CC21 #2: Music for Busking

CC21 piece #2 is complete: "Music for Busking" for solo violin or viola. Who wants to play it, and when/where?

As always, download the PDF and MP3 free from the CC21 webpage.

Visit the project's Facebook page to stay up-to-date, connect with other CC21-ers, or announce a performance!

Rhapsodic Thoughts

Rhapsodic thoughts on the Library of Congress, new music, my new piano CD, free music, my mom, and the Rapture. Here we go:

* Going to see Eighth Blackbird for the first time on May 20th. Really looking forward to seeing them for the first time, and it's free since it's at the Library of Congress! Speaking of...

* Saw a concert of George Crumb's music at the Library of Congress last week. Fantastic performance of his American Songbook (selections). Brilliant reworkings of these shared cultural artifacts, but decidedly not "for the people" - except for those people who have 100 percussion instruments and a lot of time on their hands. Really enjoyed his pre-concert talk; makes me want to write more practical music. Speaking of...

* I just completed Music for a Rainy Day, my first album of piano music. Each "practical" track serves as an accompaniment to a specific part of the day: "Music for Waking," "Music for Sitting," "Music for Driving," etc... [Subject for a future post.] Right now, I'm trying to decide whether to market the CD, or post it as a free download. Speaking of...

* I've been thinking a lot lately about the business of music, especially regarding the Creative Commons movement, wherein an artist allows the free distribution of their work, presumably spreading it around faster and leading to greater word-of-mouth. [Subject for a future post.] I'm pondering releasing Music for a Rainy Day under a non-commercial CC license. Free music, yum! I'll of course give it away to family, especially considering it was conceived as a gift for my mom, so she'd have some music of mine she might actually enjoy. Speaking of...

* Mother's Day is tomorrow, Sunday, May 8th. Don't forget to call. My immediate family and a few others are making the trek from South Dakota to see my graduation next weekend. So excited! Just in time: the piano CD gift is actually a 4-months-late Christmas gift. Speaking of...

* Okay, Christmas and the Rapture are only tangentially-related. Have you heard that the Rapture is coming May 21, 2011? That's in two weeks! 6 p.m. local, to be specific. I'm considering hosting a Left Below/non-Rapture/Reason party that night. Any takers/suggestions?

BEDA Day 25: Recital Season

For lack of something better to post, here is an ode to Spring Recital Season at CUA:
(10 points to the first person who can name this recent yet obscure poetic form!)

'Midst singers most melodious
And instruments harmonious,
Forgetting all that's odious
In chambers most commodious,
Our solemn congregation
Surveys this celebration
Of plain procrastination
To preface graduation.
Their families amusing
And absent friends excusing
While faculty are snoozing -
All their pow'r exerting
For pleasures of diverting.
Everyone only comes for all the free food.

BEDA Day 22: Free Public Domain Classical Sheet Music

When I'm looking for a score online, I usually turn to Classical Scores Library, which contains 12,366 scores in 213,332 pages. This service, like Naxos Music Library, is available only by paid individual subscription or through university music libraries (including CUA).

But what if you're neither a student nor willing to pay for your public domain music needs? Here are a few free and legal solutions:

1.) IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library

2.) Mutopia

3.) MuseData


- - -

1.) The IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library claims 14,898 works and 28,244 individual scores. Their selection looks quite impressive and useful, and the "Random Page" link on the top left provides a promising selection.

This should be your first stop. But be warned: as an online site based in Canada, IMSLP does offer some scores that are still under copyright in the US, while out of copyright elsewhere. This means that it's NOT legal for someone in the US to download these.

2.) Mutopia hosts 1,541 scores. Their site is noticeably harder to navigate, yet they do offer some benefits. These include downloadable PDF scores typeset using the beautiful, open source Lilypond engraving tool, as well as preview score snippets and (usually) MIDI files.

3.) MuseData, sponsored by Stanford University's Center for Computer-Assisted Research in the Humanities, focuses on "music composed in Europe roughly between 1700 and 1825." They have PDF scores by Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and Vivaldi only, as well as MIDI files of a handful of others.

Note: This site requires registration and acceptance of a user agreement, making it that much less useful. But hey, who can complain about free, legal sheet music?

I hope this post was good for you. It was good for me. :)

BEDA Day 3: Riley's in C

Courtesy of Alex Ross' blog, you can download a 45-minute version of Terry Riley's in C (MP3) from Amazon.

Rumor has it that it's only available today (Friday 4/3).

Enjoy!

This isn't exactly my own music, but this will have to count for this week's New Music Appetizer. I'm leaving tonight for a weekend Ultimate (frisbee) tournament in Maryland and won't be back until Sunday.