Song of the Day

The song of the day for today is “Folk Dances” by Dmitri Shostakovich

Download: Folk%20Dances.mp3?w=2eaef3b3

Song of the Day

After yet another school-related break, I’m back with the song of the day! =]

The song album of the day is ”8ight: The Stepson of Erykah Badu” by AlcoholHarmony

I’ve posted this album before, but this is the “Annie Don’t Wear No Panties Edition”, aka the “Unedited/Uncensored” version.

Of course, the link can be found here: http://durandbernarr.bandcamp.com/album/8ight-the-stepson-of-erykah-badu

Song of the Day

The song of the day for today is ”Reverberations” by Brian Balmages

 

Download: Reverberations.mp3?w=14d28945

Song of the Day

The song of the day for today is “Guns Up!” by Charles Booker

Download: Guns%20Up%21.mp3?w=055d555f

(I finally got the mp3′s to work!!!) =]

Am I Good Enough?

Music is so difficult. More difficult than you could ever imagine. The competition between musicians is so fierce that you can rarely determine who is the best. It’s quite common that you hear someone called “The greatest *instrument here*-ist who ever lived.   

Apparently you're going the wrong way...

 

But by whose standards?
Who died and told you that you could determine what qualities/skills make a musician “great” or even to be called “the greatest of all time”. Is this just a way of telling everyone who plays that instrument that if you don’t play like or sound like this person, you’re wrong?!   

How fair is that?!
I own a method book for xylophone written by George Hamilton Green. Throughout the book he offers advice on how you should be playing the exercises. And he doesn’t encourage. He’s very demanding, almost forceful. I am always discouraged when I can’t play through his simple exercises with the “proper technique”.
But what makes HIS technique the “proper” technique? Why can’t I be creative? Isn’t that what music is about? If you tell ALL xylophone players that they HAVE to play this way and if not, they’re wrong, how fair is that? It’s very disheartening to people (especially myself) when I can’t do things as well as someone else and I’m put to shame for it. 
But you MUST play like this…
Why?
Because it’s accepted…
There’s no other way to do it…..   

But then there are those who pick up on the “proper” way to do things. The “fast learners” who have gone through the method book already and their own method book has already been sent to the publisher. They don’t have anything else to learn but the notes. Watching them always motivates me…..until I realize……..these people are my age. Now I wonder……   

Where did I go wrong? Why can’t I do that? These kids are college professional level.   

Why can’t I be?   

Is it something I’m doing? I just want to know why I’m getting ready to go to college in a year or so and I’m not even on the same level as them. And surely enough, we’re gonna audition back to back, one after another.   

And who are they gonna pick?   

Not me.   

Apparently I’m not doing it “right”.   

-Maurice W.