Musical Ramblings: Getting Side Tracked & The DLO Production of "Guys and Dolls"

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Getting Side Tracked & The DLO Production of "Guys and Dolls"

Since my last post in August, I have gotten side tracked by other projects -- finding choir music for the annual Community Thanksgiving Service and searching for a Christmas cantata for my church choir. As soon as I got those organized, I was asked if I would play piano for the Danville Light Opera's (DLO) production of Guys and Dolls. I was asked to do this three weeks before the first performance, so I have been busy trying to learn about 200 pages of music.

While learning music for a musical is not usually a huge problem for me, I am a good sight reader and am familiar with this music, I have run into difficulties this time. The cause of the difficulties lies in the fact that this is one of those old hand-written scores that is difficult to read in its full size form, and becomes more difficult when the 9 x 12 format is reduced to fit the page on 8.5 x 11 paper. In many spots, it is difficult to tell to which notes the accidentals belong, and each time looks different. Yes, I could make notes to remind me, but with such a short time to learn all of those pages, that idea goes by the wayside. In addition, hand-written scores are notorious for mistakes, some of which are not obvious until you play with the pit orchestra. Also, note placement on leger lines can be a bit random at times. Oh well, such is the life of a pianist.

The performances will be held at The Dick Van Dyke Auditorium at Danville High School on October 24, 25, and 26. Friday and Saturday, 24th and 25th, performances will be at 7:30 pm, and the Sunday the 26th performance will be at 2:00. It promises to be a good show.

For more information and to purchase tickets on-line, click Here.

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Welcome to "Musical Ramblings"

Welcome to "Musical Ramblings". As the title suggests, this blog is primarily about music -- music performance, music education, music theory, music history, music appreciation, etc. Although it is primarily about music, it will certainly involve other arts as well thoughts on science, general culture, society, general history, and even a little politics and religion (although the latter two will certainly be as they pertain to music and the arts), for music has never been isolated from the times in which it was created and performed. I hope that the thoughts and ideas presented here provoke thoughtful consideration and discussion, whether or not you agree with any particular idea.

As you will soon discover, I often think outside the box, and in the past few years, my thoughts are often even more radical (some may say crazy), going against the norm and the way I was taught about music in the 1960's and 1970's. A lot of time has passed since then. New research in performance practices, the lives of composers, music theory, and music education has made us rethink many of the old ideas about music. Also, technology has given us entirely new ways to create, perform, teach, and present music. Music of every kind is available and affordable to everyone.

I have always been one who questions the status quo, particularly concerning traditions that are just practiced because "we have always done it that way", the ones that are just meaningless habits with no known connection to the beginning of the practice. I have loved studying music theory from the beginning of my piano lessons 50 years ago until today -- I am a bit of a music theory nerd -- but from the time of my college music theory and form and analysis classes, I wondered how so many things could be taught as "rules" when most of the music from which the "rules" were made could me made to fit those rules only with the greatest difficulty. Most often professors would chock it up to "composer's license". The great composers were allowed to do anything that they wanted. They were so great that they were above the "law". Of course, that did not make sense since music theory should (in practice at least) come after a body of music has been written.

Then I discovered Heinrich Schenker and his thoughts on musical analysis. I actually first discovered a single book written in German with charts of his study of a Beethoven sonata while I was in college 40 years ago.. The chart fascinated me, but when I asked my theory professor about it, I got the impression that Schenker was considered to be a bit of a musical crack-pot. About 10 years ago, I found an English translation of his book on harmony. Other than the first section which was a bit more mystical than scientific about the major and minor modes, once we got into his thoughts on how composers created their music, his writing made more sense than the traditional analysis method of naming every harmony in relationship to the current tonic. Of course today, Schenker's ideas are embedded in so many college theory texts.

All of that aside, I invite you to join in and we will see where this takes us. This blog is moderated. I ask that everyone at least keep an open mind, whether or not you agree with an idea. Discuss, present your case to the contrary if necessary and please keep your language civil.