Dowd questions the validity of a 1993 UC Irvine research project completed by psychologist Gordon Shaw that gave rise to the belief that listening to Mozart improves IQ. An enterprising musician jumped on the idea and trademarked the term Mozart Effect in 1996.
The data was never reproduced, and troubling information began to come out of the original study. A subsequent German study found that music training did contribute to higher scores, concluding that it was the actual act of playing music that stimulated the brain, rather than passively listening to it. Not only that, positive effects were positive only because the participant was predisposed to enjoy that genre of music.
This is a cracking good read, illustrating how a flawed study can generate a copyrighted product, a popular myth fueled by the media, and a blind belief that is next to impossible to eradicate from the collective consciousness.
I prefer to listen to Mozart well away from men in white coats.
“Sly Fox” is old news by now. Nas nails it with class. This young hip-hop artist is right on the money with his rhythms and rhymes, his telling it like it is without resorting to cliches or puerile gesturing. Nas is wide awake and doing better journalism than the MSM.
He may be selling out somewhere, but not in his music. This Good Musician has a social conscience, incisive raps, wrapped up in compelling harmonies and precise, grooving beats.
Mr. Nasir Jones gets loads of love from AlterNet, one of my favorite internet news sites. Take the time to watch “Sly Fox” and Black President.
Then unplug, get out there, and make a difference.
Choral singers and directors: if you had a 30 voice a capella chamber group, with proficiency ranging from gifted amateur to trained, professional singer, what would you build into your repertory?
Any period, any genre. Here are a few of my favorites–a contemporary American, a French Impressionist, and a French 20th century composer.
The I Ching tells us that it furthers one to find a great teacher. The Good Musician has followed b5media’s own Darren Rowse for several years, and Darren is definitely my blogging guru. I use Problogger Tips as often as I refer to the Chicago Manual of Style for authoritative, useful, timely tips and ideas to help me think about blogging in a global, more productive way.
Darren has a Zen calm that shines through every blog post or vidcast he puts up. His generous, welcoming spirit makes you feel that he has just invited you into his living room expressly to help you become a better blogger.
Darren is currently sponsoring a Problogger book competitiont with the one remaining Problogger book on his desk. Even if you don’t enter the contest, his book will show you what you need to add value to your blogging. To enter, all you have to do is tell Darren why you need his book in 250 words or less. If you don’t win, buy it!
The Good Musician loves great film music. Growing up with 50’s musical extravaganzas through the evolution to electronic and digital of today, I’m aware that what I hear in the movies is just as affecting as what I see. A great music and sound staff can pull a mediocre movie up to a decent one. Even though I have more than five favorites, I’ll try to be the Good Blogger and keep it short and sweet.
1. Kiss Me Kate (1953) Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson look fabulous and really wail on the Cole Porter score.
2. Psycho (1960) Pretty much the exemplar, taking strings to the edge, presaging the era of electronic film music
3. One Eyed Jacks (1961) Brando directs Brando, Karl Malden, and Katy Jurado to a score as searingly gorgeous as the Big Sur setting
4. A tie, for obvious reasons The Big Chill (1983) and Forrest Gump (1994) All-time Boomer favorites–for good reason!
5. Stop Loss (2008) Kimberly Pierce’s laser precise film is a must see and hear. It’s an epiphanic anthem for the current generation of young men and women at war abroad who can’t turn it off when they come home, and the critical role of music in helping tell the real story of tens of thousands of severely wounded young men and women–body, heart, soul, and psyche–and the catastrophic consequences of this practice for America.
“Aha!” the alert reader will exclaim, “that’s six faves!” Technically, yes…but I never excluded a tie :) And that doesn’t include any favorite foreign flicks, animation, manga…so expect to see more Top Five Music lists coming up!
What are your top five film soundtracks? Send me a post, or a link to your list.
The Austin Chamber Music Festival kicks off tonight with a special concert featuring Peter Bay conducting George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with pianist Michelle Schumann. Also on the program is the world premiere of University of Texas composer Dan Welcher’s “Four Personal Ads,” featuring soprano Mela Dailey. The Cecilia String Quartet tops off the evening with Gershwin’s “Lullaby.” The concert takes place at the Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center, 4801 LaCrosse Avenue, Austin TX.
The festival continues throughout the week.
Saturday, July 12, 3:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Wild Basin Winds
Mathew Krejc flute, Ian Davidson oboe, Steve Girko clarinet, Thomas Hale French horn, and Daris Word Hale bassoon
Austin Children’s Museum, 2nd & Colorado
454-0026 / 454-7562 / 472-2499 $6/$4
Saturday, July 12, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Cecilia String Quartet
Sarah Nematallah and Min Jeong Koh violins, Caitlin Boyle viola, and Rebecca Wenham cello
Haydn, Brahms, & Belinda Reynolds’ “Static Motion”
Rollins Studio Theatre, Long Center, 701 West Riverside Drive
474-5664 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 $25
Monday, July 14, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Faculty Artists
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Tuesday, July 15, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Gryphon Piano Trio
Annalee Patipatanakoon violin, Roman Borys cello, and Jamie Parker piano
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Gryphon Piano Trio
Annalee Patipatanakoon violin, Roman Borys cello, and Jamie Parker piano
Mozart, Dvorak, & Christos Hatzis’ “Old Photographs”
Dell Hall, Long Performing Arts Center, 701 West Riverside Drive
474-5664 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 $25
Wednesday, July 16, 7:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Cecilia String Quartet
Sarah Nematallah and Min Jeong Koh violin, Caitlin Boyle viola, and Rebecca Wenham cello
Brighton Gardens, 4401 Spicewood Springs Road
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Thursday, July 17, noon
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Steve Girko clarinet, Margaret Coltman cello, and Felicity Coltman piano
Central Presbyterian Church, 8th & Brazos
472-2445 / 454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE (lunch $5)
Thursday, July 17, 1:00 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Meridian Arts Ensemble
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Thursday, July 17, 7:30 pm
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Tosca String Quartet
Leigh Mahoney and Tracy Seeger violin, Ames Asbell viola, and Sara Nelson cello
University of Texas Harry Ransom Center, 21st & Guadalupe
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Everything The Good Musician wants (and needs) to know about leveraging cool tech to be successful. The Austin Music Foundation Music Industry Boot Camp is a goldmine of tips and tools for artists and bands to integrate online Web 2.0 technologies and internet best practices to most effectively promote yourself and your music.
Best of all, Music Industry Boot Camp is free and open to the public!
Monday, July 14, 6:30 p.m., Scholz Garden, 1607 San Jacinto, Austin TX
Do you have an articulated philosophy of music? You are welcome to post it here. In the meantime, I’ll share mine. To me, the term “good” musician means a person who dedicates their entire being to blow, scrape, strum, hit, teach, sing, learn, whistle, compose, tune, or otherwise practice music to the very best of their abilities.
It has nothing to do with judgment, grades, power trips, ego eruptions, the elitist attitude that frequently assaults music. It doesn’t matter what “kind” of music it is. It has to do with being one with The Vibration of the Universe. Literally. Tuning to the Ultimate Tone. Blissed out on sound.
When you are attentive to the detail, the nuance that makes that particular piece thrilling to you, you are best able to thrill your listeners. I think of myself as a string, or pipe–a musical conduit to channel what the composer wanted us to hear as well-tuned and compelling as I am able. Able through practice, by paying attention to the basics so that the sense of the music as described by the composer has captured me in its flow, and I am able to include my listeners in that flow. That goes for all music, written or not, structured or extemporaneous, solo or combo.
It doesn’t stop there. Your listeners take that flow and are transformed, radiating those vibrations everywhere they go. No worries about whether it was note perfect, who cares if there’s a kid in the background somewhere, it just means that you’re reaching an important audience. New minds to introduce to music.
I hold myself responsible as a good musician to be an exquisite human instrument, whether singing, playing, whatever–fully engaged in mindful musicianship.
So send me a hundred words on your Deep Thoughts about Music.
Lots of good classical and jazz going on in Austin and regions this week. The Cactus Pear Music Festival features aspiring young musicians. Here’s a partial listing:
Sunday, July 6, 6:00 till 9:00 pm,
& Tuesday, July 8, 5:30 till 9:30 pm:
Shawn Ellison, jazz pianist
Truluck’s Seafood Restaurant
183 & Great Hills Trail
794-8300 (no cover)
Wednesday, July 9, 1:00 pm:
Cactus Pear Music Festival: Young People’s Concert
Thiry Auditorium, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio
210-838-2218 FREE
Wednesday, July 9, 1:30 pm:
Brian Lewis, violin, master class
Edythe Bates Chapel, Festival Hill, 237 & Jaster Road, Round Top
979-249-3129 FREE
Thursday, July 10, 12:00 noon:
Joel Becktell, cello, & Michelle Schumann, piano
Central Presbyterian Church, 8th & Brazos
472-2445 FREE (lunch $5)
Thursday, July 10, 1:00 pm:
Austin Chamber Music Festival: Cecilia String Quartet
Brentwood Christian School, 11908 North Lamar Boulevard
454-0026 / 454-7562 FREE
Thursday, July 10, 7:30 pm:
Round Top Music Festival: Young Artists Chamber Concert
Festival Institute Concert Hall, 237 & Jaster Road, Round Top
979-249-3129 FREE
Thursday, July 10, 7:30 pm, & Friday, July 11, 7:00 pm:
Cactus Pear Music Festival: Brahms & Mendelssohn
Thursday: Travis Park United Methodist Church, San Antonio
Friday: New Braunfels Presbyterian Church, New Braunfels
210-838-2218 $22/$10
Recent Comments