Mark Bussey is a classical guitarist » who lives and plays in the Twin Cities. His day job involves a variety of » » technology and web related projects.
This is a place for me to share all things related to my love of guitar.
If you're new here, you can browse the entries below to view some of my most recent activities.
Otherwise, please feel free to dig into the more specific topic areas and items in the sidebars.
Please feel free to share your thougts and reactions in the comments section on each entry!
Piece of the Month: October 2010
Estudio Sencilo No. I by Leo Brouwer
“Simple” is perhaps a little misleading as a description for these studies. Brouwer wrote them as an alternative to existing studies, which were either dry and technical or written in musical idioms that suited the 19th century better than the 20th. While the Esudios Sencillos are certainly accessible to the beginning guitar student, Brouwer’s main goal is a focus on concise, musical expression. I’m particularly fond of these studies, which seem to bring to mind an ever changing array of characters and images. I invite you to let your imagination wander as you listen!
Audio only version:
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Piece of the Month: September 2010
Sons de Carilhões by João Pernambuco
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Sometimes I get all the right notes and sometimes I get the right feel. This month I’m going for the feel. I had a couple of takes, but I liked this one best – it comes closest to sounding like the music as I hear it in my head.
As of this season, I’m a performing member of Thursday Musical. Thursday Musical is an 118 year old classical music performance organization which presents a series of concerts at various locations in the Metro area each year. This November, I’ll be sharing the stage with a number of other fine musicians; check out the concert schedule to see who I’ll be playing with. Antonello Hall, the auditorium at MacPhail, is a beautiful room with lovely acoustics and I’m very excited to be playing there!
Piece of the Month: June 2010
Preto y Branco by João Pernambuco
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I seem to have fallen off the wagon a little with the whole Piece of the Month thing (i.e. the year’s half over and this is my first audio posting.) However, I have nothing but the best intentions from here on out!
I expect this piece to continue evolving as I play it out a bit more. I’d like to fine tune the contrast between sections: Preto y Branco means black & white in Portugeese. This refers, I think, to the sharp contrast between the dramatic gestures of the opening section and the more melodic middle part.
Always intrigued by the links between mathematics and music, I was captivated by this little book full of wonderful illustrations.
At first you might question the relevance of a book about a scientific instrument which became a popular parlor entertainment among genteel victorians. The book’s full title, Harmonograph: a visual guide to the mathematics of music gives a better clue to it’s deeper attractions. Beyond detailing the history, use, and construction of the Harmonograph (an appendix even includes DIY instructions for building your own), the book is a beautiful introduction to the mathematics harmonic theory. It’s certainly a more effective and engaging introduction to the topic than some college-level texts I’ve read on the subject. Because of the book’s heavy bias toward concise visual explanations, I came away with a stronger intuitive grasp of a number of musical topics: this little volume explains the construction of the Western musical scale and the differences between just and equal temperament as well as, or even better than, other longer and more technically oriented texts.
The book would be a fantastic companion to meatier textbooks on musical acoustics. But the book’s primary appeal is not its pedagogical value, but simply its visual beauty and engaging writing. It will appeal to diverse interests including the armchair mathematician, the musical amateur, the steam-punk aficionado, the artist and the tinkerer, among others. It’s part of a series which the publisher describes as “a collectable series of concise books offering simple introductions to timeless sciences and vanishing arts.” Based on the charm of this edition, I suspect other volumes from the series may find their way to my bookshelf as well.
This is a place for me to share all things related to my love of guitar.
If you're new here, you can browse the entries below to view some of my most recent activities.
Otherwise, please feel free to dig into the more specific topic areas and items in the sidebars.
Please feel free to share your thougts and reactions in the comments section on each entry!
