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.