Music Nerd

So that silly one pitch assignment took me about 5 hours to compose and notate, for the record.  And I thought it was a "nothing" piece!  I think I actually LIKE it... and, humbling as it is to admit, I learned a lot through it.  And it sure looks cool written down, with all the octave switching and crazy rhythms and hands crossing.  I think it may be something I actually keep for my portfolio.  Shocking.  I wasn't expecting that.

Today I got to play my Schubert sonata (aka "the bane of my existence") on an authentic Streicher piano-forte made in the mid 1800's (think somewhere between a harpsichord and a modern concert grand).  It's a slightly newer model than the kind Schubert would have written for.  It was a really cool experience!  It felt weird - but - it was amazing how much easier the sonata was on the instrument it was written for!  So Schubert WASN'T, in fact, playing a cruel joke on the future pianists who would attempt this piece... he had no idea we'd be trying it on modern grands.  This is a VERY difficult piece... AAAAH!  But what a successful performance today, on the Streicher!  I wonder if they can hook me up with the Streicher for my jury in April.

Hey, another neat thing - the theory I've learned (or relearned or whatever) is weaseling its way into my regular musical life - into composing both classical stuff and even songs!  On the weekend Gill was teaching me a song for worship, and it was like I was seeing the chord structures differently than usual - watching all the harmonies make perfect sense and recognizing stylistic choices and knowing why they work and how they function.  I mean, we do all this stuff easily without having a clue how to analyze it - I've been writing songs long before I learned any of this, even the first time.  But it's definitely a gift to understand how it all works.  

It's the same with art - especially life drawing (yes, yes, drawing from nude models).  I was AMAZED at how honing my skills in realism (especially the human form) changed EVERYTHING for me as an artist.  I normally stylize my art quite a bit (as opposed to realism), so you'd think that if I were painting a totally distorted body and face, it wouldn't matter at all how well I could paint that same body and face as it looks in real life.  But... wow... it changes EVERYTHING.  Foster and I like to discuss this... how you need to know the rules inside out, and THEN when you break them, you know exactly what you're doing and can do it beautifully and expertly.  It's a framework... a launching pad.  

Blah blah blah.  Sorry - there are like two of you who would even be interested in anything I've written.

I should go do what I need to do!

CLAIRE'S GETTING MARRIED IN A WEEK!!!