We Musicians Do Speak Us Some Italian

30. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Videos

Youth Choir Balsis sings Richard Genee, Insalata Italiana:

Here’s the text:

Piano, piano, dolce, soave ed amabile
Forte, piano, pianissimo
Venite gua
Forte, fortissimo, forte, piano,
Crescendo, stringendo, più mosso
Rinforzando, diminuendo
Decrescendo, morendo, smorzando.
Recitativo, O Dio, O cielo,
Coloratura, lo tremo.
A piacere, colla parte, fermata.
Lento, con espressione,
larghetto, sostenuto, ritenuto
Espressivo, ben marcato,
Pizzicato, arco, arco,
Precipitato, sospirando,
ritardando, arco.
Tra ta ta ta, suona la tromba
Tra ta ta ta, a la vedetta
Con fuoco, staccato
Assai scandaloso,
non più lamentoso.
Bravo, bravissimo,
sono contento!
Volti subito
L’accompagnamento
Con rabbia, con furia
In tempo di polacca,
con impeto, con scandalo,
con grazia, con anima.
Agitata ta ta ta ta,
Più mosso stretto
Fine dell’opera.
Felicità, felicità.
Fine dell’opera.

TQOD

30. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: TQOD

Played the oboe tonight funny that the band hall has a bar!

Bassoon For Sale

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Bassoon, For Sale

BassoonForSale

In case this isn’t terribly clear … I think I don’t know how to post pictures well! … this reads:

FOR SALE
Püchner Bassoon #7677
$13,500
tuned & serviced by Holden McAleer
Contact: Paul Barret pbarrett [at] lava [dot] net (808) 263-0021

Extroverted? Not I!

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Ramble

I’m watching The Singing Life on PBS. Something one of the men from Chanticleer just said doesn’t connect with this instrumentalist at all. He said “We’re all extroverted people,” and went on to say that they are that way on the stage and after with people and that that’s what makes them singers and musicians.

I wonder if that’s a difference between singers and instrumentalists, or if it’s just some singers who feel this way. I do know that when I was in school the singers were the noisy people. And huggy too. We used to call them “mouth majors” which I’m sure wasn’t appreciated by them! But it is true that singers tend to be noisier than instrumentalists if I am speaking generally. Is it that much of a surprise? They emote via their mouths. I emote via my oboe.

I’m guessing I’m generalizing too much. But whatever.

Ear Update

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Hearing, Ramble

I don’t want to become one of those people who only talks about herself and her health, but I figured some might want an ear update:

My left ear is still ringing. The tinnitus hasn’t gone away, but I’m learning to live with it. I don’t even notice the issue when I’m teaching. I also am not finding loud sound as painful. Today I cleared the dishwasher without putting in a plug (too darn lazy to go get it!) and it was not bothersome. I vacuumed too, and that was fine.

I am more aware of the hearing loss, now that I realize I don’t hear birds singing or the fan noise if I’m lying on my right side — this means my right ear is against a pillow and my left ear is doing the major hearing. And gee … there’s the silver lining! Nice! I don’t notice the hearing loss in most instances, though. No biggie. :-)

I will have another hearing test 6 months from the first one to see if things have changed. I’m guessing it’ll all be the same, and I’m not worried. I’m thankful, though, that my otologist has been so wonderful and takes this seriously.

BQOD

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: BQOD

Grass reminds me of classical music. It has its own rhythm and is always dancing.

(Yes, the blogger is talking about grass … as in lawn.)

Required Materials …?

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Ramble

Hmmm. I saw an oboe teacher’s list of “required materials” for students:

48 Famous Studies (1st Oboe Part) Edited by Albert Andraud, W. Ferling.

Oboe Solos: Set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out oboe part) for oboe and piano. Series: Everybody’s Favorite Series #99.

Oboe Concerto In C Major, K. 314
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), edited by Franz Giegling. K. 314 (285d). Set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out oboe part) for oboe and piano. Urtext of the New Mozart Edition. C Major. 40 pages. Published by Baerenreiter-Ausgaben (German import).

I do hope the site is wrong! I can’t imagine suggesting only those three things! How very odd.

Advice (that you already know!)

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Ramble

I was just watching and listening to a video of a trio. (Don’t worry, readers, it’s no one who subscribes to this site.) The players are quite good. They are students at a music conservatory, so that usually means they had a bit ‘o talent! I can see and hear some issues, but I’m guessing many in the audience wouldn’t have known about the little bloop one player made if only he hadn’t shaken his head right after.

Never communicate an error to the audience. Ever. If they hear it, they hear it. If some don’t, why let them know?

I also think the oboist might have gotten some of the low notes had the oboe been held a bit closer to the body. But of course I’d need to try to reed to say for sure.

Just things you already know. But sometimes a reminder helps.

TQOD

29. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: TQOD

I just ran away from an old yelling janitor lady…holding an oboe…

Happy Birthday, DK!

29. June 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Birthdays!, Videos

I’ve heard that at birthdays the New World Symphony bassoonists put together fun ditties for the birthday boy or girl. Enjoy!

Sunday Evening Music

28. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Sunday Evening Music

I’m allowing myself a little leniency when it comes to Sunday Evening Music; it can be hymns or even (gasp!) some contemporary stuff I actually like. So you can choose to think (even) less of me if you like. I’m okay with that.

Here is the late Rich Mullins singing “The Color Green”.

Rich Mullins: The Color Green

Sunday Morning Music

28. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Sunday Morning Music

Henry Purcell: O God Thou Art My God

Ack! Scary Dreams

28. June 2009 · 4 comments · Categories: Dreams

There is a bird singing very loudly outside the family room. And it’s 4:15 AM. Silly bird should be sleeping!

And yes, I’m awake. I woke up because I had one of those scary dreams where I nearly wake crying.

I can’t remember all of the dream, but I know Dan and I were being pursued by people. We were good, they were bad. I think they were traitors of some sort. (It had nothing to do with the US though.) There was far too much about the dream to remember it, but I do remember that I watched a woman get killed, and this other guy and I (Dan and I had been separated somehow, and I was trying to reach him) were hiding in a car. The killer (another woman) then came to the car and shot at it from nearly every angle. Of course she missed us (good thing about dreams!). I knew who the traitors were — and now it gets even weirder — and they were some players from my symphony (not you, dk, and I can only remember one face). We drove away quickly as they disposed of the body, but of course they were chasing us. We ended up by the restaurant where Dan was eating, and he and I connected even though I was attempting to stay away from him to keep him safe.

The next thing I remember is that we were trying to get to Kelsey and Mel for a party they were having (don’t ask me what that was for, as I can’t remember), and then I saw some of the people chasing us and realized we couldn’t attend after all. So we ran back to the car, thinking we hadn’t been seen, but I hear a happy cry and it’s Kelsey running to us. I hug her, but whisper that we can’t stay, it wouldn’t be safe for her, and we are crying.

That’s when I wake up. But my brain is still racing as I’m trying to figure out how I can communicate with Kelsey without the pursuers knowing. I decide that I’ll pretend to find her on Facebook and message her with “This is your friend Cecilia and I’m so glad I found you!”

Okay. That’s it. I had to get out of bed because I was so shaken!

I blame all of this on Star Trek and Facebook. I am hoping that after writing about it I won’t be so shaky. I really love dreams, but I don’t like these ones that are like movies. It even had a soundtrack. Figures.

And now I’ll attempt to get back to sleep.

(Yes, this has little to do with music, but symphony members were involved, I think I had an oboe with me, and then there’s that soundtrack ….)

Ahhhh, So THAT’S It!

27. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: Read Online

How Are Classical Musical And Rock & Roll Music Alike?

They are formed from the same three ingedients:
Rhythm, Melody, Harmony.
Add timbe (tonal quality) to that. It is in tonal quality that they are the most different. Classical music strives for purity in tonal quality, whereas rock used a distorted (distortion, overdrive, etc) tonal pallet.

BQOD

27. June 2009 · Comments Off · Categories: BQOD

Classical music is so very hott!
Speaking of which, I cannot wait to get the air conditioner moving. I think its broken.

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