Upcoming recorder concert

I've been playing recorder more than violin lately, as I recover from a left hand injury.

By popular request, here's information on my next public recorder gig:

Colorado Springs Recorder Society Spring Salon

Sunday, April 27
1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Chapel of Our Savior Parish House
Fourth Street and Polo Drive
Colorado Springs

Directions: South on Nevada to Broadmoor Exit; west on Lake Street to Fourth Street; North (right) on 4th Street to just s. of Polo Drive. Walk through the archway; 2nd bldg. on the left is the Parish Hall.

About a 10 groups will play; I'm in three of them (a recorder quartet, a recorder trio, and a group with two recorders, a cello, and a harpsichord). Music is mostly medieval and renaissance, but there'll also be some brand-new pieces. We all play for the sheer joy of it, which makes for a friendly and fun atmosphere. Groups range from beginners to very good amateurs.

Other upcoming appearances:
August 3 - Chapel of Our Savior (during Sunday services)
Summer - Possibly a return to the Margarita at Pine Creek restaurant. Stay tuned for details.

Duet dissonance: the experts speak

I posted a question in several newsgroups about duet dissonance, especially as it applies to four violins. I received replies from several top-notch experts--a physicist and several sound reinforcement and recording professionals. (If you're not familiar with Usenet, you can find my question and the answers by searching Google Groups for "Gotchas with four violins".) Here are some of the results:

What causes duet dissonance? It's due more to vibrato and slightly-out-of-tune notes, than to clashing harmonics, though all are a factor.

Do sound pros recognize this problem? Many of them do, though a few haven't heard of the issue.

There's a pattern: those who closely mic the violins seem to perceive a bigger problem than those who work with small ensembles in live performance settings. I attribute this to the tendency of room acoustics to blend the sound.

For what number of violins is this a problem? Everyone agreed that duet dissonance is really a problem only in the case of two violins. Adding more instruments masks any ugliness. Four violins (2 unison pairs) don't pose a serious problem.

What about the use of unison pairs of violins in classical music? While not common, there are plenty of pieces where composers call for two violins to play in unison. I think this works due to a few factors: the blending effect of room acoustics, playing style, and subjective factors (is it "sparkle" or is it "dissonance"?).

There were also some great comments on tangential topics, such as how to mic orchestras or what kind of mics to use. I'll address these in some future articles.

Cordless stand light showdown

Battery-operated music stand lights are handy in all sorts of circumstances. They're a great backup when the bulb on a conventional stand light burns out (no waiting for the old bulb to cool off). They're handy when electrical outlets are unavailable, or when the music stand will need to be moved (as sometimes happens when playing at a dinner event).

I've been using two very good, yet very different, alternatives. The Mighty Bright XtraFlex Duet (Released February 12, 2008) and the LampCraft ConcertLight.

Illumination pattern: The pictures below speak for themselves. Both lights provide adequate and fairly even light, but the ConcertLight clearly provides the most uniform illumination. The ConcertLight's color is a little warmer, which I find easier on the eyes.


Power source: The Mighty Bright uses 3 AAA batteries. I like to use rechargeables; if I'll be using the light a lot, I can keep one set on the charger and another set on the stand. I can also keep a set of alkalines around for emergency backup. I don't have good data on how long the batteries last, but it's in the tens of hours.

The ConcertLight uses a rechargeable NiMH battery pack, or it can run on an AC adapter. The battery pack lasts about 3 hours, even after several years of use.

Mounting: The Mighty Bright can clip to just about anything, including a wire stand or a notebook cover. The ConcertLight is fairly heavy, so it needs a solid stand such as a Manhasset. The ConcertLight does have a groove which allows it to mount on metal stands which have a lip.

Price: The Mighty Bright lists for US $25, but I got mine for $20 from Southwest Strings (March 2008). The ConcertLight is $129 from the manufacturer.

Bottom line: Both products are excellent. I don't regret buying one of the first ConcertLights, about eight years ago. But if I was just starting out, I'd go with the Mighty Bright for its low cost and portability.

Pagan Christianity: first impressions

My local library just received its copy of Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna. I've only skimmed it so far, but I already have some thoughts to share.

Thesis: The thesis of the book is that many practices in modern Protestant churches have little basis in the New Testament, but owe their roots to ancient Pagan practices. Although their history is non-Christian, these practices are not necessarily evil or harmful, but they do stand as barriers to experiencing the Church as it is depicted in the New Testament. The book addresses church buildings, sermons, professional clergy, music ministers and worship teams, tithing, and Sunday School.

Criticisms: Several shortcomings are immediately apparent. First, the book treats the Bible as if it contains only the New Testament. Practices are traced back to Roman times, but there is little if any acknowledgement that the practices may also have been influenced by the Old-Testament Levitical tradition. Second, the book leans toward a fairly modernistic, linear view of history. In general, it's A then B then C. Parallel, interacting threads and underlying principles for trends are discounted.

Little attention is given to the fact that many practices have developed independently in many cultures. The book would say that because the Romans had temples before Christians did, that's where church buildings come from. I would contend that the existence of temples in many cultures and religions points to a universal reason to build temples; even without the Romans, Christians would have begun building churches anyway.

Lessons: Despite the shortcomings, there are some valuable lessons to be learned from Pagan Christianity? Much of what we do, especially as worship leaders and musicians, is in fact not Biblically based. There is much to be learned from the participative style of first-century churches, and modern house churches.

With the publication of this book, worship leaders are put on notice that the "history and theory of church music" courses they took in college will be put to practical use. Worship practices will be scrutinized, so we'd better be ready to justify why we do what we do.

An indispensible accessory: Stand-Outs

Stand-Outs are plastic extenders which allow a standard Manhasset music stand to hold four sheets of music.







I usually carry a pair in my gig bag. It's important to label them: they're easy to leave behind, and they tend to find a new home very quickly. It's worthwhile to buy some extras; they make great gifts for musicians. They're about US $20 a pair from places such as Southwest Strings or Shar.

Some reasons I especially like Stand-Outs:

• They reduce the number of page turns required.
• They reduce the chances of puffs of air grabbing the edges of loose pages of music and dumping them on the floor.
• They reduce distractions for the congregation. White paper poking out over the edge of a black stand is very visible under bright lights. And if it looks like the music might go flying off the stand, you can bet that numerous people will become absorbed in monitoring the suspenseful situation, rather than being absorbed in the music.
• Unlike home-made stand extenders made of cardboard or poster board, Stand-Outs are easy to slide in and out to adjust the size of the stand.

Discussion of improvisation

I just found a nice conversation around improvisation techniques for praise violin over at violinist.com. It's right about at my level :-). Key points: find phrases to echo, don't try to play all the time, think more about rhythm and less about melody, and don't forget to listen.

On idolatry of the high voice

In Not welcome here, I mentioned how in many churches, the song leaders have particularly high voices. This doesn't happen by chance. There's a strong tradition of what some commentators call "the idolatry of the high voice."

It's natural to admire people who can hit the high notes. This admiration has led to extreme efforts to achieve the "ideal" high voice, exemplified by the castrati. Those with high voices tend to get more encouragement to pursue music as a vocation, and they tend to receive more accolades during their formal music studies.

Guess who ends up with the training to become ministers of music and worship leaders? That's right--people with unusually high voices, who have been conditioned to admire unusually high voices, and who have been surrounded by others with unusually high voices throughout their training. This is fine if all they're going to do is perform. But if they're going to try to lead people with average voices, it takes a conscious effort to remember to make an adjustment.

Three violins

This post is part of a series of articles about how to use different numbers of violins in a church orchestra or worship team.

To avoid chaos with three or more violins, it becomes important to have some kind of sheet music. The music can come from orchestrations or band charts, or it can simply be a keyboard or vocal score.

All three violins can be placed on one part, especially if there are other instruments to fill out the harmony. Another combination that works well is to have one violin play Violin I/soprano, the second violin play Violin II/alto, and use the third violin to selectively reinforce the other parts (usually up or down an octave, to avoid the duet dissonance I've discussed).

Is there a role for improvisation in a group this size? Yes! One violinist can improvise while the others play fixed parts. One rare occasions, with lots of practice, a group can develop a sense of ensemble which enables them to improvise together. If the violins are a relatively minor part of a much larger (and louder) group, there might also be some freedom to experiment without making noticable gaffes. I experienced all of these with the Radiant Church (Colorado Springs) orchestra in the late 1990's.