I get plenty of these type responses, as to why people don’t want to pay a professional musician to perform their ceremony…
“My nephew plays guitar,”
“My Uncle’s barber’s son plays guitar and will do our wedding for $50,”
“Our best man plays guitar,” and so on and so on.
Careful you might get this person!! That is assuming they even show up. I often book last minute weddings from those who hired their uncle’s barber’s son, who chicken out two days before the ceremony when they try to learn the music and realize they can’t play it…
Here is why you might want to have a second thought hiring family, a friend or friend of a friend.
I haven’t been posting a lot of my gigs lately, but, I played for a great group the other night at, Pacific Coast Grill in Cardiff by the Sea. In addition to playing for some nice people I got to see the sunset on the longest night of 2013.
Congrats to everyone at the law firm celebrating their 30th anniversary!!!
I think most of you who read this blog would agree music is the best ‘drug’ of all time…including our beloved morning coffee.
This series has been and will continue to be a public service for those of you trying to cut your caffeine intake, by enjoying some fast/energetic music…. 😉
…Or for those of you looking to enhance that morning cup.
Gustav Holst, “Jupiter,” from, “The Planets.”
If you are unfamiliar with, “The Planets,” each planet was characterized musically. “Jupiter,” was composed as The Bringer of Jollity. This piece is fun and furious. Even the slower parts are dignified, stately and triumphant!
Do you think, “Star Wars,” composer John Williams mightn’t been influenced? hmmm
This is one of Debussy’s most popular pieces. “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.”
Impressionist music was often dreamy in nature and this piece fits right in that category. The dreamy quality of the melody is achieved using the whole tone scale. Whole tones on guitar are achieved by skipping on fret each time you advance on the neck. On piano you would skip one key(whether black or white.) There are only two whole tone scales….think about it???
Debussy achieves the lush sonority with his orchestration in the strings and his use of tall chords…chords with extensions, 9, 11, 13s etc. The sound of the harp also adds to the piece’s calmness.
The video again has an amazing animated score which may visually help you enjoy the music so try and follow along!
I never met Deacon Jones. I never really saw him play…I was too young. He was, however, one of the characters of the game of football, as well as, one of the best defenders of all time. I was really sad to hear the news that he passed away on Monday.
A member of the Fearsome Foursome, Deacon Jones was a larger than life celebrity off the field, an American Icon in my opinion.
Ahhhh Classical music, enjoyed by the aristocracy, your grandmother’s tea sipping friends the 1% in todays terms….
Well that was the scene 100 years ago today as Stravinsky’s, “Rite of Spring,” was premiered. Well that was allegedly the scene. Would you believe these said music aficionados and high society folks kind of started a riot? Booed so loud the music could not be heard? Began throwing anything they could find?
However it went down that fateful night the music has absolutely stood the test of time. 100 years later the piece’s centennial is being celebrated all over the globe with performances and tributes.
Yes, for most people’s tastes, even today it sounds odd and perhaps ‘ugly.’ For those who have found their way into the works masterful composition it is a thing of beauty. When I first began studying music I was a Mozart and Bach fan. The ‘modern’ art music was not for me… But, through time and guidance of some of the most amazing musicians, my San Diego State music professors, I have learned to appreciate and yes even enjoy, ‘modern’ music.
To really explore the piece, I bought the score back in college so I could immerse myself, visually and aurally, inside the compositional and instrumentation processes Stravinsky employed. Try following the notes on the video below, the piece’s first section.
You have to laugh a little at what in art is called ‘modern,’ because most of it is extremely old. The 20th Century may well go down as the “Modern Era,” for hundreds of years to come. Like the 14th Century is known as ‘Ars Nova,’ or new art.
‘Modern,’ music may never be fully encompassed by humans. Perhaps it lies just out of our centered humanness and can only be appreciated and enjoyed by those who seek to study and look for it’s beauty.
I find myself extremely lucky to be able to love music, such as, the “Rite of Spring,” with all its complexities both in sonority and compositional structure and then listen to a 3 chord AC/DC hard rock song and be moved by both.
The part of the “Rite of Spring,” that has always moved me most both sonically and compositionally starts at approximately 7:45 on the video below. Specifically at 7:56 through the 10:30 mark, although the WHOLE piece is a true masterpiece!
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 