Virtual Symphony

The Internet is full of all kinds of interesting tools and simulators. It seems no more than right that musical performance should fall into the category of disciplines represented by the overwhelming existence of digital counterparts. A quick Google search for “virtual musical instruments” will lead a user to a host of sites that are some how associated with digitally simulated instruments.

Wesleyan University offers an entire online museum of virtual instruments of all sorts from across the globe. The Department of Canadian Heritage hosts an online museum with an entire section devoted to a grid of virtual music-makers. Jim Doble maintains a site called Elemental Design that is dedicated to various percussion instruments. The site contains a section devoted to uncommon virtual instruments filled with various virtual, such as the pipe harp, the pentatonic aquarion, and such experimental instruments as a wrenchaphone (a xylophone made with wrenches). David Holmes has compiled an entire Museum of Sound Toys that provides a large collection of links to musical instruments online.

I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee...

Tonight's class was a musical ensemble. Recorders, drums, keyboards, were all engaged in melodious merriment. One classmate even played real, live hand bells with a sound as pure as water from a blue iceberg. It was fantastic. My group worked together to play, "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee!" One group member played the guitar, another played the flute, and two others played hand shakers. I supplied the harmony on a harmonica. It was so much fun. I didn't realize how much I missed playing music in a group until tonight.

Dropping the Ball for a Pretty Fishy

I have to admit it: I haven't followed through with my plan of introducing interesting Black History Facts each day throughout Black History Month. But I have a great excuse! I was busy keeping the dream alive. I was busy living out the freedom that others gave their lives for me to obtain. I was reading and completing assignments for school. I was also learning more about how I could help the kids at work. So, I dropped this ball in order to grab a better one, a bigger, more precious one.

This being said, I have enjoyed one particular assignment. We were to take a children's books and choose a song that complimented the story fluidly. For a while I was just considering a few stupid things simply to get a grade. But my attention was drawn to a book given to me last semester by one of my instructors. It's called The Rainbow Fish. It's about a beautiful, but arrogant fish that learns the importance of love and happiness as opposed to outer beauty. It's a delightful book. And because of the underwater theme, I was reminded of a great composition for ballet by Igor Stravinsky known as The Firebird. I played The Firebird Suite when I was in 9th grade as bass-player in the Florida All-State Orchestra. I could still hear its hauntingly beautiful melody. We only played the finale from The Firebird Suite. The Suite is somewhat of a condensed version of the entire score of the ballet. It's only about 20 minutes long. But the only part we played as about the last 7 minutes. And this is the part I'm using for my assignment.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will read the book to my class and my instructor, accompanied by this music. I practiced timing it today with my 7 year-old cousin, whom I will identify by the name of Baby Gila Monster (Gila for short). She really enjoyed it. With her as my audience, I was able to practice it about three times. I still have yet to perfect this. But the overall affect seems to be exactly what I had in mind.

Firebird Suite - Stravinsky


Now...this is supposed to be a creative non-fiction account of my life on both sides of the teacher's desk. It's supposed to consist of my creative reflections of my actions and what I've learned...hence, the title. So, rather than simply spilling facts onto the digital page, I'm going to restart the addition of creative non-fiction sections of my posts...I think.

Anyway, after going upstairs, I opened my room door to see the entire room lit by the enveloping warmth of the mirror's blue glow. I picked it up, and there in its reflective face, was myself, my little cousin seated in my lap. But the room in which we had actually been seated was changed. The whole place looked dim, as if I were seeing it through a tinted glass. Our hair appeared to blow in some kind of wind. Since my glasses need changing, I thought it wise not to trust them and to take a second, closer look. This time, I could see that what appeared to be dimmed lighting was actually the effect of water-water that completely surrounded us. We we were in the ocean, it's teal blue clouded with minnows, sea fans, and...to my surprise, one giant sparkling fish.

"What's this supposed to mean?" I asked the mirror. "I guess combination of the music and the book were just too much for either of us. We were mentally transported into a calm spot in the sea, and we could actually see the Rainbow Fish, huh?"

Sir Coolman laughed. "Actually, that's not the only reason. The main reason for the sea appearing to the child was your own enthusiasm." The scene in the mirror slowly evaporated, revealing Sir Coolman's pleasant face. "Really. The voice intonations were extremely affective. And I'm not sure if you meant to, but it was perfectly matched with the nuances presented in the text- both the music and your voice." He smiled, a rare thing for someone so old, and so weathered. "She felt your feelings towards the text, and you reinforced them with your voice and musical choice, despite its grandiose ending."

As he spoke, I realized the fact that I had been extremely excited about sharing the book with Gila. I couldn't wait to show her this metallic scales of the lovely Rainbow Fish, its beauty enhanced by the melodious masterwork of Stravinsky. The varied vocal intonations were a natural occurrence because I was really feeling the book. Gila could tell. After just one time through, she was able to repeat a significant portion of the text as I read it the second time. Since I had explained why I was presenting the book to her with music, she's been determined to help me in anyway that she could. "That's the octopus part!" she'd exclaimed during a section of the suite in which the bass violins stole the attention of the listener. When I didn't turn to this part of the book, she warned me, eagerly, "You better start reading that part."

"You look awful." Sir Coolman's voice brought me back to reality, out of the narrative proceeding from my own inner mirrors. "You should get some rest. You're liable to be a distraction to the children if you mozy into the classroom looking like that."

"I always know who to call to make me feel really good about myself. Thanks so much for sharing your kind way with words."

I carried the mirror over to the vanity drawer and pulled out its velvet-interior box. "It is what I do, madam." Slowly, his face become a simple reflecting pane. I boxed him comfortably and closed the drawer. I prayed a good while, thanked Jesus for all the wonderful blessings I'd already experienced, and those I had yet to enjoy. And all night long, I dreamed of the most beautiful fish, swimming in a sea of colors, the whole underwater world as beautiful as the music I heard playing.

Part of the Finished Product

Well, this is part of the finished product: my poster of Bady Dorzhu. I took every single graphic from the Alash site...I am NOT going to use it for profit, but have instead used it for study. After thinking about it, maybe this is copyright infringement. I hope not. But, if it is, I don't know what I have that they would sue me for. I wouldn't think of these guys to be the sue-crazy kind anyway. They seem much too intelligent and honorable.

Anyway, I'm pleased with it. It's an interactive poster that requires physical interaction between the students and the information. Studies show that this is one of the best ways to help students retain information. The idea is not mine, but a spinoff from one of last semester's assignments. It's made of 5 little books with a little bit of information about Bady, Alash, throat-singing, Tuva, and some of the lyrics to some of the folk songs that Alash has used in their albums. I'm considering adding a few more components before next week's class.

I couldn't wait to present my poster today. This is really saying a lot. I haven't been...so me lately. I'm assuming that it's due in part to the recent death of my aunt. She was 93 years old, and we had just taken a trip to visit her only four weeks ago. She was 93, but you wouldn't know it. She drove and grocery-shopped, and conversed as well as any...well, as any 50 year-old. So when I saw her, the evidence of human frailty in this once vital body, impending mortality throughout the physical portion of my loved one - I broke down and cried. I loved her so much, and this hurt a lot. But I know that she was well-prepared. She is in Heaven, rejoined with loved ones forever, in the presence of the Creator eternally.


Anyway...
I couldn't wait to present my poster today...but that was before I realized how late I was. I couldn't find the sense in leaving home, depleting my reserve of gas, sitting down for three minutes, and then leaving. So I stayed home. I've got other assignments to work on as well. But before I can complete anyone of them, nature has assigned me the need for sleep. I think I'll complete this before I worry about any of the others.

Favorite Musician Poster

This is a rather long post, but it concerns a large amount of thought. You see, I don't have a favorite musician. But that was our assignment. So, I after placing numerous individuals, favorites or not, in a conceptual hat, I drew from it... "Tuvan throat-singing." Tuva is a very small country that is located between Siberia and Mongolia. The influences of both Mongolian and Siberian cultures on that of the peoples of this region of the world are VERY apparent.

After this was the task of choosing a specific Tuvan throat-singer upon which to focus my project. I finally decided on Bady-Darzhu. He's one of the most talented throat-singers in the world and was discovered when he was only four years old by the legendary Kongar-ool Ondar. But I think the main reason that I chose him was because of his appearance on the Chevy-Chase show when he was only 8 years old...I think he was 8, anyway. But he's just so cute! Cute enough to sway my choice for favorite musician.

(I could have really passed out from laughing at his eagerness to perform and how he just kept going after the audience had clapped.)




Bady is all grown up now.



He's not quite as cute anymore, but he's just as talented, and more refined.





He's now a part of a group called Alash Ensemble. They were actually on tour in the US recently. They didn't come to my area, but they were in the country for a good while. They performed on stage with lots of different artists and at various universities. They have an interesting story as to their formation, and at least two of the ensemble's members (Bady-Dharzhu and Ayan-ool Sam) were tutored at a very young age by some of the world's top Tuvan throat-singers.

One thing that I hadn't realized is that the instruments this group uses are almost all native to their homeland, Tuva. These instruments, the Igil, the Doshpuluur, the Chanzy, and the Chadagan all produce an amazing sound.

Unfortunately, all I was ever taught about was the violin, cello, and other Western European instruments. I honestly had no idea the number of incredible instruments throughout the world. I do have one really awful memory of world music in my education. I remember being shown a video in school, the only video we were ever shown about Africa, in which a man stooped on the ground and played the same three tones over and over again. He was wearing a loin cloth and had a large spear-thing through his nose or lip, I don't remember which one. This was embarrassing to me at the time, especially because I knew that people of Africa are just as intelligent as everybody else, and that there is so much more to the entire continent than we are shown. It frustrated me then, to say the least. But since then, I have realized that my frustration was based on the fact that the images portrayed in the video did not meet the the expectations implied by Western thought. Once I actualized this fact, I realized that many of my ideals are restricted by the mold of the West. This frustrates me today because I realize that I can't so easily get away from it and obtain a pure, uninfluenced perspective on anything. But I am learning to transform my frustration into positive action. And for this, I have Jesus Christ to thank. Even in that old video, there is something beautiful, just not in the system of beauty that is accepted where I am from.

I feel a bit nutty for my choice of musical genre. But I have realized that overall, this assignment does not really reflect my musical interests. It's just an assignment, one my professor and I will both eventually forget. But even if it wasn't, it's alright to enjoy music that is anti-stereotypical.

I don't normally rant or ramble like this, but I'm tired, fighting illness, and I still not finished with the assignment. I've still got some illustrative work to do because the final project has to be a poster we could place on the walls to show to our students. But I hope to have it all together soon.