Merger Arts: Combining Visual with Musical

The digital age has opened many avenues for the creative promotion of musical art. Besides the obvious distribution channels, ie web postings, podcasts, online downloads for purchase (iTunes), there are some amazing examples of digital "merger" arts. I like to call this a Merger Art because one art promotes the other. In this case, the digitial animations and music work together seemlessly, merged together to form a single experiences. One without the others seems a bit pointless.

The AniMusic videos are not new, I remember seeing the bouncing ball example about a year ago and was almost convinced it was real. Now enter the HD world. This morning, I downloaded the HD version of "Resonant Chamber".

If you are so inclined to download at 280MB of this single video, it took me about 15 minutes on cable in the early am. In the end, I now have a great clip to watch when I want to.

So, what does this have to do with quartet performance?

First, what I love about this clip is the visiual aspect of what is going on in the music. The animators do an incredible job connecting us to the music by being at the right place at the right time VISUALLY. There is a section where the bass does a gliss'ed line. As it is played, the view is of course on the bass. Seeing and hearing the bass line creates a great connection to what is going on musically. This "vision" of what is going on is something that all of us have experienced. For example, after you have heard a piece, or practiced a piece, the music starts to BECOME more a part of you. In essense, we can start to "see" the music. We start to anticipate what is coming up and start to visualize the sound. This is an amazing phenomenon in my mind. It is one of the great occurances that makes music so enjoyable. The Animusic clip is a great way to actually visually demonstrate this "merger" of the mind's eye and the musical sounds.

Secondly, and somewhat connected to number 1, is a lesson for all musical groups. The visual hand off of musical lines throughout a composition is what really makes an audience connect to the music. When I think of some of the greatest recitals I have heard (and seen), I think of groups like the Canadian Brass, The Nuclear Whales and the New Century Sax Quartet. I would also add groups like the New York Phil to that list on a larger scale. The point is with each of these groups, the musicians interact in a way that hands off musical lines throughout a performance. The audience can not only hear, but see how the lines connect. The motions are subtle. Disconnected from the music they would almost if not totally be inperceptable. Sometimes the connection is eye contact between performers. Other times, a shoulder node handing off a melodic line to the next perform in the line up. For groups that move about, a step forward or back depending on the musical phrase or priority brings about the vision. Of course, groups that sit, like the symphony are capable of making these visual musical connections. The way that this example of Animusic scripts the perspective throughout demonstrates a good lesson for all groups. Creating the visual connection to the music can be incredibly powerful.

Learning from our world around us means we have to step outside our domain once in awhile. When you have the time, download the clip and others and see what inspiration they could create for you.

Free or Low Cost Music Options

First things first -- I am not advocating that we as musicians give away our talents. However, we can all point to a plethora of musical "merchandise" we have given away or charge little for. Of course, we do not dwell, or feel regretful about our generosity - it is our nature and one reason we are rewarded by being musicians. So, I thought I would take a minute to share how others are giving back to our art and how we can harness their talents and generosity.

This website by the Diamond State Saxophone Quartet (DSSQ) offers a variety of arrangements for instant download. There are a variety of genres and levels. Check the levels to see if they match your impression of the indicated level.

The growth of SibeliusMusic.com is astounding. A search for Saxophone Quartet on the site resulted in 6004 arrangements that meet that criteria. Select arrangements have MIDI MP3 files associated with them so you can listen. But, beware - MIDI is MIDI in all it's "glory." You will need to install the Scorch plugin to view the scores you choose. But, the key is price. You will find many scores for $4.95-$10.00. And, you can download them NOW - save shipping charges. As a side note, I just ordered from a national supplier -- the score was $14.95 and shipping was $7.00.

Of course, the value of the music must be considered. I do not imagine we would ever program an entire concert from these resources - but then again, I have not tried.

If you have another resource, share. We can all benefit from resources such as these.

Have fun!
Mark

Community Group Missions

How healthy is the musical community in your hometown? Do you know? Why should we know?

I recently posted to the NASA (North American Saxophone Alliance) regarding how to promote the value and role of community based musical groups. You must be a member to have access to the Forums. So, I suggest anyone interested in the world of Saxophone (or just good music for that matter) to join. There are some really great ideas coming out of my initial thread after only a 1 day post life.

So, back to the question -- how healthy is the musical community in your hometown? I usually think of our hometown as the surrounding area, or the general area where we perform. The key to understanding the healthiness of your surrounding area is to look at the indicators. Here are a few from our area that may give you some ideas on how to measure yours.

1. We have a healthy Symphonic Organization - the Williamsport Symphony, with local corporate and organizational support is a strong member of our musical community. The concerts are varied, pulling in - YES -- SAXOPHONES -- and many others styles, soloists and performance opportunities. Of course, the group is mostly supported by local musicians who are teachers, professionals or non-music career individuals. The group has a long history with a continued bright future.
2. We have 4 Post Secondary Music Programs (3 University and 1 College) within our area. 3 of which are no more than a 30 minute drive from Danville, my hometown, and 1 about an hour. They include Susquehanna University, Bloomsburg University, Lycoming College and Mansfield University. Having attended performance by all of these programs in the last year, the performance level, faculty and student base seem to all be growing in strength and performance level. Kudos to all.
3. In 4 of our local community villages, towns and cities, Lewisburg, Williamsport and Danville and Bloomsburg, Music plays a central role in community events. Each of these communities has town park concert series events with great venues. I have played in and attended events at all, most times to full houses (although hard to determine in the park :-)
4. Most of our area has strong public school programs with little evidence of cuts. Many of our smaller schools have concert band programs, school musicals, marching bands, jazz bands and small ensembles. I would also add that many music programs have ventured into the technology age, using music applications to help students learn and create music, including recordings.
5. Our area was also honored as the host of the Governors Awards for the Arts Ceremony recently. Williamsport PA was the center of the Arts a few weeks back. It is great to have a high level of visibility brought to an area.
6. Mansfield University recently announced the creation of a Entrepreneurial Development Center on campus. The focus will be on the arts, including music. The business of the arts is growing. The creation of a center of this nature is incredible evidence that combining arts and business opportunity can be beneficial both artistically and economically in our communities. I am excited to watch or help that program grow.
   

These indicators are somewhat anecdotal. To validate my vision that our area is a healthy musical community, I would want to look at statistics including concert attendees, dollars spent per capita on arts development, college enrollment stats, as well as the levels of music being performed within our schools. As most of us would find, getting that information is tough. So, for now, going on my indicators, I do feel we are headed in the right direction.

But, as we all know, this direction can quickly change. For example, if we allow ourselves to sit back on past successes, the bright spot light on the musical arts we are seeing now can quickly dim. I often compare our mission to that of the many lost family fun parks throughout our region. If you ever driven by the rusted gates of a once grand and spectacular family fun park, you will know what I mean. During their heyday, it was hard to imagine a time when the gates would be locked and the rides inoperable. But, the day did come, and could come for the musical arts if we allow.

As a community group however, the mission is not all that tough. We don't have to think too hard about how to keep music alive. We simply have to do what we do, and do it as much as we can, and talk about what we do, and encourage others THROUGH our love of what we do, to continue to support the musical arts. No one can be forced to do something they do not want to do or cannot do. But, we can all be MOTIVATED to do something when we truly, innately love to do it. That is our mission!

So, why should we know how healthy are music community is? Because when we do, we know how we can be part of that community, and how we can help. For 2009, I feel a renewed sense of ensuring each time KSQ performs, that we take a minute to discuss how strong our musical community is, and how happy we are to be part of that community. And, of course, encourage the continued support and growth of our art. I would love to see 10 new PA based sax quartets form this year and join in our efforts.

Get to know your community -- think about the indicators and measures of success and start to form a clear picture of where your group can help. If your area is struggling -- think about ways to spread the word. And, of course, think about how groups like KSQ can help. If you are in PA -- use our website to invite us to your town. We would love to help.

How to use Marketing to Improve your Group!

Highly motivated group leaders look for every opportunity to give direction and guidance to their groups. The obvious opportunities to grow a group of course include performances. In between every performance however, there are countless possibilities that can challenge a group and help set new goals. While wrapping all of these opportunities into one package is very difficult, for this conversation it will work well to identify them as "Marketing".

Marketing as most of us know it is the advertising of something we are trying to sell, either a product or service. It is easy to see that Marketing helps sell existing products or services. But, what about services that are yet to come. Or, what about using Marketing to help your group set goals? Will presenting the public with a message about your group help in any way to push the group forward, toward something YET TO COME? I believe Marketing can do just that.

Using marketing to help an organization set goals and push themselves forward is not new. For example, I have been following the new Palm Pre, from Palm. If you are not familiar, Palm is the inventor of the Palm Pilot, the small but mighty personal organizer. The new Pre is revolutionary in the industry. But, that is not the interesting fact. Palm is and has been marketing the upcoming new tool with vigor. In fact, their website is TOTALLY dedicated to their new device. The point is that the Pre is not even release yet - it is "coming soon." Why would Palm do this?

First, I think this is a great example of an organization using Marketing to push them forward. They have released a ton of information about their innovation. They have set the bar high now. In fact, they have set it so high, failure to meet those expectations would be catastrophic. But they take that chance knowing they are doing everything they can to meet those goals - failure is not an option or possibility.

How can musical groups like sax quartets take this same approach? First step, start putting together a marketing plan that includes a website, blogs, pictures, posters, business cards, sample CD's, and any other literature that can spread your message. On all of these marketing tools, be sure to create an image of your group that matches your organizational culture.

Next, start using these tools. At your next rehearsal, start talking about what your next concert will be. Discuss how you are going to prepare, and all the details about the performance. If you don't have a performance coming up, create one. Someone in the group will have an idea, make it happen. Don't over think the opportunity. If you need help in this area, feel free to post here, we can discuss this more. After the upcoming event has been decided or discussed, start getting the word out. Use all of the above tools to spread the message and any thoughts you have about the event.

So what does all this communication do for a group in terms of goal setting? If you are not familiar with Keith Ferrazzi, grab his book, Never Eat Alone. In his book, he describes how nothing makes us reach goals faster than when we tell someone what our goal is. In other words, once someone else knows what we are planning on doing, we tend to push ourselves to make that goal a reality. Few people want to leave someone else down. Leaving ourselves down is easier than informing others about our inability to reach our goals.

At KSQ, I feel we have done a great job of quickly raising the quality of our performance by committing to performance goals, communicating to others about those goals, and pushing ourselves to reach those goals. I must admit, that as a performer, these goals are not always comfortable for me. I can't speak for others in the group. I know however that I would not practice as I hard as I have been if I knew our group activities, future events and past history were not so public. What I am finding is that all of this marketing makes our growth incredibly rewarding. The challenge to meet our own goals is empowering.

Give it a try. If you group has hit a plateau, try Marketing yourselves!

Finally -- a sax for a specific player.

Ok -- finally -- a sax for all the 1st Chair players in the world.

Check this out

What next?

Saxophone History Link

Anyone interested in the history of the individual Saxophone makers may menjoy this website. Not all of the summaries have the same depth. For example, the KING page was suprisingly a bit short on details considering the impact of the King Saxes. But, it is worth a scroll through.


The Vintage Saxophone Gallery

The Gallery highlights brands including:

• Buescher
• Selmer
• Adolphe Sax
• Conn
• Olds
• Marting
• King
• Holton
• Buffet
• Couesnon

And, of course, Yanagisawa

The site offers a decent history of Yanagisawa as a brand. Visitors should note the long history of the manufacturer. Started in 1893, the company is certainly not one of the "new brands."

Also note that Yanagisawa is the inventor of the Sopranino Sax -- 1972. What is really interesting about this is that when some discusses saxophone choirs, you hear "you can't do a choir without a sopranino." This really points to how young our instruments really are.

Also according to this site, Yanagisawa only started engraving their own name on instruments in 1978. It is easy to see why the brand has little visability in our circles compared to Selmer, Conn, and King.

Those looking for a history of Yamaha will find a description from this site. But, don't except a ton of information from this site. It is mostly focused on modern sales and product awareness.

Intra-family Doubling

How many of us perform on more than 1 sax? Most sax players do. As players looking to experience all that is possible in the sax world, most of us take every opportunity to play across the family as much as we can. In quartet playing, the lead player is more likely to double on Alto and Soprano. My goal is to always feel a synergy with the instrument I am playing. If I feel the instrument is fighting me, or is doing things I don't expect, I start to loose confidence. I get this feeling when I haven't practices on a horn and just count on the act of playing to be enough. For me, it is not. There is nothing better to me that the feeling of picking up the instrument, having it respond to every nuance of what I am trying to do, prviding the feeling that creating the sound is as natural as whistling. I can only get that feeling when I practice on each instrument.

What I have found is that when I play alto more exclusively, it somehow reprograms me. It manages to erase all of the bits and bites that allow me to strap on my soprano and make good music. The "virus" that my alto plants into me is hard to eradicate. I have the same experience when I play soprano more, leaving the alto sit for extended times. Same challenge, different virus I guess!

The solution is simple, but easy to ignore. So, here it is -- the real truth. The alto and soprano are different instruments. Yes, remember you heard it here first! To maintain each, each needs their time to be practiced. Neither likes to be ignored. To make absolutely sure I have that correct vision in my mind, I think of each instrument as unique, having little to do with the other. In fact, while I may be in the minority, I find some passages to be easier on alto than on soprano. And, of course, I have some things on soprano that feel more natural than on the alto. This difference has helped reinforce in me that each instrument is its own unique animal. I recently heard Branford Marsalis echo this practice philosophy; he practices each instrument. Being self taught, I try to learn everything I can from those who are willing to share. He is a good one to pay attention to.

I don't think you need to be overly creative when deciding on how to practice each. The same exerices can work for both. Of course, the soprano may require a bit more attention when playing at the extremes, both high and low. Each will require their own approach to creating the sound you are looking for.

So, if you want a simple plan, here's my approach.

• Play each every day if time allows (ie -- if you have a non musical job as I do, that time is hard to come by).
• If you can't play each every day, alternate.
• Play the same warm up for each -- I play slow major and minor appeggios for the full range of the horns. Listen for intonation, get the horn warmed up, think about your sound, listen, be in tune with what is coming out of the horn.
  
• Play the same exercises on each when practicing.
  

After that, I make sure I play either solo literature, orchestral excerpts, or quartet music that is written specifically for each instrument. My goal is to ensure I am playing music that is "meant" for the horn.

I apply the same to any of the instruments in the family. If I am playing bari, I throw that into the rotation.

Intra-family doubling deserves a special approach, individualized instrument time and a committment to creating the vision that each deserves this attention, to ensure success on each. Have fun!

Rehearsal Thoughts

One topic I wrestle with is how to run great rehearsals. This is a really personal topic for me. Why? I have been "out of" the music instruction scene for the past 9 years. So, I feel a bit affected by the "use it or loose it" concept. To harness the positive, I feel this gives me a great opportunity to capitalize on what I can learn from making a come back from my hiatus. Added to that, I do think running great rehearsals also involved group dynamics and personal relationships among the members. For a quartet this is especially critical.

So, combining a personal mission to make our rehearsal value as high as possible with acknowledgment that our group dynamic and individual personalities add greatly to our success, I've started to put some thoughts into how we work so well, what we are trying to accomplish and how and where we go from here. Since no group exists for, or on, the desire of just one member, I know my fellow members will have something to add.

First, some group history. If you don't know, Judy and I are married. Her twin sister, Janet is our Bari player. BJ, well, he is not related in a familial sense. However, BJ and Judy have played together for a few years before BJ filled Judy's teaching position after her retirement. So he for sure is a member of our family. (We charge him very little for continued "membership"). With our family tree now firmly in mind, I think the path is clear to jump right in.

In my quest to find information about group rehearsal techniques, I have found little. I would have expected to find tons of how to's or "here is what we do" messages. But, I have not. I think it must be a secret or something. Or is running a great rehearsal just supposed to be an assumed skill for all groups? I tend to think neither is the case. I just think we have not had the ability to share thoughts on this subject easily. Today - no excuses. Blogging is a great way to get thoughts on 'paper' and out to others.

So, here are my thoughts on holding and benefiting from really great rehearsal techniques. KSQ is getting better every day. Being the goal setting type, I know some of the items on my list are skills our group has in plenty. Others, are stretch goals for us - ones we will certainly work hard to improve. As we do, I will keep this post topic updated.

1.) Communicate -- all kinds works best. Talk about the upcoming rehearsal, what you want to accomplish, where it will be held, what pieces you will cover, what pieces you will not work on, tempo updates, recordings to listen to prior, clothes to wear (oh -- that is just for Judy and Janet), plan meals -- our rehearsals are often long and span 1 meal or more. We have found that the things that make great rehearsals is making them memorable and fun. While we all remember the days of scheduled rehearsals just barely fitting into our day, we consider our group our opportunity to be in total control of how much we enjoy rehearsals. We talk them up, make events out of them to whatever degree makes sense, not going overboard, and enjoying the prep and planning as part of the lead in to the actual event.

2.) Generating Urgency -- ok, this is straight out of a Leadership workshop I am building, but it fits. KSQ has gotten better because we have created URGENCY in our group. How have we done that? We didn't wait for performances to come to us. We went out and told others we were performing. We have not been turned down. And, thus, these 'urgencies' have led to a NEED to rehearse. I think we are very good at knowing what we are rehearsing for. We always have an event that we are prepping for. We make that a driver for our rehearsals. I don't think this is an obvious approach. In my early years, prepping for a concert band concert that was months away never seemed to be the priority. I am not a fan of rehearsing for rehearsal sake. Call it old age or impatiences or over exuberant goal setting. Now-a-days, I need a sense of URGENCY, and I think our group has really benefited from that approach.

3.) Coaching -- this topic served as a really great thought partnering activity between Judy and I the other night. I asked a simple question - "Who leads our group?" For about an hour we shared past experiences with other groups, how they worked together, what the outcome of their work was (ie -- how good were these groups), and discussions on group dynamics, not the musical dynamics but the interrelationships in the group. I have been thinking that our group could use a coach to help us get to the next level. I had in my mind that the group could only get to the next level if we had someone telling us what to do and how to do it. Considering the picture I painted above of my past group rehearsal experiences - ie -- they were schedule, repetitive, not so fun, my coaching idea created a real double talk situation for myself. What was I saying? Did I really think a coaching environment fit into the culture of our group? After consideration, I've realized that what we have been doing is starting to develop our own internal coaching skills as a group. We haven't reach or even defined our own model yet, but we are opening up. We all have a ton of respect for each other. We all hear things in our own way, beneficial ways to helping the group move forward musically. The more we play together, the more we are discovering what bugs each of us more. Interestingly, we have started to "predict" what will be caught by someone else. I know if I miss an accidental more than once, Judy will politely hand me a pencil and say "MARK IT!". Since BJ and I play the Bb Instruments, we are more so now than in the early days listening to our "D's" and "Eb's" knowing that our instruments handle each differently, and thus cause intonation issues. These are small coaching efforts that we do for each other, sometimes non-verbally, sometimes verbally. While we have not actually spoken about this in our group (at least not up until now), I do think our next step is the development of internal musical coaching beyond what we are doing for each other now. Discussing the topic is the first step, one that I am glad to create here and for expansion on when we rehearse for our own betterment.

If you were expecting a "do this", "don't do this" checklist, sorry. My mind doesn't work like that. But, I am a single voice in our quartet. I know my fellow members will contribute their thoughts in time. For now, my advice to all is to Communicate, Create your own Urgency, and Coach each other to better success. Give these simple challenges a try!

Mark

Region 8 Conference

To help publicize the NASA Regional Conference, KSQ posts the following information:

2009 NASA Region 8 Conference

April 3-4, 2009. To be held at West Virginia University. It will be hosted by Michael Ibrahim. For information contact Michael Ibrahim at michael.ibrahim@mail.wvu.edu.

Additional Information can be found at the North American Saxophone Alliance website.

Rehearsal (Trio) - West Side Story Selections (Boatman)

Judy, BJ and I (Mark) decided to get together and work on the West Side Story Selections. What a wonderful arrangement by Boatman (New Century Sax Quartet). The arrangement is really written for saxophones. The range is perfect on all parts (with a few exceptions), the keys are spot on (with a few difficult keys) and the voicing is well placed. As I just mentioned, there are a few places where the 2nd Alto may want to consider 8vb changes to smooth out the lines. Groups wanting to play this piece should consider the bari part. It is not for the meek and mild. It covers the total sax range and calls for a player who is light and delicate, almost a bass clarinet approach. Janet being a bass clarinet player handles the part beautifully.

There are some sections in the mega flats and mega sharps keys. But, they are not extensive. I think they are quite necessary however due to the melodic progression of the tune -- ie -- where else would you go?

As far as voicing, it is lovely. All the parts seem to be meant for each horn. There are some really power uses of unison and octaves that give us the chance to really listen to each other, matching pitch is essential. There are also many places where the melody and harmony are handed off from player to player. Again, this really gives the group a chance to show off their musicality.

We missed having Janet, but we did some nice woodshedding. Our next rehearsal will be with her and Judy.

Trip to Washington Music Center

December 31st, 2008

Judy and I took the "short" 3.5 hour drive to Chuck Levins Music Center in Washington DC. We highly recommend the store. They have an amazing inventory. When looking for all my horns they had several in stock for auditioning. And, when I wanted my 9930 alto, they understood the value of the horn and how I did not want to just blindly order a $5K instrument. But, they took that risk!

We have been experiences really sticky keys on our horns (all Yanis). So, Pad Juice was the solution. We don't have a ton of experience with it so far, but it seems to be working. Our older Yanis did not have the sticky pad issues like the new ones.

If you are looking for great sales and service, as for Lee in Band Sales.

Visit the WMC Website. Don't expect a great site. Their focus is on instrument sales. So, the site is not where their strengths are. But, it will provide some basic information.

North American Saxophone Alliance, 2008 Biennial Conference

April 16-19th, 2008
University of South Carolina, Columbia SC

Simply an amazing event. Judy and I quickly realized that we had so much to learn. As non-native saxophone players, an event such as this can be incredibly beneficial. For those just entering the world of Sax, NASA is an fantastic resource to connect with.

A few highlights for us, Josh Thomas. What an amazing saxophonist. Josh is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet. His performance of Deconstructing Eddie (yes - Van Halen), was incredible.

Hearing and seeing New Century Saxophone Quartet should be on any saxophonist or quartet's agenda. Their diversity is outstanding. Their showmanship, a real model for us. In particular, the take away from NCSQ is their homogenous sound. NCSQ's use of like instruments, reaffirmed the approach is worth the time and effort. All playing on Cannonball Saxophones, their sound is like no other group I have heard.

After hearing NCSQ, I auditioned a Cannonball A5-HS. This alto was a pure surprise to me. The tone is unique, full and rich. And the feel of the instrument vibrating when playing is an awesome instrumental experience. I found myself loving what was coming out of the bell. While I loved the sound, I did not like the left side plate key mechanism. Moving from C# to B to Bb etc, was not smooth for me. The mechanism was considerably less mature than found on Yanagisawa instruments. And, I questioned how well the finish would endure over time. I also had an adjustment issue with the octave key. It "derailed" from the neck mounted retainer. While an adjustment would have addressed that, it still seemed like a weak area for the instrument. However, I could recommend the horn for the money. For $2K, the instrument has an amazing sound.

Events like this can lead to much more than just what you experience at the event. We took lots of notes on quartet setups, highlighted music we wanted to order, listened to NCSQ with a level of detail we had not in the past (and now have a tune of theirs on our repertoire list) and connected with past friends and teachers (Dr. Joseph Murphy). We are looking forward to the next event!