What an ambitious project. I applaud them for what they were able to do with the technology at the time and also what they decided to put on the records. I am a huge Star Wars and Star Trek fan so I also believe that there could be other life out there besides just us. If I had to decide what would go on a 3rd record I would follow a little bit of what they did.
1. Given the thought that if intelligent life discovers the record, they should be able to discern from either the images or able to translate the writing. So, it would be important to have the date that the record was completed and where it was from.
2. Sounds of nature - Unlike the first records, I would have the sounds on their own tracks with an image so that their will be both an audio component and a visual component.
3. Animals - Also will have an image along with the sounds
4. Elements - Will have video of each element, so that a visual component is added.
5. Languages - The problem that I had with the greetings is how would an extraterrestrial know that the languages are different and not just all the same? I would probably have more than just a greeting, maybe a collection of phrases or a story in each respective language.
6. Music - On earth, music can be considered a language within itself. The first records did a great job of representing a wide variety of musical styles. I would keep all that they currently have and just updated it by adding current musical compositions from around the world.
7. Images of daily life, measurements, etc. - I think the current selection is good, but some I believe would be very confusing to someone unfamiliar with our writing system and language. These are the images showing measurements and equations. One can assume that if extraterrestrials can find the record, they would have their own measuring system and equations based on their physical laws. Images showing our anatomy and how our bodies function is essential. Maybe the extraterrestrials don't have noses or arms or legs? At least in the way we think of them. Also, images of the constellations we see would help them to find us if they wanted to contact us.
8. History - This one is a doozy. There is still much of our history that is lost or unclear. What should be shown is both the good and bad history. While conflict might be something seen only among terrestrial life, it is still good to represent both sides. We do not want other life to believe we have never known conflict and then for them to arrive and see it, what would they do? If they had emotion similar to ours, I bet they would feel like we lied to them to get them to come to us.
NASA's Voyager project was one of optimism and hope. Those are two qualities I think are lacking in this day and age. I would love for another project like this to be done, but first we must begin to look up into the sky rather than our limited circles of influence that we create today.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Yo-Yo Ma and the Mind Game of Music
Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most famous classical musicians of our time. In this article, Yo-Yo Ma reflects on the story of his gifts and his passions. In 1998, he founded a non-profit organization that brings musicians together from around the world. He has received numerous awards; Grammy awards, the National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As a fellow cellist, I am a big admirer of his.
He points at that he has no idea how he became a great cellist. He says that he is an accident and that it was a series of circumstances that has led him to where he is today. Mr. Ma says that what we hear is only 10 percent of what music is about. It is what lies underneath the sound. Practicing for him could mean a few hours a day or only a few minutes.
He has had to deal with tendinitis, but has been able to overcome it. "Musicians often forget they are athletes and that it's important to stretch before and after practicing or performing." As a musician, I know that to be very true.
Sometimes when someone like Mr. Ma begins training at such a young age, there is a tendency to miss out on other important life events due to the training. He says it's about developing a disciplined imagination. "I often say that to be a classical musician is to be a forensic cultural analyst." I found that to be very interesting as he states prior to that that you need to be able to project your imagination into someone else's mind.
The article goes on to talk about how he deals with traveling as he grows older and is even asked about retirement. About any regrets: "If I were to do it over again I would seriously look at the quality of decisions made during those years."
Chinese Yo Yo
During the summer of 2008, I took a plane and flew across the ocean to the city of Beijing, China. It was a wonderful summer, I learned a little bit of a new language, met some amazing people, ate some amazing food, and just got to really experience the culture as a whole. The school I was at took us to the tourist spots, which was amazing. I took a lot of pictures, and also video. As we began to talk about participatory and presentational performance I was reminded of when me and one of my classmates decided to go for a walk as there was a big park near our school.
There was a large area where we found a large group of older Chinese that were playing with Chinese Yo-Yos. I was entranced as there were many different sizes and some even made noise. The yo-yo consists of two equally sized discs connected by a long axle. The wielder has two sticks, one in each hand, that are connected by a string and is used to keep the yo-yo in motion. In the above video, the woman is able to control it while it swings almost 10 feet around her. She seemed to be one of the most skilled there.
As I watched the different people, I noticed a lot of discussion and some teaching of tricks. This reminded me of the concepts we have talked about from the Turino book. The majority of what I watched was presentational, even though some were discussing, (at least I thought, based it off of observation of gestures), the majority of those performing were showing their individual skill. There were still others like my friend and I who were on the sidelines watching them. I am sure it was a little odd to see a couple of foreigners watching something that, for them, seemed to be only enjoyed by their culture.
Blue Chicago
Everyone searches for authenticity and has their own idea of what that is. Blue Chicago helped me to see many of the different views of what that could be. For some, the plays most see as "touristy" are for them authentic, for others it is the places that are "off the beaten path." I tend to fall into the latter category more often than not. Most of this comes from my own personal background with music. I love to listen and compose music.
I am a highly relational person and so being able to connect with the audience/band members and experience flow is important. As a child, my family and I took several trips to Branson, MO and went to several shows down there. It wasn't until reading Blue Chicago that I started thinking about all the people involved in the shows we saw. I realized that they may feel what many musicians felt in the reading, constant repetition. It gets old. Having to perform the same show night after night. I've started wondering how they cope with it. Do they find ways to add new concepts without changing the show drastically? Or do they put on a show, and complain about it later to their friends?
I know that for me, I would have to try and add new things to a performance otherwise it would start to feel stagnant to me. Although, you change things too much, you run the risk of people not liking it. Our culture seems to be about giving people what they want, even if it's not necessarily what we want to give them. I remember reading how a band would play one song and immediately they would be heckled to play another song as it is one the "standards" of that particular genre, in this case the blues. Certain songs have defined what we consider blues to be and it is hard for most people when someone tries to bend the rules a little bit.
I am a highly relational person and so being able to connect with the audience/band members and experience flow is important. As a child, my family and I took several trips to Branson, MO and went to several shows down there. It wasn't until reading Blue Chicago that I started thinking about all the people involved in the shows we saw. I realized that they may feel what many musicians felt in the reading, constant repetition. It gets old. Having to perform the same show night after night. I've started wondering how they cope with it. Do they find ways to add new concepts without changing the show drastically? Or do they put on a show, and complain about it later to their friends?
I know that for me, I would have to try and add new things to a performance otherwise it would start to feel stagnant to me. Although, you change things too much, you run the risk of people not liking it. Our culture seems to be about giving people what they want, even if it's not necessarily what we want to give them. I remember reading how a band would play one song and immediately they would be heckled to play another song as it is one the "standards" of that particular genre, in this case the blues. Certain songs have defined what we consider blues to be and it is hard for most people when someone tries to bend the rules a little bit.
Paul McCartney Surprises Queens High School With Auditorium Rock Show
I stumbled upon this article while searching for music news. Paul McCartney was one of the Beatles, one of the biggest bands of all time. Their influence has been huge. In 2001, the Frank Sinatra School for the Arts was founded in Astoria, Queens. Paul McCartney gave a surprise concert with breaks for a little Q&A with the students.
I chose this because I love it when big musicians like Paul do this for those aspiring to become great musicians themselves. He said, "I could be home watching the TV now,"..."I'd rather be here." I love it especially when they are open to questions, because he knows how things work and what to do and what not to do. When asked, "How can one mind create so many memorable melodies?" He said, "I just love what I do."
Michael Bublé's Search for Authenticity
Last April, Michael Bublé gave an impromptu performance down in the NYC subway of one of his songs about to be released at the time. I choose this video because of what he talks about after the video. He feels that singing in the subway is the most authentic way to sing because of the architecture of the subway allows for a rich sound.
I hadn't seen this video in a while so when I watched it again and watched the interview it reminded me of the Blue Chicago article. Here is an example of how someone who has already made it and is playing around the world still searches for what he views as authentic. He says that there have been many famous people who have performed down there.
I also enjoyed watching the peoples reaction as so many had their phones out and were taking pictures and video with their devices. At the end, one of the people in the impromptu audience had tears rolling down her face. I think for Michael, he found his idea of authenticity or something extremely close to it.
A Blend of India and Jazz
As I mentioned in my first image post, three years ago I helped compose and record an album for a group of guys from India. It was a lengthy but very rewarding process. The above video is one of the motivations for why I want to research the mixing of Indian and Western music. We combined jazz elements with Indian musical elements. As you can hear, we used guitars, an upright bass, piano, and a western drumkit.
Their band name is Jamta Kya, which literally means "will it freeze?" in Hindi. I found it to be an odd name until they explained why. Back in India, at the university where they were at, the term was used as an idiom to express a variety of things. An example would be as follows; I am carrying a lot of books. I can look at a door and ask one of them, "Door, jamta kya?", and that will be understood as "Can you get the door for me?"
This project helped me to gain a better understanding of how music can be similar and different at the same time.
Miley Cyrus or Elvis Presley's hips: Has the music industry really changed much?
No one doubts that her performance at the VMA's was shocking. Miley sang "Blured Lines" with singer Robin Thicke. This article looks at some of the reactions from some of the biggest pop icons like Sir Elton John and Britney Spears.
My reaction to the whole situation was one of disgust. Watching Miley, who is someone who is looked up to by the younger generation, present herself in a raunchy, sexualized way, is not good. Young females should not be looking at her and thinking, “This what I should do to be popular.” She is only furthering the objectification of women as sexual objects that are only there to fulfill a mans fantasies The part that saddened me the most was that, while everyone was up in arms about her, almost no one was placing equal blame and/or criticism on Robin Thicke. Robin's song glorifies sexual abuse and Miley is only adding to that stereotype. Miley needs to come to the realization that she doesn't have to twerk or swing on a wrecking ball naked to get attention. Instead she could be doing things that benefit humanity.
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