BQOD

08. January 2009 · Comments Off on BQOD · Categories: BQOD

should i get stoned before or after i practice oboe?

if i do it before, like i want to, ill have more motivation to practice but at the same time, it will make me mess up more than normal. not stoned at all, ill play better, but i wont have as much motivation.

Yes. I really did just read this. Sigh.

I realize I’m an old boring woman, but this just makes me sad. I hope it’s not a student of mine. But it might explain some things.

Update
Well, the student isn’t one of mine. Here’s the thing that so many don’t understand: blogs are public. Things are easy to find. The student goes to [school removed because I’m nice that way] University. Silly, foolish, foolish student.

Watch … and Listen too!

08. January 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Links, Videos

I wonder what it was like to be a studio musician back when these sorts of cartoons were being done. There’s some fun stuff going on at the beginning of this cartoon …

Schott Sale

08. January 2009 · Comments Off on Schott Sale · Categories: Links, Music & Books, Ramble

Sheet Music Plus is having a sale on all music by Schott. Until January 29 you can get 20% off, which is a good deal. From that link you can click on your instrument of choice. Of course we all know what that will be, right?

And yes, I don’t do this entirely unselfishly; I get a bit of a percentage when someone purchases music via Sheet Music Plus. For that I thank many of you! It helps cover the cost of maintaining this site, and it enabled me to buy that chalet in Switzerland.

Okay, that second one isn’t true. Never mind that. 😉

No Oboe For Obama

08. January 2009 · Comments Off on No Oboe For Obama · Categories: Links, News, Ramble

You know I’d have been there for him. I’m a giver. I would have played for free, even. But, alas, I see no oboe scheduled. It’s just like the Superbowl I guess: last year oboe was featured, this year it’s Yo-Yo. What is the world coming to?

I do see that San Francisco is getting some attention, though.

Here’s the order of the program:

Musical selections:

The U.S. Marine Band

The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus

Call to order and welcoming remarks: Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, Calif.

Musical selection: Aretha Franklin

Oath of office administered to Vice President-elect Joe Biden by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

Musical selection, John Williams, composer-arranger:

Itzhak Perlman, violin

Yo-Yo Ma, cello

Gabriela Montero, piano

Anthony McGill, clarinet

Oath of office administered to President-elect Barack Obama by Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Inaugural address by Obama

Poem:

Elizabeth Alexander

Benediction: The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery

The National Anthem: The U.S. Navy Band “Sea Chanters”

The above info was found here.

I’m not going to comment on certain people or things that will go on. Not I. I keep this site as nonpolitical as possible. Or is that apolitical? Or shall I say, instead, that this site is oboecentric? As it should be.

But no oboe. C’mon. What is the United States all about, anyway? And what happened to the great idea of Oboema? I had such hope ….

Update
Here is an article about the clarinetist who will perform (along with Ma, Montero and Perlman).

What Makes You Cry

08. January 2009 · Comments Off on What Makes You Cry · Categories: Links, Ramble

Whenever I hear an oboe, I can’t but think of something that’s sad and alone.

(Yes, I could make so many bad jokes about that quote and oboists … and reeds … but I’m not gonna. Aren’t you proud of me?)

I read it here. Check out what Chicagoans in the arts say about what makes them cry.

Me? Some music makes me cry (not when I’m playing for the most part, though). Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, second movement, English horn solo. (Duh!) Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto (Emperor), second movement. So much more ….

But it’s not only music. Words can get to me. I used to put together a contemplative Christmas program that featured scripture, poetry and music. And that’s where I did fall apart! If I read a poem that moved me, I’d have a very difficult time holding back tears. Maybe because I wasn’t as used to reading as I was to playing. Dunno. I can read them silently and while I’m moved I won’t cry. But say them aloud and the floodgates open.

And art. When I saw Van Gogh’s Starry Night I finally understood how a painting could hit someone emotionally.

And of course I’m a sucker for some movies. Even when I know I’m being manipulated. (But maybe music and art are manipulating me as well, eh?) “The Lives Of Others” really hit me. I guess it doesn’t hit everyone that way, but it sure got to me.

Theater can get to me as well. I certainly cried at “Machinal”.

Hmmm. Maybe I just like to cry.

Very Funny

08. January 2009 · Comments Off on Very Funny · Categories: Havin' Fun, Links

Playing sharp these days?