Category: Music

Going paperless in a paper-full music world

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Apple Products, Church Musician, Lifestyles, Music, Paperless, Planning Center, Spanish teacher, Teacher, Uncategorized

Woah! I haven’t made a post in forever!

As I shared in the last post, I left education and am now in a full time music position. Ever since I began last July, I have been “On-the go” a lot more. What do I mean with that? That I’m not necessarily in one spot every day as I was as a classroom teacher. This has made me think on how I could be more mobile. I’ve always been a fan of my iPads so I decided I needed to go the extra step.

In my last year of teaching, while I was teaching a great sheer number of students (more than 350 +), I began to use my iPads to minimize my paper trail. I began using my iPad to take attendance (Safari version of infinite campus), began using my wireless speakers and my Apple Music/Spotify from my iPad to use music for transitions, but most importantly, I could edit my documents using my iPad and Apple Pencil and it could sync with all of my apple products (iPhone X, 12.9, 10.5 iPads, and my MacBook Pro). I started using my Apple TV in my classroom to show my students what I saw from my iPad, etc.

Flash Forward from the end of the school year to now being a full time musician, I am constantly using Good Notes (I just updated to Good notes 5), ForScore for iPad, and my Church uses Planning Center’s Services, Groups, and People.

GoodNotes

GoodNotes is an app for iOS. It is essentially an electronic notebook just like EverNote, Notes Plus, etc. While you do have to pay for said app, (I believe it was 7.99) I completely recommend it. All of my documents can sync instantly through my devices, You can bookmark documents or pages in a document for easy access, export your notebook (or pages) to share with a colleague, and be able to make notes on the go. My favorite tools are the lasso tool, so that I can move items around and with the Apple Pencil 2’s handy double tap, I can change colors at will so that I can color code as I go (while not a huge deal to people… I love to color code).

Forscore

While I was apprehensive of this app at first, my best friend told me that I had to get it and after using it for almost a year, I completely understand why. Any music score that you have in PDF form can go directly to your ForScore app, if you have documents in a Dropbox, it can sync instantly, if you are an Apple user, you can scan in document through your notes app and then upload them to ForScore easily. In the app, you can highlight, color code (and we know now how much I like that), use a metronome while you are rehearsing, and record your music! It is so much better than having 5 different binders. As a Church musician which music changes from week to week, its good to have all of your music in one place. I do love that all of my music in one place. You can also make folders for each ensemble, and set lists for concerts, services, etc. I do love how quickly I can move music from Planning Center to my ForScore seamlessly.

Planning Center

Now, while I do not know the ins and outs of giant world of Planning Center and I am still learning how to use most of its uses, its great for any musician that wants to go paperless. While I mostly use the services portion of planning center (it lets you plan your service and add attachments, songs, and more) The “Songs” portion is simply put AWESOME. While our Contemporary Music Director knows how to work it way better than I do, you can do the following:

1. Add YouTube videos or any video to any song

2. Send email to musicians, request them for a service, send notifications and emails through the app, and send reminders about rehearsal, services, and performances.

3. Sync music and documents from CCLI./Song Select/or of your choosing. This automatically adds to any song a lead sheet and vocal part to whatever song you choose. Musicians can see the same document (CCLI/Song Select/Praise Charts, etc). If it’s a document that is not from CCLI or Song Select, you would need to upload it, but that is easy.

4. Easy Movement from Planning Center to ForScore. If you use an app like ForScore, you can send any score to ForScore and edit them (cross of repeats, notes for performance, etc) then you can upload this document to Planning Center and everybody can have the same notes.

While I know that there are many ways to go paperless and many more apps to use, these are the big three apps that I have used in the last 6 months as I began my full time music career. If you have any apps or ways you have gone paperless, let me know in the comments below!

From Light to Light- Wind

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Academia, Choir Music, gradschool, Music

Thin this silver cord like wisp of smoke
mere brush of breath against the face
ah!
I know I do not know…
and smile grateful into light
(mild clouds of myrrh the eagle soars
and hyms the heart of god)
and smile grateful
into
light

Text: Susan Palo Cherwien
Music: Aaron McDermind
Preformed: The National Lutheran Choir

http://aaronmcdermid.com/from-light-to-light/

Aria

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Music, Musical Poetry, Poetry/ Literature

In the cruel missing  where laughter and tears meet,
sing a song of despair
sing a song of agony
sing the aria of longing…

As the chords traveling to their neighboring keys, lost in the musical sea,
let the strings be your compass, and
guide you through the fog

Let the seasons change
the dust float in the wind
orange drizzling unto the coffee stained earth
grazing emerald fields

Regarding pink transparent clouds
I ponder your absence,
our plights,
the never ending colloquies,
and embraces astray by distance…

In the soul’s longing to be accord,
surround oneself in memories,
grasp the unwritten future
for it shall come anew

Under the transparent clouds
Above the mahogany earth, I shall be
in the drizzling withering orange florets
singing an aria for you.

Grad School Haiku

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Academia, gradschool, Music

Oh my God,
Too much work! I need sleep,
Jesus, take the baton!

Symphony as a Suicide Note

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Music

TImagehis is what people think of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony which he composed in 1893. Maybe it’s true since he died of cholera in November of 1893.  This Symphony is rich with drama, complex harmonies and enlightening melodies in the midst of chaos.

This symphony has four movements:
1. Adagio – Allegro ma non troppo
2. Allegro con grazia
3. Presto: Allegro molto vivace
4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso

If you listen to the symphony you can perceive the Tchaikovsky’s lament for his lover with his cross-motifs as well as the stressandos in the strings. Also in how the melodies shift from one instrument to another with the orchestra’s background chords stressing or giving depth to what the melody is trying to express.

Many historians have said that Tchaikovsky was a master in the “evolution & development of a motif or melody” and wholeheartedly agree. Maybe he wasn’t the best composer in a “strategical point of view” (where we can differentiate part A from part B), but this is the whole point of his music. This is where Tchaikovsky’s music blossoms.  Just as in his life, just as in his time period, his music reflects the chaos of life. The ups and downs. How everything overlaps. How everything starts harmonically and very elegantly and then it turns into nothing and everything at the same time.

Tchaikovsky’s music represents life itself. Not as other composers which is very structural (I’m looking at you Mozart) or too complex and have no time “to breathe” (as Bach’s fugas).  In short, Tchaikovsky’s music is simply beautifully complex just as life is. Or maybe I’m just a big Tchaikovsky fan.

 

 

I dreamt

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Music, Musical, Musical Poetry, Poetry/ Literature

I dreamt of us smiling without stopping
smiling with no problems
Alone. In peace
I dreamt of us. We were happy.
Away frm here, finally in our home.
I dreamt of you
of you and I
I dreamt and dreamt and I will dream without stopping
for this dream will become reality
I  won’t stop until I can achieve it
because together we’ll beat the odds
and together we shall triumph

I dreamt of the nights
the nights I cried for you
because you weren’t here
because you weren’t there
because distance is a bitch,
a bastard who robs us of our sleep
our peace
our calm
and with only a kiss…
a kiss, is all I need

I dreamt of you
alone, in the darkness
with the past, trying to escape
screaming,
crying
calling out for me…
and here I was
asking, begging
willing to sell my soul to the highest bidder
just so that I could be there & comfort you
so that I could be there & cover you
heal what ails you or
transfer it all to me
so that you can finally heal

And so, I dreamt
of your caress
I dreamt of how perfect you are
even though you say the opposite

I dreamt of you
I dreamt of me
of how perfect we are for each other
even though we fight
even though we know we’re not perfect
but in that imperfect-cy we are one
for I looked for you, and you to me
and finally,
we are together

I dreamt of us
of our future
even though it’s far away, time goes quickly luv
and we’ll finally have what we want:
A house.
Our company.
Our love.

I dreamt of us
of us, smiling without stopping
with problems, but fighting together
in peace

I dreamt of you, and we were happy
away from here
finally, in our home…

Traduction from “Soñé”
-mp

Un nouveau départ

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Lifestyles, Music, Musical, Musical Poetry, Uncategorized

This is the last post in the “Murmure dans le vent” series. Here, I shall expose the fourth & final movement of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major. The order in the series is as follows: “Murmure dans le vent”, “Dance for me”, and “Faithfully Unfaithful” 

Continue reading “Un nouveau départ” →

A speechless chorister

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Music, Uncategorized

Just press play.

Layers of sound & harmony

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Lifestyles, Music, Personal

What happens when you start losing your faith? What happens when your hope is fleeting? Sure. Some good things happen. But in comparison to the “bad” the “good”? Let’s just say that it looks pretty insignificant.  Then you find this piece. For me it’s not about the lyrics. Ok. It’s not just about the lyrics. The layers of sound. The harmonies. The constant movement between the voices. The intent. The motif. The way the melody fugues from voice to voice. Section to section. The way the Soprano hits one or two high notes… the notes the bass sing which are low, but they give a richness & depth towards the piece? 

The intention of the words? What the words truely want to evoke, the music conveys. The only “flaw” this audio has is the “t” is too marcatto. Other than that? This piece is perfect. You are immersed in layers upon layers of sound & harmony.

Text:

Nada Te Turbe
by Santa Teresa de Ávila
Music by:Jake Runestad

Nada te turbe;
nada te espante;
todo se pasa;
Dios no se muda,
la paciencia
todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene
nada le falta.
Solo Dios basta.

[Let nothing disturb you;
let nothing frighten you;
everything passes;
God never changes,
patience
obtains all things.
Whoever has God,
lacks nothing.

 

Faithfully unfaithful

by Boricua In the Midwest - Jose Clavell, posted in Music, Musical, Musical Poetry, Poetry/ Literature, Short Story

This is the second post in the “Murmure dans le vent” series. This post will be showcasing the third movement in Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade for strings” in C Major. I know I sort of cheated (jumping the second movement), BUT you know how the muse is… she eluded the second movement & something just clicked with the third one. Fret not, my dear reader! The second movement will come soon.

Continue reading “Faithfully unfaithful” →