News on the old bassoon front is in short supply, these days. Auditions? Nope. Performances? Not Really. Reeds? Yeah, I got ‘em. They work, though I’d rather not spend a whole post on them, right now.
So, now I’m confronted by the blogger’s worst nightmare: Nothing much to write about, and yet, facing the need to write something. So, here’s three quick blurbs to pass the time.
Someone Cool Has Read My Blog
Sure, we all want to be read as a blogger, but the assumption is that relatively few people will ever actually read our stuff. It was a pleasant surprise, then, to discover that my review of Paul Hanson’s latest album was read and commented on by none other than Paul Hanson, himself. How cool is that? That’s right, folks. The internet really is making the world a smaller place. By the way, if you haven’t listened to some of his samples, yet, head over to the review for a few links.
I Also Pretend to Write Music
In the past few years, I’ve pretended to be a blogger, imagining myself writing tons of witty, life-changing articles read by millions of adoring fans. I’ve pretended to be a bassoonist, hoping to play at such a high level that judges rush out from behind the screens at orchestral auditions to get a glimpse of the prodigy sitting before them, and to offer me a job on the spot. Of course, none of these day-dreams have (so far) worked out. I bet 3 people regularly read my blog, and all of my auditions have ended with a terse “thank you” from the audition judges behind the screens – and no job offer.
So, with all the success I’ve had thus far, why not pretend to be a composer? I’ve written music occasionally over the past few years, and I’m now somewhat terrified to actually admit that I’ve finished a piece for bassoon and piano, entitled, “Three Psalms”. While I’m sure that my composition career will ultimately be as successful as everything else I’ve tried lately, if there is any bassoonist out there that wants to take a look at the piece, I’d be glad to get you a copy in exchange for any constructive feedback that might be offered.
Grand Junction Does the Nutcracker…And So Do I
I didn’t get to go back to CU this semester, so I’ve been missing a lot of the performance opportunities I would have had. It’s kind of cool, then, to be part of anything these days. During the Thanksgiving break this year, I’ll be playing bassoon for a production of the Nutcracker in Grand Junction, Colorado. More information can be found here.
That’s all for now. Maybe I’ll have something exciting to talk about next time…like alternate fingerings for F#. That would be simply scintillating.
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Write a Comment»I’m extremely eager to hear the full version of the 3 psalms… I’ve been listenting to Malia practice it and it should be really cool.
I would also like to add that I hope that I’m part of that group of elite (though small in number) blog readers!
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Kent Reply:
November 18th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
It is actually very cool that she would take the time to learn the piece. I mean really cool.
I was hoping you were one of my “three readers”, and am glad to find out that’s probably the case. Thanks!
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Hey Kent! I am cool… and I read your blog!… I hope you counted me as one of the 3…
I do not play bassoon as I said before, but I do build and play PVC flutes (no auditions yet…). I would love to try Three Psalms. Hopefully I can transpose it into a range I can manage and wrap it around a bit if it is beyond the 2 octaves available to me… not quite A1 – Ab5!
I played French Horn as a kid and continued in the “written music” mind-set for most of my life. I never had much ability to ad lib at all – except maybe whistling (and not counting throat singing). Now that I am playing the flutes I am finding much more freedom to just make something up on the fly and let it go. Every-now-and-then a tune sticks and I “learn” it to play again. I have maybe 5 of those in as many years. I have written a couple down using Finale Notepad but none of them has any context with chords or counter melodies. At best I have used drone notes. It is fun to hum a drone while playing a song. There are really interesting interference events, overtones, and harmonies that form on their own. I do that on a didgeridoo also but the flute tone is clearer and that makes the interplay more distinct.
Maybe I could build a Dulcian… you can teach me to make the reeds… Enough rambling… : )? ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulcian )
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Kent Reply:
November 20th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Yes, well, obviously everyone who participates in Scroggles is cool. What I should have said is “Someone cool who isn’t a Scroggler read my blog.” Or, maybe, “Someone cool who plays jazz on a bassoon read my blog.” Hmm…
The range of the Three Psalms is almost three and a half octaves – Bb1-E5 – the lowest note to basically the highest “accepted” note on the bassoon. (My bassoon actually has a high F key, which not all bassoons have, and I have yet to actually use it in public.) I wanted to explore its entire range, as each of its registers has such a different character. It’s quite a bit wider, then, than your two octaves on the PVC flute. Nevertheless, if you still want to give it a shot, let me know.
I used Finale 2008 to get Three Psalms in a usable format. Complicated software, but pretty powerful once you learn some of the tricks.
Dulcian, huh? That predates the earliest bassoon, even. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea how to make a reed for one of those! (Not that my reeds for a modern bassoon fare much better that often, but that’s another story.)
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Whoa! I was kidding about building a dulcian, then I found this great site for Renaissance instruments, kits, and plans! Oh oh… this kid is in trouble… Why not build my rackett I have been wanting too??? Oops… no dulcian plans or kits! just instruments… what’s the fun in that? Hummmm… 2 Pvc pipes, a reed…
http://www.masterkit.com/rwc/products/curtal.htm
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I must say, I love the variety of content on Scroggles… from economic conspiracy to the stalkerator, to astronomy, musical instrument making, playing, poetry and short stories… I really think that we have just about everything you could think of in one website.
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