PA:
"i know, this is complicated - but it makes sens, when you start understanding."
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thoughts:
Beethoven and Bernstein rock (Beethoven rocks harder than Bernstien, of course), but Strauss just doesn't. Sorry, buddy.
It is my theory that in large groups, all conversations inevidably end up on the topic of old tv shows. Either that or Mr. Kreines.
I love the Princess Bride. Really. Every time I see it (it's been, like, 6 times now) it gets better. INCONCEIVABLE! And I read the book for the 5th time this summer. It's a good airplane book. It makes the time pass quickly, and you can get through the whole thing in one trip.
Friends=<3
Chocolate=<3
Sugar highs=<3
Music appreciation kids....just....no.
Smiles, smiles, smiles! I'm lovin' life right now.
It is currently 2:32 AM.
Beethoven and Bernstein rock (Beethoven rocks harder than Bernstien, of course), but Strauss just doesn't. Sorry, buddy.
It is my theory that in large groups, all conversations inevidably end up on the topic of old tv shows. Either that or Mr. Kreines.
I love the Princess Bride. Really. Every time I see it (it's been, like, 6 times now) it gets better. INCONCEIVABLE! And I read the book for the 5th time this summer. It's a good airplane book. It makes the time pass quickly, and you can get through the whole thing in one trip.
Friends=<3
Chocolate=<3
Sugar highs=<3
Music appreciation kids....just....no.
Smiles, smiles, smiles! I'm lovin' life right now.
It is currently 2:32 AM.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
I don't even know what is going on inside me sometimes. It would be great if someone could just tell you, yeah, the way you feel right now is because of _________, and it means _________, and it means that you should do _________. But nobody is going to tell you what your feelings mean. You have to figure it out, deal with it, act upon it, ignore it, or whatever all by yourself. That's just the way life is.
Wow, my days are so long. I think of things that happened earlier in the day, and I can hardly believe that they happened in the same day are right now.
Okay, so this is a forum for me, right? So I can complain here all I want. Complain complain complain. Well, I just got a paper back that I thought was pretty good (at least in my standards), and I only got an 8 out of 10 on it. And I'm a little put off by that. I don't see any reason why I should have gotten an 80% on this paper. Let's see what you guys think.
These were the directions:
Choose two (2) of the following statements that seem to you express clearly different ideas about music. In a brief (500-600 words) essay identify each author, discuss what you think she or he meant to convey, and explain which statement you find more convincing.
This is what I wrote:
Everybody in the world has heard music in some form, but music does not mean the same thing to every person. Each individual on the planet has a different take on music’s purpose and effects. For example, Alphonse de Lamartine, a writer and politician, says that “Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.” On the other hand, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a mathematician, says that “The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” These are both valid arguments, but they are completely opposed to one another.
Lamartine thinks that music has a definite emotional value. He believes that music comes from the heart, and that it is meant to move people, possibly even more than words do (“It commences where speech ends”). He is saying, in essence, that music is what people use to express themselves when words are no longer adequate. Leibniz, in contrast, says that music has no emotional value, but that it brings pleasure because of unconscious counting. In his view, music has the same appeal as arithmetic.
Probably every musician that I know (including myself) will tend to side with Lamartine in this musical dichotomy, but I do think that Leibniz’s statement has some value. Call me crazy, but I enjoy a good bit of arithmetic every once in a while, and, just as Leibniz states, I find myself, from time to time, sitting in a concert hall, listening to a concert, counting measures to myself. I do not believe that this unconscious counting (which becomes conscious every so often) brings me the pleasure that Leibniz claims it does, but I will confess that it happens. Especially in very rhythmic pieces, counting may be a factor in the universal appeal to music.
However, I, as a musician, find Lamartine’s statement overall to be much more relevant. Music is more than “unconscious counting,” and anyone who says that it is must not know much about music. Music has life; music has meaning; music comes “from the heart.” Why else would people feel so revitalized after listening to a Brahms Symphony, or so awestruck after listening to a powerful Wagner piece, or so peaceful after listening to the unique harmonies of Vaughn Williams, or so full of sadness after listening to Barber’s Adagio for Strings?--certainly not because they were counting unconsciously for an hour. No, there must be more to music than what meets the eye, and I think that Lamartine’s statement exemplifies this to perfection. Out of all the art forms, I think that music expresses emotion the most deeply and perfectly. Feelings are impossible to describe through words (try, for example, to explain what “anger” is), but they can be described through music.
Every person in the world has a different opinion about music. In particular, Alphonse de Lamartine thinks that “Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends,” and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz thinks that “Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” I tend to agree with Lamartine in this battle of interpretation, but that doesn’t make his idea more “right.” In the end, it is a good thing that nobody has quite the same view. After all, what would the world be like if we all were the same?
Okay, so this is a forum for me, right? So I can complain here all I want. Complain complain complain. Well, I just got a paper back that I thought was pretty good (at least in my standards), and I only got an 8 out of 10 on it. And I'm a little put off by that. I don't see any reason why I should have gotten an 80% on this paper. Let's see what you guys think.
These were the directions:
Choose two (2) of the following statements that seem to you express clearly different ideas about music. In a brief (500-600 words) essay identify each author, discuss what you think she or he meant to convey, and explain which statement you find more convincing.
This is what I wrote:
Everybody in the world has heard music in some form, but music does not mean the same thing to every person. Each individual on the planet has a different take on music’s purpose and effects. For example, Alphonse de Lamartine, a writer and politician, says that “Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.” On the other hand, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a mathematician, says that “The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously. Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” These are both valid arguments, but they are completely opposed to one another.
Lamartine thinks that music has a definite emotional value. He believes that music comes from the heart, and that it is meant to move people, possibly even more than words do (“It commences where speech ends”). He is saying, in essence, that music is what people use to express themselves when words are no longer adequate. Leibniz, in contrast, says that music has no emotional value, but that it brings pleasure because of unconscious counting. In his view, music has the same appeal as arithmetic.
Probably every musician that I know (including myself) will tend to side with Lamartine in this musical dichotomy, but I do think that Leibniz’s statement has some value. Call me crazy, but I enjoy a good bit of arithmetic every once in a while, and, just as Leibniz states, I find myself, from time to time, sitting in a concert hall, listening to a concert, counting measures to myself. I do not believe that this unconscious counting (which becomes conscious every so often) brings me the pleasure that Leibniz claims it does, but I will confess that it happens. Especially in very rhythmic pieces, counting may be a factor in the universal appeal to music.
However, I, as a musician, find Lamartine’s statement overall to be much more relevant. Music is more than “unconscious counting,” and anyone who says that it is must not know much about music. Music has life; music has meaning; music comes “from the heart.” Why else would people feel so revitalized after listening to a Brahms Symphony, or so awestruck after listening to a powerful Wagner piece, or so peaceful after listening to the unique harmonies of Vaughn Williams, or so full of sadness after listening to Barber’s Adagio for Strings?--certainly not because they were counting unconsciously for an hour. No, there must be more to music than what meets the eye, and I think that Lamartine’s statement exemplifies this to perfection. Out of all the art forms, I think that music expresses emotion the most deeply and perfectly. Feelings are impossible to describe through words (try, for example, to explain what “anger” is), but they can be described through music.
Every person in the world has a different opinion about music. In particular, Alphonse de Lamartine thinks that “Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends,” and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz thinks that “Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic.” I tend to agree with Lamartine in this battle of interpretation, but that doesn’t make his idea more “right.” In the end, it is a good thing that nobody has quite the same view. After all, what would the world be like if we all were the same?
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Gotta love how suprising it is to hear yourself on a recording. Sometimes it's a good suprise; many times it's not a good suprise.
My new flute is sweet.
Edit: lol, I just discovered that there is talking at the end of my CD (I'll have to edit it out.) After I finish, there is a pause, and then:
Jenna: Cool cool.
Jessica: How do you feel about that?
Me: I think I'll go with that one
Delouise: Okay
Jessica: Excellent! I love someone who only does one...
My new flute is sweet.
Edit: lol, I just discovered that there is talking at the end of my CD (I'll have to edit it out.) After I finish, there is a pause, and then:
Jenna: Cool cool.
Jessica: How do you feel about that?
Me: I think I'll go with that one
Delouise: Okay
Jessica: Excellent! I love someone who only does one...
Friday, September 22, 2006
There are always people (or groups of people) I wish I could be better friends with. There are definitely people here that I wish I knew better, that I could hang out with. But how do you switch from aquaintance to friend? What do you do? I mean, they have their friends, and I have mine. You can't really change that...
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Today was a pretty awesome day! I woke up an hour before I had to, and since I felt rested and awake, I got up and became productive! It wasn't hot hot hot out, and it didn't rain on me or on my bike! I only had one class, and I actually did really well on all the harmonic dictations! I talked to Sarah! I practiced for 3 hours, played duets, and played in orchestra! I made a pretty good recording of my masterclass piece on the first take! I watched Survivor! I got some smiles! Yaaay! It was a wonderful day!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
So I saw this commercial on Nickelodeon for a Barbie DVD movie. It was called "Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses," or something to that effect. The commerical showed clips of the film, which was computer-animated. It mostly had flashes of girls doing ballet in flowing dresses and Barbie dancing with some guy in a castle-like courtyard establishment. And there was a lot of pink. I thought to myself, "Wow. I really would have loved this when I was little." And then I realized....it still appeals to me now. I want to watch that Barbie video. It has princesses, ballet, soft computer animation beauty, pretty dresses and pretty girls, and probably some kind of love story, all of which appeal to me. It certainly wouldn't have a huge vocabulary in the dialogue, and it wouldn't have a very deep plot, but it also wouldn't have any cursing or sexual references.
I don't really know what my point here is, but I found it very interesting that something made for girls under 10 years old still appeals to me today. I will probably always retain my childish attraction to ballet and princesses and the color pink, the loves of every little girl ever. I suppose in some ways we never grow up.
I don't really know what my point here is, but I found it very interesting that something made for girls under 10 years old still appeals to me today. I will probably always retain my childish attraction to ballet and princesses and the color pink, the loves of every little girl ever. I suppose in some ways we never grow up.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I had a dream that Rebecca tried to redecorate my grandma's house.
Also, I am sick. Man...there's just something about these Wednesdays. Of course, I've gotten through it all (so far). Nothing can stop me! But being sick isn't the coolest thing in the world. It's strange, this usually only happens in the winter.
Also, I am sick. Man...there's just something about these Wednesdays. Of course, I've gotten through it all (so far). Nothing can stop me! But being sick isn't the coolest thing in the world. It's strange, this usually only happens in the winter.
