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 A lot of people have a misconception that only singers and players of wind instruments need to concern themselves with a good seated or standing position. But imagining a drummer sitting in a recliner or a cello player laying on the floor dissolves this misconception. Proper playing or singing position is critical for all musicians, not only physically but also psychologically for the performer and audience. I will address the physical first. At its most basic level, singers and wind players do need to be concerned with the breathing mechanism and not obstructing it. The two extremes of a bad position--leaning forward or resting arms on the legs is actually squeezing a little on the lungs and abdominal muscles (depending on the age range of the students, I sometimes describe this as toilet position). The opposite, leaning back into the chair with hips forward means that muscles are working to prevent you from falling backwards (unless you literally are in a recliner) that do not need to be working to produce a sound. To demonstrate this, I do it visually and really exaggerate it. For the leaning forward, I make it hard to breathe and sometimes fall forward out of my chair. For leaning backward, I often moan to demonstrate how much it hurts to hold myself up. To describe proper playing position, I tell the students to sit so that they could stand up right away. Too far back on the chair and this becomes difficult. Leaning forward or backward, and this becomes difficult. When the students ask why they would need to stand up fast, I suggest maybe we would have a fire drill or a surprise ice cream party.  Beyond the air requirement for singers and wind players, we have the other physical requirements of playing an instrument that correct playing position is crucial. This involves different things for different instruments. For woodwind instruments, every key must be accessible to the player. This means that the arms and hands must be positioned not only so the player can reach the keys but so the players hands and arms do not grow tired due to holding them improperly. For orchestral strings, the player must consider the positioning of the hand for changing pitch as well as the bowing arm. For guitar, electric bass, and other fretted strings, one has to consider the position of the hand forming the chords and the hand picking or strumming. For keyboard players, not only the height of the arms, but the curve of the fingers is important for good technique. For any percussionist, the height of their arms to the instrument and distance to the instrument determines success. Beyond demonstration and explanation, how do we convince students of the importance of good playing position? The answer is to let students discover the benefits of a good position for themselves. Let them struggle a little and find out that it is harder to play when they hold their hand a certain way or slouch, etc. Obviously, if a student is just not getting it on their own, prompt them to adjust slightly and once they notice the difference, it is very likely that the student will continue to use the more comfortable and easier (proper) position. Psychologically, having a position that is more “at attention” will encourage students’ minds to focus even better. It will also encourage audience members to pay attention to what they hear because they see performers at the edge of their seats and think “something exciting is about to happen!” Teaching proper playing and singing position not only helps students to sound better, but they will look very sharp when performing :) 
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 During the silent era, comedy was one of, if not the, most popular and critically acclaimed film genres. Criticism of silent comedy remained consistent into the post-sound era, reaching its best clarity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The art of pantomime—the communication of thoughts and emotions solely through the use of gestures and facial expressions—and the art of film were intertwined at this part of the century. Although the Stock Market crash occurred in 1929, the economic situation continued to decline into 1931, the year of City Lights’ release. The character of the Tramp became even more relevant as so many of the film-going public could relate to someone down on his luck. The first feature length, full-sound film was The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland 1927), however throughout 1928 when Chaplin began production on City Lights, the majority of films were still silent. By 1931, when Chaplin released City Lights, sound films had become dominant. As a silent character, the Little Tramp was the most well-known motion picture character in the world. Here we see what I first discussed in an earlier post, the difference between the universal silent humor and the localized verbal humor. If City Lights were to fail commercially and critically, it would mean a sudden fall from the top for Chaplin. Chaplin finally compromised by using synchronous music and sound effects, but still removing any need for dialogue. Although other films at the time used the same method of music and sound effects, Chaplin’s film remains the best example of the technique.  Charlie Chaplin One cannot find a text that discusses film comedy that does not mention Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977). It is important for the reader to understand that scholars write of Chaplin as an artist, not as a comedian. Many film historians write about Chaplin as one of the great creative minds. This view of Chaplin’s artistic merit, beyond that of an entertainer, helped shape his recognition as quite possibly the first auteur in the film world. Chaplin handled many of the filmmaking tasks of writing, directing, acting, editing, and composing. Chaplin was an auteur before the impact of the French New Wave of the 1960s popularized the use of the term in film scholarship. Through his filmmaking methods, Chaplin set the standard by which scholars judge later auteurs. Chaplin came from a family of music hall performers, where he developed the physicality of his performances. Chaplin described the rhythm of his physical pantomime as a dance, and few performers have demonstrated such subtle control over their bodies. As the reader will discover shortly, Chaplin understood that the internal motion within a static shot was as significant to the medium of film as was the external motion of the camera in capturing a dynamic shot. Some film historians have criticized Chaplin for what seems to be his lack of knowledge of film conventions. I disagree with these scholars’ assessments of Chaplin’s filmmaking knowledge. Chaplin went against the established conventions of film presentation not because he did not understand the conventions, but because he had already mastered them and could create his own conventions. For example, instead of following the tradition of the wide shot to establish a scene and the closeup to reveal details, Chaplin preferred wide shots for his comic sequences, while he would only use closeups in order to capture the expression on his performers’ faces in moments of sentiment. Other scholars criticize Chaplin for what they see as a lack of editing. However, many critics feel that his lack of cuts is a strength, not a weakness, and I agree. Other filmmakers do not hold shots as long, simply because they cannot. Chaplin alone has the ability as performer and filmmaker to hold the viewer’s attention without having to divert it through a change of angle. The cuts—when he does use them—are a textbook model of invisible editing. Chaplin’s ability as a supreme artist rests partly on the fact that he understood not only exactly what to show the viewer, but also how to show it to the viewer in a way that made the technique unobtrusive. Of all the comic filmmakers and performers, no artist has ever been better at juxtaposing comedy and tragedy without detracting from either. At the end of City Lights, we have experienced an incredible emotional and aesthetic experience, but we do not feel cheated out of a good laugh.  Production As I stated above, Chaplin was the biggest movie star in the world as he began work on City Lights. With his previous succession of films, his audience had high expectations for Chaplin’s next work, and he was not one to disappoint. As for the preproduction stage of City Lights, the writing process was rather brief, with the major themes already chosen, and the story developing as shooting approached. While the narrative of City Lights was an original idea of Chaplin, many of the gags came from earlier sources, including Chaplin shorts. The greatest of artists, Chaplin included, always have the risk of duplicating previous work. As I noted in a previous post, the same gag can successfully return again and again as long as it is still able to elicit laughter. Influencing later filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, Chaplin had a hand in virtually every aspect of production. Everything that Chaplin did involved thorough preparation and practice. When it came to scoring the film, Chaplin had to rely on the assistance and experience of orchestrator Arthur Johnson. While Chaplin may have lacked the knowledge to notate music, he certainly understood how it should function within the film medium.  Reception and Legacy Without Chaplin’s skill and reputation, a silent film during the sound error would not have succeeded. The critics of nearly every major publication in the United States agreed that City Lights was a triumph. Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times said that “It is a film worked out with admirable artistry, and while Chaplin stoops to conquer, as he has invariably done, he achieves success”. Box Office Magazine called it Chaplin’s “finest comedy” and praised its story as well as the performances of its cast. Sid Silverman of Variety felt that it was a good film but “not Chaplin’s best picture, because the comedian has sacrificed speed to pathos” and had some doubts as to its “holdover power”, wondering if its initial success was “novelty money”. In 1931, The National Board of Review named it one of the Top Ten Films of the year, adding that it is “a challenge to the talkies, a crucial event in cinema history” but “not Chaplin’s best but far ahead of any other funny man’s best”. Time Magazine predicted “he, whose posterior would probably be recognized by more people throughout the world than would recognize any other man’s face, will be doing business after talkies have been traded in for television”. Notice how each one of these critics speak of the film in terms of Chaplin, and do not address the themes that he explores. They describe the “novelty” of the film and its silent qualities of gesture and expression. The reviewers that criticize it, do so because of the relationship of comedy and pathos within the film.
As for the international critical reaction, Siegfried Kracauer of the Frankfurter Zeitung said that “In it Chaplin demonstrates again his mastery of the language of gesture, a mastery that reduces the spoken word to shame”, however he added “It’s not difficult to find weaknesses in the film” referring to a plot that he felt was not as strong as earlier Chaplin pictures. Note how he echoes the above reviewers’ praises of the silent performance techniques of gesture. Also, consider how Kracauer criticizes what he claims is a lack of plot—showing that Kracauer does not completely understand comedy’s necessary balance of narrative and gag. E.A. Corbett of the Edmonton Journal concluded that “no one else in the world can take the same outline and make it compete successfully with the talkies, because no one else can so fully occupy that delicious, illogical, unreal world which Chaplin’s genius has created for himself alone,” approaching the film in terms of Chaplin. Surprisingly, City Lights did not receive any Academy Award nomination, which seems inconceivable considering its reputation today. Tim Dirks, of the American Movie Classics Filmsite attributed the lack of nominations, “to the pro-talking film Academy members, it must have appeared to be reversing the trend toward talkies that advanced sound films”, which would make sense. The contemporary film industry leaders’ advocacy for the “progress” of sound in 1931, has a parallel with today’s film industry leaders, who seem to favor many pictures because of the perceived revolutionary visual effects that they contain. I have been unable to find any explanation for why Chaplin chose to rerelease the film. I speculate that perhaps newly-formed television networks had begun to program some of Chaplin’s shorts, and this could have brought an audience demand for Chaplin features. Also, his most recent release, Monsieur Verdoux (1947), did not fare well with audiences and reviewers (TCM), perhaps prompting Chaplin to rerelease an earlier, more successful work in order to regain his reputation. In addition to film scholars and critics, many filmmakers have cited City Lights as an inspiration. Both Stanley Kubrick (in 1963, Cinema Magazine) and Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky (in 1972, Life Magazine) have called it one of their favorite pictures. Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert has reviewed the film twice; reviewing it for a second time 35 years after the first review. In 1972, he said, “Chaplin’s films age so well, I think, because his situations grow out of basic human hungers such as lust, greed, avarice”. The reader will learn that this is true of many such film classics. Ebert appears to be the first reviewer who talks about the deeper themes beneath the surface of City Lights—perhaps themes reviewers forty years earlier did not want to acknowledge. Of the seventeen reviews written in the Twenty First century that I have compiled, only one critic, Alan Vanneman of the Bright Lights Film Journal gave it a less than favorable review, citing the “remarkably unfunny beginning”, the “numerous detours” in the plot, and how “Chaplin leaves entirely unresolved how Cherrill will treat the Tramp now that she knows who he is”. Looking at Vanneman’s review, we can infer that his expectations for a comedy were misaligned. The “numerous detours” (gags) and the lack of resolution at the end of the narrative are perfectly acceptable for comedy—in fact, sometimes a lack of resolution is an even more fitting ending for a comedy than the typical deus ex machina found in so many dramas. The remaining sixteen critics praised the film, as dozens of critics had done when it premiered. Four of the reviewers, Collin Souter of eFilmcritic.com, Jules Dassin of The Telegraph, Wes D. Gehring of USA Today, and John Nesbit of Old School Reviews particularly praised the final scene—a scene of pathos and not humor. Several reviewers focused on the historical importance that it is one of the last silent films, and on Chaplin as an artist. Dan Mancini of DVD Verdict called it “Chaplin at his best…. his last—and arguably finest—silent feature”. Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich explained, “Below the surface of City Lights, there is an ache of nostalgia for the lost Eden of the silents that is still palpable today”. James Berardinelli of Reelviews called it “the quintessential silent film”, adding that “sound would have ruined it”. Jay Antani of CinemaWriter.com added, “City Lights is a great gift to all of us by a filmmaker at a latter-day peak of his genius. To see anything by Chaplin is to nourish the soul. Chaplin is good for the world”. Other critics attempt to analyze the deeper meanings behind the narrative and gags of the film. Following Ebert’s example, Dan Jardine of Cinemania noted its “universal themes, such as the intoxicating blindness of love and the rejuvenating power of selflessness”, speaking of the themes that contemporary reviewers did not address. Many scholars have provided varying analyses of the film over the years. Charles Silver of the Museum of Modern Art calls it “Chaplin’s most perfectly accomplished and balanced work”, focusing on the combination of comedy and drama in one film. Chaplin scholar Dan Kamin, on the other hand does criticize it on a structural level, “City Lights may have the best plot, and it certainly packs the biggest emotional wallop, but its comic routines are inconsistent in quality”. The foci of both scholars show opposite ends of the same critical difficulty in approaching comedy. Silver seems to appreciate it for its moments of sentiment, while Kamin seems to grade the value of a comedy by how funny he finds the gags. They insist on comparing a comedy film to something that is not—for Silver, a non-comic film and for Kamin, a comic Vaudeville routine. In 1952, critics at the British Film Institute voted it the second greatest film of all time, behind De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (BFI)—juxtaposing it with one of the quintessential film tragedies (especially during the European recovery from World War II when the BFI vote occurred). In 2002, critics at the British Film Institute voted it one of the greatest films of all time (BFI). In 2008, The American Film Institute declared it the greatest romantic comedy of all time (AFI). In the 1970s, critics began to rethink their opinions on Chaplin, especially since more attention turned to Buster Keaton. I highly recommend City Lights and think you will find it very approachable despite it being 90 years old. 1/18/2021 0 Comments Music- What Are Clefs? If you remember from an earlier post about how to read pitch and rhythm, when the notes move up the page, the pitch gets higher and the letter names go in alphabetical order (A, B, C, D, E, F, G). When the notes move down the page, the pitch gets lower and the letter names go in reverse alphabetical order (G, F, E, D, C, B, A). If you remember, no matter the letter name of the first note, the names of the lines and spaces are constant; they do not change, but what tells us that the lowest line is always E and the top line is always F is the clef symbol.  The most common clef symbol is the treble clef. It is also called the G clef because the line inside the circle part of the symbol is the note G. This clef works best for higher notes. This is the clef read by the right hand of keyboard players, flute, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, trumpet, horn, violin, guitar, xylophone, glockenspiel, and many other higher pitched instruments. When you see this treble clef symbol, the bottom line is always E and the top line is always F. That’s why it is important to check the symbol, but once you do, you know the names of the lines and spaces will not change.  The next most common clef is the bass clef. This clef is also called the F clef because the name of the line between the two dots is F. For bass clef, the name of the lowest line is G and the highest line is A. But the notes going up the page still move in alphabetical order and notes going down move in reverse alphabetical order. As long as there is a bass clef at the beginning of the piece, the names of the lines and spaces stay the same. The lowest instruments read bass clef including bassoon, bass clarinet, trombone, tuba, cello, bass, and timpani. Other instruments go across treble and bass clefs depending on the range of the instrument they are playing. These include many keyboard instruments like piano, organ, harpsichord, and pitched percussion like marimba.  Beyond the two most common clefs, we have the movable C clef. The name comes from the fact that the arrow looking part indicates that line is C. When the middle line is C, it is called the alto clef. This is what viola players read exclusively. Same idea- letters move up alphabetically and down in reverse alphabetically.  If the C clef moves up so that the second line down is C, it is now the Tenor clef. But you guessed it, once you know where C is, the notes move up alphabetically and down reverse alphabetically. I am not aware of any instrument that only reads tenor clef, but if playing for prolonged periods in the upper range cello, bassoon, and trombone will use tenor clef.
The best way to get used to reading in different clefs is just repetition. I recommend getting confident with treble and bass clefs before you explore alto clef, unless you play viola. The reason that we use different clefs is so that instruments of different pitch ranges can most often play notes that fit within the staff and are not always playing notes above or below the staff. It would be difficult for a trombone or an instrument in a similar range to read notes that were all below the treble clef, they would go so far below the staff that they would really not be readable, not to mention that they would be printed over the next staff down on the page. All of this may seem complicated, but be thankful that each instrument doesn’t have it’s own clef!  There are three main phases to filmmaking (pre-production, production, and post-production), a fourth could be distribution at the end if you consider that separate from post-production. Pre-Production Pre-production is everything that happens before the cameras start recording. For a large studio, it would begin with a story pitch or a script submission from a writer. For a small, independent filmmaker, this phase begins with an idea for a story. Don’t get carried away too soon. An idea is exciting. Flesh it out into a two or three page draft and see if the story is workable. Next, you will want to check your idea against what already exists. You don’t want to write an entire screenplay and then realize that you had actually seen it before and it’s The Godfather. If you remember anything from this article, let it be this: the more work and preparation you can do during pre-production, the less work you will have to do during production and post-production. As you work on the story, start by thinking of the biggest ideas before moving to the smaller ideas. Think of the general 5 act structure- introduction, action begins, complications, climax, and aftermath. In the first draft, you can write anything and do not worry about limitations. Do not worry about character names or dialogue. If the general structure of the story does not work, you will be wasting your time writing dialogue. Take it one step at a time. One tendency that many writers seem to have is if the basic skeleton isn’t good, that adding more and more scenes will fix it. This is not a good solution. Instead of a small mess, you end up with a bloated mess. I’m saying this from experience. If a scene is not working, it is better to cut that scene than to try to write three more scenes to make up for the bad scene. The quality over quantity rule is true. You will know the story itself is solid when every part is absolutely necessary and complements every other part. Necessary meaning that each part forwards the plot and builds the characters. If a scene or a sequence does not forward the plot or develop characters, it is probably safe to cut it. When writing a screenplay, take it one step at a time. Do not worry about set design, camera angles or other details until the story and characters are solid. Those details can be added once you have everything else exactly the way it needs to be. Do not be afraid to have trusted mentors and other filmmakers critique your script. I know there is a fear that someone will steal your ideas, but then they aren’t really a friend if that happens. If you get too close to your own work, it is hard to step back and honestly evaluate something. Someone else can help you if the story is not clear (remember they cannot read the character’s thoughts as you, the creator, can). If it is not clear to someone critiquing the script, it will not be clear to the viewer once filmed. In terms of technical difficulty, do not be afraid of the reach of your story. Complex set pieces or situations can sometimes be solved simply. A planet with 6 months of total darkness just needs to be filmed at night. A story taking place in an 84 story building just needs a still image establishing shot before interior scenes. Once, and only when, the script is complete, there are many other aspects to the pre-production phase. Some go in order and others can be happening simultaneously (depending on the size of your crew). Ordered events would include storyboarding the shots (there is now software to assist with this if you are not confident with your drawing ability or have a friend willing to draw), blocking out camera and light positions, character positions, etc. Other items that could be happening at various times is auditioning actors, location scouting (including asking business and property owners' permission to film at their location), designing and building sets, collecting props, designing and making costumes, designing makeup and hair (actors would probably need to be chosen first), being sure you have the lighting, camera, and sound equipment that you need, and other details.  Production Again, everything must be planned before this phase begins. Out of the three phases, production is the phase that you do not want to waste any time. If you are renting space or equipment, you may be charged by the day. Members of the crew and performers could be paid by the day (or hour). As the person in charge (we are assuming for this article), have everything that can be set up ready the night before the shoot if you have access to the set then. If not, get to the set as early as possible and schedule at least 1 hour for yourself to be there before any crew and at least 2 hours before any performers would arrive. This time will pay off later. Be sure that your crew knows exactly how to do each task that is required of them before it needs to be done. You don’t want to have to do everything yourself. A little bit of training for a crewmember makes your life easier. Murphy’s Law tells us that you have to plan for the worst to happen. This is when creativity and true artistry can be expressed. If you had planned on a three camera setup and one camera malfunctions, you need to be able to decide in the moment how to compensate. With enough experience, you will be able to see the potential finished shots in your head and adjust accordingly. Trust your instincts and trust your crew. It will take less time to review your takes after an entire scene than to wait and check each shot one at a time. Patience, kindness, and professionalism are key qualities during production. You may be hot, tired, and hungry the entire time, but you continue to smile and encourage everyone else. Hold people accountable for their specific tasks but do not get upset with someone when in a situation that is outside of their control, it will not help move things along. When you predict how long it will take to shoot what you need at a given location, always add an hour to that. If you think you can film all the office building scenes in 8 hours, schedule for 9 just so people are not ticked off when they have to stay later. Psychologically, it is a much better feeling to finish something before schedule than having to stay late. This tip sounds silly, but be sure you capture everything you possibly need at a location or with a specific performer before you leave that location or tell a performer that they are all set. It’s a pain in the butt to realize when editing that you are missing a key piece of dialogue. Do everything you can to capture good sound while you are at the location, including room tone for the dead space between dialogue. Dubbing in post-production is always an option, but if it is not needed, that is terrific too.  Post-Production A lot of people may tell you that this is when the film is really made. If you are not a confident and experienced editor yourself, find someone whose style you like and who you can trust to deliver a product on a timetable. There are pros and cons to editing yourself or having an outside editor. You probably have an idea of how the film should flow if you wrote the script, but you may become so attached to one shot, that you are not willing to sacrifice it for the good of the overall project. Editing is much more than cutting out the bad parts and squishing the good parts together. Depending on how much camera coverage you had during production, there can be almost limitless choices available when working on each scene. You may even edit the same scene two different ways and have a small test audience tell you which is more effective. Just like writing the script, editing can be done from big idea to small detail. Get the shots in a logical order for each scene, connect scenes together into a sequence, and finally an overall flow for the entire film. Always use the most capable computer that you have for editing, but even with that, I recommend creating a separate project for each sequence while at this first-cut stage. Even the best computers and graphic processors can get bogged down when trying to store an entire movie in one project if you are just working on a 10 minute chunk. Many beginners with computer editing see all the different options for transition effects and think they have to use at least one per scene. The big idea with a transition is it should not be noticeable. There are all kinds of wipes, dissolves, swirling waves, etc. but if you are not careful they will scream “THIS IS A TRANSITION”. Direct cuts to new establishing shots are the most common transition in both films and television and can work very well when you know how to use them. Do not do anything in terms of sound effects, music, or visual effects, until you have the first draft cut of the edit ready. You do not want to waste a composer’s time (and your money) writing music to line up with a scene that is later cut or trimmed. Just like the script, the edit must be really solid before you move on to the next step. I recommend getting your composer on board at the beginning of post production so they know the overall feel of the film, but do not have them start to write specific cues until you have the rest of the sound mix (dialogue, specific effects, foley, and ambience) ready. You may find that music is not needed in a specific sequence if the sound is telling the story on its own. If you do not have a separate sound editor, you may want to ask others to critique your use of sound. You may be so excited that you found just the right sound for a shot only for someone else to admit that no one chewing would ever be that loud. Foley is sound that is recorded to match specific actions. The ambient sounds may be the most important for realism. Nothing reminds the viewer “THIS IS FAKE” until the sound completely cuts out in between lines of dialogue. Environmental sounds and room tone always continue even when they are barely perceptible. If you have someone else working on the visual effects, they can begin once you are sure that every effect requested is absolutely necessary. Even if you are doing the effects yourself, do not waste your time working on shots that may not be necessary to the plot or able to be rendered believable. The music may be the last stage of post-production. Be really careful to select someone that understands what kind of sound you desire. A neo-noir detective story may sound really stupid if you hire someone that specializes in bluegrass music. Your medieval epic may not work if you have a jazz pianist recording the soundtrack. Great filmmakers know when to use music and how to use music. There are many great texts and articles on film music and I suggest you pursue them before this stage of the film. If any of this article sticks with you, please let it be to finish the script before you do anything else. You don’t want to spend 13 years working on the same film like I did :)   “Standard” music notation, as we know it today, arrived at its current form, more or less, during Bach’s lifetime (early 1700s). One big reason for this was that before the 1700s, keyboard instruments were not tuned in even or equal temperament meaning that not all half steps sounded the same. Before this, the difference between C and C# did not sound the same as the difference between F and F#. Once keyboards were tuned so that every half step was equal, a player could play a piece in any key and the scale degrees in relation to each other would be the same. This means that music could be transposed, or moved up and down to different keys in order to better accommodate a singer’s or instrument’s range. Soon after, we see horns that have valves and woodwinds with more keys to be able to play chromatically, or by half steps in every key. Our symbols of music notation tell us the pitch of each note (the letter name), the length of each note (which we call rhythm), changes in dynamics over time, how notes should be “attacked” with articulations, and the key of the music (flats and sharps that result from the starting note of the scale). For other information we rely on numbers (time signature), letters (dynamics for sections, chords) or a combination of words and numbers (expression descriptions, tempo, etc). Without understanding the system, someone familiar with the style of music being written would be able to see the basic beat structure in each measure and whether the notes are moving higher or lower, regardless of knowing the letter names or specifically what the rhythmic symbols mean. Notice how a knowledge of what sound the symbols represent is a prerequisite. Without knowing the sound, the symbols are meaningless. It’s like trying to understand symbols that represent a forgotten language, if you are not sure how the spoken language sounded, the symbols would not help.  Try singing this song! Immediately, one can see how written notation can be a barrier to someone who never learned to read it. Even with knowing the definition of each symbol, the style of the music will change it. For example, eighth notes in jazz may be written as eighth notes, but intended to be played as a “long-short” swing pattern. Knowing how the eighth notes should sound in other styles would not help unless the reader were familiar with the style of jazz. Another rule-breaker is the entire concept of rubato, very common in many styles since the 19th century. Rubato describes the subtle slowing and quickening of the tempo regardless of what the overall pulse of the piece is. Often this is indicated with the word rubato and not any change in the symbols used. Another shortfall of our notation system is it really only works for Western music. If, like me, you have ever tried to transcribe a traditional Indian piece, you will soon notice that their rhythms and pitches do not fit into our symbols, or rather, our notation system was not made for Indian music. Traditional Indian scales use quarter steps (between the space of two half steps). Western listeners have a very difficult time identifying these and not hearing them as wrong notes. The Indian rhythmic system is actually based on ragas. A piece may use Raga A, Raga C, and Raga M (I made up these labels). In other words, each rhythm pattern is a different idea, not made of smaller divisions or larger combinations of the beat. Many traditional styles of African music are very difficult to reproduce rhythmically in Western notation. The issue one runs into is the Western idea of a time signature. When music is more or less steady, it helps to have beats grouped by measures with time signatures. Of course, later Western classical music did use changing meters or changing time signatures, but it still does not capture the pulse of multilayered rhythms that we find in many African styles. Just like any language, written notation has its shortcomings. As musicians, we need to remember that written notation is a tool--a wonderful tool that can open many doors to explore other styles of music, but the symbols on the page are not music in themselves. The music comes from a person interpreting those symbols. When I introduce composition to my youngest students, I do not require them to write in standard notation. Some of them choose to follow it fairly closely, others create their own, equally valid, system, and others use a hybrid of familiar notes and their own way of interpreting them. The only requirement I use is that the student should be able to explain their system and teach it to a classmate. I even had a student once write rhythms for bongos. Not only did the student have a way to know the pattern he was playing but also a way to identify which bongo he was playing, something that is more difficult in standard notation unless the first measure has high bongo and low bongo labelled using text. I write this article simply to encourage us to reconsider what many of us grow up learning may not be the only legitimate way to record sound on paper. We also must reconsider that reading standard notation may not be the only correct way to learn and to understand music. In many music schools, students are not accepted into the program if they cannot read standard Western notation. Once I completed music school and began to make music with musicians that learned in ways other than myself, I had the privilege to make music with many people that learn music by ear.  Two ways to notate the same music. Learning music by ear is not a deficiency as many would lead students to believe. Music is an aural art form and I have found that those that rely more on their ear than their eye can often respond and react more quickly.
Musicians that do not read standard Western notation are not musically illiterate. They may in fact be reading something, just written a different way. There have been many very successful musicians that solely read chord symbols. If you are not familiar with chord symbols- with just a couple of letters or note names, the experienced player knows which notes to play and based on the alignment of the chord symbols over the lyrics, when to change chords. By only showing the changes, this can often give players much input for the rhythm of the chord repetitions between changes. Although the letter system of chords comes from Jazz. Even in the 1600s-1700s, there was a system of chord shorthand known as figured bass. The bassline would be written out in standard notation and the harmonies would be implied by the figured bass symbols. Other forms of notation work especially well for string instruments like bass, guitar, and ukulele. Fretboard diagrams show the player where to put their fingers on the strings and sometimes even number the dots to show which finger to use. Similar to this, tablature shows the strings of the instrument themselves and which fret of the instrument (no fingers down would be 0) to press on that string. Fretboards and tablature are most helpful when the player already has an idea of the beat or rhythm of the piece. As you can see, standard Western notation has been well developed for very specific instructions and helps musicians to share ideas without hearing something first, but it is not the only way to write and to share musical ideas. If we can expand our thinking on how we share music, we open the experience of playing and creating music to more people. Please share your thoughts in the comments.  Listening can often become a rather passive activity. That is not entirely a bad thing in the scope of life. Sometimes having music playing and just being is great. However, in the structure of a music class, it is rare that we want listening to be a completely passive activity. Expecting students, especially the youngest learners, to sit completely still and silent for several minutes while they listen to a piece of music can be unreasonable. Instead, there are degrees of active things that students can do while listening.  One idea that a lot of different companies have published are called listening maps. Often, they go with classical pieces, but the idea can be easily developed for other styles of music as well. The listening maps have a visual for students to focus on that usually traces the form, instrumentation, and texture of a piece. When the sound changes, the visual changes. A variation on this idea is to have students raise their hand, hold up fingers, or another physical sign when they hear a specific thing happen in the music. I like to use this when the piece we are listening to has some type of repeated melody like a fugue. Every time the students hear the theme start again they raise their hand. Keep in mind that fugues do not simply have to be from the Baroque era of Bach and Handel. A couple that I have found work well is “The Shark Cage Fugue” from the Jaws soundtrack and “Going The Distance” from the Rocky soundtrack. Continuing with the visual element. For some pieces, watching a video performance of an orchestra, choir, or band may help to add a concrete, human element to something that is abstract. Listening activities like this can easily be connected to a unit on vocal range or instrument families.  The next category of active listening is different movements that can help with listening activities. To start simply, students can pat or tap the beat that they hear. This is especially good when the piece has tempo that gets faster or slower over time or stops suddenly. To add some variety to this, handheld rhythm instruments can be used. If you have a good enough sound system, students can use rhythm sticks, maracas, hand drums and still be able to hear the recording. For exploring melodic contour or dynamic shape, having students trace the shape in the air with their hands can be useful. For slightly older students, basic conducting patterns can be used in much the same way. When older students get confident with simpler conducting patterns, it can actually help them to feel the organization of beats within a piece. The most complex level of movement while listening can be full dances. Dancing is a natural activity that all young students seem to enjoy. When they get older, some get self-conscious, so modifying dance activities can help all students to feel comfortable. I like to do a balance of “free dancing”- meaning that students decide how they move based on what they hear and “structured dancing” in which students follow a set of steps like a line dance, circle dance, or ballroom patterns.  Like with any activity, I make sure to establish procedures for safe dancing from the beginning. The basic expectations that I use all have to do with safety: stay in your own space (so not moving all around the room; occasionally we will plan a conga line); keep all body parts to yourself, and keep feet on the floor (it is amazing how many students want to lay on the floor during dancing time and this is just asking for fingers to get stepped on). Once you establish the procedures and review them several times, dancing time comes with the expectations automatically.
One game that students of many ages love is freeze dance. This is a good way to guide students to listen to patterns if you pause the music at specific points. The students freeze when the music is paused and dance when the music plays. It is also interesting to pause the music at unexpected times like in the middle of a phrase and discuss why pauses during a phrase sound wrong. A variation on freeze dance is hot potato, which works well for long pieces. I usually have a soft object that students pass from one to the next. Just like with the dancing expectations, we review procedures of not throwing the object before ever doing it. When using simple modifications like ones I have mentioned, students are still listening to music (and may listen to pieces that last 5-10 minutes long), but feel like they are not just listening as their minds and bodies are active the entire time. I have found these activities are very successful and often, students look forward to them. 12/21/2020 0 Comments Film- Jaws Jaws is quite possibly my favorite movie. The plot is so simple and has been imitated hundreds of times, but no imitation has ever come close to the original. In terms of film history, it is probably the second blockbuster after the Godfather three years earlier and the breakthrough first success for director Steven Speilberg. Speilberg is probably still the best known director in the world 50 years after he started. Speilberg comes from the generation of filmmakers that trained via film school. Earlier generations of filmmakers worked their way up to director and producer often through the apprentice model. An eager filmmaker would begin as an assistant, and learn the trade. Of course, the older generation of filmmakers that had “put in their time” did not immediately embrace the new, university-trained filmmakers. One thing that the older and younger generation of filmmakers and viewers could all agree on was that Jaws is a great film. The structure of Jaws is basically two parts. The first takes place on the island with a series of shark attacks. The second part takes place on the boat with the three protagonists trying to find and kill the shark. The part that audiences seem to remember best and the majority of the marketing hype comes from the first part, yet it is the second part that has more character interactions and subjective, or character-driven drama.  While Amity is not a real island, the film was made at Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Cape Cod. My grandparents lived on the southern coast of Cape Cod for about 20 years and growing up, I would spend a lot of time there in the summer. I do not know for certain, but I can imagine that the filmmakers did not have to change or exaggerate much to get the Cape Cod feel of a small, tourism dependent town and the chaos of tourists coming off ferries. When I was about 15, I got to travel to Martha’s Vineyard and see the original movie locations, which was quite an exciting trip for me. One of the aspects of the film that still makes it hold up today is the fact that the shark is not seen for most of the film. What today is acknowledged as brilliant withholding of the shark in the spirit of sustaining suspense, was actually done due to technical difficulties. A large mechanical shark was built for the production, which the crew dubbed “Bruce”. The shark would work brilliantly out of water, but when it would be placed in the water, it broke down so many times that Speilberg was starting to worry if the film could be made at all. That’s when the idea came to barely show the shark. But this detail was not enough to make the film the classic that it became. The music of John Williams is as much to credit in the building of suspense as what we see on the screen. The basis of the Jaws theme is so simple, just two alternating notes a half step apart with a third lower note to provide accents. Williams has said that his inspiration for the simplicity of the theme was the primitive hunting instincts of the shark. While the rhythm of the theme is inspired by heartbeats with a pulse that gets faster and faster. For the first few attacks, the viewer never sees any part of the shark. The only way the viewer knows that the shark is present is the music and the reactions of characters. It is about an hour into the film before the viewer even sees the shark fin. Arguably, the part of the film that breaks the illusion of realism is at the very end, when the shark climbs onto the back of the boat and its movements are more mechanical than they are organic. Even so, the textured look of the mechanical shark still holds up much better than computer generated sharks of even high-quality imitations like Deep Blue Sea.  Although the characters of police chief Brody, marine biologist Hooper, and fisherman Quint are introduced before they board the boat together, it is when it is only the three on the boat that we get to know the characters best. The contrast between them is what makes it so believable when they have to work together. The educated Hooper acts on logic and scientific reasoning. He sees the shark as something to be studied. The working class Quint acts on instinct and personal experience. He sees the shark as a bounty or a job. Brody, who is afraid of water, and insists they get a bigger boat, is the balance between the two extremes. The function between them works as if they are different aspects of the same character.
In the years and decades that followed, the legacy of Jaws has been spoiled by three poor sequels and almost infinite imitators that feature not only sharks, but orcas, squid, piranhas, alligators, and sharknados… It is difficult for modern viewers to watch the original Jaws without the backstory of all the ripoffs lingering. If you can let go of the poor shark movies that you have seen, Jaws is a thrilling and moving experience. I still am not crazy about swimming in the ocean. That effect is fine filmmaking at its best.  The origins of film comedy began with the birth of humankind. Comedy appeared the first time someone tripped over a log, the first time one person performed an impression of another, or the first time someone did something foolish and looked around to make sure that no one had seen it. Freud had explained how comedy is an alternative to repression of thoughts and actions that are taboo. Instead of holding back, comedy rewards an outward display of forbidden subjects through the safe expression of laughter. The comic character as an outsider—one that exists within society, but is not necessarily a part of it, is a common theme that recurs throughout the different eras of comedy. Perhaps the human tendency to seek heroes and role models is what draws people to many non-comic presentations. Throughout history the same comic characters, as well as similar situations and themes recur in notable comedies and across art forms—as some of the common threads that I have already mentioned that appear to be constant across many subgenres of comedy. Film reviewers and scholars form opinions about what makes a good film and what does not—often on the basis of critics and scholars of the past who have researched other forms of comedy. As I guide the reader through the various eras of comic presentation and comic theory, it will become apparent that critical views of particular comic works change over time, from favorable to unfavorable and vice versa. The section headings that I have chosen are a general way of demarcating different eras and distinct forms. For some sections, terms within the heading may pertain to different cultures or different artistic media in different ways, which the subheadings should clarify. Classical Comedy (Greece: 600~250 BC; Rome: 250 BC~100 AD) The first records of comedy and theories of comedy come from about 2,500 years ago. From the earliest examples of comic plays, one can see the foundations for contemporary film comedy. Since its birth, comedy has been the enjoyable, yet less praised sibling of Tragedy. One important thing to understand about the first comedies is that they began as private exhibitions for the wealthy, much like Classical music of the Eighteenth Century. Only later did playwrights present comedies for the public, a change that critically marks a shift in favor of comedy, recontextualized for the masses. We will see this difference once again when we examine film comedy specifically, for some films seem to appeal only to critics while some capture audiences and disappoint critics. Certainly, presentations of comedy occurred across the world before the first records in ancient Greece, but unfortunately, it is impossible to analyze directly the ancient comedies that have continued through oral tradition. Traditionally, we separate the styles of Classical comedy into Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy. Old Comedy During this period, intellectuals began to write about comedy. Already, different styles of comic characters appear. One is the clumsy buffoon that does not fit within the society—a pariah. It is important to realize, however, that in Ancient Greece, it would have been more respectable to exist in society as someone to be mocked than to face exile from the society. Another is the more refined character that relies on verbal rather than physical comedy. The reader may note that the comic character did not exist for its own purpose, but rather as an obstacle to test the hero—an almost proto-taboo figure. In addition to these two distinct comic types, we also find the first examples of the “straight-man”. The straightman serves to contrast with the comic characters so that the audience may have a point of reference by which to judge how funny the comic characters are. Aristophanes (ca. 446-386 BC) was the most prolific comic writer from this time period. However, his works did not find universal acceptance. His social criticism of Greek society actually caused him trouble. Scholars praise Aristophanes for the sentimental qualities of his comedies that he is able to elicit, much in the same way that they praise Chaplin. Both artists show that touching moments need not be removed from comedy. Aristophanes was one of the first playwrights to explore the potential of parody. Parody finds a source of comedy in mocking an original serious idea, instead of creating an original idea. Aristophanes assumes his audience has prior knowledge of the original work that he parodies. Middle Comedy After Aristophanes, Greek Comedy entered its second stage, now known as Middle Comedy. No major comic works of this period that will later influence film comedy vary from the conventions previously established in Old Comedy. However, during this time period, philosophers began to theorize about comedy and to create philosophies of comedy. By far the leading philosopher of this time period when it comes to many things, Aristotle never actually created a theory of comedy as he did for tragedy. New Comedy The New Comedy works present us with something drastically different from the Old and Middle Comedy. While plays hearkening back to the style of Old Comedy still existed, just as films in that style still exist, New Comedy presented a formula that clearly demarcated it from the qualities of the other styles of comedy. It is important for the reader to realize that this style of New Comedy did not end with Ancient Greece. Many scholars would argue that New Comedy never really died. It certainly can be found in many of the comedies of Shakespeare, the operas of Mozart, the films of Lubitsch and Cukor, and in the Screwball Comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Litterateurs credit Menander (ca. 341-290 BC), the most prolific comedy writer of Greek New Comedy, with giving women a higher place in comedy. Throughout history, especially in the works of Shakespeare and Jane Austen, as well as in the Screwball Comedies, we find comedies in which a female character is no longer the object of comedy, but rather the instigator of comedy. The role of a female protagonist as a controller of the comedy is another theme that recurs across eras and subgenres of comedy. The fact that comedy allows for strong female characters also reminds us that comedy allows for what may be seditious topics at the time, such as women holding positions of authority in the Ancient World. Comedy only truly works when the audience expects to encounter a comedy. However, a joke can only work if the punch line is unexpected. As Menander’s Misanthrope teaches us, and so many film comedies echo, one must understand the conventions of comedy in order to appreciate comedy fully.  Roman Comedy Plautus was the first great Roman comedian. The key to understanding the negative attitude towards Plautus has to do with the fact that he wrote many of his plays for the purpose of receiving income, instead of for strictly artistic reasons. The commercial appeal/ aesthetic appeal debate is as old as art criticism itself and is most definitely still a factor for films. Plautus was extremely popular with audiences of the time. Time and again we see comedy as a way to safely criticize one’s own society.
Succeeding Plautus, Terence (Anglicized from Terentius) was highly influenced by the Greek comedies and became one of the most prolific Roman writers of comedy. One can see that ancient critics recognized the merits of comedy. Of the two Roman playwrights profiled here, Terence is closest in style to Menander. Throughout the different eras, we see how multiple styles of comedy enrich one another in any given era. For example, one could never confuse the comic style of Groucho Marx with that of Cary Grant. Regardless of which writer one may favor personally, scholars concede that both men created a style that succeeded and went on to influence later styles and eventually film comedies. The different comic approaches used by Plautus and Terence, helped to lay the foundations of the different subgenres of film comedy that exist today. Many scholars credit the writers of New Comedy in creating the conventions of romantic comedies, or what became the Screwball Comedies in the mid-1930s. Even in Ancient Rome, the comedy of manners became something distinctly different from the physical comedy, now known as slapstick. The zany situations and fast-paced banter define the former style, just as the pratfalls characterize the latter. While the contrast between these comic styles becomes even more apparent with the films of the early sound era, it began in ancient times. In every art form, one finds that innovation occurs in two ways: an artist choosing to expand upon the foundations set down by another, or an artist reacting against the foundations set down by another, instead deciding to travel in a new direction. In this way, Classical comedy has influenced the comedies of every subsequent era, whether writers wished to follow in the Classical model or wished to avoid it. Comedy draws from real life—one reason why the same or similar gag can elicit laughter for a millennium. Gags seen in nearly every film comedy have their roots in earlier eras.  I have written this article to serve two purposes, either to get you more confident with understanding standard notation, if you are not yet confident, or as a way in which notation can be taught to others. I will start with very broad concepts and then address more specifics or exceptions to rules. Two of the most basic elements of music that can be represented through notation are pitch --how high and low the notes are; which can also be thought of as letter names, keys on a keyboard, finger position on a string instrument, etc-- and rhythm-- the organization of sound through time. We will start with pitch. Pitch In our Western system of music, there are only 12 letter names. Each of these 12 notes is the same amount of space apart (we call this a half step). Since the letter names are only A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, the other notes in between would have the same letter name with a half step higher called a sharp (#) and a half step lower called a flat (b). These 12 pitches can be read on the music staff, a background of 5 lines and 4 spaces. On a typical note, when the circle part of the note moves higher up on the page, the pitch goes higher, and the next letter name up would move forward in alphabetical order. From line to the next space and space to the next line, we move up by one letter. So if our bottom line is E, the rest of the spaces and lines would be F, G, A, B, C, D, E, F at the top line. It is exactly the opposite situation moving down the page, the lower the circle, the lower the pitch and we go in reverse alphabetical order. The nice thing is that the names of the lines of the spaces stay the same no matter where the notes move.  That is the basics of pitches! Knowing this, you can follow the up and down contour of a melody even if you do not know the exact letter name in the moment, you can see whether each note is higher or lower than the note before it. Now, on to rhythm. Rhythm As I said above, rhythm is the way we organize sound through time. No matter how high or low the circle part of the note is, that does not affect how the rhythm is written. You have probably noticed that when looking at music, some notes have circles that are colored in, some have a single line attached, some appear to be two notes attached together, and there are even notes with no lines. That’s a lot to remember. Over time, you will be able to recognize and remember how each note looks, but there is another way to figure out the basic rhythm of a phrase. When you look at a piece of music you will notice that there are lines that go down through the staff and seem to separate groups of notes. This is no accident. Depending on how many beats are in a measure of music (the space between two lines), every group of beats will be separated by one of these barlines.  But how do we know how many beats are supposed to be in a measure? Look at the very beginning of the music, the top left. You will see two numbers, that look like a fraction. For now, we will just worry about the top number. If you see a 4 on the top, it means that the quarter note gets the one beat.  If you see 4 of these in a measure, it means the counting is simply 1 2 3 4 and the next measure begins again with 1. In this way, it doesn’t matter how many notes are in the piece total, each measure starts again with 1.
Without memorizing the names of eighth notes, half notes, whole notes and more, for well formatted music we can think of the amount of space that each note or group of notes takes up. If you see two notes in the space of one quarter note, it means they are each half the value of the quarter note (1 2 and 3 4). If you see a note that seems to be taking up more of the measure than one quarter note, it could be a 2 beat note (1 2 3 -) or if there is only 1 other quarter note left in the measure of 4, then it would be a 3 beat note (1 - - 4). You don’t have to know the exact definition of each rhythm symbol, just see how many beats should be in a measure and how many notes are written in a measure. If there are very few notes in a measure, the music will sound slower. If there are quite a lot of notes in a measure, the music will sound faster. You do not have to know everything about pitch and rhythm to be able to follow the basic structure of written notation. Hopefully these few tips can help. Please let me know if you have questions!  One of the best ways to set a great tone for class and to build relationships with students is to be at the entrance to your classroom as students arrive. It is also one of the simplest actions you can take. Even if things get chaotic before a class and you aren’t as setup as you hoped you would be, spending just a couple minutes greeting each student is worth your time. I am fortunate that in my music room, there is a long ramp that leads to the classroom door so I can see students arriving from quite a distance. Unless a group of students is held up in a previous class, usually they arrive at a manageable pace so that I can greet each of them by name. Saying someone’s name when you greet them has a great psychological effect on anyone. At the beginning of the year, when there are some students that you are just getting to know, the doorway greeting is a great time to either remember their names or ask “remind me of your name, please”. If you have students as their first class of the day, a nice greeting can really start off their day with a positive first impression.  Another great benefit of greeting students at this time is to ask them about things they have told you about from outside of class. For example, if a student told you they were going to have a soccer tournament last weekend, ask them how it went. If a student won a spelling bee the day before, congratulate them as they arrive. There is also nothing wrong with asking them how something related to class is going. Ask them how the note they are working on with their instrument is going. If they had a chance to listen to the example you shared, etc. Greeting time is also a good time to remind one or more students about class procedures and expectations. If a student seemed to be talking out of turn a lot during the previous class, remind them of the expectation to be called upon before speaking. Don’t do this in a threatening way, but more of a collaboration between student and teacher to maintain a respectful class environment. For my youngest students, I will often remind each one of them as they enter to walk to their assigned spot (I often use velcro numbered spots to assign places for the youngest learners). But because I am greeting them at the door, this procedure becomes one of making contact with students and not just telling them where to go. Think of it as hosting a fancy dinner party and inviting a guest to sit.  The space right outside the door where you are greeting students can also be a space if a student needs to take a break. If a student arrives to class upset about something and they do not wish to speak to you about it or go visit the school counselor, you can invite them to sit or stand right outside the classroom entrance until they feel ready to join class. This way, you can still keep an eye on them but they do not feel like everyone is staring at them.
If there is a task that you would like all students to do like fill out a survey, sign a thank you note, take an item, you can have a small table set up right outside or inside the classroom door. It is funny but I will sometimes literally put a table in the walkway so that students have to walk into it in order to forget to do what is on the table. These are just some of the ways that greeting students at the door can help to build a stronger classroom environment. It is a super simple action that can go along way to building positive relationships with learners. |