Sing Play Survive

sound ideas to help make it through music school

Posts Tagged Fun

Weekend Project(s): Unpack your stuff and then make something

Dec 19

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Weekend Project | 4 Comments

man_with_sawzallEvery Saturday, I’m going to highlight a simple, hands-on, dorm-friendly, music-related project to give you something to do besides practice and study all weekend. This week will be a little different, since it’s the start of many student’s winter break. Here are three things to do this weekend.

First (and I know this is a little boring, but please get it done now!), unpack your belongings and get settled. Seriously, this break is going to come and go before you know it, and you’ll feel much more rested if you unpack your suitcase and make yourself at home for the next few weeks. It shouldn’t take too long, but I really believe it makes a difference in how your break goes!

Next, finish (or start) any holiday shopping you need to get done.

Finally, take a little time to make something. Resist the temptation to sit on the couch and watch TV. If you start now, inertia will set in, and you’ll end up glued to the couch for the entire break. Get started on the right foot by finding a project to do this weekend. Need some ideas? How about this:

If those all seem lame to you, find something better to do, and post your ideas in the comments. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the start of a well-deserved break!

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Friday Fun: A cappella hits network TV

Dec 18

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Friday Fun, Music Schools, Wow! | No Comments

I have to say, I’m not a big a cappella fan, and I rarely watch TV. I just came across some of the videos from The Singoff, a new reality-contest-show-whatever on NBC. Unfortunately, most of them solidified my dislike for a cappella AND TV.

However, a link to “Come Sail Away” by the Tufts University Beelzebubs popped up. Styx performed by an a cappella group? I’m in! I didn’t like the fact that they had to trim the arrangement for the show, but I had a good time watching the clip. Like all of the videos I watched, the Bubs have some pitch problems, but I suspect that it has to do more with the monitoring situation than it does their skill (And I’m pointing this out so I don’t get any hate mail about not choosing a perfect performance). Here they are having a ton of fun on national TV.

And since TV is a bad way to REALLY know what someone can do, I also found a video from a non-televised ‘Bubs performance… It’s much better.

If you like what you see, you can vote for them on December 21st, using the instructions in the above video. You can also find them at www.bubs.com

Friday Fun is a weekly feature at singplaysurvive.com that hilights fun and distracting performances by college students and independent artists. If you’d like to suggest a group or a video, please email me at contact@bryanwegman.com.

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Things you’ll regret not doing in music school (Part III)

Dec 18

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Health and Wellness, Practice, Surroundings | No Comments

Well, they’re one day late, but here they are: Items 11 through 15 on the list of things you absolutely MUST do while you’re a student–or regret not doing for the rest of your life.

11. Spend time alone.

If you’re really trying to make the most out of your music school career, you’re going to be around other people almost non-stop. It’s fun to have friends, to play in ensembles, to study in groups, and hang out with your room mate late into the night. But you also need time for yourself. I’m not just talking about the alone time you get when you’re practicing or studying. I’m talking about what one friend called “naked time”–the kind of time you spend alone just for you (you can keep your clothes on if you like). Take a nice long walk now and then, catch an afternoon nap, or put on your favorite CD (NOT a listening assignment for class) and read a magazine. Just find something to give yourself a nice quiet break.

If you’re wondering why this is is important to do NOW, it’s because your schedule NOW is probably the most flexible you’ll ever have again. Most work days don’t have an hour or two in between tasks the way many students have an hour or two in between classes. Yes, those are good times to practice, study, etc., but they’re also good times to relax and de-stress a little. If you are just too busy to make this happen during the week, give yourself a little extra time to do it on the weekend.

The other reason to do it NOW is because this is a time in your life to focus on you and figure out who you are. If you’re always around other people, you’ll never get a chance to form your own identity. You do NOT want to leave college feeling like you have no idea who you are, so take a little time and figure it out!

12. Celebrate every holiday you know of.
I get it, you’re a hard-working, talented, music student–not some dumb frat-boy or -girl. Well get over yourself and have some fun now and then. It’s college! If you’re holiday calendar says Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, you’re not celebrating enough. You need a calendar that gives you a holiday for almost every day of the year. That way, you can celebrate whenever you get a little free time.

13. Take up a non-music hobby. Read the rest of this entry »

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Things you’ll regret not doing in college (Part II)

Dec 10

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Health and Wellness, Practice | 4 Comments

Well it’s Thursday, and here at Sing Play Survive, that means another list of things you BETTER do while you still can. I wouldn’t recommend doing them during juries week (except for number 9), but they’ll all be great fun after.

Got some of your own to add? Please let me know in the comments.

If this is your first time here, you can also read Part I of this series.

6. Have a lazy “marathon” weekend

This is a great thing to do on a long weekend or over a holiday. Grab some friends, stock up on your favorite food and beverages, and take an entire day (or two) to do something like: watch an entire season/series of a favorite TV show, watch a movie trilogy, listen to the complete Beatles discography, have a Monopoly tournament, beat Guitar Hero on expert, etc.

There are a couple of rules for this one: save it for a weekend with bad weather, give yourself a day after to be productive and recover before starting another week of classes, and balance your Karma by spending another entire day volunteering with all of your friends.

7. Learn to function without caffeine
I’ll bet that colleges (and especially music schools) create more caffeine addicts each year than 10,000 Red Bull salesmen do in a lifetime. Between a demanding schedule, chronic sleep deprivation, and easy, campuswide access to fresh-brewed coffee and ice-cold Mountain Dew, it’s no surprise. If you’re on the road to addiction, take a few days off from caffeine here and there. Curb the habit before it owns you for life.

8. Spend time in the library (for fun)

Read the rest of this entry »

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Correction(ish): U of Michigan NOT the first iPhone orchestra?

Dec 5

Posted by Bryan W in Frustrations, Music Schools, News, Wow! | 5 Comments

zee_pr_thumbOh Twitter. I woke up this morning to a message from a German performance group called ZEE (Zaboura Eichstaedt Experience) who informed me that they performed with iPhones BEFORE the U of M concert. I felt kind of bad for my mistake, until I saw that they were an “orchestra” of 12. Now, I just have questions:

  1. Is an ensemble of 12 considered an orchestra? Maybe they were the first “Chamber Orchestra”, which would mean that U of M can keep their title!
  2. Why do colleges and groups like ZEE insist on using an antique word like “orchestra” to describe such innovative ideas? Is it to make the group seem more credible? I guess that makes sense to an extent, but it reminds me of music schools that have groups with names like “Rock Combo” or “Latin Ensemble”. Do you use those names help keep the riff-raff out of your institutions?

Colleges and “legitimate” musicians: quit being pretentious and come up with names that reflect the spirit of your group! We’re all creative people, so that SHOULDN’T be hard. If the music is good, it won’t matter if you call your group “The Glennhaven Conservatory Festival Portable iTelephone Konsort” or “Band of Geeks”, because people will respect you for what really matters: the quality of the performance…

…and if the music is lousy, don’t desecrate the word “orchestra”. ;-)
Learn more about ZEE at http://www.zeeing.de/home.htm. For a quick peek at a school with great ensemble names, take a look at the Berklee Ensemble Department homepage (and then send them a note asking to remove the word “ensemble” from all the names).

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Friday Fun: University of Michigan offers iPhone music class

Dec 4

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Music Schools, Wow! | No Comments

Playing the iPhoneThis fall, University of Michigan professor Georg Essl began teaching a class to explore the use of the iPhone/iPod touch as a musical instrument. A joint effort of the The department of Computing and Engineering and the School of Music, the course discusses programming and performance technique on Apple’s famous hand-held devices…

Ok, enough with the news reporting. Am I the only one asking, “Why didn’t MY school have that?” Props to the faculty for pushing the boundaries of what’s taught in music schools. This class looks like serious fun!

Like any good music class, this one includes a performance requirement. In this case, it appears that the U of M has created the first ever “iPhone Orchestra”. Each performer has a set of portable speakers strapped to his/her wrists, which look like a pair made by Altec Lansing.

If you want to see more, Wired Online has two videos to watch. One of the iPhone concert, and one that profiles the class. Interested in starting your own iPhone orchestra? You can find the speakers on Amazon.

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Five Things You’ll Regret Not Doing in College (Part I)

Dec 3

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Frustrations, Health and Wellness, Practice | 1 Comment

I’m going to make a prediction: when you finish music school, you’ll start thinking of a whole list of things you wished you had done while you were there. If you need some proof, think about your last few weeks of high school. Didn’t at least part of you wish that you had tried out for a play, asked that cute boy out, spent more time with your friends, or practiced a little harder for your auditions?

Since you might not know what’s going to be on your college list until it’s too late, I’m starting this series to give you some ideas. Every week or so, you’ll find another five things you should try to do while you still can.

If you’re not in school anymore, please email me and tell me about YOUR regrets. If you ARE in school, please read on…

1. Start a band that has NOTHING to do with the “legit” music you play.

If you’re into classical, cut loose and join a rock band. If you play jazz, start a classical quartet and see how the other half lives. Just try something that you wouldn’t normally do. It doesn’t matter if you “can’t improvise”, or if you’re not a classical music expert. Do your best and adapt, because that’s how you learn and grow. Take advantage of the talented musicians around you. Start a group, laugh at how awkward it is, and learn from it!

2. Sleep in once a month.


Read the rest of this entry »

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