Information theory...

Greetings, Guidonian Glossolaliacs!

So, the sun's move into Sagittarius (my zodiacal favorite) and a week of full nights of sleep has me feeling a little frisky...possibly a cringe-worthy revelation for some of you who may find it difficult to generate solfa enthusiasm in general, let alone when the holidays are approaching...

Anyhow, in preparation for my final presentation for my final semester of conducting class in my final degree program (not that I'm hankering after the finish line or anything like that), I'm reading a book called "Music, the Arts, and Ideas" by Leonard B. Meyer. The book is interesting for a number of reasons (not the least of which include the fact that it was published in 1967, but is a discussion of contemporary culture, so it's sort of fascinating and entertaining at the same time to examine the ideas of the author in light of the ensuing 43 years...and I will further admit to you that I giggle in an undignified fashion when the author uses the word "aesthetician" in reference to a person who studies aesthetics in an academic sense rather than an....ahem!...follicular sense), and basically, Meyer begins by trying to get a handle on why people enjoy music and what the enjoyment of music entails. I go through little arguments with myself as I read about this, mostly because part of me stages mini-rebellions against the notion that human artistic enjoyment can be quantified, or that it's worthwhile to try or talk about trying to do so. These rebellions have led me to one of my old tricks...I don't entirely feel satisfied with any of my own conclusions about this subject, so I'm bringing it to all of you for further discussion, processing, etc.

One of the key points in play for Meyer is the relationship between music and "information theory"...it sounds dreadful, but bear with me. Say we're in solfa class, and I say we're going to play an improvisation game. I improvise a "question" phrase, and you improvise an "answer" back. The other people in the room are listening, meanwhile, and when I first begin singing, no one really knows what's about to come out of my mouth - which means that probability is low (because we're not sure what's going to happen) and information is high (because a lot of possibilities exist). However, if I'm trying to make things easy for the person who has to improvise the answer, I'm going to choose a fairly predictable and simple (low information/high probability) question phrase where the responding improviser won't have to think very hard about what to do in response. But, say the responding improviser is more confident or more creative than I thought, and s/he comes back with something unexpected -- all of a sudden, where probability seemed sky-high and information was quite low, we've been taken by surprise! And, in fact, the answer has sort of made the question seem a little irrelevant, meaning that the listening classmates are almost certainly going to sit up and take notice of this little moment of genius, wherein information went from very low to very high, and our expectations had their socks knocked off. Teachers see these kinds of situations all the time, especially when working with young children whose sense of probability is less developed than an adult's....so at any moment, the sky's the limit, and the kind of joy that arises from this sort of musical surprise is readily available.

Now, this is the point where my head started to spin with the logical implications of this line of thinking, and I have a feeling that it begins to dead-end and start fights pretty quickly, so I'm going to try to nip that in the bud and instead give you all something to sing.

All Levels:

Look at Ottman 4.33 and sing it through, then answer these questions.

What is the overall form of this little ditty (if we're talking about 4-bar phrases)?

If you were to rate the predictability of the 2nd half of the melody in relation to the 1st half, what would you give it on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being totally unpredictable and 10 being totally predictable)?

Now, sing the first four bars again and, without looking, try to sing the most predictable answer that comes to mind. How closely did yours match up to what is written?

Now, sing the first four bars again and come up with 2-3 other answers with varying degrees of predictability (with the only requirement being a cadence on the same tonic at which you began). Choose a favorite and share with a friend.

Follow a similar process with: 4.34, 4.37, 4.39, 4.51, and 4.74

Enjoy!

Silence is...

Good day, beloved students!

Well, after avoiding afflictions for most of a long, busy semester, one of the nasty buggers finally got me...and my little sinuses, too. So now, I'm left with no real singing voice, which naturally, makes singing Ottmans a challenge (not to mention the challenge it presents to a chatty person such as myself). In this situation, what is one to do?

Well, several things are possible. Obviously, there are several all-rhythm chapters in Ottman at your disposal: 1, 10, the first half of 15-16-17, and section 1 of chapter 21. One or two-part exercises are possible -- tapping with one or both hands, or tapping with one hand and one foot. In two-part exercises, you may find it helpful to tap on two different surfaces to help your ear keep track of the individual lines.

Next, this is a good opportunity to experiment with audiation, too. For this purpose, you have my ONE-TIME permission to use piano to play Ottman exercises, under the following conditions ONLY: Step 1 - set the key, starting pitch, and tempo for an exercise, just as you would if you were to sing it. Step 2 - "hear" your way through the piece (you may want or need more than one go at it, and that's fine). Step 3 - play the melody on piano to check the accuracy of your audiation. Step 4 - notice where you tended to go awry, and practice more exercises containing that pattern/interval until it becomes easy.

So, armed with the above explanation, try your ears at the following:

Rising Level 2's

Rhythm: 10.9, 10.17, 10.28, 10.52, 10.68, 10.75

Audiation: 11.2, 11.5, 11.6, 11.7, 11.12, 11.16

Rising Level 3's

Rhythm: 15.6, 15.24, 15.27, 15.35, 15.37, 15.38

Audiation: 15.71, 15.74, 15.75, 15.76, 15.85, 15.86

Rising Level 4's

Rhythm: 16.4, 16.7, 16.8, 16.21, 16.23, 16.24

Audiation: 16.38, 16.39, 16.40, 16.42, 16.44, 16.48

As always, if it's too easy or too hard, feel free to adjust.

D'Arezzo in Drag?!?!

Hello, Solfa Sensationalists!

Yes, I suppose one could accuse me of being unnecessarily provocative (it wouldn't be the first time today, as it turns out), but as usual, the solfa blog is inspired by the stuff of life -- in this case, my first encounter with the Imperial Court System. Until recently, I had not a clue that this sort of establishment existed anywhere, but as it turns out, large groups of drag queens gather and strut their stuff for a variety of exciting events throughout the year under the auspices of this organization. How did this come to my attention, you ask? Well, in my capacity as the assistant conductor of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus, I conduct occasional performances by our "outreach" small group, the Ambassadors....and the Ambassadors were invited to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" for an Imperial Court fundraiser, the Snow Ball. Believe you me, it wasn't just banners that were star-spangled...these folks are NOT messing around.

Anyhow, I actually do have sort of a point...it's kind of goofy, but I got to thinking: what would be the musical equivalent of drag? The first idea that came to mind was taking a piece that exists in major and making it minor, or vice versa. Rising 3's and 4's have heard me talk about this before in terms of "mode mixture" (using chords from the parallel minor in a major key or vice versa), but I mean it in a more wholesale melodic sense this time around. For example, I frequently play this game with the theme song from the Mickey Mouse Club:

dd dd dd dd rd t,l, s,

dd d dd d md rt, d

dd l, dd s,

s, l,l, l,l, l,l, t,d r

dd dd dd dd rd t,l, s,

dd d dd d md rt, d

and turn it into the Martyr Mouse song:

ll ll ll ll tl si, f, m,

ll l ll l dl tsi, l

ll f, lf, m,

m, f,f, f,f, f,f, si,l t

ll ll ll ll tl si, f, m,

ll l ll l dl tsi, l

I took one little liberty that you will probably catch, but it's just for affective reasons...it sounds more pathetic that way, you see...

Anyhow, it's much easier to do with something written on the staff, soooo....

Rising Level 2's

Take a gander at Ottman 4.46. It's written in E-flat major and it's mostly just riffing on the tonic triad. Sing it in E-flat major. Then, play a game....either pretend you're in treble clef and sing it in C minor, or sing it in E-flat minor. No letter names required -- just pretend not to see either the clef or the signature respectively, and apply new solfa (i.e., instead of beginning with d-s-d', you will begin with l-m-l'). Repeat this procedure with Ottmans: 4.48, 4.49, 4.52, 4.77, 6.10, and 6.11. Use harmonic minor where appropriate, or experiment with natural minor and see what you think.

Rising Level 3's

Choose a few Ottmans from chapters 6 and 8 and follow the process outlined for the rising 2's -- hint: bass clef examples in major give you the option to use the same trick I recommended for them, or you can play the parallel minor way. Additionally, look at 15 2-part #7....read the little blurb Mr. Kodaly has written about transforming this modal piece into a simple major exercise. Sing through it....you may want to choose the same voice part you learned this past summer (you may also want to sing through it first the modal way, then do the transformed version). Do you think it's easier in Dorian or in major? Do you find it more appealing in one than the other?

Rising Level 4's

Choose 3 Ottman examples from chapters 6 and 8 that are in major and change them to minor. Then, choose 3 examples from chapters 5, 6, and 8 that are in minor and change them to major. If you're lonesome for Mr. Kodaly, you may also look at 15 2-part #7 and do the task outlined for the Rising 3's.

Now, get out there and strut your solfa!

The quick and the....

Hello, Quick-Draw Solmizators!

Ugh! Your blogmistress is recalcitrant this week.... The aforementioned Madrigal Festival reaped way more than its share of my brainpower, and then my beloved friend Susan (with Melise Gabrielle, age 2, in tow) arrived in combination with the Boulder Chorale's concert weekend (for which I served as page-turner/shekere shaker) and a gig with the Denver Gay Men's Chorus Ambassadors....so, the poor little blog has gotten shortchanged. And, I am certain that all of you are similarly feeling November's pinch....it's the drive to the cadence, I believe. Oh, and the scent of snow is in the air at last -- just to really spice things up (no, I'm not being poetic....in Denver and Boulder, the smell of cow poo in the air means the wind is blowing from Greeley, which means impending snow...and while snow is pretty, cow poo does pretty much sum up how I feel about its presence on the whole).

Anyhow, it's a busy, busy time, and for that reason, a great time to practice the fine art of true, straight-up, quick-draw sight-reading: 30 hot seconds to glance at the key signature, time signature, and starting and ending notes, a measure of beating time to set your tempo and meter, and you're off! No going back, no slowing down, no mulligans. Try to get all the syllables you can, and try not to stop.

Rising Level 2's

Select two examples per day from Ottman, chapters 3, 4, and 5. Try to pick examples we haven't used in class or in other places on the blog. The idea is to use stuff that'd be easy for you to prepare for flawless performance, in hopes that you can read it at sight with a high degree of accuracy. Do take your 30 hot seconds (as mentioned above) to survey the landscape.

Rising Level 3's

Select two examples per day from Ottman, chapters 6, 8, and 9 (and 7, if you'd like to practice your C-clef skills). Follow the same rules as the rising 2's.

Rising Level 4's

Select two examples per day from Ottman, chapters 10 (yes, I know it's just rhythm), 11, and 12. Follow the same rules as the rising 2's and 3's, and split your picks between melodic and rhythmic exercises.

And, just between you, me, and the interwebs, I find this kind of sight-reading easiest after about a glass and a half of wine...just sayin'...

Good luck!

Making Music

Hello, Musicmakers and Dreamers of Dreams!

Whew!

Well, my friends, I have just arrived home from a looooong and very fruitful day of collaboration, organization, occasional near-asphyxiation, and ultimately, jubilation. What could cause this veritable casserole of human experience, you ask? The 49th Annual Madrigal Festival at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

A grand total of 23 high school choirs from as far afield as Pueblo South High School and as close as Boulder High School made the journey to Macky Auditorium to spend the day working with a great clinician (Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe, from the University of Southern California) and singing for and with one another. This was my second year acting as the main logistical go-to person for this event, so I knew better what to expect this time around, but it's still an ENORMOUS job to cover all the details leading up to the day, and then see that everyone is taken care of on the day itself. I have never been more grateful for the cool heads, warm hearts, and generous spirits of my colleagues and teachers in the choral program. Not only did they show up early and stay late, they thought on their feet, anticipated needs, and kept their remarkable good humor through all of the day's twists and turns. The kind of work they do and the giving of themselves that they exercise is rare and inspiring.

So, as I watched Dr. Scheibe conduct, listened to 600 young voices sing, and felt the day sweep by me at record speed, I got to thinking about music-making and the backdrop of organization it requires. Just as music itself manifests the intention of its composers and performers, the events wherein music is made also show intention -- at the end of the day, it becomes obvious when the motivation behind a musical phrase or gesture is disconnected or half-hearted, even if it is executed accurately and skillfully. There are ways of disguising this, but the truth nearly always comes through -- for better or for worse. Similarly, it is possible to make a chart, buy a box of bagels, send an email, and host a festival in a completely dispassionate, perfectly orchestrated fashion, and some people will walk away not knowing the difference. No one can force a person to do more or better than this, and not everyone consciously knows they want more and better than this. However, I cannot look at the sincere and heartfelt efforts of my fellow students and my teachers and conclude that they are simply going through the motions. They have looked at the task at hand and made a decision not just to do the work, but to give of themselves in doing the work. This is Boethius' musica humana. This is the human side of music that will inspire young people to keep singing, playing music, and going to concerts. Why? Because we're all human, and we all need to feel connected, but one can only connect to people who make themselves available, and not everyone is willing to do that, especially not for a roomful of singing teenagers.

So, from my vantage point of gratitude, I ask you, gentle readers, to consider this. Make music, not as a matter of course, not because you're earning a paycheck, not because it's an assignment, not because you want to earn a degree, not because you want to be a star. Make music because it is inside you, because the world hungers for what you have to give, because you will discover a limitless supply when you have the courage to share it. Give freely, think about the details, and do it whether you're on the stage or organizing behind the scenes. It will never be unimportant, and it always has the potential to change the world.