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Spectral Muses Revisited: The Channeled Melodies of Rosemary Brown
Rosemary Brown (1916-2001) was a middle-aged South London widow, making ends meet as a grade school kitchen assistant, who rocketed to international fame in 1968 through a BBC broadcast recounting her purported collaborations with long-dead composers. These included Liszt, J.S. Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Schubert (who of course no longer needs spectacles), Monteverdi, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Brahms, Robert and Clara Schumann, Mozart, Grieg, and Poulenc. And after he died in 1971, Igor Stravinsky joined them. Though Ms Brown's musical education had consisted of no more than two years of piano lessons and a couple of halfhearted trips to the opera, she went on to turn out over a thousand pieces worthy, in the estimations of a number of musicologists, of many of these legendary giants. Concert pianist Hepzibah Menuhin (Yehudi's sister), observed, "There is no question but that she is a very sincere woman. The music is absolutely in the style of these composers." Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, who studied under Sir Lennox Berkeley and Pierre Boulez and scored the film Murder on the Orient Express, said, "A lot of people can improvise, but you couldn't fake music like this without years of training." In 1969 the BBC arranged to observe Ms Brown in the act firsthand. They sat her down on a piano bench and waited for Franz Liszt. In due course he appeared, to her anyway, and dictated a piece he called Grubelei that, like much of this material, was far beyond her technical competence to perform. Composer and Lizst specialist Humphrey Searle scrutinized Grubelei and found it to be remarkably characteristic of Lizst's last few years. "It is highly chromatic," he later recalled, "and one hand is written in 5/4 time against 3/2 in the other. The latter is not a thing that Liszt ever did as far as I know, but it is the sort of thing he might have done." I'm no expert here but from what I've heard of Rosemary Brown's music it certainly sounds convincing. At the very least we have a stupendous volume of splendid musical parodies in front of us, and it remains to be explained how someone of such prosaic means could have produced them non-supernaturally. I am rather surprised that Ms Brown reported no contact with Sir Edward Elgar, her country's most cherished composer, whose unparalleled orchestrations would have been supremely difficult to mimic. Or, similarly, Ralph Vaughn Williams or Sir Charles H.H. Parry or Fritz Delius (who once snarled, "Grieg had more music in his little finger than Stravinsky has in his whole body."). In any case, you the living can contact Romana-Hamburg and judge for yourself. They offer the documentary Music from Beyond on DVD and a corresponding CD compilation of 40 of Brown's piano pieces, 38 of them performed by Gerhard Helzel. The preceding article comes from the "Curious Thing of the Week" section of my website. http://www.curiousnotions .com
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Top 7 Donts for Successful Improvisation 1. Don't try and make something happen. Trying blocks the creative flow and will result in blocks. Health and Beauty Tips for Your Brass: Keep It Shiny! Did you know that the health and beauty of your brass instruments require extra special attention? It's true-their wellbeing and happiness depend upon it. While we're not talking about putting your tuba on a weight-loss program or taking your trumpet to the spa for a makeover, you do need to treat your brass instruments with care or they'll refuse to come out and play. So, grab that brass and get ready for a workout-it's time to clean! Formation of a Song (Recording) As industry insiders, we sometimes forget that when discussing the recording process, the rest of the world really has no idea what we are talking about. Hopefully this will provide an explanation of the song formation process in layman's terms so that there may be less disconnect between the professional and the consumer. Yo, is Rap Just Another Four Letter Word? Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country. Common Thoughts That Kill Inspiration Do you sit down at the piano and feel anxiety or peace? Are you anxious to begin creating or does the thought of being at your instrument bring you a sense of well being? It all begins with what you're telling yourself. If you think that what you are doing is not good enough, it's sure to kill off that quiet little motor of inspiration. Benatar and Geraldo - Still Rockin on a High Note Most people look forward to the summer months because they bring warmer temperatures, vacations, outdoor gatherings, and longer days. Those are all fine and dandy, but what really gets my fires stoked for the warm season is when the Queen of Rock (a.k.a. Pat Benatar to the uneducated) takes her show on the road. Always the dutiful parents, Pat and her husband/producer/lead guitarist Neil Geraldo wait for school to let out before beginning a tour so that they can bring their children along for the trip. Some kids get to visit Disneyland or the beach during their summer breaks; these kids get to see the country and the throngs of fans who think their mother is the bomb-diggity. 1973 Interview with Paul McCartney - Forming Wings July 6, 1973 Birmingham England Guitar Tuning Tips Most new guitar players and even some experienced ones have trouble staying and playing in tune. I'll try listing here some of the common mistakes and there solutions. Music Industry Secrets Revealed - How To Become Succesful The Music Industry Without A Record Deal Before the internet, unsigned music artists couldnt make a living, off the thing they love and enjoy the most: Their music! They would have to send in demos to major record companys, hoping that the CEO's would love their music and actually call them up on the phone offering them a recorddeal! But what they dont know is that the CEO's dont give a f*#% about music!! They ONLY offer recordeals to artists who they know will become succesfull! Everything I Play Sounds the Same Many students want to create music that has a certain emotional quality. For example, I once had a student ask me to show her how to play something that sounded happy. How to Improvise Using a Few Chords When a painter is getting ready to paint, a color palette is usually chosen first. For example, if a forest is to be painted, the artist may choose browns, greens, and blues for the sky. Once the palette is chosen, it makes it easier to create the painting. Why? Because color decisions are now out of the way. A Dying Cat And A Nylon String Guitar "Music isn't just learning notes and playing them, you learn notes to play to the music of your soul" ? Katie Greenwood. Things To Know When Shopping For A Guitar Amplifier Guitar amplifiers are a major part of your tone. Some amps can do many things well, while others excel at producing specific tonal qualities. When shopping for a guitar amplifier, you will have to choose between a Tube or Solid-State model, and whether you want a combo, or separate head and speaker cabinet. New Age Music - What Is It Good For? Let's face it. The world will not end if there isn't another new age music CD on the market. So why bother? Why play when most people don't care or want to hear the kind of music you like? The answer lies in the nature of art itself, for the world really does not need art. It can survive without painting, sculpture or music. It can survive, but it would be a pretty dreary place. Ibanez SR400 Bass Guitar The Ibanez SR400 bass guitar is very comfortable to play. The neck is thin up at the headstock, you can move your hand along it well because of the necks finish. The SR400's neck at the back has a matte finish making it very easy to slide your hands up and down the neck. Its easier to play the higher frets because the neck is a bolt-on with a curve where the neck bolts. How I Compose a Piece of Music A number of people have asked about my own methodology for creating a complete piece of music at the piano. At the risk of oversimplification, the steps are as follows: Born into musical family, Michael Jackson is as big as ever today Michael Jackson was born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958 (making him 47 as of year 2005) to Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine siblings. The Jackson family was raised as Jehovah's Witnesses and practiced door-to-door evangelization. Despite being known as the cute and talented lead singer in Jackson 5, a band that he formed together with his other siblings, he is now better known for his flamboyant style and negative press. Living Life Loud Change is good. Just ask the millions of unsigned artists worldwide trying to get their music heard. Since the music industry is changing drastically, unsigned musicians are able to make their music available to listeners. Record labels are realizing new techniques need to be created in order to promote music, and find new talent. Is Your Child Capable of Composing Music? Maybe the Next Mozart? We've all heard of them. Child prodigies who begin composing music at some ridiculously young age. For instance, history reports that Mozart was writing minuets by the time he was five years old. Amazing. At five years of age, I'm not sure that I knew the difference between my finger and my thumb and I certainly wasn't composing music. Mp3s ? The Future of Music? Mp3 music is audio that has been digitally encoded and compressed to make the amount of data smaller without compromising the overall sound quality. It's a revolutionary technique with incredibly good results; mp3 music is frequently indistinguishable from music found on a CD (though some audiophiles with very sensitive ears dispute that statement).
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