Thursday, September 10, 2009
Oh Yeah, Walter!
I almost forgot! Some of you may have heard some distressing news about my car, Walter. Yes, it is true that I was not able to physically turn the key in the ignition, thereby making Walter immobile. Yes this was a distressing period of time. But Jim at the Olmos Park Chevron replaced the tumblers and ignition key today, and Walter is ready for me to pick him up tomorrow morning.
Can it Be?
Yes! It can! Tell your friends and relatives because after a 5-month layover the Tiger Years blog is back up and going strong!
Fist, as always, a schedule of interesting dates update:
- Pervez Musharraf (Ex-President of Pakistan) is speaking at Trinity on Thursday Sept. 17th at 7:30 in Laurie Auditorium
- Dr. Persellin has nominated me to be a collegiate delegate to the big MENC meeting in California this Spring, and my letter of intent is due on Tuesday Sept. 15th
- The San Antonio Symphony is doing Peter and the Wolf at 2:30...Ben and Beth?
- Choir Concert on Oct. 27 at 7:30
- Oct. 30th and 31st the 3 Phantoms are singing with the San Antonio symphony
- There is a guitar concert here at 7:30 on Nov. 2nd
- Orchestra Concert on Nov. 5th at 7:30
- Wed. Nov. 25th I am home for Thanksgiving!
- Dec. 4th Christmas Concert at 7:30 (performing in three ensembles)
- Dec. 5th Studio Voice Recital at 7:30 (I will have no voice by the end of this...)
- Dec. 6th Christmas Vespers concert at 6 pm (choir)
- Dec. 11th Finals start!
^ semester in a nutshell....
And now, I will do a quick magic trick involving logic. I will link together three separate classes from three separate departments that I am taking this semester. Oooooh!
We start in Dr. Kania's Philosophy of Music. This class has only met once, so I don't have much to say about the topic yet. However, our first discussion was over a reading where the man was trying to explain his idea of what music is. One of the main points is that music is a secondary object. Object because sound is not a property of something, is is produced by things, therefore it is a thing itself. For example, when you drop a pen on the ground and it makes a sound, you don't think that the pen is noisy, you think that the pen has made noise. On the other hand, when you write with a pen and the ink is blue, you think that the pen is blue, not that the pen has created blue. Secondary because music is something you perceive, but is not physical. Like a rainbow, you can see it, it takes up space in your vision, but it is not a solid, cohesive object that you can touch. Secondary object -> Perceptual knowledge, which leads us into Dr. Hansen's Classical Rhetorical Theory where we start off with the Sophists. People like Gorgias, Corax, Tisius, and Isocrates (not to be confused with Socrates). The sophists where a bunch of philosophers/rhetoricians/teachers that roamed around pan-Hellenic Greece with Athens as their base of operations. They were particularly gifted in the art of rhetoric, and in fact believed that arguing well was the basis of all knowledge. They taught this art to those who could afford them, and kind of became performers, by showing off their speech skills in public (especially Gorgias.....what an attention hog!) Anyway, the Sophists basically believed that knowledge is based on perception. That grass looks green to me, therefore it is green. The only problem with that, is that not everyone perceives the same thing. Plato thinks that grass looks more blue, therefore it is also blue? The Sophists say that we can never know the absolute, or transcendental truth, but that we can get close to "truth" through argumentation, looking at every angle of a problem, and making concessions. I think the grass is green, Plato thinks the grass is blue, therefore it is greenish blue. There are all kinds of possibilities in a world where truth is literally what we convince ourselves it is. This leads us, finally, into Dr. Montford's History of Music: Ancient Greece to Mozart. Plato and his pupil, Socrates, hate the Sophists. Not only did one of them steal Socrates's name, and a few of Plato's students, but the Plocrates team cannot abide by perceptional knowledge. They need things to be absolute, with empirical proof. They also do not like the "regional truths" that the Sophists accept. Something that is true in Athens must also be true in Sparta, Thessaly, etc. for it to really be "truth." Team Plocrates is very important in musical history because they have a lot to say on the topic of music education. They are of the opinion that music should be taught to the youth because it is enjoyable and a worthwhile pastime. Youth should not, however, seek to become professional musicians. The goal of the lessons should be to refine their taste in music, so that in their old age, they can appreciate good music. Performance early on is necessary to understand music, but performing should be given up as we grow older. And now I have masterfully connected the studies of Rhetoric, Philosophy, and History. I hope you feel like your brain has expanded a little bit.
Pictures of:
my crabitat that I am trying to sell. Current going price is $35, any takers?
And part of my walk back to the dorm from the music building at night after orchestra rehearsal:
- Christina
music:
"Breakdown" by Jack Johnson
"The Distance" by CAKE
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." - Albert Einstein
"I never think of the future, it comes soon enough." - Albert Einstein
Fist, as always, a schedule of interesting dates update:
- Pervez Musharraf (Ex-President of Pakistan) is speaking at Trinity on Thursday Sept. 17th at 7:30 in Laurie Auditorium
- Dr. Persellin has nominated me to be a collegiate delegate to the big MENC meeting in California this Spring, and my letter of intent is due on Tuesday Sept. 15th
- The San Antonio Symphony is doing Peter and the Wolf at 2:30...Ben and Beth?
- Choir Concert on Oct. 27 at 7:30
- Oct. 30th and 31st the 3 Phantoms are singing with the San Antonio symphony
- There is a guitar concert here at 7:30 on Nov. 2nd
- Orchestra Concert on Nov. 5th at 7:30
- Wed. Nov. 25th I am home for Thanksgiving!
- Dec. 4th Christmas Concert at 7:30 (performing in three ensembles)
- Dec. 5th Studio Voice Recital at 7:30 (I will have no voice by the end of this...)
- Dec. 6th Christmas Vespers concert at 6 pm (choir)
- Dec. 11th Finals start!
^ semester in a nutshell....
And now, I will do a quick magic trick involving logic. I will link together three separate classes from three separate departments that I am taking this semester. Oooooh!
We start in Dr. Kania's Philosophy of Music. This class has only met once, so I don't have much to say about the topic yet. However, our first discussion was over a reading where the man was trying to explain his idea of what music is. One of the main points is that music is a secondary object. Object because sound is not a property of something, is is produced by things, therefore it is a thing itself. For example, when you drop a pen on the ground and it makes a sound, you don't think that the pen is noisy, you think that the pen has made noise. On the other hand, when you write with a pen and the ink is blue, you think that the pen is blue, not that the pen has created blue. Secondary because music is something you perceive, but is not physical. Like a rainbow, you can see it, it takes up space in your vision, but it is not a solid, cohesive object that you can touch. Secondary object -> Perceptual knowledge, which leads us into Dr. Hansen's Classical Rhetorical Theory where we start off with the Sophists. People like Gorgias, Corax, Tisius, and Isocrates (not to be confused with Socrates). The sophists where a bunch of philosophers/rhetoricians/teachers that roamed around pan-Hellenic Greece with Athens as their base of operations. They were particularly gifted in the art of rhetoric, and in fact believed that arguing well was the basis of all knowledge. They taught this art to those who could afford them, and kind of became performers, by showing off their speech skills in public (especially Gorgias.....what an attention hog!) Anyway, the Sophists basically believed that knowledge is based on perception. That grass looks green to me, therefore it is green. The only problem with that, is that not everyone perceives the same thing. Plato thinks that grass looks more blue, therefore it is also blue? The Sophists say that we can never know the absolute, or transcendental truth, but that we can get close to "truth" through argumentation, looking at every angle of a problem, and making concessions. I think the grass is green, Plato thinks the grass is blue, therefore it is greenish blue. There are all kinds of possibilities in a world where truth is literally what we convince ourselves it is. This leads us, finally, into Dr. Montford's History of Music: Ancient Greece to Mozart. Plato and his pupil, Socrates, hate the Sophists. Not only did one of them steal Socrates's name, and a few of Plato's students, but the Plocrates team cannot abide by perceptional knowledge. They need things to be absolute, with empirical proof. They also do not like the "regional truths" that the Sophists accept. Something that is true in Athens must also be true in Sparta, Thessaly, etc. for it to really be "truth." Team Plocrates is very important in musical history because they have a lot to say on the topic of music education. They are of the opinion that music should be taught to the youth because it is enjoyable and a worthwhile pastime. Youth should not, however, seek to become professional musicians. The goal of the lessons should be to refine their taste in music, so that in their old age, they can appreciate good music. Performance early on is necessary to understand music, but performing should be given up as we grow older. And now I have masterfully connected the studies of Rhetoric, Philosophy, and History. I hope you feel like your brain has expanded a little bit.
Pictures of:
my crabitat that I am trying to sell. Current going price is $35, any takers?
And part of my walk back to the dorm from the music building at night after orchestra rehearsal:
- Christina
music:
"Breakdown" by Jack Johnson
"The Distance" by CAKE
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." - Albert Einstein
"I never think of the future, it comes soon enough." - Albert Einstein
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