I got a gig!

I've been contacting all sorts of people from a wide variety of places and ensembles looking for some sort of work in music, and I'm happy to say that I have been hired for a gig with a brand-new musical theatre company!
I'll be playing the Reed 1 book of the show "Wild Party," which includes piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto sax AND soprano sax (which I have never touched before). Should be fun. I've ordered new reeds and a triple stand that will hold the clarinet and saxes. I'm waiting to set up a time to sign the contract and get the book!

Rest assured that I will be sharing the dates, times, ticket prices with you. I trust that you will all be in attendance for at least three of the shows. ;)

End of Week 7

Hi, just a quick update tonight.

My finger is healing, it no longer looks like a zombie, and I was able to practice a bit (woo!). I'm trying to wrap my head around this idea of playing feeling natural, and then actual try *doing* it too. Crazy idea! It's alarming to me how much stress is built into my playing. When I'm away from the flute I think about it and I say to myself, "Yeah, I should totally relax. It'll help, and be easier!" But then I pull the flute out and it's like my arms/shoulders just do not understand that a) they are not directly and sympathetically connected to my ribcage (yes, they can move on their own), and b) if they tense up a lot, all the time, it does NOT help my playing.

Despite all the roadblocks and snags I am still making progress, and that is what's really important. This quarter so far has not turned out at all like I thought it would, but it's still been really great to take this time to work on myself slowly.

Good night all!

Marcel Bitsch (1921 - 2011)

One year ago today, a French composer named Marcel Bitsch passed away. His flute etudes are little known gems amongst the vast amounts of etudes and literature we have at our fingertips; twelve little gems that I plan on introducing you to.

I first stumbled upon his Douze Etudes pour Flute a few years ago.  Now, since I don't remember when and where I bought this collection, and didn't know anything about him at all, it's safe to say that I probably was more entertained by his name than by anything else. Thankfully I have grown up since then, and have begun taking a serious look at these etudes.

As I began working on his etudes recently, I discovered that these are highly developed compositions that can - and ought to - stand alone on the concert stage in addition to the studio. Etude No. 2 - "Pour la souplesse des levres," for example, is not just a tone development study, but an exploration of sound and tonality. It takes a simple, yet disjunct theme and uses it to explore distant keys. It covers the full expressive range of the instrument, low C to high C, piano to forte, calm to agitated. All the while it maintains a striking cohesion and closes with a remarkable statement of both halves of the theme played simultaneously. If these etudes are any indication of other works of Mr. Bitsch (musical and literary), and I think they are, they are most certainly deserving of more attention and perusal than they currently receive from the community.

Since he passed so recently, there isn't much research or established scholarship on his life and work, which makes starting this process more difficult than my thesis was (John Cage and Arnold Schoenberg are a *little* well known, lol).

What I can say about him, looking at the back cover of the Douze Etudes (Leduc), is that he attended and later taught at the Paris Conservatory. While he wasn't an extremely prolific composer, he did write works and/or etudes for flute, bassoon, trumpet and horn, as well as three piano concerti and a handful of symphonic works. He also wrote books on harmony, counterpoint, and analytical editions of many works by Johann Sebastian Bach, which as I understand are generally held in high regard.

I have decided to take these etudes into a detailed study, one that will encompass technique, style, analysis, and a dash of musicology. I hope that this multifaceted research project will lend itself well to several different formats: lecture recitals, individual etudes as part of recitals, analytical presentations. I hope that I'll be able to present this material, at least in part, at various professional conferences.

There is a good portion that I've written for Etude No. 2 of course, but I doubt that I'll be posting much of it here verbatim because once I share it publicly, it'll lose publishability points pretty quickly, methinks. However, I will try to make videos and share short summaries on each one (as possible).

I was actually planning on recording a video for today, but...I had a run in with a meat slicer at work a couple days ago and my right thumb, while intact, is bandaged up and can't really support the weight of the flute (or even piccolo) for very long. It'll be fine soon enough though. In the meantime, more writing and research for me!

Quinoa with Tomatoes and Basil

I got this weeks recipe from a chef friend at work. It's pretty straightforward and super yum.

1/4 c. diced white onions
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked quinoa
6-8 cherry tomatoes, halved
couple sprigs Basil
Vegetable Broth
2 Tbs. (vegan) butter
1 Tbs. (vegan) Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Melt 1 1/2 Tbs. butter in skillet, add diced onions. When the onions are almost translucent, add the garlic. Keep sauteing until the onions are translucent and starting to caramelize. Add 1-2 Tbs. vegetable broth and quinoa. Cook the quinoa in veggie broth for great flavor. Stir for a couple minutes, then add tomatoes. Roll basil leaves and cut into strips. Add to skillet. As a final touch, add the Parmesan, and salt and pepper as desired.

I must apologize for not having pictures, but man, it's delish. You gotta try it. Now. Go, go make it. Stop reading. Food. Quinoa. Yum.

Week 7 - Halfway There!

Time is just flying by! Today is the halfway point of the First Quarter, and I'm pretty happy with how things are going. While I'm not practicing as much as would be ideal, I am more focused and aware of what's happening when I am practicing.

My tone is stronger, I'm having less and less problems with sound production in the second octave, my stress levels are dropping. Things on the home/job front are smoothing out as well, which is a welcome relief from the stresses of months gone by.

I have a new project that I've already begun work on. It involves performing, analysis, and writing, and the resulting document will be presentable in many formats. There's a tiny chance it may even make a little money! Now, I'm not going to share anything about this new project until next Friday, September 21st, for reasons that will be made clear, well, on Friday.

Maybe I'll be able to record a new video by Friday as well. We'll see.

My BFF Arnie!

Today is the 138th birthday of the amazing Austrian composer, Arnold Schoenberg. Since I recently wrote a thesis that dealt largely with his work, I thought I'd share a portion of my thesis with you. The footnotes aren't totally complete and I did have to do a little bit of summarizing so that this section would work on it's own, but I'd be happy to provide a complete bibliography if anyone would like to see it. I tried to hide it behind a tl;dr-type link, but it didn't work.

***My only request is that you be a decent human being and not copy my work as your own. I'd be more than happy to share any information and help out if I can, but I did work very hard on this. Contact me if you use this or want to cite it, or if you like it. Or if you don't...Or whatever. Just play fair. Enjoy!***

All about Arnie! (well, not really...)

The development of a compositional system that removed the need for a tonal center was easily one of the most important and influential (and certainly controversial) musical developments of the 20th century. Arnold Schoenberg's refinement of twelve-tone through multiple compositional techniques will be discussed, and using his mature twelve-tone works to demonstrate their characteristics will be of top priority.[1] There will not be a thorough discussion of every late dodecaphonic work, but brief overviews of certain pieces from Schoenberg's oeuvre will be included. These demonstrate the intricacies made possible by the technique in the hands of a skilled. This discussion begins with Schoenberg's conceptual inklings which surfaced in sketches of a work for choir and orchestra, but will focus on the development of the 1920's and move forward to the highly developed works of the 1930's and later.

Development of 12-Tone Technique

Arnold Schoenberg began using melodies and chordal successions that used all twelve chromatic pitches as early as 1910. They can be seen in his Die glückliche Hand, Op. 18 (1910-1913) as well as in sketches for an unfinished choral symphony of 1914-15, and are discussed in his treatise of 1910-1911, Harmonielehre [Theory of Harmony]. He did not use twelve-tone technique throughout an entire piece until 1923 (Suite für Klavier, Op. 25), and the first piece to use a single row as the source for its entire pitch content was the Wind Quintet, Op. 26 (1924).[2]

The first example of a theme by Schoenberg using all twelve tones only once is found in a fragment of the Scherzo movement of his unfinished choral symphony. It does appear transposed up a fourth in measure twelve which arguably points forward to the twelve-tone techniques yet to come, but the similarities between this fragment and fully developed twelve-tone technique end here. Each restatement the theme has the same melodic contour and rhythmic proportion. Additionally, the accompanying materials found in the fragment are not derived from the ordering of the tones in the melody, but rather are seemingly written to suit the personal taste of the composer.[3]

As Ethan Haimo argues in his article “The Evolution of the Twelve-tone Method,” was not intended to be a part of a larger twelve-tone work in the sense that all material is derived from a single twelve-tone ordering. Rather, he demonstrates that the existence of this fragment shows the germ of an idea that has the potential to develop into the serial system yet to come.

          As Schoenberg's style evolved, he found ways to use a single twelve-tone row as the seed from which an entire piece would develop. These methods or structures, in varying amounts and combinations, are shared among all of his works that feature the twelve-tone method. Some of his more common techniques that are directly applied to the row include transposition, inversion, retrograde, as well as the combination of one or more of these. All of these were used to create variety while still maintaining a sense of cohesiveness.

          A significant step in the development of this new compositional process was to use a single twelve-tone row to not just a single movement but to an entire work. The Serenade, Op. 24 (1920/23) was Schoenberg's earliest attempt at using a single row as the source from which the entire pitch content of a multi-movement work is derived. Although he did not achieve that goal in this work, he was able to successfully do so in the Suite für Klavier, Op. 25, and in the Wind Quintet, Op. 26.[4] Also to be seen in the Op. 26 is the manner in which Schoenberg dealt with issues of polyphony and melodic variety.

Wind Quintet, Op. 26

          The Wind Quintet was begun in 1923 and finished in the summer of 1924.[5] It is an early example of a solution to what Haimo refers to as the problem of “twelve-tone form.” That is, the Quintet is one of his first works written entirely in twelve-tone that was not reliant on a neoclassical form to define its parameters. This work was also a major breakthrough for Schoenberg, because he found multiple ways to use a single row throughout a whole, multi-movement work.[6]

          The first movement is in extended ternary form, with five large sections: A , B, Transition, A', and Coda. There are two collections of rows used, one primarily in the A section, the other solely in the B section. The A section uses P₃, I₃, and I₈ along with their retrogrades; the B section uses I₉ and I₂ along with their retrogrades.[7] The transition uses selected rows from both of the collections (specifically the rows of the A section along with P₉ and its retrograde), while the coda uses the same rows as the A section.[8] These collections of rows are specific to certain formal divisions of the piece which allow for both better cohesion throughout the work and for sectional distinctiveness. This assignment of collections of rows to particular sections of a work is a precursor to the later development known as an “area,” where the different sections of the work are more clearly distinguished as a result of the structural unit is complete and contained.

          In the Wind Quintet, issues of polyphony and melodic interest were very relevant, and Schoenberg found several ways to address them. One method he used was rotation. Rotation is the process of starting a row on a pitch class other than the first pitch class of the row, moving the tones not used at the beginning of the presentation to the end. The actual ordering of the pitches is held invariant, simply commencing with perhaps the fourth pitch class instead of the first.[9] This allows for twelve more permutations of the row, granting myriad related variations.

          Before the Quintet, polyphonic passages in Schoenberg's serial works generally used one presentation of one row per voice: a passage written for two voices would include two different rows, three voices would use three rows, etc. In the Quintet, however, Schoenberg began using a new technique called “extraction.”

          Extraction is the creation of secondary, generally melodic, lines by pulling any number of tones from a row being used. This helps create polyphony more easily and grants more melodic interest, since it allows for the use of a row without the necessity of a literal restatement.[10] It can be seen in the opening measures of the Wind Quintet's third movement, where the three presentations of the row used (P₃) are simultaneously divided between the horn and bassoon. When both parts are read horizontally, the original row appears three times. When the line in the horn is considered independently, all twelve pitch classes are present, but their ordering is changed - a new row is created. While Schoenberg would sometimes create a new and complete row that used all twelve tones, he would also occasionally pull only a few tones at a time, creating motivic fragments or figures that he could then use in the development of a piece.[11]

          As evidenced in the Quintet, a most significant gain from Schoenberg’s devising of a systematic approach to atonal music was a sense of “long-range coherence” that had been lacking in his earlier, free-atonal works.[12] Further examples of various methods of manipulations upon a serial row can be seen in the Violin Concerto, Op. 36, Fourth String Quartet, Op. 37, and the Piano Concerto, Op. 42.

---

[1]Since literature on the basic semantics of dodecaphonic principles abounds, this document will assume that the reader either has an existing knowledge of how the system works or will have access to those resources as needed. If the reader would like more information, please see George Perle’s “Serialism and Atonality” and Arnold Schoenberg’s essays “Composition in Twelve Tones” I and II, in Style and Idea.

[2]Auner, “Schoenberg’s Row Tables,” 157.

[3]Haimo, “Evolution of the Twelve-tone Method,” 103.

[4]Ibid, 119.

[5]Ibid, 119.

[6]Ibid, 122.

[7]When discussing serial ordering of tones in this document, C = 0, C# = 1, etc. 10 will be ‘t’, and 11 will be ‘e’. Thus, P₃ refers to use of the prime row (P) starting on pitch class 3 (E♭).

[8]Mead, “Large-Scale Strategy,” 131.

[9]The original pitch class index [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12] would become [4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 1; 2; 3].

[10]Haimo, “Evolution,” 121-22.

[11]Ibid., 120-21.

[12]Mead, “Large-Scale Strategy,” 121.tl;dr: All about Arnie! (well, not really...)

Failure

I'm really unhappy right now. I recently applied for a job that was perfect for me, and I would have been great at it. I had a great interview, everything was great. But I didn't get the job. I did, however, receive an email telling me how great I was, and how qualified I was, and how pleasant it was for the interviewers to meet me – but sorry, no cookie. So, here I am. Sitting in South Florida with my instruments and Master degrees, working at a deli, getting asked if I am aware of the difference between “pasta salad” and “macaroni” salad, getting fussed at because I grabbed the wrong to-go box. In moments like these, I really can't help but wonder...

What the hell am I doing?! Where did I go wrong?!

I thought I had worked hard, I thought the work I had done was good. I thought that I was capable, I thought I was qualified. However, my circumstances state the exact opposite.

Maybe this is all for a reason, right? Maybe all of this crap, all of these events and situations that are working against me are for a greater “good,” maybe their purpose is to set the stage for some glorious future I'm supposed to have. Probably not, though. I mean, I've already spent all this time, all this money, but I really don't have much to show for it today. I have a full-time job that will essentially pay my bills, why not just nix the whole music facade? Why not sell my instruments? That alone would pay off a good bit of debt. Maybe I should just drop it all and stop trying to fool myself and everyone else.

(I know all of that sounds dramatic and maybe like a little bit of overkill but seriously, those are real thoughts that I have had during this past year.)

So, you may then be wondering, what does a classy guy like me do when faced with rejection and dejection? Well, my first instinct was to cry, but instead I took it like a real man and curled up in a blanket on the couch plowing my way through a pack of Oreos while watching “Inside the Actors Studio.”

On one of the episodes that I watched Meryl Streep was the guest. I'm a huge fan of her work, and so I was pretty intent on using the power of her, well her “her-ness” to wean me out of my post-Oreo cloud and up off the couch. I found much of her discussion engaging, entertaining, and enlightening, but I especially liked what she had to say around 13:00 or so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBZNSVYU5XA

She basically speaks of the 'sacredness' of her art, and the susceptibility she feels when she's really in the moment and in the character. She speaks of a oneness with her character, and of a performance by Liza Monelli where Liza was just desperately trying to give to the audience. This all just really made an impression on me. The ethereal, intangible qualities of the arts that draw us as artists and create an insatiable urge to give, to put forth of ourselves and of our craft.

That desire to create, to “give!” as Meryl put it, is what I still feel. Sure I'm upset, my ego is bruised, but I still want to keep going. The recognition of that little bit of personal truth provided me with enough hope to try reconsidering my situation: Sure my job isn't in music, BUT it leaves me all my afternoons and evenings free – plenty of time to practice, analyze, compose, write, teach, or gig! The job isn't ideal, but I like it enough and it gives me enough income to keep me going. There are no upcoming gigs, and certainly no prospective recitals in sight, but I remember telling myself before I even left graduate school that I just wanted to get a job doing something tolerable so I could spend my off time getting my musical skills in order – I've got that!

Basically, I am pretty hurt from everything I've been dealing with, but the only thing I can do is keep moving forward. I don't know where I'm going, but I've got to keep moving. I'm going to go practice now.

“If you're going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Vegetable Broth

Okay, today's post isn't that exciting, but I wanted to share a kitchen idea with you, one that I gained from Trent over at The Simple Dollar. I really appreciate the information that Trent posts, and the obvious amount of work that he has done to build a great blog.

The post I linked to above is about turning leftover vegetables that would otherwise be thrown away. Basically, take any scraps from the veggies you prepare (carrot ends, peeled skins, tomato cores, the center of bell peppers, etc.) and cook them in water with a little salt and pepper, and...Voila! Vegetable broth! I usually cook mine on the stove, I boil it for 20-30 minutes or so and then strain it, but Trent suggests the crock pot. The crock pot method is definitely great, because you don't have to watch it like you do a boiling pot of water.

The magic in this is two-fold: One, you're taking easy steps into resourcefulness - creating something new with items you already have. Second, you're stretching your dollar even further. Think about it. Say you pay $10 for raw produce, but you only use about 85% of the produce while cooking. If you throw away all the scraps, then you're only using 85% of what you paid for. When you use that remaining 15%, you've now eliminated the need to buy broth, plus you now have a great pre-made, homemade seasoning that cost you nothing (except the negligible cost of heating the water). You can use that broth in place of water when cooking rice, beans, quinoa, I've even used it when making savory pastries. It adds a depth of flavor that you can't get with plain spices.

Easily one of the BEST kitchen suggestions I've heard, and definitely my personal favorite. Try it out, let me know what you think of it!

Forward motion

There are many things I could complain about, but I'm not going to. While I'm limited on practice time and energy, I am fortunate enough to say that my sound is improving, and I'm maintaining the same amount of openness at the embouchure hole (i.e. - rolling out), which is really great.

I've been working a lot this week, and I enjoy my job. I would like to be working in music sometime soon, but I'm glad be able to honestly say that my current job isn't intolerable, and sometimes is downright enjoyable. Paychecks are finally coming in, so while I hesitate to say so, it would appear at the moment that things are finally going to start looking up again. I still think it will be at least one full month before it all really levels out.

Week 5 is coming to a close...

Okay, I admit it. I'm getting burned out already! It really sucks too because it's stress about other parts of life that's keeping me from being productive in the studio. I'm overloaded with concerns about money, jobs, interviews. I'm trying to keep my practicing going forward, and also trying to get and keep this blog up and going! Despite what seem to be endless stresses on the home front, I've managed to make a pretty significant leap forward this week.

"Roll out!" is phrase I heard quite frequently as a student. I always struggled with staying rolled out, even when I was really focusing on it. At first it's very unsettling, it feels like every note is going to crack, which is probably why I never fixed it before now. I just wanted to feel safe, even though it was really pushing me and my musical progress backwards! However, after spending a few weeks taking a hard look in the mirror (metaphorically and literally) I'm making the real effort to fix this problem, and it's working!

The first step was to watch myself in the mirror - but I mean REALLY watch myself. I needed to become familiar with what I was currently doing, how my lips were moving, check the shape of my aperture, etc. This led to a few realizations:

My aperture is too wide

In addition to being too wide, it's also slightly to the left of center.

I instinctively roll in and out at will, usually when I feel insecure, although it happens so often you almost wouldn't believe it.

These tendencies and habits are incredibly harmful for long term, successful playing.

A wide aperture wastes air. This means that not only can I play fewer notes per breath, but my sound lacks focus and a richness of harmonics which allows the sound to carry.

An off-center aperture isn't inherently bad, but not being aware of it can be. This is an interesting "realization," because I was already kind of aware of it...when playing piccolo. When practicing piano passages on the piccolo (and occasionally flute), I noticed a significant tendency to shift the aperture to the left. This actually worked really well and made a gorgeous pianissimo for me, but obviously it's not practical to shove the instrument to one side or the other while performing La Valse.

Sudden, haphazard changes to the air stream direction via rolling in and out is, not shockingly, very unsettling, even when I'm doing it intentionally so that I will feel more secure.

Once I noticed these characteristics of my playing, I set about finding ways to adjust and correct. I decided that I would stick with the off-center aperture, because it allows me a very consistent sound and response across the full range of the instrument. I've been working on forming a smaller, better controlled aperture as well. Obviously, rolling out (and staying there!) has also been a priority.

Now, I don't want to spill all the beans in this one post, so I'm going to go into more detail about these changes in a separate post. Despite the myriad frustrations this past week has brought, I'm resolved to stay optimistic and to keep moving forward! As I continue to work on these changes over the next week, I'll be sure to post updates and explanations about how I'm going about making these adjustments. Stay tuned, and happy practicing!

My Homemade Chili

This chili is less expensive and healthier than store bought chili. Remember that the fairly pricey initial purchase of spices will pay off big time in the long run. They last a long time and can be used for many, many different recipes.
My chili recipe is two-part: the chili itself, and the seasoning (which is never store bought!) Hope you enjoy!


Homemade Chili (completely from scratch)


4 c. Water*
1 to 1 and 1/4 c. Beans (I use mostly Kidney Beans and make up the rest with lentils and cranberry beans)
3 Tbs. Chili Seasoning, divided (see below)
2 c. drained and chopped vegetables (I'll use 1 c. canned tomatoes, then add diced onions, bell peppers, even chipotle peppers if I feel like it. Almost anything southwestern will work).


* Instead of water, I like to use vegetable broth, liquid drained from the tomatoes, etc. This adds a great flavor to the beans.


In a crock pot, combine 2 ½ cups water, beans, and 1 1/2 Tbs. of chili seasoning. Let cook on Low until beans are soft (I usually let them cook overnight). Once beans are cooked, add vegetables and 1 1/2 Tbs. of seasoning. Add more water as needed. Cook until veggies are soft.
Add more seasoning if desired. Serve with fresh avocado and shredded cheese on top of a nice bowl of tortilla chips for an amazing meal! It stays good in the fridge for several days, and is freezable if you want to make a lot and save it for a rainy day.

Should you desire to add some meaty texture, I'd recommend using TVP (textured vegetable protein). It may sound weird, but it's very similar to ground beef, but with lower fat content. If your finished chili is runnier than you want it to be, the dry TVP will absorb some of the extra liquid.
If you would rather just use ground beef or turkey, cook it separately and flavor it with more chili seasoning. Make sure you drain it VERY well before adding it to the chili, or you'll be adding a lot of grease.


It's a pretty straight-forward recipe, but here's the deal: it's hyper-flexible. Don't like bell peppers? Don't add them! Prefer crushed tomatoes to diced? Fine! Like a wetter chili? Add more liquid. Etc, etc, etc. Prefer more beans, less beans, more veggies, or less? Make it spicier, garlickier, plainer, fancier, whatever you want!
That's what I love about cooking at home. Much more personalization is possible. Really, most recipes are. For instance, with the banana bread posted last week, if you don't like all the spices, then you can omit them, and you can add nuts instead. Or add both. Also, if you happen to be living in a vegan household, use non-dairy milk and butter. It won't change the final product significantly.

Chili Seasoning
1 Tbs. Cumin/Cumin Seed (a heaping Tablespoon!)
1 Tbs. Paprika
1 tsp. Fennel Seed (I use whole)
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Basically, just mix all ingredients and store. This amount of seasoning will get you through two batches of chili, depending on how much you decide to use. I always try to use whole Cumin Seed and Fennel Seed (as opposed to powdered or ground), but that's mostly because I like using my mortar and pestle. It gives me the (possibly misguided) impression that the end result tastes better for having hand-ground the spices.
For spice (optional, but certainly recommended!): Some Cayenne Pepper, Chipotle Pepper, or Chili Powder. Be very careful, as a little bit of spice will go a very long way when dealing with crock pot cooking! Always start with less and add more as needed.

This spice mix is also great for ground beef or TVP (if you're vegetarian or vegan) when adding it to chili, or for taco night.