The Baroque sonata form often contained a 3/4 or 6/8 meter movement, and horns would feature prominently. The horn can also sustain a pedal tone or sound the root of a chord to support the other four instruments.

There was lots ‘o repertoire written for woodwind quintet in the 20th century. There is a woodwind quintet nestled in with a string quartet, augmented percussion, and celeste in Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw. Britten wrote the score for “eleven solo instruments,” and organized his twelve-tone row into triadic tonal centers so the ear hears common practice harmony.

Three of the woodwind quintet members double on other instruments. Flute/alto flute/piccolo, oboe/English horn, clarinet/bass clarinet and C clarinet. Britten’s orchestration is amazing. He creates a broader palette of pleasing sound than any other 12-tone composer.

The opera is based on the Henry James novella, and is every bit as scary. There are only four characters: a young boy and his older sister, the new governess, and two very sinister servants, a woman and a man. It’s a plum role for a boy soprano, and is not often performed.

I had a stupendous senior year in college. Actually two years. Sonoma State University in the late 70’s, faculty all Berkeley ph.d.s, slathered in non-western and experimental music. A lucky, lucky woman. I’ve been fortunate in having an arts management career on both the east coast and the west coast. Austin is not as fertile ground for me, or at least not yet. I’ve been fortunate in what I’ve found, and tonight I am very grateful for that.

This is the cool-down for The Good Musician, and I have learned quite a bit, especially about the pedagogy of blogging. Quite a challenge with a day gig, performing, and a tour. I’ll still write about music in my other blog (shameless promotion– http://friedokraproductions.blogspot.com), but you’ll have to put up with the rest of my nonsense if you dare.

Post from: The Good Musician

My dear friend and choral conductor of Princeton Pro Musica, Frances Slade, studied with Hillis at Northwestern U music school, and sang soprano with the CSC. Slade admitted that Hillis expected the utmost from her singers, and as a result of her tutoring, Slade learned to be a better choral conductor. I certainly had a fabulous time singing with her.

The Volume 21, Number 3 issue of “The Voice of Chorus America” lists eight phrases that gives us a peek at Hillis’ thinking about music.

1. Voices are not made for music, music is made for voices. Serve the music!

2. The music is not on the page–only the notes.

3. Enjoy the phrase, don’t just be obedient.

4. Listen more.

5. The eighth note has been lost since the beginning of time.

6. “Piano” doesn’t mean passive.

7. Bar lines are like children: they should be seen and not heard.

8. You sing first with your ears, then your heart, mind, voice.

Works for me! The woman was a junior golf champion at twenty, and a civilian flight instructor in WW II. Her disciplined approach was balanced by her great love of music, and she was the best at making the chorus sound just as good as the orchestra.

Orchestra Hall–home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

served by picapp.com

Post from: The Good Musician

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 thy director that thy days be long upon the land.

6. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s bell assignment.

7. Thou shalt not tap thy foot with exceeding loudness.

8. Thou shalt not steal thy neighbor’s pencil.

9. Thou shalt return thy bells to their cases, shiny and unscathed.

10. Thou shalt return thy director to his or her car, shiny and unscathed.

So saith the handbell director. These commandments will hold true for other instruments as well

Post from: The Good Musician

Dowd questions the validity of a 1993 UC Irvine research project completed by psychologist Gordon Shaw that gave rise to the belief that listening to Mozart improves IQ. An enterprising musician jumped on the idea and trademarked the term Mozart Effect in 1996.

The data was never reproduced, and troubling information began to come out of the original study. A subsequent German study found that music training did contribute to higher scores, concluding that it was the actual act of playing music that stimulated the brain, rather than passively listening to it. Not only that, positive effects were positive only because the participant was predisposed to enjoy that genre of music.

This is a cracking good read, illustrating how a flawed study can generate a copyrighted product, a popular myth fueled by the media, and a blind belief that is next to impossible to eradicate from the collective consciousness.

I prefer to listen to Mozart well away from men in white coats.

Post from: The Good Musician

Any period, any genre. Here are a few of my favorites–a contemporary American, a French Impressionist, and a French 20th century composer.

Les Chansons des Roses Morten Lauridsen

Trois Chansons Claude Debussy

Four Christmas Motets or O Magnum Mysterium Francis Poulenc

What would you program for an a capella choral concert? Your suggestions are welcome–who knows–one day you may get to hear your dream program.

Image details: Claude Debussy served by picapp.com

Post from: The Good Musician

The festival continues throughout the week.

Saturday, July 12, 3:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Wild Basin Winds
Mathew Krejc flute, Ian Davidson oboe, Steve Girko clarinet, Thomas Hale French horn, and Daris Word Hale bassoon
Austin Children’s Museum, 2nd & Colorado
454-0026 / 454-7562 / 472-2499 $6/$4

Saturday, July 12, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Cecilia String Quartet
Sarah Nematallah and Min Jeong Koh violins, Caitlin Boyle viola, and Rebecca Wenham cello
Haydn, Brahms, & Belinda Reynolds’ “Static Motion”
Rollins Studio Theatre, Long Center, 701 West Riverside Drive
474-5664 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 $25

Monday, July 14, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Faculty Artists
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE

Tuesday, July 15, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Gryphon Piano Trio
Annalee Patipatanakoon violin, Roman Borys cello, and Jamie Parker piano
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE

Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Gryphon Piano Trio
Annalee Patipatanakoon violin, Roman Borys cello, and Jamie Parker piano
Mozart, Dvorak, & Christos Hatzis’ “Old Photographs”
Dell Hall, Long Performing Arts Center, 701 West Riverside Drive
474-5664 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 $25

Wednesday, July 16, 7:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Cecilia String Quartet
Sarah Nematallah and Min Jeong Koh violin, Caitlin Boyle viola, and Rebecca Wenham cello
Brighton Gardens, 4401 Spicewood Springs Road
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE

Thursday, July 17, noon
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Steve Girko clarinet, Margaret Coltman cello, and Felicity Coltman piano
Central Presbyterian Church, 8th & Brazos
472-2445 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE (lunch $5)

Thursday, July 17, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Meridian Arts Ensemble
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE

Thursday, July 17, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Tosca String Quartet
Leigh Mahoney and Tracy Seeger violin, Ames Asbell viola, and Sara Nelson cello
University of Texas Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE

Post from: The Good Musician

Best of all, Music Industry Boot Camp is free and open to the public!

Monday, July 14, 6:30 p.m., Scholz Garden, 1607 San Jacinto, Austin TX

Image details: Consumer Electronics Show Previews Latest Products served by picapp.com

Post from: The Good Musician

It has nothing to do with judgment, grades, power trips, ego eruptions, the elitist attitude that frequently assaults music. It doesn’t matter what “kind” of music it is. It has to do with being one with The Vibration of the Universe. Literally. Tuning to the Ultimate Tone. Blissed out on sound.

When you are attentive to the detail, the nuance that makes that particular piece thrilling to you, you are best able to thrill your listeners. I think of myself as a string, or pipe–a musical conduit to channel what the composer wanted us to hear as well-tuned and compelling as I am able. Able through practice, by paying attention to the basics so that the sense of the music as described by the composer has captured me in its flow, and I am able to include my listeners in that flow. That goes for all music, written or not, structured or extemporaneous, solo or combo.

It doesn’t stop there. Your listeners take that flow and are transformed, radiating those vibrations everywhere they go. No worries about whether it was note perfect, who cares if there’s a kid in the background somewhere, it just means that you’re reaching an important audience. New minds to introduce to music.

I hold myself responsible as a good musician to be an exquisite human instrument, whether singing, playing, whatever–fully engaged in mindful musicianship.

So send me a hundred words on your Deep Thoughts about Music.

Post from: The Good Musician

For instance, you could assign an octave in the middle range the instructions: place thumb tacks on the hammers of the black keys from middle C to C1. Then insert erasers among the white key strings from middle C to C1. Which reminds me of the cembalo we heard in Budapest.

ORGAN2/ASLSP As Slow as Possible is the longest, slowest composition ever. A special organ was built in the church of St. Burchardi in Halberstadt, Germany expressly to play this piece. The idea is that the piece will play continuously for the next 639 years (adjust for age of article) to commemorate the original organ in that church, which just so happened to be the very FIRST organ ever built, ever. So–the longest, slowest composition ever for the very first organ ever.

I think that is a dazzlingly cool idea. So then check out 4′ 33″

I played his Three Pieces for Two Flutes (1935) with a fellow flutist in college. An unexpectedly beautiful composition. I highly recommend it for students level 5-6 and up.

Post from: The Good Musician

James and Gus photo by John Katz. Used with Gus’ permission.

The Good Musician interview with Dallas-based composer and sound designer, James Neel, principal of James Neel Music House. James is the very definition of “a musician’s musician.” And he’s been doing it for a long time. Maybe this interview will stir up some of the old gang to comment, hint, hint.

1. Who is your greatest unsung influence (as opposed to favorite famous composer/performer)?

Richard King Hamilton – now living in Los Angeles (incredible musician – all world). When I was a junior in high school, he showed me that you could make a living as a musician – that there was a life out there -that there was something going on. I stopped thinking about being a chemistry major in college, and going to Purdue, or being an English major. He told me to go to North Texas State, and play in the lab bands – but above all, be a composition major, and learn everything that I could (lead that horse to water…). My senior year, I was the president of the orchestra (the best in the state of Florida) – went to the Stan Kenton Clinics, studied with Johnny Richards, met Tom Boras and Lou Marini. Had sessions with Cannonball Adderley and Donald Byrd – and met Leon Breedon, who later was my saxophone teacher at North Texas. If Dick Hamilton hadn’t taken the time to let me hang out with him…nothing. However – how do you compare any influence to hearing Debussy, and Miles, and the Beatles. (Yes, I like Cold Play, Air, Snow Patrol, and the soundtrack to Lost In Translation – Elmer Bernstein kills -so does Alan Sylvestri, Moby, Stevie Wonder, Michel Legrand) – the list goes on forever. Leon Breedon’s a cool guy, btw.

2. How did they influence you?

See the above. To be redundant, Debussy, for the beauty of all that is orchestral. Miles, for the unbelievable purity of his sound and his sense of space and time. And the Beatles, for making creative music fun. Dick Hamilton for being an inspiring influence, and for telling me – you can do this. Go do it.

3.a. What is your musical background (formal and informal)?

Flutophone in fifth grade (I remember thinking, “Gee, this thing sounds really stupid”) – to violin in sixth grade (because my girl friend was playing violin) – to trumpet in junior high (yep, she switched to trumpet) – to first chair in all-state orchestra, Florida 1962 (which I was unable to properly attend…I had had my braces removed, and I couldn’t play a middle C) – to saxophone at North Texas. I was playing lead alto in a lab band six months after buying my first sax. Four and a half years later, after almost finishing my degree, and getting busted (not enough space here, for that), I bailed and drove out to LA, following another girlfriend, who had run off with my best friend. (Girls have had more to do with the music business than teachers will ever own up to). After that, I played in the rock band Green, in Los Angeles, and with various people in Dallas. Green’s drummer, Gary Casebeer, is now my ex brother-in-law – there go those girls, again. Most of what I’ve learned about music came later, though. Creating soundtracks for TV and radio commercials afforded me the opportunity to create whatever came to mind – and get paid for it. What a concept. The same goes for writing, playing, recording, mixing and mastering soundtracks for documentaries and corporate films. All of this led up to creating the sound design for Hasbro and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars Trivial Pursuit” DVD game (now in stores, everywhere). I also had to edit and pitch shift John Williams’ scores. I kept dreading a 3 AM phone call, and hearing a voice saying, “Dude, you butchered my music…what’s your address?”

3.b. What obstacles have you encountered in the music business, and what did you do about it?

The main obstacle, besides low-down, cheatin’, bottom dwelling, scum sucking, club owners and the over-the-hill- bitches that buy their cars, booze, and clothes…you know who you are – the rest of of you are okay – the biggest problem was arriving in Denton, circa 1963, Miles Davis albums in hand (THE MAN), and slowly realizing that there was a PROBLEM. My landlord told me that I couldn’t have a “darkie” as a roommate. That would’ve been a friend of Tex Allen, brother of Phylicia Rashad. Tex was then rooming with Billy Harper (look him up). Tex’s friend was just trying to buddy up. And I was like, fine – he seemed like an up-standing young man, like me. I didn’t know that all of the black students (excuse me, Afro-Americans, a term I loathe…what am I? – a Euro-American?) had to stay “off campus,” across the tracks, so to speak. Well, I also didn’t know “across the tracks.” Couple of years later, I watched the movie “Lilies of the Field” and “In the Heat of the Night” – Sidney Poitier was THE MAN. All you had to do, was look up at the screen – his talent and humanity screamed at you. Of course, it was just a movie, but…anyway, I’m going to vote for Barack Obama. He’s got big shoes to fill…I’m thinking after seeing his ears, he’s probably got even bigger feet. Miles would like that…So, I don’t know what I did to “overcome” it. I do know that I open the door for ANY woman, black, white, or green. I hold the door open, because…she’s a woman. End of story. My mother would like that.

4. How important is it to get a formal music education?

I’m going to go out on a limb, here (where I belong). It depends on how talented you are. If you’re playing clarinet, and aspire to be a teacher, you have to get a “formal education” – I’m picturing a tux… On the other hand, if you’re Jaco Pastorious – forget about it. Just get out there. I defy you to picture Jaco in a tux. On another note (ahem), Andy Timmons went to the University of Miami – I would hate to have to notate his guitar solos…the hand is always quicker than the eye. But education is where you find it – a personal teacher, a college…or the school of hard knocks. You can never get enough. I remember BB King talking about how he wished he “knew more about chords.” And I thought, well, maybe I’m glad you don’t…I can picture a guitar teacher, after hearing BB play a few licks – “Oops, time to go…no charge.”

5. Do you have an articulated musical philosophy? What is it?

Music is the art of sound in time. You can have art, and you can have sound. If you can’t put them together, and make it work for you, and the people that love you – try doing something else. On the other hand, there are only three, pure diminished seventh chords – the others are all knockoffs (inversions). Timbre and voicings are the glory of orchestration – the same goes for playing guitar. Also, I have noticed, over the years, that there are two distinctions in delineating musicians, per se. Some people “create,” and the rest are talented, and can enjoy playing someone elses “creations.” You know who you are. People who want to play and blow their brains out their ears are different from people who can make an instrument work, and enjoy just playing what they’ve learned, or what they can “read.” The symphony orchestra is filled with people who would listen to John Coltrane and think, “Oh well.” Gotta love everybody. Chaka Kahn doesn’t need a lead sheet. Jaco Pastorious listened to C.C. Rider on a Saturday night in New Orleans, showed up at the gig on Thursday, and without being able to read music, played the entire set flawlessly, breaks and all, because he heard it, once…and he remembered it. Heifetz played the hell out of anything put in front him, and played from memory at the concert. Hans Zimmer doesn’t read music. Why should he? He has orchestrators and copyists to hand his music over to.

6. What are your goals as a solo musician? Collaborative musician?

I’m pretty much done – and happy. Grandfathers are happy people, for the most part. I am trying to play blues guitar better, live…love guitar.

7. What is your dream music gig?

I’ve already had it, a few years back, playing flute in a Deep Ellum club. I sat in, one night, with Andy Timmons, Cindy Horstman, Mike Medina, and Keith Carlock (before Keith moved to New York). I floated off and had a great time. A few weeks later, sitting in at the same gig, I sucked…couldn’t wait to start the car. Can’t explain it.

8. If you could perform with anyone, anywhere, any genre, who/where/what would it be?

A nice, cozy blues bar, every Friday night. I would play for free. Love that music. The other players need to be just as bad as I am. I wouldn’t want to step out of line.

9. What advice would you have for an aspiring musician?

Go for it. But it’s a really tough life, and there are a lot of hangers on, and flotsam, out there. If you can’t stand to live without it, life won’t want you to. I was recently asked how I had had such a long career in the music and sound design business, and I said, “Sheer defiance.”

James Neel, circa 1969. Photo by The Good Musician

Visit the TGM Exclusive Interview page for more cool musicians…

Post from: The Good Musician