Death

No, nobody close to me physically died.  Rest easy.

This tiny little corner of the internet I call Pointless Tales on the Internet is slowly dying.  Actually, it's dying really quickly.  If you follow this blog (and I know there are people who do), you know of my terrible inactivity in the last two months.  And some of you that know me in person have asked me about that.

Indeed, it's dying.  But not because of lack of things to write about.  I could use the "I don't have time" excuse... But I can't really say that when the first draft of each post is usually written at 2 a.m. Deep down, I know that answer lies in my recent apathy and lack of initiative towards anything.  I lost track of myself somewhere in this test called life, and everything from giant deep thoughts to simple tasks like taking out the trash kind of fell off into a hole.  I know that I said that I would start writing again in the previous post... But with what's going on right now, that doesn't seem entirely possible.  I'm blatantly lost.  I would further go into detail, but that'd take a while... I'll just say that thinking is a lot harder than it used to be.
Just this post took a lot more effort than it really should have.  I'm not even bothering with editing; I'm just writing the first things that come to mind.  It probably doesn't sound very good.

So I need to figure things out.  Until then, I'm signing off.

-Austin

October SOTW 1 - A Turtle's Heart

Mili recently released their first album opening with a new original: A Turtle's Heart.  At first I just simply liked the song for it's musical elements.  Not to mention Mili is currently my favorite group.
The thing with music by Mili is that the lyrics usually are not set to have a form that people are used to hearing in modern pop music.  The tunes are usually through-composed (no repeating verses or chorus) and the lyrics are not set to necessarily rhyme.  The composers are Japanese, so even though English pronunciation is good, the melody may sound strange for the words to most people.  Only hearing it a couple times, I just simply enjoyed what I could hear and interpret.  But then... I recently looked up the lyrics.  And decided that I should start posting again.  Now that I know what is being said, this song means so much more to me.  After my short period of silence, this song made me decide to keep posting.

I couldn't find the song just by itself, so here's the whole album.  (yay)

The Relatable Musician 8

If there is an ignorant thought that annoys me a lot, it's the fact that people think that guitar is the easiest instrument to learn.

Ignorant people think "Oh, if I just put my fingers in these places on the fretboard and strum, I'll magically make music!  It's so simple!"  

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.  A guitar is actually pretty complicated to learn notes on as a beginner.  It takes a while to memorize the note names of all the frets... and then there's alternate tuning of the strings, and the use of capos.  Granted, you can easily learn a basic E minor and A major chord in ten minutes.  But to be able to play more than that, it takes quite a bit of work.

Typical piano used for note names

The instrument always used for visualizing notes in the music world is the piano.  Why?  It's easy to see the notes on the keys of a piano.  No one is going to teach basic theory to beginning musicians using saxophone fingerings.  That's just too complicated.  The piano has the note names in ascending and linear order.  And to us, that is the simplest way of visualizing notes.   

The good thing about guitars is that it's practically the same concept.  If you play a string, it plays one note.  If you press your finger down somewhere on the string and strum, it plays a different note.  And the closer you move the placement of your finger to your picking hand, the higher the note.  Similar to a piano.  However, the hard part is that there are five other strings using the same concept, and they all don't start on the same note.  When you strum a chord on a guitar, you are playing six notes that fit in the key you're playing in.  You strum six individual notes that harmonize together for that lovely sound that everyone wants to hear around the campfire.  If you want to play a G, you have to place your fingers in such a way so you play G, B, D, G, D, G (In that order).  But of course not not a lot of people know that.  They just put their hands in a shape of what they are taught is a chord, and strum.  No more thought given.

 That's why a lot of people decide to pick up the guitar and put it down after a while.  They don't know how complicated it gets after learning all the easy chords in the key of G.  They learn that there are actually inversions of a chord, and that bar chording is pretty hard on the hand.  

So to all of you who are thinking of learning an instrument: don't pick one because it's simply easy.  Granted, there are some instruments that you can pick up the basics faster.  But to become good at an instrument takes a lot of work.  Even if it seems simple, like guitar or percussion (trust me, percussion has some tough rudiments).  Whatever you pick, make sure it appeals to you.  And once you learn all the basics, stick with it!  

The Relatable Musician 7

Folk music.  Everyone claps on the downbeat. 
*claps* 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and...
But did you know that the drummer is hitting his snare drum on the "and" of every beat? 
*claps* 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and...
But noooo everyone has to clap on the downbeat.  *rolls eyes over-dramatically*

September SOTW 1 - END THEME

I've been playing a certain song over and over again lately over the past week, so I thought I should post it.

This song is beautiful.  If you've watched the movie 5 Centimetres per Second, you would know that the context in which this piece is played is quite powerful and moving.  It perfectly sums up the emotional state and being of the main character.

I find that this piece is extremely easy for me to express myself with.  Emotions that I can't get out in words or paper come out through playing this song.   When I sit at a piano with nobody around, this is what I play.  No one hears, but that's fine with me.  Sometimes it's better to say what you want to say when nobody hears.

August SOTW 5 - Oracion

This is the first time I've done five Song of the Weeks in a month!  This apparently isn't going to happen until May next year.  It's something really small and trivial, but I for some strange reason look forward to it.

Lately I've taken a deep liking to this song, for a couple reasons.
-It's the end theme of my favorite anime, No Game No Life
-I love this style of Japanese rock
-The key changes are a little strange but still work effectively
-Whispering is seldom done in music, and they nailed it's use in this song... it perfectly suits Shiro's character
-I really love the lyrics, they mean a lot to me (translation here)
-Shiro is adorable
-Shiro is adorable
-Shiro is REALLY TABLE-FLIPPING ADORABLE   (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

The Ghibli Manuscripts

Recently I went on a trip to Japan (yay)!  Being a fan of anime and Japanese culture in general, I quite enjoyed myself.  I experienced a whole bunch of stuff like different food, tea ceremony, ryokans (and their public baths!), shrines, and even taiko drumming!  I had a lot of fun with drumming :3

A robot soldier from Laputa Castle in the Sky.

While we were in Tokyo, I went to the Ghibli animation museum.  You're not allowed to take pictures inside, but you're allowed to photograph the robot soldier statue on the roof of the museum.  It was a little overcast and I didn't have time to get a good photo, but if you click the link above, they have better photos.

On the second floor of the museum, it's full of desks with work scattered across the rooms.  It looks the like filmmakers just left their desks for a break when we walked in.  But my favorite room... was a small room that people frequently walked in and out of.  Compared to the other rooms, there was barely anything in there.  It was just a table with some books (with abnormally large pages), and a small wooden chair tucked in the corner of the room.  Seeing this room unusually plain in comparison to the others, I decided to look around a little more carefully (not that I wasn't already).  I picked up one of the eight thick, large books sitting on the table.  I looked at the title... When Marnie Was There.   I opened up the book.
It was a manuscript of the animated drawings.  Like a framework of what the movie should look like.  The reason the pages where so large was because each page had about five drawings in it... each showing the next shot in the movie, yet to be brought to life.  To the right of each drawing was room for notes.  Surprisingly, there was enough English for me to guess what they were saying.
I began reading.  It was a little like a manga, but a lot more open ended for plot.  After a half hour, I realized I was enjoying myself.  A lot.  Which was a little strange for me.

The frustrating thing for me with books is that I can't read them through once.  For every sentence I read, I need to pay attention and process it to understand what's happening.  However, my brain can't do that while keeping up with my reading speed. So I end up reading a page or even a paragraph, stop, and realize I need to read it again since I had no idea what just happened in the last 5 lines or so.
Books with tonnes of detail are hard for me to read leisurely.  I need study every sentence hard to comprehend everything.  My mind kind of blanks and then I keep thinking: "Okay, what's happening here? Maybe this? and this and this?".  And then I realize I'm still reading and I have no idea what just happened in the plot.
However, being a visual learner, manuscripts give a general idea of what I'm supposed to be looking at, but still leave a lot of freedom for me to imagine whatever I like.  And in a way, it's more fun that way.  It might not be the actual story that the writer might have wanted to tell but it makes me feel creative...

I haven't seen When Marnie Was There yet.  But in a way, I have seen it.  I may not know the actual story that is told in the movie, but I do know that I had a lot of fun imagining my own story without having to worry if I've comprehended the provided image.
If I had a library of manuscripts, I could spend forever there.

Austin's Tea Preference Criteria

I was recently asked the question if I preferred hot tea or cold tea.  I never actually thought about it, but I'm a little picky as to what I prefer depending on the circumstance.  So just to see how conditional my criteria of choosing hot or cold tea is, I decided to write it all out.

Hot tea: If it's a cold day, or I'm just feeling down or philosophical, I have hot tea.  Usually green or chrysanthemum if it's available.  When I feel sick I usually like peppermint with honey.  Also, I like hot Chinese or Japanese teas when eating (good) Asian food.  The exception is dim sum places... 

Chinese dim sum like to put all the leaves and flowers in one pot and leave it in there, so the tea gets stronger as the meal goes on.  Personally I like it a little lighter, so I usually immediately pour myself two cups, then ask for water later.  

Cold tea: I live in Canada, and here we have sweetened iced tea.  Pre-sweetened.  Popular brands include Brisk, Nestea (both owned by Nestle), Lipton, Snapple for more hipster people, and Arizona for frugal, addicted high schoolers.  The thing with the sweetened iced tea is that it's really sweet for people not used to it.  I've seen a handful of Americans try sweetened iced tea for the first time... they really didn't like it.  Sometimes, flavoring and sweeteners actually exceed the amount of tea in the drink, which is actually a little gross once I think about it.  

Read more on the wonderful, trustworthy, default resource Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iced_tea#Canada

I like iced tea practically any time I'm not drinking hot tea.  It's my default drink when I'm thirsty and want something sweet at the same time.  However, when I leave the country, I usually don't order it.

Being a Canadian used to over-sweetened iced tea, I always have to remind myself when travelling to America, the iced tea is not sweetened.  And when I forget... I take a big first sip and am met with the taste of cold tea (Duh. Why did I think it was going to taste like something else?).  

The exception to cool tea outside of Canada is Japan.  Most places (even some fast food restaurants) serve cool Japanese tea.  It's usually very light, with a nice subtle taste of green.  And it goes with almost anything.  And the best part: they serve it like water at restaurants; it's free.  You don't even have to ask.  

August SOTW 4 - St. Thomas

As you can see from the title, I've decided to rename my Song of the Week so it's easier to find them later.

So as seen in my last post, I attended a summer jazz camp.  On the first day, the piano and guitar teachers were still teaching their students when the faculty concert was supposed to start.  As a result, the guest teacher decided that they should start the concert with St. Thomas, a jazz standard by Sonny Rollins that didn't need a piano or guitar player.  The tune outlines the chord changes so a comper isn't absolutely necessary.

If you didn't understand any of that, I'll just say this: it's flippin catchy.  I heard it all week.  And sang it all week.  And played it all week.
And it's not just me.  I showed up 30 minutes early everyday, and I could hear people in practice rooms playing St. Thomas... whistling it in between classes... jamming out to it at the end of the day...
At one of the concerts, a combo even performed it.

The Relatable Musician 6

DON'T CLAP WHEN THE BAND STARTS TRADING FOURS!!!

Same idea as inexperienced people who don't know audience etiquette for classical music.  You don't clap in between movements, unless it is something extremely worthy of mention.  Personally, I wouldn't clap, as seen in my post about not clapping. 

The same idea is not applied in the jazz world.  In fact, if you hear something you like, you vocalize it (but maybe not for a ballad).  Yelling in approval adds energy and encouragement to the atmosphere.  So there is little room for the audience to make error as an audience.
But little room doesn't mean no room.

I was recently in a summer jazz camp and the faculty/directors put on a concert for the students.  A popular jazz element for letting the drummer solo is called "trading fours".  In music speak, a player solos for four bars, then the drummer solos for four, then the player, then the drummer, and so on.  It's a very basic element.
However, the audience, which is comprised of jazz students, clapped for every four bar solo.  Granted, there are some beginners in the crowd.  However, people at least my level should know... And I'm not too high on the ladder. 

It isn't that they are ignorant and should know better as jazz students.  It's obvious that if you applaud every four bars, you're going to miss half of the solos because you're too busy making noise, drowning out the music you came to hear.  And it disturbs the people around you who know what they're doing...

To Lose Sight

The world is very loud.  Noisy.  Voluminous in thick waves of sound.  But we barely notice it.  The humming of the lights, people passing by, air conditioners, traffic, even our own breathing.  We've all grown up in an environment where we are used to at least a little sound, somewhere, all the time. 

I used to find sound fascinating.  The drastic change in sound as soon as three people started conversing rather than two was something that always amazed me.  The thin air of one voice all of a sudden gained an overlap of another.  It was thickening like layers of honey collecting at the bottom of a cup of tea.  Indeed, the reception of sound is a fantastic thing. 

I recently went to a tourist attraction called "Dialogue in the Dark".  You are given a blind man's stick and put in a series of rooms in pitch black darkness with a guide (all guides are visually impaired).  The whole point is to experience being blind, relying on only touch, smell, and hearing to navigate in the darkness. To be honest, it's not for everyone.  Kids sometimes aren't mature enough for it, or are scared of the dark.  I don't blame them.  However, for me, my problem was the sudden barrage of information to my ears.  I discovered that I relied heavily on my eyes to process auditory information.  If a car honked, I turned to look at it.  If someone spoke, I could confirm it with my sight.  However, as I stood in a lightless room with the sounds of a busy intersection simulated, I couldn't help but be extremely overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by the seemingly large quantity of information I would have confirmed with vision, but couldn't.  All the sounds I had overlooked with my eyes.  I was a tiny being facing a tsunami of sound stimuli. It was disorientating.  Belittling.  Daunting. My body produced a headache in no time.  I didn't want to process so much noise at once.  It was too much without eyesight. 
Then on top of that... I had to move around.  Navigate using a wooden apparatus that had loose connection to my body.  My headache became worse.  Why was the world so loud?  Why couldn't it just shut up for a while? 
And to think that it was all simulation. 

Afterwards, sound was a lot different.  It was no longer a fascinating concept that I could think to observe attentively.  It was a vast, endless swamp of information, one that I could never hope to process and understand should I lose my vision.  I had developed two things after that experience:
1. A newfound deep respect for visually impaired people.  Especially those who lost their sight after adolescence.
2. A new fear.  Fear of losing sight. I didn't think it would be something I would be afraid of, but after having a taste of the world with only ears...

Side note: I'm not saying Dialogue in the Dark is a bad attraction.  In fact, it's very well done and is unique for a tourist attraction.  It just isn't for everyone.  I'm just a wierdo who is hypersensitive to things concerning sound... So don't think that as soon as you come out you will develop a phobia for blindness.  If you have a chance to go there, it's a good experience!

August Song of the Week 3

One of my favorites from Imagine Dragons.  The best part starts at 6:46! :3

Chinese Grammar Accent (in Japan)

My parents have a Chinese grammar accent (grammar bad intended).  Meaning they insert Chinese grammar into English grammar. 
Their English is good enough that they don't have an accent.  However, Chinese sentence structure and translation gets inserted into their speech here and there.
For example, when referring to a person in Chinese, there is no "he" or "she".  There is only (literally translated) "they/you".  So when my parents learned English, they had to learn the difference between he and she. 
It's sometimes frustrating when they mix it up and makes the conversation confusing.  But other times, it turns out really funny.

However, on my current trip to Japan, it's been painful to hear them attempt Japanese.  Also the strangest thing to listen to. 
They try to read and pronounce Japanese with English phonetics.  Normal for an uninformed speaker.  But it's the funniest thing (both funny haha and funny weird) to hear them try speak Anglicized Japanese with the Chinese grammar accent. 

*waitress hands over the bill
"How do you say thank you to him?"
"Arigato."
*turns to waitress "Ahreegaito"

*I facepalm

August Song of the Week 2

They should have more jazz clarinet players...

August Song of the Week 1

I actually wondered a bit on what I should post this week.  As you probably noticed, I haven't posted anything but Song of the Weeks for all of July. All month, I've been thinking (I won't bore everyone with details).  Maybe a little too much.  Right now I'm not entirely enthusiastic about anything, so the blog got neglected.  

I haven't been able to listen to this song a lot, but when I think of it and how it sounds, it eases my mind a bit.  Not to mention that Eric Whitacre is one of my favorite composers.  

Quick side note: I'm not in town and internet is a little hard to come by (at least, harder than at home).  Sorry if I miss next week's Song of the Week.

July Song of the Week 4

I've had this stuck in my head all week.  I really think Gumi's voice does this song really well.  The pronunciation of the words captures the image of the childhood friend stereotype perfectly.

If you don't know, Gumi is a vocaloid.  But I think in this song it's harder to tell a vocaloid is being used.

July Song of the Week 3

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this song.  But I really don't like the story delivered.  "Can I have your daughter's hand in marraige?  No?  Then screw you, I'm going to marry her anyways!"

...sigh... if it weren't for that I would like this song so much better...

I just can't shake how unbelievably catchy this song is.  I listened to it once, and somehow managed to memorize the chorus hearing it once.  And sang it for the rest of the day.  And the next day.   And the day after.

July Song of the Week 2

Mili is one of my current favorite bands.  They have such a unique style.   The composers have obviously studied in the classical style, but bring Japanese contemporary music and modern electronic elements to their music.  And, their songs are quite diverse.
Here is one of the first ones I heard from them.

July Song of the Week 1

Remember the Alice in Musicland from the last Song of the Week?  I thought I would stick with that theme.

Again, it's not your typical Disney-formula song.  This is real good stuff for people to get into jazz.  Oscar Peterson is a piano beast.  

June Song(s) of The Week 4

Really this should be a June six songs of the week, mixed with a Beginner's Guide to Anime post.  This video is a short twelve minute long musical... performed completely by software and animation.  In Japanese pop culture, works like these are often collaborations of animators, composers, arrangers, and so forth.  First, let me explain the voices in this musical (I'll probably make a standalone post on it later):

Vocaloid: Software that emulates singing.  Practically a voice synthesizer.  There are many different models of Vocaloid; English, Japanese, and their own models within those languages.  The most famous of them is the Vocaloid 2 model Hatsune Miku (Alice in the video below).  Other Vocaloid models included in the musical are (in order of appearance): Kagamine Len, Kaito, Kagamine Rin, Megurine Luka, and Meiko.  

And without further ado, I present "Alice in Musicland"!  Enjoy!