Ever since taking a class on psychoacoustics (just about the coolest word ever), I have been amazed at how complicated human hearing is and how little we understand about it. Auditory illusions, such as Shepard's Tones, are a great way to realize how crazy human audio perception can be. Diana Deutsch has a great website with illusions that she has researched, along with audio clips to hear them in action.
I recently read several interesting articles about the business of music. As much as every musician just wants to create art, it is still a good idea to find a way to make some money at the same time. If only so that you can keep making art. I know that the music industry (especially classical performance) is shrinking, but there are exciting new ways to use technology to reach an audience. Small, independent artists are suited better than ever to get their art out there and even make a living.
Recent music business articles:
Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business - Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine
David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists - and Megastars - David Byrne, Wired Magazine
1,000 True Fans - Kevin Kelly, The Technium
On the future of the music business - Seth Godin
Update (3/24/08) - Here's an article about Wal-Mart demanding lower priced CDs from record labels: Wal-Mart Wants $10 CDs - Warren Cohen, Rolling Stone
The No Signal show went well last Saturday, despite a few surprises. My day began with firefighters banging on my door after someone mistakenly reported my apartment on fire. Definitely not the most relaxing way to wake up. We made a few last minute changes to the concert program, which allowed me to play Jacob Ter Veldhuis's Billie, for alto sax and tape. Oh yeah, and my ligature cracked near the end of the show.
We premiered Adam Knauss's White Fog, a dreamscape for cello, tenor saxophone, and vibraphone, which I hope to post a recording of soon. Anna Meadors, a fellow saxophonist, created a stop-motion video titled Eye See Ewe which we performed improvised music with. This will also be posted soon!
Update (3/14/08) - Check out White Fog and Eye See Ewe in my media section.
I recently watched the Oscar-nominated documentary Genghis Blues. It is the true story of "a blind blues musician [named Paul Pena] and his triumphant trek to the forgotten land of Tuva and the mysterious art of Khoomei, or throat-singing, a seemingly impossible form of singing that produces multiple vocal tones simultaneously. Paul Pena, who has played with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker, Jerry Garcia, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King, travels to Tuva to live among the descendants of Genghis Khan and compete in their triennial Khoomei contest."
The documentary is full of amazing music, especially Paul Pena's blend of the blues and throat-singing, and an unbelievable plot. Check out www.GenghisBlues.com for more info. Also, for more music influenced by throat-singing, see Seth Augustus, who was mentored by Paul Pena.
Last Friday, myself and several other students from the Peabody Conservatory played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The concert was part of their Millenium Stage series and included a piano quintet, baritone vocalist, and jazz ensemble. I really loved the contrast in group size and style presented. For some reason I associate venues with their warm-up rooms, so I have to mention that the Kennedy Center has showers in each dressing room...
You can watch a video of the concert or other performances at the Milllenium Stage Broadcast Archive.
This past week I read about Colorado College's Bowed-Piano Ensemble on NPR's website, which also has some audio and video clips. Besides being just plain awesome to watch, the music is really great. Check out the group's website for details about them and Amazon.com for their CDs.
Thanks to everyone who came out to see Man Down. It was great show and I had a ton of fun!
Steve Martin has a great article in Smithsonian Magazine. He talks about how he built up a career and developed his style of humor. The stories about hacking it out on the road are inspiring for any artist. It makes you realize how much thought and practice goes behind the crazy characters you see. There's also plenty of funny stories, such as Elvis Presley telling him "Son, you have an ob-leek sense of humor."
This week Rachel Gawell and I played some improvised music at The Evergreen Cafe (Baltimore, MD) for Greg Paulson's art gallery closing. Since it was a cafe, deciding where to sit was a little strange, but we ended just using a comfy couch! Greg managed to break a cork screw, leaving just a broken metal shaft coming up out the corked bottle, which looked like the type of art that one should put on their mantle. All in all it was a fun time. Congrats to Greg and thanks to everyone who came out!
In other news, Baltimore officially now has a ban on smoking in bars!
I attended a masterclass and recital by Claude Delangle hosted by the U.S. Navy Band's International Saxophone Symposium this weekend. Delangle had great views on how to practice efficiently (comparing it to cooking!) and did a great job improving each student's performance in the short time available. His performance of Luciano Berio's Sequenza VIIb for soprano saxophone was absolutely amazing. Considering that I don't always get past my opinions of the piece itself, this really says something. Overall he was funny, entertaining, and had great technique.
My only issue with the symposium was the repertoire chosen by the performers. A huge portion of the performances each day included pieces that were not written for the saxophone. I'm OK with arranging pieces, but for a saxophone symposium can't we do any better? Where are the new commissions? Does the saxophone not have enough rep to cover a weekend event? Maybe classical saxophone players are trying to prove that we can play music written for more traditional instruments. If that's the case, then I say we should be taking advantage of the saxophone's difference! We are new, we don't have to play in the box, and there's no standard interpretations. Grab it!