the March or 2/4 tempo

THE MARCH TEMPOThe last time signature I am going to explain briefly is the 2/4 beat..It is the tempo of many Marches ( Stars and Stripes Forever, (US ), Maple Leaf Forever ( Canada ), Les Marsailles ( France ), Katipunan March, Bayang Magiliw ( Philippines )

If soldiers hear a marching song, some believe that their courage is doubled, maybe quadrupled and they would run headlong towards the enemy..That is the reason why in certain battlefields ( during the American Revolution ) there were always musicians out there in the field..A bugler would sound the charge fanfare or the retreat one.

A friend of mine once asked me when I was explaining this time signature.."Why 2/4, why not 1/2? It is the same isn't it?"

Of course. But Music is not Math , it just follows some principles of Math.

2/4 signature means, there are always 2 notes in each measure of a 2/4 song.. So the conductor or the Bandleader just gestures his hand in 2 directions: up and down, up and down...

A 2/4 measure may contain any of the following:
1. a single half note
2. two quarter notes
3. a half rest
4. maybe 4 1/8 notes
5. 1 quarter rest and one quarter note..
some other music elements whose Mathematical value would add up to 1/2

Some marches are played fast, some are moderate..

Some marches may not follow the 2/4 signature..March from AIDA ( the Opera ) might be 4/4..But the rest of the Martial pieces ( esp. ones written by John Phillip Sousa ) are written in 2/4.

There are some of the popular marches for important happenings:

Graduation or commencement exercises : POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE

Weddings: Bridal chorus for entrance,
Lohengrin March for the exit

Funerals : Funeral March by Chopin

There seems to be no part of a person's life which is not affected by music---#

MY BOY JETHRO by RAIN

my little boy Jethro




My little boy Jethro
Is now so tall and warm
It was so many years ago
I tucked him in my arm

Jethro is now a drummer
Just like his caring Mom
I see his image every night
Thru my old PC 's cam

Inside the house of our God
He plays like no one can
I pray to God they 'll soon arrive
That we will all be one!

submitted by RAIN

playing with the one man band

playing the yamaha keyboard with a
"one man band.."

Playing this type of electronic keyboard is one of the simplest ways to make beautiful music with little effort or easy keyboard skills...

But you must have a good sense of timing, a good musical memory ( remembering the tune accurately ) and being able to play it with the right hand either by ear or by reading the music manuscript...

It is best to memorize the melody and play it by ear. But if you are a good music reader you can play the song also with Music Books printed for this purpose..

The left hand must know how to form chords..Chords are combinations of at least 3 notes..

Some Yamaha music books have the melody line written in bold notes while the accompanying chords are written above the right hand staff...

The percussion or rythm is determined by a list of numbers and names written under the heading style..

The Yamaha I own have at least 100 styles ranging from ballad, latin music, rock, samba, etc.. It has also 100 voices. Voices are the different instrument sounds...

You can control the speed or tempo of the accompaniment by some buttons.

The chords you play with the left hand determines the "background music " that will be played by the built-in "one man band.."

Examples of left hand chords are:

CMajor: consisting of C, E and G, played all at the same time by the fingers of the left hand..

Or G7 which is D,F,G and B..

Another useful chord is FMajor which consists of F, A, and C...

Withe these 3 left hand chords you can already play several folk songs..All you have to do is to select the right "style" for it.

If you press the chord of CMajor, the "one man band " plays the C,E, & G notes, plus some drum sounds which would make it sound like your right hand playing is accompanied by an orchestra, including some drums..

But again, you have to accurate with your timing..It is like playing with a a KARAOKE TRACK..The Karaoke does not play with your timing, you have to play with the timing of the KARAOKE..

Which in a certain way, really sucks, especially if your timing becomes off..

Anyway, here is a Filipino love song I recorded ..with the one man band..One wrong note, one wrong timing and you have to re record it again..

Sometimes the recording work could take you a whole night...

Friday, November 21, 2008

Old Man Winter is back with a vengeance
here in Toronto starting Tuesday night. When we woke up Thursday morning, everything is white again. And it is not even Christmas yet.
The first thing I remembered were the birdies. Will they come and feed? Well they did but not in the same number. I guess these are the regulars who were hatched atop the roof of 19 Dixon road. I wish there would be a way of marking them. But sparrows are so shy. Unlike the pidgeons, you can not approach a sparrow. They would fly at once at one look at an approaching person .a

In the last frames of the accompanying video clip, I noticed that some of them do not look healthy anymore. Maybe it was due to the sudden change in temperature. Their eyes seem to be watery. I guess some of them won't survive the winter. I put up several birdhouses in the front yard but I am not sure they would avail themselves. The only places they know are under neath the bushes which are abundant in my front and backyard.
The closeup shots were taken from inside my window in to a bush right under it. I used zoom lens. The bird did not know it would be featured on the Internet.---#
bir

diana ( ja-na ) music in Asingan

THE DIANA MUSIC is a March played in 2/4 time signature ( to be discussed in a coming lesson ) .

Photos portray Asingan town fiesta activities in the absence of pictures showing the Yuletide spirit in our town. Some photos came from the Pangasinan.Org website and a few were given years ago by OCTOARTS a company owned by Mr. Alfredo Gelacio Jr.

When December 16 rolled around in Asingan during the '50s and early '60s, this traditional Dawn Mass is heralded by a 5 piece brass band made of a trombone, a clarinet, a saxophone, a snare drum and a bass drum. They would rouse the Poblacion people up so they could attend the 4:00 am High Mass. There would be a HIGH MASS ( Misa Cantada ) sang by music volunteers.

When the Diana was stopped or scrapped from the Christmas Church agenda, canned music blaring out from the speakers atop the church tower took its place. ..

The music was written by an unknown composer and it has a happy, lilting tune in the spirit of Christmas the happiest holiday all through out the world.---#

EMMA'S BLOOPERS...

When Emma was still in Junior Kinder, she was already singing several songs..She can not read yet. But she managed to learn the lyrics by listening intently to the words and memorizing 'em..She also joined the children's choir of St. John which I handled for a few years..

One time while we were practicing at home, she told me:

"Lolo, when I already know how to read I am going to sing all these songs in this Mass book.."

Singing is now a part of her daily routine. She knows by heart most of the current hits which her generation is crazy about..Do not ask me what those titles are..

Last Thanksgiving, she did an impromptu concert after supper. With her I-pod ( it has several Karaoke tracks of the current hits ) connected to a Bose mini stereo player, she sang her favorites..She knows websites where she can download karaoke tracks and also the lyrics of those pop ditties..

She is now taking voice tutoring. Her voice range is quite high and wide. She won prizes for her Irish Dancing and also awards for singin DANNY BOY in certain vocal competitions.

Yes, she is half Filipino and half Irish and 100% playful..

She can make you laugh and cry at the same time...:)

Just kidding, as usual..:)

two Pilipino lullabyes..

There are several Pilipino lullabyes
originating from several parts of the country. I am publishing two of these..

The one sung by Miguelita goes:

SAMPUNG MGA DALIRI (Ten fingers )
KAMAY AT PAA ( Hands and feet )
DALAWANG TAINGA ( two ears )
DALAWANG MATA ( two eyes )
ILONG NA MAGANDA ( a beautiful nose )

If I am not mistaken, this song was once used in a segment of SESAME STREET....

The piano selection interprets NENA'S LULLABYE..

First lines go:

"Sleep my Darling baby,
Mother is not far away..."