Category: Weekend Picks

Weekend Picks and Upcoming Gigs

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It’s Friday, so you might be looking for some music related web sites to browse this weekend. But first, if you’re around Hendersonville, NC tomorrow night (Saturday, June 21, 2014) come out to the Southern Appalachian Brewery for some local beer and traditional early jazz by the Low-Down Sires. The music goes from 8-10.

If you’re around Greenville, SC, you need to check out the Greenville Jazz Collective Big Band. The will be playing two sets on Monday, June 23, 2014 starting at 7:30 at the Mellow Mushroom in Greenville. Bassist Shannon Hoover and trombonist Brad Jepson co-lead the GJC Big Band, but Brad will be missing this show. That’s unfortunate, but Brad asked me to fill in for him, so I get to jam with them.

Here are my weekend picks for you.

The Greenville Jazz Collective web site. Start there and let the music play while you look at the rest. Live recording from the Altamont Theater in Asheville, NC.

Practicing a Difficult Passage Effectively is advice by hornist Jonathan West. He discusses several ways to make your practice time more efficient and there’s probably something new in there for almost everyone.

Writing for Slate, Jan Swafford gives a very nice summary on how our concept of intonation in western music has changed over the centuries. The Centuries-Old Struggle to Play In Tune starts in antiquity through the development of equal temperament.

And lastly, settle back to listen and watch the greatest 4th chair trumpet player who ever lived, Pete Barbuti.

Weekend Picks

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It’s Friday, so here are my picks for your music related surfing this weekend.

Are you a tubist or teaching tuba students? If you need some ideas for solo repertoire, check out David Zerkel’s “Do You C What I C?”: An Examination of Solo Literature for the Contrabass Tuba.”

How old are you? Did you know that your abilities to hear higher pitches are dependent on your age? Check it out and see how closely your high frequency hearing matches your expected age here.

If you’re a fan of the London Symphony Orchestra or Ravel’s Bolero go take a look at the LSO’s interactive video performance. You can change camera views to many different sections and view multiple camera angles at once. All I want to know is why Valery Gergiev using a toothpick to conduct?

And lastly, although this isn’t really very musical, check out coin magician David Roth performing his routine called “Tuning Fork.”

Weekend Picks

~ wilktone ~ 1 Comment

Sorry for missing the last couple of weekends, but if you’re looking for some music related stuff to visit around the web, here are my weekend picks.

Are you a trombonist working on solo repertoire, like the Hindemith Sonata, Creston Fantasy, or Larsson Concertino? You might want to practice with an accompanist, but it can be expensive to practice a lot with a quality pianist. Laine Lee has got you covered, with free downloadable midi files of the accompaniment parts for those pieces – and several others. Thanks, Laine!

Do you like Latin music? Me too. Would you like to learn more about the musicians and development of the diverse musical styles that fall under the umbrella of “Latin music?” Check out Latin Music USA and watch this great PBS documentary.

Have you ever hear been at a jazz club and heard the following conversation?

Hey, man. Hip that crazy chick over there.

Yeah, I’m dig.

Don’t embarrass yourself at your next jazz gig. Learn to speak jive.

Lastly, you should take a few minutes and learn a little bit about Carol Kaye.  You may not know her name, but you probably have heard her play bass. It’s unfortunate that the full documentary was never made.

Got a cool music related link? Post it in the comments or drop me a line.

Weekend Picks

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It’s Friday so here are some interesting links I found for you to surf this weekend.

John Morton writes about the Rise and Rise of the English Brass Band. Depending on where you live there may be a community brass band you could join. There are also some brass bands that perform some of the finest brass music around.

Take a look at John Coltrane’s handwritten outline to A Love Supreme and learn a little bit about the creative process of one of the greatest musicians ever.

Here’s a list of 10 Best Uses of Classical Music in Classic Cartoons. He listed some of my favorites. Did he miss any of yours?

And finally, Mystery Science Theater 3000 presents, Mr. B Natural.

Weekend Picks

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It’s Friday. Here are some random music related things around the web to educate and amuse you.

Are you a classical music fan? If so, embrace your inner geek and thrill in the 10 Geekiest Moments In Classical Music. Did they miss any that you think should have made the list?

Are you a jazz musician? How many tunes do you know? Does it take you a long time to learn new tunes? Eric has some advice on How To Completely Learn a Jazz Melody In 30 Minutes.

Do you ever feel like you spin your wheels in a practice session? Annie Murphy Paul wrote about the Myth of ‘Practice Makes Perfect’.

Finally, take a look at my next practice project, Etude 6.

Weekend Picks

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Happy Friday to everyone. Here’s another music related link dump for you to browse this weekend.

John Ericson from Horn Matters writes about Seven Factors on Choosing a Teacher for Advanced Study.

Are you a parent of younger children? Maybe you’ll be interested in learning more about Experimental Music on Children’s TV. It reminds me of the Portlandia episode where they start a band that performs for children to very different results.

Writing for All About Jazz Bill Anschell writes a half serious/half tongue-in-cheek article about Careers in Jazz.

Finally, a clip from the 1947 film This Time For Keeps, Jimmy Durante sings about The Lost Chord.

Weekend Picks

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It’s Friday, so I’ll share some more bookmarks of random music related stuff around the net.

For an online, freely editable database of trumpet exercises, visit the Trumpet Exercise Database. It includes warmups, warm downs, flexibility, endurance, scales, etudes, and more.

Are you looking for a fancy online pitch pipe? Check out the Virtual Piano.

Joe Jackson played trombone for Maynard Ferguson, played lead trombone with the Airmen of Note from 1991 to 2011. He also served as the Airmen of Note’s music director from 2004 to 2011. He knows a few things about how to be a good bandleader.

Do you know “The Lick?” If not, watch this video and learn in all 12 keys.

Weekend Picks

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Here’s another link dump of music related stuff on the web for your surfing pleasure this weekend.

The Many Killers of the Music Industry, by Tim Cushing writing for TechDirt. It’s in two parts, The Analog Era and The Digital Era.

Looking for a pithy quote from a jazz musician to win that online argument you’ve been having? Look no further, you can find it here. “What I’m dealing with is so vast and great that it can’t be called the truth. It’s above the truth.” – Sun Ra

Are you a contemporary classical composer and need to put together a composer’s statement? Don’t fret, you can use the The Contemporary Classical Composer’s Bullshit Generator to throw one together in no time. “Unlike traditional improvisations, I aim to develop illusions, including a highly polyrhythmic arrangement that explores all notions of progressive noises.”

And lastly, take a few minutes and watch the story of Harry, a racist barber in the 1930s whose life changes after the arrival of  a magical trumpet.

Swing of Change from Swing of Change on Vimeo.

Weekend Picks

~ wilktone ~ 2 Comments

Here’s a musical link dump for you to surf this weekend.

Learn about the evolution of dance music from around the turn of the last century to today in this animated chart.

Bassist Michael Thurber takes us through the history of the bass with 45 songs and 9 different instruments in the below video.

On January 24, 2011 James Boldin started an etude recording project where he video recorded himself performing etudes from Kopprasch’s Sixty Selected Studies Op. 6. Start here with No. 1. You can read his final thoughts after completing this three year project . A great resource for horn students and teachers.

Tim Minchin sings about the key of F sharp.

1959 was a significant year for jazz. There were four seminal albums recorded that year, Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, Charles Mingus’ Mingus Ah Um, Dave Brubeck’s Time Out and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz To Come. Learn more about these albums and the context of the history of jazz and the civil rights movement in 1959 The Year That Changed Jazz.