Sueños Silenciosos.

En mis sueños no creo que suene música.  No creo que haya tocado nunca un instrumento en un sueño.  Mis sueños suelen llenarse de acción o fragmentos de conversación que enmarcan un panorama de lo sucedido de una manera vaga y clandestina en la conciencia.  Para una persona que suele pensar en notas y frases musicales, creo que el sueño puede que sea el único lugar donde para mi exista silencio.

Scriabin's scribbling

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was an innovative Russian composer and pianist. While in the later years of his life he developed an increasingly atonal musical language that preceded twelve-tone composition; his earlier compositions emulated more of a late-romantic idiom. In his later periods, Scriabin was driven by his spiritual mysticism. He developed synthetic chords like the Prometheus/mystic chord; he also claimed to have synesthesia and although he didn’t differentiate between major and minor tonalities, he developed a color wheel based on the circle of fifths, which assigned colors to different key areas. Heavily influenced by the polish composer Fredrick Chopin, Scriabin’s earlier work is very different from the complex harmonies and textures that later came to characterize his compositions. In these years he wrote in the Romantic musical idiom and also composed in forms frequently used by Chopin (preludes, nocturnes, etudes, mazurkas).

Scriabin’s Prelude Op. 9 for the left hand is a beautiful example of one of his earlier pieces. After injuring his hand at the age of 20, supposedly practicing Liszt’s Don Juan Fantasie, Scriabin wrote this Prelude and the Nocturne that follows it so he could play music with only his left hand. The piece begins with a two bar melodic motif that is then transposed directly down a half step in the consecutive phrase (m3-4). Because the piece is written to be played with a single hand, the melodic range is small, for the most part staying within an octave. For this same reason, the melody is mostly scalar with step-wise motion and very few leaps.

Teeth are the most existential of all bones

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk,

 mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or

 say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles

exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop

and everybody goes "Awww!” - Jack Kerouac 

Today I was informed of a death.  The death of a gentle and mad soul.  “Angel Mark’ use to hang out in front of the coffee shop we frequented as misfit teens.  When we  would sit on the dirty pavement in tattered jeans smoking cigarettes and talking about books he would hand us newspaper to sit on.  He would tell us the angel’s spoke to him and told him things about us.  That they watched over us.  With that crazed look in his eye, his scruffy beard, and his clumsy shuffle he would stare at you for a few moments before one of his spiritual comments. “Teeth are the most existential of all bones”.

Que tinguem sort

Que tinguem sort,

que trobem tot el que ens 

va mancar ahir.

 It's hard to write sincere lyrics. Maybe it's just learning to train yourself to think in a specific way...in the way that people train themselves to dream lucidly...I'm not sure.

My grandmother spoke the lyrics of the song "Que tinguem sort" at my grandfathers funeral. The song starts with the words "If you say goodbye to me let it be on a clear and sunny day, let all the birds keep singing their harmonies". I guess I've been thinking about saying goodbye to people and the piece that you keep when you part ways with somebody and these words keep playing through my head. The emotionally profound tone and the lyrical simplicity are making me all sentimental and stuff.

Near, Far, Wherever You Are.

Titanic song interpretation.

What teleporting would sound like

"Hay épocas en que uno siente que se ha caído a pedazos y a la vez se ve a sí mismo en mitad de la carretera estudiando las piezas sueltas, preguntándose si será capaz de montarlas otra vez y qué especie de artefacto saldrá" -T.S. Eliot


Sometimes I feel like I am outside of my body looking at myself. It happens quite often when I feel completely despondent; watching my life pass before me without feeling like I'm actually participating. But then there are moments or phrases or songs or feelings that remind you of what is important and all of the sudden you're snapped back through the time warped abyss that so far removed you and placed back in the mess of it all. Maybe this curse of alternate realities doesn't plague everybody but every living thing can be affected by sound and everybody nostalgically ties certain memories to specific sounds.

AMADEUS for RockDoc Night

My friends have recently been holding a small gathering once in a while which they call "rockdoc night": a night in which we take turns picking a rock n' roll documentary to watch.  The inaugural night of rockdoc however had nothing to do with rock and roll.  The 1984 academy award-winning film Amadeus, which I hadn't seen since I was eight years old, is really well done! The way the music is incorporated in the movie fits perfectly and creates the dramatic tone that is maintained through out the film. The story line is captivating and although it is over 2 and a half hours long, the audience isn't allowed a moment to lose interest. Although the historical validity is somewhat questionable, the plot was entertaining and the music was great. While watching it I did start to wonder how it is that a type of movie like this impacts the general public. Most people don't know much about Mozart and this hollywood movie while historically inaccurate does expose the public to some knowledge about the composer. Is it better to have a slightly misinformed audience or a completely ignorant one? I'm not sure...

I guess it's hard to gauge the validity of most of the information we are exposed to in the first place. While it is constructive to approach sources critically, we are still susceptible to all sorts of intellectual typos and we are also impressionable creatures who retain information we are exposed to. That's why it is the responsibility of the people in charge of putting out the information to educate consciously. I'm not sure if the producers of Amadeus were aware of their moral obligation but it is still one of my favorite movies.

days of gray and nostalgia

Esta canción es que casi me hace llorar cada vez que la oigo. Me hace pensar en la distancia, la nostalgia que se acumula hasta formar un peso pequeño que siempre desequilibra.  Me hace pensar en todas esas personas que llevo conmigo aunque no lo sepan; personas que te cambian tan profundamente que después ya no eres lo mismo que eras antes de conocerlas.  A esas personas quiero dedicarles esta canción porque pienso en ellas cada vez que la oigo.  Para los traficantes de sueños y las caricias de morfeo, para las canciones al oido y las que se gritan demasiado fuerte, para el beso de despedida en el aeoropuerto y el abrazo que te espera al aterrizar.

The elephant that left an impression

Debussy’s piece “Jimbo’s Lullaby” opens with a left hand melody based on a d minor pentatonic scale whose oriental mood and slow tempo meant to be played “deux et un peu gauche” evoke the image of a playful elephant. At measure ten the mood begins to shift, and at mm.19-20 the piece moves away from the d minor tonal center and seems to focus more on the pitches F and G; these polychords seem to suggest at a feeling of bitonality which is reinforced by the secundal harmonies that move from V-I (F and G move to C and D). By highlighting F and G as tonal hubs, the listener feels aurally removed from the d minor key so that when the opening melodic motive is weaved in again at measure 28 accompanied by the secundal harmonies of F and G, it is harder to recognize and more dissonant; almost sinister. Through the use of the whole tone scale (beginning at measure 41) the tonal center is further obscured. This dissonance, created by unusual harmonies, the whole tone scale, and an obscured tonal center, saturates the overall mood of the piece; turning what would be simple French lullaby melodic motives into more interesting and eerie sounds.

opening bars

The 2/2 time signature, restrained tempo, and the dynamic marking which range from p to ppp give the piece a playfully relaxed feel further characterizing the elephant toy the piece was inspired by. The rhythmic and melodic motives that occur throughout the piece also create a sense of structure needed in a composition that lacks a clear tonal center and traditional harmonic cadence. One example is the rhythmic motive that occurs in the left hand in mm. 53-54 which is then repeated in the right hand in mm. 56-57. The opening melody also comes back a third time at measure 62 and in this reiteration it is clearly recognizable. Because of the clear return of the opening melodic motive toward the end and the more dissonant middle section, the piece almost feels like it has a ternary-type form and is then followed by a sort of coda which begins at measure 76 where Jimbo starts to slow down the slow pace of his clumsy step and the note values become longer and the melody seems to drift off ending on a final B flat.

A Radio With Guts

I like the idea of unstoppable music.  Music that no matter how much it is battered and thrown about it keeps playing with a subtle intensity.  I think being a musician or any type of artist it is easy to feel discouraged at times...a lot of the time.  There are so many mornings I wake up and ask myself what the hell I'm doing.  Sometimes I go through spells where I hate music.  Moments where I can't listen to anything but want to hear everything.  I think I started writing because I realized that half of what I say shouldn't be said out loud.  Loud; a. marked by intensity or volume of sound. b. obtrusive or offensive.  I think I started making music because I realized half of what I wanted to hear I couldn't find.  I think I'm still looking.  Because no matter how much I hate it at times and want to abandon it, it keeps following me, sitting in my passenger seat making trite comments about the sky; but it never leaves, a constant reminder that we're still alive, still making noise. Unstoppable.  And that's why I'm still here singing to you on a long distance phone call, why I stay up at night trying to figure out what three notes your refrigerator is humming.  Charles Bukowski knows what I'm talking about...

A Radio With Guts

it was on the 2nd floor on Coronado Street

I used to get drunk

and throw the radio through the window

while it was playing, and, of course,

it would break the glass in the window

and the radio would sit there on the roof

still playing

and I'd tell my woman,

"Ah, what a marvelous radio!"

the next morning I'd take the window

off the hinges

and carry it down the street

to the glass man

who would put in another pane.

I kept throwing that radio through the window

each time I got drunk

and it would sit there on the roof

still playing-

a magic radio

a radio with guts,

and each morning I'd take the window

back to the glass man.

I don't remember how it ended exactly

though I do remember

we finally moved out.

there was a woman downstairs who worked in

the garden in her bathing suit,

she really dug with that trowel

and she put her behind up in the air

and I used to sit in the window

and watch the sun shine all over that thing

while the music played.

Django: The Gypsy Legend

When Django Reinhardt was born in 1910, the life he entered was one in which stealing was a means of survival, but also one in which music was a means of celebration. Although the term “gypsy” has taken on romantic implications over the years, the Romany lifestyle was not, and is still not a romantic utopia. Django’s family lived in a caravan and traveled around Europe trying to make by as best they could.The gypsy culture was heavily centered on music; the violin, banjo, accordion, and other musical instruments were easy to transport and playing music in exchange for coins was also a source of financial income. From a very early age, Django was constantly surrounded by music he influence of his gypsy lifestyle, of the European culture, and of the American jazz scene are what made him one of the most important figures in jazz.

In a time in which jazz was not widely accepted, Django and Grappelly formed a wonderful duo that captivated the audience. Jazz was regarded as the devil’s music.Django produced a type of music that touched the hearts of jazz enthusiasts around the world. As Stéphane Grappelly said, “ ‘He did more for the guitar than any other man in jazz. His way of playing was unlike anyone else’s, and jazz is different because of him. There can be many other fine guitarists, but never can there be another Reinhardt. I am sure of that”

Górecki and innovation

After reading about the death of the polish composer Henryk Górecki I started thinking about musical innovation and what inspires someone to expand the way they think about music. Although in his later years his music was classified as minimalism and much of his work was extremely religious, the composer innovated music as one of the leading figures of the Polish avant-garde in the post-Stalin musical panorama. Many musicians, from Shostakovich to the punk bands that formed as a reaction to the conservative suburbs in which they lived, oppression seems to have cultivated some of the most astounding types of musical innovation.

I then stumbled upon this video of a man playing crystal glasses that also seemed very innovative and to stem from the discomfort of his situation. I think street performers present an interesting concept in the sense that they almost work against the system. As a music student, so many people constantly ask me what I'm going to do with my life and how I expect to make money, because making a living off of music is just unrealistic (or so they think). But the street performer like many people of gypsy culture (Django Reinhardt included) are forced to pick up an instrument to make some money. It's interesting how differently music can be approached. Anyway, this street performer playing classical tunes on these glasses is really talented so I hope he can at least support himself doing it. I guess I'd like to think talented musicians can always live off there art. "isn't it pretty to think so?" -Ernest Hemingway

Satie composes some slices of pear

Erik Satie
Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear (Trois morceaux en forme de poire)

-       1. Maniere de Commencement

-       2. Prolongation du Meme

-       3. Moreceaux 1: Lentement

-       4. Morceaux 2: En Leve

-       5. Morceaux 3: Brutal

-       6. En Plus. Calme

-       7. Redite. Dans le lent

Composed: 1903

Length: c. 13 minutes and 20 seconds

Orchestration: piano 4-hands

Erik Satie was a joker: an eccentric composer who saturated his work with humor, parody and critique. Whether playing motives from the Funeral March in Chopin’s sonata, leaving elaborate and at times ridiculous directions over measures in his scores or parodying Puccini’s operas, he found a way to use his wit and humor to poke fun at pedantry and musical restrictions in a beautiful and elegant way.

Uno de esos dias

"Todo pasa y todo queda

pero lo nuestro es pasar

pasar haciendo camino

camino sobre la mar"

Antes, hace dos o tres años era una persona llena de pasión.  La música y la literatura eran mis dos grandes amores, lo que llenaba de sustancia mi vida día a día.  Pero ahora…ahora me siento como si alguien hubiera tirado un cubo de agua encima de esa flama que tenía quemando dentro de mi ser.  Antes me pasaba el día leyendo, escribiendo, tocando…quería ser una artista, una intelectual.  Quería tener opiniones y poseer ideales por los cuales estaba dispuesta a luchar hasta la muerte.  Ahora, lo que escribo no me gusta y la música se ha convertido en un tipo de rutina mecánica y ya no se quien soy.  Por mis propias inseguridades no me atrevo a tocar. No me gusta la atención que conlleva.  Y en cuanto a lo que escribo, a veces no creo que eso sea lo mío…es decir, se como montar la formula pero la voz artística susurra desde un puesto triste y monótono.  No se que hacer.  Pueda que me este dando cuenta de que realmente, la creatividad tampoco es lo mío.  Es lo que quiero, más que otra cosa en el mundo quiero crear… pero hay días que me despierto y pienso que no es suficiente querer algo, que se tiene que llevar dentro y que realmente es hora de que me dedique a otra cosa.  Vaya mierda

A tribute to Carles Santos!

          
Last week for a course I am taking, we were assigned to create a piece of abstract/conceptual music.  My piece was based on the concept of frustration.  Practicing the piano and playing a page of endless trills earlier the other day,  I threw my hands on the keys in despair and that is where the idea came from.  I started thinking of unconventional ways to use the piano and I decided to write a piece without using my fingers.  I started thinking about frustration: a primitive emotion that makes us act out in abrupt almost slightly violent ways.  I used the two things that frustrate me the most: music and distance, as the conceptual basis for my piece.  I took my frustration with trills out on the rythm and used that rhythmic idea for the structure.

The Horror of Sound

In preparation for Halloween I have been watching a lot of cult horror films (Suspiria, Dead Alive, Evil Dead, etc.) and have been noticing that absent the sound track, the movies wouldn't be nearly as frightening. I remember being little and when a scary part of a movie was about to come on I would always cover my ears instead of my eyes. It's amazing how sound can provoke certain emotions. Is it a societal code that has trained us to know what "eerie" or "scary" is suppose to sound like? Why do we associate dissonant sound with unpleasant emotions and major chords with positive words like "happy"? When was it that human nature began to label it's soundtrack with qualities like that?

Since medieval times people have related the sound of the tritone to the devil, but are we conditioned to associate sounds with emotions? Is it something we are innately born with or a product of our society? I guess all I can say is that for everyone who is a wimp, like me, covering your ears when the movie gets too scary is a great way to feel a little more comfortable with watching horror films.

Operation Opera

Last month I went to see the Portland Opera's production of Pagliacci and Carmina Burana, and as I stood in line waiting to purchase student/senior rush tickets, I was sincerely shocked by the audience that had gathered to attend this performance. There were middle-aged regular opera-goers, some children running around in little dresses, and a a line of around 200 students and senior (over 65) opera enthusiasts that wrapped around the corner of the block! There is a seat for everyone at the opera; a good production can move people of all different ages because the power of the music transcends borders of age and touches on something deeper inside all of us; bringing us all together to laugh and cry and listen.

The innovative approach Robert Lepage is taking in directing Richard Wagner's 16 hour epic opera the "Ring" cycle, will probably succeed in bringing together an even more diverse audience than the one I shared my experience with a few days ago. Is opera a genre restricted to a select few with some type of musical knowledge, or is it a more universally accepting form of art based on themes that resonate within everybody? Either way, by making something flashy and different you can't help but grab people's attention Intentionally or not, Lepage has created something that will most likely expose people to opera and to Wagner's music who may have other wise remained eternally despondent. The 24-stage-length planks that move and shift to form rivers and mountains, and the video projections that make dancers hung on wires look like mermaids swimming in water, among other visually captivating techniques will spike the interest of more than just the opera enthusiast.

Just a little 12 tone matrix

 12-tone matrix for Weber’s “Wie bin ich froh, No.1 Op. 25”

 

  Io         I11         I8           I10         I9          I6           I3          I7           I2          I5           I4           I1

F#	F	D	E	Eb	C	A	C#	G#	B	Bb	G
G	F#	Eb	F	E	C#	Bb	D	A	C	B	G#
Bb	A	F#	G#	G	E	C#	F	C	Eb	D	B
G#	G	E	F#	F	D	B	Eb	Bb	C#	C	A
A	G#	F	G	F#	Eb	C	F	B	E	Eb	Bb
C	B	G#	Bb	A	F#	Eb	G	D	F	E	C#
Eb	D	B	C#	C	A	F#	Bb	F	G#	G	E
B	Bb	G	A	G#	F	D	F#	C#	E	Eb	C
E	Eb	C	D	C#	Bb	G	B	F#	A	G#	F
C#	C	A	B	Bb	G	E	G#	Eb	F#	F	D
D	C#	Bb	C	B	G#	F	A	E	G	F#	Eb
F	E	C#	Eb	D	B	G#	C	G	Bb	A	F#

RI                       

In “Wie bin ich froh”, Webern uses 12-tone composition to add structure to his piece. The first tone row that appears in the piece is: F#,F,D,E,Eb,C,A,C#,G#,B,Bb,G; this prime form appears many times