Jump Start on Next Semester

Today in the email I received the music - audio and printed - for next semester's first orchestra concert - Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, Schumann's Spring Symphony and Saint-Saens's Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso In A Minor. We don't have a rehearsal for about 4 weeks, so now is a great time to listen, follow along with the score and get familiar. Think maybe I'll do the practicing after the holidays.

Perils of String Playing

Being a string teacher, I have seen it all, or so I thought. In concerts I have seen bows break while a student was playing (she bravely muddled on), I actually dropped a violin and broke it while tuning it for the concert, I saw a bridge snap while a child was playing.

Last night, at our Winter concert, one of my beginning viola players came to me with his bridge which had fallen out. I put it back in, but probably not as carefully as I should have. While we were playing Jingle Bells, I heard a pop and knew that the bridge had come out. I looked at my player and mouthed for him to just keep playing. He did. After we were finished, I told him that I would put the bridge back in at the end of the concert, but he said that the bridge had actually fallen INSIDE the viola! Amazing! It had to turn 90 degrees to do that, and it did.

I worked on it for 15 minutes later at home, then Hal managed to get it out after about 10 minutes, and I was able to put it back in, with a lot more care this time. I took it to him at school today, and he was amazed that it was fixed. I know he'll be practicing over break. He's just that kind of kid.

Concert Weekend

The semester has ended for the Claremont Concert Orchestra with our final concert. True to form for us, the Sunday afternoon concert was better than Saturday night (which was not true for the October concerts). On the program was Brahms' Academic Festival Overture, Concerto for Two Pianos by Poulanc and Romeo and Juliet Overture by Tchaikovsky. The audience was quite enthusiastic, and I feel as though we have improved greatly since September.

While the Brahms and Tchaikovsky are fairly well known, the Poulanc was new to me. It is an odd piece with a variety of ideas and styles sprinkled throughout the three movements. Since we've worked on it for the past month and a half, I have grown to like it, but it might have taken the audience a little while to get used to it. Of course, the two Scripps student-pianists were wonderful and captivated the audience. To hear the piece, you have several choices on youtube. This version (first movement) features Poulanc himself as one of the soloists. The other two movements are also on youtube.

Pitch Matching

I am working with Vista students with their songs for Winter Sing next week. Last week I introduced the songs and we started working on them. One of the songs I didn't know too well, and I taught a few pitches wrong. Now those are stuck in their heads, and when I worked with them this morning, they have the wrong pitches in their minds. So, I am trying to get them to sing the right pitches (which are actually easier), but I don't think it will happen. They can sing them in isolation, but not within the context of the song. Well, if they miss those pitches (which happen twice), no one will really know but me.

Trepak

These are my sweet Kindergarteners in the middle of a dance to Trepak (Russian Dance) from the Nutcracker. The story is this: you have a treehouse that you can paint any color you want, and you can paint it with your fingers. So on the accented beats, we fling our fingers (like jazz hands) and jump, and then we "rub" the paint. In the middle section we stop and ponder our lovely artwork. This is where I caught the sweet expressions with fingers on the chin. The children LOVE this activity.

Strings Karate

My beginning strings class is particularly good this year. Yesterday we had our first test of the year - our white belt test. Over the year the students will take harder and harder tests until they pass their black belt tests. For the first test, I give students the option of choosing from three tunes, with various degrees of difficulty. All 9 students chose the "hot shot" song - Morning Dance (which we call Jolly Turkeys) and all of them passed. They are so excited to be learning violin and viola.

Klang and Goodman

I just saw this video of James Falzone's current project. Now, not only does the music sound intriguing to me (modern interpretations of Benny Goodman classics), but the site Kickstarter looks interesting to me. It seems as though it is a way to raise money for a project. You make a video about your project, write about it, then people who want to will pledge money for it. For various incentive levels, the donors may get something. In this case, for various levels, you get a prerelease of some of the album's MP3s.

A Letter to Monsieur Poulenc

Dear Monsieur Poulenc,

Why do you not like violas? In your very cool Concerto for Two Pianos, the violas don't play very much. Maybe you like the violas and wanted to give them a break, but then when you do let them join in the fun, you keep changing clefs for No Apparent Reason. It isn't to shift to third position on the A string, but is at random, and then you go back to alto clef and then...well, it's hard to follow.

Just curious,

From the back of the viola section

Allos Musica - Lamentations

James Falzone, clarinetist and composer, and his group Allos Musica, have just released their newest album, Lamentations. You can listen to a 10-minute interview with James (my composition teacher in 2007-2008) and hear some of the music from the album at this site on WBEZ (Chicago).

In this album James explores his interest in Arabic music. A past album, Klang: Tea Music (2009), which received great critical acclaim, explores jazz idioms. Vox Arcana: Aerial Age (2010), another recent release showcases some wild improvisations.

I am always amazed at James' productivity as well as his diversity of musical interests.

Recorder Karate

Recorder Karate has begun again at school. Today the students of Room 11 came in to take their white belt test. Every child passed except for the one who kept playing her recorder while waiting in line (and she got sent back and will try again next week) and the student who was absent. Next Wednesday Room 2 3rd graders will test for their white belt. This is a great opportunity for me to assess various recorder-playing skills and to give a little assistance and encouragement and praise where needed.

Arranging Again

Yesterday I got an email asking me if I'd be able to arrange 5 minutes of music for a string quartet for a Christmas tea. I believe this is the same event I arranged You are My Hiding Place last year. This time I am given full rein to arrange a medley of Christmas songs. I get to pick! So I started this morning with O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Since I love the old, old ones, I think I'll do Adeste Fidelis next and end with Ding Dong, Merrily on High. I wanted to end upbeat. I haven't had much chance to arrange anything lately, but this gives me a great excuse to make time.

Music and Language

People are quick to point out to me how music and math are related. I understand that. The rhythms are directly proportional to understanding fractions or parts of the whole. But music is SO MUCH MORE than rhythm.

Last Saturday I went to an Orff workshop that was a little unusual in that half of it was a lecture with a powerpoint presentation about language and music and auditory discrimination. Of course, half of it was trying out the lesson plans for the classroom (as seen in this photo), but understanding how children need to hear things in their heads, to distinguish between higher and lower pitches, listen carefully to poems and music to help them discriminate between phonemes in reading and language fluency.

First Orchestra Concert of the Season

I'm finally home unwinding and decompressing after a weekend of concerts. It started with rehearsal on Wednesday night, dress rehearsal Friday night, concert Saturday night, concert Sunday afternoon. On the program: A Symphonic Portrait of Porgy and Bess by Gershwin and Dvorak's New World Symphony.

We've been rehearsing hard, working on ensemble, transitions, intonation, etc., and by last night, we played very well. The crowd was greatly appreciative and gave us a standing ovation. Today we sounded good, but I think many of us, especially me, felt a little mentally and physically fatigued, so there were individual slips. I don't think it affected the overall sound, though, and we had a great reception by the audience again.

So, this was the first concert, and we should only get better throughout the year.

Inspiration

Today in Kindergarten I felt as though the principles of my Orff-Schulwerk education took hold. Now, it was no big deal, but it was so fun and satisfying. Orff classrooms should ideally be places where students and teachers create their own music out of what's at hand.

Every October I like to teach the song "Stirring My Brew" to the Ks. We pretend to stir a big vat of "brew" (which the children often think is broom) while we sing. Well, we had just finished tapping with our sticks along with a Jack-o-lantern song (ti-ti ta ta), and instead of putting the sticks down, I had them put just one stick down and use the other one as a stirrer of the brew.

Of course, I used the same song this week with my beginning string students (9-11 - year-olds) as we learn to hold our bows correctly. They may be older, but they still like the song, because, really, they are still just kids.

Anonymous 4

We are fortunate in Claremont to have great concerts for free at the colleges. Tonight I went to hear Anonymous 4, a female acapella group, who performed to a full house at Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College. The first half of the concert was medieval music - a Ladymass - a mass devoted to the Virgin Mary. The second half was American Folk Sacred Music.

This group is simply amazing and a joy to listen to.

Elementary Instrumental Music Program Coordinator

This year I am the coordinator for the EIMP for CUSD. As we start up, the time sink is big, and today I fielded 20 phone calls from parents. Most are concerned about getting a loaner instrument from the district. Some can't come to the day we distribute, some aren't on the list and want an instrument. Some just want to know what's going on since they haven't actually read the papers we handed out on the first day of school.

Orff Workshop

Last weekend I missed my local AOSA chapter's workshop since I was out of town. Fortunately for me, I live in a place where I can easily get to three different Orff chapters! Yesterday I went by myself, because I couldn't find a like-minded music friend who was free, to the LA Orff chapter in Hermosa Beach. The presenter was Lynn Kleiner (a member of that Orff chapter).

Perhaps my favorite part of the day were the dances and games from the CD I bought - Music Rhapsody's Favorite Shenanigans. I am trying to figure out which ones I am going to use this week!

Parent Orientation

Another year, another crop of parents asking interesting questions at the orientation/vendor fair for our Elementary Instrumental Music Program. It's been so darn hot, we thought the turnout would be low, but many families came, and I hope we answered all the questions.

Steady Beat

I like to start out the year with easy music classes - easy for me, easy for the kids. One of the activities I like is a follow-the-teacher where I mark the steady beat by some action to some music with a strong pulse. I do this with K-2nd grade, and as I watched the first and second graders, I noticed that some kids were not really paying attention and some were just moving to whatever weird spirit moved them.

Must think of more steady beat activities (and it won't be bouncing tennis balls with these young 'uns!).

A New Kind of Hymn

When I got married in the Mennonite church, the congregation participated by singing one of my favorite hymns, O Pow'r of Love. Yesterday our string trio played in a wedding where the bride had requested that we play the Beatles' tune In My Life. I had arranged the song for us, but we weren't sure if it was to accompany a candle-lighting, a water-mingling, or what, so when we arrived, we inquired. Turns out, we were to accompany a singalong! I hoped that the printed words for the guests matched the tune, and I think they did. I wasn't watching, but the cellist said she watched the bride singing along, enjoying herself greatly, so I'm glad that I spent the time to arrange the song and add some value to the ceremony.

Adventures in Lesson Planning in Music Appreciation

Although I have a lesson plan pretty well mapped out for the year for K-3rd grade, every year I reinvent 4th-6th grade because circumstance dictates that I do.

Last year the teachers asked me to do music appreciation with the upper graders (or, as they said, we want to learn about the composers). Since we have mixed-grade classes, I teach the same thing to all upper graders, so this year I have to come up with a whole new curriculum. Last year I was topical (scary music at Halloween, jazz for Black History month, etc). This year I'm going with an historical timeline, beginning with Gregorian Chant.

Today I worked on a powerpoint presentation with video, but for the second lesson I plan on teaching the kids to play the dies irae on pitched instruments and sing it. Then the dies irae will pop up during the year as other composers have used it in their works.....

Scheduling Lessons

So, no matter what you do, when you set up private lesson times with people, something will go awry. Today is the first week of private lessons after summer break, and I had three students lined up. I shuffled a few around so they could get where they needed and 1) the first student came late 2) second student couldn't make it (and called during the first lesson which I moved so she could make it) and 3) I'm waiting for third student who is supposed to be here in 5 minutes.*

I'm thinking of sending out email reminders on the day before each lesson!

*She came on time!

Pop Music for String Trios

Occasionally I play with a string trio for weddings. I enjoy the chance to play chamber music at such a happy occasion. It's always interesting what people want played at their wedding. Our cellist is always happy not to play the boring Pachelbel Canon (which I don't mind), and I'm always happy not to play the wedding march by Wagner (ugh). The last wedding I played I arranged One Hand, One Heart by Bernstein from West Side Story to be played while the couple mingled water together. That was lovely.

For an upcoming wedding (soon), I just found out that the bride wants three pop tunes. I've looked all over the internet to find string trios of Beatles, etc., but probably because of copyright issues, none are sold. I've seen some string quartets advertise a list of pieces they play, some Beatles, but they must do their own arrangements.

So, I have my job cut out for me. I will start to arrange various songs for string trio. Then perhaps I need a page on my website listing all the songs our trio will do. In my copious spare time.....

Teaching Jr. High!

Okay, I didn't actually teach anyone anything today, but I was at El Roble to support the substitute music teacher while Mr. Johnson is finishing up business in South Carolina. He'll be back on Friday. My job today was to assign instruments to students who qualify for district instruments. I loved the kids who said, "But I want an instrument here so I don't have to carry mine back and forth," and "I don't like the one I have at home!" Sorry, kid. Bring your instrument and deal with it. Besides the district instruments are not much better.

Tomorrow I actually get to run a rehearsal! Since I know most of the kids, that makes the transition to jr. high much easier for me.

Audition

Oh, yeah. The amazing secret to a good audition is to actually be prepared for it. Practicing every day, even for 30 minutes at a stretch, goes a long way to making you feel confident. Of course, I was still a little nervous, but once I got going, I was fine. I especially enjoyed playing in the room with the high ceilings because the acoustics were so good.

New Curriculum

This week I went into school to see what's happening since classes start next week. Music starts the week of Sept. 20. Low and behold, the curriculum that I had requested a year ago had arrived! Now I have a year of Recorder Classroom to peruse as well as GamePlan 5 by Randy and Jeff. New ideas always bring me excitement and rejuvenation for a new year.

Classical / Rock

The LA Times Arts & Books section ran a front-page article about David Garrett today. A violinist who crosses over from classical to rock and back, he has recently released an album called Rock Symphonies.

I was intrigued enough to look up more about him on the internet, mostly because I thought he might be a good musician to share with my students to help them get excited about 1) strings 2) classical music. No need to help them get excited about rock.

As I listened to his performances, they sounded eerily familiar, like from my teen years and techno remixes such as A Fifth of Beethoven by Walter Murphy and the Big Apple Band. Maybe there's more to this guy than that, but I would have to spend more effort in finding it.

Auditions - and the ramifications

I have been playing violin and viola with the Claremont Concert Orchestra at Scripps College for, oh, about 15 or so years. All this time Michael Lamkin has been our conductor. In May, Michael conducted his last performance before his well-deserved retirement. We will miss him terribly.

A new era dawns, a new conductor arrives. We are excited to meet and work with David Cubek starting in a few weeks. Because he does not know us yet, he would like to listen to each of us play. We have to prepare three excerpts from the upcoming concert music (Dvorak and Tchaikovsky) and a piece of our choice to play for him.

Today I got the music and started practicing the viola parts. It dawned on me that this could be a good thing. I will practice these sections a little bit every day for the next two weeks, be really nervous at the audition, but when it comes time to play at our first rehearsal, I will 1) be in playing shape since I'll have practiced every day 2) know the music, or at least parts of it. I will listen to the music beforehand and be well-prepared for that first rehearsal.

Summer String Camp

There's nothing like teaching a few hours after a trip as well as summer vacation to wear you out! Today I taught for three hours two summer string classes. The one-hour class is under-enrolled, so I am going to cancel it, but the two-hour class has enough students, so we'll see if some from the first class want to come to the second.

String kids are the best, though. They are extremely well-behaved, smart, funny and fun to be around. I tried to talk some theory at them today, and for some, it made sense, but most gave me a blank stare. Oh, well! The more they hear it, some of it will eventually sink in.

Redemption through Music

I am a fan of "redemption through food" movies such as Babette's Feast and Tortilla Soup. Today I am a fan of a "redemption through music" movie - As it is in Heaven. A gifted and famous Swedish conductor achieves his life goal of reaching people's hearts through music by returning to his hometown where he was bullied and helping the local choir achieve its goals. It sounds cliche, but the underlying message is real.

Music and the Brain

A link on facebook today led me to watch this 60 Minutes spot on the blind musical savant, Derek Paravicini. With severe mental capacities, he can play anything you request on the piano, in any key, in any style. Mentioned only in footnotes in Oliver Sachs' Musicophilia, a quick google search shows that you can read an entire book about him and his gift as well as his blog.

I am fascinated about the role of music in our lives and in our brains. Obviously it has great significance in the lives of people in many different ways.

Arrangement of the Week

This week I'm working on a string arrangement based on an a capella arrangement of Annie Lennox's song, Why. I heard the a capella version by the Carleton Knightingales, an all-female group started at Carleton during my senior year there by friends of mine. This group is still going strong. The song I'm arranging? Amazing Grace.

String Trios and Quartets

How many variations of a string trio can there be? Every time I get together to play with friends, it seems that I am constantly rearranging for a slightly different instrumentation.

• Violin, Viola, Cello
• Violin, Violin, Cello
• Violin, Violin, Viola

I've also done a three cello arrangement of one song, but I can also imagine three violins or three violas.

Rewrite!

My experience in the recording studio last week has piqued my interest in finishing up my Yosemite String Quartet. Yesterday I rewrote, from scratch, the first 1'49" of the first movement. Even though I'll be busier than usual this year, I would like to work with a string quartet in playing through my five movements and find out what works and what needs work.

Marin Alsop on Gustav Mahler

Happy 150th Birthday, Gustav Mahler! One might know that I really like Mahler's music since I wrote my master's paper on his 5th Symphony. Recently, I enjoyed this piece on NPR in which Marin Alsop (wonderful conductor of the Baltimore Symphony) discusses Mahler's music. Listen to the 10-minute spot which has much more than the what's written on the webpage.

I guess I didn't really know that he was known more in Vienna as a conductor than he was as a composer. I learned how he changed the role of conducting. He demanded that the Viennese audiences arrive on time for concerts, or wait until a break in the music to be seated. He required that audiences not clap between movements so as to keep his concentration.

As I look at the concerts coming up with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I will probably buy tickets to a Mahler performance as part of the package I am putting together.

Gospel Tunes arrangements

Yesterday in church, Katy & Lynn joined me in playing some of my arrangements of gospel tunes for two violins and cello. I particularly enjoy trying out different styles of music to bring a fresh perspective to some of my favorite songs. The four songs we played were Down to the River to Pray, Be Thou My Vision, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and Precious Lord, Take My Hand. Now I'm thinking about what songs to work on next.

MP3 Files

I have put together three mp3 files from yesterday's recording session. I am amazed at what we could accomplish in just over 2 hours. Imagine what it would be like if we could have the time to actually polish the performance!

Two movements were pretty easy to edit since we had several successful run-throughs. One movement, though, was patched together, but the editing software (Sound Studio) was pretty easy to use.

Because I don't have rights to the lyrics (poems by Wendell Berry, Langston Hughes, and e.e. cummings), I am not posting to the internet, but am sharing with friends.....

At Long Last

Today, July 6, I finally heard my Spring Suite performed by real live musicians! Thanks to Bill Alves and the use of the HMC recording studio, and to five friends, we met, practiced and recorded the three movements in under 2 1/2 hours. I brought home the .aiff files and am now working on splicing together all the best bits to share with the musicians and James, who encouraged me to do this.

As long as I'm thanking people, I have additional thanks to Hal who copied music for me and arranged with Bill for the use of the studio, and to Claire who helped me transport equipment, helped people find the room, and take pictures, and then make dinner afterwards.

It is amazing to hear the ideas that started in my head realized. Now, with these recordings, I can learn more about what things work and what can be improved.

Gospel Trios

I have been arranging music for string trio (2 violins, cello) to play in church in July. For inspiration, I have been listening to acapella versions of gospel tunes on youtube. The question, for me, becomes "How do I use vocal techniques to create interesting string textures, and once I do, HOW do I notate such techniques?"

I am especially pleased with my recent version of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" which has the accompaniment trying to imitate the "schoooom" of low voices. It certainly helps to explain it in person at rehearsal, rather than in print.

Internet Radio

I am just starting to explore Pandora Internet Radio. It's free. After you sign up, you choose an artist or song you like and create a station with one click. Then the music starts streaming. It's like radio in that you don't get a choice of what they play, and there are short ads, but where else can you listen to radio where the music is similar to Bear McCreary? This way you hear artists you may not already know.

Organizing an Afternoon of Chamber Music

While on sabbatical in Chicago a few years ago, I composed a "Spring Suite" for small chamber group - flute, clarinet, tenor, mezzo-soprano, violin/viola, and cello. Based on three poems, Light Again by Wendell Berry, In Time of Silver Rain by Langston Hughes, and Chansons Innocentes: I (in Just - spring) by e.e. cummings, in three movements, I composed these in the dead of winter when I was longing for warmer weather.

James Falzone, my composition teacher, hoped that I might get friends together to perform it so we could hear what it actually sounds like. I am finally organizing a group of friends to make that a reality! Still searching for a mezzo-soprano, we are now also looking for a mutually-agreeable date in July.

Progress Marches On

I have noticed that in the last few weeks my private students have made noticable progress. After working for several months or so on the same things, they are ready to move on to harder music. It makes us all feel good!

Lovely Third Graders

One of the sweet things about teaching elementary school children are the thank you notes they write. I got a batch from one 3rd grade classroom this week - kids who learned recorder this year. Here are a few excerpts from their missives:

"Thanks for helping us teach recordar were now the best players in Clormont."

"Thank you Mrs. VR for teaching us recorder I would like to do violin next year in fourth grade because my sister used to do violin and violins make cool sounds."

"Thank you for techin me how to play the recorer. and all the songs that you tought me. and reminded me to put my left hand on top and my right hand on the bomttom and not to put your right on the top. and not to put or left hand on the bomttom." (She was consistent in her spelling of "bottom.")

"Thank you for teaching me music. Thank you also for making me a musician."

Review of a New Metho

I was excited to find out that Mark O'Connor had published a new violin method, so I immediately bought a copy. I like the variations he has of Boil Them Cabbage Down, the original songs he has included and the boxes of information about each song. However, there are enough things about it that will keep me from using it wholescale with students or classes. First, it's for violin alone - no viola or cello - with many songs on the E string. So, I can't use it with my school classes. Second, the binding does not allow for it to stay open easily. That's frustrating. Third, it costs quite a bit ($27).

Gustavo Dudamel

Here is an interview on NPR with Gustavo Dudamel. Wouldn't it be grand to be able to sit in on his rehearsals with the LA Phil?

In My Head

Whenever we have a concert weekend (Friday night dress rehearsal, Saturday night concert, Sunday afternoon concert), I get the music running through my head for the next week. Right now I have the Brahms First Symphony inhabiting my brain. Could be lots worse.

Diversity on the Supreme Court...

Read Meghan Daum's editorial in today's LA Times about having an oboist on the Supreme Court.

Natalie Merchant

Today I found the singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant. She's been performing for 30 years, but I don't think I'd heard of her before. Her latest album, Leave Your Sleep, is comprised of 27 songs based on poems of childhood, poems I'd mostly never known. My love of poetry piqued my curiosity, so I've been browsing her extensive website as well as watching her on TED.

Chance Music

I'm pretty happy with the music lesson for these two weeks with the upper graders on chance music. Each group of 2-3 students had paper, pencil, clipboard, a die, a packet of rhythms on cards, and a pitched instrument. They folded the paper into 8 rectangles and drew out, at random, 8 rhythms, filling each rectangle with one rhythm. Then, throwing the die, they chose a note for each rhythm. 1-D, 2-E, 3-G, 4-A, 5-B, 6-High D. Then we practiced our chance music and performed for the class. Next time we'll learn about John Cage.

Playing vs. Performing

This weekend the Claremont Concert Orchestra gives two concerts which include Beethoven's 6th Symphony. I've been playing in orchestra since I was 10, so I am pretty familiar with concert situations. Usually during the concert I work on concentrating through each piece in its entirety, something that we don't usually do in rehearsal since we stop frequently to work on sections.

Beethoven's 6th viola part is either beautiful (often doubling the cello part) or tedious, but the familiar music is so beautiful that last night I just immersed myself into the music, listening to the gorgeous parts of other instruments when my part was boring, and soaring with the beautiful low melodies. I hope I can replicate that again this afternoon.

Expanded Orchestra

Every year I start the school year off with a small orchestra at school. Then, after the February concert, I invite all the beginning string students to join orchestra. Today was our first rehearsal of all students with 100% attendance! We were nine strong, and now we have 21!

Music Meters

So, daughter #2 is taking a music theory course. Daughter #1 would call Dad to get help with her chemistry class, so now it is my turn to answer music questions. Today's problem - compound and simple meters. Although I remember learning those once, the correct labels are not something I worry about in my life as a musician. I just look at the meter and play it. As we talked through the homework, I understood meters such as 6/8, 3/2, and certainly 3/4. But I was a little confused about 6/16 and 6/2. Can't remember ever playing in those, and how important is it to know if it is simple or compound?

Acapella - Sonos

Catching up on my NPR podcasts, I ran across this story about the acapella group Sonos. I really like their arrangement of I Want You Back. Also Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal. You can have a free listen at the NPR website.

Finished First Draft

This morning I finished the first draft of my 5th and final movement of the string quartet. Now for the revising of the whole work!

Sheer Heaven

Today I took the time to just listen to Beethoven's 5th Piano Concerto, The Emperor. It is probably one of my all-time-favorite pieces of music.

Just Good 'Ole Singing

For the past several years I have been teaching music standards in general music. We learn rhythm, melody, texture and harmony through games, movement, playing instruments, creating our own music. It's all good, but I realize that I have not been "just singing" with the kids very much, except to prepare for Winter Sing or the district-wide fundraiser in April (Shop and Dine). So I thought I should end each class with a song or two that I will teach to the entire K6 population. So far this year we have learned Simple Gifts and This Land is Your Land. Last year we all learned Puff the Magic Dragon and De Colores I am working on a list of "must-know" songs. I think we'll start on Garden Song (Inch by Inch) soon.

Singing is good for the soul.

Private Studio

As of yesterday, I am up to 3 private students, with room for more!

Back to my String Quartet

It's been too long since I last paid any attention to my string quartet. When I write this fifth and final movement, it will be time to go back and revise all the movements, then find a quartet to play it. Perhaps by this summer?

When I started composition lessons in Chicago, my teacher had me write a narrative about what my first piece was going to sound like. Of course, it ended up not following that, but it gave me a starting place. Today I wrote a narrative for Tenaya, the lake in Yosemite high country that we love. We'll see how the music ends up reflecting these thoughts and plans....

"For Tenaya, I represent the light reflecting off of the lake in a shimmer as the wind stirs the surface. As the wind is not constant, and also tends to get stronger in the afternoon, the sparkles adjust accordingly.

The two violins and the viola/cello play interlocking melodies as in gamelan music, but using the dreamlike C Lydian mode from the first movement - the Valley - making a frame for the entire work.

In listening to the phasing technique of Steve Reich’s music, the interlocking melodies play in canon, and then play in a simple phase where one group plays the first bar of the melody twice while the other plays the melody as originally written, making the canon sound different at each iteration, finally coming together at the end.

I will start with fragments of the melodies framed in bursts of silence, and flashes of color with harmonics and pizzicato for a variety of texture. The tendency of a string quartet is to sound the same from beginning to end, whether fast or slow, energetic or contemplative. I explore other textures."

Teaching Minimalism

The teachers at school requested that I teach the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders "about the composers" this year. Instead of dry lectures, I have tried to engage the students in some way. Inspired by an Orff workshop where we learned a simplified version of a phasing canon, I thought it would be fun to explore the minimalist music. The students worked in groups of 3 to create two minimal patterns in C pentatonic. I took the opportunity to try out my new iPod nano video to tape their creations, then use iMovie to put some of them together. I will teach this lesson to three other classes. The first 10 seconds or so show the practice session.