Evolve or Die

Evolve or Die 

This article discusses the arts scene in Cincinnati and the way in which classical musicians are effectively appealing to newer, younger audiences and potentially saving themselves from disaster.  Focusing on new "young people's boards," performances in bars, and social events, the article pinpoints groups creating new audiences and attracting young people just out of college.

I chose this article because several of the groups featured are ones I have enjoyed.  As a young Cincinnatian, it is great to see how involved people are in the arts and how all of us take pride in our arts scene.  KellyAnn Nelson, the director of YPCC, one of the groups discussed in the article, is a good friend of my family, and I am always happy to see praise for the great work she is doing.  While Cincinnati is not known for its arts the way Chicago or New York is, the art scene there is second only to these big cities, and perhaps the way it is appealing to young people will expand this art scene even more.

For discussion: Which "chapter" did you find most interesting/useful to you as a performer?  Is there anything that works well that surprised you?

People Play Their Childhood Instruments

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jennylorenzo/people-play-their-childhood-instruments#.ko44Bjyjo

This video "article" shows several people picking up their childhood instrument after about a decade. It was interesting to see how even though they "didn't" remember how to play, their muscle memory allowed them to at least get through Mary Had a Little Lamb.

3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back To The Future

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2015/05/02/403273608/3-d-printers-bring-historic-instruments-back-to-the-future

Researchers at the University of Connecticut are discovering a new way to put 3D printers to use. By taking X-rays and CT scans of earlier models of wind instruments, they are studying the slight variations in build that made individual instruments produce coveted sounds. Through the use of the printers, they are hoping to be able to make replicas of these models that will behave exactly like their 19th century twins.

Is Music the Key to Success?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html?_r=0


This article highlights several well-known, successful individuals whose occupations are not necessarily music-related but who studied music at an advanced level. The author then speculates whether or not there is a significant correlation between diligent musical study and high levels of success

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/tehrans-reborn-symphony-orchestra-an-ovation-before-playing-a-note

We here a lot about symphony orchestras shutting down for many reasons. This article is quite the opposite.

Does music lead to success in other fields?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html

Great article on music leading to success in other fields of study. Opinions?

http://greatist.com/happiness/unexpected-health-benefits-music



Wow I find #7 really great so are you telling me if I listen to soft music I will eat less I am totally down.

http://www.uloop.com/news/view.php/149570/Do-Or-Dont-Studying-While-Listening-To



I really find this article really interesting because in high school I always studied with music and when I took test I always listened to the song I studied to.

Professional Musicians Discuss their College Majors

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/03/musicians-and-their-college-majors.html

Here's an article about 20 different professional musicians and their college majors! It's cool to see the variety of majors that successful musicians have. Seeing that not all of the musicians were music majors is interesting as well.

Stress Release

http://www.unr.edu/counseling/virtual-relaxation-room/releasing-stress-through-the-power-of-music

Do you find music to be a good stress release?

Improvisation Tips

http://www.jazzadvice.com/10-exercises-to-practice-when-youve-run-out-of-ideas/

These are very helpful tips to branch out from the usual ways we practice and to keep being inspired by music.  Which one of these seems most helpful to you when you get stuck?

3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back to the Future

3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back to the Future

This article by Tom Verde discusses the work of Sina Shahbazmohamadi, an engineer who works with Robert Howe, a reproductive endocrinologist who is a Ph.D. candidate in music theory and history at University of Connecticut.  The two work together together to use CT scans, x-rays, and other medical technology in tandem with 3-D printing to create replicas of antique instruments, in the hopes that they can preserve their unique sound.  This would allow concerts to be played in which the music sounds exactly like it did when the compositions were written.

I chose this article because the use of technology for the good of classical music was interesting.  We often accuse technology of being the downfall of classical music; new synthesized music replacing music played by a performer with an instrument, access online making music less profitable.  However, in this case, technology could, in some sense, "save" classical music, or at least preserve what could forever be lost without it.

For discussion: would you be interested in playing an older version of your instrument?  Would you prefer to hear concerts with the instruments as they would have sounded when the composer wrote the music?  Do you think there is any merit in this endeavor?

Why do people keep saying classical music is dead?

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-fat-lady-is-still-singing

Interesting article about how people love to say that classical music is dead. What do you think about the reasons that people give for claiming that classical music is dead? Do you think that the level of classical music sales and popularity will remain consistent or decrease further in the future? (Also, spot the short quote from Joe Horowitz in the article..)

Practicing Productively

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/a-simple-strategy-for-worrying-less-and-practicing-more-productively/

Do you think that these strategies can help you practice more productively?

Why Thinking Out Loud Could Help You Become a More Effective Practicer & Problem-Solver

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-talking-to-yourself-could-help-you-become-a-more-effective-practicer-problem-solver/


This is a very interesting article I came across with a topic that had never occurred to me in the slightest bit. Researchers had multiple trials with over 100 participants and came to the conclusion that think out loud(in the most literal sense), helps us perform better on basically everything. Which obviously can be implemented into practicing.

Pets Enjoy Healing Power of Music

http://www.livescience.com/4791-pets-enjoy-healing-power-music.html

For any pet owners out there! I found this unique article particularly interesting, as I have only really been exposed to the healing powers of music on human beings rather than animals.

12 Amazing Things Scientists Discovered This Year About People Who Listen to Music

http://mic.com/articles/106100/12-amazing-things-scientists-discovered-about-music-this-year

Choose the fact you found most interesting and explain why :)

Music Fusion

http://www.npr.org/2015/04/20/400430705/jazzs-sound-seeker-finds-ancient-strings-from-hungary-and-greece

I really like this article as it is a cool example of a musician doing what he thinks there needs to be more of, a lot like what Mark Applebaum was saying.  One of my favorite aspects of music, especially now, is the fusion of so many different styles and this is exactly what he is doing.

Importance of music

This article is a very unique very of why everyone needs music in their life  and how it affectgs people. DO you agree or disagree?

http://www.shumeiarts.org/article_rutenberg.html

Musicians never dance?

Musicians never dance?

I know many of us in this section actually enjoy dancing. What is your opinion on this article? If you don't dance regularly do you think it would help you improve certain aspects of musicianship or do you think you're fine and dancing is not necessary at all?

College Students and Stress

College Life Stress Nowadays


I love how this article no only addresses the fact that college life can be stressful but also that it has gotten much more competitive over the past years. What do you think are the causes of this inflection? and was it helpful to read about overcoming stress?

Social Media and Music

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2015/04/09/398571112/twitter-outrage-takes-toronto-canceling-two-pianists

This article was interesting because of the power that social media had on music this time.

Classical Pieces VS Pop

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ninamohan/classical-music-recs#.smjkR3ZdL

This article is  pretty awesome and is a good way to just have some classical listenings given to you.

Tradition?

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-tradition-isnt-always-what-its-cracked-up-to-be/

This article was interesting because of how much importance people put on the tradition, but are there more benefits to taking a risk and being more experimental? #21cm

Can film music ever be classical?

Royal Albert Hall director says "film score composers should be treated as 'seriously' as Mozart and Tchaikovsky"

Just one simple question! Discuss your thoughts after reading the article :)

Homework for W 4/29 (comment required)

We'll more of our next three class sessions on improv activities and a bit less on class discussion--although I found much of the discussion yesterday fascinating, and part of this course is to get you more comfortable with expressing yourself verbally in group situations.

There are three YouTibe videos I made some years ago as an introduction to improvisation.

1) Watch them! They are here: https://ericedberg.wordpress.com/video/

2) Do an improv practice session.

• release and babble (both with your voice and on an instrument)
• make a babble-sounds short piece
• play and/or sing a whole bunch of "wrong notes" so you aren't avoiding them
• play/sing notes and short gestures that express a feeling--try this both expressing the feeling you have at the moment, and also picking a feeling at random from the chart below and expressing that.

(source: http://www.theemotionmachine.com/classification-of-emotions)

Then write a comment below about your experience.

Music Education Needs to Be a Click Away

In the article, Music Education Needs to Be a Click Away, David Gelernter laments the fact that his Yale students (aside from serious musicians/music majors) do not even know who Beethoven is, much less anything of his works.  He notes that, despite easy access to huge quantities of musical recordings through services like iTunes and Spotify, it is still difficult to access many great classical recordings.  Additionally, even if they can be accessed, they are often hard to understand.  Even on CD cases, it can be hard to find the performers or sometimes even the date/location of the recording.  Though online services have many recordings of classical pieces (and great classical performers), they are often missing the best.  After making these observations, Gelernter asks his readers to consider how we might examine these issues together and possibly resolve them together.  His suggestion is to create accessible bundles of classical music that children could listen to several times over in chunks, or to match recordings to editions of scores and create a program that would follow along with the recording for you in a score.  This could be useful, he argues, for both professionals and amateurs, who then could communicate in a social-media-like forum.  The end goal would be a more well-educated public and opportunities for classical musicians.

I was instantly interested in this article because, even as a school of music student and a classical musician myself, I often feel that my knowledge of the great classical works is inadequate.  While I am certainly not ignorant of Beethoven, or any of the other huge names, I often find myself horribly undereducated about the lives, works, and influence of the less "mainstream" greats.  Unless I have performed in or seen their works, I sometimes have no knowledge at all.  Until I decided to pursue music seriously, I never listened to classical music regularly.  I suffer from the modern lack of exposure to classical music just as Gelernter's Yale students do, just to a lesser degree.  However, what I found most intriguing was his suggestion of the site for scores and recordings to be synced that could also serve as a sort of "communication platform" for musicians and listeners.  It struck me as very similar to our concept at DePauw for 21cm.org and "the hub."

Therefore, my discussion question for all of you is, could we feasibly incorporate something like this into the networking system for musicians we are creating here at DePauw?  What would it look like? How would we appeal to the larger public?  And, for those of you interested in music education, how could it be used to better educate and interest our youth in the great classical composers and their works?

Benefits of being a classically trained musician

benefits-of-being-classically-trained

The Audition

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/2012/06/boston-symphony-orchestra-audition/print/

(This article is a little long but its really interesting!)

What do you think about the differing experiences of Mike Tetreault and Lee Vinson? Do you think the mindset that they share is common among musicians? Should it be common?

Do you think that the audition process has evolved into something much more stressful and traumatizing that it should be?

Reward vs Punishment

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/reward-vs-punishment-which-results-in-better-learning/

Discussion Question: What do you think of the results of this experiment?

Where to study music?

http://majoringinmusic.com/finding-the-right-school-2/

This article is about whether it is more beneficial to study music at the conservatory, liberal arts university, or music school within a university setting. This is the time of year when prospective students are making their decisions on where to attend musical school. I'm curious to hear everyone's opinions and the pros and cons of each!

Introduction to Music for People (comment required)

We are going to start exploring improvisation with our voices and major instruments (if yours isn't voice), using approaches developed by an organization called Music for People.

Bring your major instrument to class Monday. 

Go to audio.depauw.edu, log in with your network/Moodle username and password, and listen to tracks 1 and 2 of "The Darling Conversations."

Also read the Music for People Bill of Musical Rights.

I'll talk about Music for People more in class. For now I'll say that it was started by middle-aged people, including classical musicians who were burned out from decades of perfectionism and had lost touch for their love and joy in making music, as well as people who were told as children they were not musically talented and never had the opportunity to express themselves musically.

There's a free, non-judgmental "there are no wrong notes" spirit in Music for People workshops which allows, as do all free-improv situations, for some magic and, as with drum circles, healing to occur.

The important thing for you to know is that this is a counterbalance, not a replacement, for the rigors of your classical training. You know hard what you are doing now is, rebuilding technique, constantly facing new challenges, some of which feel impossible. Many people, especially the most serious and dedicated of us, end up spending too much time in the inner world of "I'm not good enough."

Many of us professional musicians who discovered the Music for People approach late in life believe that if young musicians are introduced to these principles earlier in life, they can get through the rigors of professional music training while holding on to more of the joy and openness to their own creativity.

Writing prompt:

1. A few people always get upset listening to the 2nd track when David starts talking about using the word "genius" more liberally, and for various reasons. How about you and your classmates? Could you actually be capable of genius? Of genius moments? What about "fantastic" moments? If you are thinking, no, not me, could you be limiting yourself?
2. Which point in the Bill of Musical Rights resonated the most with you? The least?

Discussion of Mark Applebaum's Presentation (comment required)

Well, I had a great time at Mark Applebaum's talk--I found it enormously stimulating and enlivening. Terrific inspiration for thinking outside the box, and I found his "creative crisis" as he works to balance his "contribution" and "consumption" work fascinating. It's a way of looking at things that had not occurred to me before.

Writing prompt for your comment:

1. What did you find most interesting in the talk?
2. What did you find most confusing? (I kept wanting push "pause" and explain some of the terms he was using. I don't think he works with a lot of first-year students.)
3. How much do you think about what you can contribute to musical culture, as opposed to becoming a part of the existing culture?

Homework for W 2/22 Part II (comment required): "Musicking," Relationships, and Recent Experiences

For Wednesday, read this four-page excerpt from a lecture by Christopher Small. Print out a hard copy and bring to class, as we will discuss it in detail.

Some of the key points the author makes:

• Music is a shared human activity and should be thought of as activity, rather than things. So he argues that we should use "music" as a verb even more than the way we typically do, as a noun.
  
• While our classical-music culture focuses often on the "meaning" of "works" (compositions), this is not true in many other cultures.
  
• It is the relationships brought into being at a performance (formal or informal) that give an event its "meaning," as much or even more so than the actual works/compositions/pieces handed down by aural/oral tradition themselves.
  
• The type of relationships brought into being and modeled at a performance reflect a set of values. He goes so far as to say they represent someone's "ideal universe."

This is a challenging question that I'm posing to you, because we don't often think about these social aspects of performances as much as we do about how effectively the performers performed. It's an essential question, though, as we think about what it means to be a musician in the 21st century and how we get people to events.

In a comment below, describe a recent performance (informal or formal, so singing in church, or singing with friends in a dorm lounge, would count just as much as a formal concert) in which you participated, and describe as many of the relationships that were present at the performance, and then speculate on what values those relationships represent. 

• We are using the term performance very broadly, to mean any situation in which someone sang or played music and one or more people listened.
  
• The kinds of relationships include how the people making music (performers) related to each other, how the listeners (members of the audience) related to each other, and how the performers and listeners related to each other. 
• Examples of "values": Was there a conductor? That represents, among other things, the value of a leader in charge. Did performers interact with the audience? That represents a value of personal connection and interaction.  Was the concert very formal with no direct interaction between performers and audience? That (usually) represents a value of focus on the music itself and not on the people playing it. 

Homework for W 2/22 Part I (comment required): Peter Meyer's talk on Monday

Let's discuss Peter's talk:

• your overall impression/experience
• what the most valuable things you took away from it are
• what addition questions it raised for you or ideas it sparked

We'll spend part of our time Wednesday discussing this. 

Write comments below!

(This should take 10-15 minutes.)

Bach Cello Suite No.1 for Boomwhackers?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5seI0eJZCg

Is this 21cm, or what do you think? Should we stray away from traditional instruments?

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-talking-to-yourself-could-help-you-become-a-more-effective-practicer-problem-solver/

I loved stumbling upon this article because throughout high school I had discovered that talking out loud for things like math problems helped me to grasp concepts more quickly and thoroughly. However, I had never thought of the "thinking out-loud" approach to my experience as a musician. This article highlights several common approaches to problem solving and the effectiveness of these ways.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/11/music.aspx
Music as Medicine

I remember my previous violin teacher sharing an interest in music psychology and therapy as a profession, so I thought I would revisit the topic. This article fascinated me because of the fist paragraph which discussed the effect of different sounds such as singing and heartbeat-like drums on infants.

"22 Struggles of Music Majors"

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ninamohan/struggles-all-music-majors-go-through#.rop8Yq8Vr
Well, there were so many actual articles and videos posted, I thought I'd mix it up with a lighter thing.  I think it is interesting that many of the struggles we face as students here, are pretty universal across music majors.  (And a little humor is definitely necessary to get through the next few weeks).

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-many-hours-a-day-should-you-practice/


This article seems to be a really great reference for working to have quality practice sessions that won't waste our time, as time is something that we all desperately value. The article is also pretty organized, since it lays out steps and numbers off each example of poor practicing versus the examples of how to practice well with goals, strategies etc.

TED talk - Amanda Palmer: The Art of asking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMj_P_6H69g

This is a TED talk by Amanda Palmer, a pianist and singer, about making a career out of music. I really like this talk because she describes her journey from street performer fresh out of music school to (fairly) well-known and loved musician. She talks about asking people for help in her music career and about how she makes her music for free now because the dynamic between her and her fans has changed. The argument about paying for music/not paying for music is particularly relevant now, because of the popularity of Spotify and other free music streaming services. Overall, I really appreciate the message she conveys - that musicians should respect their fans as much as their fans respect them. Her focus on human interaction and artistic success (rather than huge commercial success) as the basis of a music career is something I think is very important.

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/what-every-musician-ought-to-know-about-stage-fright/

This article was an easy pick for me to make. Stage fright is something that effects me way too much, it cripples me almost to the point of being unable to play when it comes to performances that will be evaluated or anything with an audience of more than zero and I am the soloist. Reading through this article is a nice little nudge that basically says "hey relax, it happens to everybody". It just takes some concentration and learning how to control the adrenaline and use it to your advantage. (Also the bananas really do help.)

Five Reasons Why Music Helps Students With Special Needs

http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/01/13/5-reasons-why-music-helps-children-with-special-needs/

I have recently found an interest in music education and what we as music educators can do to include students with special needs. I found this article and topic to be interesting because I was in band with a student who suffered from autism. I watched this student grow in both musical skill and overall development due a lot to his musical experiences. It is so beautiful to watch someone who struggled every day with activities that we do every day and blossom through the gift of music. Music is a healing power.

http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/03/19/intv-amanpour-noah-stewart.cnn

The video above shows a very common struggle for African-Americans in the US regarding opera. I thought it was very amazing to see such a talented tenor break rules and go against what everyone told him he couldn't do.

The growth of Music Therapy

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/23/health/music-therapy/




I picked this article because it has a lot of information not only on what music therapists do but also why and how the practice works. The real life examples of situations were also very interesting.

Is it really all practice?

6 Tips for Musicians

The latest topic in school has been about how much positive practice we need to make happen a day or a week for our musicianship/performance skills to improve. Practice does make better but is that all we need as musicians?





I find this article to emphasize practice as much as any professor would but it also touches other things we may not speak of very often. I personally can't remember the last time someone said that you must enjoy what you do. Once you make music your career everyone makes it seem like much of an obligation and this begins gets engraved in our heads. What about being innovative? Does this mean that you HAVE to come up with the next new kind of performance or the best way to ask for money? What about collaboration? What are some things you think this article missed on that you may or may not have done before?
















http://blog.sonicbids.com/6-qualities-all-successful-musicians-have

Musicians mix classical music and social awarness

http://www.bu.edu/today/2014/musicians-mix-classical-music-and-social-awareness/

Computers vs. Composers

Could a computer program replace human composers?

It seems surreal that artificial intelligence is able to comprehend the complexities associated with music, such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and harmony. Now computers are able to take control of music completely and compose a piece just by using a set of algorithms. I've always believed that composing music takes imagination, initiative, and intuition: qualities associated with human beings. It's hard to believe that a machine that has no feeling, no emotion, no personal experiences, has the ability to compose music in any style.

This breakthrough in musical composition is hailed as one of the greatest achievements of artificial intelligence. It goes without saying that I am forever grateful for technology and its ability to make the compositional process so easy and efficient. However, I believe that letting computers completely take over such an a humane and artistic craft seems to be taking it too far. These technological advances really make you wonder about the future. Will human composers eventually become obsolete? 

At the end of the article, you can listen to a a sample of Melomic's tune, and Iamus' Kinoth for Violin and Piano. What do you think of these pieces? Do they sound like they could have been composed by a human? 

How Playing an Instrument Benefits your Brain

How Playing an Instrument Benefits your Brain

If you have ever wondered what was going on in your brain when you are playing music, this short Ted-Ed video is perfect for you!

Music is very beneficial to brain activity. Playing music is like a brain workout, engaging almost every area of the brain at once. Over time these brain functions will strengthen, forming a super brain (the specific affects will be explained in the video).

I chose this article because I have heard a fair amount of musicians discussing why they are in music, and if it is even worth their time. Even if you are not looking at music as a full time career, the affects of playing a musical instrument will benefit you in any job that you choose to pursue.

Discussion Question: Do you think that this video over-exaggerates the affects of music on the brain?

Article: Groupmuse

Startup Bets on Millenials and House Parties to Save Classical Music

The above article, published on Time Magazine's website, and its accompanying video discuss a Boston, Mass., startup known as "Groupmuse."  Groupmuse, started in 2013 by Sam Bodkin, attempts to combat the "stuffy atmosphere" associated with classical music and create an accessible, relaxed environment in which today's young people can coexist comfortably with the classical music they might otherwise avoid.  Groupmuse's magic lies in the closeness of the performers to the audience and a simple setting: a house party.  Avoiding the rules and etiquette associated with formal classical concerts, the audience is able to engage with the music in a new way, physically closer to the performers, applauding whenever they feel moved, and eating and drinking while the concert is happening.  There is only one rule: during the performance, there must be a quiet, respectful atmosphere.  It makes classical movement real and relevant in a way most Millennials have never experienced, and changes it from a high-brow, elitist art form into something anyone can enjoy.

I chose this article because it is extraordinarily relevant to the concept of a 21st century musician.  The musicians who perform in Groupmuse are only a few years older than today's undergraduate music students, and they are making their living not in a traditional concert hall, but in an innovative, entrepreneurial way.  They are also combatting the very real problems of a lack of audience understanding.  Instead of giving up hope, they are meeting audiences where they are and creating educated audiences out of those who have little experience with classical music.  The attitude that all are welcome as long as they are respectful changes the way they approach these performances and makes an inviting atmosphere for audiences.  This is not an attitude always found in school of music students, especially those in conservatories, and all young classical musicians can learn from it.

For discussion:  What is your opinion on such startups?  Are we degrading classical music in some way by taking it out of the traditional concert hall setting?  Do classical performers have a responsibility to attempt to reach a new younger audience, or is it the responsibility of teachers and parents to instill an appreciation for this music in their children?

Homework for W 4/15 (comment required)

On Wednesday, we'll be discussing the role of Babtunde Olatunji in helping to create awareness of and interest in African music in the United States, and the way he indirectly helped starts the community drum circle movement.

Read:

"Change the World: A Cross-Country Conversation Between Babatunde Olatunji and Arthur Hull" http://drumcircle.com/articles/baba.html

The "Introduction" (by Eric Charry) to Babatunde Olatunji's memoir, The Beat of My Drum: http://www.temple.edu/tempress/chapters_1400/1436_ch1.pdf

In a comment below, discuss what you found most interesting in each piece. Be sure to take notes and to bring them with you to class. Also, it's much easier to discuss readings if you have printed a hard copy.