Posted in Uncategorized on August 10, 2009 by dunlapbg
Well, this last week was the final week of the project. I know I haven’t been diligent on updating every week like I promised, but I can tell you that the program was entirely successful. I will be making some final updates in the future as my involvement is not quite complete. Plus I would like to share some stories from the program. Finally, once I get my music copywrited, I will post it up for all to hear. That may not be for some time, though.
Anyway, to those that have diligently read my ramblings, thank you. I greatly appreciate the support.
I won’t go on with the rest of the rhyme, but you can’t refute it’s truths. What I will do, however, is give you an idea of what else is good for the heart…besides farting…
This week marks the beginning of my music writing process. I won’t get into the details of the music just now as I am only beginning, but I do find it interesting how my thinking is altered by the previous five weeks of the program. I usually just write whatever grooves or whatever I feel fits well together. Now I feel like the music is a little more directed and purposely written. This difference could be good or bad. Too much of it and the music could sound too contrived. Too little of it and the music sounds thrown together. If I can find the correct amount of “feel” and “purposeful writing” then I think I can improve on my current method. So, by that reasoning I am trying to create mood driven music.
Another issue I face when writing is actually recording what I am hearing. Give me any instrument and I will come up with something that is pleasing to the ear (at least to my ear). Recording that sound with the equipment and software that I have is a bit more difficult. So I’m working on that. That’s the beauty of doing a project like mine. I get a chance to get better at one of my passions.
So what’s good for your heart? Discovery. The more time I spend simply experimenting and discovering what I can create, whether simple or complex, I find myself being blown away by the possibilities.
Ok, so as a musician I have to give a goodbye wave to the King of Pop. I may not have liked him or all of his music, but many songs were simply Thrillers. (And you thought you would get out of this without a pun. Silly you.) Of course the extra stray hit by using his name won’t hurt this blog anyway. So sue me.
Anyway, this week is the last week of my “research” phase in the traditional sense. I will be finishing up my study of the three big cultural styles and making my final preparations for writing the final product. Exciting, isn’t it…
But Wait! There’s More! (That was tribut to Billy Mays who also died this week.):
I figure it is high time to finally introduce the work that sparked my interest in multicultural syntheses of music. I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite composers: Yasuhida Ito. He wrote a composition entitled “Gloriosa” which marries traditional Japanese musical styles and chord structures with Gregorian Chanting from the Middle Ages. If you went “Huh?” then your reaction was no different from my original reaction. But it is that beautifully stunning and gorgeous marriage that got my little brain a-thinkin’ about how I might combine the elements of music that I so dearly love. So, the following link has a bit of info about Ito and the composition “Gloriosa.” It also has a link to a recording of the piece. I encourage you to make time for all three movements. They are certainly worth the ~20 minutes they take. I have also added links to the three movements as found on Youtube. There you will have visuals. The youtube videos are pretty good.
http://www.philharmonicwinds.org/composer_ito.htm
And as a final farewell to Michael, I feel the following video is a great tribute:
Ok, so I am really just pulling my titles from the blue hoping to get the random hit from those broad range searchers… But I guess it fits in a way.
I just finished a two week spree of researching African Tribal Drumming and filling my head with all of those lovely organic thoughts of connecting with nature. I was all very nice and cerebral, but I think it made me a bit out of touch with the Community of Scholars. I found myself questioning things that should have been taken for granted and taking for granted things that should have been questioned. This switch in thinking is quite interesting to me. It is perhaps the main difference that is noticed in the methodologies of non-western thinkers.
Now, I’m not saying that my little paradigm shift is a bad thing, but it certainly makes everyday communication a little more difficult. I found myself getting upset over different kinds of things, such as the nuances of the taste of my food and the feel of my clothing. Before, neither of these things mattered much, but over the last few weeks, they have been issues that required some thinking time. And please don’t think I was being petty and not focusing on things that mattered. I just can’t think of a better way of describing my recent thought process.
It’s all beneficial in the long run, I guess. Maybe I need to consider this mind frame when writing my final piece of music. For now, however, I will plod onward and begin discovering the magic of Japanese Kabuki Music.
…to be your neighbor. Won’t you be mine? Won’t you be mine?
I thought Mr. Rogers would be an appropriate way to introduce the atmosphere that I felt yesterday. I hosted my first official Drum Circle for the Community of Scholars yesterday and I do believe that it was a success. We had about a third of the entire community come out which was very exciting.
So for those of you who don’t know what a “Drum Circle” is, I shall describe it. Imagine a setting where all formalities fall away and you are left with the availability to communicate your thoughts and emotions by playing a musical instrument, in this case a drum. This task might be difficult for the non-musically inclined among you, but I challenge you to this exercise:
Consider your train of thought over the last 10 to 15 minutes. Think about each emotion or idea that you experienced during that time. See if you can associate some sort of sound effect to that idea or emotion. Whether that be white noise, and explosion, a beautiful string melody, dripping water, or any number of other things. If you can do this, then you can imagine what it would be like to translate those ideas into an instrument.
Anyway, we spent an hour playing through different exercises and rhythms intended to promote this kind of communication. The best part about it was that there were several people there who had never played a percussion instrument before! What an opportunity for someone who wants to share his passions with all who would hear. So I did and it was good as far as I have heard. So we made it a weekly event. Hopefully I will have repeat attenders and newcomers as well.
So the title is probably very misleading. I didn’t go to hell, but to several beautiful parks in NC over the last few days. But before I get into that I feel like I should give some explanation.
So I haven’t recorded what I have written for this week because I am having a serious problem transferring my video from my camcorder to a format that is easy to distribute on youtube. The tech problems just never end apparently. So I will be investigating that tomorrow so I can share my experiences over the weekend and today.
So, in lieu of video, I will give a written account of my journey to NC. DuPont State Park is about 65 miles from Wofford by the way I go. If you speed (not that I would recommend it) you can do the drive in 1 hour 15 minutes. Otherwise, tack on another 15 minutes. The park is quite large and is very beautiful. The river that runs through it has many many water falls (Transylvannia county is the “Land of Waterfalls” among other things). The three largest of them are High Falls, Triple Falls, and Hooker Falls. I had intended on going to all three and playing my djembe next to each one as a way of separating myself from the strictures of the modern world. Just me, the falls, my drum, and a camera to record the moment were all that I wanted. I did not expect the other people, most of which simply added to the experience.
I tried to make the trip last Thursday, but was delayed by some appointments, so I instead went to Brevard (just up the road from the park) instead to enjoy some Bluegrass with a couple of friends of mine. That doesn’t exactly count as “communing with nature” but there is something very natural about old men crooning about love lost, love found, and the crawdad hole. Maybe that’s just the moon…hic…shine talking.
Today I tried again and was quite successful for my part. I made it to the park by 1:30pm and spent the rest of the afternoon there by Triple Falls which is absolutely magnificent. The falls flow over some very open rocks which can be easily scaled. So scale them I did and I made out to play for a while on the rocks with the river roaring and foaming away at my side. Of course, the rains came after a few minutes. Or the drizzles as it happened. After those I had three bright hours with which to play with, listen to, and watch the falls. As soon as I can get the video working, I’ll show you what I mean by its beauty.
So, before this thing gets too long, let me close today’s episode by saying that we think too much about things that matter only to our lives in the here and now. Being out in nature grants a sort of freedom of knowledge and thought that we (the majority of people) have lost. I think that this loss is what makes us think that the African tribal people who are the subject of my recent study suffer daily in poverty. They don’t. They just see things as they are in the natural world and enjoy them for that quality. They don’t need a filter in order to be comfortable. Sometimes I think we need to break our own filters and see the world as they do in order to better understand it.
I know that is vague, but think on it. It just may be true…
I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and that you were able to make it through alright without new and fresh witticisms from yours truly (because the world revolves around me, you see). Alright, enough ego stroking…
I had a spectacular weekend consisting of watching movies and spending far too much time modeling WWII miniatures. Of course this blog doesn’t really concern that so I’ll won’t bore you.
This week should be quite interesting. I am working on African Tribal Music. That basically means that I will be reading about, playing, thinking, and “becoming” a drum. At least that is what it means according to most ideas of “The Dark Continent” as Mickey Hart of the Greatful Dead jokingly describes common conceptions of Africa in his fantastic book Drumming at the Edge of Magic. It is definitely worth a read if you would like to learn more about the art and culture surrounding drumming of all sorts. IT IS NOT A TECHNICAL BOOK, so it is good for all readers.
Anyway, I get to spend a large amount of time this week actually playing djembe so it should be a relaxing week. There is nothing like a good drum head to vent you frustrations on. The great part is that, according to the general theory of drumming in Africa, I don’t even have to have any particular “rhythem” in order to make good “music,” so my method is viable. If you don’t know what a djembe is, you can use wikipedia for a general overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djembe
Now, I really can play the djembe, and I will be developing some music and chant. I will perform this in front of a camera and post it here like I did last week once I finish it. Look forward to that (if you dare)…
Besides the completely unrelated title, I do have something to report. Yesterday I finished my first composition for the project! Launch the streamers! Bring in the cake! Cue the Band! Well, maybe not. It is a good step, but it doesn’t get me to the finish line.
I will say that the process of writing the music was quite engrossing. I have had trouble in the past writing melodies that I found suitable and catchy. The background stuff and the arrangement always came easier to me. I figured the way to help solve my problem was to just sit down and do it. For the most part, it worked. Now, I haven’t arranged the piece for a fully orchestrated band, but I did write the sax part and the keyboard part which is all that is really necessary for the song to be performed.
So, to fill you in a bit on the tune itself: it is a Jazz song in the Swing sub-genre. Think “Swing, Swing, Swing” or anything by the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies (if you can look past the suggestive themes of their music and see the build of the sound). I intended it to be a laid back statement of summer afternoon car rides. There’s nothing like enjoying the bright, vibrant scenery of a rural country strawberry patch passing by and feeling the wind whipping in your face as you cruise down the road on a sunny afternoon. So, with that in mind, I created “Crusin.’” I will stop writing for a moment and let you hear it. Please forgive the poor audio as I only had a little Nikon point and shoot on hand to capture the video:
The sax player there is a good friend of mine named Dashaun Carroll. He is the next Cannonball Adderly or Charlie Parker or Paul Desmond. Probably more like Paul in reality because he has an amazing silky smooth tone and a resonating quality to everything he plays. I could listen to him play for hours on end. Here is a clip of Paul in action and I think you will see what I am talking about.
Anyway, inispiration for the song came from a chord progression that I had written several months ago. I usually just throw out a feel and a progression to match the feel and see what happens. I figured that I was aiming towards more of a bop or funk, but as I started writing I kept hearing swing in my ears. So I went with it. If you listen again, notice that there are two distinct sections: An A section that is a little bop with some smooth runs to even it out, but it is pretty laid back. Then there is a solo section followed by a B section that has a darker tone to it. It could possibly be that feeling of getting too hot or running into some rain on your ride. But that quickly passes and some excitement builds until you are back into the boppy A section to finish the tune.
That pattern, by the way, is pretty standard for older Jazz. You find so many songs that feature a catchy or noticable “head” or melody, followed by long solos followed again by the “head” to finish the song.
So that’s all I’ve got for now. I hope you enjoyed my little ditty and please feel free to comment on anything you have heard or seen. There is nothing like good constructive criticism, so I’m open to anything. I’ll leave you with another recording that Dashaun and I did. This one is a bit more of a jam and includes “The In Crowd” by Dobie Gray, “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” by Cannonball Adderly and “Crusin’” again at the end. If you can’t access the video on the blog, then you can find them at this link:
Sorry about the silly title, but it basically means that I have conquered the technology and have managed to devise a way for everyone to play my music! Thanks to youtube.com and a number of other things, I have managed to upload some music. So, at last here is the silly little software test:
Bear in mind that it is not anything special except to prove that I can now spread what I write. Of course it is silly, so it might be worth watching.
Additionally, here is the the first sound file that I tried posting for those of you who were unable to hear the goodness of Christmas parody music:
I do apologize for vascillating back and forth over this media junk, but now that I have a very viable solution that should work for everybody, I can move on. Enjoy what is up so far!
Well, today marks the first day on the job for my project. I would have to say that it was a successful endeavor at the least.
Today was devoted to becoming comfortable with the other fellows and doing some team building exercises. After a brief introductory meeting hosted by our enthusiastic director Dr. Davis, I managed to get in some good discussion and planning for my weeks here. In the midst of pouring over books, writing music, playing my various instruments, and keeping in good health I will be talking and commenting on others projects, having coffee, talking about my project to others, having coffee, writing this blog, having coffee, visiting various fine arts and science centers, and, invariably having coffee. It seems to me that most of these scholars derive much of their demeanor and drive from coffee. There might be a correlation there if one were to look deep enough…
In any case, I will partake in the good coffee that they provide (organic, fair trade goodness) and do my bit. We actually spent over three hours outside today participating in a community building program put on by a company called Outward. It was pretty good at what it was designed to do: build communication and trust in community members and promote teamwork. I will say that it also allowed me to understand how I will need to communicate this summer. Knowing how other people generally think and respond is half of the battle. Knowing how I think and making sure that my ideas and responses are for the best of the community is the other half. Today was a good step towards winning that battle.
Other than the outside fun, I managed to get over half of a Jazz tune written in score form. It is mostly in my head, but it is awful hard for other to read or understand that type of saved file. Hopefully, I’ll have a treat for you by the end of the week. I will likely be meeting with a good friend of my who is a professional sax player among other things. He is as smooth as Paul Desmond. If I can get him to play some of my stuff, then I might be able to record it and post it here.
In any case, I do have a little something for everyone. In the process of figuring out my music writing software, I arranged a little ditty that everyone knows. Just download the file below and follow the instructions on the powerpoint. You will have to right click and click “Save to file.” I usually just save them to my desktop so I can delete them after I’ve listened to them. Enjoy!
