I remember reading about a book years ago that cellist, Frances-Marie Uitti (she invented a playing technique using two bows so that she could play four part polyphonic music on the cello), that would be a technical manual on alternative 20th century cello techniques. What she ended up publishing was a chapter in the Cambridge [...]
Tagged Bulgarian music, Cello, Music, music resources, Non-Western Cello Techniques, Turkish music, World MusicCalling a music microtonal is really such an unfortunate and misleading thing and belies alot of the assumptions that we make (in the world of Western Music) about how another culture’s music is organized. Basically we take as a standard Western diatonicism and when discussing other culture’s scale systems (the idea of a “scale” is [...]
Tagged Arabic Music, Cello, Microtonal Music, Microtones, scalesIn the interest of charting my new found obsession with practicing, I’ve decided to start a “Practice [B]log.” Basically after each practice session I will take notes on repertoire or techniques worked on as well as my thoughts about the practicing process or the music itself. I haven’t decided whether I want it public or [...]
Tagged Cello, Music, practicingYesterday I finally had the opportunity to see the wonderful Sparrow Quartet–and apparently not a second too soon as that concert was to be their last as a group. The group is an all-star cast of Americana/Bluegrass/Old-Time music: Abigail Washburn (banjo and voice); Béla Fleck (banjo); Casey Driessen (violin); and Ben Sollee (cello). As Carey [...]
Tagged Americana, Ben Sollee, Bluegrass, Chinese Folk Music, Sparrow Quartet, World MusicThis is a just a brief post, but while doing a little research to decompress after the show, I came the International Opus website. The title of this post is the subtitle of the website. Tons of gems there!
Tagged music resources, music scores, World MusicThis is a prewritten post as I will be performing at a hafla at Zorba’s Greek and Middle Eastern Restaurant with il Troubadore. If any readers are so inclined then please come to the show for live bellydancing by one of Zorba’s house dancers, Ja’Niesa, and live world music as only il Troubadore can present. [...]
Tagged Bellydance, il Troubadore, World Music, Zorba's Greek and Middle Eastern RestaurantEventually I will blog more about using non-Western cello playing techniques. There’s a whole world of music out there and finding ways to adapt those styles to the cello isn’t without some precedent, but obviously it’s not something that’s easy to find. Until then I leave the reader with a few videos and links. A [...]
Tagged Add new tag, Cello, Dhrupad music, Hindustani music, Music, Turkish music, World MusicThis is more for my own sake, and also for the sake of not cluttering up this blog with lists of cello repertoire, but I’ve set up a Cello Repertoire Wiki so that I can quickly make a note about any repertoire I may come across for my Bibliography Project.
Tagged Bibliography, Music, music resources, pedagogy, solo cello worksOne half of the pleasure of doing research at a more general level (e.g. “Solo Cello Music Repertoire” rather than “Cello Repertoire by Popper”) is finding gems you’d never think to come across. Earlier I found a full CD recording of 20th Century Bulgarian Music for Cello Solo. I’ve never heard of any of the [...]
Tagged Anatoli Krastev, Bibliography, Bulgarian music, Cello, recording, solo cello worksYesterday I had the pleasure of coaching the cello section of the Floyd Central High School Orchestra (I’ve been coaching the cellos of the Floyd County Youth Symphony, and a music instructor for toddlers and pre-schoolers at Gymboree Play and Music since the fall of ’07) and being back in a high school setting brought [...]