I'm waiting for my laundry to dry. This translates in to more posts for you, woo hoo!
We didn't have improvisation class today which is sad because it is my favorite class, but good because half of us were sick and barely aware during percussion skills. In percussion skills we are working on Cuban rhythms and different claves. Neville talks so fast that I'm not really sure what any of the terms are. I tried to wikipedia and then YouTube "clave" but what I found was still over my head- maybe the library will have something useful.
In any case I rock the triangle and really enjoyed smacking the back of a plastic chair with drum sticks today. We had been using a 3-2 clave rhythm, but today moved on to a rumba clave. I don't know if I'm talking about any of this correctly- but suffice to say: it was really cool and I have a bunch of research to do.
In order to actually get a Master's degree we are required to go to these seminar lectures and then write responses to them. Today Sean Gregory was talking about "The business of being a musician." It was not terribly new information because basically he was talking about the Leadership programme- but what was really cool was at the end of the lecture we were broken up in to smaller groups and given about 5 minutes to come up with a hypothetical project. We were to dream up some sort of project, think of a place, a population, and what the outcomes will/should be with some sort of event outcome at the end. It was supposed to be a 'pie-in-the-sky' sort of brainstorming session. Funfunfunfun.
I had my computer with me to take notes and since I am, after all, my mother's daughter, I ended up leading our little brainstorming session. Here- in a direct lift from my notes- is what we came up with:
Educational drama/music workshop in a prison- involve young offenders- topic improvised from participants, film it and put it on YouTube and work on viral marketing scheme
Need: prison, offenders, facilitators for both music and drama side of things, film team (use offenders?), teach technology – use phones!
Music
Drama
Production values (cameras, technology)
Perform in community space- perform in local community to break down barriers (Security)
Film live performance
Use as community service- include arts portion (Education and rehabilitation)
Sponsorship to loan instruments- percussion and technology based (simple music mixing programme) Electronic key boards/ recording devices/ etc.
(can you put their photographs online? Think about that…)
Sean was the one who pointed out that maybe sticking the identities of juvenile offenders online was not the best idea- but I'm still totally in to the idea of using YouTube as a performance venue.
It was fascinating how incredibly different each of the group's ideas were. Some were fairly main stream including going in to a pediatric oncology ward to sing child friendly classical songs; but others were totally creative including an opera performance that derails half-way through and ends up with a whole bunch of audience participation to finish writing/composing the piece and then performing it.
Okay, more notes from Sean's lecture: this time they are about 4 key elements for modern musicians, though "leader" and "teacher" have been combined so really it is just 3 key elements-
Professional practitioner, portfolio practitioner:
Performer
Concert, jazz venue, events, WWW, prisons, shopping centre, hospital, schools, etc. Different responses- audiences may never have heard those instruments in a live setting before. Funding partners are keen on this sort of thing currently in the UK. Explore different contexts.
Composer
Lesson plans/examples, new piece, break repertoire up, segue from one genre to another, new audiences don’t have preconceptions about how things should go together (overture, concerto, symphony), improvisation (jazz, folk music, early music, etc.), group improvisation: finding something appropriate for that particular moment), finding something that will work with a dancer, curating, shaping, programming, playing with stuff. Goes back to different contexts.
Leader/Teacher
Facilitator, guide, facilitating and involving people, like a director or choreographer: group based, Specialist teacher, non-specialist teacher, (private teacher), tend to think of music teaching as more didactic than other art forms, could instead start playing with things from the start.
expectations rising in all of these areas. Will be demands in all four key areas, set yourself up to inspire in each area…
This is such a cheating blog entry- I'm just posting my notes... guilt aside, I'm going to leave you with one more note quote before signing out- this one is just a straight list of various venues that could be used for performances and/or outreach opportunities. This is just a partial list mind you, one to get the creative juices flowing...
Primary and secondary schools, music services (formal education centres), colleges, community based activities (informal education), health care (hospitals, homes, hospices, special needs centres), prisons, young offenders, social exclusion, homeless, drop-in centres, musicians, arts organizations, concert halls, cross arts, theatre, outdoor spaces, public spaces, stations, shopping centres, etc.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
I gotta learn how to sing
Jon, a trombonist kid I chat with in the computer lab just played for an open mic in The Basement (the student pub) and he was singing all of these Simon and Garfunkel songs and I decided that I really need to learn to sing, because I want to be up there too. Plus, it's important for the programme and all that- but really- I want to sing in front of people and be all hip and cool like that.
Today I went to the doctor. Remember how London is an old city, and therefore never had much use for what we might term "city planning?" This means that at times it is nearly impossible to figure out A: where you are and B: where that is in relation to where you would like to go. I got very,very lost this morning and if it had not been for a kindly taxi driver and another kindly bicycle delivery man I never would have found the doctors' office- even with the help of the A-Z. It was just that confusing.
That being said- I like my doctor quite a lot. She is a young South-East-Asian woman whose name I don't remember. To no one's surprise: I have an ear infection. I'm to get ear drops and see her again in a week. There was a medical student there as well, so she got the opportunity to look into my truly weird and scarred right ear. I hope that was educational for her. The rest of my cold/virus is much better though.
The internet is a wonderful thing- I was trying to describe what a cholesteatoma was to Dave (composer, dinner club fellow) and so looked it up on Dictionary.com and here is what they said:
"A tumorlike mass of keratinizing squamous epithelium and cholesterol, usually occurring in the middle ear and mastoid region. Also called pearl tumor."
Isn't that the grossest description you can think of? I particularly like the word 'squamous' which isn't nearly as onomatopeic as it seems like it should be.
In medicine related news; I think there are at least 2 different viruses running through GSMD right now. Meredith and I both had the same syptoms- but Jo and Heather who were also feeling poorly had quite different symptoms. We were a bit lackluster today in Percussion Skills since so many of us were feeling under the weather. I've been camping out in pajamas all day and pretending that they are real clothes. I'm not fooling anyone.
Patrick- the missing flatmate- was cooking tonight and we had a good chat about various movement philiosophies: Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais in particular. I really enjoy talking to him about the process that the acting programme is taking and how that relates to the Leadership programme and how it is different. Good chats.
I just went and took a moment to listen to some more of the open mic in the next room. Currently there is a 13 piece band including electric guitar, sax, a violin section, a cello section, a complete horn section, and an assortment of acoustic and electric basses playing Justin Timberlake and Destiny's child songs.
It's so cool how many outside projects there are at this school. At Peabody there were maybe a few bands outside of the basic curriculum- Ash and Rowan (celtic) and No Signal (experimental chamber music, jazz, and stand up comedy) being important examples of that- but mostly people did what they were in school for and not much else. In contrast just about everyone here that I have talked to has some sort of side project going. At least one, if not five or six. People are also much less likely to be tied to one single instrument-I get the feeling that this is true across the board even in the specifically instrumental programmes.
In the foyer today there was a percussion concert during the lunch hour. The toddler music class had an overwhelming amount of interest expressed in it, it may be expanded to more locations if this many teachers are really available. At the "Open Call" meeting yesterday over 40 people showed up to hear more about the programme that brings the musicians and actors together. I spent yesterday in the library reading about commedia dell'arte, and every week I have a drum circle as one of my required classes. I chat with my flat mates intelligently about movement styles, and it is cool that I think Laban is a genius. Last night my flat had an impromptu Disney sing along in three languages followed by a bunch of christmas carols.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I couldn't have made a school more perfectly suited to me if I tried.
Today I went to the doctor. Remember how London is an old city, and therefore never had much use for what we might term "city planning?" This means that at times it is nearly impossible to figure out A: where you are and B: where that is in relation to where you would like to go. I got very,very lost this morning and if it had not been for a kindly taxi driver and another kindly bicycle delivery man I never would have found the doctors' office- even with the help of the A-Z. It was just that confusing.
That being said- I like my doctor quite a lot. She is a young South-East-Asian woman whose name I don't remember. To no one's surprise: I have an ear infection. I'm to get ear drops and see her again in a week. There was a medical student there as well, so she got the opportunity to look into my truly weird and scarred right ear. I hope that was educational for her. The rest of my cold/virus is much better though.
The internet is a wonderful thing- I was trying to describe what a cholesteatoma was to Dave (composer, dinner club fellow) and so looked it up on Dictionary.com and here is what they said:
"A tumorlike mass of keratinizing squamous epithelium and cholesterol, usually occurring in the middle ear and mastoid region. Also called pearl tumor."
Isn't that the grossest description you can think of? I particularly like the word 'squamous' which isn't nearly as onomatopeic as it seems like it should be.
In medicine related news; I think there are at least 2 different viruses running through GSMD right now. Meredith and I both had the same syptoms- but Jo and Heather who were also feeling poorly had quite different symptoms. We were a bit lackluster today in Percussion Skills since so many of us were feeling under the weather. I've been camping out in pajamas all day and pretending that they are real clothes. I'm not fooling anyone.
Patrick- the missing flatmate- was cooking tonight and we had a good chat about various movement philiosophies: Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais in particular. I really enjoy talking to him about the process that the acting programme is taking and how that relates to the Leadership programme and how it is different. Good chats.
I just went and took a moment to listen to some more of the open mic in the next room. Currently there is a 13 piece band including electric guitar, sax, a violin section, a cello section, a complete horn section, and an assortment of acoustic and electric basses playing Justin Timberlake and Destiny's child songs.
It's so cool how many outside projects there are at this school. At Peabody there were maybe a few bands outside of the basic curriculum- Ash and Rowan (celtic) and No Signal (experimental chamber music, jazz, and stand up comedy) being important examples of that- but mostly people did what they were in school for and not much else. In contrast just about everyone here that I have talked to has some sort of side project going. At least one, if not five or six. People are also much less likely to be tied to one single instrument-I get the feeling that this is true across the board even in the specifically instrumental programmes.
In the foyer today there was a percussion concert during the lunch hour. The toddler music class had an overwhelming amount of interest expressed in it, it may be expanded to more locations if this many teachers are really available. At the "Open Call" meeting yesterday over 40 people showed up to hear more about the programme that brings the musicians and actors together. I spent yesterday in the library reading about commedia dell'arte, and every week I have a drum circle as one of my required classes. I chat with my flat mates intelligently about movement styles, and it is cool that I think Laban is a genius. Last night my flat had an impromptu Disney sing along in three languages followed by a bunch of christmas carols.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I couldn't have made a school more perfectly suited to me if I tried.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Blerg.
I'm not feeling well right now, I think I have an ear infection and I certainly have quite a sore throat. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow and I have been stocking up on orange juice, echinacea, and vitamin D. So hopefully it will all be well soon.
That being said, probably sleeping on couches the past two nights has not helped.
Last night I was at Laura's house for Lara's last day in Europe. (She had been in Europe for 8 months, so I was quite honored that they let me hang out with them on her last night.) Lara had come to my flat earlier in the day and we had traded the complicated body rhythms that I have been learning for some African dancing that she had learned along the road. It was pretty great until the security guard called up to the flat saying we were being too loud and he was going to call the police- which is utterly ridiculous because it was 6:30pm and even if our clapping was loud- we were still squarely in the "practice" hours so whatever. Someone was being irrationally fussy.
So we gave up on our super cool, but loud clapping games and instead got out the bass and Lara's fiddle. She played me an Iraqi folk tune and I played her the first movement of the Eccles sonata (I really need to memorize more music...) and then we messed around with the mode that Poucha Dass is written in and jammed with that for a while. We were supposed to meet up with Laura for dinner so that didn't go on nearly as long as I would have liked, but oh well.
We met Laura out by London Fields and then walked around far more of Hackney than we intended to trying to find a restaurant. We ended up at a charming (but very cold) Georgian restaurant. So that was nice.
Saturday night I stayed at Jill, Natasha, and Heather's house. Their party was wonderful. Lots of inter-year bonding, good costumes, and silliness. The American cello trio were dressed as Orion's belt, which I thought was terribly clever. They each had on silver dresses and a glowing star necklace and ridiculous hair. I'd post a picture, but I ended up forgetting to photograph the party even though I brought the camera along...
At about 3:30am the party changed tone from dancing about and having squat wars (two people crouch and then try to knock each other over) to everyone lounging about and listening to Kajali (not sure if that is how you spell it), a Kora player from Senegal and his girlfriend Rahana (again, not sure if that is spelled correctly) an American singer who has spent the last two or three years studying Indian raga singing. It was blissful.
11 people ended up spending the night, piled in little heaps and then in the "morning" (the sun was already rising when I finally fell asleep) we made poached eggs and toast. So that was lovely, but probably did not help my cold/ear infection/whatever.
So now the question is: do I go see fireworks tonight, or do I be a good little girl and stay in and try to get healthy?
That being said, probably sleeping on couches the past two nights has not helped.
Last night I was at Laura's house for Lara's last day in Europe. (She had been in Europe for 8 months, so I was quite honored that they let me hang out with them on her last night.) Lara had come to my flat earlier in the day and we had traded the complicated body rhythms that I have been learning for some African dancing that she had learned along the road. It was pretty great until the security guard called up to the flat saying we were being too loud and he was going to call the police- which is utterly ridiculous because it was 6:30pm and even if our clapping was loud- we were still squarely in the "practice" hours so whatever. Someone was being irrationally fussy.
So we gave up on our super cool, but loud clapping games and instead got out the bass and Lara's fiddle. She played me an Iraqi folk tune and I played her the first movement of the Eccles sonata (I really need to memorize more music...) and then we messed around with the mode that Poucha Dass is written in and jammed with that for a while. We were supposed to meet up with Laura for dinner so that didn't go on nearly as long as I would have liked, but oh well.
We met Laura out by London Fields and then walked around far more of Hackney than we intended to trying to find a restaurant. We ended up at a charming (but very cold) Georgian restaurant. So that was nice.
Saturday night I stayed at Jill, Natasha, and Heather's house. Their party was wonderful. Lots of inter-year bonding, good costumes, and silliness. The American cello trio were dressed as Orion's belt, which I thought was terribly clever. They each had on silver dresses and a glowing star necklace and ridiculous hair. I'd post a picture, but I ended up forgetting to photograph the party even though I brought the camera along...
At about 3:30am the party changed tone from dancing about and having squat wars (two people crouch and then try to knock each other over) to everyone lounging about and listening to Kajali (not sure if that is how you spell it), a Kora player from Senegal and his girlfriend Rahana (again, not sure if that is spelled correctly) an American singer who has spent the last two or three years studying Indian raga singing. It was blissful.
11 people ended up spending the night, piled in little heaps and then in the "morning" (the sun was already rising when I finally fell asleep) we made poached eggs and toast. So that was lovely, but probably did not help my cold/ear infection/whatever.
So now the question is: do I go see fireworks tonight, or do I be a good little girl and stay in and try to get healthy?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Guy Fawkes day is not until the 5th, people.
I have spent the last four days listening to fireworks that I can't see. It is a bit like when I was in Boston at David and Tope Charlton's house over the 4th of July- and even though fireworks are illegal in that city the loud booms and sparkles went on for a week on either side of the actual holiday.
That being said, tonight I am double booked. The Rude Mechanicals have a gig in Camden and since their guitarist is dealing with family issues this week Nick is replacing him. This means that fully 1/5th of the first year is playing at the gig which means that the rest of us have to show up and be supportive. In costume.
The costume plays in well to the second half of the double booking which is a party at Jill, Natasha, and Heather's house (the three American cellists in the Leadership Programme). It is Jill's birthday and close enough to Halloween that they have demanded that we all show up in costume there as well.
I'm going to meet Jo's train at 8:45 and then from there head to the concert and then to the party. I'm sure I'll let you know how it all goes, but in an effort to keep you posted I'm giving your forewarning.
On Friday we had another dinner club- this time it was Chicago style pizza hosted by Meredith. She made the dough from scratch and there was an overwhelming amount of food that we finished off anyway. We listened to Ben Folds and Disney songs (which Latana sang along to in French) and just generally were too American for words. So that was nice. We were going to watch Talladega Nights to round out the American-ness, but Latana dragged me along to the pub in the basement to go dancing so I'm not sure if they ended up watching the movie or not.
Re-visiting old haunts
I'm currently sitting in the Internet cafe that I spent so much time at in April. The same guy is still working here and we smiled and said hello to each other, but I feel bad because I no longer remember his name...I do remember that he is from Sri Lanka and listens to Sinhalese songs on YouTube.
The reason I'm back here at the Swiss Cottage station is because I went to visit the Alexanders today, they're lovely- and it is nice to finally meet Kirk. Aneta made Bulgarian tea with honey that her mother made and oooh, it was tasty. The honey is wonderful, though confusing because it looks like melted, congealed butter in a jar that definitely doesn't say "honey" on it.
Philip remains loud and boisterous (Aneta assures me that he is not always quite so loud, we both suspect it was because there was a visitor), and Elena spent nearly the whole time I was there batting a balloon around and is much better at actually communicating than she was in April- she even said "hello" when I arrived and "bye-bye" when I left. She is also very satisfying to tickle.
Back when I was in America I was trying to figure out the most American thing I could to bring them. What I came up with was microwave popcorn from the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota- figuring that not only is it the largest corn palace in the world; it's also the only corn palace in the world.
All in all: a successful visit, I hope to see them again soon.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Query
Would this blog be easier to read if I broke up the super-long entries in to smaller, more topical entries instead of shoving everything I've been thinking about that day into one post? Or is it alright the way it is now? This blog is for you, so let me know what you think...
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