making a difference

THE WHAT

SOS Classroom: a website created using Web 2.0 technology to collect, organize and redistribute free online educational resources for students and families.

http://sosclassroom.org



THE HOW

On Day 1 of SOS Classroom, Professor Coach introduced his new idea for an online, crowd-sourced, social bookmarked educational resource site. He then asked the class to pick a role in the project. After having listened (and half-listened) to him talk about the project for the past twenty minutes, tangents not included, most of us "Coachees" still had no idea what his idea was about, much less what he wanted us to do about it.

Needless to say it took him a while to arouse a response. Finally, when he began to encouragingly name off plausible job titles such as "Publicity Chair" or "Secretary," a few of my bolder classmates raised their hands to claim a name. By the time all of the normal business roles were taken, though, I had still not raised my hand. I just couldn't bear to wear "Person Who Whips Everyone Else Into Shape" on a name badge.

By the end of the class I had been assigned the role of "ESL Tagger" - a.k.a. "IHaveNoUsefulBusiness,PublicityOrCommunicationSkillsSoJustStickMe
InFrontOfAComputerAndI'llTagStuff." But don't get me wrong, I was not unhappy with my job. Although I am one of the sheltered folk who speaks only one language (they call us "Americans") lucky for me, finding ESL websites was an easy enough thing to do.

I quickly expired all of the useful ESL learning sites and moved on to bigger and better bookmarks. I began monitoring the tagging in other subjects, pinpointing the areas that needed the most help. Language Arts Grade 6-8 turned out to be a tricky topic to teach online, as most middle school students no longer need to learn their ABCs from a cartoon character. Instead of elementary games and quizzes, I helped find summer reading lists and local book clubs to add to the website.

Adept at analyzing and organizing, I then shifted my scrutinizing gaze to the layout of the SOS webpage. Now that the project was well on its way to becoming the next box-office hit, it was time to become more detail-oriented. Are the font sizes and colors consistent between screens? Are the resources easy to find, easy to click on? Should the resources be organized alphabetically or by subject matter? Thankfully I am used to reading small text, numbers, lines, symbols, abbreviations and the occassional foreign word. The SOS webpage was just another piece of sheet music, so I settled down to analyze it.

It is debatable whether or not my contributions to the SOS website produced any real effects. After all, the internet is just a mess of wireless connections, copper wires and fiber-optic cables, an informational Twilight Zone. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I'm still not sure it exists.

My one contribution I am sure had a real effect were my fliers. After two hours of riding my $30 bicycle up and down Crenshaw Boulevard, the street looked like an explosion of strawberry-orange Kool-Aid. I covered every Starbucks, church, day-care and fried chicken joint on that street with the red and gold SOS fliers - the locals had no choice but to see them and meet Saucy face to face.

Overall, my role in the SOS Classroom project was very eclectic, and I liked it that way. By working on different aspects of the project I got to see it from all sides. And by the end of my 360 degree rotation around SOS I experienced, not dizziness, but pride that I was part of a group, a project that really made a difference.

THE WHY

At the risk of sounding selfish (which is not that unusual), I like what the SOS Classroom does for me.

Sure, the free, interactive, crowd-sourced, educational resource site benefits children. After the annihilation of LAUSD summer school left public school kids hanging out to dry, the SOS Classroom came to the rescue, life-preserver ready. In lieu of solitaire and surfing the web, the SOS site allows kids to explore entertaining education sites. This means learning power, particularly learning and power, for when their parents blame them for "wasting away" in front of the computer, they can at last prove them wrong!

But who cares about the kids? This is me we're talking about.

Before I joined the SOS Classroom team, I was as computer-literate as Henry Allingham. Google, Word, iTunes and the occasional game of minesweeper was all I knew and all I needed. I was a disgrace to the Social Sciences writing class. But then the SOS Classroom project walked up, and, with its big droopy eyes, asked if I would help save the children. Before it could wag its tail, I was sold.

After initial preparation for the launch of the SOS website, it was time to create it. I took a deep breath, grabbed ahold of Saucy and dove in to the internet ocean. Blogs, Diigo, Pageflakes, Google Docs, Zotero, megasites and more... I was drowning in internet knowledge. Who knew there are so many people out there blogging and commenting and forwarding and looking? I was overwhelmed and officially creeped out. Still, after fumbling around with these newly introduced tools, I finally got the hang of it. I can now tag a site on Diigo "esl" or "grades678" faster than you can... whatever.

The SOS Classroom project was my introduction to internet collaboration and community, and I am excited to continue my summer education.

THE PRESENTATION

When asked to create a promotional presentation for the crowd-sourced, educational website SOS Classroom I racked my brain for creative ideas. A power-point presentation was too standard, and its online Prezi counterpart too similar. The SOS Classroom site is unique, and I wanted to create a unique presentation, something outside of the crayon box.

A stand-up comedy act, you might be guessing? A tap dance routine? No, no... I didn't want to make the other presentations look bad. So, instead of a circus act, I settled for a simple song. I would write a SOS Classroom theme song.

Then I faced another critical decision for my presentation. What would be the focus of the song? What would the lyrics convey? Toward whom would the song be directed?

I could fill the song lyrics with impressive vocabulary and internet lingo and teach parents how to use social bookmarking tools, or even teach teachers how to employ the SOS page in their own classrooms. Yet even though we do want parents and teachers involved in the SOS project, I realized that the bigger audience, the more important audience we want to reach are children. For this reason I chose to make my song kid-proof and kid-friendly.

The song lyrics tell listeners how to access the SOS page, where to go to learn about its history, and what to click on to find Language Arts, Math and ESL resources. Really, the lyrics are beneficial to anyone unfamiliar with the SOS website. But the musical material, like Trix, is strictly for kids.

Rather than create an original melody for the song, I chose to condense popular children songs into a medley. These folk songs, including the ABC melody, Old McDonald, The Wheels on the Bus, The Insy-Weensy Spider and Frere Jacques are easily recognized and more appreciated by children.

For instrumentation, I used what I had on hand. The sousaphone underneath my bed... the rusty trombone in the closet... that ol' pianer in the attic. I was limited to what I could play (and what I could kind of play) and so I made the best of it. The polka tuba solo and trombone glissando turned out well, but unfortunately my singing is not quite up to Pavarotti's standards. Lets just be thankful I'm not a vocal performance major.

After a few GarageBand sound effects and a bit of mixing, my medley was complete and ready to be paired with visuals. I called up my slide-show-expert partner, we put our better halves together, and there you have it - a SOS Classroom "how-to" song for kids!

I now invite you to watch and listen to my SOS Classroom presentation on YouTube. CLICK HERE.

modest meets modest

Modest Mouse Meets Modest Mussorgsky: An Examination of Classical Music in Popular Culture

In an age where six-year-olds own cell phones and cars run on electricity, it is no surprise that technology is transforming our musical customs as well. Soap operas replaced operatic drama, ipods replaced live music, Rock Band replaced the guitar, Britney replaced Bach. Classical music, once a thriving member of 19th century popular culture, is now a dying art. Customs have changed so dramatically in the last century, in fact, that "classical music" isn't really "Classical" music anymore. Once a scholarly term for music of the period between Bach and Beethoven, to modern day folk, “classical music” refers to all of the music rooted in Western liturgical and secular music. Now, anything with string instruments can pass for "classical." Classical music has been reduced, reused and recycled by our ready-made lifestyle and is on the verge of extinction. Is there a chance classical music will ever be the cultural centerpiece it once was? Is there a future for classical music?

Classical music is undeniably, and quickly, becoming an outcast among our techno-savy society, causing sinking classical organizations to scramble to stay afloat. The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) recently released the latest of their periodic studies on arts audiences. As expected, their 2008 data shows “persistent patterns of decline in participation for most art forms” (Sandow). In the last thirty years alone, “attendance at performing arts such as classical music, jazz, opera, ballet, musical theater, and dramatic plays has seen double-digit rates of decline.” The waning fan numbers, which have far surpassed projected levels, have encouraged classical organizations to rethink their business plans. The Chicago Symphony just announced that their operating budget for fiscal year 2010 is now $2 million smaller than originally planned. Chicago Tribune writer John von Rhein declares that if orchestras intend to make it out of the recession, however, they need to “do a good deal more than making a few nips and tucks” in their expense report (1). While tighter budgets may give temporary wrinkle relief, von Rhein and others note that an increase in demand from the consumer base is the only way to provide classical music with a lasting face-lift.

In response to classical music's widespread decline in popularity, we have witnessed a frenzied upheaval of advertising techniques among American classical music organizations. The Boston Pops Orchestra elongated their summer program, the Los Angeles Philharmonic created a kid-friendly version of the Ring Cycle and the Dallas Symphony now regularly programs “Casual Friday” concerts. Because of its age, classical music can sometimes be regarded as "old-fashioned" or unpopular, therefore one of the most prominent advertising efforts is to make it appear more "hip." New marketing strategies are a common occurrence among older industries - long-standing newspapers now transfer their articles to the internet and authors offer their books online. Finally, it seems patrons of classical music, too, are re-introducing their product to battle "aging" criticisms. In his blog “My Fickle Ears Dig It,” tubist Steven Kac refers to the aforementioned NEA report and doubts the effectiveness of these marketing tactics:

The classical music people have been on about the aging audience issue for years. They've identified formality as the enemy, and hence, the solution they've pursued has been to try to make the concert experience more casual. How curious, then, that the audience is aging even faster. Is formality really the villain here? (Kac).

Kac poses a provoking question. Is the "formal" presentation of classical music the only factor contributing to its decline, or is there another cause? As attempts to make classical music more approachable (and more informal) fail to revive our culture's love for classical music, we are left to assume the latter. Over and over again, “Concerts in the Park” and “Family Nights” are unsuccessful and orchestra managers wonder what went wrong. They don’t realize, or perhaps are unwilling to admit, that their advertising attempts were flawless. People simply no longer have a taste for classical music.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. Masters in marketing realize that in order to catch people’s attention about classical music we must make it appealing to them. Mere advertising and media manipulation, however, do not seem to be doing the job. Audiences are only temporarily satisfied, if that, by informal classical events, and entirely unsatiated by formal concerts. People's music preferences have changed, but if we attempt to force classical music down their throats it will only instill their distaste. Instead of manipulating people, we need to manipulate music. In spite of academia’s ethical boundaries, the best way to ensure a successful, relevant future for classical music is to combine it with popular culture, creating mass appeal to modern society.

The majority of research on people's music preferences attributes musical taste to distinct characteristics, including geography, socioeconomic status, race and level of education. George Carney's book, for example, The Sounds of People and Places, tracks the origin of various music genres to cities across America. Carney then associates people's preference of unique genres such as Country or Blues to their geographic location. Similarly, author Karl Schuessler associates people’s diverse music preferences with their socio-economic history. In his book Musical Taste and Socio-Economic Background, Schuessler concludes that those raised in high-income households tend to prefer "high art" music such as classical more than those raised in low-income families (27). If people are predisposed to like and dislike certain genres, then how can advertising be effective? According to Carney and Schuessler, we can play Mozart symphonies all day long to a lower-income, uneducated person from Tullahoma, Tennessee, but, because of their background, we would run out of symphonies before they learned to like the music.

Other research credits people's music preferences to their family life. Craig and Irene Peery of BYU published an article in the Journal of Research in Music Education about the effect exposure to classical music as a young child has on future music preferences. Unsurprisingly, those who were exposed to the genre at an early age tended to enjoy the music more later in life. Most children are lucky enough to be taught classical music in public school, but for those who are not, the Peerys suggest their parents take on the responsibility of finding music education for them. As if parents aren't busy enough already, apparently the future of classical music lies in their hands, too. In the same journal, author David Boyle published an article titled "Factors Influencing Pop Music Preferences of Young Persons," in which he accounts for societal and parental influences in children's musical taste. Boyle reasons that if our fondness for classical genres continues to falter, subsequent generations will not learn to appreciate the art and, according to Darwin's theory of natural selection, the species of classical music will soon become extinct. This enlightening research has yet to be recognized by current leaders of classical music organizations. Rather than acknowledge the complexity of people's music preferences, they assume that with the right amount of advertising (which tends to be an overwhelming amount) people will easily be convinced to listen to classical music. It is apparent, however, that it takes more than a reduction in ticket prices to attract someones attention to a classical concert. We must take individual preferences and sociological influences into account if we want to fully restore classical music's reputation. We have to accept that people's music preferences are beyond our control, and instead manipulate classical music so that it will fall within their realm of listening.

I recently conducted a short online survey on people’s music preferences and perception of classical music. My subject pool consisted of thirty people between the age of 19 and 30, one person younger than 18 and two people over 30. The majority of subjects are current college students and 14 of them are music majors. My intention was to discover what music people like, if and why they do not like classical music, and what it would take for them to attend a classical music concert. I did not anticipate many people would be avid fans of classical music, and, alas, the results echoed my expectations. When asked what genre of music they listen to the most, over 50% of subjects responded that they listen to Rock or Pop. Almost 75% of subjects claimed they either never or infrequently attended classical music concerts. Over two thirds of subjects said they would not spend more than $30 to attend a classical music concert, with 20% claiming they wouldn’t even spend a penny. Still, the results had a silver lining. An overwhelming majority of subjects claimed they would gladly spend more than $30 to hear a classical music concert if the concert featured their favorite artist, and every single person said they would enjoy listening to classical music if it were fused with another genre, such as Jazz, Latin or, strangely enough, 80s.

These survey results prove that there is a future for classical music, but not as we know it today. For one reason or another, be it age, hometown or ethnicity, people develop particular music preferences that they are reluctant to change. It seems, though, that people are willing to listen to new (and even classical) music if it is combined with genres familiar to them. An obvious example of this approach is Walter Murphy’s disco titled “A Fifth of Beethoven,” released in 1976. Murphy’s effect-heavy adaptation of the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is somewhat crude, with a looped beat and weak electronic solo. The song features only a few original ideas, and all of them are variations of Beethoven's original melody. Obviously, Murphy assumed that the general public was familiar with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and would catch on to the pun. Even with this required amount of classical literacy, the disco reached the Top 40 hit list, was featured in movies like Saturday Night Fever and Austin Powers, and gave the long deceased Ludwig loads of free publicity.

Even though remixes such as these bring notice to classical genres, a few high-art music authorities assert that extensive alteration of the classical canon is unethical. Holly Mulcahy, author of the column “Neo Classical” in the Partial Observer, disagrees with orchestra attempts to perform contemporary genres such as Michael Jackson hits. This type of programming, Mulcahy insists, is merely a “ploy” to attract ticket buyers and make the orchestra “seem more approachable” (Mulcahy). In her article “Should Orchestras Confine Themselves to a Certain Genre?” Mulcahy questions why orchestras have changed their profiles so drastically:

Some say orchestras are limiting themselves by relegating the majority of programming to standard repertoire from 100-200 years ago. But isn't that what people expect? When they buy a ticket to go see the symphony, aren't they generally expecting a Brahmish, Beethovenesque or Mozarty type piece? When one goes to a steakhouse for dinner, one expects to see mostly steak on the menu. Why shouldn't orchestras approach ticket buyers the same way? (Mulcahy).

If the ticket buyers Mulcahy mentions actually wanted to hear a “Mozarty” piece, her argument might stand firm. As it turns out, the preponderance of potential ticket buyers would much rather listen to an orchestral rendition of “Thriller” than anything resembling Mozart. In this society, if any organization followed Mulcahy’s advice and programmed a Baroque-only concert season they may as well get their lawyer on the line, because they will soon be filing for bankruptcy. Orchestras no longer have the option of programming only standard repertoire.

To satisfy classical elitists like Mulcahy, a less invasive approach to modifying classical repertoire can be taken. One such approach is the trendy technique of multi-genre programming. Greg Sandow, music professor and author of the ArtsJournal blog “Sandow,” recently oversaw such a concert in which minimalist pieces by Elliot Carter and John Adams were performed alongside Michael Jackson and the Decemberists. The concert was planned and performed by student musicians and included “radical” additions like integrated videos, strobe lighting and sing-a-long lyrics. In his post “NOI liftoff” Sandow writes of the audience’s response to the concert:

Some people making comments here liked the ideas. Some didn't. Some liked some of the ideas, but not others. Some thought the ideas would lead to effective outreach, some didn't. Some worried that the ideas -- if carried out on any large scale -- would make too great a change in classical concerts. The concert was, if you ask me -- and if you ask the students -- a great success.

The combination of genres within a single concert works well to lure people to classical music. The presence of contemporary genres works as bait, and once an audience is hooked, people listen to classical music in its unaltered form. While some concert goers may be displeased with being forced to listen to the classical part of the program, most listeners are thankful for the contrast and listen with open ears. Even Mulcahy admits she wouldn’t mind if the steak house kitchen (in this case, concert program) offered a “few interesting and different side dish choices to mix it up a bit.”

The latest initiative to popularize classical music is to modernize its presentation. In 2008, Russian visual artist Alexey Steele founded a concert series called Classical Underground. Once a month, in a large warehouse in Carson, California, friends and guests of Steele sit on couches and folding chairs and listen to chamber music performed by Los Angeles Philharmonic members and local musicians. At a recent performance, Roberto Leni, an Academic Advisor for the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, was one of nearly five hundred audience members dressed in “Bohemian” clothing and snacking from a “pot-luck style” table at the warehouse. The atmosphere enchanted Leni:

There was an incredible mix of people and the musicians played music by composers from all over Eastern Europe. It was very refreshing to hear Western classical music in that kind of place. It was like going out in the streets in Europe and hearing a professional violinist playing in a Metro for only a couple of coins. That doesn’t happen enough here.

Classical music has long been portrayed as an elitist art that is showcased in stuffy, inhospitable symphony halls and meant for only select ears. But we no longer live in a hierarchical European society, Leni points out, and it is time traditional Western music became available, comfortable and fashionable in our society. This “decolonization” of classical music is a necessary process that Leni insists will “bring music back to the people” (Leni). In other words, classical music is not just fit for a king - it is a genre appreciated by everyone and, accordingly, should be available to everyone. Classical music must be poured into America's melting pot and placed on the pot-luck dinner table alongside all of the other genres.

It may be difficult for some classical musicians to greet these changes with open arms. After all, there is no guarantee that our alterations to classical music will not be permanent; our beloved music may never be the same again. If we do not act now, though, our beloved genre may never be listened to again. As classical music takes on a popular twist, we should remember that the transformation and fusion of genres is a natural process. Brahms’ masterpiece Variations on a Theme by Haydn would never have received such acclaim had critics bashed the idea of borrowing music, and R&B would not exist had Soul and Funk genres not been united. Instead of hesitancy, classical music fans and critics should greet these changes with the solace that they will help preserve the genre as an integral art form. With our help, classical music will soon revolutionize and reinstate itself within popular culture, and when it does, let’s make sure we have enough warehouses to go around.

super-sized billboard

How do you feel about Big Macs?




This morning as I was driving on the highway I was bombarded by a two-story tall McDonald's chicken sandwich. It popped up out of nowhere, gleaming greasily on a billboard to my right. Scary, right? Even scarier were the words accompanying it. Next to the tomato, in crispy clean white letters, was in the incredulous plea "Please do not eat the billboard."

Eat the billboard? You've got to be kidding me, I thought. It's 9:00 am! I wouldn't even come close to eating a billboard meal from McDonald's, much less a real one.

Besides making me lose my morning appetite, the billboard chicken also got me thinking about advertising, and advertising audiences. If I, like so many other health-nut Californians, are turned off by the idea of McDonald's, exactly which people are turned on by their ads? What was the billboard's target audience?

A. Regular fast-food eaters
B. Occasional fast-food eaters
C. Those who don't eat fast food but want to
D. New vegetarians who are regretting their decision
E. All of the above

The answer, obviously, is E.

McDonald's is a multi-billion dollar franchise because their target audience is 95% of the population. This sounds exaggerated, but really, who doesn't appreciate a hamburger now and then?

This realization was a real downer, an Un-Happy Meal. It just didn't seem fair that the majority of America is willing to eat at McDonald's but not to listen to classical music. Classical music has the same target audience, same methods of advertising and a much healthier product than the fast-food chain, yet people continue to drive by.

Why is it so easy for McDonald's to advertise and sell their malnutritious products when classical music - an object much more worthy of our attention - is going out of business?

the paper solution

To return to a question previously posed in my blog (see here), is classical music dying?

Classical music performers, experts and fans tackle this doozy of a question on a daily basis. They wonder how many people will show for the next Long Beach Symphony concert, or if classical music will ever again equate to the fame of Michael Jackson.

After they wonder, they speculate.

"No... classical music is definitely NOT dying. First of all, its an inanimate object. Second of all, its just too imperative an art form for our society to forget." Or, "I'm sorry, honey, but I have some bad news. Our favorite genre of music is dead, extinct, run over by the Jonas Brother's limo."

After they speculate, they usually call it a night.

(Zzz...)

Except for me. Rather than pouring a late night cocktail and toasting to "better times," when I deduced classical music was lagging behind in the polls I sat down at my laptop and wrote a paper about it! I could not sleep knowing that classical music may or may not die off. The genre is too important to music history and too important to me. So I came up with a solution.

Be on the lookout for a link to my research paper, "Modest Mouse Meets Modest Mussorgsky." Don't worry, it's quite lengthy. You won't miss it.

social bookmarking soulmate

Let me introduce you to my soulmate. That is, my long-lost, web2.0-loving, internet-surfing, classicial-music-blogging, Diigo-using soulmate. Her/his name is Philharmania.

I know what you’re thinking.
“Gosh, she doesn’t even know her soulmate’s gender??”
But let me reassure you, our social bookmarking relationship goes beyond the meager social construct you call gender. This is internet love.

Unsurprisingly, Philharmania primarily bookmarks topics about music. Their top five tags read (from top to bottom) as such:

1. "review" (as in music reviews)
2. "classical"
3. "jpc" (an acronym for "Jazz Pop Classical," a German music sharing website)
4. "musicweb"
5. "music"

Philharmania is undoubtedly, unabashedly a music nerd.

As a social bookmarker, though, Philharmania is losing their touch. They have not bookmarked a single Mozart fan club site since March 2007, and of their 747 public bookmarks hardly any of them have comments. Apparently, Philharmania had a lot to listen to but not much to say.

It's a shame the classical music bookmarking army has lost Philharmania from their ranks. When s/he was active s/he served well, bookmarking several times a week. Perhaps one day Philharmania will be rescued from a deserted island, where s/he lived for the past two years without internet, hiding from pop music terrorists, and all will be at peace in the bookmarking world once more.

For now, though, we must find solace in their dated, but not out-dated, tags. I came across an excellent website among Philharmania's bookmarks called Andante. Subtitled "everything classical," the site offers the classical music affectionado a discussion forum, online articles, book reviews, cd reviews, concert reviews, and even streaming music.

Also one of Philharmania's fabulous finds is a website called Essentials of Music. A wonderful "how-to" for classical music beginners, the site contains historical information about music periods, biographical information of famous composers and a classical music glossary of over 200 terms, musical examples included.

While some of Philharmania's bookmarks are location specific (Philharmania is a UK native) and cannot be accessed by American browsers, the majority of their bookmarks are both accessible and useful. While these tags do not usually link to scholarly articles or important pieces of classical music literature, if you're looking for file-sharing sites, a classical music chat forum or a NY Times article about David Lynch, Philharmania knows where to take you.

lit review

In response to classical music's widespread decline in popularity, we have witnessed a frenzied upheaval of advertising techniques among American classical music organizations. The Boston Pops Orchestra elongated their summer program, the Los Angeles Philharmonic created a kid-friendly version of the Ring Cycle and the Dallas Symphony now regularly invites rock groups to perform alongside their orchestra. Although exciting (and expensive), these attempts have failed to procur the desired effect, a revival of our culture's love for classical music. Because mere advertising and media manipulation doesn't seem to get the job done, we need to work harder to discover the root of people's music preferences so we may then change them.

The majority of research done on people's music preferences attributes musical taste to individual characteristics such as geography, socioeconomic status, race and level of education. For example, George Carney's book, The Sounds of People and Places, tracks the origin of various music genres to cities across America. Carney then attributes people's preference of unique genres such as country or blues to their geographic location. Similarly, author Karl Schuessler associates people's diverse music preferences with their socio-economic history. In his book Musical Taste and Socio-Economic Background, Schuessler concludes that those raised in high-income households tend to prefer "high art" music such as classical more than those raised in low-income families.

In addition to books and dissertations, a large amount of research on this subject are smaller published works such as surveys, articles and university studies. Craig and Irene Peery of BYU published an article in the Journal of Research in Music Education about the effect exposure to classical music as a young child has on future music preferences. In the same journal, author David Boyle published an article titled "Factors Influencing Pop Music Preferences of Young Persons," in which he accounts for societal and parental influences in a child's musical taste.

Encompassing all of these forms of research are published works such as Applications of Research in Music Behavior edited by Clifford Madsen and Carol Prickett that compile works from multiple researchers in this field. This particular book includes elementary studies on music's effect on childrens' behavior, models for teachers and parents to follow while giving music instruction, as well as studies on complex subjects such as pitch and tempo preferences in popular music.

Despite the presence of this research, it has yet to be recognized by current leaders of classical music organizations. Rather than acknowledge the complexity of people's music preferences, they assume that with the right amount of advertising people will easily be convinced to listen to classical music. It is apparent, however, that it takes more than a reduction in ticket prices to attract someone's attention to a classical concert. We must take individual preferences and sociological influences into account if we truly want to restore classical music's reputation. We will have to accept that people's music preferences are beyond our control, and instead manipulate classical music so that it will fall within their realm of listening.

a short survey

I created a survey to collect data for a research paper and I would absolutely love to receive your electronic response.

The survey is about you and your music preferences. It has 10 (ten) questions. Assuming you know what kind of music you enjoy, it will take you around 47 seconds to complete.

Simply click on the link below, answer 10 questions and you will receive a complimentary frozen giraffe!

Please take my survey!

pageflake

I recently created a pageflake where I put links to blogs, websites, bookmarks and scholarly resources about music and Los Angeles.

I think it's swell.

Would you like to learn more about my page?

(Yes, you would.)

Oh, you would? Well then, continue reading for a mini "tour" of my pageflake...

RSS Flakes

The RSS feeds I have included are an unfortunately accurate representation of existing classical music blogs. Ranging from uber traditional to slightly less traditional, these blogs form a very slender bell curve that covers chatter on classical music in contemporary society.

Way out in left field are blogs such as “Sandow,” written by a well-learned music critic and educator, and “Dial ‘M’ for Musicology,” which is not as clever as its name suggests. You can rely on these blogs for almost daily updates on classical music musings, scholarly reports and hypothetical questions.

On the right side of this grassy field are blogs by youngins like Molly Sheridan and Steven Kac. Youthful and full of spunk, their blogs have a few more pop culture references than their elders’ and use literary devices such as sarcasm and comedy. Still, their blogs remain to the point, and you will find traces of academia hiding between their italicized punch lines.

Loafing around in the middle of the field, picking weeds and looking bored, are blogs like “My Fickle Ears Dig It” and “Musical Assumptions.” While these feeds do offer some notable posts about the music world, personal posts and daily reflections make up the majority of the feed. These blogs, when paired with warm milk and a blanket, will put you right to sleep.

Search Flakes

I used the terms “classical music and culture” and “future of classical music” in the Universal Blog and Universal News searches, respectively. Because “music in Los Angeles” is so specific it did not bring up enough material, so I kept my key terms very general.

For the Blog search in particular, it was very difficult to pull up any feeds other than RIP Michael Jackson posts or random music event ads. Apparently the general blogging public is more interested in the death of a pop culture legend than the future of classical music. Go figure.

Soulmate Flake

Let me introduce you to my soulmate. That is, my long-lost, web2.0-loving, internet-surfing, classicial-music-blogging, Diigo-using soulmate. Her/his name is Philharmania.

I know what you’re thinking.
“Gosh, she doesn’t even know her soulmate’s gender??”
But let me reassure you, our social bookmarking relationship goes beyond the meager social construct you call gender. This is internet love.

Philharmania and I share a whopping ten tag terms. Not only that, but both “it” and I have designated over half of our Diigo tags as music related, whether it be “musicology,” “opera,” or even “Rameau.” Not only that, but Philharmania also shares my interest in classical music websites and has an avid bookmark collection of blogs, mp3 sharing sites and music reviews.

Bibliography Flake

I attempted to make my Zotero bibliography quite general. Rather than only include articles about music in Los Angeles, I chose sources that spoke about music alone, or music and society, or old people. In this way, I have a flexible source of material for my research paper and my pageflake readers are not bored to tears by the sight of the words “Los Angeles” and “music” in the same sentence.

Five of my fourteen sources are books. Surprisingly, the USC music library has quite a few heavy volumes on ethnomusicology, sociological aspects of music, popular music constructs, music-socio-economic studies, the psychology of music, and other equally stimulating topics. So, after brushing off the dust, I picked out the ones with the best covers and took them home.

My other nine sources are, you guessed it, not books! These journal articles and anthologies tackle subjects slightly more specific, such as audience demographics and everything you ever want to know about mariachi music. Shorter and easier to read, these articles add diversity to my hard-back collection and offer contemporary opinions on our musical society.


Now, go look at my pageflake!

white noise

Forget about the snobby Beverly Hills crowd, the 24-hour traffic, the ever-present tanning salons and the heavenly cost of living. Los Angeles is miraculous.

Why the sudden change of heart?

Today being the glorious, sunny, 80-degree day that it was, I decided to take a trip to the beach with some friends. I splattered on sunscreen, stretched out a towel and collapsed on the sand.

Soon enough I caught myself drifting off… all of a sudden I was Captain Plush, on a mission to destroy the sun monster. Feathered torpedoes zoomed around me and waves of heat blinded my eyes, yet I pushed on, determined to demolish the growling cookie monster eating the sun.

Wait a second… growling cookie monster? As I came to, trying to make sense of my dream, I realized the growling, devouring creature must have been the ocean. With its low grumble and howling waves, it made for a pretty good space villain.



But why was the cookie monster sleep-inducing? Why is the sound of the ocean so calming?

One of my friends proposed that the ocean must remind us of our mother’s embryonic fluids, the sticky sort we floated around in while in the womb. Though a charming idea, I was doubtful of our ability to identify with a feeling so… primal.

I think the ocean is calming because it is “white noise.” Like the sound of a trickling stream, a bedroom fan, the hum of an air conditioner, the static of a radio. It’s a constant, unchanging, barely discernible sound that floats in the back of our minds and washes away our troubles.

Picture yourself lying on the beach with the roar of the ocean in your ear… Now that’s relaxation. Where else can you experience that?

Why, in a symphony hall, of course! Or, perhaps on a classical music radio station!

I realized today that the classification of classical music as “calming music” stems from people’s perception of complex progressions and unusual instruments as “white noise.”

Just as I might turn on a baseball game for the sake of distraction while I cook dinner, or turn on the bedroom fan so I can fall asleep, the average person will listen to a classical piece of music and hardly hear it.

This reminds me of a time I spent in the car with my sister. We were driving a long distance so I turned on a Mahler symphony. Thirteen minutes in I’m on the edge of my seat, holding my breath as a chord resolves in a deceptive resolution, and I looked over to see my sister, who is in the passenger seat sending a text, biting her fingernails and asking if the song is over yet.

Unlike pop songs and hip hop singles, which can be easily recognized by rhyming lyrics over a weak, repetitive chord progression, symphonic and operatic repertoire floats in the deep end of musical intricacy.

I-IV-V-I is baby food for classical musicians. We have no appetite for it. We need something thick and meaty to sink our teeth into, to tear apart and savor, piece by piece.

To the untrained ear, on the other hand, a Brahms symphony is merely fifty minutes of I-IV-V-I progressions. (No wonder the old ladies are always nodding off in the front row. If that was all I heard, I’m sure it would put me to sleep, too.)

With this understanding, I’m left with an unfortunate lack of hope that average Joe (who is most likely a Coldplay fan) will ever truly appreciate classical repertoire. After all, average Joe has never played an instrument, read a music theory textbook, or even learned the notes in a C Major scale. Likewise, his elementary school level of music education only goes so far, and everyone knows he’s too cool to attend those classical community outreach programs.

What keeps the public, then, from tossing classical music into their database of white noise and storing it away until they need help falling asleep?

Unfortunately, nothing.

sometimes trying just ain't good enough

Oh deary me! Every time I go to the opera I am accompanied by a graying/bluing lady with a bad perm and her handkerchiefed husband.

The wealthy, elderly folk are unavoidable at classical music concerts. Opening candy wrappers to your left, spilling into your seat on the right, opening bottles of Perrier from behind, they’re like cockroaches! Not to attack our senior citizens, but honestly. Is there an unwritten rule that you have to be over 75 years old to see an opera?

In 2005 the National Endowment for the Arts released statistics on audience demographics for American opera companies:

In comparison with other arts-goers, opera attendees are wealthier, the most highly educated, and tend to reside in the suburbs. Opera tends to attract more women (58%) than men. In 2002, 6.1% of the opera audience was Hispanic, 3.8% was African American, and 3.6% was Asian American and Native American.

..."Tend to reside in the suburbs?” HA. I suppose that’s the PC way to say, “the people who go to operas are khaki-wearing, conservative, Caucasian retirees.” Personally, I find the latter definition much more accurate.

It’s disappointing, really, that classical music audiences are not more eclectic.

If a greater number of racial minorities attended concerts, for example, perhaps companies would begin to explore composers outside of the 18th century canon. Would a predominately Hispanic crowd not encourage the addition of composers like Robert Rodriquez to programs? Would Japanese concertgoers not want to hear music by Toru Takemitsu included in the performance?

If nothing else, our concert halls need the gumption of youth. It’s exasperating when I go to see Wagner’s Die Meistersinger and the elderly woman next to me is nodding off. If that woman was a ten-year-old boy I guarantee his eyes would have been glued to the stage, wide with horror at the sight of the valkyries’ flaming horses. Didn't you know it’s important for younger generations to attend classical music concerts. It makes them cultured. Less stupid.

So, why are audience demographics so narrow? Why can’t classical music organizations attract bigger audiences?

I recently interviewed for an internship with the Los Angeles Opera. Unfortunately for them I was overly qualified and was not offered the job. Anyway, the position was with the Education and Community Programs department, which organizes programs and learning opportunities for children, adults and educators in LA County.

They hold free “Opera Talks” in low-income neighborhoods, put on miniature performances of Madame Butterfly for elementary schools, offer discounted opera tickets for college students, and post downloadable opera lesson plans for teachers. It’s quite a charitable department (and considering the LA Opera’s $54 million budget, it’s to be expected).

The LA Opera assumed that by reaching out to their community and sharing opera with the public that they would attract some attention. Students would take an interest. Teachers would begin to organize field trips. More people would come to the opera. Still, despite all their philanthropy, they have yet to see a definitive change in opera attendance. Where are all of the 1st graders from Norwood Elementary who reenacted The Marriage of Figaro? Where are the LAUSD teachers who attended the Opera 101 training seminar? Sitting at home listening to Miley Cyrus, I guess.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has made similar efforts. Firstly, they hold a summer series of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Not only are these concerts community friendly and sometimes accompanied with fireworks, but they even have $1 tickets! Gasp! The LA Phil also runs the Young Musicians Initiative program, which encourages LA students to participate in Youth Orchestras and offers them opportunities to perform aside LA Phil members. And they, too, hold neighborhood concerts through their Community Partnership Program.

But, once again, despite their best efforts, the LA Phil has failed to attract a larger audience. Classical music concert attendance is still dropping, classical music organizations are still going out of business, and community members still don’t care.

Take another look at Molly Sheridan’s post. It’s miserable!

I say enough with the advertising. Enough with promoting silly concerts that pair Handel and hot chocolate. If people don’t like or understand the music that is being played, it won’t matter how many times we candy coat the concert, they won’t come.

We don’t need any more cheap concerts or kid friendly ads. What we need is sex appeal. Some tall red heads in bikinis… a few male underwear models… name your favorite celebrity. If traditional advertising methods won’t work, then by God we’ll make classical music untraditional!



So, step aside Mozart and Schubert, your tunes have been played one too many times. We’re in a new era of classical music now, the kind with rock bands and electronic music and experimental techniques and indeterminacy. Classical concerts should no longer be boring afternoon outings for Red Hat Society ladies. The new era of concerts need to be hot. Spicy. Wild!

Now, where did we put those handcuffs?

trifecta

A recapitulation of the last three posts...



Hello Reader,

Once upon a time there was a young girl who loved music. Raised by Tuvan throat-singers in the hills of Kyrgyz, this child learned to read, write, and tie her shoes. When she was old enough, she enrolled in a money-order-only private school and learned how to play the tuba from an eighty-year-old arthritic gymnast. When the girl was discovered to be a tuba-playing prodigy she was kidnapped by CIA scuba divers, given a sleeping potion and taken to Los Angeles.

Upon reaching Los Angeles the girl awoke to find herself in the middle of a Writing 340 class, within yet another cash-sucking private school. Although she desperately wanted to return to Tuva to play tuba, she decided to stay. Her new professor was going to teach her how to make a blog, and with this new, flashy internet site she could study music and then tell the whole world about it.

Unfamiliar with Los Angeles, the girl tubist recently decided to write her blog about the new city and the music she discovered within it. The girl is very inquisitive, you see, and wants to know what genres of music are popular in Los Angeles. According to the media, Hannah Montana and Coldplay are the coolest kids on the block, but the girl is very skeptical. She has seen advertisements for Wagner’s Ring Cycle performed by the LA Opera and flyers for Herbie Hancock live at the Hollywood Bowl. These concerts wipe the floor with teenage girls and boy-bands. What are these people smoking?

After getting to the bottom of Los Angeles inhabitants’ seemingly contagious drug abuse problem, this girl hopes to discover what music is played in LA’s many communities and why. Aside from obvious ties between ethnicity and indigenous music, such as Mexico natives and mariachi or Japanese residents and ehru music, why do music genres seem to be limited to select performance venues? Why are the majority of classical performances in downtown? Why do rock bands frequent Hollywood? Why do soul and R&B artists play in South Central?

These are difficult questions, indeed, and to answer them the girl will have to go to a good deal of live concerts. Oh, well. Perhaps while she’s at these concerts, to fend off her inevitable boredom, she will take some notes. After writing down the type of music she hears, the location of the show and then drawing stick figure illustrations of the people she sees there she just might find a noteworthy relationship (chuckle) between music genres, concert venues and concert attendees.

The girl also expects to comment on dreary subjects such as the social hierarchies within Los Angeles, social constructs and concert attendance, the effects of our slowing economy on local musicians and local opinions about the LA music scene. But don’t worry your confounded little head. You won’t be bored. Her blog will be entertaining, comical, down right visionary! For after her hard work is done this girl plans to predict the future. That is, the future of music in Los Angeles.

Because her Tuvan parents avidly check her blog for updates, look forward to the tuba playing girl’s weekly postings about Los Angeles and its music.

The End.

Is classical music dying? Greg Sandow presents us with an answer.

Sandow’s blog, “Greg Sandow on the future of classical music,” explores societal opinions on classical music, its shrinking audience base, changes being made to classical ensembles and what we can expect of classical music in the future. While most bloggers of the general public would read his blog and instinctively yawn, Sandow’s focus is a weighty one for bloggers of the music world.

Our professions and paychecks rely on the musical prophecies he casts in his blog. And as we musicians wait for news, nervously plucking our strings, we trust that Sandow is qualified to discuss our future. Sandow received a MM in Music Composition and, after a short career as a composer, became a music critic, writing for Entertainment Weekly and The Wall Street Journal. He now works as a music critic and consultant based in New York City.

Sandow began his blog in July 2003 and has since written over 700 entries, averaging around three posts a week. Sandow’s blog is an ArtsJournal weblog and is rather popular, as his posts consistently receive comments from other bloggers and he hosts numerous ongoing discussions on his site. Two recent posts I find engaging are “Beyond Media” and “New Mission for orchestras?”

“Beyond Media” questions what type of advertisement is needed, if not a form of media, to promote classical music concerts. We all know that the question “Hey, ya want to go hear Beethoven’s Ninth with me?” usually fail as a pick up line, so Sandow attempts to spruce it up a bit. “New Mission for orchestras?” discusses the conflict confronted when orchestras must sacrifice professionalism, musical worth, and musicians’ gratification in order to appear community-friendly. In a slowing economy that, let’s face it, has a tendency to neglect the arts when times get tough, our approach toward advertising and performing classical music is very crucial.

I am pleased with the hospitable character of Sandow’s blog. While he offers insightful opinions and broaches controversial questions, he never adopts an authoritarian tone. Instead, as in his post “A shocking proposal,” Sandow offers his opinion and then asks for those of his readers:

Everyone talks about covering classical music in a livelier, more accessible way. But while I think that's certainly a good thing to do, I don't think it's the main problem. I think the main problem is that classical music isn't covered at all. What do you think?

While his question could be answered by any internet blogger, Sandow’s targeted audience are people involved in the arts. Many of the bloggers who comment on his page are musicians themselves, meaning Sandow’s topics hit close to home and they have a lot to say. Composers and tuba players alike can see the decline in classical music popularity as professional orchestras go out of business, less new music is commissioned, and less orchestral jobs become available, and, strangely, we like to blather about what horrible experiences the future holds for us.

In one of his posts labeled “Teaching,” Sandow tells of his experience as a professor at the Julliard School and Eastman School of Music. Naturally, many of the comments on this post come from other professors. While some of the talk is humdrum academic mumbling, most readers offer valuable suggestions of how to inspire classical music students to create their own paths in a shrinking classical music world. At least our teachers are optimistic. Or maybe it’s a scam…

In addition to its accepting, scholarly atmosphere, Sandow’s blog also includes ordinary discussions on ordinary subjects. Several of his posts are about visual art, political happenings, social sciences, education and -- get ready for this --“quotations of the day.” Still, Sandow’s writing is always researched, well written, highly detailed and calculated. His experience as a music critic is evident in his writing style, and his blog is immediately recognizable as a credible site for scholarly discussions and bloggers of academia. In other words, if you’re over fifty, wear tweed suits and enjoy isorhythmic motets, I guarantee you will like this blog.

In my own blog, “How Does LA Sound?” I hope to echo the substance of Sandow’s blog posts and his readiness to talk about subjects other than music. And, fortunately for you, the focus of my blog will be more concise than Sandow’s. Rather than discuss the future of a genre of music in the entire world, I will pinpoint only the music of Los Angeles. By observing the variance among music performed in Los Angeles I will identify what music thrives and what music is dying, find relationships between concert venues, performers and audience members, and foresee what the future of music will be for Los Angeles.

So take off that tweed jacket and grab a recording of the Brad Mehldau Trio. We’re traveling to lands not yet heard.

At last! A classical music blogger who discusses something other than Beethoven.

Molly Sheridan, a thirty-something female musician and music critic based in New York City is author of the ArtsJournal sponsored blog “Mind the Gap.” Unlike most classical music and musicology bloggers, Molly avoids littering her blog with lengthy concert reviews and mundane chats on the changing structure of the canon. Rather, Molly writes posts on “roller-skate chicks” and stolen scooters, all the while relating her quirky tales to the music business.

The eclectic nature of her posts is enough to attract the attention of any musician, if only from mere curiosity as to how “Mind the Gap” could possibly be a music blog. Molly’s writing, too, easily pulls readers in. It’s funny, sarcastic, simple, conversational… everything you could ever want from a not-too-academic blog. While she keeps her formatting and structure tuned down to “by the book” levels, Molly takes liberty with her diction, tone and subject matter.

In a recent post titled “Kiss My Skates” Molly recounts her adventure to a female roller derby:

The not-always-PC feminist I carry around in my head was not sure she was cool with this. The teams are made up of some kick-ass ladies, but they are also some unabashedly sexy chicks.

Her sarcastic description of herself as not always being politically correct and her casual use of the adjectives “kick-ass” and “unabashedly sexy” make clear that Molly does not filter niceties for the sake of etiquette, but embellishes her stories for shock value.

Molly then proceeds to relate these roller derby women to feminism in the music world (a strange comparison, right?):

I agonize over being a girl in the 2009 music world. I hear tales of misogyny among professionals and teachers. I watch music documentaries and wonder why the only women interviewed are "fans." I am annoyed by "women's concerts" and talking about "women's issues" in the field, but I'm awake enough to see why people still need to be reminded about them and poked regularly anyway.

Molly’s tone quickly moves from humorous to reflective, yet her voice is still very comfortable and personal. Even when broaching weighty subjects, Molly remains a calm and reasonable critic.

A more sober example of Molly’s sarcasm can be seen in her post “If You Didn’t Arrive Here Depressed.” In this short remark she recounts the latest news of struggling orchestras and their looming ruin, her title implying that if these dying music institutions don’t already upset the reader, then they should. Still, Molly is not morose, ending her post with “Alas, what a day in the world,” and an optimistic wish that things will turn around.

Another notable technique Molly employs to enhance her voice is the use of allusions. There are so many popular culture references in her blog, you would swear she spent all day at home watching television and reading Entertainment Weekly. Whether she’s mentioning The 700 Club, reality TV shows, iTunes, or Kool-Aid, her trendy quotations add energy to her posts and help her readers relate classical to popular music.

Comic diction, sarcasm, anecdotal posts and popular references all contribute to Molly’s success as a classical music blogger. Her voice is amusing and original. Her blog screams to the reader “I swear I’m not boring!” And, considering the vast majority of classical music blogs are dull tales of the newest advances in opera staging, her popular status is easily achieved.

reading Molly's voice

At last! A classical music blog that discusses something other than Beethoven.

Molly Sheridan, a thirty-something female musician and music critic based in New York City is author of the ArtsJournal sponsored blog, “Mind the Gap.” Unlike most classical music and musicology bloggers, Molly avoids littering her blog with lengthy concert reviews and mundane chats on the changing structure of the canon. Rather, Molly writes posts on “roller-skate chicks” and stolen scooters, all the while managing to relate her quirky tales to the music business.

The eclectic nature of her posts is enough to attract the attention of any musician, if only from mere curiosity as to how “Mind the Gap” could possibly be a music blog. Molly’s writing, too, easily pulls readers in. It’s funny, sarcastic, simple, conversational… everything you could ever want from a not-too-academic blog. While she keeps her formatting and structure tuned down to “don’t scare anyone away” levels, Molly takes liberty with her diction, tone and subject matter.

In a recent post titled “Kiss My Skates” Molly recounts her adventure to a female roller derby:

The not-always-PC feminist I carry around in my head was not sure she was cool with this. The teams are made up of some kick-ass ladies, but they are also some unabashedly sexy chicks.

Her sarcastic description of herself as not always being politically correct and her casual use of the adjectives “kick-ass” and “unabashedly sexy” make clear that Molly does not filter niceties for the sake of etiquette, but embellishes her stories for shock value. Molly then proceeds to relate these roller derby women to feminism in the music world (a strange comparison, right?).

I agonize over being a girl in the 2009 music world. I hear tales of misogyny among professionals and teachers. I watch music documentaries and wonder why the only women interviewed are "fans." I am annoyed by "women's concerts" and talking about "women's issues" in the field, but I'm awake enough to see why people still need to be reminded about them and poked regularly anyway.

Molly’s tone has quickly moved from humorous to reflective, yet her voice is still very comfortable and personal. This shows the reader that even when broaching weighty subjects, Molly remains a calm and reasonable critic.

A further example of Molly’s sarcasm can be seen in her post “If You Didn’t Arrive Here Depressed” from March 2009. In this short remark, she recounts the latest news of struggling orchestras and their looming ruin, her title implying that if these dying music institutions don’t already upset the reader, then they should be. Still, Molly is not morose, ending her post with “Alas, what a day in the world,” and an optimistic wish that things will turn around.

Another notable technique Molly employs to create her voice is the use of allusions. There are so many popular culture references in her blog, you would swear she spent all day at home watching television and reading Entertainment Weekly. Whether she’s mentioning The 700 Club, reality TV shows, iTunes, or Cinderella, her trendy quotations add energy to her posts and help her readers relate classical to popular music.

Comic diction, sarcasm, anecdotal posts and popular references all contribute to Molly’s success as a classical music blogger. Her voice is amusing and original. Her blog screams to the reader “I swear I’m not boring!” And considering the vast majority of classical music blogs are humdrum tales of the newest advances in opera staging, her popularity is easily won.

a profile of Sandow

Is classical music dying? Greg Sandow presents us with an answer.

Sandow’s blog, “Greg Sandow on the future of classical music,” discusses just what its name suggests and, in doing so, explores societal opinions on classical music, its shrinking audience base, changes being made to classical ensembles and what we can expect of classical music in the future. A weighty topic, indeed, yet one which Sandow is well qualified to discuss. Greg Sandow is a music critic and consultant based in New York City. Sandow received a MM in Music Composition and, after working as a composer, became a music critic, writing for Entertainment Weekly and The Wall Street Journal.

Sandow began his blog in July 2003 and has since written over 700 entries, averaging around three posts a week. Sandow’s blog is an ArtsJournal weblog and seems to be fairly popular, as his posts consistently receive comments from other bloggers and he hosts numerous ongoing discussions on his site. Two posts I find worth mentioning are “Beyond Media” and “New Mission for orchestras?” “Beyond Media” questions what type of advertisement is needed, if not a form of media, to promote classical music concerts. “New Mission for orchestras?” discusses the conflict confronted when an attempt is made to make an orchestra more community-friendly at the cost of professionalism, musical worth, and musicians’ gratification. In a slowing economy that has a tendency to neglect the arts when times get tough, our approach toward advertising and performing classical music is very crucial.

I am pleased with the hospitable character of Sandow’s blog. While he offers insightful opinions and broaches controversial questions, he never adopts an authoritarian tone. Instead, as in his post “A shocking proposal,” Sandow will present the subject – “Everyone talks about covering classical music in a livelier, more accessible way. But while I think that's certainly a good thing to do, I don't think it's the main problem. I think the main problem is that classical music isn't covered at all,” defend his argument, and then ask his readers the most important question – “What do you think?” While his question can be answered by any internet blogger, Sandow’s targeted audience is people involved in the arts, whether it’s music or dance, classical or non-classical. Many of the bloggers who comment on his page are musicians themselves, meaning Sandow’s topics hit close to home, and these readers often have opinions to offer. In one of his posts labeled “Teaching,” Sandow portrays his personal experience as a professor at the Julliard School and Eastman School of Music. Naturally, many of the comments come from other professors who offer their own insights as to how to inspire classical music students to create their own paths and battle the shrinking classical music world.

In addition to its accepting, scholarly atmosphere, Sandow’s blog also includes a discussion on a variety of subjects. While his primary focus is on the future of classical music and classical composers, many of his posts talk about other art forms, political happenings, social sciences, education and even “quotations of the day.” Still, Sandow’s writing is always researched, well written, highly detailed and calculated. His experience as a music critic is evident in his writing style, and his blog is immediately recognizable as a credible site for scholarly discussions and bloggers of academia. As a classical musician, I can attest that the topics discussed on Sandow’s site are weighty issues in the music world. Composers and tuba players alike can see the decline in classical music popularity as professional orchestras go out of business, less new music is commissioned, and less orchestral jobs become available, and we are all anxiously awaiting the future of classical music and what that means for us.

I hope to echo the substance within Sandow’s blog posts, as well as his readiness to talk about subjects other than music in my own blog. The main focus of my blog will be much more concise than Sandow’s, however, and rather than discuss the future of a genre of music in the entire world, I will pinpoint only the music of Los Angeles. In my blog I will observe the variance among music performed in Los Angeles, identify what music thrives and what music is dying, find relationships between concert venues, performers and audience members, and foresee what the future of music will be for Los Angeles.

story time

Dear Reader,

Once upon a time there was a child. She loved music. Raised by Tuvan throat-singers in the hills of Kyrgyz, this child learned to read, write, and tie her shoes. When she was old enough, she enrolled in a money-order-only private school and learned how to play the tuba from an eighty-year-old Armenian gymnast. When the girl was discovered to be a tuba-playing prodigy she was kidnapped by CIA scuba divers, given a sleeping potion and taken to Los Angeles.

Upon reaching Los Angeles the girl awoke to find herself in the middle of a Writing 340 class, within yet another cash-sucking private school. Although she desperately wanted to return to Tuva to play tuba, she decided to stay. Her new professor was going to teach her how to make a blog, and with this flashy internet site she could study music and then tell the whole world about it.

Unfamiliar with Los Angeles, the girl tubist recently decided to write her blog about the new city and the music she discovered within it. The girl is very inquisitive, you see, and wants to know what genres of music are popular in Los Angeles, discover what music is played in what communities, find relationships between venues, genres and concert attendees, observe what music is thriving and what music is dying, and attempt to predict the future of music in Los Angeles.

The girl also expects to comment on subjects such as the social hierarchies within Los Angeles, social constructs and concert attendance, the effects of our slowing economy on Los Angeles musicians, local opinions about the LA music scene, and the future of classical music in LA. Because her Tuvan parents avidly check her blog for updates, look forward to the tuba playing girl’s weekly postings about Los Angeles and its music.

The End.