Friday, August 29, 2008

The Importance of Conductors

A conductor became ill before a concert one evening and the orchestra had to find an emergency substitute conductor immediately. The only person in the orchestra with any conducting experience was the 2nd trombone player. He bravely and meticulously conducted the concert and it was a tremendous success. The regular conductor had recovered by the next night and was back on the job. As the trombone player took his seat in the orchestra, the 1st trombone player turned to him and asked, "So, where were you last night?"

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

How to Handel a Singer

An English Singer, named Gordon, once found fault with Handel's method of accompanying. High words ensued ; and Gordon finished by saying, that, if Handel persisted in accompanying him in that manner, he would jump upon his Harpsichord and smash it to pieces. ' Oh ! ' replied Handel, ' let me know when you will do that, and I will advertise it ; for I am sure more people will come to see you jump, than to hear you sing.'

from The Life of George Frederick Handel
By William Smyth Rockstro, George Frideric Handel
Published by Macmillan, 1883

Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Very Special Music Video

And now for something completely different…

Take a break and enjoy:



To watch in high Quality, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=user
Then click: Watch In High Quality, right underneath the video.

This is Garry Scyman's third collaboration scoring Matt Harding’s famous videos on YouTube. If you look closely at 3:40 you can see Garry conducting the string section while Matt dances! Drums and Engineering by Dan Blessinger, Guitar by Kevin Dukes, Vocals by Palbasha Siddique, Concert Master Belinda Broughton.

14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands.

The music can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B8R3MS/

More info: http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Music Theory Joke

From piano technician Ed Whitting:

A C, an E-flat, and a G go into a bar. The bartender says, "Sorry, we don't serve minors." So the E-flat leaves, and the C and the G have an open fifth between them. After a few drinks, the fifth is diminished and the G is out flat.
An F comes in and tries to augment the situation, but is not sharp enough.
A D comes into the bar and heads straight for the bathroom saying, "Excuse me. I'll just be a second."
Then an A comes into the bar, but the bartender is not convinced that this relative of C is not a minor.
Then the bartender notices a B-flat hiding at the end of the bar and exclaims, "Get out now. You're the seventh minor I've found in this bar tonight."
The E-flat, not easily deflated, comes back to the bar the next night in a 3-piece suit with nicely shined shoes. The bartender (who used to have a nice corporate job until his company downsized) says, "You're looking sharp tonight, come on in! This could be a major development."
This proves to be the case, as the E-flat takes off the suit, and everything else, and stands there au natural.
Eventually, the C sobers up, and realizes in horror that he's under a rest.
The C is brought to trial, is found guilty of contributing to the diminution of a minor, and is sentenced to 10 years of DS without Coda at an upscale correctional facility. On appeal, however, the C is found innocent of any wrongdoing, even accidental, and that all accusations to the contrary are bassless.
The bartender decides, however, that since he's only had tenors as patrons, and the soprano is out in the bathroom, everything has become altoo much treble; he needs a rest, and closes the bar.