I feel this way when the Jazz Band takes over the front lobby on the day before vacation. When was the last time you made music or danced where it was unexpected? We should all do this more often!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
The Joy of Vinyl
Many of you reading this post are considered part of Generation Y, or the Millenials. I myself am on the tail end of the Baby Boom. Therefore, while I have very fond memories of vinyl phonograph records, also known as LPs (for long-playing), you are better acquainted with the CD, that staple of Generation X. Many of you, however, probably own few CDs and store most of your music collection digitally on hard drives, mp3 players, and cell phones. It is to you that I address this post about the Joys of Vinyl.
When I was a kid in the early 70s, I listened to WLS, 890 on your AM dial. Yep, we kids listened to our top 40 music on an AM (meaning non-stereo) radio station. FM was for cool college kids and aging hippies. We used to collect 45s, which were 7" records with one song (the one you really liked) on side A and another (an obscure album cut you'd never heard of) on side B. They were usually 79, 89, or 99 cents at the local department store. We'd hear a song we liked (typically over and over), and then run down to the store and spend our allowance on such classics as "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers or "Loves Me Like a Rock" by Paul Simon.
As I got into junior high school and had a larger allowance, I began to discover the LP record album. This was a two-sided collection of several songs by an artist. My tastes had moved into groups like Chicago and Foreigner, re-releases of classic rock like Jimi Hendrix, and jazz artists like Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck. I would get my dad to take me to Rose Records on Milwaukee Road in Niles where they had a huge selection of titles, and I always looked for the $4.99 specials. This was the beginning of my record collection.
Now for those of you who don't know about LPs, here are several reasons why they are cooler than CDs:
1) They have two sides of 18-22 minutes each. Artists worked to craft a cohesive statement for Side A (begin with a attention grabber, end with a rocker) and one for Side B (start with something a little more daring or experimental, end with an anthemic rocker). CDs, on the other hand, are one, 70-minute long statement that often includes a lot of filler tunes that never would have made it onto the tighter, more focused LP format.
2) The album art is on a much larger canvas (roughly 150 square inches vs. 22.5). This becomes very noticeable when you look at a classic album cover like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and compare it to the minuscule CD version. When you sit down and look at an LP cover, it fills your lap. Also, artists would occasionally put a full-sized wall poster in the record jacket like Prince did with Purple Rain.
3) Many audiophiles (people who really, really love their music and can discern minute differences in sound quality) will tell you that the analog sound on an LP is warmer and more accurate than the digital sound on a CD.
Granted, there are some reasons why CDs are better--portability, durability (records sound scratchy pretty quickly), "ripability" (you can put them on the computer fairly easily), and availability of players. However, most people my age and older have a special place in their hearts for vinyl records.
If you would like to explore vinyl records in all their glory, then you are in luck! This Saturday, April 18, is Record Store Day all across America. If you go to your local independent record store, you'll be able to buy all sorts of cool, limited edition vinyl, produced just for this event. Click on the logo below to find a participating store near you!
When I was a kid in the early 70s, I listened to WLS, 890 on your AM dial. Yep, we kids listened to our top 40 music on an AM (meaning non-stereo) radio station. FM was for cool college kids and aging hippies. We used to collect 45s, which were 7" records with one song (the one you really liked) on side A and another (an obscure album cut you'd never heard of) on side B. They were usually 79, 89, or 99 cents at the local department store. We'd hear a song we liked (typically over and over), and then run down to the store and spend our allowance on such classics as "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers or "Loves Me Like a Rock" by Paul Simon.
As I got into junior high school and had a larger allowance, I began to discover the LP record album. This was a two-sided collection of several songs by an artist. My tastes had moved into groups like Chicago and Foreigner, re-releases of classic rock like Jimi Hendrix, and jazz artists like Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck. I would get my dad to take me to Rose Records on Milwaukee Road in Niles where they had a huge selection of titles, and I always looked for the $4.99 specials. This was the beginning of my record collection.
Now for those of you who don't know about LPs, here are several reasons why they are cooler than CDs:
1) They have two sides of 18-22 minutes each. Artists worked to craft a cohesive statement for Side A (begin with a attention grabber, end with a rocker) and one for Side B (start with something a little more daring or experimental, end with an anthemic rocker). CDs, on the other hand, are one, 70-minute long statement that often includes a lot of filler tunes that never would have made it onto the tighter, more focused LP format.
2) The album art is on a much larger canvas (roughly 150 square inches vs. 22.5). This becomes very noticeable when you look at a classic album cover like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and compare it to the minuscule CD version. When you sit down and look at an LP cover, it fills your lap. Also, artists would occasionally put a full-sized wall poster in the record jacket like Prince did with Purple Rain.3) Many audiophiles (people who really, really love their music and can discern minute differences in sound quality) will tell you that the analog sound on an LP is warmer and more accurate than the digital sound on a CD.
Granted, there are some reasons why CDs are better--portability, durability (records sound scratchy pretty quickly), "ripability" (you can put them on the computer fairly easily), and availability of players. However, most people my age and older have a special place in their hearts for vinyl records.If you would like to explore vinyl records in all their glory, then you are in luck! This Saturday, April 18, is Record Store Day all across America. If you go to your local independent record store, you'll be able to buy all sorts of cool, limited edition vinyl, produced just for this event. Click on the logo below to find a participating store near you!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Spring Break!
Okay, so it's going to snow tonight, but it's still spring break, which led me to think about the concept of spring in music...
In 1725, Antonio Vivaldi published a series of violin concertos (violin solos with orchestral accompaniment) called The Four Seasons, of which "Spring" is very well known. We use a snippet of it in Music Theory class when we practice analyzing the elements of music:
Several jazz standards have the title spring: "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Up Jumped Spring," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and my personal favorite, "Joy Spring" by Clifford Brown:
A classic Pat Metheny tune from the 1970s is titled "April Joy."
One of the pieces we played in Disney was Chen Yi's Spring Festival, a combination of traditional Chinese folksong and modern western classical music.
Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky's famous "primitivist" ballet about virgin sacrifice in ancient pagan Russia, caused a riot at its premiere in Paris in 1913:
In pop music, you can listen to music by Buffalo Springfield and Rick Springfield. Or, you can go straight to The Boss, Bruce Springsteen:
Happy Spring Break!
In 1725, Antonio Vivaldi published a series of violin concertos (violin solos with orchestral accompaniment) called The Four Seasons, of which "Spring" is very well known. We use a snippet of it in Music Theory class when we practice analyzing the elements of music:
Several jazz standards have the title spring: "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," "Up Jumped Spring," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and my personal favorite, "Joy Spring" by Clifford Brown:
A classic Pat Metheny tune from the 1970s is titled "April Joy."
One of the pieces we played in Disney was Chen Yi's Spring Festival, a combination of traditional Chinese folksong and modern western classical music.
Rite of Spring, Igor Stravinsky's famous "primitivist" ballet about virgin sacrifice in ancient pagan Russia, caused a riot at its premiere in Paris in 1913:
In pop music, you can listen to music by Buffalo Springfield and Rick Springfield. Or, you can go straight to The Boss, Bruce Springsteen:
Happy Spring Break!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Take two arias and call me in the morning...
Throughout history, people have believed that music has the power to cure all manners of ailments. In biblical times, King Saul ordered David to play his lyre to sooth his anxiety and stress. Traditional Native American healing rituals have always included singing as a primary component. Then there is English playwright William Congreve who famously wrote, "Music has charms to soothe the savage breast."
Today there is the field of music therapy, whose practitioners offer improved quality of life to patients with issues such as physical disabilities, brain injuries, and Alzheimer's disease. Over 70 American universities offer approved degree programs in the field. However, Austrian musician Vera Brandes has taken this practice a step further, as can be seen in this interesting article in the New York Times. Ms. Brandes believes that she can prescribe music the way doctors prescribe traditional medicines, sending patients home with an iPod of specially chosen music to help treat psychosomatic disorders, pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of arrhythmia.
Researchers are only just now understanding the effects of music on the brain, so it isn't so far-fetched to think that specific types of music can improve an individual's well-being. What do our readers think? Does anyone have any examples of the healing power of music? Please share them in the comments section. And might I prescribe for everyone a dose of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme for whatever ails you...
Today there is the field of music therapy, whose practitioners offer improved quality of life to patients with issues such as physical disabilities, brain injuries, and Alzheimer's disease. Over 70 American universities offer approved degree programs in the field. However, Austrian musician Vera Brandes has taken this practice a step further, as can be seen in this interesting article in the New York Times. Ms. Brandes believes that she can prescribe music the way doctors prescribe traditional medicines, sending patients home with an iPod of specially chosen music to help treat psychosomatic disorders, pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and certain types of arrhythmia.
Researchers are only just now understanding the effects of music on the brain, so it isn't so far-fetched to think that specific types of music can improve an individual's well-being. What do our readers think? Does anyone have any examples of the healing power of music? Please share them in the comments section. And might I prescribe for everyone a dose of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme for whatever ails you...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Disney, Part Two
I finally feel like I've caught up on my sleep after what was an exhausting but very memorable trip to Orlando. After an easy flight (much better than the 9-hour delay fiasco of 2005), we set off on Saturday morning for our day of performances in the park. Here was our set list:The Sinfonians, a concert march by Clifton Williams
Alligator Alley, a programmatic piece about alligators and hunters by Michael Daugherty
Lyric Music, a melodic solo trumpet feature with several exciting climaxes and wonderful scoring by Robert Starer
Spring Festival, a merging of a traditional Chinese folk song with contemporary western classical techniques by Chen Yi
Rio Con Brio, a lively dance number that uses Brazilian rhythms and instruments by Hugh Stuart
The last work garnered a standing ovation from our hometown crowd. The various percussion accessories included reco-reco (a scraper), pandeiro (a type of tambourine), double samba shaker, tamborim (a very small frame drum), claves, maracas, guiro, and timbales. We also had an apito (tri-tone samba whistle) soloist. Granted, the music wasn't truly authentic, but it gave us a chance to spend time in class listening to and discussing some real samba music from the Carnaval scene in Brazil.
After our performance, we watched the orchestra and choir. Both groups were wonderful, especially the chamber orchestra's choreographed, "strolling strings" version of "Sing, Sing, Sing" complete with gymnastics. That evening we enjoyed the dance company and Choraliers in their performances. All total, we gave five concerts between 10:00 am and 7:00 pm, monopolizing the FutureWorld West Stage in EPCOT.Saturday night included a trip to Cirque de Soleil to see their death-defying acrobatic feats of weirdness. On Sunday night, after a day in the parks, the orchestra and band combined to form a 100-piece ensemble for a clinic with a Disney musician. He led us through several sight reading exercises, impressing upon us the importance of playing something right the first time. He said that while we may have 40+ rehearsals for one performance, professionals have one rehearsal for several performances--an impressive concept for us all to grasp. The evening ended as we recorded the music to some clips from Tarzan and then watching the video with our performance as the soundtrack. We did pretty well, I might add!
After another day in the parks on Monday, we got to celebrate a successful tour with a dance party at Fantasia Gardens, an outdoor pavilion on a small beach. On Tuesday, we visited the Kennedy Space Center and headed off to the airport for our return flight home. All in all, the trip was a big success, full of great music and memories. Now we can start planning Band Trip 2011!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Disney, Part One
Just a quick one here--one of my favorite things about going to DisneyWorld is hearing all of the wonderful performers throughout the park. Here are some of the sites from EPCOT:
Mariachi Cobre in Mexico. Several violins, two small guitars that I assume might be vihuelas, and the large acoustic bass guitar called a guitarron. The singing is in thirds and done in call and response fashion.
Mo' Rockin in Morocco. The lead singer/violinist composes these wonderful Moroccan rock songs with the keyboardist rapping in Arabic. The drummer is playing a cool drum machine.
The Voices of Liberty--an a cappella vocal group in the American pavillion:
Three women playing taiko drums in Japan:
A woman playing a guzheng, or Chinese zither, in a hall in China:
This doesn't include the shots I didn't get, like Off Kilter (a Canadian/Celtic rock band with a lead bagpiper) and the awesome sax quartet in the Magic Kingdom that feature a curved soprano and a bass sax.
I'll get some pictures up of our performance soon.
Mariachi Cobre in Mexico. Several violins, two small guitars that I assume might be vihuelas, and the large acoustic bass guitar called a guitarron. The singing is in thirds and done in call and response fashion.
Mo' Rockin in Morocco. The lead singer/violinist composes these wonderful Moroccan rock songs with the keyboardist rapping in Arabic. The drummer is playing a cool drum machine.
The Voices of Liberty--an a cappella vocal group in the American pavillion:
Three women playing taiko drums in Japan:
A woman playing a guzheng, or Chinese zither, in a hall in China:
This doesn't include the shots I didn't get, like Off Kilter (a Canadian/Celtic rock band with a lead bagpiper) and the awesome sax quartet in the Magic Kingdom that feature a curved soprano and a bass sax.
I'll get some pictures up of our performance soon.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Orlando Bound!
We're off to Orlando in a few hours! The bands are rehearsed, the music is packed, and the equipment is ready. Tomorrow we will have a wonderful concert in EPCOT along with performances by our orchestra, choirs, and dance group. On Sunday, we will attend the professional Disney clinics, and on Tuesday night we'll be back. Look for a wrap-up of our experiences next week!
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