and then there were...

i am sad that shift-tab doesn't seem to go back on this screen. hm...tab doesn't keep going either. hm.

still getting used to Google Chrome. undoubtedly something with that.

Anyway, rocking the new monitor. it allows me to procrastinate 10x more efficiently!

I had this thought last night of doing some theoretical work based on transpositions based upon circular movement. not rotational like [ a b c d] [ d a b c] [c d a b] and so on, but actually based on movement around a circle, like a clock. create a web of notes extending from a center point with their movement based upon the distance between each point. so, say D1 is [ 0 1 2 3], then D2, which is 10 degrees around the circle might be something like [ 0 2 4 6] and D3 may end up [ 0 3 7 10] or something...of course, they might not end up a fibonacci sequence like that, but, yeah, have it based upon distance and such.

i'm almost sure someone has done this. there's so much work currently being done about mapping sequences (especially for pitch) in a 3D framework that it probably has been done. More widely likely is that someone has done so in mathematics. Seriously, what don't crazy mathematicians try? lol. it's quite astounding

I'm NOT a mathematician. i had a general dislike of math. and for what is, possibly, an odd reason; there is always a specific discernible answer. yep, that's why i dislike math...cause there's always an answer. you do these 50,000 steps, and you will arrive at it. I had more of a thing for theoretical physics and chemistry, when you came up with crazy ideas...then had to find the math to prove it. lol. i'm sure high enough math is the same thing, i just had no patience to learn the 50,000 earlier steps to get there, so, i didn't. lol

I suck at math. it's a problem. I'm also not very good at recognizing complex patterns. like "find all of the [ 0 1 4] occurrences. yep...i don't make a good theorist. lol

on another note, Ped of Comp was again tonight. man, i love this class. we spoke a bit about last weeks seminar, when Dr. Chen and Dr. Rudy came through and discussed their approaches. then we talked about SillyBuses. finally, about different methodologies specific to teaching composition. Seriously, a good class.

And i love how we get in fights, in every class. lol. the good kind, where we disagree, and argue, then laugh about it and talk about getting into bar fights. seriously. the people are genuinely intelligent and thoughtful about how to teach. and a nice chunk have taught, which is nice. i keep looking at things from an "education majors" perspective, which is definitely different, and it's great to see all these different opinions. it really is stretching my imagination and challenging my preconceptions of teaching composition. great experience.

well, i'm gonna head to bed. got class in the morning. boo. lata peeps

later than i thought

Ok, for some reason tonight has flown by. dunno why. It's 10:30, and my evening, since getting home around 7, i feel like i have done nothing. i mean, i made dinner...which, btw, was a failure. it happens. lol. but other than that, i've talked to a friend about computer monitors and having a conversation with another friend.

sometimes, i wonder about post-secondary education, especially grad schools. Ok, so i got into my "first choices" both times for grad school. I call it luck. seriously. Especially UMKC right now. there was a spot open, i met with them, did my best to impress everyone, and guess i did alright. I do not think i would have faired well at some other schools i looked at; Princeton, Cornell, Stanford...

but, i feel as though if you follow your dreams to their utmost, pushing and pushing, no matter what, you will end up where you belong doing what needs done, having conversations that must happen, and becoming whoever it is you need to be.

Ped of Composition was interesting, hearing two very different insights into teaching compositions. On one hand, there was a teacher that was very technique oriented as a short-term goal, and a long term goal of finding individual voice. on the other hand was a teacher that was all about imagination and that technique can be learned everywhere and who is s/he to tell the student that his note is "wrong" even if it's not "proper voice leading."

Very interesting. I definitely tend toward the learn technique elsewhere, i'm here to push you in other ways. Not 100% sure what ways, but the part-writing is something i learned in Theory class and by studying how others wrote outside of class. I learned to write a melody by listening to the Beatles, Ozzy Osbourn, Bullet for My Valentine, Beethoven, Bruckner, Cage, Penderecki, and, well, everyone else i've ever heard. the same with harmony. and rhythm.

but who i am as a composer, well, that took a lot of leading from those before me. Carlos with his "You sound like this person! Listen to these 25 pieces for next week! and write me more music. Be you, not Hindemith" (i found that insulting, as i did not like Hindemith at the time...in fact, i still don't particularly like him.) The Doug Cohen with his sitting there, nodding, asking me what I thought of the piece, and letting me babble for an hour. And then saying, at the end "well, it seems you know what you need to do." And Skip...oh Skip. those were some of the most enlightening times of my life. Seriously. I think he should charge more for his sessions. and it definitely feels like therapy every time.

Still...it makes me think. Also, a question was posed about a fluid "SillyBus" and a more fluid way of dealing with what may occur in a class to guide assessment. For some reason, i always thought of classes as being pretty fluid, and assignments being moved around and changed. Maybe its because i always put things in my "SillyBuses" like "Other assignments may be added as the semester progresses depending on certain outcomes of the class." like, me teaching one class 12 tone technique, having them do a matrix, then write a piece using my "theory" handout. or taking a class into a computer lab for 3 sessions and doing a mashup using a bunch of samples i gave them.

Anyway, fluidity is nice. And i'm not sure what time it is what i'm doing, other than writing this. something seems to have snapped in my brain tonight. i bet if i looked in the mirror, my ears would be bleeding. lol.

and the TriCaster doesn't seem that bad, at first glance