No Surprises 13/06/10

The biggest day of my term is over. To be honest, it was a bit of a disaster, but a fairly entertaining one at that: we got absolutely throttled at CISSA, and we didn't bring any water. I drove home, got a migraine brought on by dehydration, vomited, found out that Tom and Harry weren't coming to soundcheck, vomited again, then lay in bed. This was probably the low point. I had a coke with an aspirin in it (Mum's miracle cure), then called Morrey to sort things out, coaxing him to come 45 minutes early. Mother got me to the cathedral in one piece, and the pieces went quite okay considering my predicament two hours before. They could've gone better certainly, but I wasn't disappointed. Everyone else did very well also I felt, it was good times. I then had to put my debating hat on after a quick dinner with Maestro Cole, Darren, and the rents. The debate was close, with St. Mary's triumphing in the end. Needless to say, I was asleep before I hit the bed on June the 9th. I'm now studying for block, so that'll be all for this blog entry, which in all likelihood will be my last for the term. Seeya round.

What I'm Listening to as I write this: Radiohead. I just keep coming back to Radiohead. Tonight I'm listening to OK Computer, which is another of the albums my uncle Mark O'Connor insisted I listen to a few years ago. To be honest, at the time, I didn't see what all the fuss was about, but I've grown into this album, and today I'd reckon it'd be pretty close to my favourite. There's just something ethereal about Radiohead albums, whether it's Kid A or The Bends, that I just find really entrancing.
Until next time,

Ben.

Café Days 08/06/10

My recital is tomorrow *Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 plays*

I'm not amazingly nervous, quite excited actually. I don't know what the vibe will be like with me shredding in a church, but hopefully God is smiling on me tomorrow, or something like that. Theological speculation aside, tomorrow, as aforementioned, is a massive day, and I hope I can run across the finish line rather than falling over it. Sonically, there's a few concerns of mine for tomorrow, balance is one, tone (perhaps a perennial concern) is another, as I don't know if the cathedral's reverb might be a bit much after a slap on a bit of vibe-dial (as JB calls it) from the amp/pedal. Regardless, I hope it's a lot of fun, and I hope the next time I write inside this little box it's with happiness under my fingers.

I've had many thoughts swimming around my head in regards to next term's program, I'd really like to do an accompanied rendition of 'Round Midnight, a la Wes Montgomery, and maybe even some Joe Pass inspired unaccompanied jazz if I'm up to it. Dream Theater's In the Presence of Enemies Pt.1 is also on the cards, even though it's a bit of a logistical nightmare in terms of who would play with me. It's probable that I'll do the piece I don't count tomorrow again in term 3, and I've got L'absente still also. That's probably about 20 minutes as it is, and there's a few other things I'm thinking about as well, but I suppose they can most certainly wait until this term is put to bed.

In other music news, I've secured a gig for myself at the Tanks Art Centre on July 25 as part of Youth Unplugged, which is a feature of most Tanks Market Days, which happen monthly. I've got fifteen minutes, all of which will probably be me performing on acoustic guitar and voice, doing some of my own songs and maybe a cover or two. I was lucky enough to be at the Tanks on Saturday to see Katie Noonan and the Captains on the first date of their tour. It was a fantastic show in my opinion, with Katie using her amazing voice to deliver the interesting sound of her new band very well. I'd bought previously the record, Emperor's Box, and I'm glad I did this, as being familiar with 95% of the material really enhanced my enjoyment of the set. I think the live translation of a lot of the studio stuff was fairly slick, with a lot of integrated sampling and the like working to their favour rather than being tacky. I met Katie and the Captains after the show to sign some things (including the first ever Captains setlist!) and had a good chat with her about Kind of Blue and Elton John, and had a few words to Cameron Deyell, guitarist, who did a few things timbrally with his ES-335 throughout the show that made my ears prick up. Katie liked my shirt too, it was a good moment.


What I'm listening to as I write this: Jeff Buckley's Live at Sin-é. There's not many songwriters that I hold in as high esteem as Jeff, and since I heard his only legitimate studio album Grace probably a few years ago now, I've been in love with his music. Grace still comes through the rotation, in fact it might just be my highest played album on last.fm, and it occasionally creeps subtly into my car stereo. There's some playing on there, guitar-wise, that I think is compositional genius, and the absurdities of his vocal range are still astounding. Live at Sin-é is relatively new to my Buckley collection, it's a collection recorded over two nights at a little Irish café in Manhattan where Jeff essentially made his playing home. It's a gem of a record, with Jeff just accompanying himself on an electric guitar (with enough reverb to feed a starving nation I might add). I get the feeling he's very at home there, and the bits of banter we get in between songs are definitely the real Jeff. I was saying to someone very recently that it's a bit sad every time you pick up a new Jeff Buckley release, because it brings you one closer to having none left.


Just on the mention of last.fm, Maestro Cole said I should link it to this blog, so here it is: http://www.last.fm/user/shredex

Until next time,

Ben.

All at Once 5/06/10

It's been ages since I've blogged, so sorry sportsfans. If I don't do it now my mex semester will be over so here I am. My recital is on this Wednesday, and I am a little bit nervous of course, but mostly excited. I've dropped L'absente from the list, so it's only electric guitar, and just the two. Wednesday is also my CISSA final and debating final, so it's pretty much the biggest day of my life. This is actually my first blog of the term, that's how slack I've been. We've had a few things happenin', the gala was definitely a success, even though I was a bit unhappy with my solo, a lot of people seemed to like it, but I'll be unhappy if it's not of a higher quality on Wednesday. I've got a bit of work to do this weekend on my mex task, hopefully I can get it as polished as possible for Monday.

What I'm listening to as I write this: The Fray. I really like piano rock, cause I think it just gives an edge of versatility, as the grandeur of the piano in balladic sections coupled with epic buildups can be really emotively awesome stuff. The Fray do it well, I find I like their B-sides more than their radio stuff usually, there's a song called Happiness I'm particularly fond of.



Until next time,

Ben.

Just One of Those Things 13/04/10

Hello,

My holidays thus far have been quite filled with music I suppose. In fact, I've just spent most of today recording an original of mine, but upon becoming frustrated with drums, have decided to add to my fairly neglected blog.

In terms of Mex things that I've done, I've basically been rotating my pieces through my in my normal practice sessions, and I'm pleased that almost all of the notes have been bashed and I'm now working on details for the four pieces to be performed at my term 2 recital.

I've been doing some fairly full on work on jazz in with my guitar teacher, which I'm enjoying thoroughly. This past week I've been working on the chart for a standard called But Beautiful, which is a slow ballad. Wayne has thrown some very stretchy chords my way which have proven difficult to grab and get cleanly, but hopefully I'll get em sounding well with a little more practice.

As to my other instruments, I've been working on some semi-known material on piano as well as getting into a bit of jazz with the help of a book of jazz lessons I found written by Oscar Peterson, one of the greats of jazz piano. I've been doing a bit of cello, mostly working on the first prelude in Bach's cello suites as well as some of the stuff Maestro Cole gave me on the last day. Unfortunately, the drumkit has been a tad neglected, but I've been behind it in the last two days a fair bit trying to get good takes on recordings I've been working on.

As to my extended response task, it's starting to take shape, and hopefully I'll have a full draft done by the first day back. My first day back is a bit later than the rest of the world due to my going away to Victoria to play in the annual AMSA basketball carnival, which should be rad.

What I'm listening to as I write this: Jamie Cullum's latest album The Pursuit, which I picked up the other day. Jamie is a contemporary jazz pianist and vocalist, but also does some jazz-influenced covers of rock and pop songs, one of my favourites being his cover of Jeff Buckley's Lover, You Should've Come Over. The Pursuit is a bit more poppy than the other album of his Twentysomething, which I'm probably more of a fan of.

Until next time,

Ben.

For the Price of a Cup of Tea 20/03/10

Hello,

The term is beginning to wind down, and as per normal everyone is going slightly mad as the exams and assignments roll in. This week has certainly been musically eventful, as I've had two performances of Always With Me, Always With You: the first at St. Monica's on Wednesday for their MEX class, and the second today for the whole of Saints. I don't feel that I totally brought this piece out as well as I could on either of these occassions, but I'm thankful for the opportunity to perform it consistently as I now know what I have to work on. I was probably more nervous at St. Monica's then I was at Saints, as every member of the audience in the Cathedral was a highly trained musician in their own right. The fast legato passages in Always are something I need to probably get cleaner and more consistently before the recital next time, as well as getting exact intonation on the bends in the upper register.

In terms of repertoire, the list now looks as follows:

Electric Guitar

• Always With Me, Always With You (Joe Satriani): with piano or possibly guitar accompaniment
• Cliffs of Dover (Eric Johnson): with bass guitar and drumkit
• 'Round Midnight (my own arrangement): either with piano accompaniment or unaccompanied
• Night and Day (Joe Pass arrangement): Unaccompanied

Acoustic Guitar

• Ocean (John Butler)
• When She Cries (Andy McKee)
• Rylynn (Andy McKee)

Piano

• L'Absente (Yann Tiersen)

Doubtlessly I'll be adding and subtracting from this as we go on, I'm playing with the idea of maybe doing one piece with a backing track, as it would give me the opportunity to play a piece where the guitar is less of the emphasis perhaps. I don't want to do too much stuff with computers though, as I think that gives the performance less opportunity for looseness and flair.

My investigative task is starting to take shape as well. It will be an exposition of the influence of the work of Mozart on the subsequent compositions of Beethoven. I formulated this topic after I found a glaring similarity between Wolfgang's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Minor and Ludwig's Sonata Pathetique in my own listening. Sure enough, there was some extensive internet commentary to be found on the similarities between these works. Since then, I've managed to find some other prospective pieces to include in the extended analysis, namely Mozart's 18th String Quartet and Beethoven's 5th String Quartet (both in A Major), and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 with Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, both of which are in C Minor. I'll be putting pen to paper in the holidays and hope to put a fair dent in the task after seeing that my Saint Monica's contemporaries have already drafted a thousand words each. Omark.

What I'm listening to as I write this: some assorted tracks from my collection of Belle & Sebastian, a Scottish indie band, who, contrary to some belief, don't have anyone named Belle or Sebastian in their lineup. I quite enjoy the wit in their lyrics that's often reminiscent of Morrissey, and I'm a Cuckoo has long been a favourite of mine, as it's probably the happiest song ever. They've had up to seven members at times, which gives them a sparkling versatility, mixing nicely with their pop sensibilities to give an interesting edgy sound.

Until next time,

Ben.

Clockwork 6/03/2010

Good evening,

It's been far too long since I have blogged, probably because I have been busy doing musical things. Oh, the irony. Band camp was quite good, a few of my musical friends from Saint Monica's were not in the house but musically all the groups I was with made lots of progress. I had of bit of last-band-camp-nostalgia too. Had the first of two primary school tours two weeks ish ago, and I'll have the second on Monday. The senior girls won't be joining us on Monday in another installment of the Saint Monica's arts department squeeze. Shame really. I've just finished retreat week, which was alright, I'm more of an advocate of the "Let's go and hang out in the woods camps" a-la Chillagoe, but I'm not complaining. Latter half of the week I sat the QCS paper that Kate did, which was the most fun I've ever had, no exceptions. Last bit of general music news, I'm in the process of registering interest for the Stanwell Summer Music Camp, where Glenn Hodges, who's head of contemporary music at the Hobart Conservatorium, is giving a masterclass in guitar.

Apparently I'm to play on next assembly, and contrary to my initial idea of doing a solo acoustic thing, I'm leaning towards Always With Me, Always With You. I've arranged a piano accompaniment so hopefully that'll get the thumbs up. Maestro Cole has instructed me to keep catalogued accounts of what I do on practice sessions, which I have done, but only for guitar. Here's one from the other day:

03/03/2010
2.14 - Set up, tune, warm up with C Major Triad Shapes all over the neck and inverse chord exercise
2.19 - Nutting out of two note vamp shapes for a quick change Blues progression in G.
2.23 First attempt at two note comping over a backing track.
2.25 Tune (discovery that I need new strings because intonation on the higher frets is getting out
2.26 Another backing track attempt.
2.28 Nutting out of more two note shapes, specifically over Am and D7
2.29 Third backing track attempt.
2.34 Went to fetch my guitar lesson folder.
2.35 Nutted out some ideas for chordal soloing over the progression, using solely the D, G, B, and high E strings
2.41 Run through of Wind Cries Mary
2.46 Improvisational soloing using D pentatonic minor.
2.50 Interruption due to phone call and a few subsequent things.
3.20 Back in, warm back up with G major triads
3.22 Improvisation over d minor backing track using arpeggios only.
3.29 Improvisation over c Major backing track using one string at a time only
3.33 End

It was interesting to see where I digress (I'm looking at you, 2.46 entry), and that it took me half an hour to reenter practice after what was about a 15 minute interruption. There wasn't any "Staring out the window" entries though, which is positive. I'm going to Cold Rock with Hannah now, cause I can, so that might be all for tonight.

What I'm listening to as I write this: Augie March's Moo, You Bloody Choir, which is a fantastic album that my Uncle Mark gave me. He's given me alot of cool music, including my first Ben Folds Five album, my first Radiohead album, and my first Miles Davis album, Kind of Blue, still my favourite jazz album. He also ignited my desire to learn piano, as he is a fantastic pianist himself, and gave me my first piano lesson. Anyway, Augie March's indie-folk stylings are on high rotation in my music library, and I chose Moo for tonight even though I think Sunset Studies is probably their best effort thus far.

Until next time,

Ben.

Counting Sheep 12/02/10

Whoa. I'm tired.

Good decision to not do Physics, because with it I don't think I'd have any time to sleep, much less to practice.

MEX this week kicked off with a session on practice, from which I've implemented a few new ideas on playing fast. Practice sessions this week have been mostly focused on L'absente, I've finished all the note bashing and am now working on more fluency between sections, and nailing the big left hand runs in the final section. Next week I plan to revise Always With You, Always With Me which I had fluent and sounding good a few months ago.

In other music news, I'm really enjoying the cello at the moment. JS Bach's cello suites have been on high rotation this week and they make me want to go and practice after every listen. I'm playing a few things on a few instruments in few masses next week, so hopefully that all goes off without a hitch. Also, the inaugural formal Saints choir practice kicked off this week, which was rad. One of the big music department goals for the year is to get the choir to a formidable level, and personally I think it would be excellent if there was ultimately some combination with one the Saint Monica's Choirs.

What I'm listening to as I write this: Sarah Blasko's sophomore album What the Sea Wants, the Sea Will Have. I believe this won a few Arias, and in my opinion, they are well deserved. Often the atmosphere is haunting, which I often feel gives a similar vibe to a lot of Radiohead b-sides. Always complex and intricate, I'm a big fan of this album and of Blasko.


Until next time,

Ben.

Fool's Gold 5/02/10

Good afternoon,

Another eventful week in the life of Ben I suppose, the non-musical highlights of which were getting my Provisional Driver's License, and being chosen to participate in Lion's Youth of the Year, a quasi-public speaking competition which kicks off next Monday. I'm back to being officially no longer a physics student, after I made the decision to decline the offer to rejoin the class and study MEX externally. While it would've most likely been beneficial for my academic results, the time and effort demanded by the subject was too much to justify.

What's happening in MEX: I've formulated my list of pieces for the first recital at the end of next term, and they are as follows:

• Cliffs of Dover: An instrumental rock piece by American rock guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson. Lots of guitar techniques are used in this one, including rapid legato and alternate picking passages as well as string skipping licks. Fairly fast paced, I see this one being backed by bass and drums.
  
• Always With Me, Always With You: Another instrumental by an American guitar virtuoso, this time by Joe Satriani, who is probably my favourite axe-wielder. Always is a slower tempo than Cliffs of Dover, and has fairly limited instrumentation. I will need accompaniment, however, and will later decide whether to arrange the rhythm guitar part for piano or whether to simply play with another guitarist.
• Rylynn: This is a song for solo acoustic guitar by fingerpicker Andy Mckee. The fingerstyle genre is one that I have had limited experience with, so this will probably be a bit of a challenge, but enjoyable nonetheless.
• L'absente: A solo piano piece by French composer Yann Tiersen, who is probably best known for scoring the Academy Award nominated Amélie. Tiersen's work covers a very broad number of styles; L'absente being written in a fairly minimalistic and progressive manner.
  

All up these four works go for about 15 minutes, which is well over the expected 10 minutes. I have done this in case one of the pieces is not quite at performance standard, in which case I can save it for the second recital.

Other Music news: This week rehearsals began for most of the college music ensembles, five of which I will be involved in, namely the Concert Band (drums and percussion), the Big Band (guitar), the vocal Choir, the guitar ensemble which will be newly established, and the String Ensemble, which I have just joined, having begun studying the cello over the summer holidays.

What I'm listening to as I write this: The Recordings of the Middle East, the debut EP from the Middle East, a wonderfully unique band from Townsville who I was lucky enough to catch live at this year's Woodford Folk Festival. Falling somewhere between folk, ambient, and indie, they have a large of armory of instruments to choose from due to the inclusion of many multi-instrumentalists in their lineup, helping bring eclecticism to their overall sound.



Until next time,

Ben.

Needle in the Hay 1/02/2010

So year 12 is finally here, and of course, as always is the case at the start of the year, I'm confronted with the swift onslaught of a million things to do to get the year started. One of them, however, is particularly positive, and that is to begin music extension for 2010. And right here, in this very blog, is the first concrete evidence of my work as a MEXican. My faithful sensei Mr Cole has instructed me to keep a diary of my progress, goals, hopes, fears, cogitations, and all other things relating to the beautiful study of music, and his idea of an electronic blog sounded suhweeeet, so here goes...

Here's what I'm thinking, on the first day, in terms of repertoire:

• Broadly, I want to engage in studies over a number of styles, that's always been one of my strengths as a guitarist and indeed as a musician, I'd like to think I can headbang with the metalheads as well as I can jam with the jazz crowd.
• My main focus will be guitar, but I will perhaps dabble into a bit of piano and/or drums.
• In terms of actual pieces, the initial list is inclusive of Rylynn by Andy McKee, Always With Me, Always With You by Satch, Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson, and something in the jazz styling, leaning towards the work of Joe Pass at present. L'absente by Yann Tiersen is a piano piece that's swimming at the back of my mind, but I have my doubts as to whether it meets the calibre required. I'll have a think.

Also, today, I was offered the chance to rebecome a Physics student, after officially not being a Physics student for under 72 hours. This would totally change the dynamic of my MEX studies among other things, but it could potentially hold me in better stead in terms of OPs and the like. Big decision, more on that next time.

What I've been listening to as I write this: Elliot Smith's eponymous album, a recent find of mine. I'm thoroughly enjoying his at times whispery vocal delivery, very unique, but it was a shame to today learn that he was killed at the age of 34. Personally, I feel he resonates a similar aura to Jeff Buckley, whom I idolise.


Until next time,

Ben.