10.31.11
jibber jabber
things have been busy....doing music seems more like therapy every day. my students are way wrapped up in school especially the seniors. the holidays are back and while they are fun on the surface they can bring on a ton of extra work and stress once you're over the age of oh say...10? by the age of say 25 you have had pretty much all versions of holiday fun like meeting the police or a doctor or the porcelin god while dressed as a pirate or a kitty around halloween....you have had so much fun during thanksgiving meeting in-laws and family of someone you realized you shouldn't date anymore and have met someones crazy uncle jack who was a little too involved with the rum punch. you realized spending tons of money for 5 minutes of wrapping paper shredding and the look of confusion and dissapointment on someones face seemed like a good time when you were the shredder and was fun......and that being awake after midnight and living through new years eve to make an appearance new years day takes some discipline and is all about timing. oh and that processed sugar is part of your dna....by 25 you know it's true. it's for those reasons i wish i could be 8 or younger for these next 3 months......but it's not going to happen....so doing music...singing, strumming, pounding, writing, always consumes me and makes me/you be so in the moment it's amazing. so if you're my student and you're 8-11 or so have a great time..knock yourself out...eat up...be greedy...enjoy the pagentry and spirit of the holidays. play some music and laugh and smile a lot...have a good time and dream about more fun and sugar. if you're over 12 keep going with the music...don't see the season as a reason to slack off now....use the spare time and crank harder. if you're over 25 take heed.......go into this period of the year with one thing in the back of your mind...it will all be over in 60 days or so.....life will return to normal....the diet you let go of at halloween can begin again in the new year....nobody died from the house fire cause by the deep fried turkey where uncle jack had too much wild turkey...and don't cry about the fact that you got re-gifted back something you tried to give away two years ago...and new years day can be a wonderful thing if you wake up. so if you're 12 or up play a lot of music over the next 60 days....loose yourself in the mental and physical world of music. take up a musical instrument if you don't already have one to attempt to master. playing and singing can be like a trip to the shrink, priest, or hairdresser......it's good internal dialogue. it can help pass the time in a very productive way. it can make other people smile.....it can make you smile because it takes away the stress. it can make you feel like you're 8 and all this stuff is new, fun, and super yummy. oh to be 8.....if you're not maybe act like you are while you play music and when you feel a tad awkward when your credit card is refused somewhere over the season ahead. hum loudly. peace...out.
we have a showcase at marsh woodwinds on nov, 14...last of the year. we did one in oct at cary arts center and had a cool time....we'll be back there soon. i've been way behind in getting showcase videos up...but i have been putting up more stuff from the studio. some students are doing original things and others are doing covers....regardless it's cool to share daily stuff and some first timer things. way to go teddy. the thing they call you tube really has been a cool new aspect of what's going on around here. there are connections growing and people from all over are taking notice. www.youtube.com
get out and see some music this winter....large or small venue...just make it happen.
part 2....for the season....don't hate. especially music and styles and artists. try a new radio station or borrow a friends mp3 player for a week. there is always a buncha general scat and din out there but there are nuggets of gold in a song or an album.....try to be more open minded....and that means those of you entrenched in the past as those who think all other styles are something akin to three day old hagus or a 25 y/o holiday fruit cake. show a little love. happy holidays
reilly does berklee / a few words from the front lines
reilly garrett has begun her college life at the berklee school of music. she and i met a couple of years ago when she showed up for guitar lessons. it didn't take me long to realize i was in a small room with a very large talent. like some of my students she came in with a musical background and like some it was raw talent being under utilized....she was so good she was always better than most but needed a little sense of direction to realize her true potential.
that was me and a lot of people when we were young. by 14-15 you think you know the score...by 19 you realize you were wrong and now have it figured out. by 25 you realize all that was poppy cock and only then do you really believe life has reveled itself to you. at 61 i have learned to keep an open mind about my lot in life and have learned that i will never really see the big picture. at 14 my life seemed like it would be about music. like reilly garret i had a buncha things i was curious about and somewhat good at...but music was the most natural fit. i imagined the future...never saw a lot of it coming...but in the end it all worked out well in the end...so far. reilly imagined her future...one day i asked her where she wanted to be in a dream future 5-10-15 years down the road and her answer came slowly after a little brain time and she said i'd be playing music...somewhere working in a band or act...traveling maybe a little....people would know maybe who i was on some small level. by the time we had that conversation i totally realized what a powerhouse she was and knew she needed to go for it hard, fast, and with abandon. she had such a gift for performance and what a voice. she had some showcase time and found her way into coffee shops to parks to large auditoriums and other local venues before she graduated from high school. she had a few options for college and gnashed her teeth over where to go for a dozen reasons and decided on berklee reilly will/would do good wherever she landed and as of late august she's been knee deep in her new digs kinda living a dream. i contacted her about writing me a letter describing what's going on for her....i told her her name comes up from time to time and that she had fans who ask about her. reilly inspired a lot of people including me and maybe someone will follow her to berkely someday. i have included a slightly edited version of her e-mail....but this is verbatum from the important stuff. i think even if you don't/didn't know reilly you'll get a sense of her enthusiasm for music and this phase of her life. now.....reillys e-mail.....
- Ear Training -- A class intended to improve sight-reading in different keys and time signatures, through exercises in singing solfege and harmonic/melodic dictation
- Music Application and Theory -- Most freshman are placed into this class. We review the basics of music theory (intervals, chord progressions, scales, etc) and learn how to compose basic grooves for drum and bass accompaniments. I took Honors and AP Theory, but Berklee is very set on teaching students theory the "Berklee way", meaning that we learn basic jazz theory for our first year, then progress to classical theory in classes such as Arranging
- Art History 2 -- I was able to opt out of taking the required Liberal Arts English classes since I had two AP English credits (the BEST decision I could've made...... the writing classes are unbearably dull). But my Art History teacher wanted to teach philosophy, even though the school assigned him an Art History position. So, in his words, to "fight the system", he is teaching my class philosophy, but includes a few art references here and there. We study and discuss readings by Saussure, Barthes, Foucault, among many others. The class is incredibly stimulating on friday afternoons.... but impossible to stay awake for at 9am on tuesdays. Still, I enjoy the lectures.
- Private Instruction -- My instructor is Sofia Rei, an incredibly talented Argentinian jazz/latin singer. She keeps me busy with excercises and countless pieces to learn. I'm currently studying the jazz standard Stormy Weather and the Schubert piece Nacht und Traume. Both are challenging in their own respect. Here is a link to one of Sofia's websites: http://sofiamusic.com/about/
- Ensemble Performance -- I couldn't be more pleased with the ensemble I was placed in. We're a "funk" ensemble, so rehearsals are always fun. We've been learning Tower of Power songs, which are a blast to perform! I'll send you videos of any performances we do in the future
- Music Technology -- Another freshman standard. We learn the basics of music recording and production with our Macs (provided to us as part of our tuition), using programs such as Garage Band, Finale, Reason, Audacity, TapNTune, and others (preinstalled on our laptops). Its a great class for those who have little-to-no experience working with Macs or audio production software. For those who have more experience, there are some opportunities to test out of the class during the orientation week.
- Artistry, Creativity, and Inquiry -- This class consists of students in my Peer Advisor group (during orientation week, we're all put into peer groups with about 15 other students, and an upperclassmen acts as group leader. We might semi-regularly to discuss concerns or difficulties regarding our new college life). The class meets once a week, and acts as sort of a group therapy: we discuss our time at berklee, as well as what it really means to be a true musician. A lot of soul searching and journal writing is involved. We also have reading assignments; currently, we are reading The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten. I really enjoy it so far.
awesome. just awesome. thanks reily...love back and enjoy the pending winter. keep the e-mails coming.
