The "Post-TED-Talk" Talk (post 5)

Drumroll Please...

So from what I've heard plus the comments I've received, I think it's safe to say that my TED Talk was.... a success! Or at least I hope it was. My speaking part went relatively smooth but probably the best part was my piano playing, here's why in the form of an ordered list:


1. I sat down (without falling off the seat might I add) and prepared to play.


2. The first few notes were pretty good and I started to relax (aka the transition from shaking like a Chihuahua).


3. I start to reach the end of my piece and think "Hey, maybe I can get through this without messing up!)


4. I play the very last chord and what do you know, the music stand falls off and hits the ground with a loud *thud*.


5. The audience laughs and applauds as a get up and bow embarrassingly and continue with my presentation. 


The Good, the Bad, and the Pitchy
So I figured that I could map out all the things that I did well and not so well during my presentation. Here are some of the aspects that made/broke my presentation:
Good
-I practiced my presentation quite a bit
-I practiced my piece just as much
-I put a lot of consideration into what went into my script
-I felt fairly confident while presenting
Not So Good
-I didn't perfect my presentation
-I didn't perfect my script either
-I got tongue tied frequently while presenting
-Why are you still reading this there's another part left!


What Happens Now?
Well for starters, I'm definitely going to keep writing music. I mean, obviously music is my #1 passion so that's a no-brainer. Overall, it was really fun doing this project and I hope we get others like this in the future. Writing these piece really helped me figure out who I am as musician and what I am able to do. From the looks of it, the opportunities are endless for me and intend to seize them all. With that being said, I'm going to leave you guys with a phrase that countless musicians have said over the years:

"Thank you, you all have been a wonderful audience. Goodnight."

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This week's comments:
Brett-Geography
Catelyn- Piano (as well)
Jacob-Stand Up Comedy


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The "Pre-TED-Talk" Talk (post 4)

What's Happening So Far

So as of right now, I'm preparing for a big presentation tomorrow on my project. I'll pretty much be covering every part of my project like composing it, arranging it, and playing it. As a matter of fact, I'm playing a short part of my piece live which I'm REALLY psyched about. My only worry is that I'll get too nervous and slip up. Other than that, I feel pretty confident in myself and my presentation.

Quote of the Day

Well anyway, here's another musical quote that I thought best represented my project so far:

So you see, even one of the greatest geniuses in the world found his inner musician! This ties in to what the message of my presentation which is the fact that everyone has an inner musician. This is also proof that music is apart of almost everyone's life whether they realize it or not. You don't have to play an instrument or even sing to include music in your everyday activities. It just automatically inserts itself but it will always have a major impact just as Albert Einstein described.

The TED Talk

So if you don't know what a TED Talk is, it is basically an interesting speech about a somewhat new topic. My Ted Talk topic brings out a new perspective on music and musicians themselves. I will also be sharing my passion for music and the fact that I've been playing music since I was little... well littler (lol). I'm also predicting that when I'm done talking, people are going to ask a bunch of questions so I've prepared a few answers as well just in case (dear audience, I can predict your every move).

 

Topics I will be covering:

- The "Inner-Musician"

-  Playing piano and other instruments     

- My project description (obviously)

- The struggles of my project

- A live performance of a short clip of my project     

- Not to mention lots of jokes involving Perlman and McDaniels   

Now to Wrap Things Up

I'm sorry this post may be a little shorter than the others but I still really enjoyed writing this one. I was able to get all my ideas and feelings about my project/ music out because I really, really, really love music. Thank you all so far who have been looking at my blog and commenting, I really appreciate it.

Here is a link to my modern movement! 

CLICK HERE

Other Awesome TED Talks

Benjamin Zander: The Power of Classical Music

Michael Tilson: Music and Emotion through Time


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This Week's Comments:

Toni-Latin
Christy-Violin
Jacob-Cake Decorating

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My Video Blog

Not a big fan of the thumbnail though...




This Week's Comments:
Ruby: Origami
Fred: Gaming
Abby: Hurdling

Using Modern Music (post 3)

Check In

So far, my piece has actually been coming along well. My classical movement is finally complete and I'm just finishing my modern piece now (which I will talk about later). The real experience, however, has been in writing the music itself. I'm not the only one either that enjoys writing music. A wise Beatle once said:

                                                                  A rough written copy of my classical movement

"One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen."

-Paul McCartney

If you don't know who Paul McCartney is, he was a member of the Beatles who were pretty much the best selling band of the 20th century,(have you been living under a rock?). Anyway, my point is that writing music brings as much satisfaction as actually playing it. My experience these past few weeks with writing music has been nothing short of fantastic for me and I hope I can continue it even after this project.

Now for the Good Part

After I finished my classical part, I jumped to work on my modern piece. When I say modern, I mean everything from the 50's up, so this piece is going to be a little longer than the last one. This time, I'll be including everything from the Beatles to Daft Punk (and everything in between). Here is a recap of some of the songs I'm using:

Eleanor Rigby: The Beatles

     Categorized under "Baroque Pop," this song tested the boundaries of normal pop music during 1960s.The piece mainly features a double string quartet that emphasizes the topic of loneliness, which the song was meant to express in the first place. The famous words, "Ah look at all the lonely people, where do they all come from?" questions the neglected concerns of the elderly in an attempt to reach beyond the normal rock audience.

All of Me: John Legend

     One of the most popular songs over the past two years, this piece is John Legend's most popular song so far. It reached number one in the U.S during 2014, and number two in Australia, New Zealand, as well as most of Europe. Overall, the song made the second best selling of 2014. It only seemed right to include this song not only because of its emotional sound, but also because it mainly consists of piano, which is what I am using to play and compose my own original piece.

 Get Lucky: Daft Punk

In my opinion, this has been one of the best pop songs since 2011. This song features a genuine group performance not only by the duo of Daft Punk, but also by the combined efforts of Pharell and Nile Rodgers. Daft Punk themselves are also very unique musicians because of their iconic helmets which the constantly wear in every concert and music video. Although many people believe that "Get Lucky" is a pop song, in reality the genre is categorized under funk and disco, which explains why it sounds like it came straight out of the 70's (with just a hint of 80's).

 Bohemian Rhapsody: Queen

Bohemian Rhapsody is widely considered to be one of the greatest classic rock songs in music history. Originally on Queen's "A Night at the Opera" album, this song sold a million copies by January 1976 when it was only released a few months before during 1975. The song itself features different kinds of genres ranging from a rock ballad to a guitar solo and a hard rock section. Not only was the song extremely popular, but the music video that was released along with the song became an iconic part of pop culture.  

Hooked on a Feeling: Blue Swede

Best known today for it's appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, Hooked on a Feeling was written by Mark James but the most popular rendition was by Blue Swede in 1974. The famous "Ooga Chaka" at the beginning of the song was later added by Jonathan King which he sampled from "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston. Although this song wasn't as popular as the previous ones I listed, "Hooked on a Feeling" is still one of my favorite "Oldies" songs along with a few other that were included in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here's a Video of my Classical Movement:
CLICK HERE PLEASE

 Things to notice:
1. My transitions between songs
2. The style and genre of the piece
3. The emotion and dynamics

Modern Part soon to come!

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This weeks comments:
Nathan-VeryLoudCloud
Jake-Investing
Allison-Oil Painting
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And So It Begins... (post 2)

What's Happening so Far

As it turns out, I narrowed my piece down again to only two movements instead of one, figures. I thought it would be easier if I just divided up the songs into two halves, that way I could cover more ground in a shorter amount of time. However, I am just finishing up my first movement now. All it needs is more practice and refining. Here are the compositions that I used to create this piece.

Fur Elise-Beethoven: Probably his most famous work. Fur Elise in German means "For Elise" (if it wasn't obvious) which is probably who he wrote it for. As a matter of fact, this piece was published 40 years after Beethoven died and it was later discovered and transcribed by a guy named Ludwig Nohl, (who had the same first name as Beethoven...coincidence? I think not.) The piece itself is very fast but also very, very melodic at the same time. Here's a link so you can hear it for yourself.
Fur Elise
Moonlight Sonata-Beethoven: One of my personal favorites but a lesser-known Beethoven piece. He wrote this during the early 1800's when he was just starting out as a composer. Compared to Fur Elise, this is much slower with a sad-but-powerful touch. To those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, see for yourself.
Moonlight Sonata
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor-Bach: If you've ever watched a cheesy scary movie, the creepy guy in the haunted house playing the organ is most likely playing this piece. As complicated as the title sounds, this song is actually really cool. It was originally composed by Back for the organ, but a managed to make it work on the piano. If you listen to this, you can really tell the difference between composers. Bach's style is choppy and extremely melodic whereas Beethoven is much more smooth and emotional. Here is what it sounds like:
Toccata and Fugue

Piano Sonata No 16-Mozart: When Mozart originally wrote this, he designed it for beginning pianists. This clearly explains it's simplistic tone near the beginning of the piece. However, this song has become one of the most famous of Mozart's works, appearing all over pop culture as a symbol of things such as youth, happiness and simplicity. The piece itself is divided into three parts, Allegro, Andante and Rondo. The first and most famous part, Allegro, means "cheerful" in Italian, which can clearly be seen throughout the movement. The second part, Andante, has a more moderate tempo but changes key compared to Allegro. The last section, Rondo, is very peculiar because it bears similarities to Allegro in terms of key and mood. In fact, that's exactly what Rondo means, following a pattern. Here's the Sonata below:

Piano Sonata 16

So What?

So far I'm really psyched about this project. The fact that I have complete control over what I'm doing and how is a great motivator for me. Since my project is based around my favorite passion, music, I have no trouble with completion or time management. With my first movement done, I hope that I can finish my second just as quickly, giving me more time to prepare and practice my entire piece as a whole.

This week's comments

Kat: Tap Dancing
Sam: Soccer Analytics
Eric: Whittling

Thanks for visiting and keep checking back for more posts! 

The Concerto

Motivation and Goal

As soon the genius project was assigned, my interest was immediately directed towards my greatest passion; music. For nine years I have played a total of five instruments including guitar, piano, bass, cello and drums. When the time came to choose a topic, it only seemed logical for me to relate my project to music. However, after all these years of taking music lessons and performing at recitals, it never occurred to me that I had never written a full and complex piece of music. Granted that I would occasionally write a simple melody here and there, but it would only be for the duration of a few measures. Because of my lack for applying what I know about music theory, my aim for these upcoming weeks is to successfully compose and perform a major musical composition (with a twist).

Breakdown 

Here is a short description of what I intend for my project to look like:


1. Concerto Format: A Concerto (by definition) is a form of western classical music, usually made up of three sections or movements. Originally I was planning to do four movements but I would not have had enough time or resources to compose them all. A concerto also exhibits a particular instrument such as the violin or flute. However in this case I will be using the piano, mainly because of its easy access to all the notes on the musical scale.


2. Medley: A medley is a mix of songs or melodies, usually connected by transitions similar to the way that paragraphs are connected in an essay. Each of the songs relate to each other in some shape or form, whether they're from the same genre or same composer. For my piece in particular, the songs will be connected by time period. In other words, each of my movements will consist of songs from the same era. For example, it will start with classical music from the 1600s-1800s, then jazz and classic rock from 1900 to 1970s and finally modern music from 1980s-2015. In my eyes, these are the most influential styles of music, which is why I am choosing to include them in my piece. My classical movement will contain songs by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Bach where as the movements from the 20th and 21st century will be from artists like Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Eminem, Nirvana, Fall Out Boy and other major artists.


3. Original Transitions: Like I said before, the songs within the movements will be connected by transitions. However, these transitions will be composed by me, for the sake of originality. Like the simple melodies I used to create, these transitions will not last long but will prove to be effective in terms of making the piece my own (and not just a jumble of songs thrown together).

Conclusion

 I have high hopes for this project and predict that it'll be very successful. My only concern is time management. Getting any kind of work done on time has always been on my mind but since I am doing a different kind of work for this project, I am worried it will disrupt my work ethic and therefore my ability to finish my assignments on time. However, working with music may be easier instead and I might be able to complete my movements earlier than expected. Overall, I am going to enjoy this project no matter when or how I do it.


This Week's Comments
Sieanna: Animation
Christy: Violin
David: Card Tricks








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