DePauwpalooza: kickasstic? Depawsome? (Comment required)

Hey!

One of the best friends I made while I was living in New York last semester is Gail Wein, who after a career doing many things in music, including producing for NPR, is now a terrific publicist.  At some concert we were at, we liked it so much that in talking about it she said, "It was  . . . kickasstic!"  And with that neologism (or so we thought, I just Googled it), one of our favorite words was born.

And you all came up with "DePawesome." (Or is it "DePauwsome?)

So we had the first DePauwpalooza yesterday.  I want to know about your experience of it--the whole thing and especially the drum circle, in which so many of you participated so enthusiastically. Kickasstic? DePauwsome?

One of the most kickasstic things about for me is that the idea came from students and then the Dean said, that's great, let's make it happen.  Dr. McCoy had the idea for the SoM picnic (where my "homeroom" section of MUS 130 was going to do a drum circle, but I was out of town and the drums didn't get unlocked), and then a group of CLA and SoM students who have been meeting with him since last year asked why we couldn't have one for the whole campus.

When I went to a week-long "playshop" with Arthur Hull, he talked a lot about how a good facilitator/leader listens for and senses what the group (community) needs and then uses her or his leadership role to provide that.  A good leader takes responsibility for the well-being of the group, and uses the power that comes with the role to serve the group. To me, this was a perfect example of that.  You all have just been here a month or so; I've been here 24 years (!) and one thing that's really clear to me is that we've needed more sense of community, both as the SoM and the campus as a whole.

So Dr. McCoy listened, talked to people, got faculty excited about the idea, and made this big music party happen.

And at the heart of it was a drum circle, the quintessential participatory, bring-people-together, community-building music activity.

I absolutely LOVED all the SoM ensembles and the Urinetown cast, too!  Great job, everyone!

I could go on and on--let me know your thoughts. Tell us a story of what it was like for you at DePauwpalooza.

Musicking

:) I definitely can appreciate this term. We actually talked about this in Foundations to Music Ed. I absolutely can understand what he is getting at, but at the same time i definitely understand the same point that most of us are making in our post... I do think that the composer is a vital role in "musicking" and without the composer then you have nothing to interpret as a musician. However in that instant that the music is being played i do believe that the input is coming directly from the musician so at that moment, yes it is the performer. But we also have to remember that that performer isn't always performing something that they have created. Often times it is just their interpretation of something that someone else has created. So i do believe that everyone is vital to his term... and it makes complete sense.

Musicking

I wasn't too sure about Small's definition of "musicking." Granted, he gets credit for making up the word, but I don't really think everyone involved in the whole musical setting gets the same amount of musical credit when everyone isn't doing the same amount of work. The composer writes the music and has this idea in his/her head, but it's completely up to the performer how to interpret the dots that the composer wrote out, so depending, I would say that the performer plays a bigger part, and 90% of listeners don't know how to actively listen to music in a way that makes them know what's going on anyway. Granted, I agree that music has a lot to do with the relationship between composer, listener, and performer, culture, etc., but if a performance is missing one of these elements, by Small's standards, does it count as music? I just keep thinking about the granny dozing in the fourth row of the symphony or the kid who was dragged to his little brother's band concert and I can't help but doubt that there's much going on in the way of a musicking relationship under these circumstances.

Musicking (comment required)

Almost forgot to post this.  Add comments here about the Christopher Small "Musicking" reading.

Reposting from earlier in the week:

Friday we'll be talking about Christopher Small's idea of "musicking"--redefining music as a verb rather than a noun.  We'll read the text of this lecture.  It's full of ideas.  Lots and lots to think through and start to absorb, so you may want to get started soon. There's also a fabulous book if you want to explore the ideas more.  Highly recommended.  Christopher Small's ideas have had as profound an effect on who I am as a musician as has the work of Arthur Hull and David Darling.  (And all those classical people, too.)

Sigur' Ros

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZBYG0DDPJc&feature=fvst

This is that group I was talking about earlier in group today :) If you like them you should totally check out other stuff they've done... and the Lead singer actually broke off and did his own thing for a bit and his name was Jonsi :)

Getting ready for Wednesday and Friday

Ola!

What a fun time in class today.  We were really getting the swing of those Jansa rhythms.

Dr. McCoy wants a drum circle at the DePauwpalooza pizza bash Friday evening--so I hope you'll join with "my" MUS 130 section in making it happen.  "Jansa" definitely needs to be part of it.  Let's start creating a DPU rhythmaculture.

Homework, homework:

Wednesday 
Speaking of using music to make a difference in a community . . . it's time to start exploring the Citizen Musician project, as presented by the Chicago Symphony and Yo-Yo Ma.  Check out the home page, and watch YYM explain the concept.  (BTW, when she first heard the term "citizen musician," one of my colleagues thought it sounded "vaguely communistic."  What do you think?)  Explore the other areas of the site as well.

Friday
Friday we'll be talking about Christopher Small's idea of "musicking"--redefining music as a verb rather than a noun.  We'll read the text of this lecture.  It's full of ideas.  Lots and lots to think through and start to absorb, so you may want to get started soon. There's also a fabulous book if you want to explore the ideas more.  Highly recommended.  Christopher Small's ideas have had as profound an effect on who I am as a musician as has the work of Arthur Hull and David Darling.  (And all those classical people, too.)

And then after Friday afternoon ensembles, it will be time for some musicking in Bowman Park.

Sulic & Hauser - Smooth Criminal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjOQac1vOEc

This is a cello duet, Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, that does like rock covers and such. In this video they're doing Smooth Criminal in a sort of cello battle. It's really awesome. They get super into it and theres so much character and emotion. They just make it a lot of fun. You should definitely check it out!

Voice

IDK if everyone remembers but i made a quote from a jazz fusion artist named Hiromi; here is the stuff from here website:

Her newest release, a nine-song trio recording simply titled Voice, expresses a range of human emotions without the aid of a single lyric. Voice is set for a June 7, 2011, release on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group.

"When I play music, I realize that it really filters emotions," says Hiromi. "I called this album Voice because I believe that people's real voices are expressed in their emotions. It's not something that you really say. It's more something that you have in your heart. Maybe it's something you haven't said yet. Maybe you're never going to say it. But it's your true voice. Instrumental music is very similar. We don't have any words or any lyrics to go with it. It's the true voice that we don't really put into words, but we feel it when it's real."

This is why I absolutely LOVE this woman lol. She is sooooo rare about the way she feels about music. And every time she plays a piece its never set in stone.She changes it every single time and not just the solo areas either... she plays what she feels, not whats on the page. And that is true art to me. its not about whats written down, its about the way YOU express it and make it your own.

Here is one of her pieces on youtube played live, the second one is the actual track from the album (which is different):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hftj2jne4xU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed1T4B_a7XY&feature=related

tell me what you think :)

ok so i just got done listening to Silence. And i'm pretty sure most of us hate silence... But on this track they talk about how silence adds to the music, because in essence it is an essential part of music. And that is very true. sometimes the best contribution you can make to a piece, or a group that you play in or even playing a "solo", is providing silence... eventually you have to make a small contribution musically, but sometimes the best part is just being silent.... I like the idea that they say that its never a solo its always a duet, because even if you are soloing, silence is adding to your performance.

DRONE GOODNESS!!!!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE DRONE... all these years i've been doing this i never knew what it was called lol. I'm listening to solo drone right now and I don't think there is anything better than an underlining tone or repitive melody to improvise on. Personally i prefer one with no meter... no tempo... It provides a foundation for you to play upon, the initial energy lol. I LOVEY DRONE :)

Hold Your Last Note

I think one thing that i withdrew from this is to be very in tune with everyone else you're playing with. The most important thing is to be sensitive to the soloist and find yourself completely engulfed into their sound. Give them something to work with, even if its just one sustained note. And i believe that this even applies with in life outside of the music world. Its not always important to be the center of attention, sometimes its necessary for you to sit in the background and offer support. Thats always a good skill to attain

Something to make you laugh

This is an interesting example of how music played differently than we are used to can really capture our attention--and, in this case, make us laugh. It's a pretty simple video, but for some reason I couldn't stop laughing. Do you guys feel the same way? If so, why do you think his music is so..hysterical?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KolfEhV-KiA&feature=mh_lolz&list=FLEQUxmr0kpSnx4eFqLaWINA

John Burroughs Powerhouse 2009

Hey Everybody! :)

Now of course I am going ot create an original blog about show choir. Show choir is a passion of mine :) John Burroughs 'Powerhouse' is a show choir from California. Basically every show choir in California does an extravagant flavor of show choir. The theme for their show in 2009 was "Who Made Up All the Rules?" In the beginning of the show the first couple songs were classical but also addresss a type of oppression, and the last songs showed acts of revolt against an outside force.

Sparknotes version:

Beethoven in the beginning and sweet rock bands at the end. (One of the songs is named "Rock Me Amadeus" hehe)

While incorporating difficult choreography, this show choir executes incredible vocals. Trust me, this high school is intense. The vocal quality (intonation, diction, etc) speaks wonders of their music program. This choir takes advantage of so many aspects of music, SUCH AS DISSONANCE!! Ah, they are so amazing. Anyways, I highly encourage all of you to check out their competition show. The talent one can discover within this group of high schoolers speaks wonders of the high school music program.

Type this into youtube and check out parts one and two of their comeptition show. Awesome quality.

John Burroughs "Powerhouse" - Part One

John Burroughs "Powerhouse" - Part Two

The provider should be "ChoirShow"

PLEASE ENJOY!!!!! You too Dr. Edberg :)

Just listened to the Darling Conversations. "It's You" really spoke to me. I loved the fact that they mentioned how people shouldn't get intimidated by older, more experienced musicians. They are just more experienced not better, we all have our own greatness within us and can create and share our own ideas in our own unique ways. "Babbling" was a fun one because it works as an ice breaker and gets people more warmed up to each other. I had never thought of it as any type of music, but really it's a form of self expression and just shows that we all have the capacity for music, even early on as babies. I found "Vocal Timbre" interesting because he mentioned the different types of vowel sounds and what we as western musicians would find a "quality" sound, but it really varies from culture to culture. As Taylor mentioned earlier, Belgian women use a different, more open type of timbre than we do here and get a different quality of sound, but there's really no right or wrong sound. I didn't think that there is one natural timbre to use, like they said in the recording, I would say that it varies depending on where you're from.

For those of you in Music Ed, you might be familiar with this Playing For Change. For those of you who aren't ed majors, this is a guy who goes around the world and films and records street performers and gives the recordings to other people who then listen and add their own music. Totally awesome example of how music connects everyone!! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Y'all Gotta Listen to this Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0

How John Butler manipulates the energy is incredible. The twelve string guitar and the open tones give it a nice earthy feel. I also like the pulse he keeps with the kick pad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BStf7HibDco&feature=related

This is one of my favorite groups, the 5 Browns. These 5 siblings all went to Julliard, and they are fantastic! I find it really interesting to watch the small gestures and eye contact among them. They are focused on their individual, yet still in sync with the rest of the group. It's incredible to watch!

L'apprenti sorcier (The sorcerer's apprentice) - Paul Dukas

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

Getting a little nostalgic of childhood with this video! I posted this because I find the cartoon amazingly correspondent to the music. I find it great!

Epic Rap Battles of History

So music is really awesome all the time, but one of the main things that I always look for in music, particularly popular music like rock bands, is the lyrics to the songs. These videos maybe aren't "music" per say, but the lyrics and references have a lot of meaning, or at least a lot of wit in order to bash the opponent. Also, I love physics, so I love this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn7-fVtT16k

Bezrodna Nevesta

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

This is a video of one of my favorite Bulgarian folk songs Bezrodna Nevesta which translates to childless bride. This style of singing utilizes a lot of sirening over drone pitches which was brought up in several of the Darling Conversation recordings. Traditional Bulgarian singing uses spread and closed vowels while most Western music encourages open vowels to create a darker and richer tone. To someone who's used to Western singing these songs might harsh and unappealing but I think that their music is just as, if not more, beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAQBukSalg8&feature=related

I think its neat to see how Imogen Heap how she puts music together! The process that she puts into her music is incredible to watch and then listen to the final product of what was created!

Weekend Homework (yay!)

First, you're wonderful!

Second, the homework assignment is as follows:

1.  Get together with the small group you formed at the end of today's class.  Improvise!  Focus on creating grooves, like we do in the drum circle, using vocal percussion, body percussion, and "found object" percussion.  Then take turns improvising solos over those grooves. 

Start with one note, then listen for the next.  Sing (or play--yes, you can use your major or other instrument) the music you hear in your imagination.  The key is to feel a feeling and express it!

2.  There is set of recordings on Moodle called "The Darling Conversations."  Pick three tracks (minimum) at random (besides the intro track) and listen to them.

3.  Write comments or posts about them here.

Finally . . .

The blog gets really fun when everyone posts something--comments about musical life and making music, a link to an interesting article, a relevant video etc.

So in addition to the above, do a new original post.  And make sure you've added comments to at least two of the original posts by class members.  By Monday morning, you should have written a total of 5 comments.  3 on the homework assignments you've had, and two on posts by class members.

Have a great weekend!


EE

Musical Bill of Rights

I completely agree with the statement that the voice is the most powerful musical instrument because it's inside you. The sound come directly from you and you can put any and all of your emotions into it. I also feel that it's the most satisfying form of expression. I also LOVE the statement that there are no non-musical people. Nothing irritates me more than people who say that they can't sing. Everyone can sing, it's part of being human, there are only those who haven't been trained or don't want to be.

Music for People Bill of Musical Rights (comment required)

I'll tell you more about Music for People tomorrow.  And we'll talk about the MfP "Bill of Musical Rights," which is at http://musicforpeople.org/rights.html, and below as well.  Write a comment.  What's most appealing about this?  Or surprising? Or resonates most deeply with you?  Or doesn't ring true for you?  Or how is it different from the way we experience classical music working?

Human beings need to express themselves daily in a way that invites physical and emotional release. Musical self-expression is a joyful and healthy means of communication available to absolutely everyone. There are as many different ways to make music as there are people. The human voice is the most natural and powerful vehicle for musical self-expression. The differences in our voices add richness and depth to music. Sincerely expressed emotion is at the root of meaningful musical expression. Your music is more authentically expressed when your body is involved in your musical expression. The European tradition of music is only one sound. All other cultures and traditions deserve equal attention. Any combination of people and instruments can make music together. There are no "unmusical" people, only those with no musical experience. Music improvisation is a unique and positive way to build skills for life-expression. In improvisation as in life, we must be responsible for the vibrations we send one another.

Rhythmaculture

I found the article titled Rhythmaculture extremely interesting because it talked about how the Europeans eradicated their native percussion at the time of religious unification, because vocal and instrumental music were absorbed into the new church. So was drumming just too pagan to be used in worship? I know many world cultures today use percussion and dance in religious ceremony, but not Europe. It made me wonder what America would be different if Europeans had retained their native drumming.

Readings for W 9/14 (comment required)

Welcome to the class blog!


After you've read the readings and listened to "Drums of Passion," add a comment here.  Just click on the title of the post, and a box in which you can write a comment should show up.


A reminder that the readings are:

“Change the World” (Interview with Babatunde Olatunji) http://www.drumcircle.com/articles/baba.html

“Arthurian Philosophy” http://www.drumcircle.com/articles/philosophy.html

“Rythmaculture” http://www.drumcircle.com/articles/rhythmaculture.html

The "Drums of Passion" album is available on your MUS 130 Moodle site.