Saturday, May 25, 2013

The Drop-Lift Technique In Piano

As the fetching Mrs B and I are on a short vacation this weekend, this is a best of the Tales repeat post. I will time this post and tweets for the Tales classical music weekend.
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I think most of you know, that in the written music score, two notes that are the same that are connected by a curved line are called a tie. That curved line connecting those notes means that you play those two notes as one note, holding it for the timed value of the two notes.

But many of you may not know that a curved line connecting two notes that are not the same [ex. c,d] means that not only are the two notes connected in a legato like fashion, it also means the second note is to be played softer than the first, resulting in a loud-soft sound.

In piano, this technique is called drop-lift.  When a pianist sees two different notes connected by a curved line, it means he/she will drop down on the first note and lift up in a rolling fashion on the second note [with the result that the second note will be played much softer than the first note].  Just like when you have a curved line over many different notes which means you play the notes legato [connected]-you are also playing the two notes legato, but with a changing dynamic of the two notes.  The first note being louder and the second note softer.

This technique is many times written at the end of a phrase in a classical music piece.  You may not think this means much, but this technique really adds to the beauty of the piece. Along with rubato and ornaments [such as trills, and turns], the drop-lift technique [as it is called for the piano] helps make classical music sound beautiful. 

That contrasting dynamic sound between two notes is really pleasing to the ear.  Sometimes the contrast is subtle and sometimes it is pronounced.

This loud-soft technique of two different connected notes is also true for the other instruments of the orchestra.  I don't know what the technique is called for the different instruments or even if there is a name associated with the technique in instruments other than the piano.  I only know that in piano this is called drop-lift.

You can see demonstration of this technique in the following two videos of Beethoven's dramatic piano concerto in C minor, one of my very favorite piano concertos. [the first movement is long & therefore it took two videos]

In the first video watch and listen for the technique I discussed played by the orchestra in the 2:02-2:03 mark and 2:04-2:05 mark.  Then for the piano in the 4:09-4:10 mark and in succession at the 5:16-5:17, 5:18-5:19 and 5:20-5:21 marks.  Once again listen closely at the orchestra at 5:35-5:36 and 5:37-5:38.

In the second video listen closely for the drop lift technique [loud-soft] of the piano at 53-54 and 56-57 and also at 3:02-3:03 and 3:04-3:05...and to the orchestra at 3:20-3:21  and 3:22-3:23.   In each of those instances without even seeing the score, you know Beethoven has connected two different notes with a curved line above them, as you hear the loud-soft sound of the two notes.

See if you can tell how the contrast in sound adds to the beauty of the piece.  

Beethoven: Piano Concerto #3 in C minor, movement 1 [part 1], allegro con brio:




Beethoven: Piano Concerto #3 in C minor, movement 1[part 2], Allegro con brio:


Friday, May 24, 2013

Tales Quip Of The Week-May 24, 2013

Bill O'Reilly

This week's Tales quip of the week comes from comedian/talk show pundit Dennis Miller.  Dennis Miller was on Bill O'Reilly's "O'Reilly Factor" show in his weekly segment called Miller Time on Wednesday.







Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller was on a rant on the scandals the Obama administration is trying to spin now and in doing so he made a quip so good that Tales deems it as the Tales Quip of The Week:





Dennis Miller "This Obama administration is becoming more and more Nixonian.  The only difference may be that when Richard Nixon said  'I am not a crook' he didn't need a teleprompter."


I am not a crook.
I am not a crook.


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Bravo, Congressman Gowdy!

I have to admit it.   As these administration scandals of Benghazi and the IRS [as of now] are going before the congress, I am one conservative Republican who thought the GOP members would do there usual bad questioning [or making bad rhetoric] at the hearings and blow the moment.  That has how it has played like in the past so many times.  The GOP party has usually ended up looking like the stupid party, with congressman and senators making rambling, boring statements and putting the country to sleep instead of awakening the country to what is going on by using quick incisive questioning and relevant rants.


Chairman Darrell, Issa, R-CA


Chairman Dave Camp, R-MI
I can say that no more.  In chairman Darrell Issa's House Oversight committee and chairman Dave Camp's House Ways and Means committee there was some outstanding questioning by almost all of the GOP congressmen on the committee. 




An example of a few of the members who did some good questioning on the GOP side from the two committees investigating the IRS scandal were Rep Jim Jordan-OH, Rep Jason Chaffetz-UT, Rep Trey Gowdy-SC, Rep Paul Ryan-WI, and Rep Kevin Brady-TX.

Congressman Trey Gowdy, R-SC

This questioning of former IRS Chairman Shulman and statements from congressman Trey Gowdy who represents the 4th district of South Carolina will make you stand up and cheer.   It might even give you goose bumps, for someone who is actually representing us, the people, in a professional no-holds-barred way.




Bravo, Congressman Gowdy!             God Bless you!


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Great Quotes In Presidential History



President George Washington:  "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."


 


President Thomas Jefferson "When the government fears the people, there is liberty.  When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."



 
President Abraham Lincoln:  "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."



President Franklin Roosevelt:  "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself."





President Harry S. Truman:  "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."






President John Fitzgerald Kennedy:  "Ask not, what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."






President Ronald Wilson Reagan:  "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."






President George W. Bush "I can hear you, the rest of the world can hear you, and the people that knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."






President Barack Hussein Obama:  "Uh, I read it in the newspaper."

Bob Schieffer Showed How A Real Journalist Acts On Face The Nation

On this last Sunday's news shows, I saw the usual suspects of  liberal Obama sycophant journalist pretenders-David Gregory on NBC, George Stephanopolous on ABC and Candy Crowley on CNN, doing their usual bad jobs as journalists and great job as Obama spokesmen.   I don't include Chris Wallace on the Fox News Channel as he usually does a pretty good job of being a fair journalist.  He did another good job on last Sunday.


There was one show with a host who greatly surprised me.   Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer.   Bob Schieffer just didn't do a good job as a journalist, he did a fantastic job.  That was maybe the best job done by a journalist on the mainstream media as I have seen since the late great Tim Russert of Meet the Press. White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer was being questioned by Bob Schieffer and what a great job of fair, inquiring questioning Schieffer did.  He actually was trying to find answers to questions on the scandals enveloping the White House. 

The other liberal Sunday pundits should take note.  This is how journalism is supposed to be. As I have had many posts criticizing the Sunday pundits, when I see a job as good as the one I saw from Bob Schieffer, I must also be fair to point that out.  

Bravo, Mr. Schieffer for a professional job well done!

In one memorable line, Shieffer asked Pfeiffer: "I mean this as no disrespect to you, but why are you here today and not the chief of staff?"

Check out this great line of questioning by journalist Bob Schieffer:


Bob Shieffer ends the show with this great commentary of dumb and dumber in Washington D.C.:

Monday, May 20, 2013

Mister Irrelevant

This article in the Tales was first posted in July of 2011.  I usually hate when people say I told you so, but look at how prescient the Tales was in this article from almost two years ago. What was said in this article [which had nothing to do with the scandals going on today with this administration] applies more accurately today than at that time.  President Obama and his spokesmen are using as a recurring "Seargant Schultz" of Hogan's Heroes alibi theme of  "I know nothing" on all of these scandals.  The commander in chief, according to his spokesmen's own testimony, was out of the loop in all of these scandals: "Fast and Furious", "Benghazi", "IRS", and "AP reporters".   On Sunday Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer said astonishingly "it's an "irrelevant fact" where the president physically was during the Benghazi terror attack on September 11, 2012."  That led to this headline on the Drudge Report.



It is truly amazing that President Obama and his administration are touting the president's incompetence and irrelevance as good things because that proves he could have had nothing to do with the scandals. I don't think it gives Americans much comfort when the president spokesmen imply that President Obama is not corrupt, he's just incompetent.  Whether president Obama is corrupt or incompetent [or maybe both] one thing I think we can say for sure. President Obama has truly become Mister Irrelevant.

Note: In the original post it was commenter Eurobird who correctly pointed out that he wished Obama was truly irrelevant because all of the damage he knew he could do to this country.  It is Eurobird who was prescient in that comment.  Hopefully, this time Obama will truly become so irrelevant that he is stymied from doing any more damage to this country and unable to stop a dismantling of Obamacare.  We can only pray.   
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The original "Mister Irrelevant" post unedited [unlike Susan Rice's talking points] from the Tales July 29, 2011 edition:
                                                                                                                                           
In the National Football League draft, they have established this tradition of calling the last man chosen in the draft as Mr. Irrelevant.  They make a big deal out of it. They give Mister Irrelevant gifts and fifteen minutes of fame.

I think we have seen develop in politics a man who soon may be known as Mr. Irrelevant.   Yes, the sure winner of the political Mister Irrelevant: President Obama.

In this 'raising the debt ceiling debate' president Obama has been pushed to the side. First by House Speaker Boehner, after the president changed the goal posts as they were trying to come up with a deal. Then by Senate majority leader Reid, after being frustrated with no real input of a plan from president Obama.   The president has given speeches and many press conferences, but no plan to solve the problem.  He has lost even his reliable sycophant press corps, as the cry from them is: "Where's the president's plan?"

Charles Krauthammer, I think reinforces the moniker I have deemed for this president, when he said on Bret Baier's Special Report tonight:  "With the Republicans just passing the Boehner bill, the real loser is president Obama.  He has been marginalized.  He is now left alone in the back offices of the West Wing......tweeting."

So, Mister President, while I deem you Mr. Irrelevant, you will be given the gifts you deserve for being named this honor. You do not, of course, need those 15 minutes of fame as you have been given far too many already.  You will be given a stress free future after we vote you out of office in 2012. Also, you will be given an opportunity to play golf, every weekend.    Oh, wait a second....never mind.

President Obama is Mister Irrelevant!    The real incredible shrinking man.