On Wednesday, February 16, 2010, I attended a masterclass/presentation with Joel Hoffman, Professor of Composition at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. He came to the University where I study violin performance and gave a rather informed, inspiring speech, simple as it was. I find these kinds of meetings delicious and educational. I sometimes feel as though a raw hunger within in me is awakened, as well as a new inspiration is given.
It's interesting to note that though writers, or novelists always have editors, composers of music do not.
As composers, we must include everything we want the performer to know about us and the piece in the score - phrasing, dynamics.
Bach didn't do this because he was working with the performers of his works on a regular basis and could tell them what to include.
Variety in music:
Should we question who we are because we write varied music? Do we have a central core? Ha, Stravinsky may have.
Vivaldi, Debussy (to a certain extent), Bach
Friday, November 16, 2012
Words from Winifred Horan - Solas
This weekend Cedarville University welcomed Winifred Horan and Mick McAuley, members of Solas, for a two-day campus/community event including lessons, concerts, masterclasses and Irish sessions. This afternoon I had the privilege of taking a private lesson from Winifred. She came to Cedarville last year, although only for one day, and my group "West of Dublin" performed for her in a masterclass. I talked with her a bit and found out that she's pretty great. When I saw her again this morning she recognized me, much to my surprise. She travels year-round with Solas, so I wasn't sure if she'd
remember the amateur fiddle player from a small-town college.
Anyways, my lesson was very insightful. I played for her "Dinky Dorians" and "Jenny's Chickens", but we spent the majority of the time working on first tune. After enthusiastically complementing my growth as a player she had a few pointers.
1) Accent the appropriate beats. This can be done (practice) with all reels. The strong beats (1 and 3) should have more emphasis — this creates a "lift" and gives the piece character.
2) Ornament the long notes. I admit I am VERY guilty of letting the long notes sound without any ornamentation. The five-note trill ornament works well on the high 'G' in the B part of the tune.
3) Play, or at least experiment with playing, in the middle half of the bow instead of the very tip.
4) Spice up the tune; don't play or group the notes in the same way every time. Slide, improve, or create new slur groups to add interest.
She let me record her playing "Dinky" including all the things we talked about so I can go back and listen and improve. She said a big part of a musicians growth is brought on by listening.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
The List
Marriage is probably not one of the top five things I want in life, although maybe it should be. At 20 years old I've never dated, partly because I've never really wanted to, and partly because the guys I was interested weren't interested in me, and incidentally I wasn't interested in the guys that were into me. I won't even go into how picky I am when it comes to guys - their looks (not so much their natural looks but how they present themselves), personalities, interests, way of speaking, intelligence, etc. - and how my quick judgments often lead me to stay away from guys who don't immediately match what I want. Lately every guy I've come into contact with doesn't meet my high expectations (no surprise there). This, along with the fact that I can't open up to people, is reason for my belief that I won't marry for a long, long time. Part of me is okay with that, part of me is saddened by that, and part of me is frightened by that. I was homeschooled my whole life so I wasn't around guys that much (or many people for that matter). I suppose maybe I could try interacting with the opposite sex more than I do now if I ever expect to find my soulmate. Or maybe my inexperience or awkwardness will aid my search...in some weird way. Ah, the dilemmas of life. Regardless, I've always felt it was important to have an idea in my head (and written down/filed away) of what the guy I want to marry would look like. Although my thoughts and my desires do change, here is my July 22, 2012 list:
1. His relationship with God must be searing out of his pores. He must be a worshipful creature and seek God's will daily.
2. He must make me feel amazing whenever I am around him. I'm an insecure being, and he must make me feel secure.
3. He must be self-motivated, intellectual, and disciplined.
4. He must make me laugh.
5. He must be daring and surprising (sometimes).
6. He must be his own self; creative, imaginative. The world is his palette.
7. Charm is nice, too.
8. I would prefer if he were good with people, although not extremely outgoing. I love being by myself and most times could care less about people (unfortunately). I think it would be good if he weren't as introverted as me, although two introverts together could be fun.....but no.
9. He must love food, but more specifically health food. I am a health food freak and dream about the perfect healthy food wedding. I couldn't live with someone who didn't enjoy wholesome foods or didn't care about his health.
10. I've always been attracted to cocky, confident guys, so while those features are a must, I don't want to marry Barrack Obama. He must be confident but also humble, caring, and most times kind.
10 things. That's all I can think of right now, and adding the fact that I'm half brain dead right now, 10 points isn't bad.
One more thing:
As a musician, I've heavily debated whether I want to marry a serious/professional musician or not. I think if I were to be completely happy, music would have be his life, too. It's all or nothing. But I've also considered the possibility of marrying a normal, non-music man - someone who didn't know the difference between Bach and Barber or a violin from a viola. Opposites do attract, and because I'm sooo not normal (there's really no other words to perfectly describe me), maybe I ought to marry a completely normal man. Or maybe not.
What are your thoughts on the inquiries of my brain?
1. His relationship with God must be searing out of his pores. He must be a worshipful creature and seek God's will daily.
2. He must make me feel amazing whenever I am around him. I'm an insecure being, and he must make me feel secure.
3. He must be self-motivated, intellectual, and disciplined.
4. He must make me laugh.
5. He must be daring and surprising (sometimes).
6. He must be his own self; creative, imaginative. The world is his palette.
7. Charm is nice, too.
8. I would prefer if he were good with people, although not extremely outgoing. I love being by myself and most times could care less about people (unfortunately). I think it would be good if he weren't as introverted as me, although two introverts together could be fun.....but no.
9. He must love food, but more specifically health food. I am a health food freak and dream about the perfect healthy food wedding. I couldn't live with someone who didn't enjoy wholesome foods or didn't care about his health.
10. I've always been attracted to cocky, confident guys, so while those features are a must, I don't want to marry Barrack Obama. He must be confident but also humble, caring, and most times kind.
10 things. That's all I can think of right now, and adding the fact that I'm half brain dead right now, 10 points isn't bad.
One more thing:
As a musician, I've heavily debated whether I want to marry a serious/professional musician or not. I think if I were to be completely happy, music would have be his life, too. It's all or nothing. But I've also considered the possibility of marrying a normal, non-music man - someone who didn't know the difference between Bach and Barber or a violin from a viola. Opposites do attract, and because I'm sooo not normal (there's really no other words to perfectly describe me), maybe I ought to marry a completely normal man. Or maybe not.
What are your thoughts on the inquiries of my brain?
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Music Bucket List
Have you ever thought about making a music bucket list for yourself? I hadn't thought about it until just a few seconds ago...
But it makes sense, right? A music bucket list would simply be a list of pieces that you want to learn or perform before you die. I'm definitely making one.
Currently I'm in a class called "Introduction to Music Literature" at my university and, shamefully, it's opened my eyes to a lot of great, great music that I had never really paid attention to - and we've only studied up through Beethoven so far!
Throughout my high school and college music careers I've already had the opportunity to play some incredibly beautiful music. But the music literature out there is so grandeur! As a violinist I am especially privileged - almost every great composer has written for the violin, both as a solo instrument and as part of a small or large ensemble.
I'll stop prefacing this post and get down to my personal music bucket list. Due to the fact that this idea hadn't come into my brain until about five minutes ago, my list is still in the making.
So here it is, as of February 26th, 2012:
1.) Beethoven's "Archduke" piano trio
2.) Haydn's "Emperor" Quartet (in particular the second movement)
3.) Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony
4.) Charles Ives Violin Sonata No. 4 (I heard Hilary Hahn perform the first movement and now I'm in love with the whole sonata)
Hmm, so that seems to be it for right now. I'm sure I'll come up with a plethora more later.
Feel free to comment and tell me about your music bucket list.
But it makes sense, right? A music bucket list would simply be a list of pieces that you want to learn or perform before you die. I'm definitely making one.
Currently I'm in a class called "Introduction to Music Literature" at my university and, shamefully, it's opened my eyes to a lot of great, great music that I had never really paid attention to - and we've only studied up through Beethoven so far!
Throughout my high school and college music careers I've already had the opportunity to play some incredibly beautiful music. But the music literature out there is so grandeur! As a violinist I am especially privileged - almost every great composer has written for the violin, both as a solo instrument and as part of a small or large ensemble.
I'll stop prefacing this post and get down to my personal music bucket list. Due to the fact that this idea hadn't come into my brain until about five minutes ago, my list is still in the making.
So here it is, as of February 26th, 2012:
1.) Beethoven's "Archduke" piano trio
2.) Haydn's "Emperor" Quartet (in particular the second movement)
3.) Beethoven's "Eroica" Symphony
4.) Charles Ives Violin Sonata No. 4 (I heard Hilary Hahn perform the first movement and now I'm in love with the whole sonata)
Hmm, so that seems to be it for right now. I'm sure I'll come up with a plethora more later.
Feel free to comment and tell me about your music bucket list.
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