Read Elsewhere

28. March 2008 · 2 comments · Categories: Other People's Words
  • We had forgotten just how boring the third movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 is.

  • (I personally think the oboe is squeaky)

  • Didn’t do any oboe practise either. I wanna quit oboe so bad….but I feel guilty coz my parents bought me my own. Still I stuck and I can’t really see myself going anywhere, Plus my teacher is good but I don’t think she’s really the write person for me.

  • There are a bunch of studies suggesting that classical music makes people smarter. But those studies were funded by people who love classical music. Still, maybe good music is good for you. But that’s absurd and cliche.

  • I think my decision to learn to play the oboe can be credited 97% to my love for the duck’s theme, whereas only 3% of the credit goes to my hopeless nerdiness.

  • And remember: a bassoon is NOT an oboe. People are always getting them mixed up. Bassoon BIG. Oboe small. Oboe sticks out like a sore thumb. Bassoon virtually inaudible in a band (darn brass instruments and saxes drown us out).

    • I Didn’t Know

    28. March 2008 · Comments Off on I Didn’t Know · Categories: Announcements

    … until now:
    The IDRS forum is now open to the public. Read about it here.

    How Easily I Distrust Myself

    28. March 2008 · 5 comments · Categories: Links, Ramble

    I bought a recording device yesterday. For a whopping $99.00. Now that might seem like a lot to many people, but to record music one needs something of good quality. Of course I’m looking for deals all the time … sigh ….

    Then I recorded myself. And played it back. And died.

    Wow. Do I sound that abominable? If so, I should just quit. Now. Or yesterday.

    But then I had to take a step back. Be realistic. Know that “you get what you pay for” (most of the time; the deal I got on my Marigaux sort of goes against that truth!). I played the recording for my son. I pondered. I took a deep breath. And then I needed to hear Dan tell me you do have to get something better to record music.

    I spoke with a colleague last night about the experience. She commented on how difficult it is to record oboe.

    My sound was tinny. Ugly. Disgusting. Need I go on?

    Okay. So I’ll relax. And try to return this (now opened) recorder that the guy at Fry’s (yes, yes, I know; never trust those people!) said was wonderful for music. (I didn’t tell him what kind of music, which was probably stupid of me.) And I will also try to remind myself that I do sound fine. I’ve heard recordings of my oboe playing before, done by others. (Now I’m wondering just what the singers in Opera San José use … those somewhat illegal recordings I’ve heard sound much better. Hmmm.)

    It’s sad, though, that I can be destroyed so easily, don’t you think? It’s sort of like seeing myself in one of those wacky carnival mirrors and deciding that’s how I look I suppose.

    I see that Jason Heath has blogged about a microphone. Does it record music okay, Jason, or is it just for speaking?

    (The recorder I bought mentions music, but they aren’t talking about recording live music, but “listening to your favorite songs”. It only says “Record meetings or notes and even store large documents to bring from one computer to another. … And up to 500 songs can be stored and played in impressive stereo sound with track and artist name clearly displayed on the LCD.”)

    Hugh Sung has also blogged about some equipment. But I’m not up for spending $4,000 or $5,000! So never mind.

    Dan reminds me, too, that I can simply record myself via my MacBook. Well yes. There’s that.

    Update:
    There was no question when I returned the recorder. The man who took it back, in fact, said that he knew it wouldn’t be good for recording an oboe (and yes, he knew about an oboe!). I wish he had been on the floor when I was looking around. He said it would probably take a bit more money (as in a lot) to get decent equipment for what I had in mind.