Weblog

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Monday, July 21, 2008

Friday, July 18, 2008

  • Currently Watching
    Spies Like Us
    By Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison
    see related

    My Husband's Cello

    Nemiah has been warming up at his cello more often lately, but we usually practice our music after the baby goes to bed.  A few days ago, he played for Teddy for the first time in several months.  At first the pathetic little meister was scared, and giant tears welled up in his blue eyes.  But he loves music of any sort, and he quickly realized that Daddy was making some really fun sounds with that stick in his hand.  Teddy, quite convinced that all the noise came from the bow, attacked it repeatedly until Nemiah let him pluck the strings.  Teddy was thrilled, and, needless to say, very impressed.

    Watching




    So fun!








    And a random shot from today that I rather liked...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

  • Currently Reading
    The new music lover's handbook
    By Elie Siegmeister
    see related

    My Grandmother's Piano

    My piano is being tuned today.  While the persistent, repetitious, and driving correction of the poor thing's tonal scale always drives me from the room in aural agony, it does force me to remember what a mysterious thing music can be.  And then again how much sense it can make.  Not to mention the emotional release that comes from singing or playing a musical instrument.  I was lucky to have music be an essential part of my childhood, inseparable from daily life.  This was thanks in part to my grandmother's determination to pass on her love of music, and her skill in executing it, to her children and grandchildren.

    The making of music, like many other highly skilled professional occupations, often appears awesome and mysterious to the layman...
    Every profession has its own particular air of secrecy and wonder...
     -Elie Siegmeister

    Most people want to know how things are made.  They frankly admit, however, that they feel completely at sea when it comes to understanding how a piece of music is made.  Where a composer begins, how he manages to keep going- in fact, how and where he learns his trade- all are shrouded in impenetrable darkness.  The composer, in short, is a man of mystery to most people, and the composer's workshop an unapproachable ivory tower.
    ...Composing to a composer is like fulfilling a natural function.  It is like eating or sleeping.
    ...Now, the composer has an idea.  He has a number of them in his book, and he examines them in more or less the way that you, the listener, would examine them if you looked at them.  He wants to know what he has.  He examines the musical line for its purely formal beauty.  He likes to see the way it rises and falls, as if it were a drawn line instead of a musical one. 
    -Aaron Copland

thefrenchpress

  • Visit thefrenchpress's Xanga Site
    • Name: Rachel
    • Birthday: 9/13/1984
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 9/11/2007

About Me

  • I am a homeschool graduate, former student at PHC, new mother, pianist/piano teacher, amateur photographer, and former caterer. I also love to scrapbook, write, and spend time with my husband and family.

Pulse

Chatboard (2)

  • FoxeLord
    What's up? I'm sicker than a dog right now, so forgive me if I'm not very lucid. I got my EMT earlier this month, and the medication endorsement in a couple weeks. Fun fun.
  • UffishThoughts
    Hmph. The problem isn't time, dear, it's internet! Or the lack thereof.... and I've got over a month's worth of pictures to deal wtih. Alas!