Great Performances - Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

Maestro and I enjoyed watching "Tony Bennett: Duets II" on KSPS the other day. Well, he watched, I worked and listened. I've always enjoyed Tony Bennett's music and have been meaning to buy "Duets" and "Duets II".

There were so many great performances but this one stood out: Tony Bennett's duet with Lady Gaga.

They sang the Rodgers-Hart classic "The Lady is a Tramp". Tony was in fine form (as expected). However, it was Lady Gaga who took me by surprise.

I think this was a case where Malcolm Gladwell's Blink logic came to play. I look at Lady Gaga and expect a certain sound, based on what she's wearing. I was expecting a strong pop performance, coupled with an outrageous outfit.

In this case, my eyes were staring at my computer monitor. When I heard Lady Gaga's opening notes, I was floored. I didn't expect her to scat and groove with Tony like she's been singing like that. Her tone, her style, her ease and sense of fun in this number completely took me by surprise.

I got to appreciate her performance for what it was: fresh, fun and polished. Then I looked up and saw the turquoise hair and that elegant dress, which matched the heart of this song to a tee.

Good. Had I looked at her first and then heard her, I would have the image of her wearing that raw meat outfit stuck in my brain. My stomach would have roiled and I would not have enjoyed her performance quite so much.

My Virtual Choir 3.0 Experience

Last year, a friend introduced me to the music of Grammy winning composer Eric Whitacre. Within hearing the first two notes of "Sleep", the hair on my arms stood up, as if to say, "This is really something!"

When the announcement was made about Virtual Choir 3.0, I eagerly signed up. Little did I know how eye-opening and how dramatic, the experience would be.

"Water Night" is a haunting piece. Sometimes, I get poetry, but just sometimes. With "Water Night", certain phrases called out to me: "The secret kingdom of the water opens, flowing from the centre of the night," was by far my favourite line, followed by "And if you close your eyes, a river, a silent and beautiful current fills you from within."

I'll say this straight up, "Water Night" is by far the most technically challenging choral piece I've sung. Strong breath support is required to make it through those long phrases. I didn't have it when I began but I have it now.

However, "Silence and solitude, two little animals moon-led, drink in your eyes, drink in those waters," proved to be my nemesis. Bars 27- 28 soon became highlighted, circled and covered up in rainbow colours.

It was a hard fight, but my ear training improved to the point that I nailed that interval on the final take.

One month of drilling came down to four days/nights of recording. Four frustrating days and nights of tweaking and re-recording (usually done in the wee hours of the night, after teaching):

Night 1 (January 27 and 28): recorded in piano studio. Discovery: it was too wide of an area. Eight-plus takes coughed up one mediocre track. After experiencing uploading issues to the site, I gave up just before sunrise and sent a call for help to Tony Piper at Virtual Choir HQ.

 Day #2 (January 28): I put a box around the mic to limit what it picked up. All was good until someone walked on the area above my studio within the mic's recording range (at least I knew the mic was good).

Then, there the countless lagging video issues with the conductor track and dropped frames in my recording. Discovery: Someone from Virtual Choir was online, ready to lend a helping hand (usually Jack Rowland in Florida, Kevin Callahan in Maine and Holly Christine Brown in Illinois). I wound up with three mediocre tracks (Bar 27 - 28 was still wobbly at this point). I did another 10 tracks that day, more if you include what I deleted right away.

Day #3 (January 29): While visiting relatives, I tried recording in a spare room. The sound quality sky rocketed. I came up with a work-around to the lagging video issue with some help. Three takes resulted in two good takes. I started ending each take with, "If this is the winning take, thank you to everyone involved with Virtual Choir...."

Night #4 (January 30 and 31): Entering the day of the final submission day. I decided to try "one more time" but in my studio bathroom. Takes had to take place whenever the furnace shut off for a spell (it was a cold week). Three takes garnered one that stood head an shoulders above the rest.

But that's just the music side of things. Virtual Choir 3.0 has introduced me to a multitude of choir geeks from around the world. When Eric spoke about the community that has built up, he wasn't exaggerating:

After posting the final take, I joined the throngs who kept checking the submission numbers and encouraged other members who were still working on their recordings. I also couldn't help checking (and re-checking) to make sure my submission was showing up in my VC profile.

Maestro and I celebrated the record number of submissions (3,746 from 73 countries) with people (and pets) from the UK, Australia, Puerto Rico, Canada and the US via Google Hangouts. As a group, we've helped each other with Virtual Choir submissions. We've supported each other through bad days, sad news, health and work problems. We've also celebrated each other's victories - great or small - a good performance, a great shopping spree and most recently, Maestro's birthday. And sometimes, we just hang out e.g. one person knitting, two working, one cooking. There is even talk of having Virtual Choir reunions around the world.

Some of us in Virtual Choir 3.0 are working on more projects together.

This was and continues to be an exciting experience. And speaking of projects, I should start practicing on our next one:

(c) 2012 by Musespeak(TM). All rights reserved.

Music Blog Spotlight: Dianna Denley Music Blog

I'm slowly catching up on reading my music teacher newsletters. APTA News has started highlighting music blogs that members find helpful or interesting.

Dianna Denley's Music Blog shares music resources for the piano and violin, from music book recommendations to practice/practise helps.

It looks like this year, they've got a Harry Potter theme for their incentive program, complete with sorting cards, shields and a jar of bezoar. What a neat idea!

I think Maestro would get upset if I changed Maestro's Musical Quest to a Harry Potter theme, so we'll keep tweaking what we have.

(c) 2012 by (Musespeak(TM). all rights reserved.

Easy Naan Bread Recipe

Naan bread is surprisingly simple to make. Once you have mastered the basics, you can add your own variations to this healthy recipe.

Ingredients for Easy Naan Bread Recipe

1/4 tsp. yeast

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. thick yogurt, such as Balkan-style or Greek-style

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 egg

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. water

1/8 c. vegetable oil or butter

Tools and Equipment

1 large mixing bowl

1 measuring cup

measuring spoons

mixing spoon

spatula

dish towel

pastry board (or a clean, flat surface for kneading)

rolling pin (optional)

large baking sheet or griddle

Preparing the Easy Naan Recipe

1. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees F for 3 minutes and then turn it off. While oven is heating, place mixing bowl inside just long enough to warm it up a little bit.

2. Take out the mixing bowl from the oven and put all dry ingredients into it.

3. Thoroughly mix together all wet ingredients in the measuring cup.

4. Make a small well in the center of your dry ingredients mix. Pour the wet ingredients into the well.

5. Using the mixing spoon, mix together the wet ingredients with the dry until it becomes sticky. Sprinkle a small amount of oil on top of the mixture.

6. Moisten the dishtowel with warm water and cover the bowl with it. Place the bowl inside the warm oven until the contents double in size (approximately 1 hour).

7. Flour the pastry board or working surface and set aside some flour for kneading.

8. Take out the bowl and turn the oven on to 500 degrees F.

9. Divide the dough into either 12 small or 8 larger sized balls. Knead each ball one at a time. Flatten each ball (using the heel of your hand or a rolling pin) until they are approximately 1/8" thick ovals. Use the flour you set aside to adjust the consistency and help with kneading.

10. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 3 minutes, flip and bake until the bread is light gold in color.

Serve with your favorite dips for naan bread. Note that individual cooking times vary depending upon ingredients used, oven and altitude.Naan bread also cooks well on a stove top grill (especially cast iron) or a griddle. 

Tips and Variations

 To make gluten-free naan bread, you can substitute wheat flour with any of the following:

• Amaranth (1 c. amaranth to 1 c. whole wheat flour)

• Buckwheat (1 c. buckwheat to 1 c. whole wheat flour)

• Corn (1 c. corn to 1 c. whole wheat flour)

• Potato (5/8 c. potato to 1. c. whole wheat flour, binds better when combined with tapioca or sweet rice flour)

• Rice (7/8 c. rice to 1 c. whole wheat flour, binds better when combined with tapioca or sweet rice flour)

For other suggestions, refer to holistic cookbook such as the Freedom from Allergy Cookbook by Ronald Greenberg, MD and Angela Nori.

You can also make your own thick yogurt. Other ingredients you can add include garlic, herbs and cheese. 

Whether you are a seasoned baker or a beginner, making naan bread is quick and easy to make.

(c) 2012 by Rhona-Mae Arca. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration - Spanish Flamenco

This month, we are exploring the music and culture of Spain. I have some relatives there whom I hope to visit someday.

Flamenco music is very old. Some pundits believe the style "evolved out of a mixture of early Byzantine, Arab, Jewish and Gypsy cultures in Andalucía". That makes sense historically, considering some of the cultures Spain traded with (or conquered).

You only have to listen/watch a few bars to see how rhythmically and technically challenging it is. This type of traditional Spanish music is played by guitar and castanets. And I understand that the cajón is used as well.

(c) 2012 by Musespeak(TM), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.