The Good Musician

Please bear with The Good Musician for jumping out of chronological order–came across this tidbit when organizing trip brochures (yes, I collect all that stuff–the arts administrator Web/print schizoid database mind).
Notenspur Music Trail opens fall 2008. It’s a 4.7 km signposted walking trail through musical wonderland. Sort of a pilgrimage to experience the homes and churches of an exceptional musical city. Leipzig was home to so many greats, poets as well as musicians and artists. But the city excels in nurturing music.
This relatively small area–the centrum being only a few dozen blocks or so, is lush with …read more

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My three favorite foreign movies this decade are Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, Deepa Mehta’s Water, and The Kite Runner from Swiss director Marc Forster.
I happen to adore Bollywood, it reminds me of the sumptuous saturated colors of 1950’s musicals of my childhood. Operetta under the stars on a Dallas summer evening was a treat for the family, following a dinner at the original El Fenix downtown.
Back to The Kite Runner. I always check out the music credits, and saw the composer was Spanish. Interesting. Then I remembered that there is an Arabic musical tradition in Spain from the …read more

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If you take musical instruction, here are five tips to keep your teacher happy.
1. Show up. This should go without saying, but you’d be surprised at how ditching just one lesson can mean the difference between a so-so musician and a good musician. Even if you can’t play or sing, you can talk through the music with your teacher.
2. Be prepared to play or sing on the dot. Arrive early enough to soak your reed, warm up your instrument, or vocalize–whatever you need to do to be prepared to get right to the music. Make the most of your …read more

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Get comfortable, you’ve got a front seat on The Good Musician magical sound tour. From the Appolonian/Dionysian dust-up in ancient Greece to the electronic goth of Lucid Dementia, we’re on the search for the ultimate in musical experience. Along the way, we’ll sample the exotic and the mundane, the sacred and the profane. If there’s any topic you’d like to see covered, or if you have a burning desire to know what a secondary dominant is, send in your questions.

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Here’s a fun round of lists we at b5music have been sharing the past week: Name the ten musicians you would not want to switch places with!
The Good Musician is hosting this group project and here’s my personal list:

1. Billy Joe Armstrong
Seriously, the kid has to play the same 4 chords in over 30 sngs at a concert. He’s got fame and money, but musical monotony will catch up sooner or later.

2. Janet Jackson
Besides having your name pulled into dirt by your brother, having to play second fiddle all the time whilst reminding everyone of Mister popstar pedophile thanks to …read more

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Photography by carf.
I often wonder what the best way is to teach my little brother, age 10, music.
The boy goes to piano classes, and he’s actually quite talented, being able to read music quite fleuntly and playing all major and minor chords with ease after little more than a year of training.
During this time, I did find ways to contribute and help him on his journey, and there are a few tricks you may find useful yourself.

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Well, believe it or not, but musicians deserve to get paid when their music is used publicly or otherwise. In the US. the current rate is around 9 cents per phonorecord used, and it’s getting updated. In an open letter, the president of the National Music Publishers’ Association points out some important changes for songwriters and musicians.
Read the full NMPA letter. [via ControlRoom]
In a gist, the RIAA is trying to suck all musicians’ blood by cutting rates.
This is so totally deja-vu when compared to the 2007 WGA Strike. I mean, come on guys, artists need to live, too! And without …read more

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Today, I’ve got a tasty little bite for you guys that you may already have heard in various places.
The piece is “O Fortuna” from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and I encourage you to listen to the whole work if you can, because of all pieces, O Fortuna isn’t necessarily the best , in my humblest of opinions.
Enjoy, and have a great weekstart. The video here shows the aforementioned piece as the finale, preceded by the ominous “Ave formosissima”.
Also check out Sir Simon Rattle’s excellent conducting (he actually stops doing anything and lets it flow at one point) and watch for …read more

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Picture this: You walk out in front of an audience, everyone’s got that expectant glare on their face and your inner conscience says ‘Hello’ with a screaming “Oh my god, lord, mother mary, buddha, I didn’t practice enough!”
Michelle Bennett over at “A Singer’s Life” shares a thought and an anecdote on rehearsing, and when it might be too much. Notably, she mentions relaxation:

So, when is enough enough?
Perhaps when, like the singer above, you have performed a role upwards of 100 times?
I am sure each singer has their own individual strategy concerning preparation and rehearsal. However, what I am learning more …read more

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To celebrate the launch of this blog and b5media’s Music Channel, we’re giving away some cool prizes.
What’s up for grabs?
* 3 iPod Shuffles
* 3 MP3 players with preloaded MusicIP software
* 3 iTunes Certificates (worth US$25 each)

Read on to see how you can win.

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