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The Good Musician

Archive for the ‘musicology’ Category

July 30th, 2008

A woodwind quintet isn’t

All woodwinds, that is. The so-called woodwind quintet is a flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and french horn. The latter, however, is frequently included in small chamber consorts, especially in the Baroque, as they play those lovely hunting calls and stirring royal fanfares.
The Baroque sonata form often contained a 3/4 or 6/8 meter movement, and […]

By csnowden -- 0 comments

July 29th, 2008

Saraswati and Kay Gardner

I’ve been reading Sounding the Inner Landscape: Music as Medicine by Kay Gardner. She references Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music and the sciences. I once had a teacher who said that music was like mathematics in technicolor.
Gardner also illustrates the relationship of the chakras to the overtone series. When you produce a pure […]

By csnowden -- 0 comments

July 24th, 2008

Mose Allison, come back to Austin.

The last time I heard Mose Allison live was at the Continental Club in ‘85 or so. I discovered Mose at college in ‘63, and the first time I heard him on 33-1/3 vinyl I could have sworn he was black. I was astonished when my friend showed me the cover. As I listened more […]

By csnowden -- 2 comments

July 21st, 2008

8 tips from Margaret Hillis–iconic choral conductor

It’s been a little over ten years since Margaret Hillis, the indomitable conductor of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, passed away. I met her at a Chorus America convention in the late 80’s, and was suitably awestruck. She had complete control over her chorus, and more, the CSO as well. My mom attended a performance of […]

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July 18th, 2008

10 commandments for handbell ringers

This was on the wall of a rehearsal room I recently inhabited.
1. Thou shalt attend thy rehearsals with steady faithfulness.
2. Thou shalt not touch graven metal with thy bare hands.
3. Thou shalt not take thy sharps and flats in vain.
4. Remember thy performance dates and keep them holy.
5. Honor […]

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July 16th, 2008

The Mozart Effect debunked

From the February ‘08 issue of eSkeptic comes a feature from Will Dowd entitled

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July 13th, 2008

Top five film soundtracks from The Good Musician

The Good Musician loves great film music. Growing up with 50’s musical extravaganzas through the evolution to electronic and digital of today, I’m aware that what I hear in the movies is just as affecting as what I see. A great music and sound staff can pull a mediocre movie up to a decent one. […]

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July 6th, 2008

The beautiful blue Danube

Not so very blue, yet an important river, whatever color it may be.

Here’s Herbert von Karajan wafting down The Blue Danube Waltz.

Tags: , Budapest, Danube River, Hungary

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July 3rd, 2008

John Cage: ORGAN2/ASLSP

John Cage composed music that regularly transgressed the boundaries of convention. A pupil of Schoenberg and Cowell, Cage came into his own during the 1960’s while teaching at the U of Illinois. He invented the prepared piano, a compositional technique to alter the sound of a single or several notes by using non-conventional items directly […]

By csnowden -- 1 comment

June 30th, 2008

Prague Museum Night

King Wenceslas (Szent Vraclav) statue, Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic.
Photo by TGM.
Prazska Muzejni Noc
Web designers: Czech out this gorgeous Web site!
Anniversary of 5th Prague Museum Night, a collaboration among the National Museum, Prague Public Transport Company Inc., and Association of Museum and Galleries of the Czech Republic. 25 cultural institutions and 51 sites were […]

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