Gary Powell, Composer/Producer

by Gary Powell

Below I quote three astute observations from icons working in divergent disciplines on the importance of the individual, our creativity, life’s possibilities and how we relate to music; physicist Albert Einstein, psychologist Jerome Bruno and philosopher Ayn Rand bring the gift of perspective and importance to what we do daily as composers, musicians, performers, entrepreneurs and as humans.

“The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.” – ALBERT EINSTEIN

 

… A new breed of developmental theory is likely to arise… Its central technical concern will be how to create in the young an appreciation of the fact that many worlds are possible, that meaning and reality are created and not discovered, that negotiation is the art of constructing new meaning by which individuals can regulate their relations with each other.” – JEROME BRUNER, from Actual Minds, Possible Worlds (The Jerusalem-Harvard Lectures)

 

“The nature of musical perception has not been discovered because the key to the secret of music is physiological—it lies in the nature of the process by which man perceives sounds—and the answer would require the joint effort of a physiologist, a psychologist and a philosopher.” – AYN RAND, A Manifesto

 

 

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Filed by Gary Powell at 9:44 am under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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by Gary Powell

Emma Kate Tsai, an often contributor to my site, has posed this excellent question regarding the perceived color of tonal centers:

I have to write a research paper on music and how it collaborates with another art. I’m reading this new novel about a guy who can hear the tonality of people. I talked to my prof about it and she said that a lot of composers think people have “tonality”, in other words, certain keys are uplifting, others are somber. What do you think? – Emma Kate Tsai

Yes Emma, composers have always talked about the idea that the key of E Minor does not “feel” the same as Eb Minor even though they are only a half-step apart. There is often agreement that tonal centers on black keys have a darker tone than tonal centers on white keys. It’s possible that this perceived audio difference is more visual, and even tactile as well, in that the pianists’ fingering shifts deeper into the keyboard when playing black keys. As an antidote to this, I encourage myself to compose in all keys to eliminate compositional patterns that one develops when playing only in Bb Major, for instance. If a songwriter or composer does notice that she prefers certain tonal centers or keys, like I mentioned, it may be more about muscle memory, which comes from familiarity with chord voicing in certain keys, than about any measurable or even perceived auditory color differences. I do hold, however unreliable the science is, that we can and do perceive a difference in the tonal nature of the keys we choose to play in.

Studies show that people with perfect pitch hear the character of a pitch instead of what we generally assume; that they are simply hearing the frequency. This is one argument to support the idea different keys do indeed express a unique tonal color or quality. Much of my knowledge on the related topic of perfect pitch comes from my old friend Rae Moses, another frequent contributor to my site. Rae is the Director of Choral Music for Carl Fischer Music and a concert pianist who has perfect pitch. I hope Rae will add his take on this topic with a comment below.

“The fingers tend to be a little bit predictable unless led by the brain.” Brian May, Guitarist for Queen – As an aside, in 2007, Brian May received his PhD in Astrophysics.

I truly suspect that these tonal preferences are born from a mix of an unmeasured sense or feeling, a simple habit, or the shape of an individual’s hand, or a player’s eye sight, or that the piano stool was too low when we were young, making the flat keys harder to reach. We are indeed complex beings.

Helpful? Copy, Paste, then Tweet it!
How does the “Color of Key” effect what we hear and why do we prefer to play in one key over another? http://tinyurl.com/89dtz3

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Filed by Gary Powell at 12:23 pm under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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by Gary Powell
Dennis Razze, musical theatre specialist at DeSales University, has invited me to present a vocal master class on campus this March 24-25, 2007. This post is an invitation to you, the students, and me to get to know one another before the workshop. I want to hear your comments, suggestions, aspirations, experiences or questions before I just show up pretending to be brilliant.

We, as singers, all bring incredible vocal diversity to performing opportunities. Many directors and producers miss the very thing that is unique about your instrument. Even though that certainly affects you, there’s not much you can do about it. The question to ask yourself, however, is whether of not your talent or vocal aptitude matches your aspirations. The stage performer will likely prosper with volume. The singer-songwriter will often prosper with vocal intimacy. The recording artist will likely prosper with agility. The successful career as a session singer will often be determined by your ear more than your voice.

I’m making two points here: One, that many times we define singing careers too narrowly, and second, we make choices based on ego and desire rather than aptitude and skill.

This vocal workshop will serve you best if we work together to make sure you are being wise in assessing where you are most likely to prosper: The stage, the artist, the studio? Learning the capacities of your own instrument is great fun if you have an investigative mind and are up for the challenge.

We all know that almost any voice can make it as a recording artist, right? This is an excellent chance for you to get a very real assessment to help determine where each of you might have the best chance of finding an audience. This vocal master class will be the the polar opposite from that typical American Idol non-constructive-ego-driven-television-nonsense. Hopefully, we will simply identify a path where you might prosper while giving you the skills to further your development in accordance with your very own individual aptitude, psychology, resources and work ethic. I’m guessing this may ALL hook back up with your audition experiences, although beit with a wider net offering you a broader perspective of what effective singing sounds like…..for YOU!

So, be bold here. Engage me now, before I show up. First, you will need to subscribe with the button at the top right of the page. (If your browser is Explorer, the sidebar navigation panel may be shoved to the very bottom of the page.) Then, post your comments, questions or concerns below. If you prefer to keep your communication private, then click on “Meet and Greet Gary Powell” and you’ll find a form for sending me a private e-mail. Also, you will find much information within this professional weblog which should be helpful. Look around, check out the other singers who work in my studio and get involved if you like.

The format and schedule for classes will be forthcoming after I hear from you and work it all out with Mr. Razze, respecting your existing academic responsibilities. I have created a quick online survey which might help me understand who you are. I hope you will participate. (The Survey is Now Closed)

Also, please feel free to also share your wisdom or concerns in the comment field below regarding whatever vocal or music business issues you have.

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Filed by Gary Powell at 7:53 pm under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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by Gary Powell

MUSIC is the only art form that vibrates, resonates, oscillates, pulsates and thumps. This sonic thing makes it our most palpable art form. No other art shakes one’s booty quite the same.

Songwriters work in lyrics, harmony and melody. Composers work in all that plus texture, color, voicings, doublings, sections, combinations of sections and a thousand other devices and nuances. Even with the legacy of attention focused on these compositional elements, there is nothing quite as exciting as having your chest GET POUNDED. We feel music. Literally.

There is method in balancing the elements of sound production and the mastery of that sound is ultimately what a musician does. Singers study tone and placement and every instrument has sonic qualites needing to be either enhanced, disguised or masked. The recording discipline of audio engineering has much to teach us about these audio relationships and especially that of sound and its effects on the human body. There is a scientific language which helps explain this relationship. It has a vocabulary rarely utilized by practicing composers or players. It’s the language of the audio ENGINEER.

(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)

Filed by Gary Powell at 3:00 pm under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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by Gary Powell

We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.

So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tune”, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.

What’s at play here is your very personal brain’s recognition of a complex combination of musical elements: elements like instrumentation, texture, timbre, chordal voicing, chordal inversion, equalization, ambient sound, room reverberation AND….. whether or not you were hearing this song while getting your first kiss!

Music is deep. It almost defies explanation………………………….ALMOST!

Analogy might be the best instructor here. And, each of these analogies below has a rich musical heritage that is expressed in musical terms. This is the nature of learning music. Read music, don’t read music, educate yourself or shun study altogether. The music doesn’t ask or need to be understood. But, if the following statements make any sense to you whatsoever, you may possibly be interested in becoming a musician.

It’s a dynamic snapshot that may or may not predict its next picture.

It’s the only place where you are in the present, the past and the future at the same time.

The vertical gives meaning to the horizontal and the horizontal gives context to the vertical.

It’s a flag of a dozen layers of fabric stitched atop one another where one can clearly see all the patterns at the same time….all the while it passes by on horseback while your back is turned.

It has the passion of fire, but consumes nothing.

It’s something your mind can understand even when you cannot.

(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)

Filed by Gary Powell at 5:40 pm under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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by Gary Powell

The musical landscape has been flattened, the crooked has been made straight and“Trick or treat?” is now only“Treat?”.

“The more we move toward issues of the heart, the further we move away from the tools which would benefit us most in expressing that heart.”- Gary Powell

If dropped into any shopping mall in America there would be no way to discern in what city you were spending your money. There are libraries full of smart and dusty books which explore the homogenization of our culture. Below is what that looks like in musical terms.

The chain is mediocrity. GET OFF IT!

Song Prologues…………………………..out!
   Repetitive Choruses…………………….in!

Mode Changes…………………………….out!
   Upward Key Changes………………….in!

Dynamic Melody Lines………………..out!
   Step-Wise Melody Lines………………in!

Chord Substitutions…………………….out!
   Chord Predictability……………………in!

Dynamics…………………………………..out!
   Compression……………………………..in!

Four Bar Phrases……………………….out!
   Two Bar Phrases……………………….in!

Harmonic Vocabulary…………………out!
   Vulgar Vocabulary……………………..in!

Ring Cycles…………………………………out!
                  Navel Rings……………………………….in!

Most do not see any of this as an obstacle to our higher selves. However, our minds are smarter than we are and they are a bit disenchanted with the current administration. It seems our brains reach their pinnacle when we are involved in a unified campaign WITH them. Right now they are feeling the fatigue of working solo.

(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)

Filed by Gary Powell at 10:45 pm under Music Lecture & Seminar Topics
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