Sunday, June 27, 2010
Interesting project
Someone called Deanne decided to embark on a project of recording the entire Beatles white album, with a new track appearing every nine days. If you don't know why she did it every nine days, you need to brush up on your Lennonology.
It is great to have a project to work on and this one is a most interesting one. Her first effort, linked above, is very well done. If you like it, you might like to join my much less ambitious project, which is to listen to what she did, a track per day, over the next 29 days in which I have access to a computer. [I'll be taking a break during the school holidays to visit my Aunty Ruth for her hundredth birthday and to meet my new granddaughter, Hilary.
It is great to have a project to work on and this one is a most interesting one. Her first effort, linked above, is very well done. If you like it, you might like to join my much less ambitious project, which is to listen to what she did, a track per day, over the next 29 days in which I have access to a computer. [I'll be taking a break during the school holidays to visit my Aunty Ruth for her hundredth birthday and to meet my new granddaughter, Hilary.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
One afternoon in June
Some of our students played for the tenth time, and some played for the very first time.
If my students give me permission, I'll post a few photos of the performance today.
The newest piece played, written this century, was called The Wild Rest, and comes from the brand new P Plate Piano series of books.
The oldest piece played was a fugue by Telemann that was written over 250 years ago.
Several of the students are preparing for exams (and playing for enjoyment), but others are not preparing for exams (and playing for enjoyment).
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The greatest instrument?
I think the greatest instrument is unquestionably the human voice, but after that comes the piano.
No other acoustic instrument can match the piano's expressive range, and no electric instrument can match its mystery. [Kenneth Miller quote included in The Essential Piano]
The pianoforte is the most important of all musical instruments: its invention was to music what the invention of printing was to poetry. [Bernard Shaw]
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Should we use secular music in church?
As I see it, those who favour using contemporary secular music in church present their material in such a way that it looks like they are following what was done in the past, whereas those against it also slant their material to make it seem like it wasn't done previously.
As I understand it, Luther used only one secular song [which is the folk tune used in VOM HIMMEL HOCH]. In all that I've read, this one tune is the only one that Luther used which was being sung in a secular context, and when he discovered this, a new tune was substituted.
It seems to me that the popular myth that Luther used the bar tunes of his day is based on the misunderstanding that a bar tune is a tune sung in a bar, but actually it is a tune with an AAB structure, which is known as bar form, of which Luther, we are told [haven't checked], used many.
Those who want to say that Luther and the Wesleys used secular tunes don't usually cite any evidence, but simply make the assertion.
Having said this, I'm not against using pre-existing secular music in every case, but do see a problem with using a song which is currently played in a strip joint in church next week.
We sing hymns to folk tunes which Vaughan Williams set, we sing a Christmas song to Greensleeves [a song about a prostitute] and to The Tune from County Derry [which is popularly called The Londonderry Air or Danny Boy]. I don't think this is a problem if the tune doesn't make people think of prostitutes or give them maudlin thoughts of Ireland [in a song by a non-Irishman who never even visited Ireland!]
One Sunday many years ago when I was playing the organ in a church in Brisbane [in fact, the first Church of Christ in Australia], I played The Battle Hymn of the Republic at the conclusion of the service.
A little boy came out to the organ and sang in a loud voice
Another instructive experience, also in Queensland Churches of Christ, was in the opening convocation service for our college, held unusually in a large Presbyterian Church in Anne St, because there wasn't a Church of Christ big enough.
We weren't used to pipe organs in church, as we tended to have small electronic ones or pianos. As the organist played, I had warm spiritual feelings [whatever they are] as I listened to him play great classical organ music in his pre-service voluntaries.
A little boy from the country squealed "Oo! Sounds like a horror movie!"
Which shows that one man's Bach is another man's Boris Karloff!
David McKay
www.aussiemusician.blogspot.com
As I understand it, Luther used only one secular song [which is the folk tune used in VOM HIMMEL HOCH]. In all that I've read, this one tune is the only one that Luther used which was being sung in a secular context, and when he discovered this, a new tune was substituted.
It seems to me that the popular myth that Luther used the bar tunes of his day is based on the misunderstanding that a bar tune is a tune sung in a bar, but actually it is a tune with an AAB structure, which is known as bar form, of which Luther, we are told [haven't checked], used many.
Those who want to say that Luther and the Wesleys used secular tunes don't usually cite any evidence, but simply make the assertion.
Having said this, I'm not against using pre-existing secular music in every case, but do see a problem with using a song which is currently played in a strip joint in church next week.
We sing hymns to folk tunes which Vaughan Williams set, we sing a Christmas song to Greensleeves [a song about a prostitute] and to The Tune from County Derry [which is popularly called The Londonderry Air or Danny Boy]. I don't think this is a problem if the tune doesn't make people think of prostitutes or give them maudlin thoughts of Ireland [in a song by a non-Irishman who never even visited Ireland!]
One Sunday many years ago when I was playing the organ in a church in Brisbane [in fact, the first Church of Christ in Australia], I played The Battle Hymn of the Republic at the conclusion of the service.
A little boy came out to the organ and sang in a loud voice
Little Peter Rabbit Had A Fly Upon His Noseto my great embarrassment!
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose
Little Peter Rabbit had a fly upon his nose
And he flipped it and he flopped it
And it flew right away
Another instructive experience, also in Queensland Churches of Christ, was in the opening convocation service for our college, held unusually in a large Presbyterian Church in Anne St, because there wasn't a Church of Christ big enough.
We weren't used to pipe organs in church, as we tended to have small electronic ones or pianos. As the organist played, I had warm spiritual feelings [whatever they are] as I listened to him play great classical organ music in his pre-service voluntaries.
A little boy from the country squealed "Oo! Sounds like a horror movie!"
Which shows that one man's Bach is another man's Boris Karloff!
David McKay
www.aussiemusician.blogspot.com
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