Thank you for your patience. I am feeling much better now, and assure you that I will get back to my normal (ish) schedule.
Regarding what happened, all I have to say is: Cherished your loved ones. They might be gone before you know it.
That is all for now. Thank you for reading, and take care.
Monday, November 16, 2015
Sunday, November 8, 2015
My apologies
I will not be able to post for the next few days. Something bad happened, and I'm going to have to take some time to sort it out.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
Friday, November 6, 2015
The Struggles of a College Student
I guess this will be one of those miscellaneous posts I talked about when I started. Sorry guys. Music stuff may have to wait.
Outside of being able to learn songs and pieces by ear on my cello with minutes, to some extent, I have a lot of trouble making the connection of listening, and writing. I can name notes easily. I ace all of my dictation quizzes in music theory. However, when it comes to words, I always have trouble of processing. This makes it a real problem when the professor decides to just go full-out lecture without writing anything down on the board. Just then and there, I give up taking notes, and just try and absorb the information I'm hearing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
One thing I should also mention, is that I have autism. Keep in mind, this does not make me any less intelligent than the average human being. Even with something like autism, I am able to comprehend like most people. However, they don't call it a disability for no reason. My mind doesn't exactly work the way it does for anyone else. In a way, I guess you can say that it's programmed differently. Rewired, even. I go on a bit of a one-track system, and multitasking is not my strong point. At least with something to copy down on the board or projector, I can look up and down. With listening, I have to do two things at once,
So why do I have no problem with music, when it comes to listening and dictation? I honestly don't know the answer to that. I believe it has something to do with the fact that language has all of these syllables, tones, and meanings to each word, that is being processed at once, whereas with music, it's a little more straightforward and not as complicated.
Anyways, back up to the whole "one-track system", this makes it hard for me to do homework as well. When I have an assignment on my mind, I will work on it until it's finished. This tends to bite me in the butt, as I've had to turn in things late, and that didn't exactly help my grade.
On top of that, there is one other thing that does give me a bit of a challenge, in daily life, If you were to meet me, you would probably not think of me as a very talkative person. Now, it's not exactly because I don't like to talk. If you couldn't tell by these blogs, I actually love to talk about certain things. Aside from shyness, one of the main reasons why I'm not exactly talkative, is because I have slight trouble communicating my thoughts into speech. I usually have to think about what I have to say, before I say it. That's why I prefer typing, is because I can think about every sentence. I've practiced at it though, and I'm much better than I was before. Still, if I were asked a question, I would need a moment to process it, and then sort out my own thoughts, and then answer.
This tends to cause for panic in the classroom. I get called on, and I fear of taking too long, so either I end up saying "I don't know", or try to make an educated guess (which never works out well when you're under a severe amount of stress). Once in music theory, I was asked to identify the fifth in a B flat scale. Now, I easily know the answer to that, which is F. I spent my four years in highschool, wasting my musical knowledge on learning that the third note in any arpeggio is the fifth, and I knew that the third note of a B flat arpeggio is F, which is the fifth to a B flat scale. However, somewhere in the cluster that was me trying to get my answer out as quickly as possible, I somehow got B flat mixed with A flat, and so I ended up saying "E flat". Thankfully, people were kind enough not to laugh. The professor asked again, but I was too embarrassed to answer, so he had to call on someone else to answer.
But heck, that's probably just stuff everyone deals with, and I'm complicating things at this point. I don't really know at this point.
Well, with all that said, thank you all for putting up with the wall of text that is today's blog, and have a good night.
Outside of being able to learn songs and pieces by ear on my cello with minutes, to some extent, I have a lot of trouble making the connection of listening, and writing. I can name notes easily. I ace all of my dictation quizzes in music theory. However, when it comes to words, I always have trouble of processing. This makes it a real problem when the professor decides to just go full-out lecture without writing anything down on the board. Just then and there, I give up taking notes, and just try and absorb the information I'm hearing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
One thing I should also mention, is that I have autism. Keep in mind, this does not make me any less intelligent than the average human being. Even with something like autism, I am able to comprehend like most people. However, they don't call it a disability for no reason. My mind doesn't exactly work the way it does for anyone else. In a way, I guess you can say that it's programmed differently. Rewired, even. I go on a bit of a one-track system, and multitasking is not my strong point. At least with something to copy down on the board or projector, I can look up and down. With listening, I have to do two things at once,
So why do I have no problem with music, when it comes to listening and dictation? I honestly don't know the answer to that. I believe it has something to do with the fact that language has all of these syllables, tones, and meanings to each word, that is being processed at once, whereas with music, it's a little more straightforward and not as complicated.
Anyways, back up to the whole "one-track system", this makes it hard for me to do homework as well. When I have an assignment on my mind, I will work on it until it's finished. This tends to bite me in the butt, as I've had to turn in things late, and that didn't exactly help my grade.
On top of that, there is one other thing that does give me a bit of a challenge, in daily life, If you were to meet me, you would probably not think of me as a very talkative person. Now, it's not exactly because I don't like to talk. If you couldn't tell by these blogs, I actually love to talk about certain things. Aside from shyness, one of the main reasons why I'm not exactly talkative, is because I have slight trouble communicating my thoughts into speech. I usually have to think about what I have to say, before I say it. That's why I prefer typing, is because I can think about every sentence. I've practiced at it though, and I'm much better than I was before. Still, if I were asked a question, I would need a moment to process it, and then sort out my own thoughts, and then answer.
This tends to cause for panic in the classroom. I get called on, and I fear of taking too long, so either I end up saying "I don't know", or try to make an educated guess (which never works out well when you're under a severe amount of stress). Once in music theory, I was asked to identify the fifth in a B flat scale. Now, I easily know the answer to that, which is F. I spent my four years in highschool, wasting my musical knowledge on learning that the third note in any arpeggio is the fifth, and I knew that the third note of a B flat arpeggio is F, which is the fifth to a B flat scale. However, somewhere in the cluster that was me trying to get my answer out as quickly as possible, I somehow got B flat mixed with A flat, and so I ended up saying "E flat". Thankfully, people were kind enough not to laugh. The professor asked again, but I was too embarrassed to answer, so he had to call on someone else to answer.
But heck, that's probably just stuff everyone deals with, and I'm complicating things at this point. I don't really know at this point.
Well, with all that said, thank you all for putting up with the wall of text that is today's blog, and have a good night.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Inactivity
My apologies for the inactivity. I've been a little all over the place, and I've still been recovering from Halloween (had a bit of a crazy night). I'm also still new to this whole blogging thing, and so trying to keep up with the schedule has been proven challenging for me.
Unfortunately, I have had no time to look up things for composing jazz. I've fallen a little behind on my college work, and I've just been trying my best to make up for it. College has a bit more of a consistent pattern than my highschool had, and trying to get used to it has been proven a bit difficult.
But it's ok. I like my classes. The teachers are nice, and the subjects have been interesting. My classmates have been proven helpful too. I've studied and practiced with them, and it's very nice, to work with these people. I entered this school, with one focus in mind, and that was education. I don't usually have any particular interest in socializing with people, but I honestly don't mind, being chatted up every once in a while. Back in highschool, I have always been stuck with disruptive delinquents that did not want to learn, and only served as a mere distraction. This is different, though. My classmates are not here because they have to be. They're here because they want to be. They are working hard to try and make a good future for their lives, and none of them show any signs of giving up anytime soon. It's nice. As I am writing this, I am listening to one of them practice the piano right now.
In music theory, we are learning about tension. A V7 (five-seven) chord is used to build up tension, and then it resolves into an incomplete I (one) chord. I guess it makes sense that a V7 chord is used for this. The dissidence of the chordal seventh does give for a bit of a suspenseful feel to it. I currently don't have enough knowledge to expand on this though. I will, once I have more information.
We've also started learning minor scales in Solfage. Changing the tone isn't enough apparently, and so there are certain syllables that are changed, corresponding to the changes that are made in notation.
For example, here is a C major scale, and a C minor scale:
C D E F G A B C
C D Eflat F G Aflat Bflat C
The "flat" notes are slightly lower in pitch than the natural notes, but not low enough to go down a whole scale degree (unless if it's a chromatic scale we're talking about). Now, it's a bit of a mouthful to sing: "E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat", so that's where solfage comes in.
Here is a major scale in Solfage:
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Now here it is in minor:
Do Re Me Fa Sol Le Te Do
Everything that has an e in it is pronounced as "ei", (Mei, Lei, Tei). This makes it less confusing, when we have to sing harmonic and melodic minor scales.
A melodic minor scale is when you the sixth and seventh are raised on the ascending...
C D Eflat F G A(natural) B(natural) C
Then they're lowered on the decsending.
C Bflat Aflat G F Eflat Dflat C
So in Solfage, it would be like this:
Do Re Me Fa Sol La Ti Do
Do Te Le Sol Fa Me Re Do
Then in a harmonic minor, only the seventh is raised, and this doesn't change while it ascends or descends. So it goes like this:
C D Eflat F G A B(natural) C
Do Re Me Fa Sol Le Ti Do
It's a little tricky to sing, and can easily get mixed up. I didn't quite understand when my choir friends tried to explain to me why all this voice stuff is tricky. Now I know.
With all that said though, thank you for reading, and I'll see you later!
Unfortunately, I have had no time to look up things for composing jazz. I've fallen a little behind on my college work, and I've just been trying my best to make up for it. College has a bit more of a consistent pattern than my highschool had, and trying to get used to it has been proven a bit difficult.
But it's ok. I like my classes. The teachers are nice, and the subjects have been interesting. My classmates have been proven helpful too. I've studied and practiced with them, and it's very nice, to work with these people. I entered this school, with one focus in mind, and that was education. I don't usually have any particular interest in socializing with people, but I honestly don't mind, being chatted up every once in a while. Back in highschool, I have always been stuck with disruptive delinquents that did not want to learn, and only served as a mere distraction. This is different, though. My classmates are not here because they have to be. They're here because they want to be. They are working hard to try and make a good future for their lives, and none of them show any signs of giving up anytime soon. It's nice. As I am writing this, I am listening to one of them practice the piano right now.
In music theory, we are learning about tension. A V7 (five-seven) chord is used to build up tension, and then it resolves into an incomplete I (one) chord. I guess it makes sense that a V7 chord is used for this. The dissidence of the chordal seventh does give for a bit of a suspenseful feel to it. I currently don't have enough knowledge to expand on this though. I will, once I have more information.
We've also started learning minor scales in Solfage. Changing the tone isn't enough apparently, and so there are certain syllables that are changed, corresponding to the changes that are made in notation.
For example, here is a C major scale, and a C minor scale:
C D E F G A B C
C D Eflat F G Aflat Bflat C
The "flat" notes are slightly lower in pitch than the natural notes, but not low enough to go down a whole scale degree (unless if it's a chromatic scale we're talking about). Now, it's a bit of a mouthful to sing: "E flat, F, G, A flat, B flat", so that's where solfage comes in.
Here is a major scale in Solfage:
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Now here it is in minor:
Do Re Me Fa Sol Le Te Do
Everything that has an e in it is pronounced as "ei", (Mei, Lei, Tei). This makes it less confusing, when we have to sing harmonic and melodic minor scales.
A melodic minor scale is when you the sixth and seventh are raised on the ascending...
C D Eflat F G A(natural) B(natural) C
Then they're lowered on the decsending.
C Bflat Aflat G F Eflat Dflat C
So in Solfage, it would be like this:
Do Re Me Fa Sol La Ti Do
Do Te Le Sol Fa Me Re Do
Then in a harmonic minor, only the seventh is raised, and this doesn't change while it ascends or descends. So it goes like this:
C D Eflat F G A B(natural) C
Do Re Me Fa Sol Le Ti Do
It's a little tricky to sing, and can easily get mixed up. I didn't quite understand when my choir friends tried to explain to me why all this voice stuff is tricky. Now I know.
With all that said though, thank you for reading, and I'll see you later!
Thursday, October 29, 2015
I/V chords, Solfage, and Qobyz
So in Music Theory Class, we're starting to learn about one chords (I) and five chords (V). Ironically, we did a bunch of stuff involving a bunch of other chords before this, so I feel like this section might be a little easier... That is, if it there weren't some other complicated stuff involving the two chords. It's a lot to take in, but I'm starting to get it. Chord progressions are really not my strong point, and I don't have a lot of experience with 4-part harmony yet. I THINK the leading tone is scale degree 7, but I'm not too sure. It could be chordal 7th. I'm not entirely sure. Once I get this all sorted out, I'll explain it.
I didn't expect music theory to get so complicated, until I started taking a college course. The placement test was so easy, I thought I'd have no problem with it. But here I am, still trying to make sense of it all. I'm managing though. Luckily, I'm on good terms with one of the professor's four teacher's assistant, and laid back, so I ask him for help every once in a while.
The layout to my music theory class is a bit odd. It has one "discussion" class, which is run by one of the teacher's assistant. That's mainly homework review, and singing exercises. The exorcises I have to sing are in solfage, so when singing, say, a C major scale, you don't sing: "C D E F G A B C". Instead, you sing: "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do". Sometimes, it can be tricky, and easy to tongue tie you. I don't have too much of a problem, but Fa, La, and Ti are a bit awkward, when having to jump to them in singing. Step-wise is not that bad, since you just go one note up (ex: Mi to Fa, or La to Sol), but when you have to leap, that's when it can get tricky (ex: Do to Fa, or Re to Ti).
In other news, I just finished learning about Kazakhstan music called "küi" in Music Literature. Needless to say, it's quite unique. It's a narrative instrumental composition that's often written for this peculiar instrument called the "Qobyz" (also spelled "Kobyz"), and in my opinion, it sound beautiful. So tranquil. The sound is similar to that of a string instrument, and while I can not immitate the exact sound on the cello, I can at least be able to play that kind of music on it, since it can be achieved in the same octave.
There are two strings. Apparently, they play on one, and the other can be used as a drone. The concept of "droning" is not unfamiliar to me, as I've done it on my cello before. Heck, there were times where, as a cellist, I played solely for the purpose of droning. That was mainly in scale practicing back in high school, though. It's not particularly exciting, but I didn't mind. It sounded great, when the scale was in tune. I do have respect though, for those who have the patience to play an instrument that was solely made for the purpose of droning (the tanpura, for example), and then be able to play it in very, VERY long pieces (like an Indian Raga, which can last several hours long).
I don't have classes tomorrow, so I don't know what I'll do. Maybe look up ways of writing jazz or blues pieces, and then I might tell you all what I find. Saturday, I'm hoping to hang out with my friend, and maybe finish a Halloween-themed drawing.
With that said, thank you for reading, and have a good night!
-Jessi Muse
I didn't expect music theory to get so complicated, until I started taking a college course. The placement test was so easy, I thought I'd have no problem with it. But here I am, still trying to make sense of it all. I'm managing though. Luckily, I'm on good terms with one of the professor's four teacher's assistant, and laid back, so I ask him for help every once in a while.
The layout to my music theory class is a bit odd. It has one "discussion" class, which is run by one of the teacher's assistant. That's mainly homework review, and singing exercises. The exorcises I have to sing are in solfage, so when singing, say, a C major scale, you don't sing: "C D E F G A B C". Instead, you sing: "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do". Sometimes, it can be tricky, and easy to tongue tie you. I don't have too much of a problem, but Fa, La, and Ti are a bit awkward, when having to jump to them in singing. Step-wise is not that bad, since you just go one note up (ex: Mi to Fa, or La to Sol), but when you have to leap, that's when it can get tricky (ex: Do to Fa, or Re to Ti).
 |
| Sorry about the lighting here. |
There are two strings. Apparently, they play on one, and the other can be used as a drone. The concept of "droning" is not unfamiliar to me, as I've done it on my cello before. Heck, there were times where, as a cellist, I played solely for the purpose of droning. That was mainly in scale practicing back in high school, though. It's not particularly exciting, but I didn't mind. It sounded great, when the scale was in tune. I do have respect though, for those who have the patience to play an instrument that was solely made for the purpose of droning (the tanpura, for example), and then be able to play it in very, VERY long pieces (like an Indian Raga, which can last several hours long).
I don't have classes tomorrow, so I don't know what I'll do. Maybe look up ways of writing jazz or blues pieces, and then I might tell you all what I find. Saturday, I'm hoping to hang out with my friend, and maybe finish a Halloween-themed drawing.
With that said, thank you for reading, and have a good night!
-Jessi Muse
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Greetings.
Greeting, and welcome to my new blog. My name is Jessi Muse, and I am an artist of sorts. I am a musical composer, just starting to explore different genres and styles. I am also a musician, playing the cello, piano, and guitar. These are the three main instruments I write for, but I like to try and write for instruments I have no experience on, as well.
As well as writing musical compositions, I also like to write fiction, as a hobby. This may range from realistic fiction, to science fiction, fantasy, and maybe even fan fiction from some of my favorite video games. Should I complete and post the story online, expect an update about it. I should tell you though, that "Jessi Muse" is my internet alias, as well as the name of a character I often use for my stories. Call me narcissistic, that's just how I like to do things.
On top of writing and performing, I am one for the visual arts, as well. I am a photographer, as well as a drawer and digital artist. With my blogs, I will add either add a finished drawing of mine, or a picture of my assistant, Lucy.
As well as writing musical compositions, I also like to write fiction, as a hobby. This may range from realistic fiction, to science fiction, fantasy, and maybe even fan fiction from some of my favorite video games. Should I complete and post the story online, expect an update about it. I should tell you though, that "Jessi Muse" is my internet alias, as well as the name of a character I often use for my stories. Call me narcissistic, that's just how I like to do things.
On top of writing and performing, I am one for the visual arts, as well. I am a photographer, as well as a drawer and digital artist. With my blogs, I will add either add a finished drawing of mine, or a picture of my assistant, Lucy.
Do not worry. She doesn't mind. She's quite photogenic. Keep in mind, my work is far from professional. I would appreciate feedback for any kind of work I may share.
This blog will mainly talk about my findings in music, as I learn to get better at what I do. Be it from what I've learned in my college classes, to what I discover on my own, I will share the information I have uncovered, as well as my thoughts on said information. Periodically, I may as well update on any other types of projects I am working on, and possibly any miscellaneous topics I have in mind. I've yet to come up with a working schedule for my posting, but it will most likely be done in the nighttime (with the exception of this one, which is being posted at 3:26 pm).
With that said, thank you for reading, and I wish you all a good night.
This blog will mainly talk about my findings in music, as I learn to get better at what I do. Be it from what I've learned in my college classes, to what I discover on my own, I will share the information I have uncovered, as well as my thoughts on said information. Periodically, I may as well update on any other types of projects I am working on, and possibly any miscellaneous topics I have in mind. I've yet to come up with a working schedule for my posting, but it will most likely be done in the nighttime (with the exception of this one, which is being posted at 3:26 pm).
With that said, thank you for reading, and I wish you all a good night.
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