Rules for playing music in an ensemble

1. Everyone should play the same piece.
2. Observe the repeat signs only if what you just played was interesting.
3. If you play a wrong note, glare at one of the other players.
4. Carefully tune your instrument before playing. Then, if you play out of tune, you can at least do it with a clear conscience.
5. The right note, at the wrong time, is a wrong note. (And vice- versa.)
6. A wrong note, played timidly, is a wrong note.
7. A wrong note, played with authority, is simply your interpretation of the phrase.
8. If everyone gets lost except you, follow the ones who are lost.
9. Strive always to play the maximum notes per second. This will intimidate the weaker players and gain you the admiration of the ignorant.
10. Markings for slurs, dynamics, and accidentals should be completely ignored. They are only there to make the score look more complicated.
11. If a passage is difficult, slow down. If it is easy, speed up. Everything will even itself out in the end.
12. You have achieved a true interpretation when, in the end, you have not played one note of the original piece.
13. When everyone else stops playing, you should stop also. Do not play any notes you may have left over.
14. Blessed are those without perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.

New Phone

For years (well, two years and eight months) my Sony Ericsson dutifully served my various cell phone needs. The sturdy phone fell from great heights to the stage deck below on many occassions. A more girly cell phone may not have survived such death defying feats. On a regular basis the phone was subject to use (and sometimes abuse) by the younger folk. And yes, this beloved phone even recovered from a near drowning by Coca-Cola. Yikes!

Can you tell I have a slight bit of love for this phone? It's true; I do. Or, more accurately I did.

Last Friday evening moments before the start of a symphony concert my beloved cell phone went to sleep and was never to wake up again.

Pause for a moment of silence.

Sniff Sniff

Now it is true, I had been cautioned by dear friends that my Sony Ericsson phone was probably entering it's final days and that I should take the time to transfer all of the data to a safe place (especially the valuable private cell phone numbers of many guest artists). Did I listen? No. To those of you who warned of this tragic event, I was wrong and you were right.

Needless to say, I depend heavily on my cell phone and need rapid access to a wide array of numbers. With my recent cell phone purchase I decided an upgrade was in order - the purchase of my first SmartPhone was in order. I picked up a new Palm Centro on Saturday morning and might I just say ----I love it. :) And for those of you who worry that I might lose valuable phone numbers again, have no fear - the PalmCentro is synchronized with my laptop and Outlook Contacts on a daily basis.

On another note, yes I know I have been away from my blog for awhile. My sincere apologies. Stop by and watch for a few new blogs as I attempt to catch up in the coming days.

Awwww!

Now, that's a hungry and messy boy!

Celemony: Direct Note Access

According to the website Direct Note Access is a technology that makes the impossible possible: for the first time in audio recording history you can identify and edit individual notes within polyphonic audio material. The unique access that Melodyne affords to pitch, timing, note lengths and other parameters of melodic notes will now also be afforded to individual notes within chords.

Examples of use:tune a guitar after recording, correct harmony vocals that are out of tune, or fix their timing, turn major chords to minor (and vice versa), switch tone scales, mute single notes, remix volume levels, etc. – all after the performance is already taped!

As a techie, I am intrigued by the capacity of this software. As one deeply connected with the performing arts I question the implications of the availability of this software. Will recording artists need only go to the studio and offer a sample or two and let the engineers do the work? Yes, the technology would allow it - realistically does the time involved make such a project viable? These are all questions that make for interesting conversations. With software like this, the audio engineer becomes as much the artist as the performer.

The Society Pages?

The Society Pages? Is it possible? Do such things still exist outside of New York? Why yes, why yes they do. Amarillo has their own version of society pages, well there are few - but one in particular is Accent West.

Accent West is a magazine that's primary attraction are the photos of peeps attending special events throughout the area. I would include a link to the magazine, but unfortunately they are not online.

Each year, the Symphony Ball is the highlight of the April issue of the magazine. If you open this April's copy - you might be surprised to see my smiling face looking back at you. Yeppers, next to the diamonds and furs, I made the society pages. Not too shabby, eh?

Yes, mother - I'll work on getting an extra copy for you. :)