Percussion students need to be grounded in some knowledge of basic music theory. This should include scale study, intervals and the ability to sing and match pitches. Knowledge of these fundamentals will serve them well not only in tuning the timpani to the correct ranges, but also in performing in tune when playing with the band or ensemble.
Ranges. In order for the pedals to work properly, the timpani must be tuned to the correct pitches: 32" D–A, 29" F–C, 26" B flat–F, 23" D–A. If the heads are adjusted properly, the pedals will also work properly. There should never be a need to change the adjustment of the main spring screw, above the pedal. Care must be taken to tune each tuning post to the same tension around the drum.
There are several aids that help with this. The most accurate way to accomplish this is to use an electronic tuner; it is also important to use the ear. Proper tuning will produce a tone that rings evenly, with an absence of "beats." When the heads are adjusted properly, the overtones will ring steadily and will not waver.
Selecting mallets. Students should have at least three pairs of mallets: soft for rolls and legato passages, medium or staccato for more general passages, and ultra staccato for quick rhythmic performance. Wood ball mallets are also available, but should be used only if specified in the music.
Hand position and grip. The grip employed for timpani will have a great effect on the tone produced. The mallet handle should be placed between the thumb and...........
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A Magnificent Obsession by Robert Rawlins
Students who truly excel in music know that it's not merely a hobby, but the focus of their lives
.................The difference is that music is much more than an activity–much more than an occupation. As a college music professor, I have known thousands of music majors. The successful ones all have one thing in common–they are totally immersed in music. They don't just complete their assignments and practice sessions and then put music out of their minds. On the contrary, they talk about music, think about music, read about music, go to concerts, play duets, have jam sessions, buy recordings, collect music, buy posters of musicians, write music, try different instruments, experiment with mouthpieces or reeds, or otherwise pursue activities that involve music in some way.
In my experience, a detached approach to music, even if it includes a willingness to invest several hours a day in diligent practice and study, is doomed to failure. Perhaps the reason is that the focus must be on the final product. After all, music is for listening. The best instruction in how to play an instrument will not produce optimum results unless the student has a strong desire to succeed and a clear "picture" of what he or she wants to sound like. Ironically, I have seen many students succeed who scored relatively low on musical aptitude tests. Hard work, backed up by intense desire, enabled them to overcome their weaknesses.
A revealing question to ask students is.............
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The viola should not be second fiddle to the violin.
Reprinted from Scherl & Roth Orchestra news
For too many years, the viola has played second fiddle to the violin. Through the ages, composers and conductors have viewed it as little more than an oversized version of its prestigious cousin, the violin, and have therefore relegated it to a lesser stature.
A professor of viola at The Ohio State University, I am quite serious about changing people's general perception of the viola. My lifelong love affair with the viola is due in large part to the instrument's sound. In some ways, the viola is the most intimate of all the stringed instruments. Anyone who partakes of the viola can become extremely attached to it very quickly. There's an inwardness to its sounds, a certain array of colors that are deeply personal and quite remarkable. In spite of my affection, however, I must confess to feeling stymied at times by the viola's reputation.
But imagine how the viola itself must feel! Withdrawn and melancholy at times, extremely expressive at others, it's like the quieter child in the family who probably has more to say but can't quite figure out how to say it.
The reasons for the viola's low self-esteem are many. In the past, viola music was not as technically demanding as that for the violin. All one has to do is to look at Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Nothing comparably pyrotechnic existed for the viola. This relative lack of technically challenging literature naturally resulted in less rigorous training for the viola player. Also, it was commonly assumed that all violists start out as violinists-not that they progressed from the violin to the viola, but that they retrogressed to it.
Fortunately, this dire scenario has begun to change over the course of the twentieth century. This isn't so much a matter of playing catch-up as it is of the development.................
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ABSTRACT
Effects of Musical Training on Key and Harmony Perception
Kathleen A. Corrigalla and Laurel J. Trainor
Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavior,
McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Even adults with no formal music lessons have implicit musical knowledge acquired
through exposure to the music of their culture. Two of these abilities are knowledge
of key membership (which notes belong in a key) and harmony (chord progressions).
Studies to date suggest that perception of harmony emerges around 5–6 years of age.
Using simple tasks, we found that formal music training influences key and harmony
perception in 3- to 6-year-olds, and that even nonmusicians as young as 3 years have
some knowledge of key membership and harmony.
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Key words: music; key membership; harmony; tonality; pitch; musical education
Sacrificium: The Art of the Castrati
A Cinematographic Vision by Olivier Simonnet
with Cecilia Bartoli, Il Giardino Armonico, Giovanni Antonini
Cecilia Bartoli unveils her latest visual project as she sings virtuoso arias from her Sacrificium album. This beautiful scenic film by Olivier Simonnet as filmed in high-definition widescreen on location in and around the spectacular baroque palace of Caserta in Southern Italy. Arias include Handel's 'Ombra mai fu' and Broschi's 'Son qual nave' - previously only available in the deluxe version of the album. Now available on DVD - For more information go to www.ceciliabartolionline.com
Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel conducts the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in NY while on tour with Svetlanov in the USA (Tchivzhel defected shortly after this performance)
Dr. Richard E. Cytowic, George Washington Medical Center
Neurologist Richard Cytowic rediscovered the involuntary joining of different senses in 1980 and returned it to the scientific mainstream. In his recent book, "Wednesday is Indigo Blue," Cytowic sums up 30 years of exploration into synesthesia's place in both science and art. Far from a mere curiosity, it is an elevated form of the perception everyone already has. Minds that function differently are not so strange after all, and everyone can learn from them. Brains are already highly cross-wired, and with 1 in 23 people having the trait, synesthesia may hold a key to human creativity.
A fascinating discussion of the use of classical music by law enforcement and other cultural institutions as social control, to quell and prevent crime. Their conversation touches on how classical music is viewed in contemporary culture, how it can be a tool for discouraging criminal activity and anti-social behavior, as well as its history as a mind-altering experience.
Dr. Jacqueline Helfgott, Seattle University [author of Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies, and Criminal Justice (2008)], and Norman Middleton, Library of Congress Music Division
In our everyday lives, language and instrumental music are obviously different things. Neuroscientist and musician Ani Patel is the author of a recent, elegantly argued offering from Oxford University Press, "Music, Language and the Brain." Oliver Sacks calls Patel a "pioneer in the use of new concepts and technology to investigate the neural correlates of music." In Patel's presentation, he discusses some of the hidden connections between language and instrumental music that are being uncovered by empirical scientific studies.
The Music and the Brain Lecture Series is a cycle of lectures and special presentations that highlight an explosion of new research in the rapidly expanding field of "neuromusic." Programming is sponsored by the Library's Music Division and its Science, Technology and Business Division, in cooperation with the Dana Foundation.
Aniruddh Patel is the Esther J. Burnham Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at the Neurosciences Institute.
Music employs a number of mechanisms for conveying emotion. Some of them are shared with other modes of expression (speech, gesture) while others are specific to music. The most unique way that music communicates emotion is through the use of contrastive scale types. While Westerners are familiar with the major/minor distinction, the use of contrastive scale types in world musics is universal.
Looking at the expression of emotion in both Western and non-Western musics, Brown invokes the theory of Clore and Ortony, who posit three categories of emotions 1) "outcome" emotions related to the outcomes of goal-directed actions (e.g., happiness, sadness); 2) "aesthetic" emotions related to the appraisal of the quality of objects (e.g., like, dislike); and 3) "moral" emotions related to an assessment of the agency of individuals actions (e.g., praise, scorn). While representational art-forms like theater or dance can represent all three categories, music is probably most adept at expressing "outcome" emotions, such those that sit along the happy/sad spectrum.
Speaker: Steven Brown, Director, NeuroArts Lab, McMaster University
Michael Kubovy and Judith Shatin, both from the University of Virginia, discuss "The Mind of the Artist." Debate has long raged about whether and how music expresses meaning beyond its sounding notes. Kubovy and Shatin discuss evidence that music does indeed have a semantic element, and offer examples of how composers embody extra-musical elements in their compositions.
Michael Kubovy is a cognitive psychologist who studies visual and auditory perception.
Judith Shatin is a composer who explores music's expressive meaning.
Emily Nicholas, Alysia Lee and Wei Hsu perform Robert Schumann's Liebesgram from Spanisches Liederspeil, Op. 74 in the Opus Nine Ensemble concert, "Amour, Liebe, Love: The Music of Robert & Clara Schumann" in NYC
Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Mood Disorders Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, convened a discussion of the effects of depression on creativity. Joining Jamison were two distinguished colleagues from the fields of neurology and neuropsychiatry, Dr. Terence Ketter and Dr. Peter Whybrow. The Music and the Brain series is co-sponsored by the Library's Music Division and Science, Technology and Business Division, in cooperation with the Dana Foundation.
The "Depression and Creativity" symposium marks the bicentennial of the birth of German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), who died after a severe depression following the death of his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, also a gifted composer.
One of the nation's most influential writers on creativity and the mind, Kay Redfield Jamison is a noted authority on bipolar disorder. She is the co-author of the standard medical text on manic-depressive illness and author of "Touched with Fire," "An Unquiet Mind," "Night Falls Fast" and "Exuberance: The Vital Emotion."
Dr. Terence Ketter is known for extensive clinical work with exceptionally creative individuals and a strong interest in the relationship of creativity and madness. He is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief of the Bipolar Disorders Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Peter Whybrow, an authority on depression and manic-depressive disease, is director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is also the Judson Braun Distinguished Professor and executive chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
SSOPO and Seattle Symphony Announce Tentative Agreement
Seattle Symphony and its musicians’ union, Seattle Symphony and Opera Players’ Organization (SSOPO), have reached an agreement on a new contract after two days of intense negotiations. Both sides have agreed to work together over the coming years to achieve the level of artistic excellence and financial stability that will enable the Symphony to grow and prosper.
The agreement includes an unprecedented up-front contribution by the musicians to the Seattle Symphony’s Annual Fund. In a new initiative named The 2010 Challenge, each of our 84 musicians will contribute $2,010. This donation, totaling $168,840, from the musicians is intended to be a catalyst for the Seattle Symphony Board’s next phase of fundraising.
“We want to express our deep gratitude to the entire Orchestra for being willing to work creatively with us on a three-season agreement which will surely give us the opportunity to build a more vital and stable Seattle Symphony Orchestra going forward,” remarked Board Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly. “We look forward to working together on many extraordinary artistic initiatives, and while the process has been challenging for everyone involved, we are full of admiration for the entire staff, our musicians, our negotiating teams, and our Board for the great effort and patience they have exhibited over the past ten months.”
“We are hopeful that this tentative agreement will further the advancement of the Symphony in a crucial time,” said Tim Hale, Violist and Chair of the SSOPO. “It provides the time necessary to put in place new artistic and administrative leadership, while bringing the fundraising of the Symphony to a level necessary to achieve its artistic goals.”
This new three-season agreement will be implemented after ratification by the union, and will be the first step in the new strategic plan that the Board has put forth. Ratification of the contract offer is expected by the full membership of the union in the coming weeks.
Posted: January 28th 2010
Best Album
Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio From Symphony No. 10
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Ragnar Bohlin, Kevin Fox & Susan McMane, choir directors; Andreas Neubronner, producer;
Peter Laenger, engineer/mixer; Andreas Neubronner, mastering engineer (Laura Claycomb, Anthony Dean Griffey, Katarina Karnéus, Quinn Kelsey, James Morris, Yvonne Naef, Elza van den Heever & Erin Wall; San Francisco Symphony; Pacific Boychoir, San Francisco Girls Chorus & San Francisco Symphony Chorus)
Best Orchestral Performance
Ravel: Daphnis Et Chloé
James Levine, conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra; Tanglewood Festival Chorus)
[BSO Classics]
Best Opera Recording
Britten: Billy Budd
Daniel Harding, conductor; Ian Bostridge, Neal Davies, Nathan Gunn, Jonathan Lemalu, Matthew Rose & Gidon Saks; John Fraser, producer (London Symphony Orchestra; Gentlemen Of The London Symphony Chorus)
[Virgin Classics]
Best Choral Performance
Mahler: Symphony No. 8; Adagio From Symphony No. 10
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Ragnar Bohlin, Kevin Fox & Susan McMane, choir directors
(Laura Claycomb, Anthony Dean Griffey, Elza van den Heever, Katarina Karnéus, Quinn Kelsey, James Morris, Yvonne Naef & Erin Wall; San Francisco Symphony; Pacific Boychoir, San Francisco Symphony Chorus & San Francisco Girls Chorus)
[SFS Media]
Best Instrumental Soloist with Orchestra
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3
Vladimir Ashkenazy, conductor; Evgeny Kissin (Philharmonia Orchestra)
[EMI Classics]
Best Instrumental Soloist without Orchestra
Journey To The New World
Sharon Isbin (Joan Baez & Mark O'Connor)
[Sony Classical]
Best Chamber Music Performance
Intimate Letters
Emerson String Quartet
[Deutsche Grammophon]
Best Small Ensemble Performance
Lang, David: The Little Match Girl Passion
Paul Hillier, conductor; Ars Nova Copenhagen & Theatre Of Voices
[Harmonia Mundi]
Best Classical Vocal Performance
Verismo Arias
Renée Fleming (Marco Armiliato; Jonas Kaufmann; Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano Giuseppi Verdi; Coro Sinfonica Di Milano Giuseppi Verdi)
[Decca]
Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Higdon, Jennifer: Percussion Concerto
Jennifer Higdon (Marin Alsop)
Track from: Alsop Conducts MacMillan, Ad
[London Philharmonic Orchestra]
Best Classical Crossover Album
Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs Of Joy And Peace
Yo-Yo Ma
(Odair Assad, Sergio Assad, Chris Botti, Dave Brubeck, Matt Brubeck, John Clayton, Paquito d'Rivera, Renée Fleming, Diana Krall, Alison Krauss, Natalie McMaster, Edgar Meyer, Cristina Pato, Joshua Redman, Jake Shimabukuro, Silk Road Ensemble, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Wu Tong, Alon Yavnai & Amelia Zirin-Brown)
[Sony Classical]
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