Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Fundamental issue with the Education system

Is it's ran by morons.
School's are businesses, and the only way to get anything done is to treat them like businesses.

This is now my THIRD school I have attended since I graduated from High School, I think I have figured this out to the point of insanity.

EXAMPLE: I want to do a recital this semester. By UNT standards, I need to sign up for "Dissertation" hours in order for it to count towards my degree. This makes perfect sense, I have to do 4 recitals including a lecture recital and I need 12 hours in dissertation credit to complete the degree.

You also need 16 hours of lessons to complete your degree... so that means... 2 set of credits are geared toward the same material. Obviously in "Dissertation" I am working on recital prep... as would I be doing the same if it were just classified as "lessons".

Excuse me, are you charging me extra for the same instruction? I thought I was being paid to play at this school, NOW I have to pay for 3 more credits on top of lessons to play a REQUIRED recital for the degree. I am being paid to play music for a school in which I have to pay money to play????

Oh I get it, you are trying to get your money back aren't you?  That isn't how a business is ran!!!! You hire someone and then expect them to pay YOU!??

Furthermore, to soften the blow, administration tells you " at least you get to break the dissertation hours up over the course of 3 years, other Doctoral majors have to take it all in their last semester"

WRONG!! I guarantee anyone who is a Doctoral candidate is spending as many hours in the library and in the field as I do in the practice room and analyzing music.  The only difference is... I get to pay a little every year, and they pay a lump sum at the end of their degree...

WAIT A SECOND!!!! We all know tuition goes up every year... so I am paying more on the credit every year since I am breaking the total 12 dissertation credits up 4 times... as opposed to paying the flat rate tuition for a total of 12 hours. I AM PAYING MORE FOR MY DEGREE OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME!!!!

Obviously I am pissed, these are the obstacles you go through that this business doesn't warn you about.
There are high school kids busting their asses taking AP courses and retaking the ACT and SAT to get higher grades so that schools will  HELP pay for tuition. (not including the bullshit fees)  Let's face it, its the United States Education System... when those unsuspecting freshmen come in bright eyed and a little nervous to take the entrance exams to hopefully place out of remedial courses... their education and hard work still isn't good enough for you... therefore.. they have to take the remedial courses before they can take their major classes... thus keeping them there longer and making them pay more and more each year.


FUCK YOU!! you are robbing kids of their education... Let me remind you, you gave us that "great" president who started "No Child Left Behind" and look where that got us... yeah yeah.. there are some perks of course... but now the kids are getting left behind because they can't afford to go to school anymore!!!!!

AND ON THAT NOTE!! Why in music, will I have to take MORE theory classes... what else is there that I haven't learned in my undergrad or master's??? let me rephrase that... WHAT INFORMATION ARE YOU KEEPING FROM ME WHERE I HAVE TO PAY YOU AND STAY IN SCHOOL FOR 3 MORE YEARS TO GET SAID INFORMATION?

The Education system is broken just like everything else in this country... then you drive down the road and see someone homeless... and you are thankful that you had the opportunity to get an education.

This is a rant, no time to consider syntax, phrase structure or anything along those lines.  You see these posts all the time about individuals complaining about school... to only find the essay littered with flaws of grammar and such... I understand now... when people are mad... they can only speak the way the feel... it is raw and emotional... and you can't grade that.. so put your pens away and take me off of your 4.0 scale... I'm done with that... our greatest minds spent years in school... then spent the rest of their lives trying to forget everything they learned.

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."-Einstein

Monday, January 23, 2012

I got a new toy.







It's a contrabass trombone.  I don't really have a "how low can you play complex" I just like the way the damn thing sounds!!

I've been attempting to figure all of it's little twists out and all that noise. But here is what I've been able to accomplish in a few hours.





That video is kind of a response to Colin Stetson doing his thing on bass sax
The power is nothing without control

                                                                                                           

                                                                                           

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Beautiful Music

Alarm Will Sound posted this on their page this morning.


The ideas of a mathematician and wanted to create a piece of music with no repetition.  Little did he know that Schoenberg and Boulez and others were already attempting this.  Although he does mention Schoenberg... it is kind of done in a haphazard approach... not giving credit where credit is due.

Instead, he tries to explain through mathematical phenomena of how to compose a piece of no repetition.. yet isn't random. (I know... serialism vs. indeterminacy... the old battle)

The funny thing to me is that at one time in history, music and math were 2 sides of the same coin...
Yet, musicians and composers over the years have seemed to figure out things about our craft by using math and science and nature (Hello Varese, Bartok, Berg)  but the mathematicians are just now discovering how to do the same.

Oddly enough they use proofs that correlate with the piano, or did the piano come first based on fantastic engineering... again, 2 sides of the same coin.

At about 7:52 seconds you can hear the piece played on piano.  A piece that could be played on any instrument, provided it has the same range the piano does.  You'll notice a lack of harmony, dynamics, articulation... there is pitch and duration.  So it is missing a few key components of total serialism.

I'm sure the piano player was told to play it exactly as it is written, and that it is meant to be "Ugly"
If someone told me that, I would play it just as aggressively and emotionless as he did.  Which says something about my ideas of beauty.

This just proves there is more to music than playing the notes on 
the page. Being a slave to the black dots is what keeps musicians 
from reaching their inner emotion. Piss on adding dynamics, 
phrasing, style, etc. Just play the way the music and tell a story... all 
the other stuff will follow naturally. Besides, when composers write 
specific detail (with a few exceptions) it is truly left to the 
performer to realize the intention.

The issue lies in the conventional, the conservative.  Although I find this very interesting, I think it can say a lot about the current music state of "play what's written and nothing more"  There are no more freedoms and liberties people are willing to take. (Not all inclusive) Learn to let go, and I can guarantee that music will be amazing

"I try to free music from the barren traditions that stifle it" - Debussy

Friday, January 20, 2012

As a follow up.


To my whole diatribe about the moon, a friend linked me to this video.  Strange, vocal like sounds coming from no where.  Some reported that these sounds get so rowdy that it shakes their houses.  The earliest record of THESE sounds comes from November of last year.

I did a little research.. and found this sound is related to ocean waves.

"When two waves of opposite direction but similar frequency collide, they create a pressure wave that carries energy to the ocean bottom. As these waves pound against the sea floor, they generate a constant vibration with a frequency of about 10 millihertz, much too low for humans to hear but easily detectable with seismometers. "

My question is how can we hear it?  Supposedly, it is too low of a frequency to hear... so maybe something is changing rapidly.  Remember my moon post and how it is changing rapidly??  Ocean tides are directly related to the moon, right??  Maybe we should start paying attention to what is going on around us that is amazing and natural... then focusing on man made chaos like war and SOPA.

I think a new age is coming of some sort. Not the end of the world completely, but the end of the world as we have become familiar.  I think phenomena like this are showing that the earth is more dependent on the moon than we are of it.

As a follow up.

To my whole diatribe about the moon, a friend linked me to this video.  Strange, vocal like sounds coming from no where.  Some reported that these sounds get so rowdy that it shakes their houses.  The earliest record of THESE sounds comes from November of last year.

I did a little research.. and found this sound is related to ocean waves.


"When two waves of opposite direction but similar frequency collide, they create a special kind of pressure wave that carries energy to the ocean bottom. As these waves pound against the sea floor, they generate a constant vibration with a frequency of about 10 millihertz, much too low for humans to hear but easily detectable with seismometers. "


My question is how can we hear it?  Supposedly, it is too low of a frequency to hear... so maybe something is changing rapidly.  Remember my moon post and how it is changing rapidly??  Ocean tides are directly related to the moon, right??  Maybe we should start paying attention to what is going on around us that is amazing and natural... then focusing on man made chaos like war and SOPA.


I think a new age is coming of some sort. Not the end of the world completely, but the end of the world as we have become familiar.  I think phenomena like this are showing that the earth is more dependent on the moon than we are of it.

As a follow up.

To my whole diatribe about the moon, a friend linked me to this video.  Strange, vocal like sounds coming from no where.  Some reported that these sounds get so rowdy that it shakes their houses.  The earliest record of THESE sounds comes from November of last year.

I did a little research.. and found this sound is related to ocean waves.


"When two waves of opposite direction but similar frequency collide, they create a special kind of pressure wave that carries energy to the ocean bottom. As these waves pound against the sea floor, they generate a constant vibration with a frequency of about 10 millihertz, much too low for humans to hear but easily detectable with seismometers. "


My question is how can we hear it?  Supposedly, it is too low of a frequency to hear... so maybe something is changing rapidly.  Remember my moon post and how it is changing rapidly??  Ocean tides are directly related to the moon, right??  Maybe we should start paying attention to what is going on around us that is amazing and natural... then focusing on man made chaos like war and SOPA.


I think a new age is coming of some sort. Not the end of the world completely, but the end of the world as we have become familiar.  I think phenomena like this are showing that the earth is more dependent on the moon than we are of it.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Prison

Being a prisoner in your own home can give you plenty of time to do all of those things you never wanted to do.

I've been able to read up on some great articles, like one by Dave Douglas, or this awesome set of
re colorizations.  At any rate, it's given me a perspective that comes every once in awhile.  When you take a break from real life and all your focus is on ONE bad thing keeping you from living that life... you start to think that things aren't so bad. That maybe if you can just get over that one obstacle... things really are amazing.  I got over that superficial obstacle today and I am going to try and keep this sense of revelation throughout the year.

Things are great... yes some bad things happen... but just be prepared and the light over that mole hill isn't too far off.

(I felt Darwin was a good representative of this evolution for me)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

SOPA

I honestly don't know where I stand on the whole issue.
Yes I do believe that people and their intelligent property should be protected, but the whole piracy issue is a product of the industry we live in.

Break it down to what people are really bitching about: videos, music, links, free information from wikipedia or google.

Yes, I do understand that this is an infringement on civil liberties... but the only reason the general public is "pirating" is because everything costs too damn much.... and it feels so damn good to get the things we want immediately.

No more do you hear about people waiting patiently for new albums or movies... instead they just wait for "leaks".  WHY?????

BECAUSE IT SHOULDN'T COST $25 TO SEE SOME GAY VAMPIRES PRANCING AROUND IN GLITTER!

Look at bands like Radiohead or Tool.  They create manufacture and sell their own CREATIVE, BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED products at a reasonable price that isn't greedy nor selfish.

Yes, stop SOPA... but instead of blocking info (google) why don't you put some of your trillions of dollars towards helping lower the cost to be ENTERTAINED!!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

No matter how you measure it

Whether it be hours passed, gas stops, or miles traveled... doing it alone is an unusual thing.
First thing I did was put on every The Mars Volta album I owned and listened to them straight through.
(9 hours worth)

Next came substantial nodding and chit chatting...Brie getting antsy and nosey.

 Eventually I made it home. Greeted by horrific traffic on the Dallas turnpike.
Waiting for me is a crap load of bills and notices.

I pay them bills, see that the notices are for cook outs and apartment related stuff.

My apt is still the same.. no break ins.. no messes... welcoming.
Smelled like a beach house for some reason.

I unpack... nothing special.. turn on the games and my mood is immediately shifted to my typical Sunday banter...



It feels good to be home.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Time to head back...

To Dallas. My last few hours in Ky have been spent being an adult and what not with car maintenance.

As much as I am going to miss being home (as I always do) I am looking forward to getting back to my academic life and learning some more. PLus, I am looking forward to getting back to the 60 plus weather.

So I am off to hang with a few friends and have a few beers before I drive into the rising sun and head into completion of my first doctoral year.

Hey, it can only get easier right?

Peace and love to my Ky crew, see you all in June.

Self Portrait in 3 Colors

Last semester I had the opportunity to hang and play with some incredible bass trombone players.  I took this chance to do a little arranging for a trio of bass bones.

Here is the first installment: (with a little bass bone hang thrown in there)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

$NEW PROJECT$

About a year ago, I asked a friend of mine Terrence Wright to write an unaccompanied piece for me. Much to my pleasure he agreed and got to work.  I had met Terrence while in my undergrad at UK and liked what I heard. Considering he was also a trombone player... I trusted his instincts of the instrument.  A few months later and he emailed me the piece "Grid".  Fantastic piece of music that just connected with me.  Then I realized, it was a piece for me and about me.  Now, what this said to my internal artist is a different story.


I was able to work on and premiere the piece at the University of North Texas in front of 90 fellow trombonist and 3 of the 4 trombone faculty members. It felt great sounded great and it was the first time most of those people had heard me play.  Thankfully, I had a fan base sitting in the back row!

That being said, it inspired me to take my mentor's advice (Dave Taylor) and start commissioning pieces for the instrument.  Obviously, I've been writing extensively for my album, but I decided to take a break from writing and get back to playing.

I called and emailed some of my friends who have really amazed me in their writing and creativity.  The beauty is, all of those composers have unique, eccentric styles.  My goal is to have at least 5 more pieces (unaccompanied) and give the premiers in a recital at UNT.

So what is in it for the composer?
Well, obviously writing for the bass trombone isn't a "go to" instrument.  But I am currently residing in the MECCA... the factory of the world where trombone players doing nothing but live the instrument.
On top of that, one of my teachers, Vern Kagarice, owns his own music publishing company.  This means that if he likes what he hears, he has no problem with buying the piece and publishing it for mass sale.  Think about that for a second. Someone willing to publish new material, and performing the piece for 90+ potential buyers.  The odds are in the favor of the composer of the piece!

At this point everything seems to be rolling along just fine.  I encourage anyone that reads this to pass it on, because there is nothing better in the music world that helping another person out!

Monday, January 9, 2012

A generation of men raised by women

Is one of my favorite quotes from Fight Club, but it holds merit in the real world as well. By no means am I saying that being a boy raised by a woman is a bad thing, but I certainly think that a young boy needs a male figure in his life.  Obviously comes the argument of what a positive role model is and all that garbage, but at the end of the day, there are some things that a boy can't learn from a woman.

I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had grown up with a consistent female figure in my life.  I honestly believe I would have turned out completely different.  (yes, I do believe in nature vs. nurture)

Then I notice that I have a close group of friends who were strictly raised by their father (or some other paternal figure) and realized that we appeared to be much more well suited to society, reality and all of its struggles, ingenuity and overall well being.  Of course this isn't all inclusive and as we get older, we choose exactly what we take from our experiences and how they shape us.

I guess what I am dancing around is, how our culture rewards uncharacteristic behaviors of boys and girls based on their upbringing.  When someone finally comes out on facebook, they are greeted with congratulatory fame. Why?  When some boy is defended by his older brother against his dad for wanting "a female oriented game" he is applauded. Why?  Just as that boy has a right to get that game, his father has a right to be upset.  You may not agree with the principal, but who are you to decide what is right and wrong to begin with?  What if came I out on facebook and very bluntly said how I shifted some girls insides last night? Would I be applauded? No, so why should something so minuscule as coming out of the closet be so championed?

I guess at the end of the day I don't see any one circumstance any more important than another.  Everything and everybody is treated equal in my book. Some people get upset with me, but it is truly the only fair way of dealing with individuals.

Let's be honest, there are only (insert arbitrary number) situations in the world.  Whether it be money, people, religion, whatever... they are all the same.  The only thing that changes are the places and the faces. Once you figure out how to deal with the situation, it can only get easier and easier.

Although I may be spouting out things you already know, it doesn't necessarily mean you agree. That's great. If everyone agreed we wouldn't have conversation... then again... if everyone agreed we wouldn't have conflict.

It may seem that I have really gotten away from my point of having a strong male figure and just started ranting, but all of my views and ideas were derived from one person.
My dad.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Something I found interesting



Yesterday a friend of mine, Joe hipped me to this thing happening with the moon. At first I was a little out of it since astronomy was never really my thing. Then he started showing me pictures of a full moon in december from 2008 to 2011. I went a little further and found pictures of February and December of each year.
Dec 2008
Feb 2009

Dec 2009

Feb 2010

Dec  2010
Dec 2011

Obviously disregarding the various colors and cameras used to take these photos, there is something remarkable happening.  In the Dec 2008 picture, there is a gigantic crater at the southern "pole" of the moon. Each month it is rotating around the moon in a counterclockwise motion until Dec 2011 where it has almost made a complete cycle. WHY does this interest me? Because we are told that the moon is dead. We only see one side of the moon all the time as it orbits around us.  Therefore it doesn't rotate on an axis of any sort.  It just exists.  As a kid I remember thinking the dark spots look like snoopy riding a bike. You can look up at the moon tonight and see that it is upside down snoopy riding a bike.

So why is something so gigantic not being discussed?  It's not like humans have done anything to cause this, so for once we can actually study something and not take blame.

To me, the very cool thing is that the moon is turning counter clockwise, as in nature everything spins to the left (protons, electrons, etc).  The other idea is that perhaps the earth has shifted so our vantage point of the moon is different. In which case, that means we have had a polar shift and we didn't even notice. Tides haven't been affected, but weather sure as hell has been whacky.

I think that the moon is mirroring the earth's physical state. In that, there is proof that the earth as we know it is in fact coming to an end. Electro magnetic fields are changing and land masses are shifting.  If that is the case, it seems like it is the moving car theory. Where we are in a fixed position in a car, but everything around us is moving in its fixed position. Therefore, we don't even recognize anything is happening.

Something big is happening and I find it interesting that this happened within the time NASA has shut down, and the year of great prophecy.

I'll leave you on this note: Here is the typical moon cycle.





And this is the moon in October of 2010:



Something is happening, and we need to know about it.


Monday, January 2, 2012

... and I'm back

I stopped blogging awhile ago because it became littered with garbage and became too personal. Not that I am trying to forget about that stuff, just felt like it wasn't worth publishing for the masses.

There are great story tellers out there, so why ruin it with blogs.
So why do another blog?  Eh, why not?
Because 140 characters just isn't enough anymore?
Because I want to complain?
 Who cares anymore, it gives me something to do and gets me back into the habit of typing again.

SO to pick up where I last left off:
My dad passed away in March of 2011. Yes, it sucks, I miss him but life goes on and he didn't raise me to be a postmortem pansy.  He held on long enough to get the news that got into UNT to start my DMA.
On that note, I graduated with my Master's in Jazz from MSM.  The relationships that I made there are going to last a lifetime.  If there is anything that my master's taught me, is that you can't take on something of great difficulty alone.  You need friends there every step of the way to keep you sane.  Besides, at the end of the day, it's the people you hang with that are going to make you famous.

The summer was great. It started with a regular 2 week gig getting paid decent money and hanging with old friends. Booze, bitches and music; what else do you need.  As soon as that was finished I began working at The Governor's School for the Arts and had a blast.  It is great to teach driven kids who want nothing more than to be creative and expressive.  I had a little time off and began working my normal band camp and such. A little less rewarding especially if you consider additional staff input and childish behavior.  Regardless, it gave me plenty of time and money to get my ass down to Texas.

My first semester was pretty good, met some great cats and have had some great hangs.  Of course you know I have some stories to tell, but you will need to hang out with me to hear them.  Classes are rewarding and my playing is getting better. The only stifling thing is the creativity around there.  Everyone is stuck in the past and aren't looking ahead.  They don't think the same way that New Yorkers think (naturally) something as simple as articulation can make you the next big thing.  

Looking forward into the new year I have big plans.  First things first, is to get my first album recorded.  I'm looking forward to getting my man Steve Newcomb down to play and record.  Show these Texans how we do MSM style!!  Secondly, get going hard on this recital requirement deal (3 performing and a lecture) likewise my thesis so I can finish on time.  The unfortunate thing is that I don't really like playing with the rhythm brothers down here as much as I did back in the city, so I probably fly a crew down for those as well.  Everyone is always up for a hang in the music world.  

I'm also looking forward to a chance to go to the Lucerne Music Festival this summer.  I'm feeling really good about my playing and I have never been to Europe.  If anything, just to get the experience. 

On a smaller level, I'd like to get something published this year. Music, or an article. Anything really.

As of right now I am in Ky relaxing and enjoying good family and friends.  
That's enough catching up.