Pirates!

~Last week I went to a concert called PIRATES!, in which the North Carolina Symphony orchestra performed music from pirate-related films and operas, as well as other seafaring music.  They played the overture from Captain Blood, some music from The Pirates of Penzance, some English sea shanties, and of course some of the soundtrack from the more recent Pirates of the Caribbean films.

The piratical theme was strong at the concert, with plenty of pirate-related promotions and decorations.  My favorite was this “enhanced” statue at the entrance to the amphitheater:

^Arrrr, this be Cap’n Koka “The Visionary” Booth, former mayor of Cary and proponent of the amphitheater that is named after him.  Who knew that he was actually a bloodthirsty, buccaneering, plundering pirate?

All Who Stand Opposed Will Be Destroyed

~Here's a new band that's a lot of fun to listen to: Planetoid. The three members that make up the band claim to be aliens from a thousand years in the future, who have been accidentally sent back in time and are now attempting to conquer the Earth through hard rock. They combine great sound with some very clever science-fiction (?) lyrics on their first album, Shadow of the Planetoid. For example, consider the title song, Shadow of the Planetoid:

"...and as the illusion grows, stars start to disappear.

In the spot where the sun once rose, the benighted ring of the Dyson sphere.

And every Venusian knows, the end of the world draws increasingly near.
For we are harbingers of the shadow!

All who stand opposed will be destroyed...in the shadow of the Planetoid."

You can hear four songs from the album on the Planetoid web site, and the rest on Rhapsody.

A World of Music

~Some of my happiest memories of elementary school are of my time in music class, at a time when I (and everyone else my age) was too young to be embarrassed about singing in public. Starting in 5th grade, I started playing the trumpet, mainly because I didn't have a real instrumental preference, and my Dad had played the trumpet, so I figured...why not try it? So off my parents went to Burt's Music to rent me a trumpet.

I enjoyed playing the trumpet, despite the irritation of having to haul it around all the time. The high point of my musical career was probably 7th grade, when I played music almost every day in Dr. Gardner's band class. That was a lot of fun -- I had friends who were also in band class, and we went to play in concerts and perform at school.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse the next year, when I was once again in Dr. Gardner's class. I got braces welded to my teeth, which I quickly discovered had a detrimental effect on my ability to play the trumpet. Aside from the irritation of metal digging painfully into my mouth whenever I pressed my lips against the trumpet mouthpiece, I found that I could no longer hit the high notes as easily as before, and some of the highest notes were out of my range entirely. I was "demoted" down the row of trumpet players, relegated to playing accompaniments rather than solos. After-school practice became difficult, and was no longer fun.

Of course, even if I hadn't had braces, I still would have likely stopped playing, as I had very little interest in being part of a high school marching band after 8th grade. Playing in class was fun, and going to concerts was fun, too, but I had no desire to play at school football games and pep rallies. So the trumpet was returned to the rental shop, and, occupied by other concerns, I mostly forgot about playing music...until recently.

One Christmas, my siblings and I received a Yamaha PSR-77 keyboard, which was mostly used by my younger sister during a time when she practiced playing the piano. After that, it lay mostly unused in a closet. Recently, on a whim, I decided to re-learn how to read music, and took the keyboard with me to my apartment. Then I went to the excellent music library at UNC and checked out two books on how to play keyboards, and another book on the fundamentals of music.

I've learned to play a few very easy pieces, and can once again read and recognize musical notes. In addition, I find playing music -- without any stress, grades, deadlines, etc. -- to be great stress relief. When you're playing a song, your concentration is completely absorbed by the activity, which shunts aside all other concerns. It's also fun to compose your own music, even if it's simple and rough. Another great thing about the electronic keyboard is that it is a very versatile and powerful instrument, capable of synthesizing over a hundred different instruments and background accompaniments. I can even play my old trumpet music, without earning the wrath of my neighbors.

This is what I love about libraries. As I wrote above, I'm learning fundamentals of music and how to play the keyboard based on books I checked out from the music library. One of the most satisfying things in life, in my opinion, is the freedom to learn and develop skill in whatever interests you, without the pressures imposed by academia. So ask yourself: what's something you've always wanted to be able to do? Assuming you're not in school anymore, your time outside of work is your own. So look it up on the Internet or read about it in a book. You may surprise yourself.