February 2013

Orchestral Mass in B Minor

February 24, 2013 19:00

For two hours this evening (6pm-8pm), I created, using Garageband, a large quantity of sound that radiates in the ears. Using my violin, my guitar, my voice, a small drum I found lying around, and some synthesized instruments (horns, rock drums, flute, lower strings), I created this: an Orchestral Mass in B Minor. I know it's not really a mass, but that name sounded fitting and so... there it came. I had a lot of fun banging around on all my instruments, even including my violin, so it was a fantastic evening! :) Also, I don't believe I mentioned this, but I'm creating a second symphony that uses other objects (a phone that when you dial it makes notes, a Rubik's Cube, a wall, etc.) combined with the orchestra to create lots of sound. So I guess you could say it's like this piece. I made great strides on it this morning, so I will try to continue it and get back to work!

Click here to take a listen!

And it's a great feeling knowing after a hard day's work, I can sit down with an Asian medley of vegetables and enjoy the great tastes while the music runs in my head and upstairs on my computer. Ah... today was a great day! I feel so happy inside! :)

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Orchestra Organizational Fest

February 23, 2013 18:39

I must say, it is great fun driving on a snowy winter sunset whilst listening to Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture. There's something... right about it. Oh, and a Finzi piece would've worked, too.

From 1:30-3:30pm today, our orchestra performed for another school's orchestra and a judge. We didn't get scored; it was more like orchestra class where we had someone else conduct and it was being performed and we had to dress in all-black. Other than that, the atmosphere was very relaxed and I had a lot of fun not only playing my violin, but also listening to the other pieces that were performed. I wish I wrote down what they did, because they were great pieces. The second one was the same Glinka piece we had to do for our audition in January. (By the way, I did not make the top group. Oh well. There's always next year.) So yeah. The whole event was tons of fun! :)

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Solo and Ensemble Music Festival 2013

February 19, 2013 13:12

Yesterday was the Solo and Ensemble Festival, running from 9am-3pm and an Honors Recital for some of the best performances at 7pm. I had a piano slot at 10am (I played the Song of India), and a violin slot at 1pm (I played Vivaldi's Violin Concerto in g Minor). Basically, I sat in the room with two or three other pianists (or violinists) and we played for someone, who watched and then commented on our playing and gave us practice tips to help us. I discovered that for violin I'm holding my left shoulder up too high, so in a minute when I'm finished writing this I'm going to try playing differently (I'm just practicing for my violin lesson later today). This festival does not count as a judge score; in a couple of weeks that will occur, where I will play for a judge and get scored. Next week on Saturday, though, is a fun event involving my violin and the Symphonic Strings orchestra at school that I will save for then.

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A Refound Obsession

February 10, 2013 17:00

I've taken a break from being obsessed with the violin. I mean, I haven't really practiced it any less, nor have I refrained from my love and interest in music. However, yesterday's noon-1pm non-stop practice session and a piece I wrote this morning (and practiced this evening) helped to start to guide my ego back into the wonderful world of violin-playing, with my pictured fireplace winter setting with violins hanging on the walls. I hope this obsession stays, although it might not. I just think the best way to go in life is to be obsessed with music; I'll just have more fun in actual life, not just now, if I enjoy the violin. You know what I mean?

Anyways, this morning I did write a piece for me and my friends to play - I called it "The Dawn of Time." Written for Bb clarinet, tuba, snare drum, three violins, viola, and cello (those are the instruments played by me and my friends), it discusses the heated battle at the beginning of time between matter and anti-matter, and also takes a small moment to revel on the beauty of the universe. In April or May (or it might have to wait till summer), I'm hoping we'll all be able to get together and we can record the piece for YouTube. I believe I'm playing the first violin part. It's not that long of a piece, but it'll take time to first get the notes down, then get the dynamics down. And putting it all together is another story; yesterday I went to my friend Marissa's house (she's a violinist) and me, her, and Sam (he's a percussionist) played together. Sam could sort of play organ, so I scribbled something down at dinner and we had fun playing it. I also found a newfound love for organ. I don't know if I'd want to play any actual pieces on it. I just loved jamming on it - it's like a mini piano with foot bass notes! I sat there for about twenty minutes just jamming - and Sam played the stand (using pencils to tap a drum line on the stand). I actually got the tune for "Doomsday" from Doctor Who. Alas, I do not have an organ, but in the summer I plan on walking to Marissa's house to play with hers. :)

Sorry. I guess I was kind of ranting. Well, anyways, thanks for reading! I hope the violin becomes even more in my life than before! And no, I doubt 'refound' is a word but it sounded cool. :)

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My Worst Nightmare - To Life

February 7, 2013 18:33

My worst nightmare came to life today - I dropped my precious violin! I don't even know what happened, I was practicing and looking over my music to see where I needed to practice next, and BOOM! On the ground. I got into an emotional wreck. My heart started pounding, and I was just nervous on the verge of tears. (And I'm a boy. That doesn't naturally happen.) What made it worse was when I tried to move my E String peg, it wouldn't tune. So I nudged the shifted bridge back into its spot ever so slightly, and what do you know - problem basically solved. I could tune my strings and everything! I even finished up my practice session. But to be safe, I'm going to tell my technique teacher what happened and see if he finds any additional damage.

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A Musical Tomorrow

February 2, 2013 21:05

My audition is this Monday, the 4th, at 3:45pm. Tomorrow I'm probably going to be very busy practicing morning, noon, and night, so it should be a fun day of violin-playing. What's more, I will be starting a project for Music Theory, where I will research Vivaldi, analyze a part of his violin concerto "Winter", and create a visual movie to go along with the music (not all in one day, of course). It should be a fun, musical day, but I also hope to get a lot of work done musically so I can be prepared for Monday!

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More entries: January 2013