Right … We’re Slow That Way

31. January 2007 · Comments Off on Right … We’re Slow That Way · Categories: imported, Ramble

I cut up the recording and multiplied the loop maybe 7-8 times. I had intended to use the oboe as the main melody instrument, but since I was so eager to try the structural idea, and since the oboe takes 15-20 minutes to “start up”, I went for the low whistle instead.

Hmmm. Doesn’t the writer know we do warm up before we play? Or is he/she talking about an oboe sound on some machine? (I’m too lazy to really read more of what he wrote. I just cracked up at the paragraph.)

And no, I don’t take 15-20 minutes to “start up”. Sure, I have to warm up, but it can go pretty quickly if I really have to make it happen.

Today, though, I’m taking some time to get moving at all. I did manage to do yard work, but then I really crashed. So I’m going to allow myself some hours off before I teach and go do another Camelot show.

Update
Oh. Wait. The guy who blogged about the oboe plays oboe. Odd.
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Tired in a Major Way

30. January 2007 · Comments Off on Tired in a Major Way · Categories: imported, Ramble

We started the show about 15 minutes late. They said it was due to “parking issues”. (I do know the Sharks were playing tonight.) I was at my car at 11:00 PM. I began work at 10:00 AM, which means I was at the hall a bit after 9:00 AM.

This means I’m very, very tired.

I have to get up at around 6:30 AM to take Jameson to school.

That means I should be in bed right now.

The thing is, I played a show.

And that means I’m a bit on the wired side.

So there you go.
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No Time. No Time.

30. January 2007 · Comments Off on No Time. No Time. · Categories: imported, Ramble

I got got got no time.

Today is the Camelot marathon. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Come home, eat a very early dinner, watch 10 minutes of Law & Order and a few minutes of BBC news. Check email. Read a few blogs. Blog this.

Soon I’ll be in black and back in the car.

Then it’s sound check, break, show.

I feel as if Tuesday’s dead or something.
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MQOD

29. January 2007 · Comments Off on MQOD · Categories: imported, Quotes

Musician: Do you want more vibration here?

Guest conductor Susanna Malkki: (pause) I want … (pause) I want it to be beautiful.

Read at the SLSO blog, written by Eddie Silva. The orchestra was rehearsing John Cage’s Credo in US.
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Be Happy. Be Healthy. Play Music.

29. January 2007 · Comments Off on Be Happy. Be Healthy. Play Music. · Categories: imported, News

  • A study of cancer patients in 2000, led by Dr. Barry Bittman of the Mind-Body Wellness Center, linked a particular type of drumming activity to increased immune response. It seemed to help patients’ immune systems seek out and destroy cancer cells.
  • A study by Bittman and colleagues at Loma Linda University and the Bay Area’s Applied Biosystems in 2005 found that playing a musical instrument affected humans at the genomic level, preventing biological responses to stress. The specific responses are closely associated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other serious afflictions.

    In practical everyday terms, the results of the third study — published in December — were even more startling. Regular music-making made octogenarians measurably healthier, happier and more active.

    Article here.

    I do wonder about the differences between the amateur musician and the professional. Does it cause us to be healthier as well? We are under a bit more stress, I would think. The articles I’ve seen always deal with those who are doing music for the love of it, and it has nothing to do with a music career.

    Just wondering.
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    • MQOD

    28. January 2007 · 2 comments · Categories: imported, Quotes

    Your playing is like salt water taffy. You see all the beautiful colors, red, yellow, blue, but they all taste the same.

    -Marcel Tabuteau

    Another

    27. January 2007 · 2 comments · Categories: imported, Videos

    Another video of the oboe quartet. And yes, triplets again.

    I guess I’m in the minority!

    Gee … what a surprise. Heh.

    How do YOU Play It?

    27. January 2007 · 2 comments · Categories: imported, Ramble

    So … Mozart’s Oboe Quartet … how do you play the grace notes? In this video the oboist turns the grace note with two sixteenths into a triplet, as does this player at what looks to be a student recital(?). I’ve always played a true grace note, as has another oboist-friend of mine. I’m curious about other oboists. Do tell!

    Bet a Bad Reed Could Kill Too

    27. January 2007 · Comments Off on Bet a Bad Reed Could Kill Too · Categories: imported, News

    A dog barked, some four year old boy screamed, and chickens died.

    Share this:

    Hmmm … Um …

    27. January 2007 · Comments Off on Hmmm … Um … · Categories: imported, Ramble

    So I guess Christopher Lee (AKA Count Dracula, Fu Manchu, Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus, Saruman) has a CD out. And you can also hear him sing a metal version of The Toreador if you’d like.

    Well. Okay then.
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