The Funk Masters pt 3

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, PT 1

Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, PT 1, what a hit this song was for James Brown. Even with all the clout this song got, it wasn't always noticed as a hit,"'This is a hit!!' No it wasn't -at least not in the eyes of King Records' Syd Nathan."(Dr. Licks 26). Even James the creator of the song saw it as too slow for his taste and liking,"The original version should have been called 'Papa's Got A Brand New Drag'...The Track was deemed to slow for King's purpose and had to be sped up..."(Dr. Licks 26). But this song wasn't just a failure it was a comeback story of the century, made short and soon enough it took over."After two solid days of editing, re-EQing, and adding additional reverb and echo to the original master, Brown's indomitable vision was still wrong. It wasn't a hit. It was a monster hit."(Dr. Licks 26).

The Music

In the drum part of  Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, PT 1, which I play in the video above, Melvin Parker, the artist adapts to his same basic drum pattern as on "Out of Sight" while adding the hi-hat with more emphasis on the up beats,"This opens the door for one of Melvin's most important innovations."(Dr. Licks 18). From experience in playing his drum pattern from his song it added a new taste in style, which helped find a new way to add some sizzle to the sound as Melvin did,"The tension between Melvin's upbeat approach and everyone else's straight feel is what makes this groove sizzle."(Dr. Licks 28). 

And so on I want to leave you with a question, has there ever been a time where changing one little thing about yourself, or what you do, further your learning or style in anything?

Dr. Licks. The Great James Brown Rhythm Section. Manhattan Music.

The Great James Brown Rhythm Section

The History

"Get your white robes and prepare to baptized in holy water."(Dr. Licks pg 16). "I Don't Mind" one of the most renounced songs from James Brown in the album "Live At The Apollo" with Les Bui on guitar, Hubert Perry on bass, Clayton Fillyau on drums, and Avlin Gonder's on piano. It took almost over a year of persuasion from James to get his record label, Kings Record to publish his song due to a long history of shaky situations but a great comeback James came with,"... Live At Apollo quickly became the second best-selling album in the country."(Dr Licks pg 16). Through many comebacks in music regaining respect James still had a dirty relationship with music members,"They hung around long enough to record Live At The Apollo, but shortly thereafter fell victims to the Band's never-ending lineup changes."(Dr. Licks pg 16).

The Song

In the master score of I Don't Mind you're able to see that the time signature of this song is 12:8 time making there be 6 beats in each measure. They're soulful and full of life when played right but fall easily out of line,"12/8 ballads are musical quagmires. They can be spellbinding and uplifting when performed in the right way. In less than skilled hands, they can die a thousand deaths and make you wish you were an accountant instead of a musician."(Dr. licks pg 18). While this song is in triplet form it adds new texture while making a articulate piece to play,"When you're listening to James Brown mesmerize an audience into a trance-like state under the roof of soul music's most sanctified venue, spiritually is a forgone conclusion."(Dr. Licks pg 18). James Brown, a legend, in learning more of him do you feel he has the divine right to always replace his band members?

Dr. Licks. The Great James Brown Rhythm Section. Manhattan Music.

Lesson 1- Ukulele, Strings, and Meter signature (HOW TO PLAY THE HAWAIIAN 'UKULELE 10 Easy Lessons)

knowing the ukulele a good thing to know, as lesson 1 starts by introducing the main parts of the ukulele as well as teaches us the note it can play. (Doris 2) starts out by showing us a demonstration of the notes and where they are placed, as you can see the four main string cords start from G,C,E, and A.

Next, it teaches us about meter signatures some of which are the notes and other symbols. "Notice that a quarter note lasts one beat , a half note two beats. A quarter rest shows one beat if silence."(Doris 2).

The other symbols including the meter signature(4/4) show that "the upper 4 shows that there are four beats in each measure. A measure is the distance between bar lines. the lower 4 shows that the quarter note is the "beat note"." (Doris 3). These notes helps to read and understand how to play music more clearly and better. The next step that i did was to count the beats aloud so that i could memorize and understand what it means when i start playing it with a ukulele.

In example one what does the note with a line going through it mean?

Music & Art

Music and art are two things that often go hand in hand- listening to music while creating art often allows for people to focus more- so its no wounder that listening to music helps you enjoy art more while looking at it. Johan Idema talked about this, saying,"Music can articulate or enhance the emotion, thematic or dramatic aspects of art,"(32). Music allows us to tie emotion to other things, and in a place full of art, music will help bring out even more emotions, which is very beneficial when looking at or creating art. Idema also talked about how music helps us understand and see color and shapes better, saying that it helps widen our understanding of abstract art (32).

Some types of music can effect mood better then others. When thinking of music that could match with art to enhance our experiences, our first thoughts turns to classical, because of the simple elegance and calming of the music, that also fits with the time period of a lot of the pieces. I found this to be untrue.

In my experience, switching through different musical genres while walking through the museum, looking at art, I personally liked listening to R&B out of all of them. It had a similar type of mood to classical, but was ultimately more modern, and allowed me to slip into the world of art easily.

Rock also, surprisingly worked well. Even though the music became more intense compared to R&B and classical, it made it a little bit more exciting. It was also interesting how the music made the art feel more alive, and also filled the silence that the museum was encompassed in.

Listening to music did changed the way I looked at certain art pieces, and the diversity of the pieces influenced the type of music I listened to.

What does listening to music help you accomplish through out your daily life?

Idema, Johan. How to Visit an Art Museum: Tips for a Truly Rewarding Visit. BIS Publishers, 2014.

Ukulele: How to Get the Best Sound

Ukuleles can either sound good or they can sound pretty twangy. When I first started to play ukulele, I couldn't make the right sound. I knew that something must've been wrong but I wasn't sure what. I thought it might have been the pitch so I tried to tune it but after tuning it, it still didn't sound right. 

Barrett Tagliarino helped me realize that my hand placement was all wrong. He says that the strings should be strummed in the area where the neck meets the body (Tagliarino 4). I had been strumming with my hand over the sound hole when I should've done what Tagliarino stated in the book. Just by changing the position of my strum made the sound 10 times clearer and way more precise. 

Here is the first recording I made with my ukulele when my hand was in the wrong strumming position.

Here is the newest recording I have made with my ukulele on the same song with my hand in the right strumming position.

There is one exception for playing over the sound hole while strumming. According to Barrett Tagliarino, "Don't strum over the sound hole, unless your left hand is playing high up on the neck" (Tagliarino 4). When you play further from the sound hole with your left hand, the strings of the ukulele have less tension so it's easier to play and gives a better tone.

I have been practicing playing with the sound of the ukulele and exploring the ways I can use the sound hole and the placement of my strumming to better my skills in playing. 

Question to Think about: Do you agree with Tagliarino that strumming where the neck meets the body creates a clearer and stronger sound? Let me know in the comments below!

Tagliarino, Barrett. Play Ukulele Today! A Complete Guide to the Basics. Hal Leonard, 2006.

The Funk Masters - In Drumming

The Evolution Of Funk

James, James Brown, one of the most iconic influencers of Hip Hop, R and B, and Funk. Though he's one of the most memorable singers around, even himself had to start some where. Fortunately I have been able to purchase a book on him and his burnout of a Rhythm Section, breaking down his history and style music. One of the first Bands James joined was the Gospel Star lighters ,"The first noteworthy band that James Brown was a part of was the Gospel Starlighters (AKA the Avons), a seven-piece rhythm and blues group led by his lifelong friend and musical partner, Bobby Byrd." (Dr. Licks 9). One of the first songs presented in this book is "Think". I will be playing the drum part Nat Kendrick created with somewhat of a swing yet straight feel."Eighth notes are usually either swung or they're played straight. In this song, Nat placed his eighth-note feel in that nether world where it's somewhere in between."(Dr. Lick 13).

With James Brown being on of the greats with his rhythm section I want to leave you with a question In Mind: Where have you have heard many of his famous drum licks and drum feels in Music today?

Dr. Licks. The Great James Brown Rhythm Section. Manhattan Music.

Hello Everyone!

Hey everybody! This is my first ever post! Can you believe it?!

I've never really blogged before so just hang in there while I get used to how this works. My topic - different ways to tie a tie - is a bit out there, but I still don't know how to do it so I figured I should learn and bring everyone along on the ride. I'm sure once I get the hang of things everything will go smoothly though!

Anyway, here's a bit about me:

My name is Logan Munoz, I'm 15 and a Sophomore here at KR. I figured that since we'll all be spending a couple months together making blog posts I'd at least let you know a bit about me.

First of all, the two biggest things I love doing at this school are performing in the Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble, and swimming on the swim team. I've been in the Jazz Band for the entirety of my high school experience up to this point, and I plan to continue playing my trumpet for as long as I can. As for Wind Ensemble I auditioned for it last year and was fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of it, so hopefully as the years go by I can still participate in that.

My friend and I before the Victoria Day Parade (which we performed in)

As for swimming I've been taking swim lessons my whole life, but I hadn't really gotten into competitive swimming until about two years ago when my parents finally forced me to join the Fairwood Barracudas. They are a summer swim team based out of the Fairwood Country Club near the Fairwood Library. I am so glad my parents made me do that because I've loved competitive swimming ever since.

At KR, we're just getting into our swim season here, and I believe our first official swim meet is actually this Thursday! I'm really excited to race and see what I can accomplish there.

Me warming up after a particularity cold and rainy swim meet

over the summer.

Aside from school, I love to read, play video games, spend time with my friends and family, and of course, still swim and play my trumpet. Also, I tend to be more on the quiet and shy side, despite my habit of beatboxing constantly. So hopefully this blog can help me come out of my shell a bit.

My friends and I at a party at my house!

I look forward to spending these next couple months with you!

Question of the day:
What do you like to do outside of school? Are you excited to start blogging?

Have a good one,
-Logan Munoz

Power Chords

Even if people don't have prior knowledge in playing guitar, most know what the basic terms mean, such as, chords. Although people know what chords, the question is can they decipher the differences between the various types? I knew what the basic major and minor chords were and what they should sound like, but I never knew what power chords were. David Brewster defines power chords in his book, Teach Yourself To Play Guitar, 

As sounding powerful, even though they're very simple chords that only consist of playing two notes on the strings (26). 

For a beginner in playing the guitar, the simplicity, yet usefulness, of these chords definitely caught my eye as something I should check out! The first one in the book was called an "E5 Chord." Brewster explained that, 

"Power chords are composed of a root note (name of the chord) and the 5th scale degree. As such they are known as "5" chords" (26). 

As you can see, I only had to put my finger down on one string while I strummed upwards on the string i'm holding down and the string above it only. I do agree that these have a very large sound to it!

There were 4 more of these chords shown throughout the book, so if you wanted to try out all of them, here they are: (also attached the chord diagram so people could reference them!)

 This one is the "A5 Chord"

And the "D5 Chord"

The "G5 Chord"

Lastly, we have the "B5 Chord"

So do you prefer to show off your skills with fancy chords or do you like to incorporate simple ones like the power chords?

    Brewster, David M. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2004. Print. 

Minor Scale Chords

We've established thus far that major scale chords are the happy-sounding ones, so what are the dark, evil, Jaws-sounding one you may ask? The answer to that question is known by almost everyone that does music, not just guitar: Minor scale chords! To jump right in, 

Minor scale chords are pretty much the opposite of major chords (Brewster 20). 

This is good because were trying to expand our knowledge of different types of chords! Just like the major scale chords, there's 3 minor scale chords. Each one has the name of a minor chord like "D", with just an "m" next to it to represent that it's minor now. For example, the first chord I worked on was the "Am Chord":

Here's the chord diagram just in case you want to follow along with your guitar!

 

Here's also the "Em Chord"

And lastly, the "Dm Chord"'

As you may be able to have heard, the minor chords sound a lot different than the major scale chords. This is explained in David Brewster's, Teach Yourself To Play Guitar, 

"Minor chords could be described as having a dark, or melancholy sound" (20).

I'm really excited to implement minor chords in my journey on learned the guitar because I personally love the sound! Although the major chords are pretty, I love the dark sound and vibe I get from the minor chords. They feel like very powerful chords to me.

We all have our preferences, so what's yours? Major or minor chords? Let me know!

   Brewster, David M. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2004. Print. 

Tuning the Bass

Like I said in the previous blog post, the bass guitar makes a different sound compared to the guitar and also only has 4 strings rather than 6. However, the way to tune the bass is the same as the guitar and other stringed instruments. At the end of the neck of the bass and all stringed instruments, there are small pegs that can be twisted. The number of pegs is always the same as the number of strings on the instrument. The bass, with only 4 strings, only has 4 pegs.

 

In the book How to Play the Electric Bass, Kaye writes a section about tuning the bass. The section says, "Usually tuning once a week is adequate except when keys are accidentally bumped." (Kaye 30) This excerpt shows that I don't play my bass that often and need to practice more. I don't even remember the last time I tuned it. Personally, I think it still sounds okay. But if I do plan to start playing regularly again, I'll need to get into the habit of practicing often and tuning often. Kaye also says that the musician should always tune harmonically on the 5th and 7th fret along with relative note tuning (30). These instructions are similar to the lessons that my original teacher taught me when I was starting out. He taught me how to figure out if a string was tuned or not by playing another string on the neck. This is valuable information and makes tuning even quicker. As of right now, I've taught myself a couple of songs that were all in the same key. These include some songs from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. I haven't learned a song that requires me to tune to that specific key yet. To prevent another string from snapping, I think I'll start tuning my bass more often.

For those who play instruments, how often do you tune them?

Kaye, Carol. How to Play the Electric Bass. Sherman Oaks, CA: Gwyn, 1969. Print.

The Amplifier

The type of bass I have is an electric one, meaning that it requires a connection to an amplifier to be heard by more than just the musician. This is the main difference between electric instruments and acoustic instruments. The amplifier is able to make the sound from the bass louder through the usage of electromagnetic pickup cables that connect the bass and the amp.


This is an example of what the pickup cable looks like. This shape is on both sides of the long cord and goes into both the bass and the amp. Without this cable, I wouldn't be able to efficiently play the bass and the amp would be useless. I like to think of the cable and amp as a Bluetooth speaker before they were even around.

The amp itself is pretty big, old, and heavy. In the center of the amp, you can see a very large speaker. This is where the sound from the bass comes out. On the upper part of the amp, there are many different knobs, buttons, and switches that help to change the sound that comes out of the speaker. On the back of the amplifier is where the power cord for the amp is connected, making it able to operate. Most of the time, the only thing I really change on the amp is the volume because my parents don't like it to be too loud.

In the book How to Play the Electric Bass, there's a section on the amplifier you should choose when playing the bass. In this section, Kaye writes, "There are many amplifiers on the market made for the Electric Bass... Other good amplifiers you would like to try are Fender, Gibson, Vox, Ampeg, and Benson" (Kaye 34). This excerpt from the book describes how there are a plethora of different options to choose from when purchasing a new amplifier. As I said before, I have one made by Fender. The cool thing is that my bass was also made by Fender.

In the same section of the book about amplifiers, Kaye also describes what the amp should sound like, and precautions to take before playing sound on it. She said that when trying out an amp, you should make sure you get an immediate note response, a good bottom end, the highs when needed and it should have little to no distortion (35). What Kaye is talking about is the sound that comes from the bass when you play a note. The immediate note response is imperative because then the playing from the instrument and the sound coming from the amp is synchronized. The bottom ends are the bass notes that the bass creates when strummed and the highs are the higher notes. And of course, the amp shouldn't distort the sound when it plays. 


This amp is the first amplifier I got when I first received my bass and I still use it today. I plan to use it for however long I decide to stay with instruments like the bass or guitar.


Do you play any instruments with an amplifier? What kind is it?

 

 Kaye, Carol. How to Play the Electric Bass. Sherman Oaks, CA: Gwyn, 1969. Print.

On Practicing

"The road to violin mastery is long and arduous, and great application and perseverance are needed to reach the goal. Talent helps to ease the way, but in itself it cannot be a substitute for the hard work of practicing. Even hard work will be of little avail if it is of the kind that fails to bring results, for there are both good practicing and bad practicing, and unfortunately the bad is far more common than the good," (Galamian, 93). Although I practice a lot and hard, what Galamian said is true, the practice I do is about 70% bad practice. I'm always slouching, thinking about something else: homework, what I have going on that evening or week, finals, and tests. My father has a saying: 'Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.' I love this saying, I try to follow it as much as possible; with violin, softball, and even school. One reason why I cannot do practice perfect is because my mind is always occupied with something else. This could consist of homework, what is going on that evening or the next week, finals and tests. Galamian says: "It happens only too often with too many students that the mind wanders to different spheres while the fingers and hands are engaged in mechanical routine-functioning and endless repetitions," (94). This practice is the kind that lacks both direction and control, but it is also a complete waste of time for the player and the teacher. If you continue to practice like this over and over there will be mistakes that are repeated constantly and are rooted so deep it takes forever and a determination as hard as rock to break that habit.

Galamian believes: "both technique and interpretation have to be objectives in practicing. The shape and coloring of a phrase [of music] has to be worked. I9t is very important to have an intelligently balanced division of practice hours, distributed between (1) "building time", (2) "interpreting time", [and] (3) "performing time,"' (94-95). The first of the three is the 'building time' which "should be spent partly with scales and similar fundamental exercises and partly in dealing with technical problems encountered in etudes and in the repertoire,"(95). During this time you have to make sure your mind is mentally alert; this can be done by marching while playing to keep on beat, looking at your fingers to make sure you are hitting the correct notes or it could be looking at the contact point of the bow to see if the bow is sliding over the finger board or bouncing everywhere.

 The second is the interpreting time'. "During the interpretation time the emphasis should be placed on musical expressiveness, the shaping of a phrase, of a larger section, of a whole movement, and finally of several movements, as a convincing unit," (100). For my group lessons and private lessons we have to memorize the pieces so we can put feeling in the song. One song we are playing for group is called Preludio by Michael McLean. This song is very slow, we were told it is very depressing and yet I find if you play it a certain way you can make it romantic. Another song we are playing is called John Williams Trilogy by John Williams and arranged by Calvin Custer. This song has the theme song from Star Wars, Raiders of The Lost Ark, and Jurassic Park.

 VIDEO OF PRELUDIO

Finally the third of the three; the 'performing time'. "The necessity for adding musical playing to analytical dissection of difficulties is well demonstrated by a phenomenon that can be observed time and time again," (Galamian, 101). Every time we practice at group we first practice with the music in front of us but as we get closer to the performances we start losing the music and trying to go by memory with every song. The only people that get music are the pianist and the percussionist.

DO YOU THINK TAKING TIME FOR ALL OF THE MAJOR PARTS OF VIOLIN PLAYING AND INTERPRETING IMPORTANT? IF NOT, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT.


Galamian, Ivan. "Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch." Principles of Violin:
     Playing & Teaching. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2013.
     vii-108. Rpt. in Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N.
     pag. Print.

string dampening

After learning the basics i decided to carry on with something a little more interest to play when i'm working with the guitar.What i am beginning to learn is called dampening or string dampening which is when you take a rest and basically mute your guitar strings. Dampening is to stop any unnecessary movement of the strings while playing so no other sound distracts from the selected chords. For this part Leonard Hal author of Guitar Method says to "Use the edge of your right hand (or left) to touch the strings, and work for little unnecessary movements." (pg.30) i had never really previously tried this so as you can imagine it didn't go exactly as planned and i was more of a novice about how to go about the movement but as soon as i tried it more i began to understand it. Hal gives an example exercises to help progress my learning in which he says count aloud for the notes that say the word, "rest," for each beat of silence. (pg.30) as i counted the notes like he said it became easier to eventually stop saying rest instead of the number of beats and muting became easier with his help.

thankfully now i am able to complete the string dampening and look to do more in the future with this since it does help to have rests when strumming and they are needed. I wonder what else i can do now that i have learned how to properly mute strings i suppose thats for the next chapter. Above are pictures of how to properly dampen strings.


WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HELPFUL TO LEARN NEXT TO BECOME MORE ADVANCED IN STRUMMING?


Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997

chord progression and finger placement

In my last post i talked about how i wanted to start the beginnings of proper finger placement and technique again taking information from Guitar Method by Hal Leonard. To begin building off of what i already know i have to correctly put my thumb on the back of the guitar as Leonard said on page six, and relax my form and fingers so that the strings are not muted.

So to begin i started on the chapter called playing chords after properly tuning my guitar and reading his instructions on finger placement. Leonard begins to say to depress the strings indicated with the tips of your fingers (pg.19) i did as he said when previously i had been putting the first part of my finger flat across the strings and i could never produce the right sound since my fingers overlapped and began to touch other strings i learned the correct way when Hal said to "arch your fingers to avoid touching strings that are to be played open." (pg.19) it makes sense now why i was not achieving the correct sound because i did not think to lift my fingers due to it seeming awkward and uncomfortable at the time but i know now that it was the correct way to play the strings.

As you can see in this picture the proper finger placement for C chord is being demonstrated. After learning how to properly play the chords and learn good finger placement i wanted to see what advice Leonard had on switching between chords. Hal says "As you are playing one chord, look ahead to the next and get your fingers in position. Then, switch chords using a minimum of hand motion." (Pg.21) when i tried switching chords usually it was very stop and go, i had a lot of trouble switching fluidly because i kept looking back to the frets to see where i had to place my fingers. Usually i would place them one at a time but with Leonard's help i swiftly moved my fingers with minimal hand motion by looking ahead to the next chord and visualizing my next target. I wonder what else i can learn from Hal as i discover more about chord progression.

DID YOU EVER STRUGGLE WITH CHORD PROGRESSION?

Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997

The Bow Arm PART 2

Continuing off of the last blog that I posted, I will write about "The Three Main factors [of the bow]: Speed, Pressure, and Sounding Point" (Galamian, 55). If you change any one of these three factors, you have to change at least one of the other two. Galamian says, "[the] increase of pressure with constant sounding point requires an increase of speed in the bow... increase of pressure with constant speed of bow stroke requires the sounding point to move toward the bridge...decrease of pressure with constant speed of bow requires the sounding point to move toward the fingerboard... [and lastly,] slower speed with constant pressure requires a move toward the bridge," (55). When talking about the speed, "[the] increase of speed will mean increase in sound; decrease in motion, decrease in sound. One of the most frequent faults found in this connection is that many players waste too much bow at the beginning of the stoke and therefore run out of bow toward the end," (Galamian, 56) When you have two notes in a 4/4 count one has 3 beats (a dotted half note); the second has one beat (a quarter note), the player usually "[will] want to stay in the same part of the bow, the speed of the up-bow will have to be three times as fast as that of the down-bow" (Galamian, 56).

I will now talk about Pressure, the second of the three main factors. "The pressure that the bow applies to the strings can derive either from the weight of the bow, the weight of the arm and hand, from controlled muscular action, or from a combination of these factors," (Galamian, 57) At the tip, the bow is at its lightest. As the bow gets closer to the frog the bows weight is at its heaviest. "The main point is that [the bow] must not, under any circumstances, take effect as a dead weight, inelastic and inarticulate, that would crush the vibrations of the string or, at best, produce a tone of inferior quality... Any stiffness in any joint between finger tips and shoulder is a spring 'out of commission' that will hinder the transmission of energy," (Galamian, 57). Changing the amount of pressure by slouching can also change the quality of the sound. Pressure if very important because, if you change it in anyway the quality of the sound and the message you try to send through the music can also change.
BAD POSTURE:

GOOD POSTURE:
The last of the three main factors is the sounding point, "tone production if the sounding point," (Galamian, 58). "Other factors in addition to speed and pressure have an influence on the location of the sounding point. These are the length, the thickness, and the tension of the strings itself," (58). The main thing to understand is the sounding point is closer to the bridge, the thinner the string is. This also happens when you are shifting into higher positions; the sounding point is farther away from the bridge as you get higher up the string, (Galamian, 58). 
    There are two main thing about the bow arm that are important. The first is the bowing patterns. There are several; the first is legato. Legato is "the slurring of two or more notes on one bow stroke," (Galamian, 64).

The second kind of stroke is Détaché. Détaché is when "a separate bow is taken for each note and the stroke is smooth and even throughout with no variation of pressure," (Galamian, 67).

 Next is the Spiccato. Galamian says Spiccato is when "the bow is dropped from the air and leaves the strings again after every note," (75).

The next stroke is Staccato. Staccato "is a succession of short, clearly separated, and constant-articulated strokes on one bow, performed while the hair of the bow remains in permanent contact with the string, "(Galamian, 78).

The last important thing you have to watch for while playing is chords. There are three main chords. The first is broken chords; "if a three-note chord is broken, the usual procedure is to attack the low and middle notes together before the beat and then to move over to the highest note in such a way that the middle and high note are sounded together exactly on the beat," (Galamian, 88).

 

The second is "unbroken chords of three notes, when attacked simultaneously, can either be sustained throughout, or else, after the simultaneous attack, only one or two notes held out," (89).

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THIS  BLOG? WHAT WILL HELP YOU THE MOST?

Galamian, Ivan. "Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch." Principles of Violin:
     Playing & Teaching. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2013.
     vii-108. Rpt. in Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N.
     pag. Print.

The Bow Arm PART 1

For violin I have to do a series of exercises to warm-up my bow arm, which is the right hand. These exercises are 'bow circles', and 'spiders'. The 'bow circle' and the 'spiders' help my arm to be warm and ready to play fast or slow depending on the song that I play. Galamian says there are four fundamentals for the bow arm/right hand. They are (1) the system of springs; (2) holding the bow; (3) the physical motions of the arm, hand, and fingers, and lastly, (4) the drawing of the straight stroke, (44). The first fundamental; the system of springs, is movements that react in the same way as mechanical springs. If you move the bow fast enough you should have a reaction like when you bounce a ball.

The second fundamental is: holding the bow. When holding the bow you have your hands positioned like a fox; put your thumb under the stick, and the rest of your fingers over the stick. Your pointer finger just lays flat but separate from the other fingers; Your pinky sits on top of the stick.
                                
When I was learning how to hold the bow I was told a story that went with it. Your thumb is the ticking crocodile waiting for another taste of the Captain; your pointer finger is Captain Hook far away from everyone; your middle and ring finger are Wendy and Peter Pan because they are so close; and your pinky is Tinker Bell sitting on her perch near Wendy and Pan. The third fundamental is: The Physical motion of the hand. The movements are the vertical motion and the horizontal motion. The vertical motion is when "the fingers, and thumb, in combination, can move in a way that will raise and lower the bow vertically" (48).

The horizontal motion is when "the fingers and thumb can move the bow in the lengthwise direction of the stick and can therefore execute short, regular bow strokes of own accord" (48).

The last fundamental is: Drawing the straight bow stoke. Galamian says "The straight bow stoke from fog to tip is the foundation of the entire bowing technique"...The chief problem is the form of a straight line does not come naturally to the members of the human body (51). There are three different stages to the straight bow stroke, they are: the triangle which is "when the bow is set on the strings at the very frog, a triangle is formed by the arm and instrument" (51). The square which is "when the bow is set on the strings at approximately the middle [which then forms a square]" (52). The last is; the point which is "when the bow is set on the strings at the tip, the right arm is then stretched out nearly straight" (52).

TRIANGLE

SQUARE

POINT

What part of the right hand do you think is the most important? The system of springs, the holding of the bow, the physical motion of the hand, or the drawing of the straight bow stroke?

 Galamian, Ivan. "Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch." Principles of Violin:
     Playing & Teaching. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2013.
     vii-108. Rpt. in Ivan Galamian: A Biographical Sketch. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N.
     pag. Print.

Playing the Bass

In my first post, I described how the high E string on my guitar broke while trying to tune it. I haven't been able to find the time to get it restrung, so playing it correctly would be very tough. The book I was reading for the guitar also wasn't very helpful in descriptions of tuning or different ways to play, it merely just had lessons on how to play different songs from different artists. This being the case, I've decided to start writing blog posts about the other instrument I've learned to play. That instrument being the electric bass guitar. I figured that this switch would still keep the topic of music that I've been writing about.

Because I've selected a new instrument, I also decided to get a digital copy of a book on learning how to play the bass with all types of information on the different styles the bass can be played in. In the book, it says, "Whether you play with fingers, thumb, or pick, you will want to immediately play the current bass lines and be able to invent your own." (Kaye 7) This quote shows how many different ways there are to make music with the bass guitar. The quote also talks about bass lines and creating your own. While I haven't exactly made my own bass line, I have been able to teach myself songs by listening to the notes. I do this because I can't read sheet music at all.

As seen in the image below, a bass guitar only has 4 strings, and a guitar has 6 (5 in my case.)














When I play my bass, I use my hands rather than a pick. I either use my thumb or my index and middle finger to strum. Because it's an electric bass, I mainly stick to rock songs, but I have taught myself some songs from video games and others. Playing the bass can be really fun and it's always interesting to see if I can teach myself a song.



Do you know any famous bassists or bass lines/styles?


Kaye, Carol. How to Play the Electric Bass. Sherman Oaks, CA: Gwyn, 1969. Print.

Major Scale Chords

Chords are arguably one of the more important things to know and memorize while learning to play the guitar because they're the main factor in making different types of sounds with your guitar. 

The chords I'm learning about right now are basic because they're open-position chords. These types are played lower on the neck of the guitar and have open strings, meaning not every string has a finger on it (Brewster 14). 

In fact, these 3 that I'm working on only require 3 fingers! The chords that i'm learning about right now are major chords: G, C, and D. According to David Brewster in his book Teach Yourself To Play Guitar:

"Major chords are those that belong to the major scale; their sound could be described as positive, bright, or happy" (14). 

So, diving into the fun part.... playing them! The first major chord I learned was the G chord. In Brewster's book, he included diagrams on which finger goes on which string to play the specific chord, which is really helpful for beginners! 

So I looked at the diagram which tells me that you put your first finger on the 5th string of the 2nd fret, your 2nd finger on the 6th string of the 3rd fret, and lastly your 3rd finger on the 1st string of the 3rd fret. I learned all of this from the markings. The black dots represent where you should put your fingers on the strings. The white dots on top tell us that the strings they're over should have no fingers on them. Lastly, the numbers on the bottom show us which finger should be on which string. Once you place your fingers in the correct position according to the diagram, you can strum and end up with the final product: the "G" chord!

I continued with the same steps on the next two chords. Next is the "C" chord.

And lastly, the "D" chord.

   

 

To all the people out there that know how/are learning to play the guitar, are the diagrams I showed or tabs more useful for you when playing chords? Let me know how which way is easier for you when learning new chords!

      Brewster, David M. Teach Yourself to Play Guitar. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2004. Print.