tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90487509750447960562024-03-14T00:58:33.354+13:00Soundingsguestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-87160475996742088022019-11-20T02:13:00.002+13:002019-11-20T02:13:20.057+13:00<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
I have harboured a dream of working therapeutically with music for a long time. This is on the back of witnessing the therapeutic possibilities of music in both my own experiences, as well as fellow band mates and audiences.</div>
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Feeling good. I feel this is a basic driver behind being involved in music. Close on the heels of this feel good component, thinking in a therapeutic context, is the possibility of being challenged. Overcoming challenges in music, be they technical demands of performing, social hurdles around group interaction and participation, or aesthetic demands of listening, cultivates a set of skills directly transferable to other spheres of the life. </div>
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These skills might include:</div>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">acknowledging a gap in ones knowledge and taking on a “beginners mind” attitude.</li>
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<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">breaking a problem down into easily achievable component parts.</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Learning to be mindful simultaneously of ones own inner responses (reflecting) and the contributions of others in the group (listening).</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the ability to manipulate structural and narrative elements.</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">developing ones own aesthetic approach, implying that care is being taken to function with authenticity and beauty.</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">meeting differences of opinion without judgement.</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">being flexible in ones own notions of “how it should go”, ready to drop preconceptions and proceed with a new perspective.</li>
<li style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 21px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">insight into a collaborators inner state, and techniques to help optimise said state.</li>
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I have adopted each of these strategies (and many others) in musical contexts, largely as an accompanist, in collaboration with other musicians. The role of an accompanist specifically requires the skill set hinted at above. These many methods/perspectives allow a possibility for an easy and natural and beautiful experience of music. As an accompanist my offers and provocations strive in that direction. </div>
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So when music is easy and natural and beautiful, what is going on? </div>
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Crucially there is a generous listening attitude. From the outside, I am not listening for anything in particular, but merely enjoying the uniqueness of the tones being created, and their combinations. Wonderfully this requires no particular training in music, but seems rather to be some innate capacity humans have, to be enchanted by sounds. From the inside I am comfortable playing with the group, and feel confident that our sound is good because I can feel my own joy in playing, and see/feel the joy in others, be they fellow muso’s or audience. This generosity is infectious, self perpetuating and transformative. </div>
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There is an expression articulated in NZ early childhood education Play Centre circles - “Patient, open, encouraging, and joyful! As with our tamariki, as with each other!” Here is another formula for optimal functioning in both musical and therapeutic contexts. </div>
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guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-70079672927599035392013-03-05T23:06:00.000+13:002013-03-05T23:18:39.860+13:00MBMU 1st music sessionTonight the cast - well most of the cast (we missed you Neil!), of My Bed My Universe met me at my wee Queen Street studio to begin our musical training. Sam (Director), Gary (Writer) and actors Miriama, Max, Dominic, Tuyet, and Wesley.<br />
We started out clapping some subdivisions along to a metronome. Without explaining too much about what they were called at first, we got familiar with clapping crotchets, quavers, quaver triplets and semi-quavers.<br />
Soon I introduced the common note value names using both the "crotchets" and "quarter notes" terminology interchangeably, as well as their counts. We discussed time signatures, and had a crack at playing in 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, swapping subdivisions, and going up and down the Rhythm Pyramid.<br />
The group did very well indeed! I love working with actors. In general they tend to be very fleet of brain, with excellent kinetic skills - a great combo for getting percussive skills together.<br />
We then moved onto an extremely fun stomping/clapping game from the From Scratch Rhythm Book called Call and Response. I think this will be a regular exercise for us.<br />
After this I armed the guys with sticks and I taught them about rudiments, starting with singles, doubles and paradiddles. We played these along to a metronome pulse, weaving the rudiments into some subdivisions and time signature structures. Again the crew caught on fast.<br />
Two hours went real quick!<br />
Tomorrow will be my first session with NZTrio, and I'm very excited about that too.<br />
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<br />guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-70466735697034879762011-10-19T01:36:00.002+13:002011-10-19T02:19:26.328+13:00playingI have just played a wonderful set of music with the Spoilers of Utopia Brass Band. The group has been put together by John Bell to play the music of jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler and some other brass band gems. I love this music. I hardly played a beat, as such, all night. I was able to range freely through the sound world of the drum kit in support of the music.<br />
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It was an excellently timed gig in relation to some persistent thought grooves I been jamming around - what is the relationship between music (or any discipline) and play? </div>
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I keep coming back to this possible answer - master some simple fundamentals to get started, master them so you can forget them. The more "second nature" the techniques become, the more freely you can play. Up-skill as you go to make the game more sophisticated but never lose sight of <i>playing.</i> </div>
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My not quite 2 year old daughter already knows how to play... it seems the essential ingredients of real play, when you are actually, really, forgetting yourself in the fun of a game, have to do with strong contrasts:</div>
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Now you see me, now you don't! </div>
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Keep the ball and run with it or pass it to someone else. </div>
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I have to get to <i>there</i> and you have to try and stop me.</div>
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It strikes me that in music we are presented with a series of contrasts that comprise the material of play, and the contrasts can be two extremes of a continuum - quiet to loud (silence/sound), slow to fast (tempo/frequency), sparse to dense (rhythm/harmony), low to high (pitch), rough to smooth (texture), relaxing to agitating (intentionality). </div>
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The implications are profound. There are life affirming skills and attitudes to be gleaned from this process, the process being acquiring/exploring techniques and subsuming them in the service of play.<br />
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<br /></div>guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-65928265370353666592011-09-26T22:22:00.000+13:002011-09-26T22:28:43.314+13:00I am a master of shoe lace tying.Human beings are sophisticated and confused creatures.<br />
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Here in New Zealand, the confused part comes to the fore in our attitudes towards the so called 'creative arts'. Take facility in music for example. It's commonly understood that participation in music requires something mysterious called 'natural talent' and unless one has this 'gift' then well, its just not worth the trouble.
But the acquisition of this facility, to play music, is misunderstood.<br />
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My belief is that we are inherently sophisticated enough to be exceptional musicians, all of us.<br />
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Acquiring the skills to operate an instrument is not too dissimilar to learning how to tie ones shoe laces - an exceptionally sophisticated act if one stops to think about it... I, like you dear reader, am a master of shoe lace tying. I have done it every day, numerous times, since I was a young child. I come from a family of master shoe lace tiers. Both my parents, my grandparents... this tradition goes back many generations in my family, and I witnessed the act many times every day. It is such a common and ordinary thing that it seems a bit ridiculous to apply words like talent and genius to the act of tying shoe laces. With master musicians I bet it's quite a similar picture. And I would suggest that it is society, not the musician, who feels the need to use these labels.<br />
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My bone of contention is that our use of the words 'mastery' and 'genius' are too selective, and that the range of activities we are willing to call 'creative' are too narrow. We are all 'masters' of the things we take for granted because of our inherent brilliance (through repetition) in their execution - writing txt messages, driving forklifts, reading braille, tying shoe laces, preparing food... its a long list.<br />
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Of course, making music is NOT as common place as say making a good cup of coffee, and so it seems a special thing, but that is more a reflection of an impoverished culture than our innate ability to do this or that.. Of course there are individuals that will outshine others in every field, but why should that mean that others can no longer participate? I meet too many people who would love to be involved in making music and feel they can't because of some perceived lack, and this is a state of confusion i lament greatly.
guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-9471677343082187762011-09-18T00:26:00.001+12:002011-09-18T00:26:37.300+12:00Rhythm SchoolHad a great session this morning at <a href="http://musicworkings.weebly.com/rhythm-school.html">Rhythm School</a>. Three students came at three different levels.. Young Bella, all of 10 years old and her first lesson. Stephen Thomas the boy wonder, studying under Ron Samson at AK Uni, and Rich Pharoah, working man and keen drummer, purveyor of solid beats and seeker for more proficiency... We played some <a href="http://musicworkings.weebly.com/table-of-time.html">rhythm pyramids</a>, some <a href="http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php">Concertina Hand Teasers</a>, working basic rudiments, each taking it as far as they could comfortably go. It works wonderfully. looking forward to growing this class. I can imagine a room of 15 - 20 folks tapping happily away... My vision is for an open class that anyone interested in learning about rhythm can attend. See YOU there.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-1832932863663222942011-09-07T15:07:00.003+12:002011-09-07T15:07:49.527+12:00My websiteI have made a website for myself at long last.
There you can see what I've done, what I'm up too, and other bits and bobs...
Go check it out: <a href="http://musicworkings.weebly.com/">http://musicworkings.weebly.com/</a>
guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-46311342613741157902011-08-22T20:33:00.000+12:002011-08-22T20:33:57.006+12:00music that hurts and music that healsJulie Hill is writer of plays and maker of radio programs. She made a couple of interesting ones for Radio National a while back - Music that Hurts and Music that Heals. She talked with me a bit in the Music that Heals section. <br />
<a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/music101/20100828">Here</a> is a blurb and photo.<br />
Listen to it <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/musicfeatures/20100821">here</a>. <br />
guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-63633532154648846842011-08-20T00:36:00.000+12:002011-08-20T00:36:38.623+12:00Carriage of Angels19/8/11<br />
On the train from Henderson back into town and there is a carriage full of disabled folks many in wheel chairs and some not, I'm guessing <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001734/">cerebral palsy</a> issues… hmmm my knowledge of what their conditions might be is very sketchy… but its a joyous ride! They are enjoying being on the train en mass I think. Most of the commuters have scampered to the other end of the train but I have come to join the 'outcasts'. The train guard felt he had to apologize to me, which is sad. These folks have a right to be on this train as much as any the rest of us.<br />
Its the sounds I'm enjoying. Beautiful repetitive groans and whines, sudden rhythmic iterations bu! bu! bu! bu! bu! Its a lively trip! I won't be falling asleep on this journey. The gentleman in front of me has found delight in something and is half singing and half laughing, then breaking into a conversation about next Friday - "it IS next Friday!!" "Whats next Friday?!" "No its Thursday!"<br />
Snatches of conversations being yelled across the carriage. It makes such a refreshing change from the usual polite quite. <br />
Keening and wheezing. Clapping and whistling. But not a riot of sound… more an excited gentle hubbub.<br />
At each stop passengers ready to enter at the rear of the train are asked to go to the front as our carriage is packed to the rafters. The gestures of the guard are echoed by the more able bodied ones, his requests too - "Move up the front of the train thanks." "Up the front!" "Other door!" <br />
The carers traveling with these folks are angels. I bask in their presence.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-32440947534153127752011-08-01T23:52:00.000+12:002011-08-01T23:57:43.332+12:00Vitamin S Improvisation Workshop - 1/8/11Vitamin S Workshop - 1/8/11<br />
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I focused this workshop on the ONE TWO piece as taught by John Stevens in his book <a href="http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0439386/details.html">Search and Reflect. </a> i thoroughly recommend you check this book out. Here's my understanding of how the piece works...<br />
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The group is seated in a circle. <br />
A person starts the piece by saying "One". <br />
The person to their left waits a period and says "Two". <br />
If the person who says "Two" waits a short period, the tempo will be quicker. <br />
If they wait a longer period the tempo will be slower. <br />
So, the 2nd person, on beat Two, sets the tempo.<br />
The third person in the circle will be on beat One with the first person. <br />
The fourth person in he circle will be on beat 2 with the second person, etc… <br />
Everyone joins in either on beat one or beat two, until everybody is counting.<br />
The tempo should remain constant (try not to speed up or slow down). <br />
The improvisation begins when the whole circle is counting. At that point, anyone may change the beat they are counting, jumping from the One to the Two or from the Two to the One, at any time.<br />
There are some simple rules to follow.<br />
You must not skip your beat before moving to the next count.<br />
If you jump to the other count, you must remain there for at least one beat before you jump back again eg counting "One, two, one, two..." is forbidden. <br />
Participants must stop if they lose their place or become confused or accidentally skip a beat, if they hear anyone else do the same, of if they become aware that someone else has stopped. <br />
Once silence is achieved, a person starts the piece again with the count of "One". <br />
The person to their left brings in the count of "Two", setting the tempo, and each person in the circle gradually joins in… once everybody has reestablish the count, half the circle on "One" and half the circle on "Two", then the improvising begins again. The piece comes to a natural end one everybody hits the same count - it could be a One or a Two, with the following count being in silence.<br />
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Good lord is that at all clear to you?? <br />
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Anyway, the interesting thing with this piece is listening for the break-downs into silence. It creates a lovely ebb and flow. Its a challenge to get participants accepting this process and honoring the silence - not breaking the silence with utterances that articulate frustration at making a 'mistake'… It was well worth persevering with. We got there eventually!guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-16413726089472295392011-07-29T23:23:00.000+12:002011-07-29T23:23:48.509+12:00PoetryJust got back form a lovely gig at Lopdell House in Titirangi, The Late Great Poetry Show. There were loads of fantastic poets reading their work: Rosetta Allan, Murray Edmond, Siobhan Harvey, Alice Hooton, Michele Leggott, Judith McNeil, Bob Orr, Alistair Paterson, John Pule, Jack Ross, Ila Selwyn, Penny Somervaille, Robert Sullivan, Denys Trussell.<br />
Nigel Gavin and I played some duet pieces, to open the night as guests arrived and in between the sets. I enjoyed Bob Orr the most I think. He reminded me a bit of Bukowski. <br />
Nigel and I played some nice improvised pieces that went own well. Michele Leggott gave Saly Rodwell and Alan Brunton a shout out before her reading which was lovely. I miss those guys. <br />
Ahh poetry. Some of my other favourite poets: Kenneth Rexroth. Robert Creely. Rabrinath Tagore.<br />
I teach a young girl, all of 5 or 6 or 7 years old, the guitar. We mostly have been focusing on nursery rhymes - Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star etc... but recently we were inspired to create some original music, and here is the genius that she came up with: <br />
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Love and,<br />
family.<br />
Angel... Bruce.<br />
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Perhaps you had to, as they say, be there.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-78158078343724239012011-07-21T23:59:00.000+12:002011-07-21T23:59:41.129+12:00Sound Walk.I did the Sound Walk with students from AUT early this week. Could be a new dance craze sweeping the nation...now what would that look like? But no, I lead these mostly very young folk around downtown Auckland and we listened. I devised a wee form they could fill out as they listened, suggesting things to listen out for. It asks them to note the presence/absence of the following qualities in a particular sound they are hearing:<br />
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Emotion (-: )-: |-: <br />
Duration S/M/L <br />
Frequency H/M/L <br />
Drone Y/N <br />
Melodic Y/N <br />
Rhythmic Y/N <br />
Proximity N/M/D <br />
Location F/L/R/B <br />
Natural Y/N <br />
Mechanical Y/N<br />
Distraction Tally:<br />
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Here is my explanation of each category:<br />
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Emotion – does the sound provoke an emotional reaction in you?<br />
Positive (-: Negative )-: Neutral |-:<br />
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Duration – how long is the sound you have noticed? <br />
Short/Medium/Long.<br />
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Frequency – Is the sound that has captured your attention of High Mid or Low frequency?<br />
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Drone - Does the sound have sustained/continuous qualities? <br />
Yes or No.<br />
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Melody - do you hear a melody in the sound? Yes or No. <br />
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Rhythm - is the sound rhythmic? Yes or No.<br />
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Proximity – how close is the sound to you? <br />
Near/Mid distance/Distant.<br />
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Location – where is the sound relative to where you are facing? Front/Left/Right/Behind.<br />
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Natural – is the sound a product of nature? Yes or No<br />
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Mechanical – is the sound the product of a machine? Yes or No.<br />
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Distraction Tally - track how often your thoughts distract you from listening to the sounds around you. Try not to be judgemental if you keep being distracted by your thoughts. Just make a note in the tally and return your concentration to what you can hear.<br />
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The Distraction Tally is the most interesting part of this process to my mind. I've always been intrigued how a thought, which has no objective decibel reading, can drown out even very loud sounds. And its nice to sneak in some good old fashioned mindfulness training thanks be to Shakyamuni!guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-74870117178569291782011-06-16T21:16:00.001+12:002011-06-16T21:16:32.823+12:00frequency and tempoSoundings<br />
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I gave a talk at the apartment of Nisha Nadan (and flatmates) as part of Fredtalks… the talk was entitled Advanced Metronome Techniques, and it branched off into a general discussion about the nature of perception. <br />
I showed how you can use a metronome to cultivate the ability to view a rhythm from different perspectives. Like a piece of sculpture, a rhythm will take on a completely different shape and feeling depending from which perspective it is heard. I stumbled across this quite by accident. Perhaps you have had this experience too? Turning on a radio, I happened across a song midway through, and my mind placed the gravity (or the 'one', as muso's like to call it) of the music in a different spot from where it was intended, the result being a wonderfully weird sounding piece of music. Alas this state didn't last, as the many pointers and cues in the music muscled this fresh perspective to where it was intended, and the piece morphed before my ears back to a run of the mill pop song. <br />
I have had similar experiences with harmony, hearing a song from a different tonal centre to the one that was intended with similarly delightful results.<br />
But back to the talk on rhythm… it stemmed as well from some renewed investigations of the correspondences between an exercise called the Rhythm Pyramid and the ratios of the intervals found in the harmonic series. <br />
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If quarter notes = C1, then 8th notes = C2, 8th notes triplets = G2, 16th notes = C3, quintuplets (a 5 note subdivision) = E3, 16th note triplets = G3, and 32nd notes = C4. <br />
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frequency = tempo and melody = rhythm (from a certain perspective anyway).guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-82500137725095336772011-06-15T10:42:00.000+12:002011-06-15T10:42:11.576+12:00a new tackSo the ol listing of stuff I do is proving too overwhelming to sustain. You get the idea I'm a busy fellow in music. So for this blog I'm going to change tack and muse as the whim takes me… <br />
I'm coming to the end of this years first semesters teaching and thats a relief! <br />
Today is the first of the ZEAL performances by my Unitec students. I'm looking forward to it. Some wonderful naive and wonderful songs have been put together.<br />
Got some interesting work next year at AUT taking some sound walks and an improv tutorial.<br />
Other upcoming projects include a piece of children's theatre called The Butcher and the Bear (more about that in a later post), The Wizard of Oz, gigs w Andrew Keoghan, Surfin USSR, Francis Plagne, the Songs of Kurt Weill and the Sad Lament of Pecos Bill on the Eve of Killing his Wife..guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-19550822166482070712011-04-08T00:18:00.000+12:002011-04-08T00:18:38.295+12:00finally I'm falling for Zappathanks to Brett for turning me on to this one - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Size_Fits_All">One Size Fits All</a>.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-57532237491064812722011-04-08T00:06:00.000+12:002011-04-08T00:07:56.021+12:00a new tackSo you get the idea.. my music work is made up of gigging, teaching and touring with the odd recording session thrown in and rehearsals for gigs/recording sessions/tours.<br />
Writing up every bit got too labor intensive - and probably a bit boring to read, so I'm gonna take a different approach.<br />
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<a href="http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/theatre/poor-boy/">Poor Boy</a> is almost finished, 2 shows to go. Thank goodness! I get the feeling we'll all be happy to see the back of this one. Thanks to John, Brett and Maree for being so lovely to play music with.<br />
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<a href="http://www.plan9music.co.nz/songs_of%20_kurt_weill.htm">The Songs of Kurt Weill</a> is about to have another incarnation, in a couple of weeks at the <a href="http://www.festivalofcolour.co.nz/event_detail_2011.html?ci=1&pi=167">Wanaka Festival of Colour</a>. <br />
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Teaching has gone well, mid semester break coming up. I'll be off to Chch in the break after the Wanaka stint to look after Fern while Tahi teaches. Hope to catch up w Chch muso buddies and do some jamming!<br />
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Got some recording coming up on Sat avo w Geoff Maddock looking forward to seeing what delights he has in store..guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-14454282910023213442011-03-24T12:15:00.000+13:002011-03-24T12:16:50.768+13:00Catch UpTues 22nd<br />
10:30am - 12:30pm Unitec Diploma class in the music bunker<br />
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6:30 - 8:00 Poor Boy<br />
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9:30 A song w <a href="http://www.andrewkeoghan.com/home.cfm">Andrew Keoghan</a>, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wUFq8-xUu3Q">Every Orchid Offering</a>" The gig was at the Comedy Club and was very well attended. Andrew played with his band then about halfway through the band left the stage and I was invited up, the first of a number of cameo appearances by collegues of Andrews. Every Orchid Offering has had an amazing journey as a song. I first started playing it with him on tour with Flip Grater last year. ANdrew was playing a solo set to support Flip and he invited me to jam on this song. It went from that to a recording session/video shoot late last year, and then the performance this evening. WHo knows where next...?<br />
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Wed 23<br />
12:45 - 2pm Drum lesson with Dean looking at Advanced Metronome Techniques.<br />
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6:30 - 8:30pm Poor Boy<br />
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9 - 10pm Drum lesson with Cameron looking into advnaced metronome techniques and begining the Teed Reed syncopation studies..guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-60072511212345406872011-03-22T00:43:00.000+13:002011-03-22T00:44:18.949+13:00Monday night w Elsebeth2 - 3 Drum lesson. A quick look at the rhythm pyramid and jazz coordination drills. Showed a sneak preview of some advanced metronome techniques I've developed. We then got into Ron Samson's coordination drills, started reading through the Ted Reed Syncopation Studies, and looked at playing Gary Chester's excercises in the context of some basic rock beats. A jammed packed lesson! Afterwards on the walk back to Uni, we played John Stevens ONE TWO game in 2/4 and 3/4.<br />
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3 - 5 Combo8 at Auckland University. The group is finding its feet. A big jump from when I last heard them a couple of weeks ago. I showed them some nice arrangement tricks and still trying to get them to crack the dynamic thing. They need to bust out of the gray area and really explore the extremes of very quiet and very loud.<br />
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6:30 - 8 Poor Boy. The first early show of the season. The show is consolidating well, though the pre-recorded sound cues get worse with every hearing.<br />
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Ended the evening jamming along to my compilation of Alan Lomax recordings of old blues tracks. Elsebeth (my guitar) is sounding wonderful. I'm in love.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-58912911582914300472011-03-20T23:17:00.000+13:002011-03-20T23:17:58.183+13:00the BIG screen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5exUsu8StUA/TYXTxNlWfMI/AAAAAAAAABQ/B7eF6J67-lo/s1600/the%2Bbig%2Bscreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5exUsu8StUA/TYXTxNlWfMI/AAAAAAAAABQ/B7eF6J67-lo/s400/the%2Bbig%2Bscreen.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Wow a photo taken by a mate of my mother's who happened to be at the Roxy Music gig.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-5392324912106618982011-03-20T23:00:00.000+13:002011-03-20T23:01:31.463+13:00Jazz at the Rotunda12pm - rocked up to the Auckland Domain Band Rotunda to meet Kingsley and chat about our set this afternoon. It was to be the last in the <a href="http://www.musicinparks.co.nz/events/jazz.asp">Jazz at the Rotunda</a> series for this summer. Our band was lead by Kingsley Melhuish, with Neil Watson on guitar and Ross Larson on bass. Kings had put together a nice set of music, which featured his multi-instrumental skills - guitar, trumpet, trombone, conch shells, and vocals. Kings and I have played a lot together over my years in Auckland in various line ups, but I'd never backed him singing before. His voice is beautiful!<br />
Our set:<br />
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1. Collective Improv<br />
2. Bemsha Swing (Thelonius Monk)<br />
3. Come Rain or Shine (Harold Arlen lyrics Johnny Mercer)<br />
4. Mood Indigo (Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard lyrics Irving Mills)<br />
5. Don't You Feel My Leg (Danny Barker, J. Mayo Williams, Blue Lu Barker)<br />
6. Monkey Man (Toots and the Maytals)<br />
7. Cy's Eyes (K Melhuish)<br />
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What a fresh repertoire. I'd never played Monkey Man, though I know it well. I love playing tunes I know and love for the first time on gigs. <br />
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I played the gig on Frank Gibson's drums, a tidy wee Yamaha bebop kit. Tight tuning on the toms, a beautiful snare and lovely small, open bass drum. Apart from the kick pedal which kept slipping off the bass drum, it was enjoyable to play. Cheers Frank!<br />
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After our set Frank played with Andy Atwell on bass, Murray McNab keyboards and a visiting saxoophonist and vocalist from the UK. I heard a few of the usual jazz standards before I had to leave.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-36115338157521617342011-03-20T01:46:00.000+13:002011-03-20T01:48:59.568+13:00ethipoiques, rhythm pyramids and poor boy opening1pm Rehearsal w Don McGlashan. We are learning a piece of music called "Yekermo Sew" by Mulatu Astake. Its for a gig organized by <a href="http://nz.entertainment.yahoo.com/making-tracks/">Nick Dwyer</a>, a multicultural fest at mid-day Sun 27th in Mt Roskill Park. Its a pretty straight forward tune, though Don is playing the melody on Euphonium which seems quite challenging! <br />
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3:30pm A drum lesson, focusing on the rhythm pyramid and the preliminary jazz independance exercises. A good lesson. Taylor is doing well.<br />
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8pm Opening night of Poor Boy. Well it went okay I thought. The bands performance was generally excellent though we had a few weird moments - which probably went unnoticed by the audience.. The comments after the show were generally along the lines of "wow the music was great" (which it is!!) the subtext being that the play wasn't so good... Sure it isn't everyone's cup of tea I guess. The story is growing on me. It has a lot of depth. Has Raymond done it justice as director?? Perhaps not... perhaps it needs to be dirtier, more dynamic... The sound effects in the play are terrible in my opinion. AH well.. come and see it and you be the judge!guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-13822966443152072822011-03-19T00:38:00.000+13:002011-03-19T00:42:34.971+13:00Unitec and Poor Boy Part 29:30 - 11am Todays class was the drum lesson class. I explained the rhythm pyramid and we went through the basic subdivisions exploring the different styles of music characterized by each subdivsion and how this changes when the tempo speeds up/slows down. I then demonstrated a basic drum beat in each subdivision and we went round the class giving everyone a go. When you take it a beat at a time, anyone can do it, even after they <i>insist</i> they cant.<br />
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12pm - 2 Diploma Group. A small group this one a quartet. It'll be a nice group, heavy metal and RnB/gospel being the two main influences. That should make for some interesting flavors I hope. We jammed a bit, and then we had a close examination of John Stevens ONE TWO game, taking it into versions in 3/4, 4/4 and 5/4. The group took to it well. We then played a cool game setting up different themed pathways around the group - names, a phrase from a song, and an animal sound. Each theme forms a unique loop and the challenge for the group is to have all three simultaneously going. Looking forward to putting this one on instruments.<br />
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2pm Fern Christi stage manger for Poor Boy picked me up and we raced back to the Maidment for a 2:30 dress rehearsal. From the bands perspective it was a shocker. Loads of mistakes, weird volume levels... and to our astonishment we get wonderful praise at the end of the run. Go figure.<br />
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6:30m Drilled a bunch of the songs for the 2nd preview later this evening. Especially the first one, Poor Boy. Its a tricky arrangement with lots of changes in dynamics and texture. We got it sitting nicely after a few goes. <br />
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8pm 2nd preview. A very good performance. We nailed our monitor levels before the show and it made a big difference compared to the earlier performance. We were able to really inject some feeling into the songs, and the singers responded with good performances too. Brett played some killer solos this evening. I'm thrilled to be sitting right next to him! Raymond reckoned in his notes after the show that we own it now, its ours. He's right. Opening night is going to be just fine.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-63534380538885613222011-03-18T00:00:00.000+13:002011-03-18T00:00:16.308+13:00Unitec and Poor Boy9.30am - 11am Unitec Certificate Class - an unruly mob of rough diamonds. They have come to the course learn about music and are up for it it seems. I cajoled four of them into singing an accapella number and their voices are beautiful! Another couple of ensembles rose up out of the throng of around 20 to play a little bit. There is plenty of good talent in there, and the usual few cheeky lads. We examined furthur John Stevens rhythm piece ONE TWO. An hour and a half goes by very quick!<br />
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1:30pm - 3:30pm Poor Boy dress rehearsal. It was shaky. Our first time through with the whole production in full swing. A new acoustic space to adjust to. There are some big spaces for me in this show where I am not doing much. <br />
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6:30 Back to the Maidment to run a few tunes that went pair shaped earlier today, and tighten up a few things before the first preview at 8pm. We still hadn't tried the music for the bows yet, a nice down beat version of the song Poor Boy. <br />
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8pm First preview. There was an audience of about 200 folks. The show was definitely still undercooked, but I guess they weren't paying full orice. Stil I feel for the actors having to perform a piece still ubder rehearsed.. The run went great from our perspective, a definite step up from the afternoon. Feedback from Tim was that we can really go for it in the scene changes with the transition music as there are no lines being said and no one on stage even, I'm going to err on the side of VERY LOUD tomorrow and see what happens. Looking forward to two more runs tomorrow the opening night Saturday.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-35132587299177452822011-03-16T00:26:00.000+13:002011-03-16T00:32:26.616+13:00Gimel PerformanceTues 15th March 6 - 7pm We (Gimel) played our set this eve and it went very well. I got a sketchy outline of the music off Jonathan minutes before our set started and, on top of our rehearsal last Sunday, it worked great for me. Just one piece of paper with the important data I could take in at a glance - more like a set list with time signatures and the odd phrase written out. It meant my head wasn't buried in a chart and I could catch Jonathan's visual cues - of which there were many! We successfully toned down our performance to great effect. I felt there was much more breathing space in the music. It had more poise and composure than our performance at the Band Rotunda in Albert Park a month ago. Wayne Laird from <a href="http://www.atollcd.com/">Atoll Records</a> was there to record the concert and I gather it was captured without any hiccups. So the proof shall be in the pudding. Good comments afterwards from friends and colleagues in the audience. More and more I can appreciate positive feedback.<br />
So that was my last gig at the Garden Bar. Thanks to Sandy the sound man and Amber the stage manager for being helpful and relaxed and wonderful.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-27020905473628315172011-03-15T00:06:00.000+13:002011-03-15T00:07:31.601+13:00rehearsals, a lesson and a new releaseSat 12th<br />
10am - 1pm Our 2nd Sitzprobe for Poor Boy. We mostly looked at the in between music bits like scene changes and segues between tunes, playouts, intros etc.. Shaping up well. Tim Finn was there. It got pretty intense with the actors copping instructions from every side. I thought John handled the situation very well. Tim, while not directly involved in this production, still has a lot invested in it of course because they are his precious songs. John has really gone out on a limb with his interpretation of the songs, moving away from a pop treatment into a more chamber like, sonically playful world. Tim isn't shy about suggesting changes to Johns arrangements (and neither is Raymond for that matter!!) and John is so gracious and humble at accommodating their ideas. Tim to his credit has been very open minded about the whole affair. I think, musically at least, this production will be a great success!!<br />
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2pm - 3pm drum lesson. Ah yes a great lesson today, thanks Taylor! When you learn a new beat, how well have you learned it? As well as the amount of tempos you can play it, and it is going slow that counts, and I mean S L O W . . . . <br />
Plenty of work on the amazing wonderful rhythm pyramid too. I love that thing!<br />
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Sun 13th - Gimel rehearsal at Jonathan Besser's house. We have a gig at the Garden Stage in Aotea Square this Tuesday. Jonathon's music is beautiful. I have always liked it. Its kind of romantic and programmatic and just breathtakingly beautiful. Jonathan plays the piano with such unabashed enthusiasm and passion, it more than makes up for his erratic time keeping. John Bell plays vibraphone and Peter Scott plays bass. Our last gig at the Band Rotunda in Albert park was recorded and some of the music came out wonderfully. We are much better rehearsed for this Tuesday and its being recorded by Wayne Liard of Rattle Records. Fongers crossed we play a good set!<br />
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Mon 14th <br />
8:30am - 12pm Sound checks and band rehearsals for Poor Boy down at the Maidment theatre. Its a much better sound down there than at the ATC rehearsal rooms so that was a relief. Our set up is nice and intimate. I'm sitting very close to Brent and John, and I can see Maree just over the piano. Its coming together well. Tim was all smiles and Raymond was enjoying our music too.<br />
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3 - 5 Poor boy run through of all the songs. Fine tuned levels. The actors are all mic'd and we have a couple of monitors to hear them. The songs really coming together now we've played them a bunch of times. Great fine tuning the parts and dynamics. I have some great triangle moments! <br />
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Jonathan Crayford has released a trio recording he, Patrick Bleakley and I did quite a few years ago. Here is the link - http://music.jocray.com/track/decision<br />
There are some hard swinging moments!!! Cheers Jo!guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9048750975044796056.post-10018867003427265042011-03-12T02:23:00.000+13:002011-03-12T02:23:42.787+13:00The Birth of Tihn Lantern10am - Poor Boy Sitzprobe. This term is an odd one. It refers, as I understand it, to the moment that the band and cast get together for the first time and sing through the material of the show before putting it on its feet in the context of the acting and/or dancing. It was cool to run through a bunch of the somgs in order and get a bigger picture of the whole sound world of this show. We have another one Saturday morning - in a few hours yikes!! <br />
It went pretty well considering how undercooked a lot of our parts are. Raymond seemed to like a lot of it.<br />
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1:30 Last rehearsal with Sean and James before heading down to sound check at the Garden Bar. We ran through the few ideas we'd dreamed up and Sean bought another synth to try. Short and sweet and off to soundcheck...<br />
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4 - 4:30 Sound check. Yep Sandy the sound man for the Garden Stage is onto it. All the sounds working. Its shaping up to b a good gig.<br />
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4:45 - 5:45 Drum lesson for Cameron, a student at Massey University. We ran the independence drills based on Alan's teachings and then did some mind bending rhythm pyramid work. I love the rhythm pyramid/table of time body of exercises.<br />
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6 - 7 First set of the night was a BLINDER!! We easily filled the time with synth soundscapes and minimalist beats, a slowly evolving cinematic sound world. The pieces we prepared slotted into set very nicely. I had a hinch this combunation would work a treat and I was right. I think this band has legs.<br />
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11 - 12 Second set was fun too! A bit odd to wait 4 hours between sets, but we did come up with a name (thanks Chelsea!) Tihn Lantern. I felt a tad tired just before going on, but once we began I dropped back into the zone and before I knew it 40 minutes had gone WOOOSH!!!! Another beautiful set.guestspeakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09912303103818109047noreply@blogger.com0