Everyone has heard of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” or at least, I’m sure, would recognize the theme from Spring right away. (Listen here.) The Four Seasons is a series of four concertos written for the violin by Antonio Vivaldi in the characteristically Baroque style, each named for one of the seasons. I began to think a bit more about these pieces when I came across a music review for a violinist Robert McDuffie, who just recently performed the Four Seasons along with Phillip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2 or “The American Four Seasons,” which McDuffie actually asked Glass to write.

Is there any way to put sounds to the seasons that we go through as humans? I think so! It is interesting to see how Phillip Glass chose to portray the same seasons that Vivaldi did. Try this as an exercise to see which you think ring more true to the respective times of the year. For me, Spring by Vivaldi is extremely convincing because it sounds so light, joyous and peppy which goes hand in hand with the excitement of new life, if you would like to look at it that way. You can see for yourself though. What do you think?

Vivaldi’s winter, summer and autumn.

Glass’ American Four Seasons here.

The title of thisarticle immediately caught my eye because just in class last thursday we were comparing the concert hall in Julliard to LeFrak Hall. I remember when I first began playing the clarinet and my teachers would talk about good acoustics I had no idea what they were talking about. Over the years, I learned that the room really does make a difference in sound.

In this article, the writer notes a huge difference in sound when the New York Philharmonic played at Carnegie Hall versus when they played at Avery Fisher Hall. The writer claimed that “even during hushed passages of the Beethoven , there was more body and depth to the Philharmonic’s sound than at Avery Fisher”. I have never heard of Avery Fisher Hall, and the article seems to give it a bad rep….maybe it isn’t the best hall but of course when it is compared to Carnegie Hall it is going to sound even worse.

The article is pretty short, I just wanted to mention it because it touched base on what we had briefly discussed in class. In order to make this post just a little more interesting, I’m going to post a video of Midori. She started with the New York Philharmonic as an 11 year old prodigy….crazy! This is a video of her in her earlier years and she sounds amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGVgglkA6_U

The article on rapper Shyne made me think about something very interesting. It is clear that rap is a style of music generally with a thumping and catchy beat, but what about the words themselves? Can rap be considered not only a musical genre but also poetry? When you think about it rap and poetry share many similarities. Both usually employ some sort of rhyme scheme(although neither has to have one in order to be grouped in their respective categories), they both make use of many literary techniques such as metaphors and similes, both can be sung along with a tune(lyrical poetry like John Donne or T.S. Eliot), and both are great outlets for emotions and creativity. Although many associate rap with crude and vulgar subject matter there are many rap artists whose lyrics are poignant and powerful. If you were to look at the lyrics of some rap songs without knowing what it was, you may assume that the literature in front of you was in fact some form of poetry. When you really think about it quality rap could probably be classified as either  lyrical poetry or poetic prose. In fact, just recently a rap anthology entitled “The Anthology of Rap”(catchy no?) was published that brings together the lyrical poetry of many great rap artists. I personally look forward to reading this book and have been searching for it in stores. Take rappers like Talib Kweli or Lupe Fiasco  they are both very intelligent and creative people and this definitely comes through in their raps. Here’s a couple of samples from their work so you can get a better sense of what I’m talking about:

“My rhymes are like shot clocks,
interstate cops
and blood clots,
my point is your flow gets stopped.”-Talib Kweli on “Hater Players”

“You stopping us is preposterous
like an androgynous misogynist,
you picking the wrong time, stepping to me when I’m in my prime
like Optimus, Transforming…”-Talib Kweli on “Twice inna Lifetime”

Some of your smartest have tried to artictulate
My whole part in this
But they’re fruitless in their harvestin’
The drow grows from my footsteps
I’m the one that they follow,
I am the one that they march with
(lemme put you on game)-Lupe Fiasco on “Put You on Game”

Maybe I’m a bit biased because I love rap and thus would rather it be considered poetry because of the connotation it gives off? regardless i definitely see the artistic quality in this musical genre, what do you guys think?

If you happened to look at the front page of The Arts section of The New York Times today, you would have seen a man, wearing a black hat and standing in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, staring at you through Ray-Ban sunglasses. As an orthodox Jew, this picture grabbed my undivided attention and would not let go until I finished reading the article. This is the unbelievable story of an artist whose life has been a roller-coaster of ups and downs. The transformation of his name says it all. He was born Jamaal Barrow, his rapper name was Shyne, and his new name is Moses Levi.

While his life has taken many unpredictable turns, music has been with him through the highs and the lows. Jamaal Barrow was born in Belize 32 years ago. His father, a lawyer, is now the prime minister of the country. His mother, who brought him to United States when he was a boy, made a living by cleaning houses. He grew up a troubled adolescent in Flatbush, Brooklyn. However, in his late teens he became the protege of the rap-star Sean Combs, know at the time as Puff Daddy. As with many young celebrity gangster rappers, the negative influences of the gangster lifestyle spiraled out of control. In 1999, at the age of 19, shortly after he had signed his first record deal, he found himself in a nightclub in Times Square with his mentor when gunshots were fired and people were injured. To this day, nobody knows exactly what happened in the club that night, but Shyne was sentenced to 10 years in jail for assault, gun possession, and reckless endangerment.

As quickly as music had brought him fame and fortune, it all slipped away. But after serving almost 9 years in New York prisons, at the age of 32 Shyne has a new name, a new religion, and a new sound. You can call him Moses Levi. And you can find him in Jerusalem, dividing his time between studying of Torah and reviving his career in music. Just as the music of his youth reflected his gangster lifestyle, the music he is currently recording portrays him as matured, humbled, religious man. Even though Levi hasn’t released an album since 2004, he is releasing two new albums with Def Jam Records. They’re titled “Messiah” and “Gangland.” One of his song titles, “Am I a Sinner?” is evocative of his attempt to repent for the foolish actions of his youth.

The story of the life of Jamaal Charles (or whatever you’d like to call him) illustrates the power that music has both to hurt and to heal. Music, like many things, is a tool that can be used in positive and negative ways. Music brought him to his downfall and is helping him revitalize his image. The key is to let music enhance who you are, not change who you are. That is what Levi is doing now. He is combining his hip-hop soul with his religious beliefs to make a truly unique musical expression of his personal identity.

Read The New York Times Article

In this class, a lot of the music we talk about is more traditional- and by traditional I mean played on actual instruments or sung. But now, I would like to introduce everybody to Stomp. I first heard about Stomp through my wind ensemble teacher last year. He showed us a video one day of these men and women making music using “instruments” such as brooms, garbage pails, garbage lids, poles, and various other things you would find on the street. While making their music, their performance seems to be choreographed, so it is not only cool to listen to, but interesting to watch.

Stomp originated in 1991 in the UK. The performers have since traveled the world, to places such as Hong Kong, Barcelona, Sydney, and Dublin. They began their tour in the United States in 1995. In 2006, in New York, Stomp had its 5000th performance. They have opened up for various famous events as you can see on the timeline on their website.

Unfortunately, my wind ensemble did not get to go see the performance we had wanted to because the tickets were sold out, but they have a lot of performances in the Orpheum Theatre in New York City. I think it’d be really interesting to go see since it’s something that we all aren’t too used to. There are group discounts on tickets for groups of 12 or more, so if anyone wanted to go see this, either as a class or with friends, get a group together because tickets can be very expensive.

This is one of the videos my wind ensemble teacher showed us, watch it!

After last Thursday’s class, I was inspired and humbled by the instrumentalists in HNRS 125. It was so amazing how each student was able to improvise on demand, yet make it sound completely rehearsed. I remember in class, Corina and I even turned to each other and was like “I wish I could do that” because to us, it seemed like a different language. This reminded me of the show at the 92ST Y because they compared learning a language to learning how to play an instrument. Some abilities are innate, while others you have to acquire after years of practice until it becomes second nature. Another thing it reminded me of was when I went to interview our very own Professor Smaldone for the “Interview a Professor” assignment. I asked him if there was any moment in his life that has changed who he is as a musician and he told me about Modest Mussorgsky’s “Night on Bald Mountain”, which is a piece in the Disney movie “Fantasia”. He had seen the music score for the piece and it motivated him to want to learn how to read and compose music. When I went home to look up the piece, I could see why.

While listening and watching the movie scene, I had trouble imagine a person capable of composing the piece because of all the little nuances in tone and sound. I found myself paying more attention to the music than the actual images in the movie, although the two went together very well. There were parts when the orchestra was at full blast, which made the scene dramatic and chaotic. Then there were other parts when there was just a single bell ringing. The piece constantly went up and down in dynamics and volume, which is what added to the emotion and sort of eerie quality to the piece. I also tried to picture what instruments made what sounds because sometimes it wasn’t clear to me since there was so much going on.

In the end, this video and the session we had in class made me very appreciate music a lot more than I already do. It really is another language because it serves the same functions: it can convey thoughts, idea and emotions…and sometimes it can even do it better than language itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Ca_edg6RE

Beginning his music career in 1994, Omar Souleyman has reached the level of being an international star by emerging as the new sound of Syria. Bjork describes his music to be “Syrian techno”, which takes in the overdriven Arabic keyboards and looping rhythms deployed by his sole Korg-cranking keyboardist-composer, Rizan Sa’id. After listening to some of his songs, I can see why he has become so popular. It is not your typical Arabian styled songs. It has a catchy rhythm to them.

On Tuesday, when Mr. Souleyman made an appearance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn in his usual attire: brown leather jacket over a floor-length tunic, aviator sunglasses, a red-and-white-checked kaffiyeh. In his performances, he would sing rhythmically in Arabic, never in English, and still drew in the Western crowd.

After reading about Souleyman, I realized that lately there has been a revival of the techno type music in mainstream as well because many of the popular songs today possess that sort of techno “taste”. For example, Usher’s “DJ Got Us Falling In Love Again”, Far East Movement’s “Like A G6”, or Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite”, all have a piece of techno element present in the beat.

Find article here.

I have a feeling this will lead to a lively discussion. Because Clarissa’s post is so elaborate (thank you Clarissa) I thought I would put this post here for others to leave comments. Short comments specifically about the discussion should be left here. As I read several items in today’s paper, I am struck by the enormous variety of musical (and artistic) styles and genres available. Here are two, reviewed in today’s paper (this is ONE DAY!) – music and dance.

1 – the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain:

2 – Sutra, by Sidi Larbi, recently performed at Lincoln Center. Here is a video of excerpts of one of the pieces,

Far from posting a Vlog, my technological capabilities won’t even let me post a video in a comment box. Therefore it’s on to the main board for me. When saw the title of Clarissa’s post I immediately thought of The Charlie Daniels Band and the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”. This song has been a favorite of mine for quite some time because it tells me a story as well as wows me with music.(kind of like some music videos Sandra?). After reading Clarissa’s blog and listening to her various music clips, I was reminded of another song that shares this storyline. Apparently musicians love to have jam offs with the devil. The song I started to think of is the comical “Tribute” by Tenacious D. This band is made up of musician/actor Kyle Gass and actor/musician Jack Black. Jack Black is obviously the more famous member of the duo and both of his talents are on display in the movie “School of Rock”. Tenacious D is a bit of “mock rock” band and plays mostly humorous, and at times inappropriate songs. I can’t say that their music is a technical wonder or even amazing, but some of it makes me laugh. In “Tribute”(their first single), the band is engaged in a similar battle with the Devil and need to play the GREATEST SONG IN THE WORLD to defeat him. That sounds easy enough, too bad they have forgotten how to play it.

listen to “Tribute”

There’s a famous saying about messing up, which is “An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. ” by Orlando Battista. So, I’m correcting mine. During Music and the Brain, Victor Wooten spoke about how a bassist he admired appeared to him in his dream and taught him how to play like him. This immediately reminded me of “The Devil’s Trill Sonata,” which was composed by Giuseppe Tartini.

The “Violin Sonata in G minor” became widely known as the “Devil’s Trill Sonata” because Tartini claimed that the Devil appeared to him in a dream bargaining for his soul. Tartini made a deal that he would teach him the violin instead. At the end of the lesson, Tartini handed his violin to the Devil, who played with such skill and virtuosity, that Tartini was left amazed. When he woke up, he desperately tried to record down what he heard. The piece became well known, but Tartini was disappointed because he knew that the final product never amounted to what he witnessed.

The stories of Wooten and Tartini suggest a correlation between problem solving and dreams. A study here shows that most people have dreams relative to their problems, and often find its solution in them. It mentions Tartini’s piece as an example, as well as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.”

Now, I heard Paganini to my left and proceeded to stick with that name when asking my question, but he does have some sort of relevance. Niccolò Paganini is one of the most famous violinists of all time, and rumor was that he played so well because he was in a pact with the Devil. One of his best known pieces is the “Caprice No. 24.”

On the other side of the musical spectrum lies the Charles Daniels Band. Their 1979 hit “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” tells a story of how a boy named Johnny is challenged by the Devil in playing the fiddle. If Johnny wins, he is rewarded a violin; if he loses, he forfeits his soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDm_ZHyYTrg

I guess we can all conclude that the Devil is a violin virtuoso.

Yeah I made that word up. Victor Wooten is fantastic and the only way to describe his bass playing is with made up words (I tried to explain it to people on the ride home). But anyway, Tonight’s interview was more than I expected it to be. It was an interesting look on how the brain relates to music at different ages, levels of experience, etc. There was also a lot of interesting talk about the relationship between music and language. I personally use the same type of analogies when explaining music to my less musical friends. I agree with what Wooten said about how it’s important to immerse yourself in music rather than take it note by note. I find what he was saying about baggage and practicing minimizing nerves as a factor interesting. Music is an internal art form. If you are weighed down by emotions and problems, the art suffers. When it comes to performing, like Wooten said, it sounds better when you let go of all of that baggage and get over your performance jitters. I love when the emotional aspects of music come together with scientific studies. I found it really cool that Mr. Levitin went into the statistics about how parts of your brain shut down when your improving. This went hand in hand with Wooten’s idea of relaxed playing. I couldn’t understand all the neuroscience behind what Levitin was saying even if i tried, but when he simplified it and I could see it reflected in Wooten’s playing I started, at the simplest level, to get an understanding of how the brain works when it comes to music. I hope this gets commented on because I got into a discussion with some people on the train ride home about getting into music later in life. It was my understanding from the lecture that, while it’s easier to start in music from a younger age, it’s possible to learn an instrument proficiently if you know how to go about learning music. Any thoughts? While your commenting enjoy some wonderful Wooten here.

I’ve been thinking a lot about music education recently- the teachers who have helped me get to where I am, the methods that have worked and those that haven’t, the people who never “taught” me but from whom I’ve learned so much.

This thought path reminded me of the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus” which I saw a couple years ago. It is an absolutely wonderful film about a frustrated composer who turns to education reluctantly, but ultimately falls in love with teaching as he inspires countless students throughout the years.

Regardless of whether one is considering music education or education in general, I think this movie is absolutely one which should be watched. It stresses the importance of loving what you do, and I think that is something we should all reflect upon as we begin to decide our futures.

One particular quote in the movie also very much relates to tonight’s “Music and the Brain” discussion: “Playing music is supposed to be fun. It’s about heart, it’s about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it’s not about notes on a page. I can teach you notes on a page, I can’t teach you that other stuff.”

Enjoy the trailer below!

Tonight at the presentation, Victor Wooten referred to this notion of silence a lot. What really makes a song is the silence. When he played Amazing Grace the first time, not a single person in that audience wasn’t moved. Playing it the second time like an upbeat pop song really made a clear demonstration of how much the silence affects the song.

You know how in class on Monday we were really into the idea that you cant have tension without relaxation, tragedy without comedy, highs without lows and silence without sound. All through class “Life is Wonderful” by Jason Mraz was playing in my head. The song is basically all about that.

I just plain love the lyrics to this song. Here it is for your listening enjoyment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8wILgjsFqY

As the performance majors know, trying to squeeze in sufficient practice time everyday is such a challenge. There is always something new to work on, some passage to perfect and etude to work through. After practicing for a little over five hours today, I still feel as though I haven’t worked on everything I should and need to. This is why I was absolutely floored when I learned something completely new about the violinist Julia Fischer. Her name caught my eye because I know her as the brilliant concert violinist, who performs around the world with the most famous orchestras under amazing conductors (Lorin Maazel and Michael Tilson Thomas) and who I have listened to many recordings of. This lifestyle of a famous violinist in itself fascinates and amazes me. What made me absolutely fall off my chair to hear was that Julia Fischer performed the Grieg PIANO concerto at the Alte Oper (a major concert hall) in Frankfurt in 2008.

To think that someone has mastered two instruments on the level that Fischer has is almost unfathomable. The NY Times rightfully pointed out that there is only an artist here and there that has ever performed on such a high level on two different instruments. Yes, Mozart did play the violin and viola for recreation while sticking mainly to the piano but even he never played his stringed instruments seriously for the public! Please take a look at the videos of Fischer below playing the violin and then the one of her playing the piano. Then, after you pick your jaw up from the floor, look at the article here.

Watch Julia Fischer play the violin here.
Watch Julia Fischer play the piano here.

The Zamir Chorale celebrated its 50th anniversary this past Sunday with a Jubilee Concert at Carnegie Hall. This Chorale “promotes Jewish choral music as a vehicle to inspire Jewish life, culture and continuity” and this weekend’s concert was a celebration of perseverance in the face of adversity, of the unifying power of song, and of the continuity of Judaism and Jewish music throughout generations.

The program began with performances by two Zamir alumni choirs. The first was conducted by Zamir’s founding musical director, Stanley Sperber, and the second by Mati Lazar, current Zamir musical director. The program then continued with performances by the current Zamir Chorale. Next in line was HaZamir, the international Jewish teen choir, a project of the Zamir Choral Foundation. The concert ended with the resounding sound of all 350 choir members singing in unison the anthem of the Foundation, entitled HaZamir, conducted by both Sperber and Lazar.

One song sung by HaZamir was entitled “L’dor Vador”, which translates to “from generation to generation” and sings of the power of music to transcend years and generations. As we study the arts, I think this is an extremely powerful notion of which we should constantly consider and remind ourselves.

Regardless of the art form, art crosses languages, races, and years. It is an extremely powerful unifying factor. I know that as I stood at Carnegie, I felt the potency of this connection, and I was brought to tears.

Please enjoy some segments of the concert, the first being a performance by a Zamir alumni choir and the second being HaZamir’s rendition of “L’dor Vador”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpmIpwRf58U

If I know who Miley Cyrus is, then everyone else must know her, because I don’t bother listening to the radio, watching television, or reading magazines.

She started rising to fame when she became the star of the Disney Channel Show, “Hannah Montana.” A show about a girl living a double life, stuck between being a regular girl and a world famous pop star. Ever since this show premiered on Disney Channel (March 26, 2006) I personally couldn’t stand her. She became a star with a horrible, nasally singing voice that screamed “NO TALENT!” every time she opened her mouth.

But I still had a certain amount of respect for her. Her character was a great role model for young girls. A great relationship with her father, putting her friends first, an all around good girl who always learned to keep her priorities straight at the end of each episode.

The fourth season of that show is continuing this year. However, we all know that she also released her album “Can’t Be Tamed” on June 21st, 2010. She lost the wig and decided to “break out.” As she said in an interview (for the actual article, click here) “I work really hard to be fit and to know that I can wear whatever makes me most comfortable. I feel more comfortable dressing with a little less, which is just how I’ve always been. Now I’m able to do that a little more freely and, also, I’ve just grown up to be this way too. It’s not like this was me five years ago. It’s me now, presently.”

And that’s all fine and dandy. But keep in mind she has a lot of young fans that she picked up while being “good-girl Stewart” on her Disney Channel show. I don’t have any children of my own, but I certainly wouldn’t want my kids to watch a 17 year old girl in super shorts and no undershirt dancing against a crowd of older people in a bar. Trying to break out and grow up isn’t a bad idea, but the transformation she underwent was too fast. It was a shocking change, and kids are bound to get the wrong message out of it. Cyrus isn’t even legal yet; should she be allowed to make decisions like this which affect so many?

I don’t see the talent. I never did. But now that she’s lost the ability to say that she’s a great role model for kids, I don’t see the worth in her either.

Below is her music video “Who Owns My Heart,” which brought about one of the more recent controversies about how grown-up she’s trying to be.

Who owns my heart?
Is it love or is it art

Where’s the art? A 17 year old trying too hard to grow up?