Mark's Music School Diary.
- Thread starter Mark Wein
- Start date
Thanks
I definitely am proud but it also feels like "put up or shut up" time. I need to make some changes to continue to provide for my family and this is the road to doing it. When I was a kid it was easy to blow stuff off but with a mortgage, a wife and two children the drive is a little stronger to crush whatever is in front of me because at the end of the day it is to provide for them.
Don't think that you're going to sit around the house and play video games during the break, Mister!
:P
It's been fun watching. It's amazing to see how much it takes to get a degree in music.
I kind of assumed that you would ace a lot of it, but I do realize that, even though you know what you're doing, it's still a lot of work and there is still room to learn.
Yeah. I have a ton of practicing to do before next semester and a lot of life to catch up on around the house.
Keep in mind that I'm only in the first semester. Apparently music theory and history classes get brutal a few semesters down the line.
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Thanks!Congratulations Mark...thank you for sharing this with us...I have been nothing but impressed with your dedication to this and have very much enjoyed following along...
Enjoy your break...
And thanks to everyone who comments and follows. Having a bit of an audience keeps me on my toes a bit.
ok. Today is the first day of winter break for me so it means I can start practicing for next semester. Here is the "menu" for my next jury:
2nd Semester Jury
TO ENTER THE 393 LEVEL:
393 level on the instrument and be able to improvise on tunes with secondary dominant relationships, borrowed chords and modulations. (see sample list below).
• Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor and Jazz Melodic Minor in broken 3rds and diatonic triads.
• All modes of Major Scale, Bebop-Dominant, and Diminished scales.
• Diminished & Augmented triads, Major, dominant and minor ninth chords.
Be able to sight read more complex meters (including 5/4, 7/4, 5/8) in any key with moderately complex syncopations
Transcription
2nd Semester (293 Level)
I Love You
Just Friends
Days of Wine and Roses
Four
In a Sentimental Mood
Green Dolphin St.
Billie’s Bounce
All The Things You Are
1st Semester
Body and Soul
Have you Met Miss Jones
Au Privave
Stella by Starlight
Lazy Bird
Night and Day
Woody'n'you
The jury I just did got me from the 100 to the 200 level (freshman to sophmore essentially) and also got me into the degree program. This semester I am going to try and jump to the 300 level so that I can do a junior recital next year and a senior recital the year after. It looks like just doing the music history alone is going to make this a 3 1/2 year journey to get my Bachelors of Music degree before I can start the two year Masters' program. If I can get everything except for that last semester of history done by the end of the third year I'm hoping maybe I can start some of the grad stuff early. probably not, but you never know the way they do things here.
In order to graduate withe the B.M. degree you need to know 50 standards on their list. I'm pushing to have 40 earned by my jury just because I'm also trying to get gigs outside of school and you need to know some repertoire to do that. Here is my list of the "school" songs:
1. Now’s the Time
2. Doxy
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Mack the Knife
5. Equinox
6. Bag’s Groove
7. Blue Bolivar Blues
8. Blues by Five
9. So What/Impressions
10. Take the “A” Train
11. Maiden Voyage
12. I Got Rhythm
13. Beautiful Love
14. All Of Me
15. Summertime
16. My Funny Valentine
17. Blue Bossa
18. There Will Never Be Another You
19. All Blues
20. Tenor Madness
21. Satin Doll
22. Misty
23. I Love You
24. Just Friends
25. Days of Wine and Roses
26. Four
27. In a Sentimental Mood
28. Green Dolphin St.
29. Billie’s Bounce
30. All The Things You Are
31. Body and Soul
32. Have you Met Miss Jones
33. Au Privave
34. Stella by Starlight
35. Lazy Bird
36. Night and Day
37. Woody'n'you
38. Recordame
39. Girl from Ipanema
40. Stella by Starlight
I'm also hoping that it makes the years I need to prepare recitals for a little easier because those will also have all of the upper division theory, history and muscianship. If I frontload myself now theoretically it should be a little less stressful down the road when I actually AM being challenged by the work.
2nd Semester Jury
TO ENTER THE 393 LEVEL:
393 level on the instrument and be able to improvise on tunes with secondary dominant relationships, borrowed chords and modulations. (see sample list below).
• Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor and Jazz Melodic Minor in broken 3rds and diatonic triads.
• All modes of Major Scale, Bebop-Dominant, and Diminished scales.
• Diminished & Augmented triads, Major, dominant and minor ninth chords.
Be able to sight read more complex meters (including 5/4, 7/4, 5/8) in any key with moderately complex syncopations
Transcription
2nd Semester (293 Level)
I Love You
Just Friends
Days of Wine and Roses
Four
In a Sentimental Mood
Green Dolphin St.
Billie’s Bounce
All The Things You Are
1st Semester
Body and Soul
Have you Met Miss Jones
Au Privave
Stella by Starlight
Lazy Bird
Night and Day
Woody'n'you
The jury I just did got me from the 100 to the 200 level (freshman to sophmore essentially) and also got me into the degree program. This semester I am going to try and jump to the 300 level so that I can do a junior recital next year and a senior recital the year after. It looks like just doing the music history alone is going to make this a 3 1/2 year journey to get my Bachelors of Music degree before I can start the two year Masters' program. If I can get everything except for that last semester of history done by the end of the third year I'm hoping maybe I can start some of the grad stuff early. probably not, but you never know the way they do things here.
In order to graduate withe the B.M. degree you need to know 50 standards on their list. I'm pushing to have 40 earned by my jury just because I'm also trying to get gigs outside of school and you need to know some repertoire to do that. Here is my list of the "school" songs:
1. Now’s the Time
2. Doxy
3. Autumn Leaves
4. Mack the Knife
5. Equinox
6. Bag’s Groove
7. Blue Bolivar Blues
8. Blues by Five
9. So What/Impressions
10. Take the “A” Train
11. Maiden Voyage
12. I Got Rhythm
13. Beautiful Love
14. All Of Me
15. Summertime
16. My Funny Valentine
17. Blue Bossa
18. There Will Never Be Another You
19. All Blues
20. Tenor Madness
21. Satin Doll
22. Misty
23. I Love You
24. Just Friends
25. Days of Wine and Roses
26. Four
27. In a Sentimental Mood
28. Green Dolphin St.
29. Billie’s Bounce
30. All The Things You Are
31. Body and Soul
32. Have you Met Miss Jones
33. Au Privave
34. Stella by Starlight
35. Lazy Bird
36. Night and Day
37. Woody'n'you
38. Recordame
39. Girl from Ipanema
40. Stella by Starlight
I'm also hoping that it makes the years I need to prepare recitals for a little easier because those will also have all of the upper division theory, history and muscianship. If I frontload myself now theoretically it should be a little less stressful down the road when I actually AM being challenged by the work.
Nothing to do with the music school part of this but my GE class professor (American Character for the "diversity" requirement) just sent back my final essays and I'm getting a 98% for that class. As far as I can tell (unless I bombed the music theory test which I doubt) I'm getting A's across the board. TAKE THAT 1980's MARK WEIN SLACKER STUDENT!!!!!
My friend Martin brought by some charts for a gig we are playing next week. I'm subbing for the guitarist in his jazz group (kind of fusiony/Zappa) and I've never really played music like this before. The really nice thing is that I was able to sight read the charts in time with the recordings with just a few mistakes which is a huge improvement for me.
We discussed the left hand technique video I posted this week and he had a few suggestions for me (which were in line with the comments @Flamencology made in the thread in String Theory) and he gave me a few exercises to try. If I get a second today I'll make another video and demonstrate but after practicing what he gave me I'm seeing where it will improve. Even though Martin is a bassist he is also a pretty good guitarist and teaches classical guitar at Cerritos College so his input is always really helpful.
He also gave me a few strategies for playing over ii-V's that I'm going to work with today.
We discussed the left hand technique video I posted this week and he had a few suggestions for me (which were in line with the comments @Flamencology made in the thread in String Theory) and he gave me a few exercises to try. If I get a second today I'll make another video and demonstrate but after practicing what he gave me I'm seeing where it will improve. Even though Martin is a bassist he is also a pretty good guitarist and teaches classical guitar at Cerritos College so his input is always really helpful.
He also gave me a few strategies for playing over ii-V's that I'm going to work with today.
Flamencology
You don't deserve koa.
Um, no.
I'll hear about new albums from other students but not from the faculty. Granted, I'm at a point in the program where they want me to learn and understand classic jazz but I'm definitely doing my own listening too.
sonik
Motor City Madman
Grats!
I hated my sight singing classes.
I mean I appreciated the educational value, but ungh. Do you have to sing solo in front of everybody?
The worst part though is having to listen to all the people who should probably have their vocal chords surgically removed for the betterment of humankind.
I hated my sight singing classes.
I mean I appreciated the educational value, but ungh. Do you have to sing solo in front of everybody?
The worst part though is having to listen to all the people who should probably have their vocal chords surgically removed for the betterment of humankind.
Yeah. Except for the final every test was in class in front f everyone. I AM getting a performance degree so I should have to perform.
It's interesting to hear different students sing though. You have the voice majors who should be (and usually are) better at this than the rest of us. You have performance majors who are trying hard but might not be very good at the audiation component of it and then you have the music ed people, who don't give a shit.