chopin and mulled wine
i tasted mulled wine for the first time, this evening. it wasn't spectacular.
i checked out a few books of piano music. a collection of six sonatinas for piano and a compilation of chopin piano pieces, which according to the editor are the easiest of all of his works. they're easy enough for me to play through very slowly at least. despite the fact that i am not a pro at the piano i still had a great time in the practice room playing chopin. i haven't really had a chance to just play alone. it's such a nice experience. i really miss playing music. hopefully i will be getting some decent reeds from carl this week so i can start playing oboe again. i'm really glad that there is still something inside me that has a strong desire to play music. in class a professor warned against losing focus of the music in our essays. we mustn't lose focus of music as part of our life, either.
i find this funny. i always had a hard time calling myself a musician because i felt so unlike my friends who were obsessed with their horns. but i should just face the facts, i am a musician. i love to play music and perform. i really can't live without being able to express myself musically. at least i've discovered something new about myself.
i have a proposal due on wedsnesday for "techniques of ethnomusicology". i'm planning on doing my fieldwork project on the buskers in the underground. i want to take a look at how performing somewhere outside of the conventions of Western music affects the making of music in a Western society that promotes the capitalist music venue (i.e. the concert hall, opera house, etc.) over something as equalizing as busking. to be exact, i want to focus on reception of the music that is being performed. music in the underground is a bit different from in the subways of New York where performers are allowed to play on platforms. people can't really stop to listen to the music since the buskers generally perform in the tunnels that connect the platform to the escalators and to other platforms. as a matter of fact, i think it would be really dangerous if people actually did stop to listen. so i want to see how that affects musicking.
another interesting aspect of this is that the underground has tried to regulate busking by setting up spots in certain areas of the tunnel for music performance. buskers have to apply for a license and go through an audition that is organized by carling, the beer company. which sort of destroys an element of spontaneity, doesn't it? also, it makes it less equalizing since buskers must audition and are then given a time slot. i'll have to focus on this as well in my ethnography.
i miss twoj's and mr. t's. i miss new york, too. i' m having a hard time finding the new art music scene. ha ha. i mean, at least i could listen to john zorn in new york at a club. i can't find the equivalent in london. does anyone know where i can go?
i checked out a few books of piano music. a collection of six sonatinas for piano and a compilation of chopin piano pieces, which according to the editor are the easiest of all of his works. they're easy enough for me to play through very slowly at least. despite the fact that i am not a pro at the piano i still had a great time in the practice room playing chopin. i haven't really had a chance to just play alone. it's such a nice experience. i really miss playing music. hopefully i will be getting some decent reeds from carl this week so i can start playing oboe again. i'm really glad that there is still something inside me that has a strong desire to play music. in class a professor warned against losing focus of the music in our essays. we mustn't lose focus of music as part of our life, either.
i find this funny. i always had a hard time calling myself a musician because i felt so unlike my friends who were obsessed with their horns. but i should just face the facts, i am a musician. i love to play music and perform. i really can't live without being able to express myself musically. at least i've discovered something new about myself.
i have a proposal due on wedsnesday for "techniques of ethnomusicology". i'm planning on doing my fieldwork project on the buskers in the underground. i want to take a look at how performing somewhere outside of the conventions of Western music affects the making of music in a Western society that promotes the capitalist music venue (i.e. the concert hall, opera house, etc.) over something as equalizing as busking. to be exact, i want to focus on reception of the music that is being performed. music in the underground is a bit different from in the subways of New York where performers are allowed to play on platforms. people can't really stop to listen to the music since the buskers generally perform in the tunnels that connect the platform to the escalators and to other platforms. as a matter of fact, i think it would be really dangerous if people actually did stop to listen. so i want to see how that affects musicking.
another interesting aspect of this is that the underground has tried to regulate busking by setting up spots in certain areas of the tunnel for music performance. buskers have to apply for a license and go through an audition that is organized by carling, the beer company. which sort of destroys an element of spontaneity, doesn't it? also, it makes it less equalizing since buskers must audition and are then given a time slot. i'll have to focus on this as well in my ethnography.
i miss twoj's and mr. t's. i miss new york, too. i' m having a hard time finding the new art music scene. ha ha. i mean, at least i could listen to john zorn in new york at a club. i can't find the equivalent in london. does anyone know where i can go?
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