a day in the life of piano monkey

so youve finalized the rep. has timeline for due dates. secured your staff. and now: time management. try to figure out what you would need and may 'want,' and by that, think about the order of the asked playing samples. you want to put the strongest one on the beginning, as the schools receives mountains of cds, there's no guarantee that they will listen to all of it. well, i suppose there's a guarantee that they will NOT listen to all of it, haha.  so though it may be possible for the auditioner(s) to move around and listen to things out of order, it is likely that they will pop it in and it'll start blaring whatever's on first.  also, the other point is that look into your weakest piece- this is the one that you may want to take multiple takes of.  save some time for it. here's a news. to record an hour of music, it usually takes 2+ hours.  how does that work? well, first, depending on the familiarity with space/acoustic, you and your engineer w...

tumbling dice: the musicians relax int he villa's basement studio. despite the debauched environment, exile on main street went onto become widely viewed as the stone's best album. however, not a good place if you want to do lieder demo. from daily mail, 20 may 2010 to find a decent place to do a recording may be surprisingly difficult.  there are more sound around us than we realize. but boy it stings you in the ears when unexpected/unwanted- in the quiet passages, in the grande pause, end of a fleeting cadence, there it is, slamming doors, long-tone exercises, the streetcars... most of my work happens in three places: 1. faculty of music- WH, vic chapel, FM + other rooms 2. conservatory of music- conservatory theater, mazzolini hall 3. local churches notice that there is no 'real' studio? well, it's because i tend to do the 'away' events mostly, related to the school events, especially recitals and demo recordings (playing/coaching/r...

http://youtu.be/JCULWK4tNuc  no matter how well you thought you know them, the various people in one's life rides the wave of life, each heading to an appropriate yet different direction. in passing and weaving, one may see a familiar one in a particularly beautiful light- the light that enables us to see through the fog of daily mundane life. suddenly you realize what real life is- or rather, what it can be. in 2008 ted talk, benjamin zander, at end of it, talks of 'shining eyes,' would we dare walk the same and talk the same, if we remember those shining eyes? http://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html in 2009 banff days, a few very kind, intelligent and gentle souls continued to lit up silent, demanding nights, where i was easily found, wood shedding in studio, early morning hours. felt chased and failing, i relied on these kind souls to fuel self, to take another step- borrowed, or rather, 'fed' hope into blood. in...

so, here is a peek of what the session may look like: we have: quiet space, well-maintained piano, appropriate instruments and scores. for visual, zoom recorder will record into a class10 SD card. for audio, we have AT4050ST, which has two diapragmes/capsules in one casing, so we are still recording stereo.  this mic is connected to mackie 402, which powers it (through turning on 'phantom power' button), and then it will feed to three recorders: zoom, tascam and microtrack (which runs on battery, which will save you in case there is power outage). and you monitor the sound with good headphone (in this case, AKG K240s). here's a funny thing: so why is the back up with battery power important? well, if the power goes out, yes, mic will be silent, as mixer will be silent. so we arent recording anymore.  however, because of battery power, microtrack will stay alive, meaning you will be able to save the progress, in contrast to recorders without battery backup, which ...

now, let's form a list of repertoire needed: 1. title, movement, composer, year, edition 2. req. staff: do you need accompanist? chamber musicians? 3. TIMING: yes. seriously. how long is it? if multi-movement works, do timing of each mvt.  by doing this, you can now separate your repertoire into two categories: solo with no accompaniment, music with other people in it.  this is important in case you cannot book a leisurely day-long session; your pianist's probably playing for others as well.  maximize your financial means by getting him/her in only for the things that you actually need him/her.  this also enable you to book separate sessions with your engineer, as he/she's probably not able to book you a nice 3 hours chunks at a time.  more on that later. now... here's the important thing to consider- these tapes are usually request for 'pre-screening,' meaning if you PASS, you may be granted a live audition round. now, why would they ask you to ...

tis the time of the year where many people face a horrid event: making audition tapes.  well, now a few asks for DVDs/youtube uploads. how times have changed! if you thought filling out applications were difficult, i am glad, as making a demo should really be a nice experience- difficulty is optional, not required.  however, it does help to prepare oneself to the daunting ask of making a demo. i sat in to play. to accompany. to produce. to record. to boost morales. so here it is, a few tips. first, figure out who wants what: each school will have particular requirements for selection of repetoire and preferred format.  read it carefully  and if you are applying to multiple schools, do make a mastersheet: 1. due date for application/upload: 2. school/program/preferred teacher: 3. format requested: CD? DVD? mp3s? youtube? 3. repertoire required: now that youve made a mastersheet, go get a monthly calendar, print one if you want. start marking the due dat...

voters line up before dawn at washington mill elemantary school,  near mount vernon in fairfax county, VA, tuesday, nov 6 2012  (AP Photo/j. scott applewhite) 12:55am, 07 november 2012. romney came up the podium and made his speech. how many ears did it reach? how many hearts did it touch? many. supporters. oppositions. bystanders. it was not the victory speech he wrote. but perhaps this was greater speech than the one he wanted. to believe in america. to believe in principles. to be a real citizen. this was one of the ugliest and bloody political battles in recent times (especially for -1.5 years). along with americans, the world watched: people ran from one side to another, swayed and swayed, lost, confused and angered, looking for unreal solutions, fix-alls. pressurized pot of america. it was campaign season full of frustration and word games, fuelled through data/media processing/manipulation.  it was fought hard, nothing spared, a mil...

h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAF8D0ugyVk as we give up an hour of a day, the official 'sinking' into the depth began last night. right after samhein and hurricane sandy, i cant help but to think this autumn was brutal. beautiful but brutal. as if the bright reds of fading trees can share so much with torn flesh of a dying animal, blood leaving the body, eyes hazing over the last bit of breath. perhaps things look even more gruesome when juxtaposed with brilliance of life- it is the death of youth that is tragic and beautiful, not death of the old. there has been too much drama in monkey life, right from the start of september. and it is showing no sign of ending. it is almost sad that i do not possess the courage or the strength to write publicly about all the issues that has came up and that has left marks.  is it cowardice or is it the right political move? i cannot tell them apart anymore, not at this point.  all i know is that it is not realistic t...