Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome - Schumann: Dichterliebe

this piece is really cool because of the contrast in vocal and piano part. The voice in the beginning is very strict and sustained with quarters, half, and whole notes...
the piano has a very jerky feeling because of the eighth, quarter, eighth thing going on..very cool contrast between the two...
The piano line is kind of trying to get the voice line to come and join it and in the second section the voice does start to free up and addes in the alternating quarter, eighth rhythm..this section the piano actually plays right along with the voice..
by the third section the roles have completely changed..the piano is sustaing whole notes for up to three measures and the voice it jerky..then the piano plays the closing which is a recap of the very first A without the vocal line...
i hope this still counts because i accidentally feel asleep on my desk at 4 in the morning working on my music history paper......

I wrote about something classical... the world must be ending

Well, I wanted to go out in style and make this blog super wonderful. Unfortunately, I was in the PAC until 3 am working on my form paper... so this is going to be short, sweet and to the point, because I really need to go to bed. SO here ya have it... my last blog...ever. HOWEVER, for my last blog, I thought I would write about a classical piece. Just because. Maybe to annoy everybody that I did musical theatre all semester, and now for the last one I finally do something classical. Maybe because I am tired, I have sung this song, and it will be easy. Maybe just to throw you all off. Maybe because it's 3 am and I am no longer coherent... anyway.... here ya go.

"Liebhaber in allen Gestalten" by Schubert.

This piece begins with a fun accompaniment that is just full of character. It's mostly 16th notes and a few grace notes, which makes it extra bouncy and fun. It is strophic, so all of the verses are the same. The melody is actually pretty repetitive, and the pitches mostly go from do to sol or they are stepwise. However, there is a ri in the first phrase, so that's exciting. The accompaniment mostly plays 16th notes the entire time.
In order for this to be performed well, the singer must make each verse different through the use of dynamics and charcater. This is just a great little animated character piece that I love to perform. I also love the lyrics... I will give you the translation of the 1st and 3rd verses:
"I wish I were a fish, so agile and fresh, and if you were to catch me, I would not fail you. I wish I were a fish so agile and fresh. But I am as I am, so just accept me like this. If you want a better man, then have him made for you. But I am as I am, so just accept me like this."
Wow. Barbara sure does know me well to pick a song with this translation for me. Ha.

Ok I will stop torturing you with my rambling. As I was told earlier today, "Nice try, Katie."

serenade for strings, dvorak

this is the waltz form serenade for strings in E major- the melody at the beginning is pretty straightforward ( and very beautiful), with very romantic qualties. it's in 3/8, and is in the parallel minor key to start out. The main melodic motive is the 16th not "sol le sol fa me re do"The upper strings have the melody, while the lower voices have the accompaniment (2 eighths, eithe rest, etc...) The A section is a repeated double parallel period with 5 measure phrases, all ending on a pac- The next section after the exposition is development, and it modulates up to the major III- themes are constantly being reused- the exposition comes back 3 different times. The transitions to and from the different sections are seamless-it's beautiful. The ending is a huge suprise because it goes to the dominant key and ends on a huge PAC suddenly and very loudly

The Phantom of the Opera- The Point of No Return

Alright, I admit it. I’m only blogging on this piece so that I can add it to my jumbled string of melodies for tomorrow. As I’m sure many of you know, the DVD of Phantom of the Opera came out last week, and after watching it Friday, I’ve had the melody stuck in my head since, which would explain why I had the desire to add it to my melody transcriptions. So why do I have it so stuck in my head. For one thing it’s very beautiful and sensual. But aside from that, it is the simplicity of both the melody and it’s accompaniment, allowing any feeble mind to recall it and sing it inside. The accompanying strings serve only as a compliment and follow the voice to give it the haunting sound. Of particular concern to me was obvious the main melody, which comprises the A section, and is repeated twice by the phantom. However, another thing of interest in this piece is the changes of voices and tone, which adds to the feeling of two battling forces of good and evil. After the phantom finishes the A melody, which represents the calling of the dark side, with the marching pace of the strings illustrating Christine’s mesmerized walk towards the phantom. Then, in the B section, Christine sings a new melody with a different tone, that is much less smooth and melodic (her exaggerated vibrato adds to the shaky feeling and inner imbalance, representing her inner questioning as she chooses. In the final cadence, as the music sinks lower and lower and returns to the haunting minor mode, she has made her decision to go to the Phantom. She now sings the “Past the Point of no Return” A section, residing back into the mesmerized death march towards her destiny, now accompanied with drums, and with each accented beat leading to her dissension further and further into the depths of darkness. Then the Phantom voice comes in, and each sing a duet of the A melody. This signifies an arrival into the arms of the Phantom, and a final few notes on strings as a closing section signify that it is over (of course, the music turns out to be wrong as it couldn’t fight off a force stronger than darkness, a fairy tail ending, as we find out later that the handsome guy ends up with the pretty girl… who’d of thunk it. I always knew the Phantom would remain without a bride.

Sister of Night - DM/Rachmaninov Prelude in gm

I don't think I've blogged on Sister of Night by DM, but I may have, so I'll blog so that I can turn in my transcription and then blog shortly on another in case I've already done this one. As far as I can look back through the blogs I haven't done it so...

DM-Sister of Night. And who'd a thunk it was chock full of syncopation. I thought I'd do myself a favor with a DM song...not so. Not so. 4/4. The melody is funny cause it doesn't decide which key it's in--either relative major or minor--sometimes hangs around the major sometimes minor, but the accompaniment underneath is this cool haunting electronic and the harmonies are somehow very mellow. Can I just say again how frickin' syncopated this is? It is. Bah. Even the introduction with some electronic sound is syncopated: dotted quarter, quarter, eighth, eighth, eighth tied to a whole note in the next bar. See there you go, syncopated. Maybe that's what gives the melody such a nice text setting, since the melody itself is pretty limited.

Here are the words (I love them):
(Ultra) Sister Of Night

Sister of night
When the hunger descends
And your body's a fire
An inferno that never ends
An eternal flame
That burns in desire's name
Sister of night
When the longing returns
Giving voice to the flame
Calling you through flesh that burns
Breaking down your will
To move in for the kill
Oh sister, come for me
Embrace me, assure me
Hey sister, I feel it too
Sweet sister, just feel me
I'm trembling, you heal me
Hey sister, I feel it too
Sister of night
In your saddest dress
As you walk through the light
You're desperate to impress
So you slide to the floor
Feeling insecure
Sister of night
With the loneliest eyes
Tell yourself it's alright
He'll make such a perfect prize
But the cold light of day
Will give the game away
Oh sister, come for me
Embrace me, assure me
Hey sister, I feel it too
Sweet sister, just feel me
I'm trembling, you heal me
Hey sister, I feel it too


--Rachmaninov

This recording is old and has static. The recording is from 1920. Josef Lhevinne. I hear more static that music. a lot of repeated fast note, dotted rhythm, and guess what--more syncopation. It's really catchy though--very dance like in some parts, yet also a march feel, and then he has these more lyrical sections in the higher register. He then returns to the first march/dance feel--I would almost say russian tango thing going on. I would say it's some sort of ternary form, but the return of the march-like stuff gets more involved than the first time. Do I hear a little codetta at the end of this? Like it closes and then the piano decides to make one last crazy leap around the keyboard?

let's end this in style...

tchaik style.
tonight i will be blogging on the fourth movement of tchaikovsky's 5th symphony. now i'm not really going to talk about the form or anything, but i'm going to tell you a little about why this piece means so much to me. i'm feeling a little bit nostalgic tonight. it was the first symphony i ever read in youth orchestra--this was before i made the big kids group--i was probably in 8th grade. also, it was the first piece i ever had to transpose. and i didn't have my c trumpet yet, so i was transposing everything down a half step. back then, my mind just didn't work like that, but eventually i got the hang of it. i remember being so scared to play though, afraid i'd miss an accidental, and the big 10th grader who sat in front of me would always make me feel so stupid. but i'm pretty sure i showed him up when i played his solo (in the 3rd mvt) one rehearsal when he was sick. so anyway, what i'm getting at here, is everytime i hear that opening melody, it gives me this heroic sensation, and i feel so alive! that was incredibly cheesy, but you know you liked it.
peace out, advanced musicianship. you've made an ass out of me;)

"Heidenroslein" by Franz Schubert

Really quick song, because my mind feels like it has melted from all the writing I've done this evening. This song is such a cute strophic number, with one melodic line being repeated 3 times. The verses are 2 periods, the first with a HC, followed by a PAC. The second is assymetric, with a HC, followed by a deceptive cadence, then a PAC. The "chorus" is simply a phrase, with a HC that is pulled out by ritardando, then the tempo returns for the consequent phrase and PAC. Really simple song, very cute. My life hurts...

Flute Concerto in D, 3rd movement

Mozart
Jean-Pierre Rampal

The expository function is established immediantely through parallel phrases and repetition. The rhythm is four sixteenths, low density, and solfege is sol-mi-fa-re-do on each sixteenth. The flute line is accompanied by a violin line that makes the staccato even more emphasized. One of the things that shapes the phrases is the lack of staccato, there is especially emphasis on the contrast between the note lengths because of the low density. The flute line is repeated by strings and oboe. The orchestra then enters a developmental function. An aggressive line in the low strings creates a transistional function back into the expository one. The function is a little different, the sixteenth rhythm and solfege, stay the same, but it is more legato, with very little staccato. The flute then starts a sixteenth passage that slowly climbs up by steps. It then enters another sixteenth passage that doesn't go anywhere, just floats around in a low density, higher register. The same signal of the aggressive bass line in the strings is used to signal another transistional function to the first cadenza. After the cadenza, it repeats back to the beginning, and cycles into a new section briefly in a minor key. The expository funciton is stated again, I think it has been stated in the rondo about five times. The structure is the five part rondo. The entire piece maintains a liteness to it maintianed through very strict rhythmic and harmonic activity. The entire piece moves fast and aggressive, but because of its contrast to the lite sound of the flute, it maintains this flighty feel.

"Billy Joel" - The Longest Time

This song is entirely a capella. I hear Billy Joel on lead vocals, finger snapping, and four background vocalists, including a very low bass. I don't know if some of the background vocals are sung by Billy Joel himself, but I can easily see him singing the higher voices.

Other than the chorus, this is in rounded binary form: A A B" A B" A. There is a repeat of the first A section, as well as the B"A sections.

Chorus:
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
*Not really any form for this section. I love the bass guy's little solos.

A section:
If you said goodbye to me tonight
There would still be music left to write (HC)
What else could I do
I'm so inspired by you
That hasn't happened for the longest time (PAC)
*This is a contrasting assymetrical period. The background vocals do a lot of "ooo"ing and "aaa"ing. They sing the lyrics on "for the longest time."

Repeat of A section:
Once I thought my innocence was gone
Now I know that happiness goes on (HC)
That's where you found me
When you put your arms around me
I haven't been there for the longest time (PAC)

Chorus:
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time
Oh, oh, oh
For the longest time

A section:
I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall
And the greatest miracle of all (HC)
Is how I need you
And how you needed me too
That hasn't happened for the longest time (PAC)

B section:
Maybe this won't last very long
But you feel so right
And I could be wrong (HC)
Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more that I hoped for (HC)
*This is a parallel symmetrical period - it is progressive in that it is in a minor key, but modulates right back to the original key.
*The background vocals do a little arpeggiating on "bong", followed by a "duadua" - very cute.

A:
Who knows how much further we'll go on
Maybe I'll be sorry when you're gone (HC)
I'll take my chances
I forgot how nice romance is
I haven't been there for the longest time (PAC)

B:
I had second thoughts at the start
I said to myself
Hold on to your heart (HC)
Now I know the woman that you are
You're wonderful so far
And it's more that I hoped for (HC)

A:
I don't care what consequence it brings
I have been a fool for lesser things (HC)
I want you so bad
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for The longest time (PAC)

Appalachian Spring

Aaron Copland really captures the aural image of America in his famous "Appalachian Spring." You can almost here the open fields and endless possibilities in this pulitzer prize winning composition. It is a truly a masterpiece that beautiful weaves the simple shaker theme throughout the piece. Once and a while you can hear the influence of "Simple Gifts." There are exciting moments juxtaposed to sweet mellow movements. Copland opens the song with very simple chords, with a very simple melody placed on top. This leaves the listener with a very pastoral feeling to the music. I am particularly fond of the ending. The gorgeous flute line is very somber, almost sad. It is a very emotional piece, in my mind representing the simple cyclical progress of nature coupled with the pastoral beauty of the United States.

“Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson

“Banana Pancakes” by Jack Johnson is in four-four with three beats of pick-up notes played by the guitar, mi-sol-mi-re-do-la. These notes give a little preview for the notes that are most often used in the melody and they are also important because they give the song its slightly swingin’ beat. It’s got some bluesy/jazzy chords and a swing quality because the eighth notes are not straight but more uneven. There are about four measures of guitar before the verse comes in. It sounds like there could be some sort of acoustic bass which plays mostly do-sol-do-sol so the chords are mostly tonic and dominant. The only other instrument is some sort of drum which definitely has a few pitches, maybe congas. The song has a very laid back, swingy feel. There are not set verses, but there seems to be one main melody for most of the phrases, mi-sol-la-sol-mi-re-mi-re-do, mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-do. There is not one ti throughout the entire melody, mostly la-dos but no ti-dos. The chord changes are not very fast or very often.
This song is great because is a mixture of genres but it has that overall laid back Jack Johnson feel.

Taffanel - Andante pastoral

The piano begins the piece by itself playing a short intro that is then echoed very softly by the piano. The flute solo enters after this in a minor key. The melody throughout the entire piece is extremely ornamented and embellished in one way or another. At first, one of the main ways Taffanel does this is by incorporating scales into the melody. The scales usually lead up or down into the main beat that we hear as part of the melodic line. The piece ties the low and higher octaves together very well. It's all very fluid in the movement from one to the other. A considerable amount of time is spent in the low octave, but because of the way the different registers are connected with arpeggios and such, the higher octaves don't stick out at all. Instead, the low octave flows right into it. The tempo fluctuates a lot at various points during the piece. The flute truly has the lead role in the piece because the piano accompaniment is basic chords and follows the flute's tempo changes well. This is also what probably enhances the overall bittersweet and poignant feeling this movement creates. The intro of solo piano is balanced, yet contrasted by the ending, which is basically performed only by the flute.

I got a Gal... In Kalamazoo- Glen Miller

Thats me! A real pipperoo...
This is a great song, and in only a short time, I'll be back in my hometown before I take off for New York for a summer of oboe.
I like the swing era kinds of songs that make you think of your grandparents, and it also has some great solos in it, one is the trumpet solo and another is of course the sax solo, don't think I didn't hear like a half an hour lecture on that from Tyler.
I don't know if its the light kind of bouncy dance feel to the song, or just me wanting to go home really bad, but the song reminds me of summer, I also like the harmonies that go on within the voices...
Here are the lyrics, enjoy...

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H
I got a gal in Kalamazoo
Don’t want to boast but I know she’s the toast of Kalamazoo(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)
Years have gone by, my my how she grew
I liked her looks when I carried her books in Kalamazoo(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)

I’m gonna send away, hoppin’ on a plane, leavin’ today
Am I dreamin’? I can hear her screamin’"
Hiya, Mr. Jackson"
Everything’s OK, A-L-A-M-A-Z-O
Oh, what a gal, a real pipperoo
I’ll make my bid for that freckle-faced kid I’m hurryin’ to
I’m goin’ to Michigan to see the sweetest gal in Kalamazoo(Zoo, zoo)(Zoo, zoo, zoo, Kalamazoo)
K (K)A (A)L-A-M-A-Z-O(Oh, oh, oh, oh what a gal, a real pipperoo)
(We’re goin’ to Michigan to see the sweetest gal in Kalamazoo)
(Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo)(Kalamazoo!!)

Queen, “Who Wants to Live Forever”

This is the last listening journal (woo hoo!) so I’m going to do one of my favorite songs.

The song begins with the synthesizer emphasizing the dominant chord that ushers in the first verse. The first verse is very serene with only the synthesizer accompanying the singer and the timbre they use for this has very long and distant sounding sustains on each chord. The choice of having the guitarist sing this as opposed to the lead singer is also important because the guitarist’s voice fits the mood of this part of the song better. The chorus also has the same instrumentation and has a wonderful that goes up scalar for each “who wants to live forever” reaching tension and the tension not being released until the chorus feels like its done with a little afterthought as the chords resolve with the singer just doing some soft “oohs”

In the second verse a string section is added to the synthesizer which gives a slightly different timbre but does little to change the mood and the feel, except that they have some stagnant two tone eighth note repetition that push the verse a little more. The lead singer also comes back in to make the music a bit louder. A little bass drum is also added on the 1 and the last sixteenth note of the first beat when the singer is breaking between lines. The chorus starts out the same as the first time with the new instrumentation and cool little descending line in the low strings right after the singer’s ascending line, but this time the return to tonic is marked as a peak rather than as a downfall into the second verse. A cymbal rolls helps emphasize this and the chorus ends up getting extended with a long feeling of dominant that finally gets resolved when the electric guitar enters for the first time and the texture falls back apart again that ushers in the instrumental solo.

The solo section begins with the first feel of a real driving rhythm with the hi hat starting up with the bass drum playing the line earlier every measure and every other measure being forte with a huge snare drum hit on the & of 2. The guitar solo basically stays along the lines of the verse. The bridge follows this and is just four bars long and keeps the same rhythmic aspects as previous but features the vocalist in a new line that works its way up to the high vocal range that was last seen at the end of the second chorus.

Another round of chorus follows this but has lyrics that fit in with the bridge so the feeling of the chorus isn’t quite there. Probably my favorite part about the song is at this point and in the later choruses is the drum part after each one of the rising lines which consists of bass drum on the sixteenth note just before beat 3, snare drum on three, bass drum on the sixteenth note just after three and just before beat 4, snare drum on 4, and bass drum on the sixteenth note right after beat 4. It is really cool because it is using a somewhat funky beat in the context of a emotionally gripping rock ballad which is somewhat unusual but works very effectively here. After this chorus the texture drops out for a measure then there’s a crescendo that goes into the real singing of the chorus, which is sung by multiple voices. After this the texture falls apart and the singer sings the last couple lines and then the music goes on for a couple minutes, doing a great job of delaying the cadence for many measure.

The last instrumental part consists of some guitar solos and is there because this song was used in the movie “Highlander” so they kept it in context of the song. The end of this instrumental features the synthesizer running up doing a D major with a major 9 chord, which has become my favorite chord.

Now the Green Blade Rises arr. John Sittard

This piece begins with a piano introduction that sounds like Reniassance flute music. It consist of a parallel period. It then goes into chords that seem to initiate the start of the melody. As anticipated, the hymn tune then follows. It is played very basic and simply for the first verse. The second verse makes use of arrpegiated chords in the bass line. Then the 3rd verse does something very shocking and is grounded by harmonic chords that sound very 20th centuryish and aren't tonal at all. This makes a very eerie effect. The next verse continues with the 20th century chords with no melody in piano. The melody is now played by flute. Then there is an interlude where the piano returns to the original dance like introductory theme. The flute plays a final theme from the melody and the piece ends with a baroque arrpegiation on piano. The greatest thing about this piece is that by adding the additional theme to the familiar verses the piece takes on a rounded binary feeling. I wish I had an arrangement of this piece. It really puts a person in high spirits.

Trumpet Concerto in A-flat Major - Arutunian

I decided to cover this because I may want to transcribe the melody, and I heard it performed for the 2nd time in my life at Kelsie Gray's trumpet recital tonight. And it's hot.

This piece is fairly modern, so perhaps trying to apply an old form to it is futile. After scribbling some notes about the outline of the piece, I'd say it's in 5-part composite rondo form, looking like this: A trans B A trans C A

The A section is in a rounded binary form which gives the piece the composite nature. The 'a' theme is a fast, staccato section. The 'b' theme is played over a 6/8 waltz feel. I say "played over" instead of "is in" because the trumpet still plays in a duple, hemiola feel, giving this section a cool sound. The 'a' section returns in the piano, which has a solo interlude every time the A section is played.

After the first A section, there is a transition made up of the 'b' material which leads into the major B section, which is a soft, ballad-sounding feel with lots of 7th and 9th chords, giving it a real modern-jazzy feel.

'A' returns, in the same manner it was played the first time.

There's another transition into the 'C' section, which is very similar to 'B' in its modern jazzy feel. This section has a lot of nice tension and release between dissonant, extended-harmony chords that resolve to simple triads - I especially like his use of Db, which is to me the most mellow-sounding triad.

'A' returns again, barely changed from the begninng.

peel me a grape

So, i'm listening to diana krall sing this, right now. i'm singing this with the combo, and it's just such a great song!

it's really laid back, and my favorite part is that the melody comes in on the and of 1 in every measure. the melody (sol-me-do-fa) is so great, and always gets stuck in my head.

at the bridge the rhythm is much more strict, almost in a spoken manner and the melody changes too. (do-ra-ti-do-ra-ti-do....re-me-di-re-me-di....me-me-me-do....re-me-fa) and then we go back to our (sol-me-do-fa). ooooh, it's so cool.

in diana's version she plays a piano solo after the head is played through once, and she's pretty much just embellishing over the melody, which adds a nice feel without carrying us too far from home base.

good tune, you should listen.
p.s.--she's my aunt's cousin. that's pretty cool :) i mean, it's pretty distant...kind of like the six degrees of kevin bacon...but still...diana krall is amazing, and i'm claiming it.

"Yellow Pages"

I thought I try my hand again at 20th century literature. In this unique piece, we find a small ensemble playing rapid notes. Michael Torke does an excellent job of using the individual instrument timbres to create unique voices, and motives amongst chaos. The piece has no typical form or harmonic structure. No melody or countermelody. Instead it has character. Although it is chaotic and seemingly non-understandable, it does make a little sense. It is almost as if the composer took the Yellow Pages and started to flip through, with each company a new motive. The yellow pages is large, sometimes confusing, and it is often difficult to find what you are looking for. Torke does a stand up job of creating a piece of 20th century chamber music reflecting the busy and chaotic business world of today.

Schumann Dichterliebe

Tenor-Ian Bostridge

Im Wonderschoenen Monat Mai: This is the first piece of the cycle. It is quite short, composed of two strophes, identical. It's simplicity mirrors the innocence and naivete of the poet as he sings of his heart's confession. The piano has a haunting repeated gesture that moves through all of the accompaniment, especially prominent in the prelude an interlude. A major.

Aus meinen Thraenen spriessen: is perhaps even shorter. It begins again the mi, and retains much of the melodic hints of the previous song. Here though it is through composed in three phrase groups (the first two shorter and parallel, the third twice their length), all ending on a half cadence. Still in A. There is also no introduction.

Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube...: We've changed keys to D Major. It's quick, light, joyous--only one break for the singer to breathe. The singer actually begins before the piano, though the piano has a nice postlude.

Wenn ich in dein Augen seh': though in GM, the first melodic gesture of the singer is reminiscent of the first two pieces in the cycle, beginning on the b, repeated , then up, down. He does some interesting harmonic wandering, as the poety wanders through the pain of holding such desire in his heart.

Dein Angesicht: We go from GM to EbM! chromatic mediant? Again repeated b and then up, but this time a b flat. It begins three phrases on the bflat, the first being the shortest, the two longer, all take advantage of the repeated b flat.

skip one (Bb Major)

Ich will meine Seele tauchen: this is my favorite of the cycle. The piano just takes off into a different world here. We again have that odd three assymetrical phrases going on, though all here are ending on a PAC, and we're in a lovely b minor--how does he get away with this? Maybe it adds to the shock factor. I'm gonna listen to this again, then again, then again, because this is my favorite, and I'm stopping here for tonight.

Shostakovich symphony no. 5 -mvt II

the movment starts off with a bass and cello soli obscuring the beat. tehre is a very dark and russian atmosphere. we then start the feel the meter as the winds play some stable rhythms. there is a lovely basoon duet. the strings come in and play a little more frivously. then we go into a strict waltz tempo. the basses walk up and down as the winds play shrill in the upper register. a powerful horn call restates the atmosphere. the strings are playing the melody that is a bit off axis. there is a dimuendo and thinner orchestration as a solo violin winds us down. then the flute comes in and plays the solo verbatim. then the strings come in unison forte and very agressively. the winds then come in and play the same agrresive passage. the strings play undulataing scales while the winds play a more detached style. the bassoons then come in and play the same meloyd that was played at the beginning by the low strings. this whole section is a repeat from the beginning though orchestrated differently. there are winds and pizzicato strings for a mysteriously light sensation. the loud tutti comes in while the interest lie in the winds as the bass have counterpoint. the trumpets then come replacing the horn call. the meloyd is then repeated in the strings and crescendos to a return of the horn call. then there is an oboe solo like that of the violin earlier, though slightly altered. then there is a race to the finish as a shout chorus is heard ff as very aggressive.

"High Fly," Randy Weston

When people write textbooks about jazz history in 1000 years, I bet there will be entire chapters on the ii-V-I progression. In large part, it has defined jazz harmony since its beginnings, and will continue to do so, even though composers nowadays stray as far away from that progression as possible.

That being said, "High Fly" is a ii-V-I tune we're playing in jazz combo, and it's made me realize how bland a lot of jazz actually is. Composers can and will continue to write as many melodies on this kind of progression that they want, but they will still be linked by that darn progression that all beginning jazzers have to study.

It's got an easy swing feeling, so the style is also not very interesting. Overall, I feel pretty bored when I hear it, unless the soloist does something different.

I guess the ii-V-I is to the evolution of jazz as IV-V-I is to the evolution of classical music. The things that made composers of any time good, interesting or innovative was largely about the way they avoided or manipulated that cadence.

One Short Day - Wicked

This is a great show..I really like it...It just been a long day and no time for anything...
Well the beginning starts off with the chorus which sings "one short day...in the emerald city" which surprise surprise goes with the chord progression of"do sol fa ...fa sol la ti la sol fa" The ending "in the emerald city changes slightly each time but the opening is always do sol fa... the solo voice follows the same outline for the most part..Then all the sudden, it breaks into a very old style sounding broadway musical with over dramatic articulation...then after that deal it is back in its original setting..it is an A B A with a very independent B section...tonally stable, and very much different from the original A..

"I'll Tell the Man in the Street"

"I'll Tell The Man in the Street" performed by Kristen Chenoweth on her CD "Let Yourself Go"

This song is by Rodgers and Hart, and I adore it. I wish I could find the sheet music for it, because I'd love to be able to sing it. I also just love Kristen Chenoweth. One of the reasons I love her is because she was classically trained to be an opera singer, but has instead pursued a career in musical theatre very successfully. So, basically, I want to be her. HA. One of the reasons I love this song is because it is one of the few times you get to hear her use her classical voice. She usually sings in a very bright, nasal, character voice way. SO here goes...
The song starts out with flutes playing a sequence, and then the strings join in. It's beautiful. The vocal line comes in, and the accompaniment just basically serves to support it. Leading into the refrain, everything grows. The orchestra is very dreamy sounding, and plays with a beautiful legato sound. The orchestration doesn't stand out at the refrain, but the vocal part does. It's stunning... it just soars in this beautiful soprano floaty way. Later in the refrain, there is a huge build, and the violins are stunning. They play at a really high register, and it's a nice effect.
The verse from the very beginning returns, but with a very full orchestra under it. The song ends with Kristen Chenoweth sustaining a glorious note, and the orchestra playing the melody underneath her. fabulous.
"I'll tell the man in the street, and everyone I meet that you and I are sweethearts."

Ray Boltz- Thank You

This musical has a sort of synthesized bell sound in the background that repeats in quarter notes with a simple chordal structure through a good portion of the piece and is then taken over by the piano parts. This background gives the piece a never ending upbeat angelic quality for the entirety of the piece. The accompaniment and vocal melody are very simple and repetitive. The piano or bells play one chord and then Ray Boltz sings a few notes off that chord before changing. The simplicity of the song is enough to be beautiful but also to draw attention to the important words about how the greatest gift we can give to other people on earth is to share the love of Jesus Christ. The music is soft and pensive as the words are reflective and then loud and exclamatory in the chorus part, saying “thank you for giving to the Lord.”

Sibelius

ok, so i have to play for my grandfather's funeral this week...not excited...not a good weekend...so blah. I'm lucky that I'm even doing this. Well, I played Be Still my Soul today, and Caitlin played the New World in her proficiency yesterday, and I think it reflects my mood. Its such a beautiful and lush piece. And yet the melody is so simple. It's interesting, some composers write music that is so complex and flashy with huge chords and such so that they are remembered and are beautiful pieces, while the New World melody is so simple, and yet it is beautiful and loved by many. I think this is a parody in life...you don't have to be flashy and constantly complex for people to love and remember you...you can be simple and beautiful and people will love you and remember you. ok, goodnigt

Jason Mraz- You and I both

This song has no introduction which I think is good for my somewhat impatient mood this evening. This song doesn't even have any instrumental bridges or HUGE guitar solos that are so common with this silly singer/songwriter/guitar playing boys these days.
My good friend Jason is talking about a past relationship. He looks back on it happily because "you and I both loved, what you and I spoke of and others just read of. And if you could see me now, you would know that I'm almost finally out of words." The song is in major until he switches to minor for a short bridge to say that it's ok that she never calls and even though he's sad that she ended it...(changes to major)...He's glad that they loved at all. Such a sweet song.
Well, John Mayer was next on my Boys and Guitars playlist that I seem to have on permanent play, so I'm going to go enjoy him. :-)

Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto in C - Andantino

After an introduction by the orchestra, the flute solo enters with the harpist soon to follow. The notes at the beginning of the melody/main motive are very separated, but this leads to very legato, slurred passages for most of the rest of the melody. After the flute has entered, the orchestra just about disappears and the harp takes over its role. The orchestra comes back throughout the piece mostly as accompaniment when the flute and harp aren't playing. The flute and harp work together in the performing of the melody. They share/switch the roles of soloist and accompanist. Overall, the movement sounds really repetitious to me - it sounds primarily like the main motive being repeated a lot. About 2/3 of the way through the piece, there it sounds like it's coming to a close, but it's just the end of a section within the movement, but is terminative nonetheless. Then the only harp alone section comes in. Following this, the tempo starts to increase and the flute reenters. A lot more motion is given to this repeat of the melody by the constant arpeggiations on the harp, which pushes the feeling of the tempo forward. This calms down gradually, and the piece ends up dropping in tempo and dynamic at the end.

poopiter from the planets...when i say poopiter i mean jupiter

i contemplated not blogging this evening, but then i thought about my poor, poor grade, and how it suffers so.
i enjoy the beginning of this movement because it is very cosmic--just like holst intended, i'm sure. it feels like we're in the movie star wars, and we're flying at the speed of light through the galaxy. it must be the fast moving strings. then the horns come in, victorious and vibrant, like the jedi knights after a tough battle.
so a similar jolly melody sticks around for awhile until a stately andante section arrives. it feels very motivational to me, like Hans Solo giving Luke Skywalker a nice little pep talk. the music takes on two bar subphrases that swell, and flow like it's liquid music or something.
when this section is through, a rather reflective section is played by some select winds and strings. i can't think of a decent star wars analogy, but it's kind of like that time Darth Vader says "Luke, I am your father" and it's really sentimental, you know? that's how it feels.
the faster melody returns, and we're back in the milennium falcon. it's fantastic...
more later.

Oboe Concerto- Ralph Vaughn Williams

I LOVE this oboe concerto... hopefully I'll get to perform it really soon, its a fun one to play. The main theme is a really beautiful pastoral kind of melody with the strings leading into the oboe's entrance with a big swell. I have to start off by saying that the first movement really reminds me of Christmas and winter.
The beginning has this cold, and wintry feel to it, but its still beautiful and as you hear the oboe play you can easily picture snow falling across a countryside or something. The B theme is this lighthearted, staccato melody which gives you kind of the jovial sense of snow flakes dancing but then modulates to the relative minor key which always kind of gives me the sense that the calm snow is turning into more of a blustery storm, it has a more intense feel with clusters of accented sixteenth notes giving a sense of urgency like its time to get home out of the snow.
The piece ends in this parallel minor key with the main melody which I really like, it gives a sense of unrest but I feel like the movement definately has closure.

"Screaming Infidelities" by Dashboard Confessional

I'm feeling nostalgic today, and this song brings back memories of my last summer as a camp counselor. This is the all acoustic version of the song, which skips the off-kilter drum beats and odd rhythm of the radio version, just sticking to a normal strum pattern. Not to say that this is sparse, because it's not, actually the guitar used is a twelve string, to give it a deep, rich sound and it is tuned a very specific tuning, which has Db in 3 octaves to give it a huge sound for only a single instrument. The pattern is played over and over throughout the song, giving the real interst to the vocal line. Unlike a lot of pop songs, the line on this song is constantly changing, adding different inflection to each verse, to mimic the changing tone of the song. Between the verse there is a small guitar riff that goes along with the chorus, and seems to just grow out of the guitar part, which seems spontaneous and organic all at the same time. We come back to the second verse, this time it's not as reserved and quiet, but the voice is higher, strained and pleading. This verse takes the same material and gives it an entirely new emotion, as the vocals seemingly rip through the music. We have another chorus with the little riff, then come crashing down with new material, the tagline of "Screaming Infidelities" comes in with the huge unison chord, where we hear the depth of the guitar as well as a primal scream from the vocals, accusing the unknown woman of everything done wrong to him. It's a pretty straightforward piece, as is a lot of emo music, without a lot of style but trying to pack on substance. It's a great angry song that for some reason doesn't sound so angry.

trio for piano, clarinet, and cello, allegroo, Brahms

I've been listening to this movement lately. Starting in A minor, The cello introduces the first theme, and then the clarinet and piano come in together. The clarinet and cello have these very sustained notes while the piano has a really bouncy triplet counterpart. This is a beautiful theme, with a very fluid and upward feeling. The cello also introduces the second subject (which is in the dominant key), and this theme is developed in the middle section of the movement. Many times the cello and clarinet are played in unison, and then suddenly break away from each other. The clarinet finishes the piece with this running 16th note section, ritards, and then ends on the fifth scale degree.

Frauenliebe und Leben I - Schumann

This piece begins with the feeling of being major. It quickly turns into a minor feeling by tonicising something minor. It has a repeating sequence of sol sol la sol, then going up by step for one other measure. This piece is very simple, therefore the tone is simple. The accompaniment is also simple, mostly staying with the rhythm and melody of the voice. It's a very horizontal piece. I'm also very impressed at how well Jessye Norman makes the melody as linear as possible.

Quintet for Winds, Op.45 Andante

Robert Muczynski
Stanford Woodwind Quintet

Begins with very legato, melodic line in bassoon and horn. The bassoon plays a held note while the horn line creates a flowing line. After the first phrase, the horn line is replaced with a clarinet, in the same register, with the same note in the bassoon. This first section mainly stays in the same register, or lower, so it sort of has a muddy feel to it, combined with the pedal melody in the bassoon. The darker feel also it created from the tonality, which is more stagnate, not a lot of V-I and a lot of HC. This is also because the base makes up a large part of the texture because of its dynamic. The base also has a very stagnate rhythm, a constant descending line in the bassoon part of do-te-le-sol, very dark sounding. The piece is very Aeolian sounding. None of the notes feel like they are being pulled in a particular direction, but the lines have their own unique beauty to them. The tonality itself is very evasive, but all the notes center around do in a natural minor scale. The clarinet line is a development line of the horn line. After the clarinet phrase, it is repeated, and at the same time, the flute enters, then the oboes, the horn, and the flute again. The instruments all have their own duet with the bassoon eventually, inbetween those all four instruments come together. Instead of using tonality as much, Mucyznski brings more and more voices together, or plays with the rhythm. The stem of this piece is definitely the Aeolian mode, because even at the end of phrases it maintains this loose whole step feel to it, put still maintains a pulse. It makes it sound very moody. I liked the piece. Because everything was so limited to this scale tonally, it ended up sounding all the more creative.

"Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden" Bach motet

This is in the form of a fugue, with SATB chorus, or four voices. The first ascending subject is repeated 9 times - "Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden." The second subject, "Und preiset in alle foelke," is repeated 13. Towards the end of this subject, we hear the tenor voice return to the original subject - there's two going on at once!! This recapitulation of the original subject is played 3 times. This abruptly stops, and there's a wonderful chorale at half the speed. It's like a nice time for the audience to catch their breath. More cadenzas are added, and the motet feels like it's speeding up again. The new subject, "In ewichkeit," is mostly a long note sung once in each voice - so it's performed only four times.

This ends, and we move into the complicated "Alleluja" section. The main subject in this section is performed 14 times, but only once by the soprano voice. Gradually all the voices come together for the terminative section. It ends on a full V-I, PAC cadence.

Gabriel's Message, "Once in Royal David's City"

This is another beautiful religious piece. I think this is my favorite genre of music. I love how round all the timbres and harmonies sound together. I can hear the tones filling a cathedral sanctuary. This piece begins with a solo soprano on a very long phrase that ends on a half cadence. Then she sings a parallel phrase that ends on a PAC. This is followed by very sustained and pure tones in an upper register. Then a choir comes in with tenor voices that become accompaniment to her. There is only harmony in two voices. Some of the choir voices almost sound like children. The harmony grows and gets richer and richer through density, range, and dynamics until eventually it swells with repetitive parallel periods that end in a large PAC that feels like a rising sunrise.

Bernstein's "Anniversary No 4'

This piece is cool to analyze. It starts with an unusual form. To begin with, it is part of a cycle of 4 movements. Then, by itself it is a ternary form. This is cool because the piece only last for a couple of minutes, yet it fits all the ideas of ternary form in it. It starts with an exposition. This is made up of a couple of big chord bops and little running passages. Then there is even a brief polyphonic section. The structural phenomena that holds this whole piece together is the rests. The rests are almost as powerful as the notes. Then the development explores a lot of keys, registers, and densities. It doesn't have any rests. It just flies! The dynamic contrasts are really impressive though. Then after a big chordal transition section, the recap happens. A few additional chords are added to the similar themes from the expos. in the recap. Then there is a very exciting scalar passage coda that starts very soft and then grows with spizicato velocity until the last banging chord. This piece sounds really amazing with all the articulation and speed. It's like a compact package of everything we've studied.

You Raise Me Up

You Raise Me Up- Josh Groban
There is a nice litte intro. that I believe would sound even more cool if it were on the bagpipes, but its on a string instrument.violin...the intro ends on a PAC then has static note repeated until the voice come in to sing the same line...
The intro then comes back as a transition back into the chorus of the song. After the chorus is sung once more..it is sung again...this song basically is made totally of chorus being repeated...
it goes - intro. verse chorus trans. chorus chorus (cad extension) chorus (ending is developed) chorus (reg.)
So, as you can see there is really only one verse and the rest is just playing around with the chorus..adding instruments or modifying it a little each time to keep it forward moving..until the last one which is set how it was in the beginning giving us a sense of termination...

Sonate Pathetique- Beethoven

I enjoyed a live performance of this piece tonight played very well indeed by our own Julianne Merrill. We're all getting ready for proficiencies and decided to get together and play for each other and I'd say that it went pretty well.
I was firstly impressed with the dramatic presence that the piece has on its own, but also the effect that a performer can have on the piece as well. I've heard this piece a buttload of times, we had to study it for music history, but it was such a different experience hearing and seeing it performed live.
The dynamics and phrasing were definately Beethoven, with huge contrasts and very dramtic and beautiful phrasing. If was evident that Julie had really listened to some contrasting interpretations of the piece and made it her own which is awesome.
I'd say that the piece has an urgent quality to it, and the fluidity that it produces through the tons of notes as well as the dynamics is really apparant.
I love the cadenza that ends on this g7 chord really nicely, it sounds solid and then takes you back to the main theme which feels really comfortable and stable, thats my favorite part.

Der Schmied- Brahms

Another one for the proficiency file. This song is also by Brahms. I love Brahms. I love German Lied. I love lamp. (That was for you Anchorman fans!) This is a simple and short two verse lied. A girl is singing about her blacksmith boyfriend who is fanning the flames of his fire and when she walks by he fans faster and the fire burns bigger and brighter. The accompaniment is very "hammer-like" and sounds like blacksmith hammers. It's percussive and outlines the chord progression. At the end of each verse we get a big accented TI that then resolves to Do- Sol- Mi-Do. Really a great song.
Good luck on Proficiencies everyone!!

Bartok, Mikrokosmos: from the diary of a fly

very fly-ish. Has a lot of close intervals, repeated notes and gestures, all overlapping. He uses jarring intervals, chromatic scales, alternating intervals. It starts out smaller, and then builds up using scalar passages and richer "chords" to climax, and then slowly returns to less action. The voices drop out (I can't tell if there are ultimately three or four voices). It really feels like you could play if for fly music in a cartoon or puppet show and it'd be perfect. Perhaps it's because he avoids larger intervals (being too large for a fly to traverse). There's also this sense of continuous movement, not a real melody to speak of (though much of mikrokosmos is sort of lacking in a catchy melody), not a real direction to speak of. A fly wanders around pretty hap-hasardly, and here this piece doesn't have periods, form, anything, except a sense of beginning, climax and end--enough to bring the listener in as though be told a story.

Quiet City -Copland

Ok, so I am accompanying Susie and Caitlin on this piece for Susie's proficiency. Susie plays trumpet and Caitlin plays english horn. This piece is far from bombastic rhythms and such, it seems to sort of swell here and there. I begins with soft piano and and then english horn. After the opening statement, the trumpet picks up the theme and rhythms and builds. This is the first swell. Then it goes back to english horn and piano. Then solo trumpet and piano. This pieces mixes colors as the piano, trumpet, and english horn takes turns with the mellody and accompany each other. This piece also cahnges time signatures and rhtyhms so as to change the texture of the piece as well. It keeps the same basic theme and rhythm throughout most of the piece, with some melodic influxes here and there. All in all, it seems this piece is all about timbre and mixing, and influxes of a melody. Its very beautiful and impressionistic. On that note...I played my whole proficiencies program tonight and I rocked! Bring it on!!

leather-winged bat, jake heggie

this song is so much fun! i'm singing it on my proficiency, so i thought i'd tell you all about it before hand, dr. s.

it begins with a crazy three bar intro (i know, you're thinking...why not four? well that's heggie for ya'). when the vocals come in "hi, said the little old leather-winged bat", the accompaniment drops away to random chords on 1 and 3. once the singer gets to the 'refrain' ("hi-o-day-o-diddle-o-down...") the accompaniment picks up again and is very steady.

this song talks about a leather-winged bat, a woodpecker, a bluebird, and a robin. all have different personalities as is evident by the accompaniment. the woodpecker: eigth notes in the left hand; bluebird: floating melody in right hand; robin and bat both have sparse accompaniments. everytime the refrain has the same accompaniment. we could say that it's ABCBDBEB' but at the end (B') the singer goes up to an A, which as i've already discussed with dr. s. is quite high for a mezzo. but...it's hot, what can i say?

sort of random: everynow and then heggie will throw in an extra two beats, not making a 2/4 bar or a 6/4 bar, there's just a dotted line and then two more beats. this extra two beats, however, always comes right before a transition either into or out of the B section. pretty cool, huh? yeah...heggie's hot.

p.s. he's coming here next year for a masterclass! i know...it's hot...you don't have to say it, i'm thinking it too :)

shostakovich string 4x no. 8 mvt II

the movement is marked allegro molto. The 1st violin has the melody. It is bassed off the DSCH note scheme...D - Eflat- C - B. The violin has the melody with this as the main focus. It is a march style. 16th note patterns are heard alot that are very chromatic. While the other 3 players play sparse unison accompaniment that adds to the already ominous and intense ethos. As the melody goes so does the intensity of the accompaniment. there is transition material with 16th notes all over the place as the music just flies off the page. Then brief interruption of the DSCH are heard but in small segments passed between the players. The viola then takes over the focus with a version of the melody played at the beginning. The violin then layers over that, then the cello over that, then the violin back over that as things become more and more chromatic. We then hear a new melody that is like a twisted russian dance that is very long and smooth. Then the DSCH melody is heard again though this time intertwined with the long russian dance theme just heard and it is passed from instrument. The beginning then repeats though this time with the melody in the cello. The 16th notes get passed back to the violin as it makes more statements with the DSCH theme. There is a subito piano and a massive crescendo brining to the highest intesnity we have come to. It is a shout chrous off all the melodies...the beginning melody, the DSCH melody, the long russian dance, and the interwine between the DSCH and the russian dance.

Insomniac

I thought I do a blog/plug in for our a cappella concert tomorrow....6:30 meharry hall. Insomniac, sung by Straight No Chaser, is one of the best songs in contemporary a cappella literature. The song begins with a cool "chimbadeechimbadee" vocal rhythm underlying a wailing solo part that serves as the introduction. After a few measures of this, we come to the first verse. The vocal accompaniment changes to staccato "dohs", leading into the powerful chorus:

I can hear your bare feet on the kitchen floor
I don't have to have these dreams no more
And I found someone just to hold me tight
Hold the insomniac all night

There is a brief return to the beginning of the song, but the harmony and accompaniment quickly change. Sustained "ah" chords mark a distinct contrast in the second verse. These are my favorite lyrics of the entire piece. They are just very meaningful, and cool.

I've tried everything short of Aristotle
Took Dramamine and whiskey bottle
Pray for the day when my ship comes in
And I can sleep the sleep of the just again

A bridge with faster harmonic rhythm leads us to the concluding section of the piece.
The final section of Insomniac is a sort of vocal fugue. There is a underlying bass part, with various voice parts entering with unique motives. These various parts converge in a climatic chord leading into a terminative section. The piece begins very similar to how it begins, with a unique vocal rhythm accompaning the wailing soloist.
This is a great song. It's fun to listen to and to sing.

Beethoven- Sonata in E-flat Major- Allegro

I was hoping that this piece would be in Sonata Allegro Form for practice, but it was hard to place it into that form. There seems to be way more themes and it may possibly be Rondo form. Part of the problem might be that it is longer than I’m used to and hard to keep track of everything. There also seems to be a lot of repeats that I think confuse me. Anyways, here are a few things I grasped. The first expository material uses a motive in question and answer fashion. Then, there is a short transition where the last PAC chord is used as a pivot chord to change the mode to what I think is the relative minor. This section ends with the Dominant key being established. Then comes what I first perceived as the B section. Here the texture and key change to develop the 1st A them and then there is a closing section. Here’s where things start to get fuzzy. There seems to be a recapitulation of the A theme, but it comes after a pause. And then it moves through the same sequence again. From here I started to see it possibly as a rondo, as new material was often introduced and the A theme kept coming back, but not everything seemed to fit for that either. Oh well, I guess I should stick with the shorter sonatas

Holst, First Suite in E flat

Yeah, I'm pretty worn out right now so I'm just going to write a little about this piece that we're playing in band and that I've played before without listening to it at this moment.

The first movement is called Chaconne and which means of course it is a Chaconne with the same harmonic line that is repeated several times throughout the movement. Holst does a good job of switching textures in the song by contrasting the lyrical melodic lines with some march like rhythmic passages in the accompaniment. There is also a great crecendo in the middle to end of the movement with very long cymbal and snare drum rolls that really highten the anticipation. It is also really cool how he makes an assymetrical phrase by adding one measure right before the climax.

The second movement is called intermezzo. Though this is a very brisk piece unlike a slower movement that is usually expected for a second movement, this piece has very light textures and flowing melodies that gives the movement a feeling of a piece that can't stand on its own. The melodies in this are very nice as is the very soft tambourine.

The final movement is called march and is has the feel of the march but isn't traditional in the sense of form. There is a loud boisterous march section in the beginning that switches to a softer lyrical melody but then near the end a very cool thing happens when the march feel from the beginning is played by the drums and some accompaniment lines but the lyrical melody from trio-esque section gets put on top of the march feel which has a really cool effect. This pushes to a very dramatic end that is very satisfying.

CPE Bach - Flute Concerto in A - Largo con sordini

This song is 9 minutes long, but it was so enjoyable to listen to that it seemed about half that length. There is a 1 1/2 minute string introduction before the flute solo enters. The shape of the music is great and it flows really nicely. I get a good feeling of the rising and falling of the phrases as far as shaping and dynamics go. The dynamics don't get very loud even though they vary a lot. I'd say the loudest this movement gets is mf, and that isn't even very often. The melody itself is somewhat haunting - it's very soft and emotive. There is a harpsichord that plays throughout the piece and there are quiet interjections of strings here and there. The solo flute part seems to really float above the accompaniment. This becomes clear when there's an unaccompanied flute line toward the end of the piece because all of a sudden it's just like wow, this is piece is even more enjoyable to listen to when it's just the flute. Directly after that, there is an orchestral closing part, which is significantly shorter than the introduction.

"Something There" from Beauty and the Beast

This song starts out with a very playful intro. There are eighth note figures that are pretty big interval jumps. There are also some 16th notes thrown in there that make it especially bouncy. When Belle begins to sing, the accompaniment changes to almost an oom pah feel between the I and V chord. Her melody is very simple, very speech like. At the second phrase, the accompaniment changes, and becomes slightly more sustained and legato, but this only lasts for a short time. Once her verse is done, the parts change, and the right hand has nothing but eighth note I and V chords played over again, and the left hand plays the legato melody. This goes on for about 8 measures, and then the Beast sings the second verse.
Now comes my favorite part of the whole song: the bridge. I used these 16 bars for an audition last weekend, and the result was me being cast in my first professional production! Maybe that's why I like this part. Ha. Anyway, it starts out on a B, which is a very middley place for a soprano, so it comes out as a wonderful mix belt. The rhythm here is very different. Thus far, we have had mostly eighth notes, and now it is all half notes. It's a nice change of pace. I think it is done like this because Belle is reflecting on how she is seeing a new and different side of the Beast, so the melody becomes more reflective.
After the bridge, Lumiere and Cogsworth come in and sing the first half of the third verse, which is identical to the first two. Mrs. Potts joins them for the second half. There is a little bit of harmony here, but nothing outstanding. The rest of the song is nothing but the same leaping eighth note figure in the accompaniment with Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts singing the melody until the end. The song ends on a rolled I chord.
What a cute song. I am so excited to be doing this show this summer!

Die Schoepfung (The Creation) Introduction "Representation of Chaos" - Haydn

This piece is self-explanatory. I wanted to see if this piece was actually chaotic in form. :)

There's a long introduction with no clear cadences or melodic motives that goes on for two whole minutes. It's filled with tutti sforzando chords, and a lot of descending and ascending chromatic passages. At about 2:12, you think that we're finally settling on "do" ... but hey! It's a deceptive cadence, and the descending passage that we thought was approaching do, actually starts over again. Very funny, Haydn. This leads to a ascending passage that gradually crescendos, and then it's a fortissimo PAC!! Whew.

An oboe solo is heard over the orchestra's chords. It plays an ascending sequence that modulates over and over again. More tutti chords, lots of repeating V-I chords. Then a wonderful V-vi cadence!! Deceptive again.

There really hasn't been an interesting melody or any phrase structure that would constitute a period or phrase group. Just a lot of modulating.

All of a sudden we're in a clear minor key. Lots of timpani! And we switch keys again. And again. Really, this is getting tiring to try and analyze. At 5:33, we still haven't found a clear melody. A clear half cadence that feels like it should resolve but never does at this point.

The mood of the piece changes to very pianissimo and melancholy. A lot of woodwind solos - clarinets and flutes. We reach a tonic note! This "do" is repeated in the lower instruments many times.

I am sure that Haydn had a lot of imagery in mind for this piece - it was meant to be program music. It's interesting that there aren't too many PACs in this 7 minute piece. The lack of a clear tonic note and melody, as well as the many unresolved chords, suggests chaos.

"Agony" from Into the Woods by Sondheim

This song is so wonderfully over-the-top and overacted that it can't help but be hilarious. We start with a slow pulse on harp and bassoon. The first prince comes in, telling the story of how he has been chasing this girl through the forest, not understanding why she is running. He sings about the "agony" of being in love. In the wood he meets his brother, who is trying to find a way to reach his love, who is locked away in a high tower. His "agony" is much more painful, since she agreed to go with him, if he could only get her down. Not really paying attention, the first prince speaks of all his many virtues, which is hilarious, as the strings rise with his ascending line, adding this great dramatic tension, even though he is merely talking about himself. This passage is echoed by the other prince, who speaks about climbing the hair of his maiden to reach her, while she only sings her "light-hearted air" which he mimics over this very dissonant chord by the strings, which distorts the lovely melody into something rather grotesque. The song battles back and forth until the end, the two princes arguing about who is in more pain because of love, finally agreeing that they must marry the two "unattainable" girls merely because they are princes who can have everything. The accompaniment is rather simple, merely pulsing out a waltzing triple meter, slowly rising and falling with the action in the words. The ingenious part is the clashing string sections, which take this sweet song and add this underlying ugliness about it. This whole show has this approach to it, making everything good have something sinister beneath it. This song is about how love can be selfish and just a display of power, and not genuine.

I drink to forget (klezmer music-oy!)

who doesn't like a little Klezmer clarinet sometimes?! I actually learned to play a little bit of klezmer music at a clarinet convention last summer. I had no idea of its origins or the big names in klezmer music, and had only heard just a little bit of klezmer music from movies. It was really fun to play, and kind of challenging in some technical aspects.

The group is called klezperanto (?), and the clarinetist is Ilene Stahl-There's a bassist, a trombonist, a percussionist, banjo/guitar player, and piano/accordian player. This piece starts out pretty sad. The clarinet starts in the minor key, playing an almost yearning, very pretty melody acompanied by the banjo and bass. She bends the end of her notes a lot, stops the notes with her throat sometimes, and uses a lot of trills, playing around with the sound, and changing the style-very klezmer. It's in 4/4 and the period is made up of 4- 4 measure phrases, every other one ending on a PAC. The accordian and trombone come in right after the first pac, and these two instruments are playing independently from her, but the trombone and clarinet sometimes have these little call and response motives. There's a big trombone solo where the clarinet cuts out. This is where the song picks up, because the trombone slides up an octave, and then it moves up a third, and is now in the major. The tempo speeds up a lot more, almost double of what the beginning was. The ending is a big "do sol do" in unison, in the major key.

Bach: Three Part Invention No. 10

This Bach Three part invention is performed by mandolin, banjo, and bass. The piece is in three-four, I think, and definitely in a major key. It starts off with two parts playing, bass and mandolin. I thought that inventions normally started one voice at a time but maybe not. For this piece the bass has the lowest voice and the mandolin plays the highest voice. In the fourth measure the banjo comes in with the middle voice. In the first four measure the bass was playing quarter notes, I-I6-I-IV-I64-V-I or do-mi-do-fa-sol-sol-do, which are heard later in the piece. The melody is performed by the mandolin in the first three or four measures, do-ti-do-re-mi-fa-sol-mi-fa-mi-re……, and then the banjo takes that same melodic line over, very invention-esque. In about the fifteenth measure or around there the transition to the minor key begins and the melody may be heard in possibly the parallel minor. The bass often plays a more accompanying and solid line but it occasionally has some moving sixteenth notes for the piece to really be the three part invention that it is. It continues in the minor for about ten to fifteen more measures and doesn’t modulate back until the very end of the piece.
This invention would be fun to play on the piano, if possible. It would also be cool to hear this piece with even different instruments as it is in this version. The voices seem to call and respond to each other and it would even be cool to hear this on three guitars. I like how naturally the transition section sounds.

Sonata in A major, D 574 1. Allegro moderato

Schubert

The first theme is signaled by a dotted quarter, eighth, rhythm in the piano part, the eighth going up or down a step. After two four measure phrases of this, like an intro, the violin enters with the expository melody. This is signaled by a do-la-sol... , the do played as a dotted half, the la a quarter, and the sol a half. The line continues alternating between half note and quarter note rhythm. It is very legato, and even with a simple quadruple meter. The dynamic is soft, in a comfortable register. This is mainly to contrast with the second theme. The phrases are typically four measures, very symetric, forming two phrase periods. Transistions are signaled usually by asymetric phrases. The transistion into the second theme is signaled by a sudden drop in texture, and a descending scalar line in the violin, the piano then switches off with the violin and repeats the same pattern. Even in the second theme, the idea of scales is seen near cadential material. I think the second theme modulates to the minor dominant, definitly the dominant. The second theme is denser, with the piano building up on eighths, lots of sudden dynamic changes, and a sort of down up motion. The second theme, especially in the violin, has more metric accents, denser rhythms, with sudden rhythm changes. Overall, it just feels livlier. The expository function of the entire piece is especially recognized by its stability, because of the dotted quarter eighth rhythm in the piano and the pulling from the close intervals back to the dotted quarter. The ending cadence to the second theme is created by a series of sustained res in the violin, ending on a pac when it finally hits do. The new third theme is signaled by a compound meter and sudden, loud key change to a minor key. The theme has a denser rhythm in the violin part, and the piano emphasizes beats two, three and four by resting on one or dropping in register. The violin part does the same thing with its triplet rhythm. This theme is in a compound duple meter. This theme is shorter, and returns back to the expository function after a large transistional function. The transistional function is definitely part of a new theme because it doesn't follow any of the previous cadential patterns, There are large intervalic leaps in the violin, and the violin is denser than its every been. To create a smooth transistion back to the expository function, the do is elisioned. I liked the piece a lot, especially because of the bittersweet quality several of the keys had. The cadence in the second theme is signaled by a leap in register and decrescendo, it ends the same way.

"while my guitar gently sleeps"

good song-
Starts in the Minor key for each verse- The chorus goes to the dominant. it's in 4/4, and The tempo is really ploddingly slow, and the chord progression ofr the verses go "do te le so fa le te do" . This bass line continues throughout the verses. This song is also strophic. There are different layers to the guitar sound, which is cool. The chords for the chorus are IV-vi-ii-vi-V-I. When it goes to the chorus in the dominant, it's like a little ray of sunshine peeking through a thunderstorm...yeah. The phrases for the verses are in four measure phrases,the first cadence ending on a PAC, the second ending on a HC. The ending is very terminitave, going V-I-V-I, and finally ending on a PAC

Sulek -Trombone Sonata

Cascading runs both ascending and descending create a mystical aesthetic as the trombone solo plays a long, smooth, beautiful melody that is very melodic. The phrase is repeated again with more urgency and chromatic notes. There is a brief transition period with a tritone interval. A new melody comes in that is in a different style. It is more layed back and relaxed. The trombone is playing short and long notes. It is a very simple rhythmic as the piano plays simple accompaniment. There is then some inverted counterpoint as the piano then takes the melody as the trombone plays the simple off-beat accompaniment. There is more transitional material as the trombone and piano play some unison melodic material. Another melody comes in that is very smooth and surreal almost. It is smooth, connected, and mostly traidic and diatonic. There is a brief transitional/developmental period between the trombone and solo as we travel through various keys with the trombone outlining sol-do. Rising quarter notes give the texture some harmonic growth and intensity. A new rhytmic motive is heard...almost hindemith like in unison with the piano. Then the main melody heard at the beginning is now in a triplet pattern and augmented. There is more developmental material as the trombone and piano trade off very technical 8th note runs. Then the lyrical melody comes in again but in a different key then modulated again. There is a quitness and developmental period as the music seems to be catching its breath. A final developmental section makes itself heard. The piano is playing long technical sixteenth and 32nd notes with the trombone is playing basically non-melodic triple tongue passages. A massive crescendo by the piano brings us back to the main melody played verbatim from the beginning. Towards the end of the phrase there are more chromatics and a different resolution. The piece ends on 3 very loud B flats in the trombone while the piano plays off-beat dissonant chords.

"konstantine" - Something Corporate

“Konstantine” -Something Corporate

This songs accompaniment is primarily made up of arpeggiated chords which move at a fairly rapid speed. The vocal line moves somewhat slow and fits more with the bass guitar which is moving slow as well…The song it really long for a alternative style song. So it has it’s “A” section that stays how I explained above. The B section has a change in register in vocal line and in the piano part. It goes from arpeggiation to octaves with a moving bass line underneath. This pattern is then repeated so that it goes A B trans. A B trans. C closing (contains some A..I believe)…every new section seems to add more instruments. It works its way up to having voice, piano, drums, and bass guitar.…It is very repeatative as far as text and melodic lines throughuot the sections. I think it’s a very pretty song….And that’s what I like it…yup..

"Oh Happy Day" SISTER ACT II: Back in the Habit!!!!!!

Best movie ever!!!!

"Oh Happy Day" is not an original song from the movie, OF COURSE. Although I can't find the original source. But it is a famous gospel piece.

Well the movie version rocks the most, because it is full-on gospel. This part of the movie comes when the Academy of the Sacred Heart (or something), a once run-down Catholic school with a terrible music program, sings in public for the first time under the choral direction of Whoopi Goldberg ... er ... Sister Mary Clarence. SAME DIFFERENCE!!! The point is, Whoopi gets the choir of teenage hoodlums to sing like ... adults ...? Luckily, Whoopi doesn't sing on this track. Though the star of the movie, her voice is somewhat lacking. Let's not forget that a young Lauryn Hill and Jennifer Love Hewitt appear in this movie!

The song begins with a vamp on the piano (the only accompaniment). Ahmal comes in hesitantly, complete with squeaks and a lack of enthusiasm. Come on Ahmal!!! Sing like we know you can! The choir also sucks. Oh happy day ... :( Whoopi encourages him by having the choir sing one of their (useless) vocalises. Surprisingly, it fits the piano's modulation. Suddenly, Ahmal sounds like he's been recorded in the studio. He's amazing, and he's got soul! Whoopi still sucks, though. Some more bad vocalises (the "Lah" syllable isn't the best to warm up on) and then the entire choir has got soul! The song modulates some more, and Ahmal rocks out. At one point, he busts out a high D# in falsetto, an amazing feat. The choir then "brings it down," and finishes with a full gospel chord. There's clapping at some point too.

The song is very repetitive, and relies on embellishment from the soloist to keep it exciting. It's basically modified strophic, with only the lyrics changing.

The moral of the story is, teach a lousy choir some lame vocalises, and they'll sing like this.

memories of tommorrow

I listened to this little upbeat latin jazz tune today and figured I would write abolut it. Its an ABA form with a header, chorus and then back to the header. The chords in it use lots of leading tones and chromatic descension and ascension. I really don't know what rhythmic genre this would be categorized in...samba, mambo, etc. It seems like it is an uptempo slow 2-4 type of a beat. This song seems really rich, and the recording I have of it, the piano really has a lot of color in the chords. I don't think this is the type of latin song that would dance to or have a lead tenor sax, it seems more of an americanized (sic) "latin" tune. Hmm I don't really think that there is much more to write about here, I just really liked this catchy little tune. I highly reccommend it!

You're so Vain--Carly Simon

So, this song is hot. that's all there is to it.

the percussion and guitar overdrive just add to the raw edge that is carly's bitterness. the repetition of words only drives her point home. It also adds to it that before she repeats the words she sings over a held chord for a couple of bars. This ensures the audience is listening :)

Background vocals are not brilliant, but they add some depth to the chorus texture. The guitar solo and piano solo break up the somewhat strophic form of carly's rant.

there, it's strophic, and i like it. and we all know the words. and the guy's wearing an apricot scarf. and he's gavotting!!! it doesn't get much better than that.

Cumming Prelude # 24

It is the unique use of 5/8 meter that gives this piece its driving energy. It is organized in 2 and 3, and it causes you to be on the edge of your seat, bobbing your head with the pulse, 12 123 12 123 12 123. This rhythmic patter of two eights and a triplet is constant throughout the piece and is a sort of never ending motive. The piece begins with a melodic pattern in a subdued tone, and then repeats the pattern again with greater density, volume, and speed. There is then a chromatic pattern beginning softly and increasing, then a change of texture with dissonant chords and then the chromatic passage again, and then dissonant chords again. This whole page lacks any recognizable tonality or any clear direction. It is sporadic and makes you heart skip beats. There is nothing to hold onto and so it is very unnerving to the listener. But then there is finally a transition leading back to the 12 123 section of the beginning. It goes different directions this time and the chromatic passage comes back, leading to a very powerful ending.

"Ecstacy of Gold"

Inspired by Brockway to do something Metallica, I immediately thought of Ennio Morricone. Actually, I thought of "Ecstacy of Gold" and then thought of Ennio Morricone. Originally composed for Clint Eastwood in his famous "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," this rather short fanfare has a certain western feel to it. This is not is only wild west piece for orchestra. In fact, he has something of a harmonica concerto, (the true instrument of the cowboy). It is from "Once upon a time in the west."

Anyway, back to "Ecstacy of Gold"... The San Fransico Symphony has a very stirring rendition of the piece. The tubular bells, along with the muted solo trumpet wailing on the main theme give the piece a haunting feel from the very beginning. The theme itself paints a vivid aural picture. One can almost imagine a dusty town in Southern Texas, where the law is taken into the hands of the local sherriff. Enter the snare drum, propelling the action, and intensifying the emotions. Quickly the piece builds, with the woodwinds taking theme, then passing it on to the strings. The strings are absolutely beautiful. The piece climaxes with the brass echoing the strings sending the symphony to a desperate conclusion. It reminds me of a showdown between the good and bad guys, both about to draw their pistols. This piece definately raises your heart rate a few beats.

Van Noordt's "Fantasia no. 1"

This piece begins with a monophonic slow moving line. It is quickly followed by 2 other identical lines in fugue fashion. The timbre doesn't change throughout the piece. I don't hear many key changes either. I think the fugue theme is played 12 times. What most fascinates me about this piece is that I didn't realize fanatasias were fugues. I really like the development section. It is full of alot of articulations that make me think of trumpet calls. It is also adds a lot of trills. The fanfare doesn't end with a repeat of the themes in all the voices, however. This must be one of the main differences of a fantasia. It ends in full homophonic style with a finale on a single pitch. This would be an awesome piece to learn on organ.

Purcell sung by Sylvia McNair -"Tell Me, Some Pitying Angel"

The Blessed Virgin's Expostulation:

This is beautifully sung by Sylvia McNair, who does ornaments almost like a celtic soprano. Beautiful ornaments and runs throughout. It's very additive musically and divided into several emotional/musical sections (where are the affectations now? huh?) The first section is very much recitativo and jumps around keys, in minor, in major, skeleton accompaniment in the keyboard. It ends with her calling Gabriel, but he doesn't come. I love how at the last Gabriel she almost gets breathy with vexation -- and its on this repeated high note, making it all so poignant. Then the melody sinks down saying, "flatt'ring hopes farewell." Then, the key changes, tempo changes, the accompaniment does more and starts to imimate the vocal footwork in the next section. It's much shorter than the first part and is followed by another recit section even shorter, returning to a forth section somewhat similar to the second, only the meter's changed, it's 2/2 and not 3/4. This finishes with another recit section. Nice to note that all the recit's are in the same key, but they have such different lengths--otherwise I'd draw more attention (yay apothecism) to the fact that the form of the piece shadows vaguely that of a 5-part Rondo. Plus the recit doesn't really have a "theme" to speak of. I love the last line: "I trust God, but oh! I fear the child." Really interesting spiritual and psychological implications, fun trip for the performer too.

Blue in Green as recorded by Miles Davis on Kind of Blue

This is a very interesting tune, partially because it only has 10 chords. Instead of feeling like a piece, with sections, it sounds more like a circle that the combo just follows around and around until they feel like ending things.

The melody, when Davis does play it, is incredibly rubato (which isn't anything new or surprising), and the musicians use very extended harmony, which is also typical of this combo. I mention these things however, because the combination of those factors made it almost impossible to follow along with the combo through the changes.

I'm also amazed at how much the chords seem to make sense when I hear them played by this group - I've been struggling to make them sound like any kind of coherent progression in my jazz piano lessons.

There is no clear tonal center - the only major chord in the piece is a Bbmaj7#11 which occurs only twice, and isn't the last chord. There are four ii-V progressions, three of which are A-D and don't resolve to G, which the listener expects. The fourth ii-V does resolve to Bb, giving the piece some sense of a tonal center and at least one cadence.

This piece made me feel relaxed, like most of Miles' music. If I hadn't had the chord progression in front of me, and wasn't trying to decipher it, I probably would've enjoyed it more for the sound that makes Miles great - cool. However, looking at this piece from an intellectual standpoint makes it a bit of a headache.

"There's a Fine, Fine Line" from avenue q

I decided to write about this song because it is one of the only songs in the show with real singing. The vocal line in this piece is challenging, not speechlike as most of the other songs in the show are.
The song begins with a little bit of the melody being played on the piano. It's not in a minor key, but the sound of it is just a sad, lonesome sound. Then Kate comes in, with the melody. The voice part here is very very low and chest voicey. She has almost a raw quality to her sound here. This only lasts for a few measures, and then the register changes and it is much more in her head voice. Once this happens, things change. The sound grows a lot... she is singing louder and the accompaniment is much more complex.
At the bridge, things get even bigger. The vocal part gets really belty, which is great. The instrumentation changes, and now there are many more instruments than just piano. The drums are very prominent here, they really play a lot. This is the highest that the vocal part ever gets.
After the bridge, everything slows back down and goes back to exactly how it was at the beginning, but only for a minute, and then she belts the big finish. It's the same melody, but a few steps higer. Great song. Nice to have some actual singing in avenue q to write about :-)

Better Than Ezra, "Je Ne M'en Souviens Pas"

Well, to start things off, the title doesn't really matter, there is very little vocals and is in English and has nothing to do with anything French.

The song begins with the introduction which has a drum beat exclusively on the snare drum with some voice effect that almost sounds like it's being played on pots with a synthesizer single line melody.

After a few measures of the drum beat kicks in with an extremely funky with lots of hi hat open hits and active syncopated snare drum. The synthesizer part is the only part that establishes chords with a line that has an eighth rest followed by five dotted eighth notes on do-re-mi-fa-sol of each chord and some light bass in the beginnings of measures that are extremely hard to hear. Then a vocal line gets added over it, but the voices are so distorted that I can't tell what it is being said. I can tell it's the same words every other measure with a measure of no voices inbetween. maybe it's the title french phrase. The next voice added to the texture is the flute. The flute lies low in this part just outlining some chords in the begginning part.

The vocals then change to a distorted talking voice, something about the singers girlfriend of something. The drums stay the same, and this and the bass part is all that remains. The rest of the texture comes back in with the talking distorted voice with a little singing with the original vocal line. Then the vocals go out and there is actual "rap" part with clear lyrics. It mentions Paris so I guess that is the title. After this the vocals become distorted again and the texture falls to just the bass line and this eventually dies away.

The drums then come back like they did in the beginning with a much more active bass. Then comes the vibe solo, which is cool. It is very sparse but provides good melodic movement and becomes more involved and interacts well with the original vocal line that comes back. The vibe line takes the background and a new vocal line is added with a new singing line that is distorted with one of those distortions that makes it sound alike another really high voice singing.

The drums fall away again but all of the other parts keep going. There is a constant feel of time but no pure steadiness of rhythm which gives a really cool sound. The flute solo at this part becomes really active too. And to end the song, the voice is distorted in a way it sounds like an insect and dies away.

It is quite weird and all that, but has a really good beat and some good combinations of musical timbres.

"No Leaf Clover" by Metallica

Time to rock out, with a classical kick. This song is found on the album S&M with the San Fransisco Symphony. I think more rock should collaborate with "legitimate" musicians. We come in with a orchestra sfortsando. The low brass and strings come in with our intro, the more rhythmic section of the song. This motive is repeated twice before a cymbal splash and fade. Now we have have electric guitar and strings accompanying a flute and oboe on the melody line. When the harder sound of the electric comes in we have the closing section of our introduction, with a brass flare and and violins playing in the distance. James Hetfield comes in with his gutteral force of a voice, singing the verse like sandpaper on an unfinished piece of furniture (a little harsh, but absolutely necessary) The first verse is a repeated phrase group, with each group ending on a HC. Suddenly our tone shifts completely, back to the softer section, like in our introduction. This phrase is again repeated, the second time we have a the bass and middle strings enter, adding depth and volume. This brings us to our second verse, which mirrors our first. With the repeat of the second section we have an extension at the end, this time bringing it to a PAC (the first one of the whole piece). This elides into the next section which is a guitar solo, which sounds incredible when backed by a full orchestra, he solos over the verse line. At the end of the solo we return to the very beginning section, the rhythmic pounding of low strings and brass, this time with the full crunch of the guitar. Now we add the softer section over the top of this section, a great effect, now with the string pizzacatoing on the off beats while the guitar has a little riff of it's own. We bring it all back down to the rhythmic section, with the brass making a final call and then dying away into the cacophony of cheers. YEAH!!!!

"Domine Deus" Mass in b minor

Orchestral Excerpts
Bach
Jeanne Baxtresser

The solfege in the beginning, and the main theme, is d-t-la-sol, stated a total of three times. The phrase is played in the first measure, then repeated, and then played as the last measure. In between, the development phrases are shaped by held half steps, like t-do. The continuous eighth rhythm keeps a steady tempo and focus on the motion. Because there are little jumping intervals, combined with the rhythm, the excerpt seems lite and flowing. The main theme rhythm is characterized by a dotted eighth, sixteenth rhythm, and the descending solfege. I liked the excerpt very much, you can't go wrong with Bach.

“Still in Love”

This funky song is off the album Fear of Pop, a Ben Folds side project. It contains piano (with a very stringy sound), a few violins, and some random William Shatner dialogue. This song is in a fairly slow four-four time and uses one instrumental theme throughout. It begins with a faded in piano part that sounds like mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-fa-sol with a sort of chop sticks sort of sound, probably major third harmonies. In about the fifth measure one violin comes in, plucking, sol-do-mi-do-sol-do-mi-do. In the seventh measure a lower stringed instrument comes in, possibly a bass violin, playing two or three notes at a time, sometimes sol-do and sometimes other notes. In the same measure Shatner begins his dialogue, “I could have, I might have.” The same accompaniment continues to repeat itself for all of the song. About half way through another violin part is added with slow stokes and then a little ornamental sounding thing up higher. The song is very odd because it has a sort of Asian, movie soundtrack-ish sound. They are some very dissonant notes but they do not sound bad to the ears, only eerie. The song also fades out which is understandable since it fades in at the beginning.
I like this song and how each part comes in at a certain time. It might not be too hard to reproduce a cool sounding piano version of this song.

“Still in Love” by William Shatner

This funky song is off the album Fear of Pop, a Ben Folds side project. It contains piano (with a very stringy sound), a few violins, and some random William Shatner dialogue. This song is in a fairly slow four-four time and uses one instrumental theme throughout. It begins with a faded in piano part that sounds like mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-fa-sol with a sort of chop sticks sort of sound, probably major third harmonies. In about the fifth measure one violin comes in, plucking, sol-do-mi-do-sol-do-mi-do. In the seventh measure a lower stringed instrument comes in, possibly a bass violin, playing two or three notes at a time, sometimes sol-do and sometimes other notes. In the same measure Shatner begins his dialogue, “I could have, I might have.” The same accompaniment continues to repeat itself for all of the song. About half way through another violin part is added with slow stokes and then a little ornamental sounding thing up higher. The song is very odd because it has a sort of Asian, movie soundtrack-ish sound. They are some very dissonant notes but they do not sound bad to the ears, only eerie. The song also fades out which is understandable since it fades in at the beginning.
I like this song and how each part comes in at a certain time. It might not be too hard to reproduce a cool sounding piano version of this song.

“Still in Love” by William Shatner

This funky song is off the album Fear of Pop, a Ben Folds side project. It contains piano (with a very stringy sound), a few violins, and some random William Shatner dialogue. This song is in a fairly slow four-four time and uses one instrumental theme throughout. It begins with a faded in piano part that sounds like mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-fa-sol with a sort of chop sticks sort of sound, probably major third harmonies. In about the fifth measure one violin comes in, plucking, sol-do-mi-do-sol-do-mi-do. In the seventh measure a lower stringed instrument comes in, possibly a bass violin, playing two or three notes at a time, sometimes sol-do and sometimes other notes. In the same measure Shatner begins his dialogue, “I could have, I might have.” The same accompaniment continues to repeat itself for all of the song. About half way through another violin part is added with slow stokes and then a little ornamental sounding thing up higher. The song is very odd because it has a sort of Asian, movie soundtrack-ish sound. They are some very dissonant notes but they do not sound bad to the ears, only eerie. The song also fades out which is understandable since it fades in at the beginning.
I like this song and how each part comes in at a certain time. It might not be too hard to reproduce a cool sounding piano version of this song.

“Still in Love” by William Shatner

This funky song is off the album Fear of Pop, a Ben Folds side project. It contains piano (with a very stringy sound), a few violins, and some random William Shatner dialogue. This song is in a fairly slow four-four time and uses one instrumental theme throughout. It begins with a faded in piano part that sounds like mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-fa-sol with a sort of chop sticks sort of sound, probably major third harmonies. In about the fifth measure one violin comes in, plucking, sol-do-mi-do-sol-do-mi-do. In the seventh measure a lower stringed instrument comes in, possibly a bass violin, playing two or three notes at a time, sometimes sol-do and sometimes other notes. In the same measure Shatner begins his dialogue, “I could have, I might have.” The same accompaniment continues to repeat itself for all of the song. About half way through another violin part is added with slow stokes and then a little ornamental sounding thing up higher. The song is very odd because it has a sort of Asian, movie soundtrack-ish sound. They are some very dissonant notes but they do not sound bad to the ears, only eerie. The song also fades out which is understandable since it fades in at the beginning.
I like this song and how each part comes in at a certain time. It might not be too hard to reproduce a cool sounding piano version of this song.

First SWEET in E-flat- HOLST

This is a pretty standard band piece, we're playing it for the student conductor concert, so I was thinking about it today while I was playing.
Its kind of cool how the chaccone gets passed all over the band to different instruments, and I find it very comparable to the Ron Nelson Passacaglia that we played on our last concert. I think its interesting that this chaccone or passacaglia or main motive or WHATEVER always starts out in the lowest voices of the ensemble. I feel like this really kind of anchors it into the listener's ears and to the instrumentalists as well. Its the base for the piece and I realized even as a member of the ensemble that once I heard that main theme in the beginning, it made it easier to relate my own part to that main motive.
As always with anything like this, I feel like its almost a game to try and listen for the different variations on the theme, and to hear it passed around the ensemble and then see where MY part fits into it all, but thats kind of how I generally look at music anyway, so with something like this chaccone where there is a really catchy melody it makes it ecspecially easy to be able to pick out where you might have a significant part.

Rodrigo - Fantasia para un gentilhombre - Espanoleta y Fanfare

I'm playing a different Rodrigo piece right now and thought listening to more music by the Spanish composer would give me more insight into how to play this sort of music. This piece is extremely different from the Aria Antigua. It begins with a little intro section, mostly with an oboe. Then the main theme is brought in by the strings. They play the entire theme and then the flute soloist enters with the same motive. Next it gets mixed up a little with a sort of echo going on in the orchestra of the flute's part, which is a development of the motive but using staccatos and a varied rhythm. There is a very smooth transition from this style into its exact opposite, a smooth legato line. This lasts only a few bars because it is transitional into the return of the theme that was first introduced by the orchestra. This time, both the orchestra and soloist play sections of the motive.

The piece progresses into a B section, which is a really interesting change in style from the A section. This fanfare is very Spanish dance-like, but is followed by an arpeggiated motive. These two elements make up the motive of B. A little way along, the flute has a cadenza with material from A. When the cadenza is over and the orchestra has returned, we have a return of the A section that sounds almost exactly like the initial A, only there are slight variations that keep the material sounding interesting. The piece is rounded out with a terminative section similar to the intro in the beginning except the flute has it now instead of the oboe.