My eye doctor says I need progressives. Every musician I know who has them (or has had them) have basically told me that "progressives are useless for music".
Using Progressives for Music Experiment - Day 1
Concert Review: Calgary Jazz Orchestra Plays Brubeck and the Adderley Brothers
Lively music and exciting solos were on the programme at the Calgary Jazz Orchestra's first concert for the 2012/13 season. This concert took place on Sunday, October 21, 2012 at the River Park Church in Calgary, Alberta. The William Aberhart Jazz Ensemble, directed by Kevin Willms took to the stage first, performing three numbers. The first was "Hay Burner" by composer and big band arranger, Sammy Nestico, a mid-tempo number.
With Music Software, Timing is Everything
I'd like to say that I know my way around a computer. At my last full-time job (for someone else), I was called one of the "super-users". However, I have been experiencing several challenges with my Studio Lab computer. It's operating on Linux Ubuntu and it's not as easy as Mac or as familiar to me as Windows or even Unix or DOS. Linux has some fabulous apps available for education and more specifically, music education and music. For example:
music notation software (e.g. MuseScore)
audio recording and editing (e.g. Audacity)
drum machine (e.g. Hydrogen Drum Machine)
note reader trainers and more
Music and technology has never been so tempting. "Sudo apt-get install" is just so gosh-darn easy to do. Getting the sound set up and audio controls cooperating with all one another? Now there's my technical challenge. Thankfully, some super Linux users have posted some helpful tutorials. The Linux Community Forums have been good too, but having the visuals and working through the steps along with the video helped. It's just been challenging getting the time in to focus on it. The process has made me rethink my roll-out strategy for these music software programs. Rather than having them all available for my students to explore at once, I am going to just roll out a few programs at a time. I have learned that it's important to have Jack Control and those connections set up properly.
After three weeks of on and off fiddling and re-installs, I can say with confidence that Hydrogen Drum Machine, Virtual Midi Piano Keyboard and Score Reading Trainer are playing nicely together in my computer lab.
Life was so much easier when dealing with physical midi and audio cables. Trying to set audio up in a virtual environment has really challenged my learning style.
Calgary August Music Festivals 2012
There are quite a few summer music festivals coming up in August, here in Calgary. Here is just a sampling of what's ahead:
Inglewood Sunfest (August 4): This annual event in Calgary's historic Inglewood is free. You can listen and watch various street performers, check out the local vendors and enjoy some great food.
Afrikadey (August 5 - 11): This annual festival celebrates the culture, traditions and music of Africa. This year's event features performances by Alpha Yaya Diallo, Emmanuel Jal, MFive and more. Tickets are available on the Afrikadey website.
Calgary ReggaeFest (August 15 - 18): In addition to live music by international Reggae musicians, attendees can enjoy food, arts and crafts and the beer garden. There are also plenty activities for children and youth, including basketball, sand magic and face painting. Featured artists include Amoy, Bryan Art, Cherine Anderson, Chester Miller, Hawkeye, Jermaine Cowan, J.k. & the Relays, Makeshift Innocence, New Kingston, Redeye Empire, Roots Syndicate, Souljah Fyah, and Ultimate Crew. Tickets are available for purchase from the event website.
Other festivals worth checking out include the Marda Gras (August 12), GlobalFest (August 16 - 26), and ExpoLatino (Aug. 24 - 26) . You can be sure there will be some live music to enjoy!
Special Note from Maestro: Fellow canines, be sure to check out Marda Gras! I scored lots of swag the last time I went. I also listened to some great jazz.
