Staff and students currently scaling the steep learning curve from Sibelius 6 to 7 may find some cheer in the wealth of YouTube tutorials in existence. A simple search revealed the following:
Here is the first one on that list:
Category Archives: Video
James Taylor – Guitar Lessons
As a watch-and-copy species, this sort of thing can go a long way – and the camera work is excellent!
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP)
In October 2011 I applied to participate in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). Under the mantle of Creative Learning Networks, the idea was to enhance creative learning in the (public sector) workplace – school, community etc. One spin-off would be that silos who have neither time not opportunity to communicate would have reason to come together, in the interest of learning. This very much appealed to my cross-curricular mind-set.
Under the leadership of Ruthanne Baxter – then Arts Education Officer and Manager for Creative Learning Network in East Lothian – I was paired with Caroline Mathers at the John Gray Centre in Haddington, soon to be moving into its new premises in Lodge Street. Various ideas were discussed and two projects were agreed:
- a short series of videos where working composers would give tips to pupils to help with the composing/arranging component of the SQA Music courses
- an online course in the basics of sound editing – using the free program, Audacity and aimed at oral historians
The latter idea seemed especially fitting for two reasons:
- the John Gray Centre is, among other things, a museum devoted to local history and community
- this seemed, to me, to fit the cross-sector brief
Five composers were initially scheduled to be involved in the video interviews but, due to various commitments, two were unable to take part. Nevertheless, I feel that the three videos we have will be invaluable to students of composition.
I shall post each of the two outcomes individually.
Music, language and hearing (or not)
There’s really much, much more to this video by Charles Limb than the couple of points I’m about to select but here goes….
There is a very clear depiction, at 06:15, of the difference of range of frequencies (Hz) and level (dB) in music and language.
There is also an interesting demonstration, at 07:07, of how those of us with normal hearing take pitch perception for granted – compared to cochlear implant patients, whose perception can be out by as much as two octaves[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/bTE0MRRXNzs?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
There is also a very interesting talk on neuroscience and musical improvisation by the same author here – look out for great demo of piano improvisation by Keith Jarret at 01:15 – including some nice ‘outside playing‘ at 02:08 [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/BomNG5N_E_0?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
The Latest Scores
It’s hardly surprising that, in a culture of written music such as the western classical tradition, the look of the music has become more complicated throughout its centuries-old develpment. If you’ve not had the opportunity to see some more out there scores, there is a great collection on the YouTube channel of the enigmatically named ch252525.
Here is an example (click the link above for more):[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/XpCfdRVXG1E?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
p.s. the Google Ad on screen is not part of the score 🙂
Armbands
I was chuffed to come across this catchy tune and inventive video by Clog and The Quirks, featuring former and current pupils of North Berwick High School:[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/O7CCrpJ5ZEc?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
Nava Rasa Ensemble
Former Knox pupil and classical guitar maestro, Simon Thacker, has just released an album of his recent East-West project, Nava Rasa Ensemble. You can sample each track here.
There is also video footage of the ensemble here with links to more details about pieces/composers etc.
The Flight of Kikuidataki
A new and excellent video by Marek Pasieczny has been added to this page.
She Moved Through The Education System
Below is a clip of former NBHS pupil, Zoë Moskal-Guy, performing the traditional Irish ballad, She Moved Through The Fair, at The Meadows Festival 2011. Now approaching end of her 1st year at the Academy of Music and Sound (Edinburgh branch), Zoë formerly represented the school and the local authority in concerts, Burns Suppers, musicals (Les Miserables; Guys and Dolls; Back to the 80s; Fiddler on the Roof) and out of school events (VOCAL Conference @ Marine Hotel; Head Teachers’ Conference @ John Muir House; Well-being Scotland Conference @ Our Dynamic Earth; Commonwealth Forestry Conference @ EICC). Also featured in some of the linked video footage are former NBHS pupils, Callum Devine; Fraser Fulton; Bess MacArthur; Polly Waters. We wish them well in their careers, with many thanks for all the playing!
This is the best example I know of a song with a very free meter – at times so free it disappears altogether:[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/rOU2b9zZrDY?rel=0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
New Nikita Koshkin/Asya Selyutina video
A new video of Asya Selyutina playing Nikita Koshkin’s Prelude and Fugue in Bm has been added to this earlier post.