Rex was constantly being cast in musical, but he felt he could not sing that well, so he developed this type of rhythmic speech that worked quite well. The song really cranks up about 30 seconds in.
Used as a class resource for Music Appreciation at Macon State. The instructor will probably also pontificate once in a while, but better in a blog than in class! (Much less boring that way).
Monday, September 24, 2012
One Thurd Video....aaaaand....
Rex was constantly being cast in musical, but he felt he could not sing that well, so he developed this type of rhythmic speech that worked quite well. The song really cranks up about 30 seconds in.
Monday, September 17, 2012
In class presentations
- The conversational aspect is typical. If I see you aren't going to cover something sufficiently, I'll ask questions about it..... at least until the midterm. By then you should know how this goes.
- Sometimes we'll chase a rabbit. Just go with the flow!
- Make sure you cover the list of things you should - see the syllabus!
- Talk TO your audience.
- Don't be afraid to say, "I think this is what it is, but I'm guessing."
- Style: WHY is it that style?
- Style: Sometimes the song is MOSTLY this, but also has a bit o' that and the other. That's OK - but explain what parts of the song sound like this or that or the other.
- "I'm not sure I need some Help" is fine as long as you've seriously given it your best shot at figuring it out on your own.
- Use your ears as well as the 'net research to tell what instruments are playing.
- Come PREPARED. You can't prep for this in 10 minutes and expect a good grade. KNOW your stuff. Know what you don't know as well.....and feel free to ask!
Friday, September 14, 2012
TEST 1: Graded, plus some notes
Remember that your score is out of 79 points possible [NOT 100!].
Some interesting comments on the listening --> here are some highlights [anonymous and edited, of course!]. How long did you listen, how often, and on what?
- about 2 different occasions of at least an hour and a half on my computer
- I listened to the music for a week (2 times a day at home)
- I listened to the CD in the beginning of class, when i first bought the book and the music together. Then i stopped for a few weeks and began listening to it again 3 or 4 days before the test. I listened to it in the car, my iphone, computer, headphones and speakers.
- I listened through kamien connect....and if a piece wasn't on there I youtube'd it. I listened to each song a few times and tried to memorize the artist with the song.
- I listened to the music for about 30 minutes for about 4 days....in iTunes.
- I listened to the music for the test maybe three or four times this week. I only listened to the CD one time through and took notes on things that stuck out to me on each song, so I maybe listened to the entire CD in 15 minutes from my computer. In actuality I do not believe it was enough....
- I listened to the music in about six segments but, not all of the songs at once. I would listen to just a few every now and then. I started listening last week.
- I listened to the music every other day for about 3 hours. I listened to it on an ipod and no, it wasnt enough.
- Honestly, I didn't really start listening to the music until last night. I listened to all the songs twice (except Britten) so that's probably about one and a half to two hours. I enjoyed the music but I know I should have spent more time with it. As far as what I listened to it with, I used iTunes.
- I listen to the music a lot on kamien connect...could have listen to a few of the songs longer
- I listened to the cd about once a week in my car until the week of the test. I listened to the elements songs on connect over and over on Monday and the Medieval/Renaissance songs on Tuesday for the most part, but still reviewed over all of the songs together.
- I listen to the cds every night and in the car on my way to school while following along in my book and the notes I took to remember
- Not long. I listened to it at home on my laptop and playstation 3 and certainly it was not enough.
- I did not listen well enough to the music.
- I listened to it for a couple hours per day this week. I listened to the cd while following along with my listening guide. I often quizzed myself on what song was playing. Yes, it was enough material to understand what each song was and it was very easy to follow along with the listening guide while listening to the cd. It was a bit overwhelming at first knowing there was 64 tracks on the cd but once I got to listening to them it was easy to figure out what song was what. It was just a little hard to remember the composers.
- daily, stereo & iPod, almost
- I listened to it for a little over a week and in my car and on my computer. I dont think it was quite enough time for me to remember all of them.
- On my laptop - no it was not long enough.
- Either 5 or 6 days for 30 minutes a day.
- I started listening to the music towards the end of last week. Yeah, I know I've should have listened to them way before! Actually, I really enjoyed them! I really didn't expect I would. I played them on my media player on my lap top.
- I listened to the music about 5 hours altogether in my home and car.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Note on the test grades....
Once I get your listening score typed in, you'll be able to see your test grade. Your grade is NOT out of 100 points, though, so DO NOT PANIC if your grade is a 75.
There are only [I think] 79 points possible, so a 75 is actually 75/79, considerable better than a 75%.
The Vista gradebook has listed how many points are actually possible.
Remember that there is a downloadable grades spreadsheet where you can type in your grades and keep track of your average.
I will be posting another blog entry when all the grades get typed in, so keep an eye out for it!
Next week: BAROQUE
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Kamien Connect issues last week
Between Thursday night, August 30th and Tuesday, September 4th, we had four system interruptions that impacted students’ ability to take their McGraw-Hill Connect assignments. ....... Please be assured that no student assignment data was lost and all other components of the Connect platform were available during these periods.
......these interruptions were not caused by either the volume of students using Connect, nor any problem with the software itself. The interruptions were caused by human errors in the configuration and monitoring of our hosting infrastructure. We are currently working with our hosting service providers to prevent any future occurrences. These measures include additional 24/7 monitoring of our systems along with an augmentation of the number of staff dedicated to this monitoring.
Just an "FYI"!
Please keep me posted about Connect and how it's working.
Concerts that count - one is this weekend
September 8th @ 4pm–5pm PAC New Harmonies Exhibit officially opens to the public from 4–5pm.
Here is the website if you need more information. www.perryga.com. There is a downloadable PDF with all the details about the exhibit AND a listing of all the concerts.
The concerts below would count for the class. NOTE THAT SEVERAL CHARGE ADMISSION - and that these are hardly the only possibilities!
Some info from the site - the capitalization errors come from the copy/paste process, but I don't want to take the hour to fix them all!:
September 8tH • 6pm • perry HigH Auditorium 1307 NortH AveNue • perry
Grammy nominated artist, Robert McDuffie, performs Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the McDuffie Center String Ensemble. Tickets for sale: $10 advance / $15 at the door. Tickets sold at Welcome Center and Perry Area Historical Museum.
Robert McDuffie was born in Macon, Georgia into a very musically gifted family; his mother Susan and younger sister Margerie are pianists while Robert became a violinist. He went to New York to attend the Julliard School. Robert McDuffie has since become an internationally, renowned violin- ist, playing as a soloist in major orchestras around the world. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 1990 for his performance of concertos by Leonard Bernstein and William Schumann.
McDuffie founded the Rome Chamber Festival in 2003, an idea he had created the year before while on sabbatical in Rome. “Its identity adheres to a true international ideal by inviting musicians from all over the world.” The festival is a five-day musical event held in June that presents five different concert programs of both classical and contemporary pieces to sold-out audiences.
In 2004, McDuffie began serving as the head of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University and as a Distinguished University Professor of Music. The Center gives students conservatory-quality music training and opportunities to perform in festivals like the Rome Chamber Festival and the Aspen Music Festival. Enrollment is limited to 26 students: twelve violinists, six violists, six cellists, and two double bassists.
In December of 2009, McDuffie performed the World Premiere of Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto No. 2, “The American Four Seasons” in Toronto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Peter Oundjian. The work had been composed for McDuffie and featured several solos for violin.
September 11tH • 12NooN
Gene Salyer will perform on the saxophone, flute, and clarinet Gene Sayler of Perry is a professional musician who plays flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone. He has been a member of several different Air Force bands since his enlistment. He was accepted into the Air Force Academy band and performed with them for fourteen years. During thattime he was made woodwind supervisor of the Symphonic band, lead alto saxophone of the Falconnaires Dance Orchestra, and leader of the “Moods in Blue” show band. He has played with various famous singers like Bob Hope, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Rosemary Clooney.
September 22Nd • 2-4pm
Joey Stuckey Jazz Trio performs
Senate Records recording artist, Joey Stuckey, performs with his Jazz Trio a variety of standards, along with selections from his new CD “Mixture.”
October 1st • 8pm - 10pm
Georgia Big Band will perform Dixieland music from 8 – 8:45pm
and Big Band music from 9 – 10pm
The Georgia Big Band came together in 1988 out of the Dublin Jazz Band. The band brings together professional musicians from all over Middle Georgia who want to preserve the big band tradition. Made up of seventeen instrumentalists and a vocalist, the band has many different musical backgrounds from band directors to former military
October 14tH • 3pm
FirSt metHodiSt cHurcH oF WArNer robiNS
205 NortH dAviS drive
Performance by Otis Murphy, a world-class saxophonist, Yamaha
Performing Artist, and Indiana University Professor. Admission $10.
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
"Music Biz" section - the plan
Monday, August 27, 2012
Test and Schedule updates
FINALLY here's the official this-is-when-it's-gonna-happen testing schedule:
Test 1 Sept 12 - in PSC 151
Test 2 Oct 15 [Last “Drop with a W” day] - in PSC 109
Test 3 Nov 14 - in PSC 109
Final Exam: Mon Dec 10 1-3 pm in PSC 151
PRESENTATION CHANGES:
Angela F, your new presenation day is Sept 17.
Joshua R, Joshua D, and Craig C - two of you can present on Oct 1. The other will present on Sept 5. You guys flip coins, draw straws, arm wrestle, whatever to decide who goes when. Let me know.
I should mention that I grade the presentation MUCH more leniently at the beginning of the semester than that the end!The Presentation schedule is at
http://maconstate.blogspot.com/p/presentations.html
The Syllabus - which has been updated with teeh new schedule, is at
http://maconstate.blogspot.com/p/syllabus.html
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Presentation Schedule posted
http://maconstate.blogspot.com/p/presentations.html
The may be some changes, especially if you are signed up near a test date. I'll relay the news as it happens [more or less...].
ALSO:
The Kamien Connect link on the main page of the blog is correct. The one that was wrong was the bit.ly link at the top of the syllabus - that has now been fixed.http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com/class/t_rule_fall_2012_1
Thanks for letting me know about the problem!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Syllabus change
I also added at the bottom of the syllabus [http://maconstate.blogspot.com/p/syllabus.html] a listing of what CD tracks will be on which test. Take a look at it - I suggest marking it in your textbook.
The tracks listed on each test are the ONLY ones that I will draw from for the listening portion. The only exception is the final exam - but we'll get to that later in the semester!
Wednesday, August 08, 2012
START FALL 2012
Click the link, somewhere below this paragraph.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
FW: Joey Stuckey - Friday Night at the GSHF!
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Thursday, May 10, 2012
and ONE MORE THING......!
1. If you are interested in how albums are recorded and you have some time Thursday afternoon / Friday afternoon [May 10-11, 2012], swing on over to
http://presonus.com/community/presonuslive/
from Noon - 6pm Eastern timePresonus is Livecasting the recording session for the latest SwampGrease 2 with Terence Higgins in New Orleans. It's some really good funk played by real professionals, and the audio is EXCELLENT coming downstream - you can really hear what's going on.
It's a chance to see what a session looks like.
2. The recordings we did in class are now available for listening and downloading at this site:
http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Rule/Music+Appreciation+Experiments
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Final Words for Spring 2012
Some final thoughts - it's a bit of a tradition.
In no particular order:
- Final Listening: #1 was the Little Organ Fugue by JS Bach. Baroque. It was amazing how many wrote about a harpsichord. It was an ORGAN!
- Final Listening #2: Duke Ellington, C Jam Blues. Jazz, of course.
- FInal Listening #3: Zwilich Concerto Grosso 1985, so 20th Century. A quotation piece that uses a theme by Handel - and a HARPSICHORD....that would explain why part of it sounded Baroque.
- FInal LIstening #4: Ravel, Romances for Saxophone: Prelude. NOT one on your CDs, adn a bit tricky. The sax meant it was probably 20th C [which it was], but it did have a Romantic-type vibe going on. There were some interesting observations.
- Final Listening #5: Classical. Surprised? Several put that it had to be 20th C. because of the guitar and the synth buzzy sound [not a bad conclusion]. This was actually a Concerto for Mandola and Jaw Harp by Albrechtsburger [who taught Beethoven composition lessons.]
- You can see what you got points for on the listening - if it was a good conclusion, I copied a word or two into the comments box. Go look at the test in WebCT to see them.
- It really was an interesting semester. Thanks for making it so by participating, jumping in, etc.
- The recording we made will be posted sometime in the next week at http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Rule/Music+Appreciation+Experiments. You'll be able to download all of them - use them to annoy your younger siblings!
- It fascinates [and aggravates] me every semester at the number of students who refuse to go to the 2 concerts. That's a whole grade and a half - and every semester I have people fail the class because they didn't go to any concerts. Amazing.
- Don't forget that there is an absolute world of music out there. Get outside your little box and experience it - it's freakishly easy to find music now that you've never heard of. If you don't like it, try to figure out WHY. If you do, likewise!
Now, go forth and LISTEN!
An afterthought:
Speaking of listening - I was recently interviewed on AudioStyle audio magazine, which airs on the ArtistFirst network. CLICK here to check it out.Tuesday, May 01, 2012
WebCT: Almost all grades posted
Download and open the spreadsheet. Call up the gradebook on WebCT and manually type in your grades plus the points possible on the tests - and the number of absences.
The spreadsheet will calculate your grade - then change the final exam grade to see what happens to your final grade.
Then GO STUDY!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Last Day Spring 2012: Notes, Vids
"Third Stream" - combining "Classical" and "Jazz"
[is this jazz? is it classical? is it both?]
Jimmy Giuffre -- Suspensions (Gunther Schuller Orchestra) 1957
In the album liner notes, Schuller, both a composer and a critic, discusses such 'third-stream music'-- a term he popularized, perhaps invented-- while avoiding the application of that, or any, label for the "intermingling of influences in the jazz and nonjazz [ie, classical] fields". He asks rhetorically, "[I]s this still jazz, and is the intermarriage of two separate kinds of music valid?" The ultimate answer is the listener's reaction. About Giuffre's composition specifically, Schuller writes-- "'Suspensions' is another one of Jimmy Giuffre's attempts to compose and notate, as exactly as our inadequate musical notation will permit, music that represents his particular viewpoint on the jazz and blues feeling. In this respect, the present work is an extension of the kind of thing Giuffre has been doing for some years with his own small groups. In 'Suspensions' he has also once more used percussion, not as a rhythmic foundation and backdrop, but as an integral melodic voice [hear The Jimmy Giuffre Four, 1955, 'Tangents In Jazz', Capitol LP T634] within his contrapuntal structure. Giuffre also attempted to write for the players in an individual manner 'with which they can express themselves as they would in a solo'-- to quote Giuffre from his own notes for the Brandeis concert-- which partially explains why there is no improvisation in this work."
Latin Jazz
Timba Latin Jazz Quintet - Descarga Cachao - Roma AlFellini 2008
Free Jazz
Fusion
Herbie Hancock - Cantelope Island
Vocalese
Manhattan Transfer
The original recording:
http://youtu.be/5rm0kbF2XbE
Last notes
If you weren't in class, you missed the study suggestions for the final exam!Make sure you doublecheck the grades posted in webCT - contact me BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM if there are problems, particularly with the presentation grade and the absences.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Check your grades in webCT!
CHECK YOUR SCORES - and if there is a problem let me know BEFORE the final exam.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Music should be free?
The article: [read it first - or at least scan it]
http://www.philipbrocoum.com/?p=601The rebuttal:
http://youtu.be/EwAiLICevc4Grades, Test scores, and misc. stuff
2) I am CURVING this test. (Don't get used to it, though!) In the spreadsheet where you are keeping track of your scores, INSTEAD of setting this test worth 92 points, make it worth 82 points.
3) The gradebook will be updated by the time you read this with current attendance, concert report grades, and presentation grades.
3) Next week: JAZZ. This will be outside the book, mostly. I strongly suggest you take notes. It WILL be on the final exam.
Here is everyone's comments - an interesting panoply of opinions!
What was most surprising about the 20th C music to you?
Kind of strange how the first half, everything sounded so distorted and uncomfortable, and then near the end people got sick of it (thank God) and went back to tonality. It's almost like it was two different eras.
It surprises me that 20 Century music hasn't gone out of style. You still hear it today in commercials, on the radio, and in movies; sort of multi purpose.
There seemed to be such a huge step apart from "classical" sounding compositions.
It jumped quickly to change.
The odd sounds that they considered to be "music" no matter how dissonant they sounded!!
How atonal and dissonant it was. I was thinking it would be more similar to the late 20th Century music.
The Most Interesting would be the fact that it so different and open ! There is true expression and none sounds alike I love this era !
I was surprised by the fact that it didn't sound pretty. All of the music that I listen to sounds good, some of the 20th Century just sounded like noise to me.
Where a lot of songs I have heard before came from.
The sharp sounds, the music that sounded like it was from a sci fi movie or slasher flick.
Nothing really.
How there were so many sounds involved. Also how quickly the technology developed. And what was surprising they was how they still didn't use the sound effects that much until later on.
The way in which they just changed from the norm of every other era of music. The completely overhauled the system just because they could. I was shocked at how they changed sounds by destroying a perfectly good piano, or how they flipped scales to make more of a certain tone. everything dealing with the 20th C shocked me, because I was expecting more of a gradual step to modern music.
Having the different sounds and how it was all structured surprised me. I thought some of it was sort of weird but as i focused more on it all they wanted was something new that can fit in the music
The most surprising part of the 20th C music to me was, that I’m surrounded by it in everyday life and never realized how weird and different it sounds. 20th C music has taken music to greater standards of music.
Most surprising about the 20th C music is the prepared piano. How could composers just stick any and everything they got their hands on and insert it into the piano. To me it's disrespectful to a pianist to tamper with the sound but I also can understand that they were trying out new ways to change sound like no other composer before them have attempted to try. Composers in the 20th C were bold and I applaud them for that.
How much I wanted to go back to Classical music. The listening had been improving consistently up until Romantic and 20th century, I didn't like it so I listened to the pieces a lot less. It surprises me that people would pay to listen to this stuff.
personally, it wasn't very surprising to me. I guess living in the 20th century and 21st century exposes me to many of the different techniques and styles used in early 20th century music
I was surprised at how much music was out there that I didn't particularly care for. I am a lover of music, and I'm up for giving anything a try, but this music was hard for me to take at time. I did love the Jazz portion of 20th century music, but all of the atonal, dissonant, crazy music that was all over the place (particularly Schoenberg's) was not music to my ears at all. Other than that I was surprised to learn how wide of a variety of music there was. I consider myself to be pretty well rounded when it comes to instrumental music, but there was a lot of stuff I had never heard of that we listened to for this unit.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
UPDATE: MONDAY'S TEST
- PSC255 [down the hall from where we took the last test]
- BRING HEADPHONES/EARBUDS - there may not be any extras available.
- Ms. Rebecca Lanning will be the proctor - she is the head of the music department, a phenomenal musician, and a really good person to know!
- Listening: there will be 18 listening items - make sure you can tell which era each item is from [Romantic or 20th C].
- Know any of the composers yet?
In Other News.........something to look up before the weekend starts, strictly for the "wow" factor:
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2012/04/kinect-controlled-4-story-pipe-organ-a-phantom-of-the-organist/