Sunday, November 13, 2011

The em-Phasis is on the wrong syl-Lable

This one is all David Krehbiel, however, I have read the same from Ed Kleinhammer and Warren Deck teaches the same thing.

1234

The meter is very important.  One must treat, pick-ups, after-beats, and the meter with respect or the phrase sounds mispronounced.  As students we spend a ton of time making everything the same, when in fact it is rear for anything to be the same.


Friday, November 11, 2011

Kickstarter...but not mine.

Will White and I met at the Pierre Monteux School in the summer of 2009.  While in Maine, Will was the assistant conductor for the festival and lead us through, the Stravinsky Octet and Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man.  He was also a huge supporter of the the pig roast and meat eating projects throughout the summer.  He seemed to always be at parties with a glass of Wild Turkey.

Will is the one in glasses.

Currently, Will is doing is own Kickstarter campaign in an effort to record some of his music.  Will is a great musician and deserves to have his music recorded.  The campaign will raise money to pay for musicians and the recording engener.  Check out his website to get a taste of what he is about.

Will is the assistant conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony where his responsibilities include working with the youth orchestra.


Good luck, Jack.

Famous Again

The Aspen Music Festival and School has posted some concerts to InstantEncore.com.  They have posted several concerts from the past three years.  They have recitals from many incredible musicians, as well as top notch orchestral concerts.  If you have time check out the Festival Orchestra playing Mahler no. 5 or no. 2 from this past summer.

Trombone Section and Matthew Rhys


If you want to hear me play check out A Midsummers Night Dream or Firdbird.  The Mendelssohn is narrated by Matt Rhys, which adds to the piece.  Both concerts are with the Aspen Chamber Symphony and are worth a listen.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Frustration is Weakness Leaving the Brain

In an effort to increase my practice time without increasing time on the horn, I have started myself on a healthy regiment of sight-singing and rhythm study.  I have already noticed and increase in my musical thought process while practicing.  I encourage everyone to find ways to practice away from the horn.  This helps fix the problem, your brain, without wasting your face.

I am reviewing A New Approach to Sight Singing by Berkowitz, Fontrier, and Kaft, the text we used in my undergraduate sight singing course.  This time with some diference, fixed-do and persistance.  I have been using fixed-do to prepare my solo repertoire and excerpts for awhile, however the addition of scales and sight singing will hopefully help intonation and understanding of intervals.

For rhythm I am using Rhythmic Training, by Robert Starer.  This book was recommended by a clarinetist in my undergrad and utilized by Al Otte in my eurhythmics class at CCM.  Al would basically have us mark time and clap or count the rhythm on each page.  I, however, have been counting the rhythm and clapping the "dead" subdivision.  The physical manifestation of the subdivision is a great way to do it correctly, and makes cheating much more difficult.

Both of these can be incredibly frustrating.  But, I am fixing the problem and keeping my musical mind engaged for longer without wasting my face time.