Here is a cool track by Cornell West and Talib Kweli–Bushonomics.
The sampling is compelling, and the music is gorgeous, no matter the politics. Nothing wrong with socially-conscious music. Hip-hop is the new folk-protest music. In the 50’s and 60’s we got the Weavers, Peter, Paul and Mary, and now we have Cornell and Talib.
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If you are a singer, then The Black Folder is your best friend. Designed by an engineer, this beauty let’s you comfortably hold your music with a hand strap on the back, and ample elastic or ring-binder holders for the folios or other size sheet music. Rugged, versatile, ergonomic, you’ll want to have one! Room for your car key, tissues, throat drops, TWO pencil holders, and the program, in case you forget what’s on the concert
Elsewhere I’ve mentioned that one of my earliest musical memories as a small child is dancing to the Sabre Dance, by noted Armenian composer Aram Katchaturian. It’s part of his ballet Gayane.
Whether you are a vocal or instrumental musician, you want to get the most from those times you perform with other musicians. Here are ten tips to make your rehearsals more productive and enjoyable.
1. Print a copy of your contract or schedule including dates, times, and locations of rehearsals.
2. Look at your music ahead of time—mark unusual events, such as key and meter changes, tricky intervals—anything that might …read more
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Art magazine does music. MagWerk’s Play Music Magazine is awash in flash animation, which makes for slow loading, but once you get there, it’s a visual feast. They do cover music, or at least the musicians, in loving graphic techniques.
Page 29 is all about the Beats. There’s a great video of Kerouac reading in front of a cool cat trio, along with vids of William S. Burroughs, Allan Ginsburg, Bob Dylan, and others.
Click on the lower right hand corner to turn the pages. Each page is chock full of links, new pages, new …read more
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Here are a couple of sites that will help you drill for those end-of-year theory finals. These sites are free.
The Music Theory Minute is a super guide to the fundamentals of music theory, demonstrated in one minute tutorials. Features video/voice-over clips of Dr. Jack modeling the lesson. You’ll hear what a diminished chord sounds like, as well as see how it is constructed.
Western Michigan University School of Music offers a no-frills theory site that contains two rhythmic training programs you can download: Diktus allows you to practice one- and two-part rhythmic dictation and …read more
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The Internet Archives music collection has mp3 recordings of everything from Enrico Caruso and Galli-Curci to Laurie Anderson and the Grateful Dead. The sub collections go all the way back to cylinder recordings.
You can also find old radio show archives, such as Fibber McGee and Molly, the Whistler, and the Bob and Ray show. I remember hearing all these on long car trips when I was a child. Bob Elliott is comedian Chris Elliott’s father.
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Kudos to Ana Wolken from Austin Sound Check, and Dexie Wharton at Pop Music Scene for successfully launching two brand new music blogs at b5media. Subscribe to these two dynamite sites and you’ll always be up to date on the latest and best sounds around, plus any dish they’ve overheard along the way.
A friend just called from Shady Grove on Barton Springs Boulevard in Austin, and I heard Ruthie Foster singing in the background. Actually, I can hear her out my bedroom window. Has anyone not heard of Ruthie Foster? If you haven’t, then you will definitely want to …read more
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Just got a 411 from an associate. Introduced me to Joell Ortiz. The song is A Letter to Obama. An authentic, reasoned plea to the next president, whomever that may be, to listen to the people and address the very real social issue of the survival of a good portion of our population.
Not to put too fine a point on it, there are more voters, and voting musicians this election than ever before. Just as the politics of this time will be remarkable, so will the music. It reminds me a …read more
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Image details: China Prepares For Beijing 2008 Olympic Games served by picapp.com
Lovely photograph of large drums being prepared for the Olympics in Beijing. In Western music, there are five categories of instruments, based on how one produced sound: idiophones (shell, horn, wood), membranophones (drum world), aerophones (trumpet, clarinet, flute) chordophones (all y’all strings), and electrophones (anything you plug in).
Chinese instruments are similar in some ways. Their instruments have strings, reeds, airholes. Here’s the big dif: the classification system is based on the ancient pa yin (eight sounds) system which identifies instruments according to the natural material it’s made from …read more
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