Dave Lalama...Day 6: My ACTUAL Last Workshop

Now I can say I've had my final workshop with Dave (sadly). We've covered a lot of ground in the past 5 sessions and we covered a lot of ground today. Boy, do I have a lot to practice this summer! Which is good, since I'll be spending six weeks working at an intense music camp. I always know I have to practice, but it's hard when I don't know exactly what to practice. When someone flat-out gives you exercises and scales to practice, at least you have a jumping off point. So yes, I have a lot to practice, but it's reassuring to know where to start. I'm still getting the hang of diatonic sevenths in all twelve keys, and then I'll move on to diatonic sevenths in all minor keys. Then I have to master the whole-half diminished scale, and then the half-whole diminished scale. I look forward to the day where I am fluent in every key, and Dave's teachings and advice will help me get there.

My First Shot at a Manifesto

Here's a first draft of my College Manifesto. What I wrote applies to my life as a music major, as well as my life in general, as a person. Here it is!

1. Exercise discipline by practicing/studying music for at least two hours a day, or more if possible.
2. Finish everything I start.
3. Approach all tasks with bold optimism; be less skeptical/sarcastic and more positive and friendly.
4. Take advantage of every opportunity that I am presented with.
5. Do not judge anyone or anything too quickly.
6. Make sacrifices when necessary; do not let anything get in the way of achieving my goals (e.g. make a social sacrifice to practice/study instead of go out with friends).
7. Be auto-didactic; do more and learn more than only what is required.
8. If another artist is better than I am, take it as a challenge rather than discouragement; use it as motivation to improve.
9. Find value in every educational experience.
10. Be open-minded, outgoing, and honest.
11. Spend money only when necessary; do not spend frivolously.
12. Make no excuses; get the job done.
13. Allow myself a little time to relax each day.
14. Remember that I chose this career to follow my bliss; remember that I love what I am doing and should enjoy it.

Dave Lalama...Day 5

Much to my dismay, today was my last workshop with Dave; I won't be here next Thursday because of the A.P. Lit exam. But this series of workshops has been fruitful; we covered a lot of material and I know what I need to practice. I can now say that I understand the form of a rhythm changes far better than I did before. As far as what I need to practice before college (and for the rest of my life, I suppose): continue studying piano, master diatonic exercises ascending and descending in all keys, really "know" all key signatures by playing the scales all different ways until they're engraved in my mind.

Dave Lalama...Day 4

Another eventful workshop. The workload is getting more challenging, which is a good thing, of course. We're intensely examining the rhythm changes form; I understand all of the roman numerals and why each chord functions the way it does. The only thing that's still confusing me is these secondary chords, like V of IV and VII of V...I understand what they mean, but when Dave asks me to explain the function of the chords "Ebmaj7, E7b5, D-7) it takes me a minute to figure it out, so I need to be able to grasp that concept quicker. Dave gave me two important books to buy (Jazz Improvisation by Scott. D Reeves and The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine) so I plan to buy those ASAP and just shed all the material and exercises in them until they're burnt into my brain. And even though I'm a sax player, I need to study Bach and classical theory, because that does have its influence on jazz, and as Dave said, "If Bach were alive in the 50s, he would've been Bud Powell."

Dave Lalama...Day 3

Today's workshop was fantastic! I was skeptical at first, but it's getting more challenging and I'm definitely learning new things. We covered a lot of material; we did ii V I's in a few keys and improvised over them using only the bebop scale of the V chord, then we cycled them, switching keys rapidly; it was a good challenge that required me to think quickly, while at the same time listening to see if Jack was comping with the major 9th or the minor 9th extension, so I would know which one to play. Then we applied this to the B section of Scrapple from the Apple, which is basically a series of dominant 7th chords, since it's a rhythm changes.

What I need to do:
-work on connecting phrases over the bar line when soloing with bebop scales in the B section
-write out a one-chorus solo for Scrapple
-pick some new tunes to work on

Dave Lalama...Day 2

I'm still struggling with descending diatonic triads and sevenths, but I've been practicing it in the two keys we're doing it in. Aside from the workshop though, just for my own musicianship, I have to learn these exercises in all 12 keys. We read two Bird tunes...Scrapple from the Apple and My Little Suede Shoes. We're working on soloing by "writing sentences" as we solo and "making melodies." I don't want to say I'm not challenged, because I still can't do the descending triads and sevenths perfectly; I'm by no means perfect. But I wouldn't mind more of a challenge, or just more material to work on in general. I feel like in the last series of workshops I did with Dave, we had more of an incentive because we were learning a bunch of Jobim tunes. Not only is Bossa Nova a totally different style of jazz, but those changes can be really difficult. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by the group we had last time...of course, I have nothing against anyone in this group, but the musical chemistry just isn't there. But part of the STAC code is no complaining, so I'll hope for the best and keep doing whatever Dave tells me to do!

My Project: Oil Painting

My project, suggested by Luke, is a very exciting new endeavor! I am oil painting for the first time. I'm accustomed to drawing; I've barely worked with acrylics or any kind of paint besides watercolors, so using oil paints is a whole new world. So, the more I work with this new medium, the better I will learn how to manipulate it. This week, I'd like to finish one oil painting...it will probably be a self-portrait.

Dr. Dave Lalama...Day 1

Dave was surprisingly nice today...maybe not "nice," but certainly less scary than usual, although he did throw around the word "Caucasian" several times. But I digress; I've gotten used to his cut-throat teaching style by now and I love it! Today was mostly an introduction for the new workshoppers and a review for me of some exercises we did with Dave two years ago. Regardless, it was great to review them because they are eternally useful. I can even feel how I've improved...I can do exercises in the workshop now that I couldn't do perfectly two years ago, and I intend to practice the ones I still struggle with. I need to be able to do ascending and descending diatonic triads and diatonic sevenths in all major keys. We also worked on a bit of ear training by learning a melody by ear.
Here's what I need to practice for our next session:
Scrapple from the Apple-learn the head and work on the changes
Dave's diatonic exercises in all keys

My Book Report-Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

I feel good about my presentation. Public speaking and presenting is a skill everyone will need in college and in life in general, so I'm glad I am able to speak and convey what I want to say coherently and charismatically without saying "like" or "um." I consider my presentation successful because I addressed the questions that we were required to address and I was able to explain, to the best of my ability, some very difficult and sophisticated concepts, such as Pirsig's "Metaphysics of Quality." I don't think five minutes is enough time to talk about such an important book that contains so much information, but of course, it would not have been fair if I were allotted more time than other presenters. So I packed all the information I could into those five minutes, and I believe I was successful in explaining the main ideas of the book. The PowerPoint was very effective; it helped me to stay on topic and change topic appropriately, to cite examples from the text, and to illustrate the most significant points.

Working Artist's Statement: Draft 2

I slept on it, reread it the next day, and made some revisions. Here's the second draft:

I have been playing music for ten years. Beginning first with the clarinet, I now also sing, play saxophone, guitar, and piano. I compose and play many genres of music, but my focus is jazz; I play jazz because it is a style unlike any other that contains structure and rules, but allows freedom and creativity at the same time. Organization is one of my core values, but as an artist, I also desire freedom and room to explore; I see jazz as the only music that grants me that possibility and through that mindset, my passion for it has developed. In addition, I play jazz because of its versatility; jazz contains sub-genres within itself, so it is nearly impossible to become bored with it. I aspire to follow my bliss and make a living as a professional jazz musician, playing gigs and composing original music. I play because I am compelled to be a performer; I must perform. In my work, I make decisions based off of what I feel needs to be improved to perfect the piece. I know that if there are imperfections in the piece, I will not be satisfied with the end result, so I find the most efficient ways to eliminate them.

I am concerned with and interested in ethnicity and the intimacy that it results it. My studies of American jazz, gypsy music, and bossa nova reflect my desire to be part of a group whose members identify with each other through a common heritage. Although I am most often playing other people’s music and not my own, I seek to convey the relationships of melodies, instruments, and musicians with each other, and how these relationships make the song special. Since I am not only a musician, but an actress, a visual artist, and a writer, ethnicity is a recurring theme in all of my work, ranging from writing a musical revolving around the mafia to using foreign accents in theatre improvisation.

I usually work on several pieces concurrently. My current work has been preparing for college auditions by recording a demo in a studio and practicing jazz standards and transcriptions for live auditions. Currently, I have also been working on scoring my second children’s musical with the help of other musicians and writers. Rather than repeating something that everyone has already heard, I aim to make a bold statement with all of my work, giving me a sense of accomplishment and recognition.

WORKING Artist's Statement

Mind you...this is a work in progress. Anyone's feedback and constructive criticism would be very much appreciated, so please, I encourage you to comment! Here goes:

I have been playing music for ten years; most of my life. Beginning first with the clarinet, I now also sing, play saxophone, guitar, and piano. I compose and play many genres of music, but my focus is jazz; I play jazz because it is a style unlike any other that contains structure and rules, but allows freedom and creativity at the same time. Organization is one of my core values, but as an artist, I also desire freedom and room to explore; I see jazz as the only music that grants me that possibility and through that mindset, my passion for it has developed. In addition, I play jazz because of its versatility; jazz contains sub-genres within itself, so it is nearly impossible to become bored with it. I aspire to follow my bliss and make a living as a professional jazz musician, playing gigs, composing original music, and perhaps teaching at a university.

In my work, I make decisions based off of what I feel needs to be improved to perfect the piece. I know that if there are imperfections in the piece, I will not be satisfied with the end result, so I find the most efficient ways to eliminate them. For example, if there is a difficult phrase in a piece of music that I am having trouble playing, I take it note by note, piece by piece and play it over and over again, starting slowly and then increasing the speed until I can play it perfectly. I select techniques such as this based on efficiency and their success in the past. When selecting a song to learn or even writing an original piece, I simply choose sounds that appeal to me and mesh well together.

I usually work on several pieces concurrently. My current work has been preparing for college auditions. In a sense, every practice session, private lesson, concert, and competition I ever played was preparation for recording my demo and applying to college for jazz performance. My demo is complete, but I am now preparing for live auditions. This is a challenge because I am stepping out of my comfort zone; I am no longer just playing for an evaluation or an audience, but to gain entry to colleges that will foster my pursuit of jazz as a career. Currently, I have also been working on scoring a children’s musical with the help of other musicians and writers. Writing songs for a musical is a challenge in and of itself because so many things are required of the songs; they must further the plot in some way by developing characters or relationships, giving exposition, or introducing key points in the plot. In addition, they must make sense as individual songs as well as within the context of the show. With all of my work, I aim to make a bold statement that will interest people, rather than repeating something they have already heard before, giving me a sense of pride, accomplishment, and recognition.

The Enneagram Test...again!

This is the second time I've taken the Enneagram Test...the first was two year's ago in STAC. Two years ago, my result was a 7. This time, one test told me I was a 1 and the other told me I was a 7. I feel as if I have some 1 traits, but I'm truly a 7 at heart. In regards to the 1, I'm certainly a perfectionist, I can be controlling, I have good work ethic and I can find pleasure in working hard on something I love. However, the description of a 1 as a whole doesn't shout "LEAHHHHH!!!!" to me. The description of a 7, however, does just that. I'm an enthusiast...imaginative, I often get caught up in situations I imagine. I get bored very easily...so much that I'll start a million projects at once and I may or may not finish them. I love to do everything...I'm very interdisciplinary, I suppose you could say. That's why I'm almost hesitant about what career to choose because I love doing so many things! I have a busy schedule and I like it; I plan, plan, plan, even if I'm not done with something, I'll plan for the next thing. I could go on and on...the description of the 7 in the packet pretty much says it all. So I suppose I'm now a 7 with a hint of 1...if that makes sense.

Working Artist's Statement

Three Core Values:
1) Organization
2) Recognition-people liking my art/performance, telling me I'm good
3) Feeling of productivity-getting things done, sense of accomplishment

Issues:
Heritage/ethnicity-I've always wanted to belong to culture or ethnic group other than "American." I'm jealous of people who speak another language at home and eat ethnic food and visit family in their home countries. This pops up a lot in my work and in my life. It is probably why I study/speak French and Spanish and desire to learn other languages, like German, Portuguese, and Russian; it's also why I want to study abroad and eventually live in Europe, so I can feel like I'm a part of those groups. I always use accents in improv; they're a good way to find a character. I'm also drawn to ethnically based arts. For example, I just saw the musical 'Ragtime' which hit me really hard; it even made me cry...coincidentally, it is about the stories of different ethnic groups in the early 1900s, such as Latvian-Jewish immigrants, WASPs, and African-Americans. Fiddler on the Roof is another favorite musical of mine...it's about Russian Jews, and I happen to be half Russian/Jewish. I listen to ethnic music; one of my favorite bands is Gogol Bordello-a multi-ethnic gypsy punk band, composed of immigrants from Eastern Europe. Jazz, the thing I'm pursuing, is totally ethnic; it's the music that African-Americans made for themselves. I also have a fascination with organized crime and the mafia, another group based on ethnicity and tied together by it; two of the works I've helped write this year involve it...in the movie "I Know a Guy," a girl asks the don of the mafia for a favor. In the children's musical Cassie and I have been working on, Vivian, the pigeon-girl, gets involved with the mafia when she has no other choice. So what does this say about me? I suppose that I want those feelings of closeness, support, love, and acceptance associated with being "ethnic"...nobody likes Americans anyway.

STAC Live

My last STAC Live has me feeling a bit nostalgic. For the four years I've been in STAC, all four STAC Lives I've participated in have been completely different from each other...some more successful than others, some more fun, some more disastrous. This year's is giving me mixed feelings...in a sense, it was very successful. This group works so great together, so we got a lot done and had a lot to present. However, the only negativity I can think of is the audience; as Luke said to me, they were flat-out hostile; it was really a challenge to get them to laugh or even have any kind of response at all...I've been in front of audiences a countless amount of times, but this is the first time I've gotten such a negative energy from them. Luke made an observation that never occurred to me before: STAC Live is kind of like a dog-and-pony show...we're just there to prove to a bunch of people who don't care that we're not a waste of time and that we're actually very productive and intelligent, when in reality, we shouldn't have to prove anything to anyone. Regardless, STAC Live has always been fun to me, and I personally like the performance version of it better than the participatory version we did last year. In summation, this year's STAC Live: eye-opening, surprising, and a little harsh, but enjoyable nevertheless.