I learnt in my notetaking class about the curious art form of Path Tracing. It's pretty cool really: to gauge human interaction with a public space, people's movements in that space are documented and recorded visually- this has become some kind of ubercool underground art form...
Since I had a luxurious day off yesterday today brought scope for "playtime"- and it was only the second time I've found myself having to come back reasonably late night unescorted in the city and we all know what happened the first time :P
So anyway I deliberately went back the long-winded way to avoid the beer goggled and dangerous yobbo stretch...no such luck :P just 200 m shy of home there was some crazy blocking the bridge who was curled up screaming violent nonsense like he required an exorcism...so I had to turn back to where I came and walk yet another convoluted path home...
I was half thinking- "wow what pretty arty squiggles my path home would have made"LOL. Of course my rational practical side was thinking "sheesh, SO INEFFICIENT- this convoluted path walking is really starting to get on my nerves!"
So anyway, I caught a film The Visitor - I have to admit I didn't read the entire blurb when choosing - I got suckered in by the headline "in a world of 6 billion people it only takes one to change your life" as well as the fact it was set in NYC...
Unfortunately, unlike Juno I have no glowing review for The Visitor...I found the movie was overly sentimental, overly constructed/stylized? and highly oppressive/quite heavy- I guess that is the mood the director was trying to achieve though...if you have seen this film and have an opinion, I'd like to know!
In any case, I did take one inspiration from the film...
I think I want to take up African Drumming(Djembe)!!!
pic: wikipediaPlaying drums has always been a childhood wish (along with trombone, sax and double bass- LOl what's the deal with small person and big instruments?!)
I like rhythm so much, I remember as a child playing pots and pans and even stringing up an icecream bucket to be 'the little drummerboy'...this love for rhythm and noise even extended to me 'tapdancing' on the kitchen tiles.
Anyhow no drumkit or drum lessons ever eventuated because of my mum's preconceived ideas about what constitutes a gender appropriate instrument...or maybe she was just being sensible it what she would be able to stand the sound of!!
In any case, since I'm on the topic of music, just yesterday I was listening to Nigel Kennedy's Four Seasons and thinking what an utterly sublime piece of classical music it is, and that if I could play the violin I'd want to be able to play just like him!
Similarly, if I could play Cello, I'd want to be able to play like Yo Yo Ma. And piano, I have no favourite artist as long as I had the ability to play great composers like Ravel, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Debussy etc...
The great thing about African Drumming is unlike the others which you need to learn as a child just to be able to make nice noises, I think hand drums are relatively easy to learn as long as you have a decent sense of rhythm! I wonder how much they cost??...I think this will have to wait till after the DSLR...and I definitely need to take a vow of abstinence with the CDs! :-p
5 comments:
You should practice on Rock Band...The drumming is really hard
The african drums sound pretty neat! I wonder how it would sound with my violin?
um considering you haven't touched the violin since you bought it let alone taken lessons (which no offence but you sound like you need LOL) how about you take up djembe too then we can play together!
im assuming rock band is a computer game? actually i met a chick from melbourne who made her own electronic drum kit with pads..hence suitable for apartment living if you don't want to piss off your neighbours- it was pretty nifty actually, but after hearing drummers in the park today I don't like the european timing/rhythms, and I think using sticks makes it sounds like a military marching band...
we have rock band for the Xbox. you can have a guitarist, drummer and singer
drums is really hard though so I stick to guitar
Maybe I will take up drums with you
What about the Irish bodhran? I've always fancied playing that - and when you listen to some of the rhythms it is so like Indian music. You play it with one hand with a little bone-like stick (I don't know what its called) not a conventional drumstick. But I bet the technique takes a while to learn.
Here's a link to info on the bodhran:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhrán
P.S. If you need a tin whistle player in your band....
healingstones, thanks for another new word :)!
I don't think we get Bodhráns here and I doubt I've heard one...djembes are a little oversize but I think hand drumming has a certain kind of "organic" appeal...
a tin whistle?! LOL this band sure is...nouveau in it's instrumental mix! LOL I really admire the new wave of multi-instrumentalists that you find with artists like sufjan stevens, andrew bird etc...I wish I could play just one instrument well even! okay this lazy procrastinator better get going- hope you're enjoying your weekend!
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