Here’s a video of a presentation by Clay Shirky on information overload vs. filter failure. Worth watching. Came across this on the popular blog Boing Boing. I find this an interesting contrast to Barry Schwartz’s ideas in his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less.
I wanted to post this after having seen Jeff Beck and Imelda May pay tribute to the couple at the Grammys last Sunday. As the Grammys was a live event, I found the overall production/performance of most artists (including Taylor Swift - sorry) at the Grammys to be riveting. Not because the performances were amazing, but because it’s so rare to hear imperfections in the music and media I take in on a regular basis (yes, I don’t get out to live shows often these days). Missed cues, flat high notes, and awkward timing is what makes awards shows so fun to watch - you never know what you’re going to get.
Maybe that’s why I found this particular video of Les Paul and Mary Ford to be so interesting. I understand that in working with a tape recorder, Les Paul and Mary Ford would probably be the first to say that they’ve done countless takes to get things right. That said, if you watch them do a demo of their recording process, there is a clear sense of polish and discipline to their approach that makes it look easy. To me, it shows not that these guys worked harder than people do now, but that they had to out of necessity.
Nothing against current artists (especially Jeff Beck and Imelda May, who sounded great), but generally speaking, I think the rise of recording engineering virtuosity and efficiency has dovetailed with a decline in performance precision. As studios can quickly edit multiple takes together to create a flawless track, it puts less pressure on artists to sound awesome live. Most still do sound awesome live, but I think the change of recording technology itself has driven the changes in performance proficiency.
How Digital Audio Works (Please read this by Wednesday 1/13. Well worth reading in its entirety.)
Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part I Early Instruments
Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part II Tales of the Tape
Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part III Computer and Synthesizers
Joel Chadabe, The Electronic Century: Part IV Seeds of the Future
http://www.tenthegg.co.uk/tips/t018/
Hi Class. Grab this file for practice editing audio (specifically speech). You’ll need to insert a username and password to get it off my ftp, so to go onto Blackboard for that information. There you’ll also find details about the assignment, including instructions and suggestions for proceeding.
Here’s the link:
ftp://shock.dreamhost.com/Obama_School.mp3
Click here to get the PSS sheet.
Click here to download your dictation/theory assignment for Monday. Here’s the deal: this melody is in E minor. Your assignment is to write the melody (8 measures, in duple meter) and the bass line to your best ability, then write what the Roman numerals are implied (or what you hear). This will be handed in at the beginning of Theory 2 at 1pm this Monday.
Hi class:
Go to http://songza.fm/nb23 to access my playlist.
Oh, and you can download the syllabus here.
Again, as the Hunter College Blackboard site is still wonky (well, it works right now), I’m posting the Extra Credit Assignment here for students’ convenience.
Choose one of the following topics and write a 3- to 5-page essay (double-spaced, 12 font size, 1″ margins) according to the guidelines specified below. Your essay will be worth up to 15 extra credit points and will be added to the point total of either your test scores or your homework scores (whichever has the lower percentage). This essay will be due at the beginning of the last class, Wednesday May 13th (no exceptions).
Extra Credit Topic A
Explain the difference between classical and flamenco guitar styles.
Your writing should account for the origins of these styles, how these styles have been transmitted over time, and differences between classical technique and flamenco technique. What are the objectives that a player of these styles would strive to be able to do (e.g. clear tone, minimum muscle effort, speed, etc.)?
Terms to be incorporated into your essay:
palos
cante
baile
golpe
picado
rasgueado
alzapua
tremolo
harmonics
Andrés Segovia (classical) and Paco de Lucia (modern flamenco) are two fantastic artists representative of two contrasting styles of guitar performance. Watch some performances of the two below to get started:
Your essay must include at least three scholarly resources. While I encourage you to use the internet for starting (there is a great article on flamenco to get a starting orientation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flamenco), the only online resource you may quote from for this essay is Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com. This is an online musical encyclopedia, which you may access from Hunter computers or with your Hunter username and password. Also, JSTOR is a fantastic online journal database for scholarly articles, and it allows you to download articles as .pdf files. Go here to access Grove Music Online and JSTOR: http://library.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/index.php.
Extra Credit Topic B
Bert Williams (1875-1922) is one of the most popular black entertainers and comedians of all-time, and was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. He managed to gain respect as a comedian from all audiences, despite living in a time where stereotyping and racial inequality was an accepted part of life. Your task will be to explain the following:
a) why Williams performed in blackface;
b) how he ascended to star status (specifically, what were the influential shows that brought him before larger audiences);
c) how he became a best-selling recording artist;
d) what roles did George Walker, Florence Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, and the Gotham-Attucks publishing company play in furthering Williams’ career?
e) for a time Williams was viewed by many leaders of the black community as a hindrance rather than a progressive figure, but that has changed with recent scholarship. Why was he viewed negatively? Why is he viewed as a vitally important pioneer now?
A recent compilation of his music is available as a CD entitled “Bert Williams 1915-1921″ (2005 Document Records).
Your essay must be at least three pages (double-spaced, 12 font size) and must include at least three scholarly resources. While I encourage you to use the internet for starting, the only online resource you may quote from is Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com. This is an online musical encyclopedia, which you may access from Hunter computers or with your Hunter username and password. Also, JSTOR is a fantastic online journal database for scholarly articles, and it allows you to download articles as .pdf files. Go here to access Grove Music Online and JSTOR: http://library.wexler.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/index.php. New York has the fortune of being home to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, up in Harlem. For a thorough study I would definitely make a trip there to research the topic.
Here’s an example paper that got 15 points last semester.
Dear MUSHL 101 Students,
Since Blackboard has been down for the last week, let’s work around it. Please post your comments at the bottom of this post. Let’s move the deadline to this Wednesday, May 6th, by midnight. To remind you of the Blackboard Assignment, here it is:
Our class has been primarily based on listening to digital recordings via a CD player or mp3 player and speakers. This article deals with how much of our musical listening experience is entirely reliant upon our ears (rather than, for example, watching a violin player use her bow to produce a sound).
This article in particular is a difficult read, perhaps due to the translation from French into English. I think you may find these Wikipedia links helpful for reference:
acousmatic sound
acousmatic musicBy midnight on Wednesday May 6th, read the article by Pierre Schaeffer and post a comment in response to his remarks on the Discussion Board thread. It can be downloaded here with the provided link “Schaeffer-Acousmatics” or also in the Course Documents section. TO DOWNLOAD THE READING, CLICK HERE.
Again, as a reminder quick word about posting protocol:
Please be specific to the points Schaeffer makes and respond appropriately. Also, feel free to respond respectfully to other student viewpoints. There hasn’t been much discussion or response from one comment to the next. I suspect this is due to the tendency for many of you to wait until the last minute to read and comment…
Now, in preparation for tonight’s lecture on musical theater and film, here’s a great article that you can access in full through the Hunter Library website:
Eric Salzman, “Whither American Music Theater?” The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 1979), pp. 230-244
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