David Lucas Burge claims that you can. I’ve seen his ads in music magazines for years. He tells a story from his youth where, frustrated by a classmate’s seemingly God-given ability to discern pitches, he figured out on his own how to identify pitches without using a reference pitch (known as “relative pitch”). I never bought his course, though always lamented what I believed were my sub-par listening skills. I have not played much over the twelve or so years since I last gigged, and struggled mightily in transcribing the music for my MA thesis. Once I figured out a…
Podcasting For Hawaiian Music
I don’t remember exactly when or how I met Scott Waters, but I am certain that there was a Macintosh involved. Scott was a marketing guru at Apple way back when the Macintosh was in its infancy. He moved to Maui sometime after that, which is where we connected. He’s a gifted artist, both in the physical and digital realms, a musician, and a tireless promotor of all thing Macintosh on Maui. Scott has tapped into the podcast revolution started by former MTV VJ Adam Curry and Dave Winer. Just as blogging gave the average web user the power to…
Inaugural Hawaiian Grammy Finalists.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Scienes has announced the finalists for the 2005 Grammy Awards, and it includes the finalists for the first ever “Hawaiian Grammy.” Nothing really surprise, though a bit of disappointment at the failure of a few outstanding releases to make the cut. More to come on NahenaheNet.
I posted four new reviews on NahenaheNet today.
Included are reviews of 15 year-old Brittni Paiva, Chris Yeaton, Steve Kramer and SUGahDADDY. Not the normal traditional Hawaiian fare that I favor, but still some pretty good releases.
Musicians As Terrorists?
A few weeks ago a plane carrying British/Muslim singer Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) was diverted, and he was refused entry into the U.S. Yesterday, Irish singer Christy Moore was detained by British authorities and questioned regarding, among other things, the lyrics in some of this songs. No explanation was given to him as to why he was detained. What next, interrogation of Hawaiian performers whose songs advocate Hawaiian sovereignty? Frightening.
I’ve sent out a number of inquiries regarding Ph.d. programs in Ethnomusicology.
In Ireland the most promising locations seems to be “Cork”, and I’ve also emailed the music departments at “Cambridge” and University of Sheffield. Hopefully there will be a response soon. Are there any other potential ethnomusicology programs in Ireland or Great Britain worth investigating? I’ve been told that Belfast has a good program, but the political and social problems there make it less appealing. I’m also not that keen on being in a major city like Dublin or Belfast. Cork seems to be the most appealing, but I’ll entertain other suggestions. University of Sheffield‘s program is also appealing in that…
I received a wonderful CD gift a few weeks ago.
My wife and I were visited by a wonderful family from Ireland, and received a copy of “Eilis”‘s “Time To Sail” from them after they returned there. Absolutely delightful voice and superb production.
Some iTMS releases not $9.99 an album anymore.
I remember when iTunes Music Store first came online, I read a statement that it was going to be .99 cents per song and $9.99 per album, and that Apple was not going to do any different agreements with different labels. Labels were being told (supposedly) “take it or leave it.” However, I’m seeing more and more releases coming online with “By Song Only,” at .99 cents per song, and no album price. A number of releases from the Mountain Apple Company, Hawai’i largest music label and distributor, have come out, and they are all listed as “By Song Only”…
Great Big Sea DVD on the way!
My favorite Celtic/Rock band, Great Big Sea, will release their first concert DVD with a ton of goodies on November 4.
eMusic Download Privileges Curtailed.
Karlin reports that eMusic has gone from allowing unlimited downloads to only 40 per month for their $9.99 monthly fee. While it still sounds like a good deal compared to iTMS’ $0.99 per song, I don’t know if I’m ready to bite. I’ve also heard that there are a lot of tunes up there that cannot be download outside of Europe, but don’t know that for sure.