Twisty, Curvy Roads

Today, (well, actually it was yesterday now that I am getting around to scribbling this), was a very good day musically. Scott Bailey's Second Line Jazz Band, (in which I play clarinet) performed at noon for a community group in Lakeway, Texas. It was an excellent room for music and the house sound man did an outstanding job. It helped a lot that they had a very good grand piano on stage. We play so much with electronic keyboards these days that I forget what a real piano sounds like. It was a packed audience and they were very appreciative. This evening was the Tons Of Fun Jam in Round Rock. In addition to our regulars, a couple of Dan Augustine's friends showed up. Todd Sloan brought his piccolo and a wonderful tubist, Bill (I did not catch his last name) surprised us with some simply excellent ensemble and solo work. After the jam, I was talking with Todd and discovered that his Dad is an old friend and sometimes musical cohort, Dave Sloan. Dave is one of the better string b...

Why I Gave Up Fear And Learned To Love My Metronome Pulse is the most important element in music. "Pulse" and "tempo" are often taken for the same thing. They are not. They are related but not the same concept.  Music is experienced in perceptual time. "Pulse" is the perceptual framework that allows us to experience music.  "Tempo" is the objectification of "pulse". Well, is that clear as mud?? Of course not, mud is much more transparent that the preceding paragraph! Let me try to clarify, "tempo" is a term that describes pulse.  We say that the tempo is "fast", "slow", 120 beats per minute, and so forth.  "Pulse", on the other hand is the regular recurring heart beat that allows us to manipulate the experience of listeners. A performance that ignores pulse is much like a novel or short story that ignores plot. Pulse is related to "time".  We, as humans, experience everything...

Bell-Front Upright Bass Banjo After all of these years, I have finally discovered the "Joy of The Banjo". One of the benefits of becoming more and more deaf is that the sound of the banjo begins to be, if not better, at least more tolerable. Note that I said "better" and "tolerable", not "good"! The photo shows a talented artist performing on a bell-front, upright bass banjo. This wonderful instrument has only one string compared to the four or five strings on the more standard "transverso" banjo. The major benefit of a single string is that it save 75% of the annoyance generated when hearing a four string banjo and a full 80% of the annoyance of listening to a five string banjo. This is a significant health advantage for persons with a musical inclination. It is a little known fact that the banjo was originally intended to have a single string. However banjo enthusiasts begin to gradually add strings, one at a time. Soon, four string b...