children or adults gain BPS by monitoring abilities to follow rhythm by clapping, tapping, or bobbing up and down.

BPS: Domain-Specificity

Neuropsychological literature presents two cases of individuals with musical rhythmic disturbance after brain damage. In the first case, the subject’s rhythmical abilities were disruptive but pitch skills were still intact. In the second case, the subject could determine simple differences between rhythms but could not reproduce or evaluate patterns. So, is brain damage disabling areas of the brain that work with musical abilities? No tests have been conducted to examine relations between deficits in BPS and in other basic cognitive skills. But, if such relations could be found it would suggest that BPS is based on the abilities recruited from other brain functions.

BPS: Human-Specificity

Humans are not the only ones who can be studied to discover BPS. As far as we know, animals do not naturally produce music therefore, we can study their patterns to better understand BPS. If an animal could acquire the ability to produce music then it would have used cognitive skills. But, can animals learn BPS? Despite decades of psychology and neuroscience research and development not a single animal has been trained to tap, peck, or move with an auditory beat, so without proper testing we can’t be sure.

However, leading in the favor of natural selection, chimps are capable of producing drumming with their hands and feet when they play which means they can voluntarily produce rhythmic movements on a time scale appropriate for BPS.

Human testing shows rhythms that have a regular beat are associated with increased activity in the basal ganglia, a part of the brain that measures the time intervals between beats. If one assumes that BPS only requires a common brain structure to produce interval timing and motor control then one would expect that chimps would be capable of BPS.

However, we know that BPS requires more. A Relationship between auditory and patterned movements is proved necessary by the fact that just visual rhythms poorly induce BPS in humans. Therefore, we move to vocal learning.

Vocal learning is the act of producing vocal signals to provide feedback. Evolutionary perspective shows that some species have picked up the idea of vocal learning (i.e. humans, parrots, song birds). Humans find vocal learning easy because it’s needed to learn how to speak and verbally survive in our society.

Through research, it has been discovered that vocal learning requires a tight relationship between the auditory input and the motor output in the bird. Neurobiological research shows this tight relationship modifies basal ganglia in the bird’s brain the better it becomes at vocal learning. Birds and mammals have many anatomical relationships in the basal ganglia so does that mean humans have also been modified by natural selection for vocal learning?

Presentation Script

2006-12-03T17:32:00.000-05:00

Absolute pitch, also known as perfect pitch, is defined by W.D. Ward and E. M. Burns in their article “Absolute Pitch” as the ability to attach labels to isolated auditory stimuli on the base of pitch alone, or in normal people speak, the ability to identify a note by name with no reference note or produce a correct pitch without reference. There has been much debate on whether or not absolute pitch is genetic or can actually be taught.
This experiment, “Learning Absolute Pitch by Children: A Cross-Sectional Study” was conducted by Ken’ichi Miyazaki and Yoko Ogawa. The experiment took place in a private music school in Tokyo. Children are enrolled at the age of four and being to play piano and gain a sense of musical knowledge through activities using fixed-Do in order to emphasize the base of C4, and are shortly after introduced to other pitches, with a focus on C4, D4 and E4.
In the primary course students learn pitches and pitch names through singing, memorizing, and playing songs on the piano. In the advanced courses, which includes the ages of 6 to 10, students extend their music opportunities to play, compose, arrange, and improvise music. For the experiment 104 children were used including 13-four year olds, 18-five year olds, 13-six year olds, 14-seven year olds, 26-eight year olds, 14-nine year olds, and 6-ten year olds.
The test was held approximately three months after the beginning of the year. Another element of the experiment was the use of different timbres. Both a Yamaha Grand Piano and a Yamaha electric organ ( generating string sounds) were used. The test tones included 36 chromatic pitches over three octaves, however, the participants were not asked to identify pitch class, such as C5, but simply the general name, such as A or B. The pitches were given in a random order and separated by at least 7 semitones (or a Perfect 5) each time in order to discourage the use of relative pitch. Relative pitch is the use of a given note to generate or determine a second note. As was stated earlier two timbres were used however, it was decided against the use of the organ for the 4 year old age group as it seemed they lost interest in the activity very quickly, as most of you are probably losing interest with this presentation already.
The participants responded to the given tone using the solfege fixed-Do system which they had been taught through the school. Fixed-Do means that in every key C is Do and the other pitches are Do-sharp, Re, and so on. There was no feedback give as to whether or not a response was correct but instead constant support and encouragement was given to the participants to keep them motivated through out the experiment. Each participant was tested alone and a video camera was used in order to deteremine response time at a later point.
The results are presented as a series of graphs that I will pass around. The first graphs focus on the responses to the grand piano because not all of the students were tested on the electronic organ. As can be seen in the graphs the tendency is for the percentage correct to increase with the age, however, after age seven it can can also be seen that there is little more improvement. The first graph shows how even though the general line is increasing there are still a few students who were achieving below the overall trend. Each individual is represented by a black dot. In the second graph it shows two lines the first being the white key pitches and the second the black key pitches. As you can see the white key pitches were much more easily recognized then the black key pitches. Again, there was a large increase between in the ages of 4 to 6 and a plateau after the age of 7. The other graphs that I will pass around show the answers given to each given pitch for each age group. At first glance they seem rather confusing so if you have any questions please ask. Figures 4 and 5, or the last two graphs, yes we are nearing the end, show the responses to the organ pitches. These responses are lower and have been rationalized as such because they are not the primary instrument on which the participants studied. Children who had had other training on the electric organ scored much higher.
In general this study did little to prove anything, it simply added more research for an even larger study. This study simply proves that the critical period for the possible development of absolute pitch ends at the age of seven. The study does not settle the issue of etiology of absolute pitch ( etiology is the study of the cause of something) but it can be argued that the data may be used as evidence of the learning process of absolute pitch being effected by music training in childhood.

Preserved Singing in Aphasia:A Case Study of the Efficacy of Melodic Intonation Therapy

2006-12-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

This study demonstrates the efficacy of Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT) in a neurologically stable amateur male musician with severe expressive aphasia using a pre- versus post-treatment design.
Aphasia is the loss or impairment of the ability to use of comprehend words resulting from brain damage. In this study the patient, referred to as KL, had difficulties with language dealing with expression and comprehension, but has verbal apraxia, or the ability to repeat words by copying someone's mouth movements. The purpose of this study was to help KL regain some of his ability to produce words and phrases using MIT sessions.
The study involved three tasks. In Task 1, pairs of sentences were presented both visually on printed cards and verbally. KL was required to identify the grammatically correct sentence within each pair; he was able to get 16/18 correct. Task 2 involved KL constructing grammatically correct sentences from printed word cards presented in a random order. He was unable to produce 8/9 sentence anagrams, thus showing he understands the structure but cannot produce his own. In Task 3, 20 phrases of three words were generated and randomly put into one of three groups on ten. Each word was printed beneath a line drawing of the last word, with each group having a simliar number of phrases with one-, two-, three- or four- syllable words. Group 1 had tunes composed for each phrase with the rhythm and pitch contour similar to that of conversation; these were the MIT phrases. Group 2 phrases were given a slightly exaggerated rhythm that approximated the rhythms of Group 1 without stepping away from the natural rhythm of speech; this was the repetition group. Both Groups 1 and 2 were recorded for practice use in between sessions. Group 3 were unrehearsed phrases, which KL saw for the first time in therapy.
The procedure for the study had KL's responses recorded throughout the sessions with a baseline performance taken prior to the start of therapy by having him say phrases from each group from a picture prompt, written word prompt, or spoken word prompts. He attended four weeks of therapy with a Music Therapist and a named researcher. KL had bi-weekly rehearsal seesions of both Group 1 and 2 phrases with identicaly training conditions. The rehearsal followed the MIT method that has six levels of phrase production graded by the level of phrase difficulty and the degree of prompting provided by the therapist. Level 6 is the goal as it is when the participant can produce an answer using the target phrase with no prompting. KL was allowed three attempts to complete each level and a melody was not incorporated into rehearsal of Group 2. Group 3 phrases were presented at baseline and at week 5, one week after the end of therapy.
A first follow up was presented at week five, with a second at week 9. In these sessions, phrases from each group were presented in a random order. He was first given a picture prompt then a melodic prompt for the MIT phrases, and finally a spoken or sung prompt until he was able to compete the phrase. The melodic and sung word prompts used the melodies accompanying the Group 1 phrases.
The results were taken by way of a 't' test by comparing the mean number of times KL reached Level 6 across the 8 sessions of therapy. This showed the he had a significant performance advantage for phrases using MIT vs. Repetition. A Repeated Measures Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) test was used to examine the proportion of words KL correctly produced with baseline vs. follow up 1 and among the phrase groups. KL's performance of the MIT and repetition phrases was significantly better than his performance of unrehearsed phrases across time. ANCOVA tests were also used to assess the long term effacicy of MIT by examining the proportion of words correctly produced by KL for the rehearsed phrases. His performance of the repetition phrases deteriorated at a faster rate than the MIT phrases, creating a performance advantage for MIT phrases. The therapy also showed that KL was significantly more likely to reach the stage where he could answer a question with a sung target phrases than a spoken phrase. Also KL's MIT phrases were more commonly produced without a prompt and more likely to be complete utterances. All this proves that the effects of MIT are longer lasting after therapy and is very helpful in helping people with aphasia learn to comprehend and produce phrases.

Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Human Evolution

2006-12-03T15:39:00.000-05:00

This article is called “Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Human Evolution”. It was written by Aniruddh D. Patel of The Neurosciences Institute
The debate in this study is over the evolutionary status of music – whether evolution has shaped humans to be musical, or whether humans adapt cognitive skills. The journal breaks down music * cognition into four parts as shown here.
Recently, the idea that human minds have been shaped by natural selection for music, first proposed by Darwin, has become widely accepted. There are skeptics, however, who believe music is an “enjoyable mental technology built from preexisting cognitive skills”. The debate can be resolved by determining whether there are fundamental aspects of music cognition which are * innate, that is being born with it, and cannot be explained as being part of cognitive abilities that have been adapted. The author concludes that as of now, there is no reason to reject the idea that * human minds have NOT been specifically shaped by natural selection for music.*
Musical rhythm is similar to speech rhythm, since they both have nice rhythmic organization. They both use pitch movements and durational lengthening, and they both start early in life. Studies have shown that the two use similar brain substrates. This is good evidence that musical rhythm is in fact an offshoot of linguistic rhythm. Musical beats occur in the context of a meter, in which some beats are stronger than others. Interestingly enough, speech is also metrically. based on stress or prominence. This suggests that the tendency to organize rhythmic sequences may originate in language.*
Beat perception and synchronization, or BPS, is a part of rhythm unique to music. It cannot be explained as a byproduct of speech rhythm. The key questions about BPS are about its innateness – its domain specificity, and its human specificity.*
Infants don’t synchronize their movements to a musical beat. This doesn’t mean innateness is false, because infants do not speak. One way to address the innateness of BPS is to look at developmental studies, in order to explore whether the brain seems prepared to acquire this ability. As for now, we don’t have enough information about BPS, including how early one can synchronize to a beat and who can attain this ability. More research is to come…*
One way to study domain-specificity of BPS is to see if brain damage that disrupts it also disrupts other nonmusical cognitive abilities. The neuropsychological literature has descriptions of people with musical rhythmic disturbance after brain damage. It also has findings that rhythmic abilities can be selectively disrupted, leaving pitch processing skills intact. Again… this topic needs more research.*
Animals do not naturally produce music, so if an animal can acquire this ability, it would mean that the ability is not part of an adaptation for music. In all the years of research and animal training, there has not been a single report of an animal being trained to tap, peck, or move in beat. Could an animal learn BPS? If so, this would mean that natural selection is not necessary for BPS.
So there is the question of which animals to study. The obvious answer would be chimps or bonobos, since they are the most closely related to humans. Also, chimps and bonobos have short bouts or rhythmic “drumming” as part of display or play behavior. So we know they are capable of making rhythmic movements on a scale of their own. Despite this, there is still question to whether or not apes are capable of BPS because of brain circuits that are involved in beat perception and motor control. * In humans, rhythms that have a regular beat are associated with the basal ganglia structure in the brain. This structure is also used for motor control and sequencing. But if just this structure were fully in charge of these things, you would expect that chimps, and other species such as rodents, would be capable of BPS. So, because of this, we can conclude that its not just one simple brain function. * This is because BPS involves a special relationship between auditory temporal intervals and patterned movement. This means that somehow or another, human evolution modified the basal ganglia in away that makes for tight coupling between auditory input and motor output.
One way this evolutionary force could have occurred is in vocal learning. This means that you learn to speak or make noise by hearing. This is common to humans, since every child learns to speak by learning. This is only common to a few animals, such as songbirds and parrots. So, humans are unique among primates in having complex vocal learning.
Neurobiological research on birds shows that vocal learning is associated with modifications to the basal ganglia, which is key in auditory input and motor output. So, we can assume that the basal ganglia in humans have also been modified by natural selection for vocal learning.
*So basically, a testable hypothesis would be that…
Having the neural circuitry for complex vocal learning is necessary for the ability to synchronize with an auditory beat. *
This hypothesis pretty much says that if you try to teach nonhuman primates, such as the chimp, to synchronize to a beat, it’s probably not going to work. But, it also says that if it doesn’t work on primates, it would still be premature to conclude that BPS is unique to humans.

The Origins of Music: Theories and their Flaws

2006-12-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

In the last decade, the study of music evolution has significantly increased. Ian Cross analyzes two papers on this subject, and points out how they could be stronger in certain areas.

The first paper, by Justus & Hustler, indicates that the capability to learn music is adaptive, and that inherent music talent is the basis for the exploration and reconceptualization of music. The other paper, by McDermott & Hauser is very broad-ranging, and gives a detailed check-list of what one would need to give an evolutionary view of music. While writing their paper, McDermott & Hauser referred to/were influenced by developmental & ethological essays.

Both papers seem to misinterpret the “Neanderthal Flute”, a bone that is mythically believed to be the first musical instrument. McDermott & Hauser suggest that the earliest preserved instruments date back to 6000 BC. This date is to late to be plausible. Justus & Hustler say the “Neanderthal Flute” was made by humans, when in fact, it is believed to be a product of an animals chewing. If it were to be a musical instrument, the date at which is was made is too early a period for music to have started.

Ian Cross also notes that both papers lack specificity when it comes to defining music. McDermott & Hauser state “… a definition of music is not particularly important at this stage.” Cross concludes that their lack of specificity limits their arguments greatly.

McDermott & Hauser end their paper by claiming that music lacks referential precision, because it expresses emotion and is “commonly used to produce enjoyment.” Cross believes that music must be characterized as fully as possible. Only then can you understand how music relates to other aspects of human life, and propose theories on the evolutionary roots of human musicality.

Uses of Music in Everday Life

2006-12-03T13:20:00.000-05:00

Many people believe that due to the development of recorded music and mass media, the presence of music has become a part of our everyday lives. There have been many studies that examine just how we experience music from day to day. This one focuses on the five W’s- who, what, when, where, and why.

To answer these questions, the researches found 346 volunteers. The average age of the volunteers was 25.96 years old, but some aged anywhere from 13 to 78 years old. Each participant was asked to complete one approximately 25 minute questionnaire a day via text messaging, and 96.72% of the questionnaires were successfully completed. The participants were very diverse in both ethnic background and occupation, as well as their musical training and experience.

There were six parts to each questionnaire. First, the volunteers were asked if they were either currently listening to music, or if they had at least heard some type of music since the previous survey. If they were not or had not, they did not need to complete the rest of the questions. If they had a music experience to report, they were then asked who they were with during the experience. Next were the questions of what type of styles they had heard, if they were able to choose this music, and if they liked it. The fourth part inquired as to where they had heard the music. The last two parts were split amongst those who had been able to choose what music they experience and those who had not. The group that had a choice was asked why they chose what they did, and the group that had no choice was asked what effects the piece had on them. In both cases, they were given answers to choose from based on previous free response answers to the questions by psychology undergrad.

(Chart 1) After 14 days the study ended, and on 38.6% of the occasions, people could hear music. 60.8% of the times, people could not hear music, and there was no response for .6% of the surveys. (Chart 2) Of the times that people could not hear music, the participants indicated that they had heard some since the last survey was completed 48.6% of the time. For 48.5% of the occasions they had heard no music since the previous survey, and 2.9% of replies contained no response. Overall, this means that the participants had a very high exposure to music.

(Chart 3) Again, the main focus of this study was the 5 W’s, and I’ll start with Who?. Only slightly more than a quarter of the musical experiences were heard by the participant alone. 18.4% of the time, the participant was with friends, 7%, with only a spouse or partner, 8.4%, with family members, 5.8%, with colleagues, 3.2%, with a boyfriend or girlfriend, 1.9%, with strangers, and .6% with someone who was not any of the choices on the list. Obviously, more of the listenings were experience by more than just the participant, which interestingly differs from results of previous studies.

(Chart 4) The next question was what music the participants heard. There were 14 choices to pick from. The most popular answer was Chart pop, heard 38% of the time, followed by R&B/Soul at 8.4% and Dance at 5.3%. Every other choice was picked at least a few times, but no more than 5% of the time. All of the percentages can be seen on chart 4. The results of this part of the survey greatly reflect record sales. For instance, the most heard- chart pop- sells very well, while classical music, 3% of the experiences, does not sell so well.

(Chart 5) The participants were also asked when they could hear the music. The researches made sure to account for the fact that the time of day the messages were sent (which varied day to day) would reflect the answers and used a special formula to ensure the results would not be greatly affected. The responses were split into one hour segments of the day, such as 3-3:59 AM, or 7-7:59 PM. The results are calculated by the times music could be heard compared to the number of people that responded within that hour. The most often experiences took place between 10:00 and 10:59 PM. For more general understanding purposed, the chart splits the responses into the morning and afternoon (8-4:59), and the evening (5-11), including weekdays only. Since many participants were at work for the 8-4:59 time slot, these results are also split between those who could choose and not choose what they listened to. For the people that could choose, 63.9% of the experiences were in the earlier half, while 63.7% were in the later half. For those that could not choose, 36.1% of the responses showed an earlier listening, while 36.3% showed a later listening. (Chart 6) They also split the results into weekends and weekdays. For those that could choose 63.3% of the occurrences took place on weekdays, compared to 66.2% on weekends. Those that could not choose reported that 36.7% of their listening time was on weekdays, compared to 33.8% on weekends. These results greatly contradict thoughts that most music listening happens during leisure time instead of at the workplace. The difference is not significantly large.

(Chart 7) Another section of the survey asked where the volunteers were while they experienced the music. Only half of the experiences took place within the home, while almost 1/5 took place in public places. Also, the two choices that were geared toward people choosing to listen to music, being at home and listening to it on purpose or going to a concert, only made up slightly more than 1/10 of the experiences. These results clearly show that the technological developments in recorded music have a great effect on people’s exposure to music.

(Chart 8) The final part of the survey asked those participants who had chosen to listen to the music they had why they chose to do so. The most common answers were that they either enjoyed the music or it helped to pass the time, while the least common answers had to do with feelings or thought-things like bringing back memories or stimulating an emotion or even just to learn more about the music. (Chart 9) Those who had not chosen to listen to the music were in turn asked what effects the music had on them. While 31.6% of the experiences created the right atmosphere for the situation, and 28.7% of the time the listener enjoyed it, almost 15% of the music annoyed the listener.

So what do these results mean? Almost 70% of the answers showed that the
volunteers were exposed to music at some point in their day. Around 3/4 of the time, the participants were not alone, which means that music plays a large part in social activities. Furthermore, the data of what people are listening to is definitely consistent as to what recorded music people are buying, which shows that more exposure to a certain genre of music could definitely influence a higher sale of that genre. The study also showed that many people are not choosing to listen to the music that they hear, and that most of the instances are taking place at work or in public places, where the mass media has a very large presence. So in a nutshell, this study shows that the increase of mass media and developments in technology do, in fact, have a very large influence on how people are exposed to music every day.

Perception of Mode, Rhythm and Contour in Unfamiliar Melodies

2006-12-02T20:08:00.000-05:00

Perception of Mode, Rhythm and Contour in Unfamiliar Melodies: The Effects of Age and Experience

A study by Andrea Halpern, James Bartlett and W. Jay Dowling, from the journal Music Perception, the Summer 1998 issue. (click)

The purpose of this study was to answer two questions: How does aural perception differ for musicians versus non-musicians, and older versus younger subjects? And how well can these subjects identify a contrast of mode, rhythm, and contour in unfamiliar melodies? (click)

The researchers designed two experiments. In the first experiment, subjects are divided into 4 groups. The younger age group is made up of 24 undergraduate students. Half of them are musicians, having had an average of 11.75 years of private music lessons. The other half are non-musicians, having had an average of 0.63 years of private music lessons. The older age group is composed of 24 senior citizens, similarly divided into musicians, with 13.39 average years of musical experience, and non-musicians with only 0.58 average years of musical experience. (click)

Eight melodies were composed for this study. The first, Melody A, is a simple tune in a major key. The next, Melody B, has the identical notes as Melody A, but is rhythmically different. Melody C has the same rhythm as Melody A, but the tune has been inverted, thus changing the contour. In Melody D, this same inverted tune is used, and the rhythm is that of Melody B. The last four melodies, E, F, G and H, are identical to A, B, C and D, respectively, but they are in the relative minor key of their major counterparts. In this way, each melody changes only slightly overall from one to the next, but each change is enough to present a clear difference. (click)

For Experiment 1, the researchers had each subject listen to one of two tapes. Each tape contained a computer playback, at regular intervals, of 28 pairs of melodies A-H. The pairs were not chosen for any specific reason, each melody was as likely to be paired with each other melody. During this listening, subjects were asked to rate the relative difference of the paired melodies on a scale of 1-7, 1 being least similar and 7 being most similar. (click)

The results of this experiment indicated that there were few differences between musicians and non-musicians of a younger age. Younger subjects felt that rhythmically different pairs contrasted the most, with contour in between, whereas young subjects felt that major and minor pairs contrasted the least. Of the older group, the older non-musicians’ results were most similar to those of the younger subjects. Older musicians, however, differed from the other three groups and identified contour as the most contrasting factor, followed by rhythm, and then mode. All groups, regardless of age or musical ability, saw mode as the least determining factor between melodic pairs. (click)

For experiment 2, once again the subjects were classified by age and musical ability. 31 undergrad students, 14 of which were musicians, and 17 of which were not, made up the younger category. Of 24 senior citizens, 12 were musicians and 12 were not. (click)

The procedure of Experiment 2 followed the same basic format as Experiment 1, but this time melodies were paired specifically, changing only one variable as well as key signature for each pair. Subjects were asked, once again, to rate the relative contrast of melodies on a scale of 1-6. From these results, the relative accuracy of each group in identifying mode, contour and rhythm differences was determined. (click)

This experiment revealed that differences of rhythm and contour were easier to identify for all subjects, but mode remained the most difficult to discern. Non-musicians of both age groups had similar accuracy rates in determining melodic differences. Musicians of both age groups also had similar accuracy rates, but theirs were slightly higher than those of non-musicians. Also, of musicians, older subjects tended to score higher altogether in this experiment. (click)

From the results of this study, the researchers concluded that rhythm and contour changes are easiest to discern in music. Mode contrast is the most difficult to identify, even among the highest scoring subjects. (click)

On the question of age vs. experience, it was shown that musicians were better at identifying melodic differences than non-musicians, and that older subjects scored higher than younger subjects, even among non-musicians. The highest scores, however, were among older musicians. Overall, the results of these two experiments may only be significant for the oldest musicians with the most extensive musical background, but nonetheless the study clearly illustrates a connection between the factors of age and experience. (click)

This has been a presentation by Rebecca Janvrin. Thank you!

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Note: The (click) s indicate where I would go on to the next slide.

Other Note: I tried to upload the melody images from my slide show onto this post, but I got an error. Sorry folks!

2006-11-27T19:25:00.000-05:00

what article is everyone talking about thats due tomorrow!?!?

clue me in, and everyone else that keeps i.m.ong me asking about it.

Every Child a Singer: Techniques for Assisting Developing Singers by Janice Smith

2006-11-20T00:40:00.000-05:00

Humans sing to express emotions beyond mere words. Singing is obviously an important subject to Smith. In this article, ideas for teaching students and guidelines by which the teacher should follow are discussed. She first tells possibilities of why some children need help singing. Some of these reasons could be lack of confidence, auditory processing difficulties which result in inaccurate singing, hearing impairments, and other physical impairments such as a chronically hoarse voice. The article also discusses different things to practice with students such as posture and breathing. Warm-ups are essential and vocal health is vital. Asking a student to continuously sing louder can damage their vocal chords. She also presses on vocal exploration. Helping a child to reach both ends of their vocal range and to switch from range to range quickly is a good goal to work for. She talks about how the teacher should know what he is doing and be able to sing in order to teach the student to sing.

Professor Spiegelberg, I'm so sorry this is late. I did all my comments earlier and set out to find a good article to do my abstract with. I wrote an abstract and my internet stalled and I lost my it. Please accept this, I know I completely forgot about the whole thing last week.

Conscious Voluntary Movement Excercise

2006-11-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

Created by the fouders of the Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor psychotherapy, CVME is an excercise that helps one maximize their awareness of their bodily control, energy expenditure, and of the placement in space of the portions of the body. In order to teach, it is broken up into four stages: decision-making, planning, implementation, and verification. It is a standing-up excercise that requires first the arm to move back and forward slowly, then other parts of the body, depending upon their field of performance (music, dance). The goal of this technique is to make one completely aware of their movements and thus provide for a perfect performance, as there are no more nervous movements. This technique, so to speak, eliminates nervousness.

2006-11-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

This investigation set out to prove whether fourth and fifth garders could audibly recognize the difference between blues melodies and blues improvisation. The students were split into three equally sized groups. The first group memorized and sang a blues melody, the second group was taught how to play a blued melody on the recorder, and the third group was given very little instruction about playing or singing any blues melody. The groups that were taught melodies were able to discern between improv and melody at a much higher rate than the third group.

"Why Your Music Program Needs a Web Site"

2006-11-19T21:30:00.000-05:00

"Why Your Music Program Needs a Web Site"
By David R. Marowitz
Teaching Music October 2006 issue Page 54-57

Providing your community with a website provides better means of communication, it provides your ensemble or group with a public "face," and can unify your students. When creating a website remember to first get the administrations approval. Developing a purpose statement can help you decide who, what, size, and how much information you want to include on your site. Allowing individual students or groups of students who can be considered "techies" help maintain the website and report to you, the website manager, before making changes or deleting old information. The last part of the article includes tips about finding a web site provider appropriate to your group.

"Speeding Up Vibrato"

2006-11-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

The article discusses how the faster vibrato is, the narrower it must be. The author then goes on to explain the difference between hand and arm vibrato, hand vibrato is generated from the wrist and arm vibrato comes from the elbow. It is then said that vibrato should be sped up by using a metronome and playing multiple rhythms. The last section of the article states that many students start vibrato by tightening the arm, but this should not be the case. The student should start in a relaxed state and gradually add muscle.

Vocal and Aural Perceptions of Young Singers Aged Ten to Twenty-One

2006-11-19T18:41:00.000-05:00

by Susan Yarnall, from the Journal of Singing Sept/Oct 2006 issue, pages 81-85.

Abstract:

As they progress through adolescence, many singers encounter physical, mental, emotional and psychological changes. By studying how and when each change occurs, teachers can better predict problems and assist students through this volatile period. The following article presents findings from two studies on the process of vocal maturity. In the first study, the author notes five stages of development: between ages 11-12, 12-13, 13-14, 14-15, and 16-18. In each stage, physical, emotional and psychological development are taken into consideration, as well as vocal maturity. The second study made use of recording equipment to examine students' perceptions of their own sound. Many of the subjects were surprised by what they heard. The author concludes with a list of tips for teachers to better instruct and support their adolescent students.

"Playing without Pain: Strategies for the Developing Instrumentalist"

2006-11-19T17:24:00.000-05:00

This articles deals with the realization that not just elder musicians end up with injuries, but that younger musicians are just as susceptible. It states that there are three important factors, proper diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The six focuses that the article looks at are causes, types of difficulties, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The causes of must young musicians injuries are overuse, misuse, and hypermobility. Of course the primary symptom is pain, and the next step is acknowledging that pain means there is something wrong. One suggestion was to take your musical instrument with you when you go to the doctor to be diagnosed. The primary treatment for any injury is rest. The article is mostly informative because in order to prevent the injuries students must know ways in which to do so.

"Playing without Pain: Strategies ofr the Developing Instrumentalist"
By William J. Dawson
Music Educators Journal-November 2006
pg. 36-41

"Taking Aim at Good Intonation"

2006-11-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

"Taking Aim at Good Intonation" International Society of Bassists Volume 30, Number 1 - p. 25

This article looks at the steps bassists should take to have good intonation. The ability to play in tune depends on three things: an understanding of the harmonic series and temperaments, ear training, and ability to apply these skills in both practice and performance. The article explains how the intervals are all derived by mathematical ratios, and goes into detail about harmonics and temperaments on the bass using specific examples. It states what a bass player needs to have a good ear and good tone, and includes and exercise to practice to help with both. The last section outlines what the bass player's job is while playing in a group, specifiacally and orchestra, and tips to help with many aspects of playing bass.

"Teaching Music Traders a Lesson"

2006-11-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

The Berklee College of Music is known as one of the best and most prestigious contemporary music conservatories in the world. The school hosts a wealth of knowledge ranging from lessons in the traditional jazz technique to the freedom of new, innovative composition. However, Berklee does not wish to hold this abundance of information hostage. In fact, Berklee is encouraging it's students to share lessons, music files, songs, and other musical genius online. This article explores the pros and cons of sharing collegiate information online, and how this new technology will affect music students of the future. In "Teaching Music Traders a Lesson," the author challenges her audience to enter a world where the digital age and the historic age of music collaborate to make a place where it is easy, and accepted, for students to learn through downloading and surfing the web.

Wired News:"Teaching Music Traders a Lesson" by Katie Dean

And now Mr. Terfel will be singing Free Bird

2006-11-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

Voice teachers and pretty much all classical musicians have had a bias about popular music, but a few musicians are building a bridge to bring all stlyes of music together. Contemporary Commercial Music (CCM) books are now being published to aid in these contemporary styles. These new vocalising books are being published so that young singers can experience pop, jazz, rock, and all contemporary music. The books take the singers through the necessary steps to sing correctly in these different stlyes. One of the advantages of these books is that no one has found a way of teaching these styles or at least has not made them well known. It also gives musicians a new understanding of how these different musical aspects work so that all musicians can better understand the different styles of music, rather than saying one is better than another.

The Magic of Rhythm Instruments

2006-11-18T13:41:00.000-05:00

Many teachers struggle with trying to raise Pre-school and Kindergarten age children's musical awareness and expressiveness. This article examines the use of rhythm instruments, such as rhythm sticks, shakers sand blocks, and bells, to do this, instead of singing. While the process of singing is very complex for young children in that they must remember the words and the notes, using rhythm instruments can be made fun and simple by using a variety of techniques. Some of these techniques are explained, such as playing along with familiar tunes with different lyrics ("This is the Way We Play Our Sticks" to the tune of "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush"), playing games where the children repeat the teacher, telling animal stories where different instruments symbolize different animals (sand blocks hit on the floor become dinosaur footsteps), and pretending the instruments are everyday items (the tambourine becomes a steering wheel). All of these processes are exciting for the children, while at the same time they will increase the children's awareness and expressiveness of music.

This article is from the October 2006 edition of Teaching Music

IPA in the Choral Rehearsal

2006-11-18T12:52:00.000-05:00

Every choir director at one time or another has a problem with getting the choir to produce a uniform sound. This article looks into using the International Phonetic Alphabet in choral rehearsals. IPA is useful in the fact that it is universal and can teach students the proper sounds for not just English, but other languages as well. The author introduces IPA symbols and sounds during rehearsal time via warmups and transparencies on a projector. Using IPA not only reinforces pure vowel sounds, but diphthongs and rhythmic precision of consonants as well. This creates a more unified sound in color, blend, pitch, and breath management. This study is an example of how IPA can drastically improve a choir's singing.

"IPA in the Choral Rehearsal" from Teaching Music October 2006 issue.

The Lady with The Hammer

2006-11-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Unusually simple piano scores scatter the studio floor of a reclusive composer in St. Petersburg. Galina Ustwolskaja does not travel and will not take interviews. Dubbed “The Lady with the Hammer” by music critics, blocks of polyphonic sound leap off the pages of her music. Bleak melodies are interrupted by a machine burst in the upper register, embellishing the typical socialist canvas of Soviet composition.
Ustwolskaja’s determination to create music uninfluenced by any other composer or genre made her unsuited to a career in the Soviet music business during the Stalinist era. Regardless, Ustwolskaja had to earn a living and came to an agreement with the state. This meant pumping out charming pieces in the Socialist Realist tradition to please the Soviet State. Her typical music, characterized by driving polyphony, severe dynamics (ffffff and ppppp), the absence of bar lines, and unusual instrumentation (Her Composition No. 1. was written for Piano, Piccolo, and Bass Tuba), was a luxury she mostly kept to herself for personal composition.
Born June 17, 1919, in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), Uswolskaja began compositional studies at Leningrad Conservatory with Dmitri Shostakovich in 1937 and continued to study with him for ten years. Uswolskaja can be considered the only one of Shostakovich’s students who was able to escape the gravitational pull of his composing planet and create her own compositional style with, according to Uswolskaja, absolutely no influence taken from other composers: “there is no link whatsoever between my music and that of any other composer,”

Even Shostakovich felt he failed to influence her; rather, he felt influenced by Galina. A man unlikely to compliment his students, Shostakovich supported her against the opposition of his colleagues in the Union of Soviet Composers and said of her, ‘I am convinced that the music of G. I. Uswolskaja will achieve worldwide renown, to be valued by all who perceive truth in music to be of paramount importance.” In fact, Shostakovich presented his scores to Ustvolskaya for her approval and attached great value to her comments.
. The scores of Shostakovich’s music for the film Hamlet were similar to Ustwolskaja’s music in mood and method. Use of large percussion blows and whip crack chords with militant simplicity, “almost puritanical in its distrust of anything colorful or soft-edged” The New Shostakovich (1990), expressed a similar experience of oppression under Communism. Otherwise, little connection has been found between Ustwolskaja and Shostakovich’s music.
A personal connection between the two, however, is evident. Rostropovich, a fellow composer who was friends with both of them, declared Uswolskaja and Shostakovich’s relationship as “tender.” In Shostakovich: A Life Remembered, Elizabeth Wilson revealed their union as an “open secret.” Accounts of their relationship are in definite existent, but details are uncertain. The exact how and when of their relationship is unknown. Nevertheless, calling Uswolskaja his "musical conscience” Shostakovich was obviously struck by the young woman. It seems the relationship between the two was short and intense, since Shostakovich married another student soon after accounts of his affair with Uswolskaja were taken. It is known she broke up with the fellow composer in 1956, when she was 37 years old and the only contribution of the affair given by Uswolskaja herself is bitter and abrupt: “One thing remains as clear as day: a seemingly eminent figure such as Shostakovich, to me, is not eminent at all, on the contrary he burdened my life and killed my best feelings."

Ani DiFranco

2006-11-12T23:57:00.000-05:00

How many nine year olds have you seen playing Beatles covers in the local bars? Probably none since you’re all underage! But, if you were of age how realistic would this sight be? Not likely at all. Ani DiFranco is a well known artist who writes and performs all her own music and serves as one of the biggest music icons in the LBGT community, particularly among lesbians.

Ani DiFranco was born in Buffalo, New York and began her career as a musician very early. By the age of nine she was playing Beatles covers and playing local gigs with her guitar teacher. By the age of eighteen she had recorded her first album under her newly opened record company Righteous Babes. She started the record company on her own with only fifty dollars in her pocket. From then on, she has recorded a new album every year (except 2000.) I feel the lesson we can learn from Ani’s life is the importance of and determination and independence as musicians.

The success of having your own record label can prove your determination and independence to a great extent. As musicians ourselves, artistic freedom is a major part of our career. Owning your own record label allows you to release whatever material you desire, whenever you desire, and as often as you desire. In my opinion, the fact that Ani DiFranco is able to take her music wherever she wants and express herself freely is greatly based on not having the “control” part of another record company. She has also helped her community out and purchased an old church that was going to be demolished due to vacancy. She now uses the church as the home to her Righteous Babes record company and it also serves as a concert hall.

Ani is a famous musician who has won her audience by the sound of her music and liberal lyrics. With lyrics that hit issues like sexism, racism, sexual abuse, homophobia, reproductive rights, poverty and war she attracts many politically active college students who go on to spread the word of her music. Ani has experienced very little media exposure which would explain why the majority of DePauw’s students have not heard of her or her music. In fact, Ani has become popular by a small chain of leading events. It first started with cutting class to write poetry, then performing poetry, then turning poetry into lyrics and performing that. Once she obtained her drivers license her gigs began to spread from town to a bigger town, city to a bigger city, then state to state, and she now performs on tour all over the United States.

Ani is an independent artist who has left her success in the hands of her audience. She career is based on the approval of her fans. She writes lyrics that she knows her fans will be able to relate too. She is an feminine activist who believes in self expression as a musician.

Final Years: On Mahler, and the Musical Meaning of Mortality

2006-11-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

Mortality.

It means ‘the awareness of life’s temporality’, but artists have always understood this word to mean much more. Mortality confirms humanity. To be mortal is to die, yes, at some point; but furthermore, to be mortal is to have lived.

It may be fascinating to examine an artist’s early life and influences to explain their work; however, I have chosen to consider an artist’s development – Gustav Mahler’s, specifically - as he realizes his own mortality. What led him to this discovery? Which events changed his outlook? And how, most importantly, was his music affected by this?

In July of 1907, Mahler’s eldest daughter, Maria (nicknamed Putzi) died of scarlet fever and diphtheria at the age of five. His wife, Alma, wrote: “Mahler loved this child so much that he more and more buried himself in his room, saying goodbye to his beloved child in his heart.” Following the tragedy of his daughter’s death, a cardiac specialist in Vienna diagnosed Mahler with a defected heart. The implications of this diagnosis meant that the composer, used to a life of constant physical activity, was restricted to limited movement and forbidden from overexerting himself. To have his child’s death and the threat of his own hit so suddenly and so close to him - one can imagine the sense of doom he must have felt. These events had an immediate affect on his music and his work ethic. He became increasingly productive as a composer and tireless as a conductor – often not returning home until late from the Opera Theatre, complaining of fatigue and the bad manners of coworkers.

As useful a distraction his work was to the composer, it left his wife feeling neglected and put upon. His intensity left her little room for her own interests (composition and painting) so she turned instead to architect Walter Gropius. In 1910, in a letter addressed to Mahler, Gropius declared his true intentions toward Alma – he wished her to be his forever, and leave her husband. Suddenly, Alma was able to tell her husband “how I had longed for years for his love, and how with his immense sense of mission he had simply overlooked me”. Abruptly, Mahler realized how close he had come to losing his wife. Thereafter, he doted on her – writing letter after lovesick letter, poetry, and even dedicating sections of his Tenth Symphony to her. Although she eventually married Gropius after Mahler’s death, there is no evidence of Alma’s affair continuing for the rest of Mahler’s life.

These events led the composer to perceive and accept his mortality. Mahler’s last years, musically, include deepening themes of loss, heartbreak, despair, and dread – clearly reflections of his life on his work - but also, recurrently, of hope. On a trip in New York, Mahler wrote to a friend: “When I hear music – including when I am conducting – I hear definite answers to all my questions – and am completely clear and sure. Or rather, I feel quite clearly that they are not questions at all.” Even amid the turmoil of his failing health, an unsteady marriage, and the ups and down of public opinion, Mahler’s final years find him a changed man – not only aware of his mortality, but accepting of it. By the end, he was able to put all his questions to rest – even the unanswered ones, he knew, would become clear after his mortality was manifested.

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All direct quotes from Mahler: His Life, Work & World by Kurt and Herta Blaukopf
Other sources:
Mahler by Michael Kennedy
The Life of Mahler by Peter Franklin
Wikipedia's page on Mahler and subsequent links

Click to hear excepts of Mahler's Symphonies

Making A Name

2006-11-12T22:10:00.000-05:00

Stephen Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930 in New York City. He was a very talented child who skipped kindergarten and was reading the New York Times by first grade. In 1936 he received his first piano lesson, however, this was not the beginning of his true training as a musician. There were many factors that lead to the instruction of the young Sondheim; the largest factor was his parents. His father, Herbert and mother, Janet were divorced in 1940. At first glance this may look as if it was a horrible emotional wrenching experience, as many divorces can turn in to, but in essence it was the beginning of Sondheim’s career. His mother uprooted him from New York City and sent him to military school. Unlike most children this was a very good experience for Sondheim because there was a wonderful organ there that he was allowed to play. The real achievement came after military school when Sondheim and his mother moved to Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It was here that Sondheim attended George School. George School was where Sondheim met and quickly befriended Jimmy Hammerstein. This friendship would prove to be one of the best things to happen to young Sondheim.
Jimmy’s father Oscar Hammerstein II soon learned of Stephen’s passion for music and became Stephen’s first mentor. He began teaching him about musical theatre and how to write musical theatre. Hammerstein developed a type of course outline for Sondheim to follow. This outline consisted of four assignments. The first was to turn a play he enjoyed into a musical, the second to turn a play he disliked into a musical, the third to use a non-dramatic piece and convert it into a musical and the final assignment was to create something original. This course took around six years and was finally concluded when Sondheim finished college.
Sondheim attended Williams College and was a music major under the influence of his first music professor Robert Barrow. After graduation he began private studies with Milton Babbitt in New York. They studied counterpoint and did a lot of music analyzation. Sondheim was a slow, hard working student. This hard work paid off in the long run.
Stephen Sondheim’s first major work was not that of composition, it was that of a lyricist. If there is one thing about show business that Sondheim learned and forever remembered it was that you take every opportunity you are handed. His first success “West Side Story” was premiered on September 16, 1957.
Sondheim continued to learn from his elders. He did not allow the fame of his first success to cloud his judgment, but continued to work diligently. He was given many other opportunities that would lead his way to his own full score and lyrics. He was taught his final lesson by Hammerstein when he was asked to write the lyrics for “Gypsy”. This lesson was how to write for a star. Stephen Sondheim achieved what every musician and artist hopes for, great success. He used the resources and opportunities he was given to make a name for himself in the musical theatre world, a name that will not easily be forgotten.

Zadan, Craig. Sondheim & Co. 2nd ed. New York, New York: Harper & Row,, Inc., 1989.

The Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration. Washington D.C.: The Kennedy Center Education Department, 2002.

All Shine On...

2006-11-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

Killed on his way back home from a recording session in December, John Lennon lived a truly legendary life. A member of the world-famous Beatles, and later doing solo work, Lennon made a huge impact on the planet and in the world of music.

John Lennon was born in Liverpool, during a German air raid. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds and experience, though neither pursued music seriously. Lennon lived with his parents until his father Alfred, a merchant seaman, walked out on the family when John was five years. His mother Julia (due to a current relationship and lack of home space) handed over care of young Lennon to her sister, Mimi Smith, after receiving a considerable amount of pressure from both Mary and child services to do so. Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence, Lennon lived with his aunt. Like much of the population of Liverpool, Lennon had some Irish heritage. While Lennon had little exposure to his Irish heritage growing up, he came to identify with it later in life. He lived in a fairly middle class section of Liverpool.

Mimi and George, who had no children of their own, became strong parental figures to Lennon. Mimi was loving but stern, and kept John in line. George was softer than his wife and would indulge him, teaching him to paint, draw and buying him his first mouth organ. In Alfred's absence, George became a father figure and his death in 1955 was to have a profound influence on Lennon, especially in light of events that were to follow. On July 15, 1958, when Lennon was 17, his mother was killed returning from Mimi's house after being struck by a car driven by a drunk off-duty police officer. Julia Lennon's death was one of the factors that cemented his friendship with McCartney, who had lost his own mother to breast cancer in 1956, when he was 14. Years later, Lennon wrote the songs "Julia", "Mother" and "My Mummy's Dead" regarding his mother, as well as naming his firstborn son, Julian, after her.

Though failing at his exams by one grade at grammar school, Lennon was accepted into the Liverpool College of Art with help from his school's headmaster and his Aunt Mimi, who was insistent that John would have some sort of qualification. It was there that he met his future wife, Cynthia Powell. Lennon would steadily grow to hate the conformity of art school, and he ultimately dropped out.

He then devoted himself to music, and was inspired by American rock 'n' roll with singers/musicians like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard. Mimi told Lennon frequently "The guitar's all very well, John, but you'll never make a living out of it." (Years later, when The Beatles were the top act in show business, he presented her with a silver platter, engraved with the same words.)

He started a little band in his Grammar School that was called The Quarry Men. With the addition of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, the band changed to playing rock 'n' roll, taking the name "Johnny and The Moondogs", followed by "The Silver Beetles" , which was later shortened to The Beatles.

Fogerty Facts

2006-11-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

In 1968, rock and roll was brought sharply back to its roots due to one album, Creedence Clearwater Revival. Led by the band’s lead singer, John Fogerty, CCR’s style reminisced back to the says of country, blues, and swamp-rock. The vision behind CCR is attributed to much John Fogerty's singing, songwriting, leadership, and guitar skills. Fogerty's compositions managed to evoke images of the utopian America as well as the inherent social issues of the time.
John, and his brother Tom, formed the band Tom and the Blue Velvets in the late 1950’s while staying in El Cerrito, California. They changed the band’s name in the mid sixties to The Golliwogs, but their popularity did not rise. It was not until John Fogerty took over the reigns of lead singer and front man, of the newly proclaimed Creedence Clearwater Revival, did the band become successful.
They released their debut album in 1968, and soon they had ten hit singles.
Some of these singles were “Proud Mary,” “Down on the Corner,” “Susie Q,” and “Who’ll Stop Rain.”

Unfortunately, Fogerty’s dominance of the group sowed seeds of disunity and mistrust. Tom Fogerty left the band in 1971 after expressing dislike at his brother’s upper hand in any decisions. This left CCR as a trio, and John agreed to allow drummer, Doug Clifford, and bassist, Stu Cook, equal shares of vocal time and songwriting on their next album, Mardi Gras, in 1972. The other band members protested, and said that it wouldn’t be a true Creedence album. They believed the fans would not understand. John replied, "My voice is a unique instrument and I will not lend it to your songs." He threatened to quit the band immediately if they did not agree to this. Mardi Gras turned out to be their last album, and Fogerty bought himself out of his contract and officially left the band.
Fogerty began his solo career under the name “Blue Ride Rangers.” For his 1973 debut, he played all of the instruments used and compiled an album of instrumental covers. He released John Fogerty in 1975, but sales were slim. Also, at this time, legal problems ensued. Creedence Clearwater Revival's former music publisher, affiliated with Fantasy Records, sued Fogerty because his new compositions sounded too much like his former work as songwriter for CCR. Later, in 1985, when Fogerty’s solo career finally hit its peak, he released the album, Centerfield. It went to the top of the charts and included the Top Ten hit, "The Old Man Down The Road" and the title track is frequently played on classic rock radio and at baseball games to this day. However, Fogerty ran into more legal problems with this album. It was believed that two songs on the album, "Zanz Kant Danz" and "Mr. Greed", were attacks on CCR’s former employer at Fantasy Records, Saul Zaentz. "Zanz Kant Dance" was about a pig that can't dance but would "steal your money". Zaentz responded with a lawsuit, and Fogerty issued a revised version of "Zanz Kant Danz,” and changed the main characters name to Vance. Another accusation was that "The Old Man Down The Road" shared the same chorus as "Run Through The Jungle,” one of Fogerty’s hits while with Creedence. Fogerty won the case by proving the two songs were wholly separate and distinct compositions. He brought his guitar to the witness stand and played excerpts from both songs, demonstrating that many songwriters (himself included) have distinctive styles that can make completely different compositions sound similar to the ear.
Later, John Fogerty sued Zaentz for the cost of defending himself against the copyright infringement case. Fogerty v. Zaentz became precedent when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned lower court rulings in 1993 and awarded attorneys' fees to Fogerty, without Fogerty having to show that Zaentz's original suit was frivolous.
Fogerty followed up his success in 1985 with another album in 1986 entitled Eye of the Zombie. It was not merely as successful as it’s predecessor. Because of his albums failed success, Fogerty disappeared from the limelight until 1993 when Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, Fogerty refused to perform with his former band mates in retaliation with their siding with Fantasy Records during the copyright trials.

2004, marked a turning point in the life of Fogerty. He released another album, Déjà vu (All Over Again). Also, Fantasy Records was sold to Concord Records, which quickly ended to thirty-year fight between Fogerty and his former label. The new owners took steps to restore the royalty rights Fogerty gave up in order to be released from his contract with Fantasy in the mid 1970s. Finally, on June 9, 2005 Fogerty was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, and in September he returned to Fantasy Records to release another recording.
John Fogerty has had a long and strenuous career. He was a musician who wanted to express his back to roots rock, and write music that made a statement during a turbulent time. However, due to the complications of his record company and former band mates, his career was spent defending his creativity. His genius inspired waves of musicians later in rock history, and will forever.

Works Cited

Bordowitz, Hank. Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Schirmer Trade Books.1998.
Creedence Clearwater Revival Biography
Creedence Clearwater Revival Free Music Downloads

Fogerty vs. Fantasy Inc.

NPR: John Fogerty travels ‘The Long Road Home’

Music for a Darkened Blog

2006-11-12T17:10:00.000-05:00

I had just written a really extensive blog about Conor Oberst and that which is Saddle Creek with multi-media links and what not, but for some ******* reason, the internet quit and the blog was un-saved. And since I now know like everything about Conor Oberst, I do not want to have to write about him again, plus I want to learn about someone else. I picked someone who's music i also admired, but didn't know much about:

What do Homer Simpson, Spiderman, Pee-Wee Herman, Jack the Pumpkin King, Dick Tracy, and Eva Longoria have in common? Danny Elfman has composed music for all of these characters/actors. WHAAAA!??? indeed.

Danny Elfman was born on May 23, 1953, in Los Agngeles, California. He grew up in a racially mixed are and was known to his friends as "the whitest kid in town." As a child Elfman naturally spent his free time in the movie theaters, listening to the great film scorers of the time. Elfman dropped out of high school, and went with his brother to France. There, he played violin on the street, and performed in "Le Grand Magic Circus," an avant-garde musical theatrical group. After a while, he moved o Africa, where he voyaged through Ghana and Mali.

Around 1972, Elfman returned back to the states, where he joined his brother Rick to start a group called "The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo." The group became a cult classic, and later shortened their name to "Oingo Boingo" in 1978, and began touring the U.S. The band is known for their new wave influence and contributions to wierd 80's movie soundtracks. The band called it quits in 1995.

Oingo Boingo, circa 1980. Elfman is the crazy guy with the guns. Elfman is portraying Satan for the movie "Forbidden Zone."

While Boingo was enjoying comporable success, Danny met Director Tim Burton in 1985. They instantly clicked, and Burton asked Elfman to score the music for his first main film (and one of my favorite movies) Pee-wee's Big Adventure. Elfman had no formal trainng, but Burton was convinced Elfman could make a fantastic, if not odd score. Since then, Elfman has scored all of Burton's films, except for one. Some of these movies include "Beetlejuice," "Batman," "Edward Scissorhands," and the latest being "Corpse Bride."

Elfman and Burton

Elfman has also written music for tv shows including "The Simpsons," and "Desperate Housewives," the former got him nominated for an Emmy, and the latter won him an Emmy.

Elfman is is one of the great modern film scorers of our time, and is sure to influence musicians and writers for years to come. He currently lives in L.A. with his wife Bridget Fonda, and son Oliver.

-DF

Resources Used:
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Elfman
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oingo_Boingo
-http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000384/

Ray Brown

2006-11-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

“The Jazz giants-those that have lasted a long time-are a breed apart. They are not heroes free from the flaws of ordinary mortals. On the contrary, they seem to be more essentially human than most of us. Perhaps it’s because it takes extraordinary qualities to reach the top of a demanding profession and stay there. Whatever the reason, Ray Brown is one of those giants who through the eyes of the beholder has viewed him with awe as well as affection.” - Beatrice Richardson

Raymond Matthews Brown was born October 13, 1926, in Pittsburgh, PA. Ray started off with piano lessons at an early age, and when he saw how many kids at his school played piano, he decided he wanted to play trombone. He couldn’t afford one so he had to play whatever the school had extra of – the bass.

All throughout high school Ray listened and studied Duke Ellingtons tunes played on a jukebox, and studied Jimmy Blanton’s bass lines.

After high school Ray traveled with a few big band, but eventually decided to get a one-way ticket to New York. On his first night there, he ran into some luck and a friend who introduced him to Dizzy Gillespie, who was looking for a bass player and hired Ray on the spot.

This was the beginning of and long and successful career. Ray went on to play with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson and singers such as Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Tony Bennett, Sarah Vaughn and Nancy Wilson. He is considered one of the best jazz bassists to have ever lived.

Before Duke Ellington died, Brown got the great opportunity of recording an album with him called, “This one’s for Blanton” – referring to Dukes old bassist and Browns inspiration.

One afternoon in 2002 after Ray had gotten back from a round off golf, he died in his sleep while taking a snooze before a gig in Indianapolis.

http://www.jazzreview.com/articledetails.cfm?ID=864

http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/brown_ray.html

http://www.iaje.org/bio.asp?ArtistID=19

http://www.hopper-management.com/rb_bio_e.htm

Ella

2006-11-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

It’s hard to believe that the Ella Fitzgerald we know today, the curvaceous commander of the stage, started out as an extremely poor, shy, skinny-as-a-rail little girl in New York. Ella was born on April 25, 1917 in Newport News City, New York to common law parents Tempie Williams Fitzgerald and William Fitzgerald. When William left, Tempie relocated to the home of Joseph Di Silva, Tempie’s Portuguese lover. The new couple gave Ella a half-sister Frances, who remained one of Ella’s closest and enduring relationships until Frances’ death in the 1960’s.
After a couple more moves around the city, Ella went to school as a quiet but ambitious girl longing to make it big. She used dancing and music to cope with the struggles she encountered. The two helped her to remain optimistic. She started dancing around the third grade and was so passionate about it that friends thought she would pursue it later on in life. She would even dance by herself out in the school yard, associating dance with the new music style of the age, big band jazz. She started singing in a local gospel choir, where it was discovered she possessed the musical gift of relative pitch. She used imitation to learn about voice projection, intonation, simple harmony, and rhythmic phrasing, a key component in jazz singing.
With the ability to listen to recorded music with the use of the radio and phonograph, Ella first hear Louis Armstrong; she was immediately attracted to his voice and style. He was her first major musical influence and continued to be one throughout her career. She got her first taste of singing for an audience when she was picked to perform at an amateur show at the Apollo in 1934. She had the intention of dancing but when she had to follow the Edward Sisters, the best dancers of the area, she froze in front of the notoriously tough Apollo crowd. The master of ceremonies asked her if she would like to sing a song instead. The audience agreed with the idea and after some encouragement, she sang Hoagy Carmichael’s “Judy”. The audience loved it so much she was even asked to sing an encore and she walked away the winner of the night with a cash prize of $25. She would have never looked into a career as a vocalist if it was not for this contest. It truly was the turning point in her life. She began singing in amateur contests all around the city and always came out the winner. Ella used “Judy,” “Believe It Beloved”and“The Object of My Affection” as her winning repertoire. As a teen she won a profession booking as a prize: a week at the Harlem Opera House with the Tiny Bradshaw band for $50. She also got her first press mention in the New York Age at this time, being referred to as Opera House appearance in January 1935. It was at the end of this week long prize that Ella first met with who would soon become her colleague, drummer Chick Webb. Little did Ella know that this would be the jumpstart for her career…

Fidelman, Geoffrey Mark. "First Lady of Song:Ellas Fitzgerald for the Record." New York, NY:A Birch Lane Press Book,1994.

Nicholson, Stuart. "Ella Fitzgerald." New York, NY: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1994.

On Such a Timeless Flight

2006-11-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

With colorful glasses and a flamboyant scarf around his neck, Elton John takes the stage to give an electrifying performance. Maybe he will belt out "Bennie and the Jets" or maybe make everyone remember their first love with "Your Song." When Elton was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, this feat seemed nowhere in the making. Reginald was born in Middlesex, a suburb of London on March 25, 1947. Reginald was a prodigy that could play anything he heard. His father, Stanley Dwight, was "demanding, disapproving, and difficult to please," (Rosenthal, 4) and was often away, being in the Royal Air Force. His mother was strict, but had much faith in young Reginald and supported him very much. His parents fought often leaving Reggie very nervous about life, as his mother later said "her son grew up 'a bundle of nerves'" His grandmother was his real encouragment at the piano in the beginning. Reggie would sit on her knees as she was at the piano so he could play. Reggie was often forced to play by his parents when they would host parties. He would often be in bed during the day and be woken up to play for the parties.
When he was eleven he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. Shortly before that however, while waiting to get his haircut, he saw a picture of Elvis, which he thought was one of the coolest things he had ever seen. After hearing his music Reggie became engendered to rock'n'roll. These events would set in motion Reginald Dwight turning into Elton John. At the Royal Academy his teacher played a lengthy Handel piece, and subsequently he played it back as easily as Handel could have. Reggie liked the music of Bach and Chopin, for obvious reasons, but Reggie was not keen on practicing. Elton John would later say that he was a student that could get by on not practicing. Although his teachers saw him as an exceptional student, his interest in classical music began to dwindle. After his parents divorced, his mothers new man, named Fred Farebrother got him a gig playing at a bar, called the Northwood Hills pub. The crowd there was often rowdy and hard to please. Reggie would play everything from folk songs to the popular songs of the day.
Reggie started a band called Bluesology, that had Reggie on organ, with drums, bass, and guitar. The band was composed of his friends, however Reggie did not sing regularly, but he got his chance when one of the songs the band played was too high for the lead singer and he took over.
Reggie began to audition for lead singing position for the bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant, which he did not get. He then answered an add in the New Musical Express. Reggie was given lyrics by Bernie Taupin, who also answered the add. He sent the music he wrote to Taupin, which started one of the most successful musical partnerships ever. By this time Reggie had changed his name to Elton John, (named for his bandmate saxophonist Elton Dean and his friend Long John Baldry.) Thus began the legend that would be Elton John.

Rosenthal, Elizabeth J. His Song: the Musical Journey of Elton John. New York, New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001.

"Elton John." www.wikipedia.org. .

Chain-Chain-Chain

2006-11-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows her most famous songs. At any given second there is probably a drunken frat guy or a thirteen year old American Idol hopeful out there somewhere belting out “Respect”, and I am sure everyone has witnessed their mother singing “Natural Woman” at the top of her lungs while cleaning the house. But there was a long road to this success.
On March 25, 1942, in racially segregated Memphis, Tennessee, the Reverend C. L. Franklin and his gospel singing wife Barbara Siggers welcomed their fourth of five children, Aretha Louise, into the world. By the time Aretha was two, the family had moved from Memphis to Buffalo, New York, and from Buffalo to Detroit. They lived in the church parish, a large house with a nice lawn, but the parish was in the area of Detroit later known as a ghetto, and Aretha was exposed to drug dealers and pimps at a young age. Just four years later, her parents separated, and her mother moved back to Buffalo, her hometown, leaving four of the children, Aretha included, with their father, who was more financially stable. Her mother was a nurse’s aide and could not afford to raise five children, but she did visit them and send them gifts frequently, and they spent the summers with her in Buffalo. Just four more years later, her mother passed away from a sudden heart attack, leaving her father to care for five children. Her father’s parents lived in the church parish with them, but her grandfather was bedridden due to a stroke years before, and her grandmother had to spend a lot of time caring for him. The ladies at the church became mother figures for the children, but Aretha really only wanted to sit in the corner and listen to music.
Aretha grew up around music. Her family owned a radio, a record player, and a piano. Dinah Washington and Mahalia Jackson were among frequent visitors to the Franklins’ house. She taught herself piano, refusing to be taught by anyone else, and began singing in church when she was only ten years old. At age thirteen she joined two of her sisters in traveling the country with her father’s summer revival show.
Only one year later, she got caught up in the whirlwind of being a teenage girl. She started hanging out with the girls her dad warned her about, and fell in what she thought was love. She was pregnant at age fourteen and had to drop out of school. Two years later she birthed another child, but she continued with her music. Throughout this whole time, she had kept one best friend, Erma. The pair considered themselves Sam Cookes’ biggest fans, and Aretha realized that if Sam could make it into the music business from a similar childhood as hers, so could she. At age eighteen she made the tough decision of leaving her children with her grandmother and heading to New York City.
Thus begins her musical career…..

Sources-
The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock edited by Barbara O'dair
Aretha:From These Roots by Aretha Franklin and David Ritz
The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World by Julius Lester
Big Star Fallin' Mama by Hettie Jones

A Break

2006-11-02T13:41:00.000-05:00

You do not need to do a post this week. Wait until next week to work on the biography (we will talk about it in class). Enjoy your weekend!

Sooo Late

2006-10-30T07:57:00.000-05:00

I apologize. I know this is late.

I grew up as the daughter of artists. Ever since I was little I have been exposed to more of the arts than some people will see in their lifetime. As a toddler I spent my afternoons in the dressing rooms, lighting booths or studios of theatres. My mom is a dancer, my father is a techie, the arts were something I was just born for, or so I like to think.

I started taking dance class at the age of 4, which doesn’t seem to relate to the topic of being a musician, but I think it does. The early years of my exposure to any type of the arts began to form me as an individual. In elementary school I was always ridiculously excited to go to music class. I was the little dorky girl who sat in the front row in class and sang her heart out, even if it was out of tune. Through out elementary school I did a lot of stupid performances, Lullabies and Sing A Longs, musical theatre class and things with my mom’s classes. I played piano, but with the combination of me not wanting to practice and my teacher graduating I didn’t stay with it very long. It wasn’t until fourth grade that I actually began to learn music. I decided to play the cello. My teacher wanted me to play cello because she was a cellist and needed cellos in her orchestra, however, my mother wanted me to wait until fifth grade and play flute. I couldn’t wait.

In the rest of elementary school I played cello with the advanced orchestra and went to ISSMA and all the other fun stuff, but thinking back on the situation I realize that I was singing the whole time as well. The first time I went to ISSMA for voice was in sixth grade when the general music teacher was Mrs. Butler. She decided that it was time for me to take singing more seriously so I began to come in after school to work with her. I don’t even remember what I sang at ISSMA that year, but I do remember her having a group of girls perform “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from Annie for the talent show.

Then I moved and went to middle school where I knew no one. I especially didn’t know the music teachers, unlike if I had gone to Clay like I was supposed to. I signed up for orchestra and somehow I ran into the choir director and by eighth grade she had started a “swing choir” as a zero hour class so that I could sing with her. I hated it; it meant I had to get up at 6 a.m. just to go to school and sing with a group of people who didn’t want to be there either. I liked singing, but I didn’t like being around people who didn’t like singing. I informed my parents that I was serious about cello. That year my parents bought me my own cello and I started private lessons.

I loved cello. It was my passion for quite awhile, and somewhere it got turned around. I began to get exposed to musicals. In my seventh grade year I was in Saint Mary’s College’s production of Gypsy. I don’t know what my mother was thinking. I don’t know any other parents who would encourage their children to be part of a show about strippers, but I was. The one middle school kid amongst 20 college students and 2 high school students, it was interesting. As I was leaving middle school I was encouraged to audition for the “show choir” at Adams, but I didn’t. I am a shy person. I don’t often get stage fright because there is a huge gap between the audience and me, but just singing in front of people really makes me nervous. I figured I would be content with just sticking with the orchestra thing. And I was content, until auditions for the musical Mame came around. Mame was one of those musicals that I had seen ever since I was little. My family was weird, instead of Barney, my sister and I watched the Sound of Music. I grew up with Oklahoma, Gypsy, Mame, Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, the list could go on forever. I had told my parents I was going to audition for the show and when I finally showed up for the audition I chickened out and left. I decided I would be content just playing in the pit. I wasn’t. I wanted desperately to be onstage. Well, again, somehow through the grapevine I got connected with the choir director and before I knew it I was singing with the “show choir” for ISSMA, something a freshmen never does, especially a freshmen that wasn’t even in choir. He also threw me into two other ensembles two weeks before contest and gave me a solo to learn. This man was insane, but I did it.

Sophomore year I was able to actually fit both choir and orchestra into my schedule. I loved choir, the stupid dresses and even stupider music. Orchestra began to slip to the side a little. I was still taking lessons and playing but I had stopped practicing, so I had stopped making progress. This year when musical auditions came around my friends who were seniors refused to let me not audition. So I went, signed up to audition for the chorus and came out with the lead, much to my senior friends disappointment. Well, I had the lead for a total of two weeks, I went on vacation and came back and one of the seniors had brought her mother in and my part was now double cast, which I didn’t really care about because I was still going to be on stage. I fell completely in love with performing this year. I don’t even know how to explain it to you. I was so surprised when on opening night things I had not even consciously been doing made the audience laugh. I loved the atmosphere of the theatre. As I said before, my part was double cast, so two of the night and most of the rehearsals I spent backstage or in the lighting booth. I loved it. You could put me anywhere in a theatre and I was content.

Junior year I was unable to take choir as a class so I worked on music on my own and occasionally with my director during our 17-minute homeroom class. I had auditioned and been accepted into All-State choir and was working on that music on my own as well. My junior year I felt empty when it came to music because I was no longer in orchestra either. Math and science had taken over my schedule. I decided to join the choir, bell choir, and praise band at my church. This had me singing every Sunday and Wednesday. I loved it. Singing with my church allowed me to be exposed to two different types of music, praise music, which I usually just got to have fun with, and choral music again. There was no musical that year, instead we did Macbeth and The Last Night Of Ballyhoo, I was pretty miserable. Well, not miserable, but I realized that year that it was not just the theatre I loved, it was the music. The next year I was not going to let anything stand in the way of doing what made me happy. I was going to make music happen, even if it meant having to take courses by correspondence or dropping one of my AP classes.

Senior year I joined choir again, I still didn’t have time for orchestra but I was able to take Cadet Teaching my second semester. Senior year was probably my happiest year of high school. I was allowed to sing with the Saint Mary’s Women’s Choir so I was finally being challenged. I also sang with All-State again and continued to sing with my church. I took cello lessons until around Christmas time and then stopped because the musical began to take up too much of my time. My second semester of senior year was when I was able to Cadet Teach, first semester I had to take Econ, and I asked if I could teach at Edison with my orchestra teacher. I was allowed to and spent an hour and a half everyday with kids who were in the same spot I had been four years before. It was great, but I also learned that I would probably be driven insane if I ever tried to be a teacher. I only had to teach class every other day because of block scheduling. It was an ideal situation. On the off days I would sit with my “advisor” and we would discuss any number of things from the purpose of life to our favorite desserts. He helped me discover that music was something to enjoy and be passionate about. He helped bring light to a sometimes very dark situation when it came to music and the arts in my school. We also did the musical Grease, which was probably the show that I had the most fun with in high school. I was able to step outside of myself and enjoy performing again. My favorite scene in the entire play was when I got to sit alone on a stool on the stage and belt my heart out. There is no greater feeling than being able to express yourself completely through music. During first semester I did take voice lessons for a short while in order to prepare myself for auditions, but other than that I was pretty much on my own. I had no classical training. My music was all about heart. Music is my passion and I feel like that’s why I’m here. I don’t think I ever really realized all the steps I took to get where I am today.

I know it's late

2006-10-30T00:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight I was talking to two people in the PAC, and I realized that if I didn’t do music, I wouldn’t be able to talk to these to people I really respect and be able to make music with them in choir. Now that I have taken you to the very end; I’ll take you to the very beginning. My beginnings started humble enough. I had no great desire to be a musician, and back then if you had asked me what was meant by being a musician, I probably could not have told you. My dad was the General Manager of the South Bend Symphony, so music was nothing new. Fourth grade had rolled around; this meant that the students of John Marshall elementary school could join orchestra. I do not remember being forced to join, but I believe there was an understanding that I would join orchestra. The teacher brought all the shiny new instruments and we ooed and awed at them. The teacher played the theme from Jaws on the double bass and I was hooked. This was to be my faithful steed into the world of music.
I quickly became immersed in music, but the shine was beginning to come off the apple. Needless to say music school was not looking anywhere near in my future. I was bored. The trivial bass lines made music drab and uninteresting. Keep in mind I was in fifth grade or sixth grade at the time. The solution became for me to take private lessons. This made no sense to me. Why should I do something for an hour in my house that I did not want to do for thirty minutes while getting out of class? The big reason to do orchestra was that you got out of class a few times a week, even this did not sweeten the deal.
I had a friend who played cello and around this time we would play for our church. Now this made a lot more sense to me. The music was much more challenging due to the fact that we played a duet; we both had to pull our own weight. This was no problem for my friend, but as for me, my technique and familiarity with my instrument had become quite foreign to me. My skills were greatly below my friend's.
I asked my dad repeatedly if I could quit. The answer was a resounding no. So I did what any kid would have done, I faced the facts. In middle school and high school I became interested in theatre. I wanted to be in all the plays in high school, so I was. The summer before however I played in a summer production of The King and I. The pit was a lot more fun than I thought, but the real treat was getting to see the rehearsals. I decided next year I would be in the production.
The next spring I was set to audition, I remember being so nervous that I thought I was going to vomit, although when I was on stage I was unusually comfortable. One thing I can say about me is that I have always felt a little awkward in my own skin, but on stage that went away, much like rinsing shampoo out of my hair. I left the audition humming the songs and was eager to find out the results. I am not quite sure what I expected to get, but all I know is that enough time had passed that I really wasn’t thinking about it anymore. In fact I remember my parents bringing me my tie because I forgot it for my youth symphony concert when they told me. I was so frustrated that I didn’t really think about it, but believe it or not I had a lead. The rehearsals started and I felt right at home. I did not even go out at night so I could go to bed and the next day would come. I was in love. Not only that, but I could sing. So much so that people who had studied for years were asking me how long I had studied to which my answer was never.
A friend of mine encouraged me to take lessons to develop my talent. I listened and the rest is history. I was developing at a staggering pace. I, of course, had to be told this by my teacher, because I had no way to tell, I was still very new. I went from simple musical theatre pieces to Il lacerato sprito and Madamina, il catalogo e questo.
Music however was not always my friend. Even though music is very fun, as soon as you let on you are enjoying it, someone will inevidably ask you to perform so much that your love becomes a chore and not your passion. My junior year had come and I was hot off of summer shows and getting right back into more plays and intense study of music. I was always good at balancing what I wanted to do and what others asked me to do. I would not be fortunate for very long though. The perfect storm was upon me. One day in class I had a thought that would not leave my head. A thought so miniscule that I shouldn’t have given it the time of day, but for how ridiculous it was, it would not leave me. Day after day, month after month, pounding in my head, back and forth trying to put logic to a thought that had no logic. (You will have to excuse my being vague, but I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT WAS! So please don’t ask.) But I digress. To make a long story short, I became depressed. I didn’t want to do anything anymore. Music did not bring me joy anymore. Music was a reflection of what I thought I used to be. I could not enjoy anything like that anymore. Even though, that time has passed I feel it every now and again. Much like the family member no one likes, but still shows up at Thanksgiving. In these times in my life is when I realized that music has a life too. It will be there in the good times and maybe not in the bad. I thought music was my I thought I did not care for music much anymore, it turns out I was just to upset and mad to realize that my love will always be there. I sincerely hope that none of you lose hope in music like I did once. Happiness with music from happiness from your own life, you must want to do it. I wish I had a happy ending to this tale but I don’t, because the story isn’t over yet.
That was the sad part of the story, but the truth is music is just music. You can hate it, enjoy it, love it, want it, or whatever and what makes it special is that it can make you experience all those feelings, and no matter how much you try to deny it music keeps on playing. What helps me is to keep a sense of humor. You don’t need to make anyone else laugh, just yourself. Every time I think of that, the music plays a little louder and a little prettier.

Long and Winding Road

2006-10-30T00:07:00.000-05:00

I had no early music training through my parents. I attended a pre-school where I sang songs about school buses and doughnuts, but otherwise my earliest musical interest was sparked by an animated television show.
In an episode of the television version of “Madeline,” one of the characters takes up the violin. You’d think one of the Parisian friends of Madeline would be a natural at the instrument. She sucked. It was comparable to handing Garfield a violin. I remember flowers drooping in reaction to the squawks she produced. The girl continued to practice as her music began to draw crowds. I was attracted to this concept of improvement and wanted it for myself. This, combined with desires to show up the kid at school who played “Twinkle, Twinkle” at the talent show each year, sparked my interest in Violin. I began lessons in Summer 1998.
I slithered through the Suzuki books, admiring my development as a musician. But I felt physically uncomfortable with the instrument. I was terribly aware of the violin itself; each day became a battle to see how long I could stand the teeter-tottering of the instrument on my collarbone. Meanwhile, I became a fifth-grader in 1999. I joined band because I thought it was cool. We were sent home with instrument forms, and my mom granted me permission to try trumpet (my idea) and flute (her idea). Although I couldn’t get a sound out of it, I chose the flute because my mom spent a week telling mournful stories about her childhood wish to play the instrument. I became the proud owner of an instrument I couldn’t make a sound on. Three weeks into flute class I became the last person to make a sound, but from there the music came naturally. Regardless, the next few years were the dark ages of my musical history. My middle school mind was preoccupied with strawberry-coconut lip-gloss and whoever had first chair. Then, one month before high school I decided I wanted to be the best flute player in school. It’s a matter of opinion whether I accomplished that, but I won first chair in our top band (we had 7). A rash crawled up my arms and neck the moment I finished my first band solo.
I set up my first flute lessons after freshman year in 2003 and joined my first honor bands and college bands sophomore year. I learned about the Minnesota Youth Symphonies, and earned a spot for my last two years of high school. I had always enjoyed playing flute, but when I performed with a symphony for the first time I was on the high of a lifetime. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was in love and realized it was the music. Playing was no longer about competition and improvement (though they make good motivators) I spent the next two years filling a resume of summer programs, competitions, conventions and other various performance opportunities to thrust myself toward the orchestra world.
Throughout my young adult life I hope to pursue various musical interests. (1) I hope to attend a couple summer orchestra festivals and participate in several masterclasses (2) I hope to study abroad in France (3) I would love to teach for a year in a third-world country (4) I would love to spend time studying in Europe (5) I want to eventually win a spot in a reputable orchestra.
All of these things will probably not happen, but they are on my list, and the purpose of these next four years is to try and make my list come true.
Unless I get bitten by snakes on a plane and need my arm amputated, I will one day be in a symphony orchestra. It will be a long road- but the whole point to a road trip is the drive along the way.

The Musician's new epiphany

2006-10-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

According to legend, I started my musical life in first grade. The director of the “young strings” program came to class one day and described her orchestra program for students in elementary school. Well, I was pretty excited. Both of my older sisters played violin, and I always wanted to play like them. I went home that day and asked my parents if I could join the program. My parents finally decided I was too young to begin such an expensive undertaking, especially if I would just get sick of it and give it up in a few days.
However, I have never been one to listen whole-heartedly to my parents, and in this case the benefit was immeasurable. I singed myself up for the class at age six. I remember my teacher, Mrs. Farlow, handing me a small, hideous sounding school instrument every other day, and she always asked, “Emily why don’t you have an instrument of your own yet?” I usually made up some lie because I didn’t want her to know that my parents were unaware of my activities.
Eventually, she called home. I remember my parents’ shock at my determination to play the violin. They agreed if I wanted to play that badly, they would buy me an instrument. I was ecstatic. I have continued playing violin ever since, and I still do. I even brought it to college with me.
My foray into orchestra led me to want to be involved in music forever. In fifth grade I entered the ISSMA contest for singers. I had never sung solo before and I was terrified, but despite my doubts I learned the piece, “Getting to Know You” and won a first place ribbon. It was then that I discovered how much I truly loved to perform. I loved to portray a character through song, and I placed first in the contest the following year as well.
Once again, I took matters into my own hands. I decided that along with violin lessons, I wanted to have private voice lessons. I had to sign myself up for lessons again. This time, my parents trusted my judgment. I began lessons with Barbara Horine, at my school, in seventh grade. I tried really hard. However, I never felt like I was enjoying my singing. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. My improvement was inconsistent and I knew I had not found my niche. Then, I tried out for the junior high school musical, Oliver!. I received the part of Nancy, and it was a huge scandal. A seventh grader getting the lead in the musical! The student body was really mad.
When I performed that role I realized what I had missed in my singing. When I was onstage, the music came to life. The music and I became one in the same. I loved the expressiveness of the theatre. I loved entertaining the whole auditorium. The musical was a huge success, and I managed to make a name for myself before entering high school. Since then, I have performed in many musicals at school and in the Indianapolis community.
The theatre made me relate and embrace the passion found in music. Suddenly, I wanted to do everything. I started to play the guitar, and later the piano. I couldn’t, and still can’t, get enough music in my life. Whether it is just sitting in my room listening to rock, or attending an opera, I love the concept of performance. I love being part of a room full of people who are all swept away by the beauty of music. To me, music is truly a way for souls to connect.
It was very hard for me to find the “right” school for myself. I had a great difficulty with many college's programs because the university or conservatory predetermined the kind of performing done. During my senior year, I auditioned at ten different schools, which meant I missed a lot of school. In retrospect, it is very funny that I auditioned at DePauw first and ended up doing a complete three-sixty and coming here in the end.
I was convinced at age seventeen that I belonged in a conservatory. I wanted the best vocal training, in the classical technique, and I wanted to really zone in on my music and perfect it in everyway possible. I was admitted to all of the conservatories where I auditioned. But, I came to find out that conservatories only give you, at best, an incredible teacher with amazing connections. In general, productions were for graduate students, their facilities were pretty run down, and they had this strange claustrophobia hanging over everyone.
I then decided to look into the universities with conservatories and see if they could offer more. I ended up narrowing my decision to SUNY at Purchase, NYU, and DePauw. Honestly, for a while I didn’t even consider DePauw an option because it was so close to home, but I kept it at bay for my parents. It was not until I visited all three schools again that I realized why I was going into college in the first place. I was eighteen, and I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I thought that since I knew I wanted to perform that I had a leg up on everyone else. I might have had a toe. When it came down to it, I was going to school to figure out how to channel my passions. I could not go to the SUNY College because it was strictly opera, and what if I decided after four years that I wanted to do musical theatre? I would be out of luck. I could not go to NYU because their classical voice program was lodged between theatre and opera so really neither was experienced. DePauw, however, was not a conservatory or a university with a renowned theatre program and an obscure music program. Instead, it was just a place with opportunities. It did not promise connections or immediate results, but it did promise that I would be sure of my place in the music world.
Admittedly, I received a lot of grief from my high school about picking DePauw. They thought I had wasted an entire year. However, I came to realize that my place as a musician was blurry. I was not mature enough to dedicate my life to one for of the musical arts. All I knew then, and what I know now, is I am improving, immersed, and eventually my place will come.

Some of the best experiences I have had as a musician are playing live in small venues. When I was about eleven, I used to visit my sister in California and her husband played every week in an open-mic night. I thought it was so cool to see a vast array of such unique performers in one coffee house. Eventually, my brother-in-law, Ryan, convinced me to sing a few songs with him. When I was that young, I couldn’t accompany myself and sing at the same time, so he played guitar and I sang. We performed “On My Own” from Les Miserables and “Scarborough Fair.” It was so exhilarating to share music with complete strangers, and to have them appreciate it.
When my sister and her husband moved to Boston, I was sad because I thought the music was over. However, Ryan soon found a different open-mic night in Boston, and began to record his own music. When I visited them most recently, we recorded a few songs, and we both m=played guitar and sang. It was really fun. Later, I joined him at the open-mic bar and I sang “Jolene,” which is a Dolly Parton song, and I performed “Zombie” by the Cranberries. This venue was bigger and more daunting, but the fear left me after the first song and I realized that the love of live performing, not matter how good the person is, is appreciated by all artists.
It is really important for me to find small ways of performing, like open-mic nights, because it personalizes performing, and takes it down to a smaller scale. Sometimes, I feel like performing is an impossible lifestyle. However, every time I think of those nights, with all of the strangers, I realize performing isn’t a lifestyle, but a life choice. One can choose how thy want to perform, and sometimes it is important to accept and appreciate the intimate, non-paying, gigs that are all about the music, and not about the career.

I recently had an epiphany about my life as a musician. It isn’t very positive, but it cannot be described as negative, so here goes.
I have always been of the opinion that one’s confidence and ambition makes up for half of a musician’s success. Lately, I have had problems with just plain confidence in my singing. I find that I have improved greatly over the last couple of months, my voice is changing for the better, and I am learning songs very fast. However, when it comes to believing that I can indeed do everything I work on in lessons and on my own, I have no confidence.
When I was younger, I never had any doubt in my own talent. However, I have noticed that over the last year or so I have a lot of problems just learning, loving, and performing a piece. It is like I am swamped in critiques from teachers and myself, and it is to the point that I cannot cast quibbles aside and do it. Every time I get to a high note that is not even close to the edge of my range, I tense up or I just say in my mind, “here’s that note I always mess up,” and I hate that feeling.
Anyway, I feel like as a musician this is a huge obstacle I must overcome. When I decided on colleges I thought I would have technical difficulties and difficulties within music. However, now I find that my doubt is the biggest obstacle in front of me. This might be shocking to some of you because I do not think I show my lack of confidence when performing. If it does show, it comes out as a “technical problem” not as a “mental preparation problem.” The most frustrating thing about this is that I know I can do it deep down. I know I have the capability of kicking-butt on pieces, but I chose to not trust myself instead.
This is a problem I must fix soon, and I know that. I just think it is really interesting that, as a musician, I must find what it truly means to BE a musician again. I think I must find my passion and confidence in my singing again to become the musician I want to be.

Yay, number 4... this is definately n0t getting tires0m

2006-10-29T23:18:00.000-05:00

Alright guys, if y0u read my last draft, I had 3 ideas in it t0 add t0 my aut0bi0graphy. I asked f0r imput 0n what i sh0uld and sh0uldn't use. I have decided t0 add 2 0f my ideas (paragraphs 0ne and ten) t0 my draft. The third idea y0u will find at the end. I w0uld like t0 use it and I w0uld like it t0 be my intr0ducti0n. S0 what I'm asking f0r is y0urall's 0pini0n 0n whether 0r n0t it w0uld s0und g00d there. Thanks!

When I was little I used to go sit in my grandma's living room and listen to one of her many music boxes. It was always the same one. It played the theme from the musical Cats. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I could sit and listen and watch those cats go round and round forever. Even from a young age I showed signs of becoming a lover of music.

Around 13 years ago, I became interested in music. I had no heroes, no music idols; I just wanted to play. I asked Santa Clause for a piano. Apparently Santa did not have the money for a piano but did have the money for a very cheap violin. This did not faze me. I held the scroll under my chin and smiled at my mom and dad and said, "Look! Santa brought me a violin!" This was where it all began.

I began taking lessons the summer following that Christmas; it was the summer before I was to enter the second grade. By the time I had reached the third grade, the orchestra teacher at my elementary school had found that I was more advanced than many older students already in her class. Even though students were not allowed in the elementary orchestra until the fourth grade, I quickly became an exception. The teacher, however, lacked many, if not all, teaching skills. We played "Twinkle, Twinkle" until I graduated. If it had not been for my private lessons, I would not have progressed at all.

Upon entering junior high school I had no desire to play the violin any longer. The less than adequate teacher I had had previously made me believe that the violin was not for me. I did not sign up for orchestra. Fortunately my parents pushed me along. I played a couple of excerpts for the orchestra teacher and I remember him saying, “Dang, you can play. You’re in.” My parents assured me that orchestra would be different in junior high. To my great surprise, it was. There were more students and the teacher was an actual orchestra teacher. He knew what he was doing and for the first time in my orchestra career, I heard what an orchestra was supposed to sound like. The different sections had different parts; there were harmonies and melodies. It was only a junior high orchestra but it was beautiful.

As I progressed further in my playing, I realized that our Floyd Central Symphony Orchestra was not as great as I had always seen. Many of the students did not try their best and as I progressed, they stayed behind, making the music sound out of tune and displeasing. I did not sign up for orchestra at the beginning of eighth, ninth, or tenth grade but my teacher had gone to my parents on all three occasions and convinced them that I needed to stay in orchestra because I had a "natural talent." So I stayed.

At this point in time, the violin was becoming less and less appealing. The only thing that really kept me trying was the competition. There wasn’t much of it; in fact there was only one person to be competitive with. I fought with this small blond girl every year for the better chair. To tell the truth, if it hadn’t been for her, I would have had no reason to push myself and I wouldn’t be where I am today.

When I was in the tenth grade, I knew our orchestra was not at the level I would have preferred so I looked into community orchestras. I found one for my county, the Floyd County Youth Symphony. I joined and was temporarily satisfied. I progressed quickly up through the chairs of seconds to firsts until there was nothing left. Therefore my second year proved to be much less satisfying. They also joined the younger orchestra with the older orchestra due to a drop in participants. The younger children only brought the orchestra down. Within two weeks I dropped the orchestra. I found instead a larger and more advanced community orchestra, the Louisville Youth Orchestra's Symphony Orchestra. It was what I had been looking for all along. It was made up of an older crowd and the musicians were only there because they wanted to be. Since they wanted to be there, they tried their best and as a result, the orchestra sounded amazing.

I auditioned late for the LYO. My audition was okay and the conductor placed me in the back of the first violins. We rotated and kept auditioning for first stand. I never tried. To this day I don’t know why I didn’t try. The conductor couldn’t stand me. I sat in the back of the firsts and never pushed myself any further. I didn’t like him much either. I felt he judged me and in return I brought his judgments to life. I was a punk. The following year I was not going to audition for shear hatred of the man conducting the orchestra. To my surprise there was a new conductor that year, so I figured I would give it a try. I didn’t find this out until a week before auditions but I grabbed a random piece of music and ran with it. I somehow was placed as Assistant Concertmaster. I was so surprised and yet vastly pleased. It made me feel as if someone had faith in me; somebody liked my playing. I tried hard that year to make the new conductor happy with his decision. He was so nice and he helped us instead of humiliating us. I don’t think he regretted his decision.

A few years ago, I discovered music. Yes I have been playing music since the second grade, but I had never actually realized what feelings can be triggered by music. Certain events in my life created a special place within myself for music. Since then, nothing else can release those unique thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when I listen to music, I feel this physical feeling that is quite indescribable. It is a high; one of ecstacy and pure delight that makes every nerve in my body tingle and my stomach flutters with enjoyment. When these feelings came about, I realized that music had to be the most important thing in the world.

In the summer before my senior year in high school, I began to teach violin lessons privately for spending money. After several months with my students, I began to see improvement. It was not small and minimally noticeable improvement either; it was enormous and obvious. I was amazed at my own teaching abilities. I began to feel this great pride after each of my students' lessons. By Christmas of that year, I knew what I wanted to do for a living. I was going to be a teacher.

Now I am here at DePauw's School of Music. I'm here not only to improve upon my own violin performance abilities, but to learn how to teach others as well. Here I will learn to pass on my knowledge of music to younger generations.

Third idea:

I was talking to someone the other day about music and how it makes me feel. I told her about that wonderful sensation I get all over my body when I listen to Pink Floyd or Dvorak's New World Symphony. I asked her if she ever felt that way and she looked at me as if I was crazy and said, "I've never felt anything like that when I listen to music." I was stunned. I had nothing left to say to her and I left. How can anyone go through life happily and call their life complete without ever feeling music?

Number 4

2006-10-29T23:16:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heared something so beautiful you were encouraged to recreate that sound? That happens to me all the time and I think it's the basis of my success as playing trumpet. When I was at the end of fourth grade I heard a beautiful saxophone sound echoing throughout the local mall. It was the first time I had ever heard a professional instrumentalist that caught my attention. Kenny G was my first inspiration to make music.

Later that week, I went through "instrument tryouts" for our 5th grade band. I knew as soon as I got there I was going to be bringing home the instrument that would lead me to Kenny G's success! But I was wrong! Turns out, I couldn't even get a noise out of the saxophone. That's when I decided to test out the trumpet.

My first years playing were at Mills Lawn Elementary School. It was a very small school. As beginning students, it was our decision to play in either the orchestra or the band. But, either way, you were guaranteed to be the only one in your grade, on your instrument.

Competition between instruments took place on a grade level. As a fifth grader, I couldn't wait to play with the 6th graders and show off my talent. My brother was a 6th grade trombonist and he kept me "updated" with the latest repitore. I remember practicing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie" several hundred times with my brother in the freezing cold garage before a 6th grade rehersal and then showing up the 6th grade trumpet player. At Mills Lawn, you were pushed to learn your part inside out and always play at your personal best. The individual attention I received at Mills Lawn encouraged me to do just that!

A move in the family eventually caused for transferring schools. Attending Indian Valley Middle School posed a drastic change for me. There were 4 different 5th grade bands! Each with 10 or more playing trumpet. But, because of such advanced playing at Mills Lawn I was still able to outplay them all! In fact, I still remember a particular instance when my mom and I met the director before my first day there. My mom tried to explain to him that I was more advanced than what their band was. He took it as an insult and came back in her face with the explanation that all parents think their child is better than the rest. After my first day playing with the band my mother got a phone call from my director apologizing for not listening and being so rude.

I'm almost certain I didn't improve much as a musician at Indian Valley because I never had any one to compete with, or any beautiful sounds to imitate.Throughout my 3.5 years there, students expierenced three different changes in directors. Many students dropped out because the couldnt rely on the stablilty of the music department or because they just weren't inspired. My parents were the only reason I myself, made it to high school band.

Wow! My first day of high school band camp was so impressive! I arrived and chairs had been marked off as a result of the auditions earlier that week. I walked along the back looking for my chair. It wasn't anywhere around my freshman friends! I must have looked confused because my band director approached me and took me to my chair. I was sitting 2nd chair next to the junior section leader! I remember his words exactly as I sat next to him, "So you're the girl who sits here? We'll don't get your hopes up.... your first chance at section leader won't be until your senior year when all of the upperclassmen have filtered out!" Typical statement of a trumpet player. It didn't bring me down though, I had work to do... there was someone better than me. I had a challenge!

I worked very hard that year and it paid off. The audition results were posted at the beginning of the next year. I had outdone every trumpet player in every ensemble in high school. It seemed great... until I realized I no longer had challenge. For the majority of the rest of high school, I did the minimal work to keep my spot as a section leader.

My senior year was the only exception. I had to work harder, practice more, join ensembles outside of high school, take extra music classes... all because I wanted to "spice my application up," as my high school guidance counslor said. My college selection process wasn't hard at all. I applied and auditioned at one school, DePauw, and here I am today.

Over my 8 years of playing, I don't feel as if I got the musical expierence every child deserves to have. My fellow students and I had five different band directors. I witnessed many students dropping music because of poor instruction and lack of dedication. It is now my desire to improve instruction in districts where music is a crumbling subject. The arts are an important part of elementary, middle and high school curriculum. Students at least a teacher who cares! And furthermore, as I attend my music classes first semester, I'm discovering just how unprepared I was academically. I now have another purpose besides giving dedication. I want to give every effort to help students learn, advance, and prepare themselves for college.

Attention, everyone. This is numbah foah.

2006-10-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Well, it all happened on a dark and stormy night when I was about five years old. Actually, I don't truly remember what kind of day it was, or what day it was for that matter, but I was actually five. I saw Itzhak Perlman, dressed like a wedding cake, play a solo with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and after that concert I was hooked. I asked my mom, "mother, dearest, will you buy me my very own violin? It would make me ever so happy." And she bowed down to my unbelievable charismatic powers as a five year old and said "of course, honey. Whatever makes you happy." Actually I'm pretty sure it didn't happen that way, but it was because of Perlman that I started playing the violin.

I got my first 1/4 violin two weeks after that and began taking lessons at DePaul University (funny how I ended up at a school for music with only ONE letter difference, huh?) and kept going. My mom was a very musical person back in the day. She played clarinet starting when she lived in Japan, then Arizona, then California, then Oklahoma, then Texas, then so on and so forth until she moved to Chicago. That's when science took over (blah). Sometimes I dislike her for not continuing on music, because then I would have had more exposure to music growing up. But anyway, she didn't really have to force me to play or anything. I loved the sound. But when we moved from Chicago to the *shudder* suburbs, I had to stop playing since there weren't any good teachers around (I was seven by then). This is the part of the title that said "then ended" and I bet all of you are anxious to hear how I got started up again, so I'll delve into this.

Hokay, so, here's how it all unraveled. Yes, my mighty ball of string, here we go. When I was in elementary school I was forced to play a wind instrument, since the school wanted more floutists. I wasn't really given an opportunity to play the violin anymore, although I did have a choice to decline the band, but I wanted to fit in, so here came the shiny steel pipe that I quickly grew fond of. Within a month or so of starting it, my teacher was impressed or something because he wanted me to do a recital of this Pink Panther and patriotic stuff I didn't care for. But, like a good egg, I did it. This carried from second grade up until fifth grade, where I was again forced to make a decision that I didn't want to make. Middle school was queer like this. They allowed choir students to continue playing an instrument that was at a different period than choir, but wouldn't allow string players to play a wind instrument the period after. I had often entertained the thought of bringing back my singing career. But I thought better of it and decided to keep the past where it was. Anyway, those people pissed me off so much, because I had been continuing on the violin since I was five, so I was obviously in love with it, but my little affair with the flute brought up some turbulence in my upcoming choice, because I had grown very very fond of it. What was a little ten year-old boy to do? Well, I saw Itzahk Perlman on an episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood one day when I was flipping through channels. I stopped to listen to what he played. I was enraptured, so my violin fire was rekindled (I don't mean that I lit my violin on fire. It's a play on words, come on) and thus was my choice. It was because of this little episode of Mr. Rogers' that middle school was what indirectly shaped me as a musician.

I am a somewhat shrewd musician. As picky about a note as a gardener is about what flowers and such are in their garden. I would just as quickly say "that A is a bit flat" over and over again as a gardener would say "those aren't gladiolas, those are gardenias! dammit, get it right!" It was in middle school that I began playing again. There was a little program at my school called select strings, and only a few people could get in there. I made up my mind that I was going to get in there. And as the old saying goes, which I do believe, you can do anything you put your mind to. So I practiced and got in. Woohoo. Then shortly after that, before my 8th grade graduation, in our final concert, I recieved the director's award: the highest award any middle school musician can earn. Boom. Then high school. This is where the real magic happened. It started with the Youth Symphony of DuPage, then that led to Interlochen for two summers, then two years with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, which, if any of you know, is the #3 youth symphony in America. This was what firmly made up my mind of what I wanted to do with my life, and retained my pickiness thusly. So, after all my preparation with that wonderful orchestra, I ended up here at DePauw (that's not to say that I'm regretful for not going to Oberlin or Northwestern, mind you) and I retain my critical musical ways, making sure that A isn't flat, or making sure that the articulation is just so.

Now, as you can see, this is significantly different than my original copy, so you can see this. But the point is one day I hope to be that violin player dressed like a wedding cake. Like a wedding cake in that it's all dressed up, not the whole frosting thing, cuz that's just wierd: having a violinist wearing all frosting. Yeah, that's not how I roll. But in a way, isn't this all what we want?

bio # 4

2006-10-29T18:36:00.000-05:00

My musical history is far from ordinary. I didn't see any inspirational concerts, get forced into playing, had older sibling influence. None of that. When I was in seventh grade, all my friends were in some cool punk rock band, and of course, if you were in the cool punk band, you got all the ladies. And so ii wanted to start a cool punk rock band. I told everyone in school that I played drums and how awesome I was. But the truth was, I had never held a drum stick with the intent to make music. I went home and told my parent I needed a drum set so bad, and that I really wanted to play. I took some lessons, and my teacher said I had potential. Hearing from an expert sealed the deal for my parents, and I got a used Yamaha stage custom for Christmas 99'.

Thats the earliest picture I have of me playing drums.

in January I started my first band. We called it "Jumbox," and it was so bad. I mean, we were terrible. But we were so cool at the same time, so it didn't matter. We would spend half the "practice time" dissing other bands and taking pictures, and listening to NOFX, rancid, link 80, T.S.O.L., and all sorts of other punk bands. In eighth grade I changed schools, and the band fell apart. But it only took me a couple months to join the next one.

2001 was probably the most explosive year for music, until recently. I started my classical training in percussion, did my first recording sessions as a drummer, and took kit lessons with dashboard connfessional's, and Miami native, mike marsh. This band was called "piece of mind." don't laugh too hard. Anyway, we were so good for 12 year olds. We played at a bar every Thursday night, for a bunch of drunk old people, who might I add, LOVED US! We played Jim Hendrix, and Jefferson airplane covers, with original tunes as well. We also acted as a studio band, and recorded for who ever wanted to record with us. The best gig was when we got paid to record at criteria recording studio. Artists who recorded there include the bee-gee's, R.E.M., Jennifer Lopez, etc. It was so awesome. I remember going to the bath room and thinking "j-lo was in this bathroom!!" anyway, that band was so much fun. We went through like five bass players, but me and Jessie(guitar/singer) always remained. The band lasted 2 1/2 years, and me and Jessie are still best friends. I have like 3 recordings so come to my room if you want to hear it.

in sophomore year I started two bands. "terry and the tourettes," and 'our last days as children." The first one was a blues band. We had mild success. Our biggest accomplishment as playing in the legendary "Tobacco Road" venue in downtown Miami. Are only song recorded an be heard here.
We broke up because Terry was a jerk.

my next band was "OLDAC." this band definitely got the most attention. We started playing in fall 2003. We actually met while I was recording with terry, so as soon as that door closed another opened. We had over three different recording sessions, and had planned on recording in New York, but our budget wasn't big enough. We played as far away as north Carolina, were in national indie music news papers, have been played on Miami radio, and were on an Oregon based radio/internet show. We were influenced by the likes of cursive, Owen, the agency, bright eyes, jimmy eat world, etc. Earlier this year, I left the band, because, here I am, writing about them, in college, a million miles away. All the recording they have are still me playing drums. That's Dennis fuller drum ideas, not the new guy. Just know that. But I do love this band and we till talk and hang out. They're looking to tour up north, so maybe they'll come to Indiana? Anyway, that's "our last days as children," by far, my most successful band endeavor. This is their current myspace page with music.

Our first show =0

promo pictures =/

And for my last independent band, "Highway." Highway was the most craziest hardcore band ever. With myself on drums, Joey, a University of Miami medical student on guitar, Mike who is a nurse on vocals, Romy, whose got everything you can possibly get pierced pierced, on bass, and the ever awkward peter Allen on guitar 2. This band was semi serious. we palyed a good amount of shows last year, but that was that. They still practice in Miami, but with they're songs constantly changing, and never staying solid, I doubt they'll ever play another show. Our recordings can be heard at myspace.com/highway.

Peter and Romy of the old Highway.

In the midst of all this, I was also performing in musical theater. I did over 10 musicals in two years. my first was "Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat." I met many other students from music schools and expanded my musical network. I also learned how to improv on music, becaus e sometimes we had no time to rehearse.

I also attended cannon music camp in north Carolina for two consecutive summers. This was probably the best thing I have done to improve myself as a drummer, and as a person. I learned so much about my instrument, and it also prepared me for college, staying in a dorm for a month. Definite recommendation to any younger musicians looking to improve their skill in a focused environment.

That is the 2005 Percussion Ensemble at Cannn Music Camp.

In case you're wondering, there is more to my musical life, but I won't go into detail about it. I did a lot of musical theater, for the Miami Children's theater Compny, and I played in the Greater Miami Youth Symphony. Two season ago we went to Carneagie hall, with some other orchestra from Hawaii. We played Bartok, Stravinsky, Wagner, and Bernstein.

This was taken during one of MCT's performances of Sondheim's "Into the Woods." That was my favorite musical to perform.

Lately, I've been getting more into contemporary composition, and getting more into styles other than classical. I would like tp pursue a carreer in jazz, or rock if possible. I wish there were classes that would disect othere genres of music, like rock, as much as classical. I'm looking for a way to study that, and don't know if DePauw is the answer.

To wrap it up, I just wanted to say that, those guys that I first started playing music with in seventh grade, no longer play music. I see them every now and then, at a party, wasted or something. And I think that its sad that the people that I was so fond of, and influenced me to play, no longer do. Like the inspirational speaker said on Friday night, "show me your friends, and I'll show you your future." I guess it is somewhat true. Because, as far as I know, Jessie and myself are the only ones pursuing music as a profession, and life style. We're all here for the same reason, because we love music. And sometimes you have look at your past and see the road you've taken to know where you want to go, or, in my case, where you don't want to end up.

autobiography part 4...i think

2006-10-29T17:14:00.001-05:00

I'm the only musical one in my family, which can sometimes be difficult. My parents each have a touch of music in their backgrounds, but nothing of any significance. We're a big sports family-ESPN and FSN are the T.V. favorites in our house. However, I can thank my dad for bringing me up on jazz-I lived off Bette Midler, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra in preschool. I even sang Bette Midler for my preschool talent show. Kind of ironic since she's an alto and I'm a soprano...
Anyway,my acting debut came in 2nd grade with a class play at Thanksgiving about some kids and a magical scarecrow; I was the scarecrow. But those ended with the progression to 3rd grade, so I started singing at Mass, since I had to go to liturgical music as a class, I figured I better put my knowledge of the music to good use. I learned the extreme basics of music in music class and got to sing a little in that-I loved it. I picked up handbell choir in 5th grade and really started to learn how to read music through that. Even though I had to give up my recess time nearly everyday to practice, I didn't care; I loved playing and learning the music. Finally the music department started an actual choir and I did that in 6th grade. Sadly, not everyone was interested in bettering their musical skills.
Thank the lord my mom found auditions for the St. Louis Symphony Children's Choir and talked me into trying out. I made it directly to the second level, Chorale; pretty good for someone who never took singing seriously.I dropped chorus at school and dedicated my time to SLSCC. I LOVED it! My director was awesome and I was thrilled beyond belief to find so many other kids who actually WANTED to sing. Plus, I found people to compete with, and being a very, VERY, competitive person, that was pretty sweet. Back at school, the sixth grade play rolled around: Little Red Riding Hood. Being one of the only ones in my class who could actually sing, (that and being the shortest one) I got the title role. Even though the show itself was awful, I thrived being on the stage. Not so much with the acting, but the singing. I knew I wanted to be a singer, but I didn't know how much.
My life pretty much changed in seventh grade. At the end of my first year with SLSCC, my director kept me behind after rehearsal one day and asked me to sight read a piece. Even though I had never done it before by myself like that, I somehow just knew how far up or down to go by looking at how far apart the notes were. He told me if I was willing to take a music reading class, I could move up to the next level choir since my voice was already there. (side note:SLSCC is REALLY big into being able to sight read music-even more than vocal ability alone) So my mom agreed to let me take the class and I got to progress. One of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I love learning how to sight read music on solfege and all that jazz, but it has helped me SO much I can't even begin to tell you. Then, the greatest thing ever happened: my choir and the level above me were chosen to participate in the National Children's Choir Festival that April. Okay, here's what that meant-SLSCC-NEW YORK CITY-CARNEGIE HALL. Carnegie Hall!!! I couldn't believe it-my parents said I could go if I paid for half the trip. So I did everything I could to raise my half of the money. So in April 2001, under the direction of Henry Leck and Malcolm Daglish, I performed in Carnegie Hall. Words can't even describe what it felt like. Sure I had been performing in Powell Hall in St. Louis several times a year, but it has nothing on Carnegie. I loved rehearsing with choirs from all over the country. There's something about a huge group of people coming together with the same purpose-to make music.
When high school came around, I auditioned and made it to the highest level of SLSCC, but I couldn't do it because of softball. I loved singing, but sports have always been a huge part of my life and I'd dreamt of playing varsity softball, so I chose that. But I did have freshman chorus and music class. Christmas came around and I got a solo! I was the only one not taking voice lessons that landed one. I also managed to get one in the spring concert as well. That summer I was going to take violin lessons because I didn't have time for them in grade school with sports-and I had secretly dreamt of being a musician. But I knew I wanted to audition for my school's chamber group that fall, so I asked my teacher what a good song to prepare would be. He asked why I wasn't taking voice lessons and talked me out of violin and into voice-I owe that man so much.
I made it into the St. Joseph Academy Frontenac Voices as a sophomore-a big deal at my school because the vocal program was such a big deal. We met an hour before school every day to practice and I loved every minute of it. The waking up at 5:45am to get there didn't bug me after a while. I was happy to get up and start my day with singing. I had found my place among the upperclassmen. I auditioned for All District choir and made that as well. It was my favorite thing to do-mostly because I got to sing with boys, which is a nice switch from all SSA pieces. I competed in Solo/Ensemble and got an Excellent II rating. But I wasn't happy with it. I wanted to be better. So I continued with Frontenacs and district choir and voice lessons. I was robbed of my Superior I rating Junior year, but I finally got it senior year. By that point, I was the Soprano section leader in both chorus and Frontenacs, one of the top singers in my school, and in the state of Missouri-I had made All State and received a Superior I rating at State Solo/Ensemble.
I realized singing is my passion. Whether it's cantoring at my church or singing in the shower, I can't live without it. When it came time to looking at colleges Junior year, I had learned about music therapy. I was like, sweet! something that combines my love of science and music. And it jsut so happens the Missouri has a college with a music therapy graduate program that is really good. So here I am, at DePauw University majoring in vocal performance and hoping to become a music therapist one day. Quite a stretch for my family-my dad thought I'd be playing college softball at a school like UCLA. Every now and then I still feel out of place since sports have ruled the majority of my life and I really didn't get into the arts until a few years ago, but that just pushes me even farther to become a better singer and musician. After all, I like being different.

2006-10-29T17:14:00.000-05:00

I know as much as some of us might not want to admit it, most of us were forced into this wonderful world of music, whether it was taking Suzuki violin, private lessons, or just starting off through the school - not many kids wanted to be known as the "band geek". I grew up in a very non-musical family. My father was the jock/prep in high school/college, and my mom was the farm girl that didn’t go to college. They both were very regretful that they had never picked up an instrument, and more or less forced piano lessons on all three of their sons.
I always hated practicing, and would always argue with my mom about it. All I wanted to do was go outside and play! My mom kept me going though - a half hour per day before I could have any "fun time". Eventually, I got into fifth grade and had to choose a band instrument. I chose to play the bass line on the keyboard, because I didn’t want to pick up another instrument, and that would just mean I would have to practice more. I was a pretty decent pianist for my age, and when my parents saw the first school concert it sickened them that I was wasting years of practice playing simple bass lines with one hand picking my nose.
One day, when I was 12, I came home and there was an upright bass in the middle of the floor.

My mom said that it was my new band instrument. This thing was so big! And it looked so cool! Who wouldn’t want to play it? I started going through books and got a private teacher eventually. After a year or two, my mom finally allowed me to buy an electric bass, which in her mind was the “devil's instrument”. I started getting into a few rock bands and that, but still definitely did not give up the upright.

I finally quit piano lessons sophomore year. I took a few years of orchestra, and then junior year joined a college jazz band, which I enjoyed much more than orchestra. I have been in six or seven different jazz groups and have played gigs anywhere from Farmer Joe’s market to riverboats and business meetings in The Windy City. I have been to All-State both for Orchestra and Jazz. I have won the Illinois State Fair Talent Competition and the "Best Teen Performer in Springfield" this past year, and played a solo electric bass rendition of "Pomp and Circumstance" at my high school graduation. I played tuba in my high school marching band, and play acoustic guitar and sing for church services now and then.

When I say I was forced into music, it may seem somewhat silly and unbelievable, but until that bass showed up in my living room, I really had no passion for music. Don’t misinterpret me though, I do really enjoy playing music now, and am always up for learning new music, instruments, ideas, and anything music.

My mom always said I would thank her someday. I hate to say she’s right.

my first blog -
http://musicalbomb.blogspot.com/2006/08/forced-into-music-tommy_25.html

2006-10-29T17:03:00.000-05:00

For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to play violin. As soon as I could talk, I asked my parents to let me play. For years I asked, over and over again. Finally, when I was six, my parents decided it was time to let me try.

Unlike many beginners who start with a cardboard violin, at my first lesson, a real instrument was placed in my hands. I stared at it lovingly before carefully placing it under my chin. I learned to play "See Saw" that day, and practiced it over and over that week in anticipation of my next lesson. I was so excited to play new songs, from the beginning, I fiddled around with the notes and taught myself pieces I knew by ear.

Around the time I was in third grade, and had been playing for about two years, my teacher decided to put together a string quartet. She had a cello student, and three violin students at about the same level. I was the youngest of the group, so I got to learn and play viola. We were called KEEP the Quartet, Kathryn, Emily, Emily, and Paula. We played together for years to come, sometimes we were payed to play weddings, other times we went to music camps as a group to improve our playing together.

In sixth grade I joined a violin group at Wheaton College called Vivaldi Strings. I was the youngest member of the group at the time. It was coprised of mostly high schoolers and we performed at weddings, nursing homes, and many other events. In addition to performing at events around the area, we would go on tour each year. We went to Disneyland, Michigan, even Canada. On tour we played for the groups in that area and did performances for money. I was in this group until I graduated this summer. By this time the group was mostly middle school kids and the level of playing had dropped significantly.

My sixth grade year, I auditioned for the DuPage Youth Symphony on violin and viola, I ended up sitting principal viola in the less advanced orchestra, ahead of my older students. The next year I played violin in the advanced orchestra, and french horn in the lower one, needless to say, it was a long Monday night. Then, my eigth grade year, I only played violin in the top orchestra because playing in both orchestras was taking up too much of my time. I stopped playing in the Youth Symphony at the end of that year so I could play in my high school one.

High school orchestra ended up being a mistake. Most of the members had only been playing for a few years and had never had private instruction, and the director had no string experience whatsoever. All of the pieces we played were arranged and they were too simple and did not challenge me to improve. I only played with them for that year.

My freshman year I also joined the DuPage Symphony, of which I was the youngest player. We played full Symphonies, not arrangements, at monthly concerts. I loved the director and the orchestra. Unfortunately, I had to quit after that year due to some psycological problems.

Throughout high school I continued to take private violin lessons and teach them. The summer between my junior and senior year, I went to a music camp in Kansas called Sound Encounters. Brian Lewis, Michael McLean, and many other professional musicians taught at the camp. I was placed in a violin quartet under the instruction the viola professor at a college in Utah. Through her instruction and playing, I realized how much I love the sound of the viola. I immediately told my violin teacher, who was at the camp, and we discussed the pros and cons of switching.

My parents were not at all pleased by my decision, but they decided to let me try to get into a music school on viola. I worked very hard my senior year to keep my grades up and get my viola playing as advanced as possible. I auditioned at three schools and knew I wanted to go to DePauw. When I heard I had gotten in to the school of music I was very excited. All I needed now was a scholarship. When I got the letter from the financial aid office, I knew my dreams had come true.

I am at DePauw studying viola performance. My dream would be to one day become a member of the performing group Barrage. As many of you know, I may be transfering next semester so I can study something that has always intrigued me-special education with an emphasis on music. I would love to tach kids with special needs by using music as a way to learn math, English, and anyting else. Although many of my dreams have come true, I still have many more to come.

An Ordinary Life Take 4/5

2006-10-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

When I was young, I did all the normal kid things. I starting dancing at age three, and I started playing softball and soccer when I was five. I played with barbies and I loved to watch cartoons. But there was one thing missing.
The oldest story I can think of involving music took place when I was about two. Every time the McDonald's commercial came on the TV I would run in the room and start dancing. From the time I was about three or four I would insist on going to choir practice with my mom. I know it would seem boring to most people, but I loved sitting in the room for over an hour listening to the choir sing. And by the time I was eight or nine, I knew every word to every Oldies song ever made, and had attended my fair share of Oldies concerts, including Jan and Dean and the Monkees. I was in love with music.
Finally, in third grade I started taking piano lessons from a lady from my church. It was great for awhile, but eventually I wanted more. I went to a private school, so we didn't have band or orchestra, but my mom had a clarinet, and in fifth grade, after a while of me scaring the animals with my squeeks and squawks, she asked her friend's daughter to teach me. I loved it from day one!
Elementary school came to an end and my parents sat me down and told me I had three choices- I could continue with sports, dance, or music. The choice came easily, I had to go on with music. So I enrolled in public middle school and joined band and choir for the first time in my life. Half way through the year my friend convinced me to start cello, and after the first playing test I seated first chair, ahead of people who had been playing for years, but all obviously hated it. I did my thing for awhile, joined jazz band to play piano in 7th grade, and continued on with that and all three ensembles until I was done with middle school. When it came time to try out for marching band, it just kind of seemed like it was already set in stone. I had been planning on it, along with my parents, so I tried out and got in. It was probably the best choice of my life. I had a whole new group of friends before highschool even started. We bonded quickly and it was like we had always been friends.
Freshman year started and I joined orchestra, chamber orchestra, jazz band, and pep band. Marching season ended and I was one of a few freshman placed into our highest band. During Christmas break, although it was two months after marching season, we travelled to Florida and got to march down Main Street at Disney World. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life, seeing the castle in front of you and knowing all these people are watching you. At the end of freshman year I was selected for pit orchestra, which meant I was now in all the ensembles I could possibly be in. I was THE band geek. But it didn't bother me. People would call me one, and I would say "Yeah, so?". I had found my passion.
I continued on with all my music through highschool. I went through some private teachers in the area, eventually quit taking piano lessons, taught myself saxophone and bass, and then it was time to select a college.
I knew I wanted to continue with music, but I had no clue where. Luckily, I did know that I did not want to be more than 4 hours from home and that I wanted to study music business. I did some research and found there was really only five or six colleges that fit that criteria. I had three in mind-University of Evansville, Elmhurst College, and Millikin University. I visited all three and was set on Evansville. I was going there, no doubt about it. Then one day my mom asked why I never looked at DePauw University, since they sent me mail about five days a week and they offered Music Business as a major. I said I didn't know and so she decided we should just go look at it and I could just use it for a practice audition if nothing else. I got here and something just clicked. It seemed to be so much more welcoming than anywhere else. Almost everything here looked well kept and up to date, whereas even the buildings Evansville claimed were newly renovated looked like they were still in the 1970s. Plus there was a pond! Then I found out the pond was going to become a moat as soon as the highly expensive addition to the music building was done. On my way home I knew it. I informed my mom that DePauw was my new number one. Of course I could not fully decide until the financial aid information came in, but when DePauw blew everyone else out of the water, I knew it was meant to be, and here I am.
I have led a pretty ordinary life. I haven't studied with any famous concertmasters or recorded with anyone from an amazing band. But all the same I am here for the same reason as everyone else. Music is my life, and I can't imagine doing anything other than continue with it.

Autobiography: Week... um, I've lost count

2006-10-29T01:33:00.000-04:00

Part of Your World: Week… um, I’ve lost count

One thing I suppose you all will find out about me, sooner or later, is that I am a huge Disney fan. This started before I can even remember, with a movie you all should know: The Little Mermaid. According to my parents, I was so in love with this movie, I would ask my parents to let me watch it over and over and OVER again ad nauseum. As a result, I learned the song "Part of Your World" by heart. As they tell it, they remember me coming down the stairs of our old house many a time and singing the entire song to them, in my cute (and not terribly out of tune) two-year-old voice.

It may not be a huge, symbolic whatsit that I sang “Part of Your World” a bazillion times when I was two, but in any case, music is my life. I can't imagine I'd be half as talented a musician without creative drive. More importantly, without creativity I would not understand my passion for music. I know that if it weren't for music, I'd probably have no clue what to do with my life. The joy of creativity and the self-fulfillment of good performance are the best aspects of music - the proverbial chemicals that make me high, if ‘music is a drug’. And even though we are a society of addicts, no other "drug" I know of has the same overwhelming effect, not to mention no negative side effects. How did I get addicted to music?

Well, The Little Mermaid was just the beginning of my long music history. In third grade, along with most everyone in my class, I was asked to pick out an instrument I wanted to play. I chose the flute. With this choice came private lessons and band, as well as a small discovery that, in retrospect, was an epiphany. There were times when everyone was playing together, and I could feel the music - more than the richness of the low brass, the sweetness of the woodwinds, and the pulse of the percussion. To hear all of us making music as an ensemble, working together to communicate in a universal language - that's when something clicked, and somewhere I thought, "This is it." I was moved.

Halfway through fifth grade, my dad's job took us overseas to Windsor, England, and then, halfway through sixth, to Copenhagen, Denmark. As wonderful as my experiences there were, it was hard for me to find and keep a steady private flute teacher, what with the stress of moving, settling in, switching schools, and finding friends. But these weren't musically dead years at all. In seventh grade in Denmark, two things changed me as a musician. The first was my discovery of the musical Les Misérables by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel by Victor Hugo. I had recently become involved in the Drama Club at school, and at the request of a friend, saw a medley from Les Mis performed at their concert. I became obsessed with the haunting and inspiring music, bought the CD, and promptly memorized the entire show. The marriage of the deep, tragic story and the appropriately heartbreaking music thrilled me. At about the same time, I took a music class in school where we got to dabble in various instruments, composed little melodies, and performed songs for each other. It was because of this class, along with my newfound love of theatrical vocal music, which convinced me to start choir in 8th grade, after moving back to our house in Illinois the summer before.

It was tricky to juggle choir and band at my school, not to mention the stresses of another move. But as the year went on, I became more and more frustrated in band, and looked forward to choir more and more. I hated practicing for flute lessons, but sang my choir music all the time. By the end of the year, I decided to drop the flute and devote myself solely to choir in high school. My mom agreed, on the condition that I would take voice lessons. Little did I know then how lucky I was to study with Linda Ogden Hagen, a vocal professor at a local liberal arts college. Because of four years of her wonderful training, singing became more than just a favorite pastime – it became my passion.

Also because of my teacher, I was able to spend the summer of 2005 at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, in the Advanced Choral program. Those six amazing weeks would not only reaffirm music as my focus, but expand my musical interests. The air at Interlochen is alive with creative enthusiasm; you can practically taste it. Mix the charming rustic setting with the best and the brightest of all the arts from all over the country and the world, and you have a haven of inspiration, talent and learning. Through my classes and interactions, my musical experience spread beyond performing to include conducting, teaching and composing. Besides theory, vocal technique, and choral and solo literature, I learned the basics of conducting, which led to an interest in the subtleties of ensemble direction. I also heard the works of composers at camp, and my brain began buzzing with ideas about my own compositions. I would later set a poem I wrote at camp for a SSA choir and piano. These experiences made me think about my future as a musician – would I end up teaching music, directing a choir, or perhaps writing music? A whole realm of possibility lay open to me.

What will I do with music? To quote Matthew Fox from his blog, "Creativity is both humanity’s greatest gift and its most powerful weapon." So if I am a creative musician, how will I use this gift and weapon? How will my creativity change my world? When asked what we see our talents doing for others, many of us admitted that music was mostly a selfish pastime, and I would be guilty of that too. But after giving this some thought, I can see that music is not just a private indulgence. As a singer, especially as a singer with a future full of potentiality, I will have so many opportunities to turn my selfish passion into an enlightening gift. Whether by interpreting others' works, educating the next musical generation or producing music of my own, my world will profit. In a more spiritual analogy, the Bible states that God blesses us with gifts, and we, to show our gratitude, must use them to brighten our world. Indeed, it would be wrong for me to keep my talents to myself.

Now I’m standing on the brink of the rest of my life, an ocean of musical possibilities crashing in waves at my feet. Getting into DePauw was such a relief, because it meant that someone else believed in me, my talent and my passion, and was willing to welcome me into a community of people with the same passion. And now, although I’m a lot older, I can sing Part of Your World just as I did at two years old, with a new meaning for myself and my future:

“…Ready to know what the people know
Ask 'em my questions
And get some answers”

I’m finally a Part of Your World. It’s good to be here.

my texty books

2006-10-22T23:40:00.000-04:00

pretty much, the only text books i have are my theory and musicianship books. i have already noticed many differences between them, and have come to like on more than the other. they are both written by the same people, published by the same company, and you all know you have to buy them together, for a hefty price.

my theory book bundle is really not too bad. i think the book really explains things thoroughly and has good examples. it comes with a cd for listening along with examples in the book. te work book and actual text book make a really great teaching pair.

the musicianship book package has proven to be less useful. i seem to always get frustrated with the examples because of the order they work things. for instance, i hate how the book will ask you to notate the pitches of a melody, then the rhythm, and the the pitches with the rhythm. i couldl save time by just writing out everything the first time, and maybe doing the other steps only if i needed to, for re-enforcement. i just don't get as good of a vibe from this book as the other.

so, for all their similarities, they are two quite different books.

and remember, a good text book is no substitute for a great teacher.

-dennis f

Though I rarely use these textbooks...

2006-10-22T22:43:00.000-04:00

When I thought of which textbooks to use as my examples, french came as an obvious choice, as it is my only non-music class. Then I thought about my music theory textbook. This is a rather standart choice, since it encompasses all music students' duties to music.
My french textbook, Quant a Moi, is a thinnish book. Soft-back and costing almost $90, it is a dry, predictable book that leaves the palate desiring more. This is really what I expected my french textbook to be. Though it has good examples for understanding what to do in Cameroun, such as restaurant questions and simplistic things as such, there is no meat on the bone, only pedantic questions that serve little else than to annoy the reading student. The teacher refers to the book only rarely, so I don't have to regularly endure the pain inflicted by this book. There are three cd's that go along with this book that feature a whiny-sounding man. There are no examples in the book that go along with any of the cd's. Yet, this is still a good book.
The music theory book is fat and very heavy, as it is a hardback. It is very well done, with many different examples of each thing the book is trying to teach. Everything flows in a logical order, and, reading the text, almost all questions that might arise are answered. The only conceivable problem with this book is the price, but then again, since this is spanned over four semesters, I suppose that it is a good deal.
Of the two classes, it's actually very hard to decide which teaching style I like better, but I would lean towards music theory, because of it's logistics.

I really am not a fan of textbooks in general, however...

2006-10-22T22:36:00.000-04:00

This blog post is one which initially posed more difficulty for me, because the only class I really have a textbook for is Theory. My French History class mostly studies books of texts, or histories, rather than textbooks. By this I mean we mainly study primary documents, and while we also study books by historians, they are more for the historiography aspect – the professor helps us to identify the type of historian writing the book, so that we better understand its bias. Then I remembered we did have one book that seems more “textbook-ish” in its voice, subject matter and – well, it’s part of a series. So, without further ado…

Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne, by John J. Butt (I kid you not) is one of the required texts for my French History course. Because of its third-person omniscient voice, broad range of subject matter and the fact that it’s part of the “Daily Life…” series, it qualifies as a textbook. Complete with a table of contents, glossary, index, and even a chronology, the book’s reference section still leaves something to be desired. There is a list of sources, under the misleading heading “For Further Reading”, but nowhere can one find direct references in the text to source material (you tell me, Dr. Spiegelberg, is this plagiarism?). Many generalizations are made about life during the period, which leads the critical student to wonder if the author is speculating, or has hard (undocumented) facts about an age that has few primary sources to learn from. The tone of the book, stereotypically dry and unappealing, doesn’t really add to the overall image. The content is good, however, and does cover many important aspects – the church, the economy, the language, the culture, etc. – of Charlemagne’s rule. It also goes into specifics on certain subjects – for example, the development of techniques to create alloys of certain metals used in currency production – that are at once helpful and headache-inducing.

Our Theory textbook, however, is more helpful and generally more appealing. It features chapter by chapter progression from one facet of music to another, an extensive reference section, numerous examples of score material to reinforce written information, and a “Credits” section, linking sources to text, chapter by chapter. Its explanations are, though a tad music-jargon heavy, not unreadable, and generally rather reference-able. “Key Concept” boxes and “Try It” examples increase readability and learning confidence. As much as I dislike textbooks, I must admit that the Theory textbook far outshines my French History one.

text about textbooks

2006-10-22T21:57:00.000-04:00

Du tac au tac
THIRD EDITION
MANAGING CONVERSATIONS IN FRENCH
Jeannette D. Bragger
Donald B. Rice

My French book, Du tac au tac, helps provide students with the communication strategies needed to become a good conversationalist in French. By this point in the course, we are expected to be fairly adept with French verbs and vocabulary. This course is meant to teach us to sound good even if our French is still a bit shaky.
Du tac au tac is set up in 8 chapters that each deal with a specific conversation category. Chapter subjects include, “Asking for Help,” “Asking for and Giving Advice,”
“Organizing a Trip,”Expressing Opinions,” “Recalling the Past,” “Speaking of Literature,” and “Talking about Current Events.” The beginning of each chapter asks us questions involving the subject material so write down everything we can remember about the subject. Usually, this involves suggesting useful expressions for various situations.
The textbook comes with a CD, containing conversations between French speakers. Before listening to each conversation, there are Pre-Listening questions. The book provides us with a few vocabulary words or slang phrases we may not already know. I found the list of “Expressions to gain time,” (well, so, ummm, let’s see, you know) and “Expressions to enter into a conversation” (But, Exactly, not at all, wait a second, I understand, but, Listen, I think that) to be particularly helpful because they help me to sound more conversational and to sound French while stalling during a conversation rather than standing there like a stupid American saying, “Umm.”
Since the class is about conversation, focusing on typical, informal conversation, the language used is also informal. Demands are given succinctly but not formally. The book even starts sentences with “And” and uses contractions. This book is very encouraging. Much of the strategies explained reflect back to the “conversation is like throwing a ball back and forth” analogy.

Example:

“To be an effective conversational partly, it’s not enough to catch the ball. It’s just as important to know how to throw the ball back so that the conversation remains interactive rather than turning into a monologue.”
The authors make conversing in French sound easy, by using words like “just”: “If you want to interject something into a conversation, just look at the previous speaker and use a starter to attract his or her attention and, possibly, to interrupt.”

This book teaches fundamentals about conversation that makes the difference between a good and bad conversationalist, regardless of the language. For example, “When you’ve taken your turn in a conversation, throw the ball back to the listener by adding a word or expression that requires a response.”
Sometimes in a foreign language, it is easy to get tongue tied and stuck with words. This book is helpful because it is teaching me to think, “What point do I need to get across now?” We are so accustomed to English at this point, it is easy to talk without thinking. This textbook helps us to build on what others have said, buy time, and find alternative ways of saying things. This way, we can make good use of what we know, even if we don’t know much.

The book only uses english for a couple of paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter, to explain concepts (such as the ones in examples I have given) that would be hard for the student to understand in french. Otherwise, all directions etc are given in french. I find this hellful because with my abilities in french thus far, I can only read for the general idea- I'm glad the authors understand this and explain the important things in english.

The Musicians Guide to Theory and Analysis
Jane Piper Clendinning

Elizabeth West Marvin

All of us are familiar with the Theory textbook. It is organized into chapters such as “Metric Organization” and “Parts of the Basic Phrase.” The first page of each chapter includes an Outline of topics covered, a couple sentence chapter Overview, and Repertoire (tracks used on the CDs). Large blue headlines announce larger topics within the chapter. For example Chapter Six, Pitch Intervals, has the topics, “Combining Pitches,” “Pitch-Inverval Qualities,” “The Relative Consonance and Dissonance of Intervals,” and “The Inversion of Intervals” highlighted in blue. Each of these topics includes bolded subtopics, and a “Key Concept” announced in a large blue box. Examples are offered with music from the textbook CD and each example is followed by a “Try it.” “Try it” sections are basically homework questions in the textbook, placed right after the explanation so we can try the concept right after learning about it.
I find the occaisional “Another Way” sections helpful. Sometimes one way of explaining something is just not enough, but an alternative way it clicks. I appreciate that this textbook accepts different ways of explaining things rather than insisting on one way.
The writing in our Theory textbook feels much more like classic textbook style writing than my French book did. This is necessary because the subject is mathematical and not open to much interpretation, so instruction and explanation needs to be clear. The French class on the other hand, was about teaching to be conversational, so the writing needed to be conversational in its own way to reflect that concept.
Other than the fact that the writing is pretty clear, I find the organization of the Theory textbook to be most helpful, because it is easy for me to find key points if I can’t remember them. I also like that many of the musical excerpts used are familiar pieces, and span the genres of music. This helps the students to connect to the expamles. Since we can relate them to an excerpt of music we know, classical or popular, it helps us to understand how theory is relevant in music and in our education. Since, for some students, theory can feel like a drag, understanding the relevancy of a subject by the inclusion of familiar excerpts is a significant part of the book.

The Textbook. It's like a teacher, but in book form

2006-10-22T21:56:00.000-04:00

When I first started to think about textbooks, I tried to think of how they appeal to students and teachers. I immediately compared my Musicianship book to my Italian Diction for Singers book. The too seem to be polar opposites in their look and the approach to teaching. However, the core of what they are trying to teach, meaning training the ear, is the same.
The Musician's Guide to Aural Skills Volume I is a very fat, soft, and hearty textbook. It's pages can be folded over making it a perfect for highlighting and marking measures and measures of sight-singing. It also has a nice background of theory presented at the beginning of each chapter so the reader knows the purpose of each exercise. It is good for both use inside and outside of class. The explanations and rules on the inside are not written in lengthy prose. Rather, they are written in short, poignant sentences that are precisely to the point. Basically, it screams "Hey! I'm a textbook! I'm not something you really want to pick up for leisure reading."
Singers' Italian: A Manual of Diction and Phonetics takes a slightly different approach. It is a small, very compact, one hundred and fifty page book, that resembles a novel or a casual reading book. the pages are filled with tiny letters, so it is not very easy to write in or highlight. It is set up in chapters. Each chapter begins with a rule, and then the author, Colorni, gives examples, exceptions to the rules, and plenty of practice for the reader. The only thing this book lacks is a great explanation of the technique of making certain sounds. Colorni uses a lengthier style of writing, which is very different from the direct Musicianship book. The strategy of this style of textbook seems to be an appeal to those who do not want to read a textbook. This book seems to have more "coffee table" appeal, if you will.
I do not have a preference when it comes to my learning style. I can learn from either style, but I found it interesting to compare the two.

TEXT BOOKS TEACH

2006-10-22T20:46:00.000-04:00

I guess I'll start off with my Theory book -
Like most of us, I havnt spent more than five minutes in my theory text book. But, in those five minutes, I enjoy how things are set up in the book, and how all the important things are outlined somehow. Up to this point, I haven't had too much of a reason to stick my nose in the book, but I know for sure I will be thumbing through it and studying it in the very near future.
My other text book would be my geology book. I really like how this book is put together. The author does a really great job of explaining key words and concepts to people like me, who have never had geology before. He doesn't expect you to already know things about the subject, unlike lots of other textbooks I have used. The illustrations in this book are very detailed and easy to understand. Overall, If it were'nt for this book, I don't know how I would be getting through this class.

Textbooks. blah.

2006-10-22T18:58:00.000-04:00

Due to the fact that my theory book is my only actual textbook, I went with that one and my German book that claims to be a textbook but really isn't.

I have to admit, my theory book has probably been opened once before right now outside of class. That time was when we were trying to figure out what a doubly diminished interval actually was. I'm not saying it doesn't teach well, I just have never been the one to actually open the book a lot. I have noticed, however, that the information in the blue boxes is quite useful. It picks out the important points of the chapter for those of us who don't quite have the motivation to read all of the text. I'm also quite sure that if I didn't have a teacher who actually explained the contents enough for me to understand, I would have to read. And from what I've looked at in class, if I actually sat down and concentrated on the text, it would teach me sufficiently.

Now my German book is a totally different story. It is actually made for German students, so the only English I've found is about 7 words on the front cover. The examples are in German, the stories are in German, and the dictionary defines the German words in German. If I did not have a good German teacher there would be NO way that I would have the slightest clue what was going on, and not because I'm dumb. It uses the most rare words that only people who have studied the language intensely for years would no. I mean, you know it is bad when they have to define 10 words per page for people who speak German as their first language. Once I figure out what it is talking about, everything makes sense, but getting there is a journey in itself.

So I guess textbooks are good for some people, but I'd much rather depend on the teacher teaching me and be able to rely on the text for situations where I just need to reassure myself I'm doing my work right.

I don't read...so yeah

2006-10-22T18:53:00.000-04:00

I have huge vision problems so reading is very hard for me. So I don't do it much. But here goes. Musicianship is such a hard textbook to write. How do you teach someone to use their ears in that manner? I think that the text is very good because it asks for rhythm and pitches and both as well as melody and harmony. I do think that it goes too fast though. It went from simple melodies to more complex harmonies and rhythms in just a few lessons.
My only other textnook is the theory text and I think it is pretty good. Sometimes it doesn't explain topics fully but Dr. Carrillo explains those points in class. I don't use the text much because I know all of these things so far, but I'm sure it will come in handy eventually.

textbooks... blah

2006-10-22T17:02:00.000-04:00

Well hello classmates! The end of our break is here! Ahh! Anywho... onto the blog!

Considering I have two textbooks this semester.... I suppose I'll talk about theory and musicianship.

Theory... I've only looked at one page... page 47. The page with the key signatures. That one page has indeed come in handy so I'm just going to assume the rest of the book is the same. Sorry this is short... but one page is the truth!

Musicianship... a completely different story! I probably know our musicianship book very well (doesn't mean i know the material, mind you.) Actually, the reason I know the book so well is because I hate the way it's set up. I feel like I spend more time flipping through pages looking for the assignments than I should. And then, when I do finally find the assignment, if I have a question about the material... I have to spend another ten minutes flipping through pages looking for an explanation of my problems.

So... I like theory... hate musicianship... that be it!

Text... woot

2006-10-22T12:52:00.000-04:00

OK, I will admit... I've never been that much of a reader. It's not because I don't enjoy it. It's just that I really suck at it. My reading level is nowhere near where it should be. I'm working on it though. I try to "joy read" as much as I can. I'm assuming I'm getting better, but I can't really tell. So with that note, I'll say I'm kind of against textbooks to begin with. A second note: I don't really have hardly any textbooks this semester (which is lovely).

First I’ll talk about my theory book, since it seems to be the trend. It’s not bad. It does its job I suppose. I do like my high school theory book better though. I still refer to it every now and then. Maybe that’s just because it was my first book and it’s hard to get used to change. As far as this book goes though, it’s at least understandable. It explains everything thoroughly. I probably would like it more if I had known about all the examples and answers thing in the back. I’ll just say this, if I hadn’t been through a lot of theory before this point, I sometimes wonder if I would currently be lost.

Let’s see, I have to think of another textbook. I think I’ll talk about Katz. It counts! I’d have to say that I might have enjoyed that book if I didn’t dislike the seminar so much. I’d also have enjoyed it more if we hadn’t somehow skipped over the jazz improve chapter. I don’t know how that happened. I do think the text went along exceptionally well with Dr. Balensuela’s class, however. It went along so well actually, that I wonder if the lessons were formed first and then the text chosen or the other way around. The book served its purpose though and it didn’t do a bad job. So I won’t say I hated it, it just wasn’t my favorite either.

So in conclusion, I think that as long as textbooks serve the purpose they are meant to serve, then yay for textbooks. I have never really enjoyed textbooks or liked them. I can say I’ve disliked quite a few. But just because they are torture doesn’t mean I can say they’re bad. If they do what they’re supposed to do and teach what they’re supposed to teach, like both our theory book and the Katz book, then they are fine by me.

Yay for textbooks!

2006-10-21T18:41:00.000-04:00

Alright, as Becca said everyone will be writing about our theory books, so here's my opinion of it. I like our theory books. And yes, Natalie, I did know about the examples and answers in the back of the book. That's why I like our book so much. And as Andrew said, it is difficult to explain music with words, but I think our text does a good job. Between the book's explanation and what Dr. Carrillo says in class, I can understand the chapter pretty well. I really like the examples in the book because since I'm a very visual learner. I use the examples all the time when I'm doing the workbook assignments.
Okay, onto my French textbook. Every chapter starts of with a hypothetical situation in which you must try to figure out what the correct French answers are based on context. Then there's a listening portion and then a portion on communication. The rest of the chapter is filled with useful charts of vocabulary and verbs, mock conversations, and activities. For the most part, I like my French book, I think it does a good job of using examples and activities to convey the information. Sometimes I wish it wove in the vocabulary a little better, but there's a nice yellow chart at the end of every chapter with all the vocabulary for me to refer to.
Okay, so all in all I like my textbooks, I feel like they are good resources and they really help me to understand the material. So, yay for textbooks!

Page by page

2006-10-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

I like to take some time out of my fall break to talk about what I like most...textbooks. Believe it or not this is more entertaining to me right now than having to go through the same questions with my parents about DePauw. Anyway, my psychology book starts each chapter with a story about whatever psyhcological phenomenon will be discussed. I like this notion because I know that I might not read the entire chapter, but it did grasp my attention long enough for me to learn how the subject affects real people. This primes me to want to understand the neurological causes of these processes. If not for that I would not be able to get past page one. Let's be honest, without real examples its just a bunch of scientific words that I don't care about.
As for the my theory book, oh my God. I mean all it has are words that can't tell a story. This is not through any fault of the writer or the reader, it is impossible to explain with words how music works. You have to hear the notes, then the words make sense. I thinks the book does a great job of explaining as best it can. With a science book words will do just fine, but it is a different story with music. I guess that is why the book says we should do our work at a keyboard. Basically it boils down to this, just in case I gave anyone the wrong idea, I like our books.

Text Books....

2006-10-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

Well, first of all I would like to comment on the fact that we are all crazy procrastinaters. It is the Saturday before the day this blog is due and we have all had almost two weeks and none of us have posted.

The two textbooks that I have selected are my theory textbook "Theory and Analysis" by Clendinning and Marvin, and my spanish textbook "Camino Oral" by Richard Teschner. Yes, these are two very different textbooks, but I thought that would give me something to discuss, compare and contrast.

I have discovered recently that my theory textbook can be a great resource. In the earlier chapters of the book I will have to be honest that I simply scanned over the information, looked at the stuff in bold print and then quickly moved on to the homework. However, the last few chapters have come to puzzle me a little, so I decided that before turning to my fellow classmates for help I would see if the textbook could do anything for me and low and behold it could. There is alot that our theory textbook has to offer that I had kind of ignored before. DId you know that there are examples and that on top of these examples there are answers in the back of the book? I found this quite amazing. Who knew that a text book could actually equip you enough to do your homework. There are also these lovely blue boxes every few pages. These blue boxes highlight the general idea of the previous few pages. It's amazing, this can really come in handy when you are trying to do a quick review before a test and need just a brief summary of the chapter. I will have to confess that the listening activities are still something I haven't quite gotten in to, but I am sure they are quiet helpful too. Now if we are to move on to the actual language of the book I think in general the writers know how to convey the information they are supposed to but, I will admit that I often have to read things three or four times to understand the entire concept, this, however, is probably me and not the author.

My spanish book on the other hand is not quite as good. This is not a "normal" spanish book. The subtitle (translated) for this book is "phonetics, the study of phonetics and the practice of the spanish sounds". This book, as you can tell, is for my conversation and phonetics class. In general terms this book is one of the most confusing books I have ever had to read for a class. Yes, it is in spanish and yes, it expects you know all of the phonetic termononlogy in spanish, which I am slowly learning, but besides that it is not written in a manner that is easily understood. I usually read the chapter and then quickly give up because it does not make any sense. The funny thing I found was that unlike my theory book when I went to go use my book as a resource it failed me. There are no examples in this book, instead they have the homework activities and the first few answers are in the back of the book. However, I have not found this helpful. This textbook also does not have the quick refrences for a fast brush up on the chapter before class. Overall I am extremely frustrated with this textbook. I do not think it is written in a way that is easily understood and I think that if a book is written to aid in the teaching of a foriegn language the author needs to make sure that it is completely clear.

I hope you have enjoyed my little rant. I will end this as I have ended a majority of the other posts, I hope this answered the question. :) Enjoy the rest of your break.

Someone in Brazil

2006-10-09T12:28:00.000-04:00

visited our blog!

Cooley recital - values

2006-10-09T08:48:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I forgot to do this! Please accept this, even though it's late... it completely slipped my mind!

---

Ever since the advent of recorded music, we have changed our expectations for live performance. In order to keep the attention of the audience, performance serves a clear purpose - it must offer some element that the recording cannot. In the case of vocal music especially, live performance is captivating in its visual aspect - we can see the expressions and thought processes of the performer, and thus better understand the composer's intent.

The best performers can communicate their message in any sung language. When the right expressions are used, language is a triviality - the performer will give us the visual cues to connect his or her emotions to the universal vernacular of the music.

Saturday night’s performance of Die Schöne Müllerin by Tom Cooley was an exemplary juxtaposition of excellent musical talent and clear performance. Even though the song cycle was sung in German, and there was no readily-offered translation, Tom Cooley was able to characterize the Miller – first delighted when finding his love, then angry as he loses her, and finally, sad and resigned to mourning. True, Professor Tonne’s performance of this same set helped, but even without it, Cooley’s expressive performance left no confusion.

That communication is what I value in live music. Music is worthless if it can’t express a palpable human emotion. The magic of live performance comes in the transition – when the performer’s expression is clear, and we as perceivers understand, a common human experience is shared. Truth is realized. This is the most important part of all live performance.

when music makes me loose control

2006-10-09T00:56:00.000-04:00

Experiencing orchestra music live was usually just another way to open myself up to more music, and to observe musicians in action; but when the Minnesota Orchestra performed my favorite piece, Ravel’s "Daphnis et Chloe", I had a previous connection with the music. I had learned to play the piece, read about it and listened to recordings of it. From triangle ding to tuba rumble, I was familiar with it. When the woodwinds trickle in at the beginning I could watch the clarinets pick up where the flutes left off while I heard the same continuous sound. Experiencing Daphnis live was more of a trick for the ears. It had never occurred to me that violins made those chirping harmonics at the beginning. I was so accustomed to simply hearing those bird sounds, that seeing a violinist create them added a sense of wonder to what I was experiencing. Watching the bassists lean with anticipation over their instruments before the flute solo, I swear my heart almost began beating parallel to each of their plucks.
Before this concert I had a specific emotion in my mind each time I heard the piece. Experiencing the piece in person was like turning that emotion into incense and breathing it in, or creating a juicy piece of fruit and letting in run down my chin. If I were talented enough, I think I could even make a blanket out of it and cuddle to that specific emotion. I got slutty with Daphnis et Chloe that night sitting with hundreds of others in orchestra hall, and felt no shame. By the end I felt as though I were shaking, and all I could do was sit, eyes glazed over, in bliss. I did feel used, but didn't mind.
I want live music to make me lose control. If I feel as though the musical idea I have in my head has been lathered all over my body, the performance has been more than successful.

(Speaking of, Les Yeux Noirs definitely achieved that, and I was not even familiar with their music. LKJHSDLIFSD&**&IRYWEIUFYD*TUGHJ!!!!!!!! Les Yeux Noirs has turned me gypsy.)

music value live me.

2006-10-08T22:06:00.000-04:00

nothing compares to live performances. the unique feeling for both the performer and the audience. my favorite part of music is when i am performing. the intensity and 100% focus you have to give, just the energy flowing excites me. its really easy to tell when a performer is or is not "in" the music, and i really love going to shows when the artists are truly engaged in what they are playing. the "dialouge" between the audience and the artist are un-matched. as a performer, i value the audiences responce to piece, and as an audience member i value the artist's responce to the audience. pretty much, everything about a live performance, including the mess ups, is great, and no recording can capture that.

god, i feel like katz.

-DBF

What do I value in music?

2006-10-08T20:58:00.000-04:00

I feel that live performances are better than any other way of listening to music. One experience sticks out in my mind more than almost any other in my life. A couple of years ago, I went to see A Perfect Circle at Louisville Gardens in (of course) Louisville, Kentucky. It was, for lack of a better word, amazing. It was SENSATIONAL, SPIRITUAL, AND SENSUAL. Even now when I listen to their CDs, I get that crazed butterfly-fluttery feeling in my stomach and goosebumps and my head floats to the clouds. I remember the way Maynard moved to his music. The way his back arched when he hit an intense note. I remember their beautiful violin player and how she got down on her knees and played her violin like it was her other half, how she bent back until her head touched the ground by her feet and still played beautifully. It was sexual, it was purely emotional. That concert was a natural high and I feel it every time I listen to them. So what do I value in live music? Let me just say this, before I saw that concert, I didn’t feel that way when I listened to them.

Live Performances

2006-10-08T20:39:00.000-04:00

What I value most about live concerts is the connection one feels, in common with the performer, over the music. Last Thursday, I attended the Chamber Singers concert. Choir piece are not my favorite to learn, or to sit through, but I found this concert transfixing. The sound of the Chamber Singers captivated the audience and drew in our interests, even though we did not understand the words to the majority of the pieces. It was a collaboration of artists and an expression of feeling that everyone can relate to.
It does not matter what the genre of the music, because the same energy is put into any performance. It is the kind of thing that takes raw energy and talent, and a lot of confidence. Live performances are the only place were a group of people gather and simultaneously feel the same bursts of emotions. This is what makes live performances better than recordings. The listener feels isolated with a recording; a live performance is successful based on the audience present.
I feel that the most important aspect of live performances is the connection it gives to fans that cannot happen anywhere else. The best thing about music as a business is that one is successful based on the opinions of other people, and if music was not performed live, it would not be very easy to form that opinion.

Ah, the life of LIVE music

2006-10-08T20:01:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I got the opportunity to go to the Lotus Fest. I was able to see the Irish trio in that church. It was alright. I like Irish singing, and that ws the good part of it. Then there was the violin player, which left a lot to be desired. I don't think a recording would have helped a lot prior to listening to them live. I went to Les Yeux Noirs shortly afterwards.
Les Yeux Noirs has to have been one of the best performances I've been to in my life next to Barrage. I've heard critiques from others saying it was too simpistic and just not that great. Perhaps it's just because I'm a string player and I can relate to them in a way that I found it to be vastly entertaining. There was this energy there that you just don't find in other performances. The crowd got into the music like a bear gets into a beehive. When the tempo doubled in certain songs, the crowd got even more into the music. There was a uniqueness to their playing style that I've only seen in such groups as Time for Three (I highly recommend everyone to go to www.timeforthree.com) or Barrage, which added to their value in me. However, not all the songs were fast, which made a nice contrast. There were, obviously, some slow songs that made you feel just a little bit closer to the group, and then the fast songs would start up again, making your adrenalin flow. By the end, they had a very wired-up and enthusiastic crowd (at least, the ones who, like me, found it to be spectacular), so I'm sure they felt as excited as most of the crowd did. After this concert, I ran to the cd tent and bought the two albums they had there. Nothing was left to be desired from their cd's.

So. What I value in music is the power to move you and make you say wow. It can be powerful or gentle, but it must make you say wow.

Valuing Live Music

2006-10-08T19:48:00.000-04:00

Why do I love live concerts? Well, part of it is seeing the performers feel the music. You can see how the music makes them move and sway.
If the performer is playing violin or viola, I love to watch the bow arm, the left hand, and how the player holds the instrument. I am able to learn from how they play. I can incorperate the technique and style of the performer into my own playing.
I also feel more connected to the music when you see it live. You can feel the vibrations in your seat. Watch the faces of the performers. See the movements of the conductor. There is much more to music than just hearing. There are sights, feels, smells, tastes, and emotions. There are things that cannot be found in a recording.

what DO i value in music?

2006-10-08T17:47:00.001-04:00

What someone values in music totally pertains to the individual. It's just like what people consider good and bad music. Everyone is attracted to different aspects of music. With that being said, I will try to explain what I value.
I love live performances; I try to go to as many as possible. There's something about the energy of the audience and actually being surrounded by the music that just amazes me. I went to the Lotus Festival-it was AWESOME. I saw Les Yeux Noir and although their performanced rocked, I couldn't help but wonder if I would feel the same way abot them if I'd heard their CD first. Yes the artists are talented, but so much of their playing came from the crowds' energy. I would not have gotten the same experience from a recording for sure.
Onto a different concert experience-the Chamber Singers. They were amazing. I love choral music and hearing the chords lock and fill the room. Hearing the different parts come together to create gorgeous harmonies is incredible. Okay now switch to a rock concert, one of my favorites. Seeing the artist overtaken with the music gets me into the music. Now if the band isn't good live, then that's a different situation. I really value an artist's ability to perform live. Yes they are some groups that aren't good live but I still enjoy their CDs, but I really prefer live to recorded.
Okay, so I guess I'm saying I realy value the live music experience. The life and intensity the performer brings, the feedback and energy of the audience. The way it makes me feel to be enveloped by harmonies. Even though I prefer live, I'll take the recordings to keep me going in between concerts.

My Values

2006-10-08T14:46:00.000-04:00

When I started thinking about this post, I immediately began comparing all of the live concerts I have been to. I thought about which ones I liked and which ones I didn't, and then I asked myself something I hadn't really thought about. Why did I like some better than others?
I've been to a multitude of different kinds of concerts: St Louis Symphony, Backstreet Boys, Relient K's Panic with aK tour with MxPx, Rufio, Ok Go, and one other band whose name escapes me, Chapter 6, Keane, *NSYNC, too many oldies bands to name, and Transiberian Orchestra. While all of these groups have major differences, the ones I enjoyed have many things in common.
For instance, I really enjoyed *NSYNC, Keane, Transiberian Orchestra(ok I saw them three times), and Chapter 6(and I travelled five hours just to see them the second time) because they all seemed so into their music, and you could tell they were there because they wanted to be, not just to pay their mortgage. Now I'm sure that the rest of the groups wanted to be there too, but the four I mentioned really seemed to stick out in my mind.
The one concert I really could have lived without being at was the Panic with aK tour. It was really loud and I could not understand any of the bands' lyrics, which is probably the thing I value most. In order to really get into a band and get something out of their music, unless of course they don't sing, I have to be able to understand and enjoy the lyrics. So when I get into a small nightclub turned concert venue setting and cannot understand the lyrics of the music that is blowing my eardrums out, I'm probably not going to have a good time.
I'm sure that we all have very different values in our live music. In fact, I know that there are probably at least 3 people in our group that totally disagree with the whole idea of having to understand the lyrics. But we all stick to our values, and that is what's important.

Live music...

2006-10-08T12:33:00.000-04:00

Live music can change your view of a band/person/whoever is playing/singing. I have more experience with hearing live rock concerts, so I will mainly focus on rock. Today, we are so used to hearing our favorite music recorded, and used to hearing it the same exact way over and over again, as many times as we want. It's always interesting to hear a band live for the first time after hearing them so much on cd. In my experience, for the most part, rock bands do a fairly decent job of sonding like their recordings, but their are always a few that sound better live, such as Emery and MuteMath, and definately a few that do not sound anything like their recordings, but not in a good way, such as Audio Adrenaline or Copeland. There are also the bands that don't even play the kind of music I like, but put on a great, energetic show, such as Showbread or Squad Five-O. I mentioned in an ealier blog about my brother and I having a discussion about what we value in music, and what we like to listen to. I said that as long as the band has a great recording out, I love to listen to that recording, no matter how crappy the musicians really are. I like to listen to the music that has been created because it makes me feel good, or puts me in the right mood. Of course, it's always a bummer when I see that band live and they really just suck. It is always good for a band to sound good live though, because they will get much more support, and if someone hears them for the first time at a live concert, they will not even consider ever listening to them. Like my brother, sometimes people will not listen to any music unless the musicians are really talented and sound as good, if not better, live as on the recording. As a musician, I do appreciate very talented musicians, and will listen to them even though I might not necessarily like their music. Live music can be a tricky thing sometimes, and with some bands, you have to wonder how the heck they ever made it with such a crappy live performance.

Titles are over-rated (that's just temporary)

2006-10-07T21:50:00.000-04:00

Once again on this cyber coil known as blogger, I feel inclined to chose Die Schone Mullerin for my next endeavor. The recital given by Tom Cooley, Tenor and John Clodfelter, piano was nothing short of amazing. With a beautiful voice and heart-felt expression, Mr. Cooley ignited the stage. The true value in this recital is the absense of over singing. In many of the softer pieces, not only sustained great pianissimo, but just caressing the notes ever so tenderly. Mr. Clodfelter played with great versitility, playing gentle where needed and intense as needed.
The value here is that music is not about playing notes on the page, but giving character and life to each note played.

What Do I Value in Music.....

2006-10-07T21:19:00.000-04:00

So, this week the blog is on a live music review, which I find very interesting because I have seen more live music this week then I think I have in my entire life. Thursday night there was the Chamber Concert, Friday the Lotus Festival and then Saturday night the guest artist Thomas Cooley. Now I am left with the dilemma of which to write about....

The Lotus Festival is an International Music Festival held in Bloomington, Indiana annually. This year, as seems to be tradition with the School of Music, a group of students attended. At first I was reluctant to give up my Friday night to an event that at first glance didn't seem all that appealing, then I changed my mind and I am so glad I did. I was able to see three amazing shows, well two amazing shows and one really good one. The first venue my group visited was called VIDA. VIDA is a group of former IU School Of Music students who formed a group while at school and then continued to tour after graduation. It is a group comprised of four females who sing a cappella music from all over the world. I simply sat in awe during this concert. Not only did the group have amazing talent and harmonies, but the range of the singers was unbelieveable. This brings me to the actual topic of what do I value in music. I don't know exactly how to answer the question. I can find an answer to what do i value about a live performance or what do I value about a certain type of music, but this question seems a little too general, but I will try to answer it. This concert was absolutely wonderful. There is something about being in a room completely filled with the sound of beautiful harmonies that can literally take your breathe away. This is something that I feel can only be experienced with live music. Now, don't get me wrong, after hearing this group I felt compelled to buy their cd, however my bank account did not agree with me. Anyway, there is something wonderful about a recreated sound that you can listen to repeatedly, but for me it will never compare with that first experience of feeling the music of a live performance.

This idea leads me straight into the next group of performers of the night. They were the group that Dean Johnson kept stressing for us to see. The group consisted of two violon playing brothers, an accordian, drums, bass and guitar and had a style that was described as French gypsy and yiddish based. To say the least if I had heard the group before seeing them perform I don't think I would have enjoyed as much as I did live. There was a kind of energy that the audience was able to thrive off of that could not have been experienced from sitting down and listening to the music on my iPod. Yes, the talent of the violinists was amazing but I feel like I would have felt like something was missing if I just listened to it and did not feel the beat of the drum in my chest and wasn't surrounded by bunches of crazy dancing folk.

There was another group, but I think you get the picture. I value the heart of music, and in my opinion it is easist to feel the heart of music when it is performed live and you can see the emotion and excitement that is conveyed through the perforemers. I do have to admit, however, that there are somethings that I simply love to listen to on my iPod and I am almost nervous about seeing live because I am afraid that I will be dissappointed by a live performance. There are some musicals that I have listened to so many times on my iPod that when I finally heard them performed I was actually dissappointed, mind you some of the performances were high school shows and might have just been bad, but still. Overall I value the expression that music takes on in live performances. Hope that answered the question.....

Hmm... Should I talk about Blue Man Group?

2006-10-04T15:12:00.000-04:00

A couple of years ago my parents bought my brother and I tickets to go see Blue Man Group perform live at the local concert center. We were way psyched to attend one of our first concerts ever! I personally, hadn't heard any of their cds but had seen clips of their acts on the Tom Green Show, late at night. My brother, on the other hand, listened to the Blue Man Group regularly.

As we sat in our seats waiting for the show to start we made casual conversation with the people in front of us. They had traveled from Vegas to see the tour again. They said it was the best concert they had ever seen. We were now very anxious to see this show. Finally, the group came out and began their set.

The point in me telling you about my Blue Man Group concert expierence is to express what I valued in that show. First, is was very audience involved. Members of the audience were often taken from their seats and asked to perform a simple task on stage, such as beating a bass drum. In one of the songs, "What is Rock?" the audience is asked to do simple movements such as jump up and down, yell, fist pump, ect. The entire audience was laughing and getting involved... a very interesting concert it prooved to be!

The other thing I enjoyed about the live show was how the audience was focused and paying attention to the group and nothing else (as much as possible). The group could express themselves more musically because they were able to take as much time as needed to get a musical idea across. For example, one of the guys hit a bass drum over and over and slowly other parts were added to form a song. But, if you were listening to the exact same thing on your car cd you probably wouldnt listen to a bass drum sounding for five minutes due to distractions.

Sometimes live music sucks, I will admitt. But, I know, when I'm listening to a cd, my mind begins to wonder how it would sound if it were a live performance, and you begin to miss the things you value in a concert.

Who's listening?

2006-10-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

I added a viewer counter to the bottom of the blog, which keeps track of unique views and referrals. You can click on it to get details. Of the last 100 views, two were me, five were visitors from my blog, and eighteen were the result of searches on Google or other search engines. 37% of the visitors were not you authors (the counter does count each of your visits as well). Here are the search phrases that brought people to your blog:
Anna Nalick piano notes
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Rae Dawn Chong opie
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what does musically inclined mean
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Author=Emily
Depauw blog
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Note that many people want to know what "musically inclined" means. Perhaps one of you could work that into your next blog.

2006-10-01T23:45:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heared something so beautiful you were encouraged to recreate that sound? That happens to me all the time and I think it's the basis of my success as playing trumpet. When I was at the end of fourth grade I heard a beautiful saxophone sound echoing throughout the local mall. It was the first time I had ever heard a professional instrumentalist that caught my attention. Kenny G was my first inspiration to make music.

Later that week, I went through "instrument tryouts" for our 5th grade band. I knew as soon as I got there I was going to be bringing home the instrument that would lead me to Kenny G's success! But I was wrong! Turns out, I couldn't even get a noise out of the saxophone. That's when I decided to test out the trumpet.

My first years playing were at Mills Lawn Elementary School. It was a very small school. As beginning students, it was our decision to play in either the orchestra or the band. But, either way, you were guaranteed to be the only one in your grade, on your instrument.

Competition between instruments took place on a grade level. As a fifth grader, I couldn't wait to play with the 6th graders and show off my talent. My brother was a 6th grade trombonist and he kept me "updated" with the latest repitore. I remember practicing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie" several hundred times with my brother in the freezing cold garage before a 6th grade rehersal. At Mills Lawn, you were pushed to learn your part inside out and always play at your personal best.

A move in the family eventually caused for transferring schools. Attending Indian Valley Middle School posed a drastic change for me. There were 4 different 5th grade bands! Each with 10 or more playing trumpet. But, because of such advanced playing at Mills Lawn I was still able to outplay them all! I'm almost certain I didn't improve much as a musician at Indian Valley because I never had any one to compete with, or any beautiful sounds to imitate.Throughout my 3.5 years there, students expierenced three different changes in directors. Many students dropped out because the couldnt rely on the stablilty of the music department or because they just weren't inspired. My parents were the only reason I myself, made it to high school band.

Wow! My first day of high school band camp I was so impressed! I arrived and chairs had been marked off as a result of the auditions earlier that week. I walked along the back looking for my chair. It wasn't anywhere around my freshman friends! I must have looked confused because my band director approached me and took me to my chair. I was sitting 2nd chair next to the junior section leader! I remember his words exactly as I sat next to him, "So you're the girl who sits here? We'll don't get your hopes up.... your first chance at section leader won't be until your senior year when all of the upperclassmen have filtered out!" Typical statement of a trumpet player. It didn't bring me down though, I had work to do... there was someone better than me. I had a challenge!

I worked very hard that year and it paid off. The audition results were posted at the beginning of the next year. I had outdone every trumpet player in every ensemble in high school. It seemed great... until I realized I no longer had challenge. For the majority of the rest of high school, I did the minimal work to keep my spot as a section leader.

My senior year was the only exception. I had to work harder, practice more, join ensembles outside of high school, take extra music classes... all because I wanted to "spice my application up," as my high school guidance counslor said. My college selection process wasn't hard at all. I applied and auditioned at one school, DePauw, and here I am today.

Over my 8 years of playing, I don't feel as if I got the musical expierence every child deserves to have. My fellow students and I had five different band directors. I witnessed many students dropping music because of poor instruction and lack of dedication. It is now my desire to improve instruction in districts where music is a crumbling subject. The arts are an important part of elementary, middle and high school curriculum. Students at least a teacher who cares!

bio 3rd edition

2006-10-01T23:43:00.000-04:00

My musical history is far from ordinary. I didn't see any inspirational concerts, get forced into playing, had older sibling influence. None of that. When I was in seventh grade, all my friends were in some cool punk rock band, and of course, if you were in the cool punk band, you got all the ladies. And so ii wanted to start a cool punk rock band. I told everyone in school that I played drums and how awesome I was. But the truth was, I had never held a drum stick with the intent to make music. I went home and told my parent I needed a drum set so bad, and that I really wanted to play. I took some lessons, and my teacher said I had potential. Hearing from an expert sealed the deal for my parents, and I got a used Yamaha stage custom for Christmas 99'.

Thats the earliest picture I have of me playing drums.

in January I started my first band. We called it "Jumbox," and it was so bad. I mean, we were terrible. But we were so cool at the same time, so it didn't matter. We would spend half the "practice time" dissing other bands and taking pictures, and listening to NOFX, rancid, link 80, T.S.O.L., and all sorts of other punk bands. In eighth grade I changed schools, and the band fell apart. But it only took me a couple months to join the next one.

2001 was probably the most explosive year for music, until recently. I started my classical training in percussion, did my first recording sessions as a drummer, and took kit lessons with dashboard connfessional's, and Miami native, mike marsh. This band was called "piece of mind." don't laugh too hard. Anyway, we were so good for 12 year olds. We played at a bar every Thursday night, for a bunch of drunk old people, who might I add, LOVED US! We played Jim Hendrix, and Jefferson airplane covers, with original tunes as well. We also acted as a studio band, and recorded for who ever wanted to record with us. The best gig was when we got paid to record at criteria recording studio. Artists who recorded there include the bee-gee's, R.E.M., Jennifer Lopez, etc. It was so awesome. I remember going to the bath room and thinking "j-lo was in this bathroom!!" anyway, that band was so much fun. We went through like five bass players, but me and Jessie(guitar/singer) always remained. The band lasted 2 1/2 years, and me and Jessie are still best friends. I have like 3 recordings so come to my room if you want to hear it.

in sophomore year I started two bands. "terry and the tourettes," and 'our last days as children." The first one was a blues band. We had mild success. Our biggest accomplishment as playing in the legendary "Tobacco Road" venue in downtown Miami. Are only song recorded an be heard here.
We broke up because Terry was a jerk.

my next band was "OLDAC." this band definitely got the most attention. We started playing in fall 2003. We actually met while I was recording with terry, so as soon as that door closed another opened. We had over three different recording sessions, and had planned on recording in New York, but our budget wasn't big enough. We played as far away as north Carolina, were in national indie music news papers, have been played on Miami radio, and were on an Oregon based radio/internet show. We were influenced by the likes of cursive, Owen, the agency, bright eyes, jimmy eat world, etc. Earlier this year, I left the band, because, here I am, writing about them, in college, a million miles away. All the recording they have are still me playing drums. That's Dennis fuller drum ideas, not the new guy. Just know that. But I do love this band and we till talk and hang out. They're looking to tour up north, so maybe they'll come to Indiana? Anyway, that's "our last days as children," by far, my most successful band endeavor. This is their current myspace page with music.

Our first show =0

promo pictures =/

And for my last independent band, "Highway." Highway was the most craziest hardcore band ever. With myself on drums, Joey, a University of Miami medical student on guitar, Mike who is a nurse on vocals, Romy, whose got everything you can possibly get pierced pierced, on bass, and the ever awkward peter Allen on guitar 2. This band was semi serious. we palyed a good amount of shows last year, but that was that. They still practice in Miami, but with they're songs constantly changing, and never staying solid, I doubt they'll ever play another show. Our recordings can be heard at myspace.com/highway.

Peter and Romy of the old Highway.

In the midst of all this, I was also performing in musical theater. I did over 10 musicals in two years. my first was "Joseph and the amazing technicolor dream coat." I met many other students from music schools and expanded my musical network. I also learned how to improv on music, becaus e sometimes we had no time to rehearse.

I also attended cannon music camp in north Carolina for two consecutive summers. This was probably the best thing I have done to improve myself as a drummer, and as a person. I learned so much about my instrument, and it also prepared me for college, staying in a dorm for a month. Definite recommendation to any younger musicians looking to improve their skill in a focused environment.

That is the 2005 Percussion Ensemble at Cannn Music Camp.

In case you're wondering, there is more to my musical life, but I won't go into detail about it. I did a lot of musical theater, for the Miami Children's theater Compny, and I played in the Greater Miami Youth Symphony. Two season ago we went to Carneagie hall, with some other orchestra from Hawaii. We played Bartok, Stravinsky, Wagner, and Bernstein.

This was taken during one of MCT's performances of Sondheim's "Into the Woods." That was my favorite musical to perform.

To wrap it up, I just wanted to say that, those guys that I first started playing music with in seventh grade, no longer play music. I see them every now and then, at a party, wasted or something. And I think that its sad that the people that I was so fond of, and influenced me to play, no longer do. Like the inspirational speaker said on Friday night, "show me your friends, and I'll show you your future." I guess it is somewhat true. Because, as far as I know, Jessie and myself are the only ones pursuing music as a profession, and life style. We're all here for the same reason, because we love music. And sometimes you have look at your past and see the road you've taken to know where you want to go, or, in my case, where you don't want to end up.

Indeed, I am Still a Self-Proclaimed Musician

2006-10-01T20:21:00.000-04:00

Musician
According to legend, I started my musical life in first grade. The director of the “young strings” program came to class one day and described her orchestra program for students in elementary school. Well, I was pretty excited. Both of my older sisters played violin, and I always wanted to play like them. I went home that day and asked my parents if I could join the program. My parents finally decided I was too young to begin such an expensive undertaking, especially if I would just get sick of it and give it up in a few days.
However, I have never been one to listen whole-heartedly to my parents, and in this case the benefit was immeasurable. I singed myself up for the class at age six. I remember my teacher, Mrs. Farlow, handing me a small, hideous sounding school instrument every other day, and she always asked, “Emily why don’t you have an instrument of your own yet?” I usually made up some lie because I didn’t want her to know that my parents were unaware of my activities.
Eventually, she called home. I remember my parents’ shock at my determination to play the violin. They agreed if I wanted to play that badly, they would buy me an instrument. I was ecstatic. I have continued playing violin ever since, and I still do. I even brought it to college with me.
My foray into orchestra led me to want to be involved in music forever. In fifth grade I entered the ISSMA contest for singers. I had never sung solo before and I was terrified, but despite my doubts I learned the piece, “Getting to Know You” and won a first place ribbon. It was then that I discovered how much I truly loved to perform. I loved to portray a character through song, and I placed first in the contest the following year as well.
Once again, I took matters into my own hands. I decided that along with violin lessons, I wanted to have private voice lessons. I had to sign myself up for lessons again. This time, my parents trusted my judgment. I began lessons with Barbara Horine, at my school, in seventh grade. I tried really hard. However, I never felt like I was enjoying my singing. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. My improvement was inconsistent and I knew I had not found my niche. Then, I tried out for the junior high school musical, Oliver!. I received the part of Nancy, and it was a huge scandal. A seventh grader getting the lead in the musical! The student body was really mad.
When I performed that role I realized what I had missed in my singing. When I was onstage, the music came to life. The music and I became one in the same. I loved the expressiveness of the theatre. I loved entertaining the whole auditorium. The musical was a huge success, and I managed to make a name for myself before entering high school. Since then, I have performed in many musicals at school and in the Indianapolis community.
The theatre made me relate and embrace the passion found in music. Suddenly, I wanted to do everything. I started to play the guitar, and later the piano. I couldn’t, and still can’t, get enough music in my life. Whether it is just sitting in my room listening to rock, or attending an opera, I love the concept of performance. I love being part of a room full of people who are all swept away by the beauty of music. To me, music is truly a way for souls to connect.
It was very hard for me to find the “right” school for myself. I had a great difficulty with many college's programs because the university or conservatory predetermined the kind of performing done. During my senior year, I auditioned at ten different schools, which meant I missed a lot of school. In retrospect, it is very funny that I auditioned at DePauw first and ended up doing a complete three-sixty and coming here in the end.
I was convinced at age seventeen that I belonged in a conservatory. I wanted the best vocal training, in the classical technique, and I wanted to really zone in on my music and perfect it in everyway possible. I was admitted to all of the conservatories where I auditioned. But, I came to find out that conservatories only give you, at best, an incredible teacher with amazing connections. In general, productions were for graduate students, their facilities were pretty run down, and they had this strange claustrophobia hanging over everyone.
I then decided to look into the universities with conservatories and see if they could offer more. I ended up narrowing my decision to SUNY at Purchase, NYU, and DePauw. Honestly, for a while I didn’t even consider DePauw an option because it was so close to home, but I kept it at bay for my parents. It was not until I visited all three schools again that I realized why I was going into college in the first place. I was eighteen, and I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I thought that since I knew I wanted to perform that I had a leg up on everyone else. I might have had a toe. When it came down to it, I was going to school to figure out how to channel my passions. I could not go to the SUNY College because it was strictly opera, and what if I decided after four years that I wanted to do musical theatre? I would be out of luck. I could not go to NYU because their classical voice program was lodged between theatre and opera so really neither was experienced. DePauw, however, was not a conservatory or a university with a renowned theatre program and an obscure music program. Instead, it was just a place with opportunities. It did not promise connections or immediate results, but it did promise that I would be sure of my place in the music world.
Admittedly, I received a lot of grief from my high school about picking DePauw. They thought I had wasted an entire year. However, I came to realize that my place as a musician was blurry. I was not mature enough to dedicate my life to one for of the musical arts. All I knew then, and what I know now, is I am improving, immersed, and eventually my place will come.

Some of the best experiences I have had as a musician are playing live in small venues. When I was about eleven, I used to visit my sister in California and her husband played every week in an open-mic night. I thought it was so cool to see a vast array of such unique performers in one coffee house. Eventually, my brother-in-law, Ryan, convinced me to sing a few songs with him. When I was that young, I couldn’t accompany myself and sing at the same time, so he played guitar and I sang. We performed “On My Own” from Les Miserables and “Scarborough Fair.” It was so exhilarating to share music with complete strangers, and to have them appreciate it.
When my sister and her husband moved to Boston, I was sad because I thought the music was over. However, Ryan soon found a different open-mic night in Boston, and began to record his own music. When I visited them most recently, we recorded a few songs, and we both m=played guitar and sang. It was really fun. Later, I joined him at the open-mic bar and I sang “Jolene,” which is a Dolly Parton song, and I performed “Zombie” by the Cranberries. This venue was bigger and more daunting, but the fear left me after the first song and I realized that the love of live performing, not matter how good the person is, is appreciated by all artists.
It is really important for me to find small ways of performing, like open-mic nights, because it personalizes performing, and takes it down to a smaller scale. Sometimes, I feel like performing is an impossible lifestyle. However, every time I think of those nights, with all of the strangers, I realize performing isn’t a lifestyle, but a life choice. One can choose how thy want to perform, and sometimes it is important to accept and appreciate the intimate, non-paying, gigs that are all about the music, and not about the career.

The Previous One!

2006-10-01T19:15:00.000-04:00

For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to play violin. As soon as I could talk, I asked my parents to let me play. For years I asked, over and over again. Finally, when I was six, my parents decided it was time to let me try.

Unlike many beginners who start with a cardboard violin, at my first lesson, a real instrument was placed in my hands. I stared at it lovingly before carefully placing it under my chin. I learned to play "See Saw" that day, and practiced it over and over that week in anticipation of my next lesson. I was so excited to play new songs, from the beginning, I fiddled around with the notes and taught myself pieces I knew by ear.

Around the time I was in third grade, and had been playing for about two years, my teacher decided to put together a string quartet. She had a cello student, and three violin students at about the same level. I was the youngest of the group, so I got to learn and play viola. We were called KEEP the Quartet, Kathryn, Emily, Emily, and Paula. We played together for years to come, sometimes we were payed to play weddings, other times we went to music camps as a group to improve our playing together.

In sixth grade I joined a violin group at Wheaton College called Vivaldi Strings. I was the youngest member of the group at the time. It was coprised of mostly high schoolers and we performed at weddings, nursing homes, and many other events. In addition to performing at events around the area, we would go on tour each year. We went to Disneyland, Michigan, even Canada. On tour we played for the groups in that area and did performances for money. I was in this group until I graduated this summer. By this time the group was mostly middle school kids and the level of playing had dropped significantly.

My sixth grade year, I auditioned for the DuPage Youth Symphony on violin and viola, I ended up sitting principal viola in the less advanced orchestra, ahead of my older students. The next year I played violin in the advanced orchestra, and french horn in the lower one, needless to say, it was a long Monday night. Then, my eigth grade year, I only played violin in the top orchestra because playing in both orchestras was taking up too much of my time. I stopped playing in the Youth Symphony at the end of that year so I could play in my high school one.

High school orchestra ended up being a mistake. Most of the members had only been playing for a few years and had never had private instruction, and the director had no string experience whatsoever. All of the pieces we played were arranged and they were too simple and did not challenge me to improve. I only played with them for that year.

My freshman year I also joined the DuPage Symphony, of which I was the youngest player. We played full Symphonies, not arrangements, at monthly concerts. I loved the director and the orchestra. Unfortunately, I had to quit after that year due to some psycological problems.

Throughout high school I continued to take private violin lessons and teach them. The summer between my junior and senior year, I went to a music camp in Kansas called Sound Encounters. Brian Lewis, Michael McLean, and many other professional musicians taught at the camp. I was placed in a violin quartet under the instruction the viola professor at a college in Utah. Through her instruction and playing, I realized how much I love the sound of the viola. I immediately told my violin teacher, who was at the camp, and we discussed the pros and cons of switching.

My parents were not at all pleased by my decision, but they decided to let me try to get into a music school on viola. I worked very hard my senior year to keep my grades up and get my viola playing as advanced as possible. I auditioned at three schools and knew I wanted to go to DePauw. When I heard I had gotten in to the school of music I was very excited. All I needed now was a scholarship. When I got the letter from the financial aid office, I knew my dreams had come true.

I am at DePauw studying viola performance. My dream would be to one day become a member of the performing group Barrage. I would also love to teach private lessons and be a member of a professional symphony. Although many of my dreams have come true, I still have many more to come.

Original
1st edit

Bad A$$, Certified

2006-10-01T19:09:00.000-04:00

Take #2

My beginnings started humble enough. I had no great desire to be a musician, and back then if you had asked me what was meant by being a musician, I probably could not have told you. My dad was the General Manager of the South Bend Symphony, so music was nothing new. Fourth grade had rolled around; this meant that the students of John Marshall elementary school could join orchestra. I do not remember being forced to join, but I believe there was an understanding that I would join orchestra. The teacher brought all the shiny new instruments and we ooed and awed at them. The teacher played the theme from Jaws on the double bass and I was hooked. This was to be my faithful steed into the world of music.
I quickly became immersed in music, but the shine was beginning to come off the apple. Needless to say music school was not looking anywhere near in my future. I was bored. The trivial bass lines made music drab and uninteresting. Keep in mind I was in fifth grade or sixth grade at the time. The solution became for me to take private lessons. This made no sense to me. Why should I do something for an hour in my house that I did not want to do for thirty minutes while getting out of class? The big reason to do orchestra was that you got out of class a few times a week, even this did not sweeten the deal.
I had a friend who played cello and around this time we would play for our church. Now this made a lot more sense to me. The music was much more challenging due to the fact that we played a duet; we both had to pull our own weight. This was no problem for my friend, but as for me, my technique and familiarity with my instrument had become quite foreign to me. My skills were greatly below my friend's.
I asked my dad repeatedly if I could quit. The answer was a resounding no. So I did what any kid would have done, I faced the facts. In middle school and high school I became interested in theatre. I wanted to be in all the plays in high school, so I was. The summer before however I played in a summer production of The King and I. The pit was a lot more fun than I thought, but the real treat was getting to see the rehearsals. I decided next year I would be in the production.
The next spring I was set to audition, I remember being so nervous that I thought I was going to vomit, although when I was on stage I was unusually comfortable. One thing I can say about me is that I have always felt a little awkward in my own skin, but on stage that went away, much like rinsing shampoo out of my hair. I left the audition humming the songs and was eager to find out the results. I am not quite sure what I expected to get, but all I know is that enough time had passed that I really wasn’t thinking about it anymore. In fact I remember my parents bringing me my tie because I forgot it for my youth symphony concert when they told me. I was so frustrated that I didn’t really think about it, but believe it or not I had a lead. The rehearsals started and I felt right at home. I did not even go out at night so I could go to bed and the next day would come. I was in love. Not only that, but I could sing. So much so that people who had studied for years were asking me how long I had studied to which my answer was never.
A friend of mine encouraged me to take lessons to develop my talent. I listened and the rest is history. I was developing at a staggering pace. I, of course, had to be told this by my teacher, because I had no way to tell, I was still very new. I went from simple musical theatre pieces to Il lacerato sprito and Madamina, il catalogo e questo.
Music however was not always my friend. Even though music is very fun, as soon as you let on you are enjoying it, someone will inevidably ask you to perform so much that your love becomes a chore and not your passion. My junior year had come and I was hot off of summer shows and getting right back into more plays and intense study of music. I was always good at balancing what I wanted to do and what others asked me to do. I would not be fortunate for very long though. The perfect storm was upon me. One day in class I had a thought that would not leave my head. A thought so miniscule that I shouldn’t have given it the time of day, but for how ridiculous it was, it would not leave me. Day after day, month after month, pounding in my head, back and forth trying to put logic to a thought that had no logic. (You will have to excuse my being vague, but I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT WAS! So please don’t ask.) But I digress. To make a long story short, I became depressed. I didn’t want to do anything anymore. Music did not bring me joy anymore. Music was a reflection of what I thought I used to be. I could not enjoy anything like that anymore. Even though, that time has passed I feel it every now and again. Much like the family member no one likes, but still shows up at Thanksgiving. In these times in my life is when I realized that music has a life too. It will be there in the good times and maybe not in the bad. I thought music was my I thought I did not care for music much anymore, it turns out I was just to upset and mad to realize that my love will always be there. I sincerely hope that none of you lose hope in music like I did once. Happiness with music from happiness from your own life, you must want to do it. I wish I had a happy ending to this tale but I don’t, because the story isn’t over yet.
That was the sad part of the story, but the truth is music is just music. You can hate it, enjoy it, love it, want it, or whatever and what makes it special is that it can make you experience all those feelings, and no matter how much you try to deny it music keeps on playing. What helps me is to keep a sense of humor. You don’t need to make anyone else laugh, just yourself. Every time I think of that, the music plays a little louder and a little prettier.

Draft 3: Tom and his bass fingers

2006-10-01T18:08:00.001-04:00

I know as much as some of us might not want to admit it, we were all forced into an electric bastarting off, whether it was taking Suzuki violin, private lessons, or just starting off through the school - not many kids wanted to be the "band geek". I grew up in a very non-musical family. My father was the jock/prep in high school/college, and my mom was the farm girl that didn’t go to college. They both were very regretful that they never had learned an instrument, and more or less forced piano lessons on all three of their sons.
I always hated practicing, and would always argue with my mom about it. All I wanted to do was go outside and play with Scott and Kyle, because it was always such a great day out. My mom kept me going though - a half hour per day before I could do anything else. Eventually, I got into fifth grade and had to choose a band instrument. I chose to play the bass line on the keyboard, because I didn’t want to pick up another instrument, and that would just mean I would have to practice more. I was a pretty decent piano play for that age, and when my parents saw the first school concert it sickened them that I was wasting years of practice playing simple bass lines with one hand on a keyboard.
One day, when I was 12, I came home and there was an upright bass in the middle of the floor.

My mom said that it was my new band instrument. This thing was so big! And it looked so cool! Who wouldn’t want to play it? I started going through books and got a private teacher eventually. After a year or two, my mom finally allowed me to buy an electric bass, which in her mind was the “devil's instrument”. I started getting into a few rock bands and that, but still definitely did not give up the upright.

I finally quit piano lessons sophomore year. I took a few years of orchestra, and then junior year joined a college jazz band, which I enjoyed much more than orchestra. I have been in six or seven different jazz groups and have played gigs anywhere from farmer Joe’s market to riverboats and business meetings on Michigan Ave. I have been to All-State both for Orchestra and Jazz. I have won the Illinois State Fair Talent Competition and the "Best Teen Performer in Springfield" this past year, and played a solo electric bass rendition of "Pomp and Circumstance" at my high school graduation. I played tuba in my high school marching band, and play acoustic guitar and sing for church services now and then.

When I say I was forced into music, it may seem somewhat silly and unbelievable, but until that bass showed up in my living room, I really had no passion for music. Don’t misinterpret me though, I do really enjoy playing music now, and am always up for learning new instruments, ideas, and anything music.
My mom always said I would thank her someday. I hate to say she’s right.

my first blog -
http://musicalbomb.blogspot.com/2006/08/forced-into-music-tommy_25.html

Autobiography NUMBA 3 YO: Ideas

2006-10-01T17:25:00.000-04:00

As of right now, I can't find anything to add to my musical autobiography, at least nothing that fits in with my story. I kind of like the way it is now as well. So I'm not going to edit anything I have down already. For this blog, I'm going to write a few paragraphs that will probably have nothing to do with each other. They are ideas or notes that I might like to include in my final autobiography. I'm not going to add them yet however, because I want all of your imput on what would and what wouldn't be a good idea to include.

A few years ago, I discovered music. Yes I have been playing music since the second grade, but I had never actually realized what feelings can be triggered by music. Certain events in my life created a special place within myself for music. Since then, nothing else can release those unique thoughts and feelings. Sometimes when I listen to music, I feel this physical feeling that is quite indescribable. It is a high; one of ecstacy and pure delight that makes every nerve in my body tingle and my stomach flutters with enjoyment. When these feelings came about, I realized that music had to be the most important thing in the world.

I was talking to someone the other day about music and how it makes me feel. I told her about that wonderful sensation I get all over my body when I listen to Pink Floyd or Dvorak's New World Symphony. I asked her if she ever felt that way and she looked at me as if I was crazy and said, "I've never felt anything like that when I listen to music." I was stunned. I had nothing left to say to her and I left. How can anyone go through life happily and call their life complete without ever feeling music?

When I was little I used to go sit in my grandma's living room and listen to one of her many music boxes. It was always the same one. It played the theme from the musical Cats. I don't know why I liked it so much, but I could sit and listen and watch those cats go round and round forever. Even from a young age I showed signs of becoming a lover of music.

Link to FIRST DRAFT
Link to SECOND DRAFT

A new angle... Week 6

2006-10-01T15:31:00.000-04:00

Prologue, if you will...

Okay kids (and Dennis): the question we are being asked is, "Who am I as a musician?". I have spent the last couple drafts focusing on this question in terms of "Who have I become as a musician?" and "How do I define myself as a musician?". This week, I'm going to answer this question from a new angle. This week, I'm going to consider "who I am as a musician" in terms of "What does being a musician mean for me?", "Who am I, if I am a musician? How does it change me?" and "What does my being a musician mean for the world?". Bear with me as I attempt to find deeper... whatsit... meaning in this entry.

So, "Who Am I As A Musician?"

As we all discovered this past fortnight, through last week's blog posts and Edburg's inspiring rotation, musicians are creative. Whether we believe this creativity is our own or the result of our "addictions" to the art form, music is a living, ever-changing, ever-creating force that works in each of us. In the words of Matthew Fox, (thanks, Dr. Edburg!) "We are creators at our very core. Only creating can make us happy, for in creating we tap into the deepest powers of self and universe" (28). These words ring true for all musicians, I would venture, but particularly for me. From my youngest days, I was always happy to create; whether it was the right string of words to form a sentence, the right mix of colors for a drawing, or the right notes in time for band, my joy sprung from that transformation of little or nothing to something. It reaffirmed and changed who I was. 'Look, mom! I played a scale on my flute! I'm a musician!' Some might say one scale does not qualify me as a musician, but in my creation of that scale, I was a musician.

Now, music is my life. I can't imagine I'd be half as talented a musician without that creative drive. More importantly, without creativity I would not understand my passion for music. I know that if it weren't for music, I'd probably have no clue what to do with my life. After this week, I think I'm not the only one of us who feels that way. The joy of creativity and the self-fulfillment of good performance are the best aspects of music - the proverbial chemicals that make me high, if "music is a drug". And even though we are a society of addicts, no other "drug" I know of has the same overwhelming effect, not to mention no negative side effects.

To once again quote Matthew Fox (also a blogger... does anyone else notice a trend?) from his blog, "Creativity is both humanity’s greatest gift and its most powerful weapon." So if I am a creative musician, what does that mean for the world? How will my creativity change my community? In class on Thursday Dr. Edburg asked us what we saw our talents doing for others. Many of us admitted that music was mostly a selfish pastime, and I would be guilty of that too. But after giving this some thought, I can see that music is not just a private indulgence. As a singer, especially as a singer with a future full of potentiality, I will have so many opportunities to turn my selfish passion into a enlightening gift. Whether by interpreting others' works, educating the next musical generation or producing music of my own, my world will profit. In a more spiritual analogy, the Bible states that God blesses us with gifts, and we, to show our gratitude, must use them to brighten our world. Indeed, it would be wrong for me to keep my talents to myself.

Now I'll close, not with Disney, but lyrics from a song most of you know. I am a musician; therefore I am creative, talented, and willing to share my passion. I am part of something larger than myself, I am an instrument of creation. If all this is true...

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the clear, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear that music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

autobiography take 3

2006-10-01T14:47:00.000-04:00

I'm the only musical one in my family, which can sometimes be difficult. My dad played clarinet for a while and my older sister played it in middle school, but neither one of them took it really seriously. My mom did some shows in high school and danced, but she never took it seriously either. We're a big sports family-ESPN and FSN are the T.V. favorites in our house. However, I can thank my dad for bringing me up on jazz-I lived off Bette Midler, Louis Armstrong, and Frank Sinatra in preschool. I even sang Bette Midler for my preschool talent show. Kind of ironic since she's an alto and I'm a soprano...
Anyway,my acting debut came in 2nd grade with a class play at Thanksgiving about some kids and a magical scarecrow; I was the scarecrow. But those ended with the progression to 3rd grade, so I started singing at Mass, since I had to go to liturgical music as a class, I figured I better put my knowledge of the music to good use. I learned the extreme basics of music in music class and got to sing a little in that-I loved it. I picked up handbell choir in 5th grade and really started to learn how to read music through that. Even though I had to give up my recess time nearly everyday to practice, I didn't care; I loved playing and learning the music. Finally the music department started an actual choir and I did that in 6th grade. Sadly, not everyone was interested in bettering their musical skills.
Thank the lord my mom found auditions for the St. Louis Symphony Children's Choir and talked me into trying out. I made it directly to the second level, Chorale; pretty good for someone who never took singing seriously.I dropped chorus at school and dedicated my time to SLSCC. I LOVED it! My director was awesome and I was thrilled beyond belief to find so many other kids who actually WANTED to sing. Plus, I found people to compete with, and being a very, VERY, competitive person, that was pretty sweet. Back at school, the sixth grade play rolled around: Little Red Riding Hood. Being one of the only ones in my class who could actually sing, (that and being the shortest one) I got the title role. Even though the show itself was awful, I thrived being on the stage. Not so much with the acting, but the singing. I knew I wanted to be a singer, but I didn't know how much.
My life pretty much changed in seventh grade. At the end of my first year with SLSCC, my director kept me behind after rehearsal one day and asked me to sight read a piece. Even though I had never done it before by myself like that, I somehow just knew how far up or down to go by looking at how far apart the notes were. He told me if I was willing to take a music reading class, I could move up to the next level choir since my voice was already there. (side note:SLSCC is REALLY big into being able to sight read music-even more than vocal ability alone) So my mom agreed to let me take the class and I got to progress. One of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I love learning how to sight read music on solfege and all that jazz, but it has helped me SO much I can't even begin to tell you. Then, the greatest thing ever happened: my choir and the level above me were chosen to participate in the National Children's Choir Festival that April. Okay, here's what that meant-SLSCC-NEW YORK CITY-CARNEGIE HALL. Carnegie Hall!!! I couldn't believe it-my parents said I could go if I paid for half the trip. So I did everything I could to raise my half of the money. So in April 2001, under the direction of Henry Leck and Malcolm Daglish, I performed in Carnegie Hall. Words can't even describe what it felt like. Sure I had been performing in Powell Hall in St. Louis several times a year, but it has nothing on Carnegie. The 11 1/2 hours of rehearsal in 2 days kind of sucked at the time, but looking back, it was all worth it. I loved rehearsing with choirs from all over the country. There's something about a huge group of people coming together with the same purpose-to make music.
When high school came around, I auditioned and made it to the highest level of SLSCC, but I couldn't do it because of softball. I loved singing, but sports have always been a huge part of my life and I'd dreamt of playing varsity softball, so I chose that. But I did have freshman chorus and music class where I learned the recorder and basic piano. Christmas time came around and I got a solo! I was the only one not taking voice lessons that landed one. I also managed to get one in the spring concert as well. That summer I was going to take violin lessons because I didn't have time for them in grade school with sports-and I had secretly dreamt of being a musician. But I knew I wanted to audition for my school's chamber group that fall so I asked my teacher what a good song to prepare would be. He asked why I wasn't taking voice lessons and talked me out of violin and into voice-I owe that man so much.
I made it into the St. Joseph Academy Frontenac Voices as a sophomore-a big deal at my school because the vocal program was such a big deal. We met an hour before school every day to practice and I loved every minute of it. The waking up at 5:45am to get there didn't bug me after a while. I was happy to get up and start my day with singing. I had found my place among the upperclassmen. I auditioned for All District choir and made that as well. It was my favorite thing to do-mostly because I got to sing with boys, which is a nice switch from all SSA pieces. I competed in Solo/Ensemble and got an Excellent II rating. But I wasn't happy with it. I wanted to be better. So I continued with Frontenacs and district choir and voice lessons. I was robbed of my Superior I rating Junior year, but I finally got it senior year. By that point, I was the Soprano section leader in both chorus and Frontenacs, one of the top singers in my school, and in the state of Missouri-I had made All State and received a Superior I rating at State Solo/Ensemble.
I realized singing is my passion. Whether it's cantoring at my church or singing in the shower, I can't live without it. So here I am, at DePauw University majoring in vocal performance. Quite a stretch for my family-my dad thought I'd be playing college softball at a school like UCLA. Every now and then I still feel out of place since sports have ruled the majority of my life and I really didn't get into the arts until a few years ago, but that just pushes me even farther to become a better singer and musician. After all, I like being different.

An Ordinary Life Take 3

2006-10-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

When I was young, I did all the normal kid things. I starting dancing at age three, and I started playing softball and soccer when I was five. I played with barbies and I loved to watch cartoons. But there was one thing missing.
My mom sang in the church choir for as long as I remember. I would live for Thursday when I could go to practice with her. I loved being there and hearing the music.
Finally, in third grade I started taking piano lessons from a lady from my church. It was great for awhile, but eventually I wanted more. I went to a private school, so we didn't have band or orchestra, but my mom had a clarinet, and in fifth grade, after a while of me scaring the animals with my squeeks and squawks, she asked her friend's daughter to teach me. I loved it from day one!
Elementary school came to an end and my parents sat me down and told me I had three choices- I could continue with sports, dance, or music. The choice came easily, I had to go on with music. So I enrolled in public middle school and joined band and choir for the first time in my life. Half way through the year my friend convinced me to start cello, and after the first playing test I seated first chair, ahead of people who had been playing for years, but all obviously hated it. I did my thing for awhile, joined jazz band to play piano in 7th grade, and continued on with that and all three ensembles until I was done with middle school.When it came time to try out for marching band, it just kind of seemed like it was already set in stone. I had been planning on it, along with my parents, so I tried out and got in. It was probably the best choice of my life. I had a whole new group of friends before highschool even started. We bonded quickly and it was like we had always been friends.
Freshman year started and I joined orchestra, chamber orchestra, jazz band, and pep band. Marching season ended and I was one of a few freshman placed into our highest band. During Christmas break, although it was two months after marching season, we travelled to Florida and got to march down Main Street at Disney World. It was one of the most amazing experiences in my life, seeing the castle in front of you and knowing all these people are watching I you. At the end of freshman year I was selected for pit orchestra, which meant I was now in all the ensembles I could possibly be in. I was THE band geek. But it didn't bother me. People would call me one, and I would say "Yeah, so?". I had found my passion.
I continued on with all my music through highschool. I went through some private teachers in the area, eventually quit taking piano lessons, taught myself saxophone and bass, and then it was time to select a college.
I knew I wanted to continue with music, but I had no clue where. Luckily, I did know that I did not want to be more than 4 hours from home and that I wanted to study music business. I did some research and found there was really only five or six colleges that fit that criteria. I had three in mind-University of Evansville, Elmhurst College, and Millikin University. I visited all three and was set on Evansville. I was going there, no doubt about it. Then one day my mom asked why I never looked at DePauw University, since they sent me mail about five days a week. I said I didn't know and so she decided we should just go look at it and I could just use it for a practice audition if nothing else. I got here and something just clicked. It seemed to be so much more welcoming than anywhere else. Almost everything here looked well kept and up to date, whereas even the buildings Evansville claimed were newly renovated looked like they were still in the 1970s. Plus there was a pond! Then I found out the pond was going to become a moat as soon as the highly expensive addition to the music building was done. On my way home I knew it. I informed my mom that DePauw was my new number one. Of course I could not fully decide until the financial aid information came in, but when DePauw blew everyone else out of the water, I knew it was meant to be, and here I am.
I have led a pretty ordinary life. I haven't studied with any famous concertmasters or recorded with anyone from an amazing band. But all the same I am here for the same reason as everyone else. Music is my life, and I can't imagine doing anything other than continue with it.

Draft Two

My revised version of my old post revised....

2006-09-29T20:17:00.000-04:00

My Old Post 2

I grew up as the daughter of artists. Ever since I was little I have been exposed to more of the arts than some people will see in their lifetime. As a toddler I spent my afternoons in the dressing rooms, lighting booths or studios of theatres. My mom is a dancer, my father is a techie, the arts were something I was just born for, or so I like to think.

I started taking dance class at the age of 4, which doesn’t seem to relate to the topic of being a musician, but I think it does. The early years of my exposure to any type of the arts began to form me as an individual. In elementary school I was always ridiculously excited to go to music class. I was the little dorky girl who sat in the front row in class and sang her heart out, even if it was out of tune. Through out elementary school I did a lot of stupid performances, Lullabies and Sing A Longs, musical theatre class and things with my mom’s classes. I played piano for two years but with the combination of me not wanting to practice and my teacher graduating I didn’t stay with it very long. It wasn’t until fourth grade that I actually began to learn music. I decided to play the cello. My teacher wanted me to play cello because she was a cellist and needed cellos in her orchestra, however, my mother wanted me to wait until fifth grade and play flute. I couldn’t wait.

In the rest of elementary school I played cello with the advanced orchestra and went to ISSMA and all the other fun stuff, but thinking back on the situation I realize that I was singing the whole time as well. The first time I went to ISSMA for voice was in sixth grade when the general music teacher was Mrs. Butler. She decided that it was time for me to take singing more seriously so I began to come in after school to work with her. I don’t even remember what I sang at ISSMA that year, but I do remember her having a group of girls perform “It’s a Hard Knock Life” from Annie for the talent show.

Then I moved and went to middle school where I knew no one. I especially didn’t know the music teachers, unlike if I had gone to Clay like I was supposed to. I signed up for orchestra and somehow I ran into the choir director and by eighth grade she had started a “swing choir” as a zero hour class so that I could sing with her. I hated it; it meant I had to get up at 6 a.m. just to go to school and sing with a group of people who didn’t want to be there either. I liked singing, but I didn’t like being around people who didn’t like singing. I informed my parents that I was serious about cello. That year my parents bought me my own cello and I started private lessons.

I loved cello. It was my passion for quite awhile, and somewhere it got turned around. I began to get exposed to musicals. In my seventh grade year I was in Saint Mary’s College’s production of Gypsy. I don’t know what my mother was thinking. I don’t know any other parents who would encourage their children to be part of a show about strippers, but I was. The one middle school kid amongst 20 college students and 2 high school students, it was interesting. As I was leaving middle school I was encouraged to audition for the “show choir” at Adams, but I didn’t. I am a shy person. I don’t often get stage fright because there is a huge gap between the audience and me, but just singing in front of people really makes me nervous. I figured I would be content with just sticking with the orchestra thing. And I was content, until auditions for the musical Mame came around. Mame was one of those musicals that I had seen ever since I was little. My family was weird, instead of Barney my sister and I watched the Sound of Music. I grew up with Oklahoma, Gypsy, Mame, Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain, the list could go on forever. I had told my parents I was going to audition for the show and when I finally showed up for the audition I chickened out and left. I decided I would be content just playing in the pit. I wasn’t. I wanted desperately to be onstage. Well, again, somehow through the grapevine I got connected with the choir director and before I knew it I was singing with the “show choir” for ISSMA, something a freshmen never does, especially a freshmen that wasn’t even in choir. He also threw me into two other ensembles two weeks before contest and gave me a solo to learn. This man was insane, but I did it.

Sophomore year I was able to actually fit both choir and orchestra into my schedule. I loved choir, the stupid dresses and even stupider music. Orchestra began to slip to the side a little. I was still taking lessons and playing but I had stopped practicing, so I had stopped making progress. This year when musical auditions came around my friends who were seniors refused to let me not audition. So I went, signed up to audition for the chorus and came out with the lead, much to my senior friends disappointment. Well, I had the lead for a total of two weeks, I went on vacation and came back and one of the seniors had brought her mother in and my part was now double cast, which I didn’t really care about because I was still going to be on stage.

Junior year I was unable to take choir as a class so I worked on music on my own and occasionally with my director during our 17-minute homeroom class. I had auditioned and been accepted into All-State choir and was working on that music on my own as well. My junior year I felt empty when it came to music because I was no longer in orchestra either. Math and science had taken over my schedule. I decided to join the choir, bell choir, and praise band at my church. This had me singing every Sunday and Wednesday. I loved it. Singing with my church allowed me to be exposed to two different types of music, praise music, which I usually just got to have fun with, and choral music again. There was no musical that year, instead we did Macbeth, I was pretty miserable. That was the year I decided I could never see myself being happy without music. The next year I was not going to let anything stand in the way of doing what made me happy.

Senior year I joined choir again, I still didn’t have time for orchestra but I was able to take Cadet Teaching my second semester. Senior year was probably my happiest year of high school. I was allowed to sing with the Saint Mary’s Women’s Choir so I was finally being challenged. I also sang with All-State again and continued to sing with my church. I took cello lessons until around Christmas time and then stopped because the musical began to take up too much of my time. My second semester of senior year was when I was able to Cadet Teach, first semester I had to take Econ, and I asked if I could teach at Edison with my orchestra teacher. I was allowed to and spent an hour and a half everyday with kids who were in the same spot I had been four years before. It was great, but I also learned that I would probably be driven insane if I ever tried to be a teacher. I only had to teach class every other day because of block scheduling. It was an ideal situation. On the off days I would sit with my “advisor” and we would discuss any number of things from the purpose of life to our favorite desserts. He helped me discover that music was something to enjoy and be passionate about. He helped bring light to a sometimes very dark situation when it came to music and the arts in my school. We also did the musical Grease, which was probably the show that I had the most fun with in high school. I was able to step outside of myself and enjoy performing again. My favorite scene in the entire play was when I got to sit alone on a stool on the stage and belt my heart out. There is no greater feeling than being able to express yourself completely through music. During first semester I did take voice lessons for a short while in order to prepare myself for auditions, but other than that I was pretty much on my own. I had no classical training. My music was all about heart. Music is my passion and I feel like that’s why I’m here. I don’t think I ever really realized all the steps I took to get where I am today.

2006-09-25T00:41:00.000-04:00

Music as a visual poem

2006-09-24T22:27:00.000-04:00

This is a visual poem about music. Enjoy! Sorry about the images :)

2006-09-24T20:50:00.000-04:00

I don't think it is even possible to write (in words) musically. It's like asking someone to talk visually, it doesn't make sense. Here is a song I've written, I thought it was pretty creative.. it is called "That Day" you can check it out here...

myspace.com/tommygood

Sorry, I don't know how to do a link on this mac.

[I added the link. SS]

serious? ... nah

2006-09-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

While I like everyones approach to writing about music... all the poems are relatively serious. Here is my approach to writing about music, comically.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Think that line is cliché?
Too bad… it makes me want to say “YAY”

This line I will use,
To the point of abuse.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Music is sweet,
And Bach is too!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Music can make you happy,
On the way to the zoo!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Bad music sometimes makes me,
Want to eat glue!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sometimes when you’re feeling bad,
Music can give you a clue!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Don’t have an open mind?
Music presents a different view.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Everyone can listen to music,
Including the you!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
My friends like music,
Their names are Sue, Hugh and Lou

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
If a certain song gets old,
Listen to something new!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
This poem is over,
Now you can say whew!

Never to be Forgotten

2006-09-24T20:44:00.000-04:00

Heaven trembles with her cry
And Hell is transfixed in her wake
As a single, solemn note
Reverberates from deep within
A tear runs down my cheek
And slides down her curved body
A heartrending, deliberate melody
The song of my misery
As she sings, I drift
The world in which I lie now
Is beyond physical, beyond reality
Beyond thinking… it is
Feeling, emotion
It is
Captivity
It hurts so much
Yet she is the only way to convey
My heart and soul
With flames bright
Creating that perfect light
That I can swallow
In place of the pained lump in my throat
There is no stopping this…
With her in my hands
Heaven trembles with my cry
And Hell is transfixed in my wake
As a single, solemn note
Reverberates from deep within
Tears pour from her many cavities
And slide down my collapsing body

To anyone who reads this... my aunt was diagnosed with cancer earlier this summer. Today, a happy day, the day of our first orchestra concert, the hospital called my dad an hour before the concert and told him that he needed to be there. At this moment she is still alive. She's not breathing well and she has been put on a respirator. The doctors say she could live, that they've seen wilder miracles, but she's fighting a losing battle. I'm sorry if my poem is depressing. I wrote it for her. If any of you are religious, please pray for her. She needs all the help she can get.

Music in that this is creative

2006-09-24T18:48:00.000-04:00

music in the country
music in the mountains
music in the cities
where everyone dances
in fountains

music when making icing
music when makin the cake
music at the wedding
before drowning in the lake

music can be morbid
music can be obscene
this scene from the wedding
is not a bad scene

music comes in rock
music comes in rap
everything is music
but the latter is just crap

music in the music
music in the movies
music is always good
except the ones with groupies

rosie o'donnell sang the bell
then oprah sang something
this music wasn't good
because the mountain bells were ringing

getting back to the music
where most of us thrive
you can listen to it anytime
even when you drive

music music music
music everywhere
music in the world
music everywhere.

Now, how do I write musically? Some will think that this rhyme will get tired or whatnot, but writing musically is much like composing music. Certain languages are more musical than others. It isn't too easy to make a writing sound musical, unless one were to write in a sing-songy bounce construction of a work. But I write musically with something that I find to be unique to my thought process. I put these words I have written to music that I often listen to. Despite the abnormality of the poem, no one can really say that it's wrong or boring, because, just like playing music, it is for my enjoyment. And in ways, isn't rhyming musical?