I'm back at my favorite haunt, after a full day around the house. Tenacious Root is playing. This band has been around for at least 25 years, and they sound better than ever. I wish they had a sound man though. It's a little boomy for this coffeehouse. My bones of hearing are getting rattled.
I've had two beautiful mornings of improvisation. Yesterday was especially rewarding. I wish I'd recorded it. I'm going to have to get something set up to do that. This morning's improv was informed by a little educational video I watched yesterday, by Allan Holdsworth. He was playing a bunch of beautiful chords, and I tried to do something like that. It wound up sounding a bit like Stravinsky. It was exciting, to be able to work with voice-leading, and then abandon that and play widely spaced chords succeeding each other.
I finished sight-reading the first movement of Beethoven's Op. 31 no. 2, the Tempest piano sonata. Now in the middle of the Adagio. Beethoven's sense of humor is all over the piece. I wonder if the music wasn't funny to him sometimes. Could he have been serious? It's so pompous, and the rhythms are so stilted. He had to have been joking when he wrote this.
Well, I can't hear myself think, what with Tenacious Root playing. Why isn't there a music aesthetic devoted to playing as softly as possible, making the audience strain to hear it? Music that fades away as swiftly as it appears? Ideas that barely break the audible surface, with an implied existence before the notes that you hear?
Perhaps that music would be best for an opium den :) Really, my idea for a coffeehouse music would be all acoustic. Chamber music for six, maybe. Harpsichord, cello, flute, oboe, violin, and viola.
Tonight's weather is crisp and clear. People outside are dressed up in costumes, walking quickly in the cold. They seem happy. I should join them outside, and I would if I had the energy. I worked out twice today, and did lots of laundry & cooking.
Still, I'll be driven out soon enough.
Until next time.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
a bit of happiness
I feel good. A week of yoga (all but one day this week) and three dance workouts. Balanced protein & fat for all my meals, and lots of good vitamins - D, C, methylated B12, Folate (I think that's methylated too), and a good antioxidant. I've been working on that 70-lb mark for awhile, and I think I'll hit that tomorrow morning when I do my weekly weigh-in. That'll bring me to my 1991 weight. Time machine! I just hope I continue to behave like my proper, married, 52-year-old self.
My lady is in her hometown for a wedding shower, and my child is at a sleepover. I'm a bachelor tonight! I can do whatever I want. What shall I do? No se. Je ne sais quois.
But for starters I'll sip on this breve - all the caffeine and twice the fat - and wait for the effect to take hold. Then I'm sure I'll come up with an idea.
I'm in the midst of trying to sight-read The Musical Offering. Simply impossible, even for a gifted score reader. Only the first movement is doable, and it was written to reflect an improvisation that Bach performed for King Frederic the Great, when first presented with The King's Theme. After that, there's the 6-part Ricercar - fuhgetaboutit - and the canons are all written as cryptically as possible. I haven't listened to a recording of this in over a year, and it makes me want to try to solve these puzzles. Two clefs at once, or a single clef, and the piece specifies a 4-part canon. Or one of the multiple clefs is upside-down. Even the Trio Sonata is a challenge. The flute & violin parts overlap, and the keyboard part is written in figured bass, which I don't read well - there's another music reading challenge! The figures are so small that even with a magnifying glass, it's hard to tell what they are.
So I set it aside and sight-read the first movement of a Beethoven Piano Sonata. Just bought the volume last night - book 2 of 2 of the complete Sonatas, edited by Schenker, published by Dover. I'm sure it would be tough to play fast, but it was surprisingly playable, and lay under the hands nicely. It's Opus 31, no 1, in G major. The tonality is all over the place - it's in G major, then F major (rock & roll!) , then E minor - A major - D major, then a flurry of diminished chords, then suddenly the 2nd theme is in B major - a distant key. What a guy. What a buzz!
I've been playing steadily for a couple of years now, and it's the limitations that my life imposes on me that's made me stronger on the instrument. I don't have time to compose, or play congas, or Chapman Stick, or do orchestral arrangements, or study couterpoint. I can't even work on repertoire! But, having chosen sight-reading and improvisation, those parts of my musical life are moving forward. There's something sad about this, but sometimes when you choose to really do something, to be committed, there's a sadness about the things you have to give up to get there. Then - you can use that sadness in your music. Maybe it comes out all by itself, anyway.
My lady is in her hometown for a wedding shower, and my child is at a sleepover. I'm a bachelor tonight! I can do whatever I want. What shall I do? No se. Je ne sais quois.
But for starters I'll sip on this breve - all the caffeine and twice the fat - and wait for the effect to take hold. Then I'm sure I'll come up with an idea.
I'm in the midst of trying to sight-read The Musical Offering. Simply impossible, even for a gifted score reader. Only the first movement is doable, and it was written to reflect an improvisation that Bach performed for King Frederic the Great, when first presented with The King's Theme. After that, there's the 6-part Ricercar - fuhgetaboutit - and the canons are all written as cryptically as possible. I haven't listened to a recording of this in over a year, and it makes me want to try to solve these puzzles. Two clefs at once, or a single clef, and the piece specifies a 4-part canon. Or one of the multiple clefs is upside-down. Even the Trio Sonata is a challenge. The flute & violin parts overlap, and the keyboard part is written in figured bass, which I don't read well - there's another music reading challenge! The figures are so small that even with a magnifying glass, it's hard to tell what they are.
So I set it aside and sight-read the first movement of a Beethoven Piano Sonata. Just bought the volume last night - book 2 of 2 of the complete Sonatas, edited by Schenker, published by Dover. I'm sure it would be tough to play fast, but it was surprisingly playable, and lay under the hands nicely. It's Opus 31, no 1, in G major. The tonality is all over the place - it's in G major, then F major (rock & roll!) , then E minor - A major - D major, then a flurry of diminished chords, then suddenly the 2nd theme is in B major - a distant key. What a guy. What a buzz!
I've been playing steadily for a couple of years now, and it's the limitations that my life imposes on me that's made me stronger on the instrument. I don't have time to compose, or play congas, or Chapman Stick, or do orchestral arrangements, or study couterpoint. I can't even work on repertoire! But, having chosen sight-reading and improvisation, those parts of my musical life are moving forward. There's something sad about this, but sometimes when you choose to really do something, to be committed, there's a sadness about the things you have to give up to get there. Then - you can use that sadness in your music. Maybe it comes out all by itself, anyway.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Post every day, right?
The poetess says to blog every day. Write just to write. OK, perhaps I can indulge in some stream-of-consciousness.Oh! I can write about a dream I had the other night!
In the dream, I was in my persona of campus bum, university-fringe-low-salary-slacker guy who occasionally took a class, but mostly took advantage of the easy environment the University of North Texas provided. In the dream I claimed to be a Computer Science major to someone, but I was really exaggerating that as I hadn't taken a class in years (and in real life was a poor CSCI student).
So here I am, in the dream, wandering around this classroom, getting set to study something or other, early in the morning, before other students were making their way through the building. I was in a large classroom, and had taken my shoes off and was basically making a slobbish display of myself, shocking the prim and proper academics and ambitious graduate students. I had my study materials all over a place I had no right to, and felt kind of self-conscious when others showed up.
But as it happened, students coalesced around me, set up their computers, and began working on music theory lessons. The teacher showed up too, but nothing was happening. No music was being played, no lecture was happening. The students just continued to study. I wandered about the room, where I found lots of electronic keyboards in various states of repair, mostly from the 70s. I remember lusting after some of them, wishing I could take them home. Then I realized I was in a flipped classroom - the students were doing their homework in class, having tackled new material last night. I approached the teacher and asked him to demonstrate the lessons, and he began to give me a very baffling explanation that involved the trajectory of tea leaves in a cup that belonged to Abraham Lincoln the last day of his life, and the very bullet that killed him. At the end of the demonstration he levitated an old-style rife bullet, and then it darted to a handheld device, as if it were producing some sort of tractor beam.
Very strange - but I felt inspired. He had spoken eliptically, poetically, but was using formulas, non-linear equations, and words in combinations I'd never heard before. It was poetry, math, and music, all fused together, like the Glass Bead Game. Two phrases came to me as I woke up - "the book of morning", and "the charmed triangle". I'm no poet, but if I were those would be put in a poem.
Anyway, there was my dream, and this is my blog post.
In the dream, I was in my persona of campus bum, university-fringe-low-salary-slacker guy who occasionally took a class, but mostly took advantage of the easy environment the University of North Texas provided. In the dream I claimed to be a Computer Science major to someone, but I was really exaggerating that as I hadn't taken a class in years (and in real life was a poor CSCI student).
So here I am, in the dream, wandering around this classroom, getting set to study something or other, early in the morning, before other students were making their way through the building. I was in a large classroom, and had taken my shoes off and was basically making a slobbish display of myself, shocking the prim and proper academics and ambitious graduate students. I had my study materials all over a place I had no right to, and felt kind of self-conscious when others showed up.
But as it happened, students coalesced around me, set up their computers, and began working on music theory lessons. The teacher showed up too, but nothing was happening. No music was being played, no lecture was happening. The students just continued to study. I wandered about the room, where I found lots of electronic keyboards in various states of repair, mostly from the 70s. I remember lusting after some of them, wishing I could take them home. Then I realized I was in a flipped classroom - the students were doing their homework in class, having tackled new material last night. I approached the teacher and asked him to demonstrate the lessons, and he began to give me a very baffling explanation that involved the trajectory of tea leaves in a cup that belonged to Abraham Lincoln the last day of his life, and the very bullet that killed him. At the end of the demonstration he levitated an old-style rife bullet, and then it darted to a handheld device, as if it were producing some sort of tractor beam.
Very strange - but I felt inspired. He had spoken eliptically, poetically, but was using formulas, non-linear equations, and words in combinations I'd never heard before. It was poetry, math, and music, all fused together, like the Glass Bead Game. Two phrases came to me as I woke up - "the book of morning", and "the charmed triangle". I'm no poet, but if I were those would be put in a poem.
Anyway, there was my dream, and this is my blog post.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
About that dream programming post...
Well, folks, I didn't exactly manage to quit caffeine, as I said I was going to. Feet of clay.
But, I substituted yoga! Done it for three mornings, going a little farther each day. Feels good, and I'm standing up straighter. I discovered something new - my skeleton-to-fat ratio. Less padding now, greater proportion of bone, and some of these poses hurt a little, lately.
Still, I like it...
But, I substituted yoga! Done it for three mornings, going a little farther each day. Feels good, and I'm standing up straighter. I discovered something new - my skeleton-to-fat ratio. Less padding now, greater proportion of bone, and some of these poses hurt a little, lately.
Still, I like it...
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Dream programming
I've invented and used this technique for myself, but I'm sure it's not original with me. It's been a wonderful addition to my life, and the fact that I'm not on street corners shouting about this is probably because I'm too old, and too busy. But I've shared it with friends, and those who have tried it have quietly added it to their repertoire of life-coping skills.
Here's the rationale: we're growing, and changing, all the time. some small subset of that change must come in this 24-hour period we're currently inhabiting, and some of that time will be spent in sleep. When we're awake we're in a more-or-less rational, fixed, sphere of circumstances that limit our possibilities and guide our thoughts and actions, but, when we're sleeping, we're in a world of infinite, irrational, association and possibility. When we wake up in the morning, we're not quite the person we were yesterday. We're either getting stronger or weaker, happier or sadder, better or worse, in whatever set of parameters you may care to name.
So here's the technique: when turning out the lights and laying yourself down before sleep, imagine an environment of infinite possibility, where you can grow or change in any dimension of personal development or ability. Ask yourself to change in no more than three different ways. Do you want to be better with money? Do you have a course of study you're pursuing? Is there a key relationship at work that needs to improve? Do you want to improve your nutrition or your fitness? It could be any three things. Or one thing. Frame your desire in certain, measurable terms, and go to sleep.
It's that simple. Doesn't cost any money. Do this and see what happens for you.
If it's a habit you want to change, keep at this for 28 days. The habit should form successfully in that time. It works for me.
Some of the things I've changed recently: I've given up wheat, corn and rice. I took up Jazzercise twice a week. Then, after some months, three times a week. Now, for the last two months, I'm doing it four times a week. Today I'm finishing up a successful renunciation of potatoes and chocolate.
I'm down more than twelve pounds just this month, and 67 pounds in the last 22 months.
But I've also added some daily musical chores with my dream programming, and I'm sure I could do more. I just don't ask for too much at once. So, I do technique at night - scales, three-note arpeggios, and four-note arpeggios. In the morning I improvise, and at lunchtime I sight-read. (All this on piano.)
Renunciations are in some way the easiest - they involve not doing a thing, or not eating something.
Adding skills is a little harder, but is quite doable with dream programming.
Starting today, I want three things. I want to quit caffeine (it spikes blood sugar, which generally retards fat burning), I want to quit watching television (don't have time anymore), and I want to do more Cisco studies (my certification goes away in December). I actually began visualizing these desires last night.
So, do you have to visualize these desires every night? Well, it works for me. Do you have to consciously remember what you wished for the night before? I don't think so, but it helps.
Don't wish for more than three things! I have no proof for this, but my intuition says to limit the number of goals. You have can as many goals as you wish, but do them in sequence, and attain your first goals first before moving forward with your next ones.
Try it and see!
Here's the rationale: we're growing, and changing, all the time. some small subset of that change must come in this 24-hour period we're currently inhabiting, and some of that time will be spent in sleep. When we're awake we're in a more-or-less rational, fixed, sphere of circumstances that limit our possibilities and guide our thoughts and actions, but, when we're sleeping, we're in a world of infinite, irrational, association and possibility. When we wake up in the morning, we're not quite the person we were yesterday. We're either getting stronger or weaker, happier or sadder, better or worse, in whatever set of parameters you may care to name.
So here's the technique: when turning out the lights and laying yourself down before sleep, imagine an environment of infinite possibility, where you can grow or change in any dimension of personal development or ability. Ask yourself to change in no more than three different ways. Do you want to be better with money? Do you have a course of study you're pursuing? Is there a key relationship at work that needs to improve? Do you want to improve your nutrition or your fitness? It could be any three things. Or one thing. Frame your desire in certain, measurable terms, and go to sleep.
It's that simple. Doesn't cost any money. Do this and see what happens for you.
If it's a habit you want to change, keep at this for 28 days. The habit should form successfully in that time. It works for me.
Some of the things I've changed recently: I've given up wheat, corn and rice. I took up Jazzercise twice a week. Then, after some months, three times a week. Now, for the last two months, I'm doing it four times a week. Today I'm finishing up a successful renunciation of potatoes and chocolate.
I'm down more than twelve pounds just this month, and 67 pounds in the last 22 months.
But I've also added some daily musical chores with my dream programming, and I'm sure I could do more. I just don't ask for too much at once. So, I do technique at night - scales, three-note arpeggios, and four-note arpeggios. In the morning I improvise, and at lunchtime I sight-read. (All this on piano.)
Renunciations are in some way the easiest - they involve not doing a thing, or not eating something.
Adding skills is a little harder, but is quite doable with dream programming.
Starting today, I want three things. I want to quit caffeine (it spikes blood sugar, which generally retards fat burning), I want to quit watching television (don't have time anymore), and I want to do more Cisco studies (my certification goes away in December). I actually began visualizing these desires last night.
So, do you have to visualize these desires every night? Well, it works for me. Do you have to consciously remember what you wished for the night before? I don't think so, but it helps.
Don't wish for more than three things! I have no proof for this, but my intuition says to limit the number of goals. You have can as many goals as you wish, but do them in sequence, and attain your first goals first before moving forward with your next ones.
Try it and see!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Whatever shall I write about?
Twelve hours of work on Saturday, and eleven on Tuesday. I deserve some time off!
On Saturday I went to a wonderful workshop on wedding and cooporate videos, and learned all kinds of things I never knew. I've been doing video for almost ten years, and I feel like a rank amateur. It's a good feeling though. I know now that I can do some pretty good work, if the conditions and the story are right.
I need to learn:
digital still cameras as video cams
aperture
focal length
exposure
lighting
subplots
inverse proportion of shot length to subplot length - lots of little clips, or a few big ones, while maintaining the length of the subplot.
All of these elements serve to create a story when you can't write the script, or when the point of your video is so obvious that it's hard to avoid cliche. Get the right client, and get to know him/her/them to discover the story. Find the foibles, personal interests, implied virtues of your wedding couple, in-law, or CIO. In the case of corporations, interview lots of people to get the right ones to be in your video. Find out what they do, or what they're interested in, and make subplots out of that.
The edit process was interesting too. They work in successive sequences (in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6), so each successive stage of the project can be returned to. They move subplots around in blocks. They look for a clip that can resolve the main story, or the subplot, or even two subplots at once.
The 80/20 rule is in play here: 80% of the work goes on 20% of the project , namely, the beginning and the end. The middle is important too, as you need to keep the viewers interested, but the beginning has to grab their interest, and the ending has to leave them with something they will remember. And you have to make them want to watch it again, if you can.
The workshop was from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., but my energy only flagged a little in midafternoon. I drank lots of coffee and kept myself going. I was wiped out on Sunday, but it was worth it.
I attended the event with my boss's boss, who has an enthusiasm for photography, and makes videos with his dslr cam. He showed me how to get from Denton to Arlington in 35 minutes! Take 35E south to George Bush tollway, and go to 30 from there. Wow! I have a new way to visit my sister. I'll have to get a toll tag though.
So I had my benefactor drop me off at the Jupiter House at 10:00 Saturday night, where I met my friend Jim McNeely after a 14-month absence. We talked about family, careers, and chord progressions. I had a great time. He dropped me off around midnight, and that was my Saturday.
On Saturday I went to a wonderful workshop on wedding and cooporate videos, and learned all kinds of things I never knew. I've been doing video for almost ten years, and I feel like a rank amateur. It's a good feeling though. I know now that I can do some pretty good work, if the conditions and the story are right.
I need to learn:
digital still cameras as video cams
aperture
focal length
exposure
lighting
subplots
inverse proportion of shot length to subplot length - lots of little clips, or a few big ones, while maintaining the length of the subplot.
All of these elements serve to create a story when you can't write the script, or when the point of your video is so obvious that it's hard to avoid cliche. Get the right client, and get to know him/her/them to discover the story. Find the foibles, personal interests, implied virtues of your wedding couple, in-law, or CIO. In the case of corporations, interview lots of people to get the right ones to be in your video. Find out what they do, or what they're interested in, and make subplots out of that.
The edit process was interesting too. They work in successive sequences (in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6), so each successive stage of the project can be returned to. They move subplots around in blocks. They look for a clip that can resolve the main story, or the subplot, or even two subplots at once.
The 80/20 rule is in play here: 80% of the work goes on 20% of the project , namely, the beginning and the end. The middle is important too, as you need to keep the viewers interested, but the beginning has to grab their interest, and the ending has to leave them with something they will remember. And you have to make them want to watch it again, if you can.
The workshop was from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., but my energy only flagged a little in midafternoon. I drank lots of coffee and kept myself going. I was wiped out on Sunday, but it was worth it.
I attended the event with my boss's boss, who has an enthusiasm for photography, and makes videos with his dslr cam. He showed me how to get from Denton to Arlington in 35 minutes! Take 35E south to George Bush tollway, and go to 30 from there. Wow! I have a new way to visit my sister. I'll have to get a toll tag though.
So I had my benefactor drop me off at the Jupiter House at 10:00 Saturday night, where I met my friend Jim McNeely after a 14-month absence. We talked about family, careers, and chord progressions. I had a great time. He dropped me off around midnight, and that was my Saturday.
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