ISME Beijing 2010

A wonderful diversion. Last week we had the pleasure of presenting at and attending the International Music Education Society (ISME) 29th World Conference in Beijing.

Along with others from the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, myself and colleague Scott Harrison presented a research paper entitled, Reflecting on reflection-in-action: Supervising practice-based doctorates in music.

What an incredible – and gigantic city! The culture, the friendliness and the wonderful music and art will never be forgotten.

Below, here's a slideshow with images from around Beijing, from the conference & music underscore from the spectacular Chinese opening ceremony.

Byron Bay BluesFest 2010

Just break from a short Easter trip in beautiful Byron Bay (Australia's most easterly point), and spending a few days at the BluesFest.

Must have ben one of the best line-ups we've seen for some time at the Festival, now in its 14th year with many, many stages and acts to choose from . . .

A favourite with everyone was Dr John and the Lower 911:

And the amazing fingers of Joe Bonamassa:

And many more, just a few here:

The wonderful, The Men they Couldn't Hang (that's Chris Spedding on guitar).

Peter Green (yep, he's still doing it!)

Gypsy Kings.

Lyle Lovett and just a great band.

Béla Fleck's truly jaw-dropping African Project, featuring Oumou Sangarè.

The ever-ready John Mayall & band.

Cyril Neville and Galactica.

Buddy Guy.

But my personal favourite was Jeff Beck . . . in somewhat of a renaissance mode . . with Jason Rebello on keys, Rhonda Smith (from Prince) on bass & vocals, and Narada Michael-Walden on drums.

Jeff Beck's hands . . . the most unusual technique, but oh so expressive, all flesh, no pick . . must come from all that work in the garage with hot rods . .

This particular evening, we were treated to an encore with guest Imelda May . . just a terrific and inspiring artist (who was also performing with her band at Blues Fest). In this shot, they were performing a tribute to the recently passed away Les Paul, doing How High the Moon, and featuring Jeff performing on an historic 1954 Gibson Les Paul Oxblood.

More pics from the Byron Bay Blues Fest here. Enjoy.

A Critical Commons

criticalcommons.org for 'fair and critical participation in media culture'.

A Glorious Dawn

A lovely piece from colorpulsemusic.com: A musical tribute to Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking: 'A Glorious Dawn - Cosmos remixed'. Almost all samples and footage are taken from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series.

Lyrics:

[Sagan]
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch
You must first invent the universe

Space is filled with a network of wormholes
You might emerge somewhere else in space
Some when-else in time

The sky calls to us
If we do not destroy ourselves
We will one day venture to the stars

A still more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise
A morning filled with 400 billion suns
The rising of the milky way

The Cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths
Of exquisite interrelationships
Of the awesome machinery of nature

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

But the brain does much more than just recollect
It inter-compares, it synthesizes, it analyzes
it generates abstractions

The simplest thought like the concept of the number one
Has an elaborate logical underpinning
The brain has it's own language
For testing the structure and consistency of the world

[Hawking]
For thousands of years
People have wondered about the universe
Did it stretch out forever
Or was there a limit

From the big bang to black holes
From dark matter to a possible big crunch
Our image of the universe today
Is full of strange sounding ideas

[Sagan]
How lucky we are to live in this time
The first moment in human history
When we are in fact visiting other worlds

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean
Recently we've waded a little way out
And the water seems inviting

Longplayer

Came across this intriguing project on Daily Dose (courtesy of Nora Farrell):

Longplayer combines an interactive sculpture and a systems-theory experiment in the service of a 1,000-year-long musical composition.



An ambitious project for anyone who ever wondered about humanity’s ability to pursue trans-generational art, Longplayer was launched in 1999 by composer (and Pogues member) Jem Finer and an advisory board that included Brian Eno. In 2000, the project was turned over to the Longplayer Trust, a compendium of experts dedicated to its preservation until the 2999 completion of its first cycle.

Volume

Just back from Melbourne, where I came across VOLUME, a fantastic installation in Federation Square.

The installation is the brain-child of the UK's United Visual Artists, known for their work with U2, Massive Attack, The Arctic Monkeys and others. With a soundtrack arranged by Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, this incredible fusion of light and sound is realized through a forest of luminous LED columns which light up Federation Square.

The columns respond spectacularly to human movement and visitors walk, crawl, jump and dance their way through this interactive installation.

The first installation was performed in the UK at the Victoria & Albert Royal Museum's John Madejski Garden last winter 2006, with a wonderful video posted here:


VOLUME is part of a series in 'The Light in Winter', Federation Square's annual winter festival for Melbourne centred around light. Directed by Robyn Archer, The Light in Winter brings together artists, designers and communities to explore their ideas of light, enlightenment and hope.

For more 2009 Light in Winter events, see their program, here.

APAR (Artistic Practice as Research) Projects

A couple of ongoing projects at the QCRC (Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre) here in Brisbane. Both form part of the work within the Centre's 'Artistic Practice as Research' cluster.

The Art of Interpretation
A collaboration between Stephen Emmerson (pianist) and Paul Draper (sound producer), this excerpt from Schoenberg’s 3 Piano Pieces Op. 11 draws upon on various interpretive strategies including analysis, reflection, and the use of Schoenberg’s paintings to highlight certain aspects of the performance and recording. The project is based on the premise that a recording is not ‘music’ itself, rather, is a virtual artefact through which an interpretation can be manipulated and enhanced through deliberate interference in the recording and post-production processes.



The piano itself was tracked using some sixteen microphones spaced at different positions throughout the hall which enabled ‘multiple perspectives’ to be attained, then in post-production was 'vertically arranged' and through the use of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in ways similar to that of orchestration. In contrast to the usual practice where classical piano recordings maintain a single sound and perspective, this project explores the ways in the researcher's interpretation of the music can be expanded and communicated through these manipulations of the sound recordings.

Foreign Objects
This is an excerpt from the new album 'Foreign Objects' by Vanessa Tomlinson and Erik Griswold aka 'Clocked Out', presenting new compositions that pay homage to two giants of contemporary music: Terry Riley, the master of expanded space, and Morton Feldman, the master of intricate patterns.



Produced by Paul Draper, after spending a week of recording in the IMERSD studios the project then moved directly into a live concert event in the Ian Hangar Recital Hall to premier the works, and where these performances were also recorded remotely in IMERSD. The final results are arrangements, edits and integrated sound productions that combine both environments, where the musicians extend the sound landscape of the keyboard through prepared piano to the world of ‘found object’ percussion. Mixing bowls meld into cardboard preparations, roofing tiles into buzzing screws, toy piano into miniature bells.

The QCRC also maintains a Vimeo Group at vimeo.com/groups/qcrc/videos

Kodak Zi6

We've just purchased a couple of Kodak Zi6s for our research centre at the Queensland Conservatorium. Terrific little unit that shoots in HD, directly to SD-Ram in H.264 format.

Comes with software for Windows, records .movs and so can also be easily used in Apple iPhoto or iMovie. USB flip out allows easy direct transfer to computer and on to web. In this case I've created a Vimeo group at http://vimeo.com/groups/qcrc

'The cast' of our recent Musical Futures events.

Great for interviews, PhD projects, ethnographies, etc.

Inside Music

New public lecture series commences this year at the Con. Entitled Inside Music, these intimate presentations by Conservatorium lecturers and guest artists invite the audience to explore what happens ‘behind the scenes’ as musicians prepare prepare their work. From 11 Mar 2009 in the Queensland Conservatorium's Ian Hanger Recital Hall, comes these thoughts from Gerardo Dirié:


Gerardo Dirié is currently Head of Music Studies at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane, Australia.

He has been active in bringing Latin American music to a wider audience, not only through his work as composer and educator, but also as Assistant Director of Indiana University's Latin American Music Center, first under the direction of Venezuelan composer Ricardo Lorenz, and currently directed by Venezuelan conductor Dr. Carmen Téllez. He assists orchestras, soloists, ensembles and scholars from around the world in programming and studying Latin American music. For more about Gerardo and contact information, see www.gerardodirie.net

Playing for Change

I came across this wonderful video, a kind of remix of street musicians-meets web2. See what you think?



Turns out this is from a series by an organisation, Playing For Change: Peace Through Music, the first of many songs around the world being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic "Stand By Me by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it traveled the globe:

Can't help but notice though, no activity yet in the Oceania region. Hope we may be able to get involved in Australia, in music, the arts and the Asia Pacific. Terrific project.

And so to 2009 . .

Just back from some leave spent in beautiful New Zealand.

Some more pics here at mobile me, New Zealand North Island: Bay of Islands, Auckland, Napier, Gisborne, Rotrua, Copthorne.

Upcoming concerts calendar:

Greatly looking forward to Jeff Beck touring Australia after a very long absence. He's in Brisbane next week (29 January), accompanied by wonderful musicians, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, David Sancious on keyboards and the sensational young Australian bassist, Tal Wilkenfeld.



In February, Grammy Award winning pianist-composer-bandleader Chick Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin tour Australia and New Zealand - joining forces for the first time, I believe, since they were both members of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew era band over forty years ago. Playing music with Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride and Vinne Colaiuta, the Chick Corea and John McLaughlin Five Peace Band should be amazing. Unfortunately, not coming to Brisbane, but at the Sydney Opera house, on 20 February.



Have a good year, everyone!

Robot Conducts Orchestra

Weird stuff from the web. Honda recently dispatched its miniature humanoid robot Asimo to conduct the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The concert took place on May 13, with a master class for students from the Detroit School for the Arts.

The robot's performance was part of a Honda initiative to improve music education (!), donating $1 million to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's "Power of Dreams" educational fund, partnering with the orchestra to offer classes and performances for young musicians.

Apparently, Honda will also partner with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra over the next five years to offer training in string instruments, a scholarship program, an educational concert series, support for live classical performances and a fundraiser.

Trent Reznor - Nine Inch Nails Ghosts Film Festival

Trent Razor is another major artist who's dropped out of recording company control. Similar to Radiohead, he released Ghosts I-IV in editions ranging from free downloads to a $300 box-set. Now Reznor has asked the web at large to create music videos for the album at YouTube. Here's Trent explaining the ideas in a YouTube video:

We'll be gathering the entries we feel are particularly exceptional and highlighting them. There are no rules to this - be as creative as you like. Create a music video, or a short film, or something completely abstract. Use only one track from the album, or use multiple tracks. Join this group and add your video to submit it to the film festival. Some tips and guidelines for video submissions:

• Prepare your content in the highest resolution you can, and hang on to the original files, in case we want to use your video for something beyond the scope of YouTube.

• This project will be going on for quite a while (in 2008), so take your time. Please don't just submit simple image slideshows.

• This isn't a place to submit your musical remixes or vocal performances that don't include any video content - if you have audio-only creations using Ghosts music, please contribute those to http://remix.nin.com

Winners chosen by the band will be featured in a special YouTube section in the coming months.

Gern Leonhard's Music 2.0

Author and Media Futurist Gerd Leonhard  has released his new book, Music 2.0, a collection of essays about the next generation of music making, distribution and values systems. The printed version is available for €39.95,  or can be downloaded in an unprotected PDF format. No registration is required, and the Creative Commons license encourages that the book be freely shared on the web. Donations may also be made.


In the following movie, Leonhard talks about his plans for 2008: the Music 2.0 book, his 3rd book "Open is King - the future of Media beyond Control", his influences and the continuing extension of his work into advertising and branding.

Developing Creativity

I'm presently reading a terrific book, Developing Creativity in Higher Education: An Imaginative Curriculum. An edited collection of works from all sorts of backgrounds, with insightful opening and closing chapters by one of the editors, Prof Norman Jackson, the Director of the UK's SCEPTrE  (Surrey Centre for Excellence in Professional Training and Education) at the University of Surrey.

I was drawn especially to this chapter by Paul Tosey, cutely entitled Interfering with the interference. Although Tovey is from the Management discipline, he provides thought-provoking analogies from the creative arts and music areas to make excellent points: He suggests that "creativity is triggered by constraining events or circumstances", and that this view of creativity "does not entail a romantic notion of total artistic freedom in which constraints are negative". He says, "Necessity is the mother of emergence as well of invention".

Hmmm . .  provides me with a whole new perspective on all those undergraduates cramming for exams or leaving projects right 'till the last minute.  He also puts forward the metaphor -- "change as drama" . . .  as they say here in Australia, 'I reckon!'

So, obviously I'm recommending this thought provoking book to those of you engaged with teaching in the so-called 'creative' disciplines – or as Erica McWilliam asks more widely – Is creativity teachable? Conceptualising the creativity/pedagogy relationship in higher education.

Tosey leaves us with this wonderful musical anecdote:

"A well-known Congolese drummer, TaTitos, was asked how new compositions are created in that culture. TaTitos replied that there are three methods. In the first, a new piece of music is presented to someone in their dreams; in the second, musicians notice and build on mistakes they make while they are playing and generate new variations from those errors; in the third, someone consciously constructs a new composition. However, TaTitos added, there are no known examples of successful composition using the third method" (pp 29-30).

I'd also like to add, 'Technique, (dare I say) Craft and Experience', a discussion that so often seems to be missing. But that's a story for another day . . . In the meantime, I came across this fascinating presentation by Aniruddh Patel, called 'Music and the Mind':

Merry Xmas music lovers everywhere

PLAY

Courtesy of Elizabeth & Laurent at badaboo.free.fr

2007: The Year The Music Industry Broke?

It's been an interesting year for music biz: MTV just published the first installment of a  three-part series on the future of music, &  take a look back at 'what went wrong' and when in this article:  "Madonna Ditches Label, Radiohead Go Renegade: The Year The Music Industry Broke". MTV also posted this video & interviews with various industry notables:

The Future Of Music: What's Next? Experts weigh in on what the future holds, what makes a star and how the music industry changed this year. Are Things Really That Bad? Album sales might be down, but downloads, ringtones, ticket sales and other aspects of the industry are booming.

And WIRED magazine posted this  interview with Doug Morris, CEO of Universal: "Universal's CEO Once Called iPod Users Thieves. Now He's Giving Songs Away" with another terrific article from David Byrne, Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars (highly recommended - after all, as he says, 'what is music, anyway?': 

• In the past, music was something you heard and experienced — it was as much a social event as a purely musical one. Before recording technology existed, you could not separate music from its social context. Epic songs and ballads, troubadours, courtly entertainments, church music, shamanic chants, pub sing-alongs, ceremonial music, military music, dance music — it was pretty much all tied to specific social functions. It was communal and often utilitarian. 
  

Are we confusing 'recordings' with 'music'? Alternatively, what about the 'art' in 'virtual' record production themselves (eg, seminal works & 'paintings' like Sgt. Peppers,Dark Side of the Moon,etc). Jonathan Sterne's 'The Audible Past' (over at Sterneworks) is a great read - puts the very recent technological history of music into some perspective. 

Createworld 2007 keynote

This is an excerpt of the Music 2.0 keynote address on 26 November, to the Apple University Consortium (AUC) CreateWorld 2007 conference. The presentation features a recent case study in the Fullbright-supported iOrpheus: Art Among Us project (aka, the iPod Opera), held on the South Bank Parklands in August 2007. This involved the work of US Internet music pioneers William Duckworth and Nora Farrell, as well as students and staff from the Queensland Conservatorium and the Griffith Film School.  

A 10 minute documentary film made about the iOrpheus events was screened on state-of-the-art projection and 5.1 surround sound systems, followed by a live cross to New York to iChat with William and Nora. A transcript of the lecture and interviews is available at the Radio IMERSD site.

iOrpheus – The Movie

iOrpheus – the Movie was produced and directed by Masters (Honours) student Paul Davidson who led Griffith Film School student crews as part of a Community Engagement project. 5.1 sound production for DVD was completed in IMERSD by myself as part of a Music Technology (Honours) research training project. The film documents iOrpheus: Art Among Us (the iPod Opera), a concept developed by New York-based composer and internet music pioneer William Duckworth together with co-artistic director and technology developer Nora Farrell. Bill was a visiting scholar with Griffith University from June–August 2007 on a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant awarded for iOrpheus.

The project gratefully acknowledges the support of Griffith University’s DVC-Academic, Prof John Dewar, MacBook Pros from Apple Computer Australia, wearable sound systems from MusicLab, a state-of-the-art 5.1 surround sound PA system from Acoustic Technologies Electronics, and wireless network systems from Griffith Research Computing Services. Full production credits are listed over at the iOrpheus site.

The DVD can be ordered from the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre and also is part of the collection at the Australian Government's National Film & Sound Archive.

Music Two-point-zero

I presented a one hour public lecture for the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, entitled . The "idea of a music two-point-zero" represents some more thinking about the independent musician vs.big media conundrum, and gratefully draws on the work of Lawrence Lessig and Henry Jenkins

"Music two-point-zero:

How participatory culture is reclaiming knowledge,

power and value systems from the inside out"

The abstract goes like this:
In the last decade, the Internet has served to enable the explosion of social networking. From MySpace, to YouTube and Wikipedia, participatory culture has transformed value systems, undermined notions of authority and power, while simultaneously creating new pathways for autonomous creativity and innovation. In this lecture, Paul Draper discusses these phenomena and suggests a higher learning imperative for what might be considered ‘music 2.0’, that is, for independent musical craft set in authentic contexts which continue to redefine 21st century artistry.

The lecture is available as a PDF transcription, a streaming Quicktime movie and vodcast at Radio IMERSD, or from the Apple iTunes Store.