Al's Classroom

Solo Piano...

2007-02-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

you all have them... please do not compare/contrast with your fellow classmates- they have theirs... you have yours... and i think it is important you write something now that is specifically influenced by your temp track.

for wednesday, please bring a full piano score version AND version with just melody and chord changes for mike lang, our pianist (who you should do a google search on so you can get to know him).

also, if you have any questions for robert kraft- please email me them asap.

Next assignment

2007-02-17T18:48:00.000-08:00

We have finished the band assignment and it was a tremendous success.

Everyone led the band with great energy and in terms of learning something new, well...

I think some people can now exhale about leading a band.

YEA!!!

Ok, so now I want you to go watch:

(you can download it here: http://alsrecordsandtapes.com/ucla/SOPUCLA.mov)

Come up with a solo piano piece.

All of you need to come up with a piece of temp music- Chopin, Ravel... SOMETHING...

and get ready to compose your own- after we pass the temp music around! (Brandon's idea- blame him!)

Week Three Wrap Up

2007-01-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Folks:

We have the files up for you to download here:

mini/green day

in this folder you will find:

- 3 songs by Green Day ("American Idiot," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and "Wake Me Up When September Ends")

- the MiniCooper commercial

Please remember- I do NOT want sound alikes.

I want you to be "informed" by the idea of what Green Day is- and then do your own themes.

To recap week three's lessons that we went over- here are some reminders:

SETTING UP A TEMPLATE ON THE SEQUENCER WHICH YOU CAN WORK WITH REPEATEDLY

USING LOGIC (AS AN EXAMPLE):
- IMPORTING MOVIE
o HOW TO GET DVDS/ QTS?
• CINEMATIZE IS A GOOD PROGRAM I RECOMMEBD TO MAKE QUICKTIME MOVIES FROM DVD

WE HAVE THE MOVIE IN- WHAT NOW
- FINDING OUT HOW LONG- HOW MANY BARS? WHAT IS THE TEMPO?
o TELL US STRUCTURE
o TEMPO
• SYNCHRONIZING (FINDING HIT POINTS/ETC.)
• Knowing your sounds

FINDING TOOLS INSIDE THIS TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT (THE ENVIRONMENT BEING FOR THIS EXAMPLE THE LOGIC SEQUENCER PROGRAM) THAT WORK FOR YOU
- HOW TO GET INFO INTO THE COMPUTER A MUST
o THE FACILITY OF UPLOADING/DOWNLOADING A MUST

THE BIG ISSUE: MAKING THIS ALL WORK FOR YOU.

NOW THAT WE HAVE THINGS SEY UP FROM THE SEQUENCER...

WHAT ARE YOUR EMPLOYERS ASKING YOU TO DO/ WHAT CAN YOU CONVINCE THEM OF?

The Green Day/MiniCooper example is our first shot at finding this balance.

How do we incorporate what the employer is asking for (the conceit here being that they asked/temped in music from Green Day)- and how do you please yourself/ME(!) by being original and contributing new, brilliant work into the world.

Go get em, folks. Email me if there are any questions.

Week One Wrap Up

2007-01-11T18:55:00.001-08:00

Hey all:

a few things:

the syllabus is available for download here:

in this folder, you can also find a download of the richard bellis article which i passed out yesterday- sorry it is seperated into 7 different pages.

also, there is some listening included here:

In the folder is the piece we heard from Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota's score from "La Dolce Vita" (note how Rota takes his themes and uses them in different ways) and Debussy's "La Mer"- which is widely regarded as one of the greatest orchestral works of the twentieth century. It is a masterpiece of suggestion and subtlety in its rich depiction of the ocean, which combines unusual orchestration with daring impressionistic harmonies. The work has proven very influential.

Go listen- and please send me your stuff asap.