10/31/11
10/15/11
civil disagreement
meaning, i am having quite the interesting discussion with a person i respect as a musician. it's interesting, as we have many similar and differing views. for every piece we agree on, there is one we disagree. such is humanity
but a statement made is sticking with me more than others, bouncing around, resounding in my being.
when speaking of art, i said " I fight for my dreams, but accept people are not, on a whole good. in fact, most are selfish creatures...* Doesn't mean I'm not out there every day playing, writing, creating, and trying to make it happen. I just start myself from a harder selling point; "this person doesn't give a crap about what i do...how do i make him/her care?"
the answer" It is not your job to change their mind...do what you passionately believe in while evolving on your journey."
That is a statement i cannot believe in. why?
Because it is my job. It is the job of everyone in the arts. It is the job of everyone in every field. Why should anyone support you if you do not try and get them to support you?
for instance, let's say i put on a concert. I do a little advertising: facebook event, post it on my website, throw up a poster where I'm doing the concert, maybe a few more around town. twenty or so people show up. I know every single person in the crowd. they are my friends...I charged $10 at the door, and they paid, to support me. that's great.
but i didn't reach a single person. that's not an "audience." It's my friends donating to me. they're supporting me because they are my friends. this is not a sustainable audience. this isn't presenting any idea to anyone.
it's preaching to the choir
The arts do not exist in a vacuum. I live in society. As it changes, I change. Society is a living, breathing organism of it's own. I won't sit in my dark empty concert hall consoled by the fact that I'm "the greatest composer ever and one of the best trombonists of this century!" if no one knows it. It's like the Onion article, 97-Year-Old Dies Unaware of Being Violin Prodigy
At the same time, i was having a conversation with another friend that said "Artists are their own brand" (paraphrase as i closed the conversation). Meaning, the only way for an artist to succeed is to put him/herself out there, do the leg work, present their ideas, build an image, build up a group of people that will follow them, touch some lives, bring out new ideas.
Talk about getting both ends at the same time, right?
How i replied to the first conversation is the only answer I really have:
If we can't change their minds, the arts will die. It is part of our jobs as artists to do more than be self-referential. If all i do is sit, practice my craft, get better, it is nothing. If i give a concert and 20 people show up, something is wrong.
All it takes to change a ind is presenting the material. take 15 minutes to try and help someone understand your perspective. you may not change their minds, but if you never try, then you'll be happy with your 20 audience members and be done. and if i wasn't willing to present my ideas, to let you see my side, to "try and change your mind," we'd never have this conversation. And no one would see it, no one would know that we even think about these things.
I will not go quietly into the night, sitting in my empty concert hall. you may call it idealism, but music can change the world. the arts are society. I will live in it, breathe in it, and present my views of it...it is being an artist...we do not live in a vacuum...
it's not force...it's trying to reach people. if you don't believe you can change their minds, why bother trying to reach them? it's accepting the 20 people as enough. I see a world of people that don't care because they don't know {what i do}. So I'm going to go out, present what i do, not "force" anyone to listen, but give them the opportunity {to hear the music i create}. If i sit in White Hall (concert hall at UMKC) that will not happen. it's not force, it's presentation. it's not accepting the norm, but seeing what we could do...
without that, there is no evolution
And yes, I still respect the person with whom this conversation has happened. He is a fantastic man that does more for "new music" than huge portions of classical music society. I just don't want it to stop, to reach complacency. This man does far more than even I for my own art...it's as a large group of musicians I worry, and as a larger society.
There is always more that can be done...
i am young and idealistic, after all.
***EDIT***
And as the final statement in our discussion, stated by my esteemed colleague "THE ARTS MATTER!!!!!!!!"
and, of course, i "liked" the statement. We are, of course, on the same page. prolly more a rant from a single statement not meant to trouble me so. but getting me to think isn't hard and always good.
*Yes, i am a pessimist.
but a statement made is sticking with me more than others, bouncing around, resounding in my being.
when speaking of art, i said " I fight for my dreams, but accept people are not, on a whole good. in fact, most are selfish creatures...* Doesn't mean I'm not out there every day playing, writing, creating, and trying to make it happen. I just start myself from a harder selling point; "this person doesn't give a crap about what i do...how do i make him/her care?"
the answer" It is not your job to change their mind...do what you passionately believe in while evolving on your journey."
That is a statement i cannot believe in. why?
Because it is my job. It is the job of everyone in the arts. It is the job of everyone in every field. Why should anyone support you if you do not try and get them to support you?
for instance, let's say i put on a concert. I do a little advertising: facebook event, post it on my website, throw up a poster where I'm doing the concert, maybe a few more around town. twenty or so people show up. I know every single person in the crowd. they are my friends...I charged $10 at the door, and they paid, to support me. that's great.
but i didn't reach a single person. that's not an "audience." It's my friends donating to me. they're supporting me because they are my friends. this is not a sustainable audience. this isn't presenting any idea to anyone.
it's preaching to the choir
The arts do not exist in a vacuum. I live in society. As it changes, I change. Society is a living, breathing organism of it's own. I won't sit in my dark empty concert hall consoled by the fact that I'm "the greatest composer ever and one of the best trombonists of this century!" if no one knows it. It's like the Onion article, 97-Year-Old Dies Unaware of Being Violin Prodigy
At the same time, i was having a conversation with another friend that said "Artists are their own brand" (paraphrase as i closed the conversation). Meaning, the only way for an artist to succeed is to put him/herself out there, do the leg work, present their ideas, build an image, build up a group of people that will follow them, touch some lives, bring out new ideas.
Talk about getting both ends at the same time, right?
How i replied to the first conversation is the only answer I really have:
If we can't change their minds, the arts will die. It is part of our jobs as artists to do more than be self-referential. If all i do is sit, practice my craft, get better, it is nothing. If i give a concert and 20 people show up, something is wrong.
All it takes to change a ind is presenting the material. take 15 minutes to try and help someone understand your perspective. you may not change their minds, but if you never try, then you'll be happy with your 20 audience members and be done. and if i wasn't willing to present my ideas, to let you see my side, to "try and change your mind," we'd never have this conversation. And no one would see it, no one would know that we even think about these things.
I will not go quietly into the night, sitting in my empty concert hall. you may call it idealism, but music can change the world. the arts are society. I will live in it, breathe in it, and present my views of it...it is being an artist...we do not live in a vacuum...
it's not force...it's trying to reach people. if you don't believe you can change their minds, why bother trying to reach them? it's accepting the 20 people as enough. I see a world of people that don't care because they don't know {what i do}. So I'm going to go out, present what i do, not "force" anyone to listen, but give them the opportunity {to hear the music i create}. If i sit in White Hall (concert hall at UMKC) that will not happen. it's not force, it's presentation. it's not accepting the norm, but seeing what we could do...
without that, there is no evolution
And yes, I still respect the person with whom this conversation has happened. He is a fantastic man that does more for "new music" than huge portions of classical music society. I just don't want it to stop, to reach complacency. This man does far more than even I for my own art...it's as a large group of musicians I worry, and as a larger society.
There is always more that can be done...
i am young and idealistic, after all.
***EDIT***
And as the final statement in our discussion, stated by my esteemed colleague "THE ARTS MATTER!!!!!!!!"
and, of course, i "liked" the statement. We are, of course, on the same page. prolly more a rant from a single statement not meant to trouble me so. but getting me to think isn't hard and always good.
*Yes, i am a pessimist.
10/8/11
Black House Kick Ass Brigade
Oopes, I mean Black House Improvisors' Collective
This is how we do it in KC. Raw, passionate, in your face, with tons of originality. Of the groups I've played with over the years, this is the group of which I am most proud.
Of course, be polite. all the music is copyrighted, after all. Hunter Long is offering it up as advertisement so people come out to our next shows. So, if you're in KC, hit up one of our shows at the end of the workshop Next one comes in December
http://blackhouse.typepad.com/blackhouse/2011/10/live-at-a-esquina-2011.html
/EDIT/ There's a new "core" group of Black House! check out the typepad site for more info. Great to see these news works getting continued life!
10/3/11
oh those little festivals
I spent my weekend in the clutches of EMM (Electronic Music Midwest). It was the first large festival i've ever attended. I've been a part of smaller regional type festivals (Exchange of Midwest College Composer, International Electroacoustic Music Festival, CUNY New Music Festival), but nothing as wide reaching as EMM. in the Spring, i will be attending SEAMUS (Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States), another large festival.
I felt like a light weight. I only hit 7 out of 9 concerts. yep, i skipped 2. One was an afternoon concert when i really just needed a break, the other a morning concert directly prior to my own piece being performed.
In the end, I am quite music'ed out. heh. It was nice to go to a series of electronic concerts and NOT be working in some fashion. I worked a fair amount of IEAMF concerts, work extensively with KcEMA, and was in charge of all tech of EMC2. on top of that, i run electronics for Musica Nova, the new music ensemble, UMKC Composers' Guild concerts, and freelance around town.
I want to quit freelancing.
If i never see a microphone again, i'll be happy.
After this conference, i dunno...i'm shaken...there was music i liked
there was music i did not like
I found Joanna Demers to be correct in her discussion about aesthetics of electronic music about 80% of the time.
I disagree with Joanna Demers and her sentiments regarding electronic music
this is leading me to a lot of questions...questions that need answered
I felt like a light weight. I only hit 7 out of 9 concerts. yep, i skipped 2. One was an afternoon concert when i really just needed a break, the other a morning concert directly prior to my own piece being performed.
In the end, I am quite music'ed out. heh. It was nice to go to a series of electronic concerts and NOT be working in some fashion. I worked a fair amount of IEAMF concerts, work extensively with KcEMA, and was in charge of all tech of EMC2. on top of that, i run electronics for Musica Nova, the new music ensemble, UMKC Composers' Guild concerts, and freelance around town.
I want to quit freelancing.
If i never see a microphone again, i'll be happy.
After this conference, i dunno...i'm shaken...there was music i liked
there was music i did not like
I found Joanna Demers to be correct in her discussion about aesthetics of electronic music about 80% of the time.
I disagree with Joanna Demers and her sentiments regarding electronic music
this is leading me to a lot of questions...questions that need answered
9/25/11
delusions of grandeur
ah, the smell of fall is in the air. which means there's all sorts of musical memories floating around
Fall is the season for H.S. marching band
Fall is the time prospectives prepare for auditions. DMA prospy's are cleaning up portfolios for their first round of submissions. Undergrad seniors are considering MM's, starting to do the paper work, and realizing they're gonna get screwed by their workload...and then considering taking a year off.
undergrad seniors are getting together apps to send off, thinking about audition material for the spring...
oh, who am I kidding? 17/18 y/os aren't thinking that hard about it yet. They're too busy with fall activities (sports, marching band, all those AP classes...).
But, deep down, they're all thinking about music.
Which brings me to the real point of this post.
Music brings in people from all different paths. There are those wishing to perform, those wishing to teach...usually in the beginning it's just those two. in some places lucky enough to be a near a conservatory with an active youth program, will be thinking about composition or other academic areas. But, usually, that comes a bit later.
Most of us can point to an experience or a person that sent us down our path at every level. For some it's just the inexorable journey toward a doctorate; the grim acceptance that to make it in the professional "classical" world you need that slip of paper. for others, it was a band/orchestra/choir director. Others it was a fabulous private lesson teacher. Maybe it was having a visiting woodwind quintet step in and give a performance and talk about music, or the local conservatory's graduate string quartet dropping by to drum up interest in a school.
Or...maybe...just maybe...
it was that infernal radio/ipod/internet radio
Secretly, i think we all have the same reason for getting into music...
I call it "The Rock Star Syndrome."
We'd listen to our favorite bands from HS and think "I wanna do that!" We try and start garage bands, but realize that trombone, piano, flute, and a horn player picking up his/her dad's bass and fumbling around does not make a very "metal" sounding group. on top of that, the lyrics sucked and Bach just kept creeping in...
We try to learn guitar, and talk to some non-band/orchestra/choir friends about being in a garage band. Maybe some of your friends started one and you pitched being the keyboard played cause "i've got a Clavinova at home! Sounds just like a real piano!" of course, they want a Dave Smith Poly Evolver, or maybe a Micro Korg...and most certainly think you're not "cool" enough for the band.
We all just wanted to be rock/rap/pop/soul/metal/country/not-classical stars.
we didn't want to be on PBS, we wanted to be on MTV/VH1/BET. we didn't want to be on Decca or Naxos or even Nonesuch records. We wanted to be on Roadrunner, Columbia, or Epic records.
but it wasn't in the cards. It wasn't what we were meant for
Still, we love the lights. love the attention. We wanted to entertain, have fun, bring the joy to others...be in the spotlight. Even as educators, we loved to be the conductor, the person up front, getting the attention. We try to hide it, but we still love the rush that comes after that first down-beat, the kick of leading a group in a single activity, the taste of power, and the amazing release after the final cutoff of a "kick ass totally metal concert of Holst!"
and we still listen to our favorite songs/bands. There is plotting of doing an arrangement of "Waterfalls" for the pep band, incorporating death metal into your next symphony, or drafting a paper about Britney Spears and the loss of self to corporate America, or analyzing the use of gesture carried structure in the works of Radiohead or Daft Punk
in the end, no matter what level of education we are, not matter the original path, the heroes/heroines, the years of arduous study of history/theory/technique/pedagogy/conducting/performance/composition, the complaining about work load, looking for jobs, all the concerts/presentations/backslashes
we all just wish we were rock stars
well, at least i do
Fall is the season for H.S. marching band
Fall is the time prospectives prepare for auditions. DMA prospy's are cleaning up portfolios for their first round of submissions. Undergrad seniors are considering MM's, starting to do the paper work, and realizing they're gonna get screwed by their workload...and then considering taking a year off.
undergrad seniors are getting together apps to send off, thinking about audition material for the spring...
oh, who am I kidding? 17/18 y/os aren't thinking that hard about it yet. They're too busy with fall activities (sports, marching band, all those AP classes...).
But, deep down, they're all thinking about music.
Which brings me to the real point of this post.
Music brings in people from all different paths. There are those wishing to perform, those wishing to teach...usually in the beginning it's just those two. in some places lucky enough to be a near a conservatory with an active youth program, will be thinking about composition or other academic areas. But, usually, that comes a bit later.
Most of us can point to an experience or a person that sent us down our path at every level. For some it's just the inexorable journey toward a doctorate; the grim acceptance that to make it in the professional "classical" world you need that slip of paper. for others, it was a band/orchestra/choir director. Others it was a fabulous private lesson teacher. Maybe it was having a visiting woodwind quintet step in and give a performance and talk about music, or the local conservatory's graduate string quartet dropping by to drum up interest in a school.
Or...maybe...just maybe...
it was that infernal radio/ipod/internet radio
Secretly, i think we all have the same reason for getting into music...
I call it "The Rock Star Syndrome."
We'd listen to our favorite bands from HS and think "I wanna do that!" We try and start garage bands, but realize that trombone, piano, flute, and a horn player picking up his/her dad's bass and fumbling around does not make a very "metal" sounding group. on top of that, the lyrics sucked and Bach just kept creeping in...
We try to learn guitar, and talk to some non-band/orchestra/choir friends about being in a garage band. Maybe some of your friends started one and you pitched being the keyboard played cause "i've got a Clavinova at home! Sounds just like a real piano!" of course, they want a Dave Smith Poly Evolver, or maybe a Micro Korg...and most certainly think you're not "cool" enough for the band.
We all just wanted to be rock/rap/pop/soul/metal/country/not-classical stars.
we didn't want to be on PBS, we wanted to be on MTV/VH1/BET. we didn't want to be on Decca or Naxos or even Nonesuch records. We wanted to be on Roadrunner, Columbia, or Epic records.
but it wasn't in the cards. It wasn't what we were meant for
Still, we love the lights. love the attention. We wanted to entertain, have fun, bring the joy to others...be in the spotlight. Even as educators, we loved to be the conductor, the person up front, getting the attention. We try to hide it, but we still love the rush that comes after that first down-beat, the kick of leading a group in a single activity, the taste of power, and the amazing release after the final cutoff of a "kick ass totally metal concert of Holst!"
and we still listen to our favorite songs/bands. There is plotting of doing an arrangement of "Waterfalls" for the pep band, incorporating death metal into your next symphony, or drafting a paper about Britney Spears and the loss of self to corporate America, or analyzing the use of gesture carried structure in the works of Radiohead or Daft Punk
in the end, no matter what level of education we are, not matter the original path, the heroes/heroines, the years of arduous study of history/theory/technique/pedagogy/conducting/performance/composition, the complaining about work load, looking for jobs, all the concerts/presentations/backslashes
we all just wish we were rock stars
well, at least i do
9/4/11
What to do...
I am sitting here with the "Join" page to BMI standing open. I just closed ASCAP's page after discussing the issue with a few of my composerly friends. But...i just don't know what to do.
I've read all the material on BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC. How they all pay out is basically the same, the math just, well...doesn't quite add up completely. Nothing ever does, does it? I question whether or not people are fairly represented.
I also don't believe in a great deal of the licensing idea. I don't understand why i can't negotiate it all myself...And i'm confused that even as I "pay to play," I somehow make royalties. So, the bar pays royalties, and i get those royalties, but I pay them for the right to play, making $1 for every $10 they bring in...but then they're paying...wait, huh?
Exactly. The whole business just continues to make no sense to me, no matter how i try to rap my head around it.
But that's not the question. At the end of the day, i look at my calendar and...I have at least 3 performances this semester. I'll prolly end up snagging 1 more somewhere, i'm sure. While it's not like i'm getting huge play, if i can get 10 performances in the next "school" year, August to August, that'd be amazing.
I also don't believe in a great deal of the licensing idea. I don't understand why i can't negotiate it all myself...And i'm confused that even as I "pay to play," I somehow make royalties. So, the bar pays royalties, and i get those royalties, but I pay them for the right to play, making $1 for every $10 they bring in...but then they're paying...wait, huh?
Exactly. The whole business just continues to make no sense to me, no matter how i try to rap my head around it.
But that's not the question. At the end of the day, i look at my calendar and...I have at least 3 performances this semester. I'll prolly end up snagging 1 more somewhere, i'm sure. While it's not like i'm getting huge play, if i can get 10 performances in the next "school" year, August to August, that'd be amazing.
And, if i join one of these groups, i'll make some money doing it. Not a lot, but i'll make money.
So, what do I do? I'm morally opposed to so much of it. I don't make the art for the money. But...if i could make an extra few hundred bucks...why not?
So, what do I do? I'm morally opposed to so much of it. I don't make the art for the money. But...if i could make an extra few hundred bucks...why not?
So, i really need opinions peeps. BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, or keep it as it is?
not to mention i should really build a "store" or something to "buy" music. gawd...really?
not to mention i should really build a "store" or something to "buy" music. gawd...really?
8/30/11
Ah, Music Appreciation
How i have missed thee.
I've now taught 5 different courses, some technical (Music Applications for Computers/Intro to Music Tech I), some creative (Digital Audio and MIDI courses), but the pure fun of music appreciation just can't be matched.
As a music lover and educator, it's nearly the perfect circumstances. In college, Music Appreciation can usually fulfill a "gen ed" requirement. At Brooklyn College, they have "Core Curriculum" requirements that are split into a couple different courses you can take to fulfill. Music Appreciation is one of a few. The same is true at KCKCC.
Why does that create a nice environment? These students don't have to be there. Granted, their options are limited, but if they had no interest in music, there are other areas. of course there are other considerations- it may have been the only class the fits their schedule. Maybe it's the "least of all the evils" and the student still hates music.
Those are all possibilities.
But in any case, it's not like teaching English 101 (or whatever Comp I is). I've had many a friend teach that course. It's a requirement at almost every university. You either take it or pass out of it, but there is no way around the subject coming up. the question becomes how to get the required information to students while engaging them in a class that almost all do not want to be in.
I've got a better starting point. The students want to learn something about music. On top of that, a solid portion of the country enjoys listening to music. Maybe not Western Art Music, but music in general.
It's a bit easier to grab a crowd that wanders in with a little interest.
Oh, Music Appreciation, how i've missed you. Watching students puzzle over the question of "What is music?...Because, of course, we can't learn about a subject until we know what it is we are studying."
To watch everyone tap their feet and clap their hands and realize that it isn't some magic secret- it's just learning new words for what they already felt.
To see the looks of horror the first time you play Penderecki, or the screams of "This isn't music!" when i put on Cage's 4'33...and the ensuing discussion of the importance of questioning preconceptions of music and art. I'm sure some of my students get annoyed when they see my half grin, trying to force back a laugh, as they struggle with questions that too many musicians never even ask themselves.
And to see their eyes light up as math, physics, sociology, psychology, physiology, biology, etymology, semiotics, literature, history, and any other subject they could imagine is brought into the fold
And this is just what i do in the first two weeks
Those are all possibilities.
But in any case, it's not like teaching English 101 (or whatever Comp I is). I've had many a friend teach that course. It's a requirement at almost every university. You either take it or pass out of it, but there is no way around the subject coming up. the question becomes how to get the required information to students while engaging them in a class that almost all do not want to be in.
I've got a better starting point. The students want to learn something about music. On top of that, a solid portion of the country enjoys listening to music. Maybe not Western Art Music, but music in general.
It's a bit easier to grab a crowd that wanders in with a little interest.
Oh, Music Appreciation, how i've missed you. Watching students puzzle over the question of "What is music?...Because, of course, we can't learn about a subject until we know what it is we are studying."
To watch everyone tap their feet and clap their hands and realize that it isn't some magic secret- it's just learning new words for what they already felt.
To see the looks of horror the first time you play Penderecki, or the screams of "This isn't music!" when i put on Cage's 4'33...and the ensuing discussion of the importance of questioning preconceptions of music and art. I'm sure some of my students get annoyed when they see my half grin, trying to force back a laugh, as they struggle with questions that too many musicians never even ask themselves.
And to see their eyes light up as math, physics, sociology, psychology, physiology, biology, etymology, semiotics, literature, history, and any other subject they could imagine is brought into the fold
And this is just what i do in the first two weeks
just wait till we hit organum
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