Musical Cosmos

I spent today reading the new Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’m a huge fan, and wasn’t disappointed by the final instalment.

I was amused to see that other musically-inclined Potter fans have formed bands based around the series - no less than 183 bands in fact, according to the Guardian Unlimited. Not having heard any of these myself, I can’t comment on the music, although the Guardian writer seems rather unimpressed. I think it’s kind of cute - and it’s certainly true that the series provides an incredibly rich source of imagery that could easily inspire some interesting lyrics (and perhaps music too - I love John Williams’ fantastic theme music to the first three Harry Potter films!)

Of course not everyone’s into wizards and magical stuff, but the success of the series shows that many people do find such themes very appealing, and not just children either. It remains to be seen if any of these bands achieve large-scale success, but I think they could make the charts a little more interesting!

There’s more about Wizard Rock at http://www.wizardrock.org/

Today I warmed up by playing long notes (G4 - G5 ascending and descending), then played through chapter 1 of the tutor book. This covered the notes from F5 down to Bb4, just using simple rhythms (crotchets & minims). It was easy enough - I have no trouble getting the notes, although my intonation isn’t very good. I will do the same again tomorrow, and maybe move on to chapter 2 (which looks like more of the same with the addition of a couple of new notes) later in the week. I only played for less than 10 minutes, but felt a little light-headed by the end, so I guess that was enough for the first day!

I know I won’t develop a good tone for some time yet, as it’ll take a while for my embouchure to strengthen, so I’m not going to wait until I can play each exercise completely ‘perfectly’ in terms of intonation before moving on - for now I’m happy with playing each note clearly, cleanly and reliably, and maintaining a steady volume and speed throughout each exercise.

HIM are playing in the UK in December, to promote their upcoming new album ‘Venus Doom’.

My first reaction was , although now I’m undecided as to whether to go or not. Sure, I’d love to see them live, but I’m focusing on the negative aspects right now: I know I hate being in crowded rooms with a bunch of sweaty strangers, and let’s face it, the sound at a live gig is never as good as a recording (well, duh! ), and really I’m more interested in the music than in the whole ’seeing the band’ experience, much as I like them.

Plus of course they’re not playing anywhere near where I live (no-one ever does, other than dodgy covers bands - you see these flyers for gigs, and think, wow, so-and-so-big-name-group is actually playing here, then see ‘tribute’ in miniscule letters underneath ), and I’m not sure I have the energy to travel a few hundred miles and back in one day, especially in the depths of winter!

Still, I’ll see - I’m in a bit of a hermit mode right now, and don’t really feel like venturing too far afield, but that probably won’t last. Of course I must make up my mind before the tickets sell out, or I’ll be paying twice the price on eBay!

The dates are as follows:

7 December - Portsmouth Guildhall
8 December - Wolverhampton Civic Hall
9 December - Manchester Apollo
10 December - Glasgow Barrowland
12 December - London Astoria

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster and other outlets.

I have just started learning to play the flute, and I thought it might be fun to document my progress on this blog. It might even be useful, for a couple of reasons: other newbie flautists might find it of some interest somewhere down the line, if only as an example of what not to do; and another (for me, more important) reason is that I bought my flute a couple of years ago, and already have a couple of abortive attempts at getting going with it under my belt.
My lack of ‘keep-it-up-ness’ is not caused by insufficient motivation, as I really love the flute and am very keen to learn to play properly (or at least reasonably well; as it will be my current third instrument, I’m unlikely to reach virtuoso level, but if I can get good enough to record the flute parts in my own compositions, so I can avoid having to use MIDI flutes, I’ll be happy!)

No, the reason for my not sticking with it in the past is simple lack of organisation. I have a lot of my plate at the moment in terms of demands on my time, including a piano and guitar-practice schedule that takes priority, but I know that with a bit of planning I can fit it in consistently. And keeping a public record of my progress with help to keep me on track on those days when I feel tired or stressed or just not bothered! I’m not normally a believer in doing things I don’t feel like (life should be fun after all), but it’s a bit different with a physically-based skill like this, where progress depends on regular practice.

Where I’m starting from

So, where am I right now? Well, I can get a few notes out of it, so am not starting completely from scratch, although my intonation is terrible. I can play a chromatic scale from F4 (F just above middle C) to F5. I can get a few notes above and below these to sound, but not clearly or reliably. For some reason the F#5 will not play properly at all - I’m not sure if this is faulty technique on my part, or an issue with my flute, or a combination of both. I know that ‘a bad craftsman always blames his/her tools’, but I also know from experience that some instruments just have bum notes and there’s little that can be done about it!

This is not the first time I’ve played a wind instrument - I played the clarinet and French horn for several years each back in school, and got to quite an advanced level on both, but that was so long ago that my lung capacity, breath control etc need to be developed all over again. I also already read notation fluently, so that won’t be an issue (although I’m a little rusty at reading more than three leger lines, so that will be something to practice as I learn to hit the high notes!)

My flute

My flute is a pretty basic beginner’s model, made by Sky. I bought it new on eBay a couple of years ago, although I don’t remember how much it cost - maybe around £100 - and it suits my purposes for now, although I’d like to get a better one when I’m a good enough player to appreciate it. It has spent most of its life so far sitting in its case. It has also been dropped a couple of times and might be in need of a service (especially considering the bum note I mentioned earlier), which I’ll look into. I have a flute mop, cleaning rod and polishing cloth, but no other accessories as yet.

My approach

I am teaching myself to play using the two-volume Play Flute Today! self-tutor series. I think this approach will work for me (I enjoy the self-teaching approach, and have done it before, with the guitar), although I wouldn’t rule out seeing a teacher when I get more advanced, if I really take to it, and feel that one to one advice would be useful. Right now though, it’s not really an option, and I find it much more enjoyable to teach myself anyway.

My plan

Beginning on Monday, I’m going to begin with about 10-15 minutes a day, building up to 30 minutes over the next few weeks (or months) as my endurance increases. Then maybe I’ll do more, depending on how it goes, and how much time I have available. Considering my relatively modest goals, I won’t ever need a pro-level practice schedule, although I’d like to build up to an hour a day eventually. I’ll keep a record of my progress on this blog, and aim to update it daily, or at least every other day. It’ll probably make pretty boring reading, but this is primarily for my own use, so feel free to skip the posts in this category!

Over the next several months I will be posting a series of collections of short articles that provide basic ‘how to’ information on a range of musical topics. The subjects under discussion will include the piano, guitar (classical, flamenco, electric and bass) and other instruments, songwriting, home recording, MIDI, music theory, creating a music website, music promotion, writing in various genres and some other topics too. These are all areas in which I have some degree of expertise and personal experience, although I’m not claiming to be all-knowing!

The series is designed to provide a starting point for people who are new to the topic in question, and would like to explore it further. The articles won’t be comprehensive at this point, as I’ll be developing them into detailed guides that will appear on the Musical Cosmos website, when it’s launched later this year. For now, the series covers the essentials, and links will be provided to other useful sites and resources that provide more in-depth information.

The series will kick off next week, with the first subject up for discussion being ‘The Piano’.

A few days ago it was announced on E! Online that Paris Hilton is working on a new album, to follow last year’s only moderately successful debut ‘Paris’. This news has been met with a predictably negative reaction from many.

Buy at AllPosters.com

Now I like most kinds of music, and don’t feel the need to have polarised opinions about any genre. I also have a liking for pure pop, and don’t see anything wrong with being ‘mainstream’, in itself. So even though I’m not a Paris fan, I don’t feel the antagonism to Ms Hilton’s musical efforts that some seem to have. Yet at the same time I can understand why she attracts the reactions that she does. Some people haven’t even heard the music, but just fire off a barrage of reflexive criticism because they don’t like how she comes across personality-wise, or because she’s a rich girl who has had a head start in the business. But really, that’s irrelevant - it’s the music that counts most, not the person delivering it. But maybe they’d be happier if she’d spend a few years starving in a grotty garret first, struggling to ‘pay her dues’? (god, I hate that expression - I’ll explain why in a future post! )

Still, I’m happy to admit I liked some of the songs on her previous album - to me it was no better or worse than most of the other mainstram pop stuff out there, and she’s not trying to be anything other than that. She’s not attempting to position herself as a musical genius, creating for posterity. I can enjoy her music for what it is (to me - I appreciate that others may see it differently): a pleasant diversion, when I’m in the mood for that type of thing. And why should it be anything more? To be honest, isn’t that what a lot other, more ’serious’ and critically respected music is too? Snobby critics aside, most people listen to music (and most musicans create music) in large part because it makes them feel good (or at least better).

And that’s not a trivial thing - it’s the whole point of life, as far as I’m concerned! So who cares if it’s a Paris record or the outpourings of an extremely-respected-but-really-rather-dull-and-up-ourselves classic rock band that leads to that feeling good place? I’ll be happy to give her new album a whirl, when/if it sees the light of day.

“Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends.” - Alphonse de Lamartine

“When words leave off, music begins.” - Heinrich Heine

How true. There are altogether too many words in the world today. Too many people, and too much information coming at you from all directions (and yes, I’m aware of the irony of me adding to that with this site!) Music is a welcome escape from what sometimes feels like the imposing racket of other people’s words and thoughts.

This is not (for the most part!) a bitchy blog. I am a musician, and while I like to write about other people’s music here, I’m certainly not interested in playing the role of critic. I’ve never thought much of music (and other) critics who seem to believe that they are the divinely-appointed arbiters of taste, and that anything they dislike is not worth paying attention to, when really, what they think is so unimportant. To me it’s the music that counts, and all the writings and other discourse around it (which includes this blog!), are secondary in importance. Critics might sometimes be entertaining, and have interesting things to say, but it’s all just their opinion. It’s especially sad when musicians let critical opinions influence their output, or how they feel about their work, but that’s a topic for another post!

One thing you’ll never hear me say is that this or that music is ‘bad’ in any absolute way - not because I don’t think a lot of music is terrible, but because I know that’s just my opinion. And while I’m as happy to spout my opinions as the next person, I don’t take them too seriously. All that matters is that a person who is listening to whatever music they like, is enjoying it. Who am I to poke fun at that or tell them they’re wrong? I’m just glad that the musical world is so diverse, and as Abraham (more on them later!) would put it, I might not want tabasco sauce in my pie, but I don’t have to criticise those who do, or to try to throw it out of the kitchen!

So when I’m writing about this or that artist or music being great (or not so much), I know that, as passionate as I might feel, that’s still just my opinion. I’m not trying to convince anyone who may be reading to agree with me. Nor am I interested in getting into debates and trying to justify my position. It’s amusing to see the heated arguments that sometimes arise around music, when it’s so much easier to just like what I like, and leave the opinions of others out of it!

Recently I’ve been listening pretty much non-stop to HIM. I tend to go through phases of just listening to one band for a few days or weeks, but I especially like HIM. I don’t have one favourite band, but they’re up there in my top favourites! (Actually, having been listening a lot to The Rasmus and Apocalyptica, I’m obviously going through a bit of a Finn-rock phase right now! )

HIM are a Finnish band that was formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, guitarist Mikko Lindström (Linde) and bassist Mikko Paananen (Migé). The line up has changed somewhat over the years, and these three original members are now joined by drummer Mika Karpinnen (Gas) and keyboardist Janne Puurtinen (Burton).

Ville poster available from Amazon.co.uk

HIM’s sound is predominantly a mix of metal, rock and goth influences, with fantastic hooks and rather doom-laden lyrics that frequently seem to be based around heartbreak and death. Personally, as a happy optimist, I’m more attracted to the music than the lyrics, but they do have that certain dark beauty that is often an appealing feature of gothic imagery. With their catchy melodies backed by satisfyingly heavy guitars, HIM seem to attract a very varied audience, and Valo’s photogenic appeal doesn’t do them any harm either.

I don’t really have a favourite album (because I love them all), but I’ve been listening to ‘Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights’ quite a lot recently. I will of course post detailed reviews of some of their (IMO) best stuff in future posts!

I’m of the opinion that the whole notion of musical genres is flawed, and that to try to classify and define music in any rigid way is often inaccurate at best, not to mention inimical to the free-flowing creative spirit that underlies musical inspiration.

Having said that however, it’s practically impossible to have any kind of meaningful discussion about music without referring to the genre of the piece in question (unless of course you’re listening to it at the time, which is not the case with these blog posts!), so genre labels are a useful shorthand that ensure that most people will have at least some idea what I’m talking about if I refer to a ’speed metal’ song or a ‘Baroque’ concerto.

I want to be clear though that I see such labels as approximations at best; while it may be true that a large proportion of musical pieces commonly placed in a particular genre have much in common (whether in terms of their structure, or origins, or motifs, or whatever other means of classification are used), there will always be those that don’t quite fit the mold, or which overlap into neighbouring or completely different genres, often spanning several at once in an interesting sonic synthesis. Personally I tend to prefer these ‘mutant’ forms, and also strongly resist having my own music classified in terms of genre.

Genre definitions then, are a necessary and often useful evil, but when I refer to them, it’s from a perspective of knowing that music is really just… music. That is, an expression of creative freedom, that should not be deliberately constrained within the limits of any one style, just for the sake of adhering to some preconceived set of ideas about what’s ‘appropriate’ for that ‘type’ of music. Ironically, since I have a whole section of this site devoted to discussion of different musical styles and forms, I’m dependent on conventional genre labels for discussion purposes. So I’ll use them for convenience and intelligibility, but I don’t really believe in the retentive, rigid attitude that often underlies such labels and definitions. At the end of the day, music either appeals to a person on a gut level or it doesn’t, and the category into which it is pigeonholed by the intellect is totally irrelevant.