bootsykowan's Blog

I discovered that using the simplest version, free now, of Finale Notepad, that if I selected cello, it actually made my piano compositions sound more like I imagined them without all the intricacies of perfect score writing.  Even acapella SATB sounded good with the cello reading of each part.  

I'm beginning to wonder if listening to the piano compositions played by the electronic cello might not help students learn how to play the piano.  I'm looking at a video where a pianist explains that you approach the piano with your whole body and not just from the wrist down.  He said that the modern folks, even with classical music, seem to approach it from the wrist.  He also stated that being technical about the directions instead of approaching it with strategy isn't a good idea.
That's what brought to mind my observation about the cello and my compositions.  

Now during my lifetime I've read that Blacks resent it that Jews took over their music.  Well, I wish that the Blacks would take over the cdrom THE TROPE TRAINER.  I think it could be used all the metro D.C. Black Church Choirs and they would really make it entertaining.  Turnabout is fair play.  It would be fun for me.  I haven't been given the gift of childhood music.  My mother and father were but they denied me.  Most Blacks excel at this.  I think they could do innovations we haven't yet experienced in the Jewish community.  Poor Blacks would have the time to do it too along with the sounds of gun shots.  I'd not even mind it blaring out of their cars as they whiz by.  Nothing like music to make one feel universally sound;)    How about it Black Caucus and Black Chamber of Commerce?

I can only speak from my own anatomical experience.  If it weren't for Life Long Learning, I could not have afforded a college music education.  I was 69 YO when my private voice teacher showed me the Circle of 5ths.  I was intrigued and so entered Richland Community College, Dallas, TX to find "What's it all about".  It was as if my brain had been deprived all my life.  I felt completely whole for the first time.  It gave me courage and strength.  I entered the hallowed building of "culture" for the first time. What a new environment.  That strange building called Fannin I used to see across the brook from the Science Building.

I had already known of a theory from observation that there is a way to tell if a child is gifted.  It's like a "bump" in the cortex.  It disappears if the child isn't exercising it by the time the child is 12 YO.  That was 15 years ago.  I don't know if there is such research today in genetics.  Can this be determined inside the womb?  Already they are experimenting with creating human-non-human creatures.  What will they be called? Human Monkeys or Human Canines or Human Felines?  

So right now, can a mom with a huge belly full of a human being with all the photgraphic monitoring know ahead of time if the baby inside her has the gift of music?  Shouldn't we expect all humans to be given an equal evolution in music.  The universal pendulum of time, the timekeeper, the bass line, the drum beat. Music, as far as I know, is only an Earth Science.  That's because it needs a medium to exist.  Humans create this Earth science.  

I just saw Slatkin for the first time on TV National Press Club, I was enthralled at every word that came out of his mouth. What a wonderful human being. Economy of words at its best. So I googled to find out more about him. This article told me more of the same kind of observation. It's music as a museum indeed. It's what the real word "capitalism" can mean. One is All and All is One. Communitize using music.

 http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200803
30/ENT04/803300508/1035/RSS04 

For incoming DSO music director Leonard Slatkin, conducting is only part of the job BY MARK STRYKER • FREE PRESS MUSIC WRITER • MARCH 30, 2008 

"If we're going to play music on the home page, we need to say what it is and why it's there," said Slatkin, dressed casually in plaid shirt and slacks. "This morning I got the Beethoven Violin Concerto, and I thought, 'Why is that there? We're not playing it this week.' " 

Slatkin, who conducts his first DSO subscription concerts this week since being appointed music director last fall, doesn't officially begin his tenure until fall. But he is already putting his stamp on the orchestra's daily life. He has visited Detroit six times since October, each trip stuffed to the gills with orchestra business. From new education initiatives and artistic planning to a promising early bump in fund-raising and ticket sales, the Slatkin era is underway. 

Music directors of major orchestras rarely concern themselves with minutiae like an orchestra's Web site. They are artistic CEOs, with broad power over programming, hiring musicians and creating an institutional vision. But the American-born Slatkin, 63, has a reputation for rolling up his sleeves and digging into the nitty-gritty of audience building, education and fund-raising. He is, in other words, a hands-on maestro. American orchestras have been wrestling with redefining the role of their music directors, placing increasing emphasis on community involvement alongside traditional values of musical excellence, star power, touring and recording.

 Slatkin is not unique -- Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic have similar temperaments, for instance -- but Slatkin has been a model of civic engagement for longer than just about anyone. His hands-on style dates back to his landmark tenure from 1979-96 with the St. Louis Symphony, which he built into a world-class ensemble while famously bonding with the city.

 To Slatkin, tweaking the DSO's Web site, massaging donors and brainstorming with the marketing staff is as much a part of his job as conducting concerts. "I like to be involved on every level," said Slatkin, who completes a 12-year tenure with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., in June. "That's the way I work. People are going to blame me, anyway. The music director becomes the voice of the orchestra. If something goes wrong, people are not going to say, 'Well, it's the manager.' They'll say, 'It's under the music director's watch.' If I'm going to be held responsible, I want to be involved in it."

 The DSO at a crossroads Slatkin arrives in Detroit with the orchestra at a crossroads. It has been three years since former music director Neeme Järvi completed his historic 15-year tenure, and the search that landed Slatkin dragged on for 5 1/2 years. The orchestra misplaced its artistic compass for several seasons until appointing Peter Oundjian artistic adviser in 2006 and launching the 8 Days in June festival in 2007. But it has yet to build on the artistry and growth of the Järvi years, especially the opening of the $60-million Max M. Fisher Music Center in 2003. For all of Järvi's charisma and adventurous repertoire, his laissez-faire temperament was ill-suited to building stronger bridges into the community and establishing a sweeping artistic vision for the orchestra that transcended the brilliance of individual concerts. He was a great conductor, but not always a great music director. Slatkin's charge is to be both. "We need the leadership and the focus of his vision," said DSO president Anne Parsons. "We can't get there without a great music director and a great partner and collaborator." 

Michigan's sputtering economy is putting a premium on the orchestra's ability to run at peak efficiency, from programming to fund-raising, marketing and outreach. The DSO ran a slight deficit in 2007, its first red ink since 2003, but it came within a whisker of a frightening $2-million shortfall. Only some 11th hour largesse from several key donors kept the bleeding to a minimum. Classical ticket sales have also been declining. Four years ago classical attendance was 76% of capacity; last season it was 71% and it has dipped to 59% so far this season. On another front: Last summer's contentious contract negotiations, which raised musician salaries in the long run but also included $1 million in concessions, left a cloud of bitterness in the locker room.

 Auto show and baseball games Slatkin's visits to Detroit have been as long as two days and as short as four hours. He has met with programming, fund-raising, marketing, musician, education and strategic planning committees. He has taped radio promotions, greeted patrons in the Green Room and dropped in on DSO rehearsals to hear what the orchestra sounds like from a seat in Orchestra Hall rather than the podium. On Saturday, he's scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Tigers game at Comerica Park, a special thrill since he's such a rabid baseball fan. In January he and his 13-year-old son Daniel, a car nut, spent an afternoon touring the auto show. This was private time with his son, but he still dropped by the Honda exhibit to personally thank a company executive for Honda's recent $1-million gift for student outreach. Slatkin hit the ground running in terms of fund-raising. He has met a parade of major donors at one private dinner after another. His unpretentious air, sharp mind and varied interests -- from music to the world of ideas and baseball -- has had a charming effect, and his passion is contagious, said board chair Jim Nicholson. When Slatkin headlined a fund-raising brunch at the MGM Grand Detroit casino for donors who have given $6,000 or more, he helped spark $1.7 million in early commitments to the annual fund, including $200,000 in new gifts. The buzz surrounding a new music director typically leads to increased ticket sales. One good early sign for the DSO is that classical subscription sales are coming in at double last year's pace. DSO patrons who have heard Slatkin's stump speech are excited. At the MGM Grand, Betty Blazok of Grosse Ile was taken by his plans to move his family to Detroit next year -- a sign he won't treat the DSO simply as a port-of-call. "He was so positive about the symphony and Detroit," she said. "He'll certainly help raise more money and draw attention to the DSO because of his personality and desire to be here." Getting the audience back Most of the 2008-09 season was settled before Slatkin's appointment, but the details, announced in February, preview several of his priorities.


 The five weeks that Slatkin will conduct -- he'll lead 13 weeks in 2009-10 -- survey a wide variety of styles, with a careful balance of old and new music, plenty of American fare and three world premieres by accessible composers. Slatkin is moving on parallel tracks, trying to quickly build a rapport with the players in a diverse repertoire and rebuilding the audience by making sure each concert has a hook -- whether it's repertoire, a guest artist or a theme. "I'm trying to get a lot of the audience back," said Slatkin. "We're thinking very much about how we can market ourselves to the total population. The audience is going to have to learn to trust me, so I need to bring them along slowly." One area in which Slatkin was able to move swiftly was education and family programming, a priority during his tenures in both Washington and St. Louis. He'll conduct three Young People's Concerts, two of them free, and he has talked several big-name artists into appearing with him. Behind the scenes, Slatkin and DSO management have begun talking about touring as early as 2010-11. There have been casual conversations with the Naxos label about recording. (Slatkin won two Grammy Awards in February for a CD on Naxos of music by Joan Tower.) Slatkin has also hired an artistic lieutenant, Jim Berdahl, a former colleague from the Aspen (Colo.) Music Festival. He'll serve as the DSO's vice president for artistic planning. Slatkin has spent time outlining ideas with the principal players in the orchestra too. To create a richer, darker sound in the hall, he may reseat the strings by having the cellos and violas switch places, placing the cellos inside the ensemble and the violas outside. He also wants to feature more DSO players, not just principals, in solo roles, said Stephen Molina, acting principal bass and the orchestra's personnel manager. Slatkin's arrival has been a shot in the arm for morale among the players, helping heal the post-contract bruises. "One of the best things to happen to us was to get a music director like him who knows what we need to do to get where we want to go," said Molina. "It's the best thing to wash away some of the clouds and wipe away some question marks." 

After nearly six months of work off the podium, however, Slatkin is anxious to get back to music-making with his new band. After all, chemistry with the musicians remains the soul of the relationship between an orchestra and its music director -- the artistry that gives meaning to outreach, fund-raising and even the Web site. Slatkin likes his chances. In a letter to the musicians dated Feb. 7 and currently pinned to the bulletin board backstage, Slatkin wrote about eavesdropping on a rehearsal. "For about 25 minutes I was able to sit in awe and listen to all of you," he wrote. "What a glorious sound you make. ... As I sat there I realized how fortunate I am to be able to work with you for many seasons to come." Contact MARK STRYKER at 313-222-6459 or mstryker@freepress.com. I

http://www.simonsargon.com/

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Richland College of the Dallas County Community College District Richland Music Professor Jerry Wallace recently participated in a special humanitarian and educational outreach tour of Southeast Asia sponsored by ... www.rlc.dcccd.edu/ - 20k - Cached - Similar pages Employee Success - Richland Music Professor Jerry Wallace recently participated in a special humanitarian and educational outreach tour of Southeast Asia sponsored by Mindtreks. Rick Halperin, former chairman of Amnesty International, provided lectures on human rights issues, while Dr. Wallace provided a musical program that was performed by the Vietnam State Orchestra at the Hanoi Opera House. Dr. Wallace also performed a private piano concert in Hue, Vietnam, for 50 Vietnamese government officials.

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Ralph Stannard

http://www.firstintheheart.com/Staff.html

I composed music using Finale, the equivalent of the free download today.  This was in Richland Community College, Dallas, TX under Dr. Jerry D. Wallace.  A true privilege.  It helped me mentally and emotionally, this composing experience.  I had no idea I could do it. This was 2000-2003.A couple of days ago, I revisited my comps with Finale and played around with instrumentation.  Back in my head I heard "the cello is close to the human voice".  So my SATB Psalm 22 I used the cello and it worked!!  Then I used it for the voice part of voice &piano MY Galileo, a song I wrote about my very first "best friend", a bichon frise (Westie mix) but really all bichon frise for sure.  It worked.  I did the same with RED WHITE BLUE 19(Amendment)  It worked.
The result?  I can use Finale and the cello to help me learn to sing songs.  I can key in the score and with the cello voice I can sing along improving pitch.  This way I can learn to sing my own compositions.  Isn't software&hardware wonderful?  Aren't human brains wonderful?

Every time I get sick in bed, looking at trees has soothed my soul. It's the same feeling I get looking at ocean waves. I love TREES by Kilmer and the Rasbach melody. Searching for an audio cd I found Paul Robeson. I've quite forgotten him. How could I. I bought two of his cd's. They are the evolution of me. How can the current music scene not be full of Robeson?

Now that I'm viewing my The Trope Trainer and Sefer Tefillim cdroms, I've got a different feeling about the literary content.  I just happened to turn on the Arts channel and watched an opera excerpt in German with subtitles in English.  Of course, the entire TaNaK is composed of operas!!  The English subtitles communicate exactly the same to me.  It's amazing.  I know enough of German from my one year of high school so long ago, plus being exposed (not really understanding) Yiddish which is middle German.  I can relate Italian to my Spanish knowledge.  Word for word translations are so hormonal.  The entire TaNaK sings that way.  Hebrew cantors are all opera singers!!

And I want to compose Psalm 23 in rock'n'roll/ boogie-woogie in Hebrew.  Too funny.

 

Being 78YO and as a kid too poor to study music in school, my single mom made fun of me when I tried to sing as a little kid,I finally took the opportunity as a life long learner to study music beginning in 6/1998. My very first class was Appreciation of Music. That started uniting everything I'd learned historically about the culture I was encased in.

Right now I want to compose in rock'n'roll and although I love to dance and just listen and watch it, I can't compose in it. It turns out that classical music is much easier for me to express myself. I recently bought two books with cd's which says that this is normal. I do know that college music education won't even discuss- jazz until the upper two years. I've only had the lower two years, which were the most difficult subjects I've ever experienced in education. In my experience, folks with a doctorate in music are extremely intelligent people. It's easier for me to discuss all things than with any other kind of doctorate. The fact I can relate to them in my own musical disadvantaged brain is a hopeful sign for me.

I just looked at the Wikipedia to discover why I see country western and rock'n'roll being sort of the same. Immediately the word "boogie-woogie" was introduced. THAT was the right intro for me. I looked up the hypertext and I'll use the notations for my focus right now on the piano. Turns out in rock'n'roll, the piano was replaced by the guitar.

Now when I was 19YO, it was "swing". Swing included "boogie woogie". So I rock'n'roll with boogie-woogie. The funny thing about "boogie-woogie" to swing music is that for some reason I need a partner. If I boogie-woogie with rock'n'roll, I don't feel at all inhibited as a solo dancer. I can even boogie-woogie sitting in a chair. I first learned to dance without a male partner when my daughter taught me to "hustle" on the one and only cruise I took. That was the very first time I ever danced with a girl. I had just been divorced and alone for the very first time in my life at the age of 51. Rock'n'roll saved me from depression and fear.

I just got some of the "blues" series via Netflix. Terribly depressing. I really never knew it, but I've never been depressed. The very first disc showed me how to feel depressed. Turns out in my own life, I've been too busy trying to survive to be depressed. In addition, it turns out, when I was alone for the first time in my life, the people in the Torah Scrolls were right there for me to share their meager existence and fighting for their own intellectual survival.

OTOH, along with rock'n'roll for movement, I was comfortable equally with country western for singing. It's great when you are a lonely person talking to yourself. It's not depressing, just satisfying. I even dance western with a boogie-woogie mind.

What is POPULAR is not alway RIGHT

What is RIGHT is not alway POPULAR

(an elementary school sign)

Who decides POPULARITY in the USA today?

Well, now I'll try that boogie-woogie piano beat in the Wikipedia to see if that helps me feel comfortable making rock'n'roll.

The best part of writing this post is I really enjoy watching King David rock'n'roll with the Torah Scrolls in 2 Samuel, unlike his very fundamentalist wife. Was King David an Independent-Democrat and Michal was a real 2008 Republican?

 

Orchestration Art of choosing which instruments to use for a given piece of music. The sections of the orchestra historically were separate ensembles: the stringed instruments for indoors, the woodwind instruments for outdoors, the horns for hunting, and trumpets and drums for battle or royal ceremony. Once entirely dependent on what was available or customary, composers began to explore the musical potential of instrumental combinations with the advent of the modern orchestra in the mid- to late 18th century. The first great orchestration text was written by Hector Berlioz in 1844. "orchestration." . Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.

===================== I saw/heard on Classic Arts TV this a.m. Invitation to the Dance by Von Weber which was orchestrated by Berlioz. I was entranced at the outset. Funny thing, the audience thought it had ended and applauded BUT there was more. The intro was repeated. A truly musical adventure. So I looked it all up in my encyclopedia and there's a real reason for my reaction:) I've forgotten how important orchestration is. I didn't realize that it's only been in the last 150 years. The Encyc Britannica Ready Reference gave me more info. I wondered how Liszt compared to Berlioz. I've got a piano audio CD that has his Satanic piano orchestrations which I love. Eureka!!

=================================== Liszt owed much to Berlioz, both in his handling of enlarged orchestral forces and in thematic transformation (as opposed to development). The three movements of his Faust Symphony (1854) bear the names of Goethe's characters: Faust, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles; and the final movement parodies themes of the first two in a satisfyingly diabolical manner. Characters aside, the music is highly effective and balanced; Liszt revised the score over several decades. The score is dedicated to Berlioz.

Liszt's other symphonic work, the Symphony to Dante's Divina Commedia (1856), depicts the Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Liszt, at times a devout Catholic, portrayed Dante's scenes with great imagination and passion, cleverly suiting his melody—sometimes simple and tranquil, sometimes chromatic and writhing—and harmony to the special characters of the three levels. The symphony is dedicated to Wagner, who suggested the third-movement setting of the Magnificat for female chorus and orchestra. As do many operas of Wagner, Liszt's work uses the leitmotiv, an extension of Berlioz' idée fixe.

 If Berlioz and Liszt represented a trend toward freedom and extramusical content in symphonic writing, Schumann and Mendelssohn were more conservative though not strictly comparable. All four were deeply concerned with formal discipline, but Schumann and Mendelssohn departed less widely from Classical norms and made less point of extramusical associations. "symphony."Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 16 Dec. 2007 .