Postponing Videos Once Again

I have to postpone my cover of Rylynn, but I’m trying to finish up my arrangement of “How to go” by School Food Punishment (OP for the anime Un-Go) because I started it so long ago and I really need to get it out there.

GUITAR

A program of varied solo literature and études including:

 One or two movements from a Bach Suite

 Prelude, sonata, or theme and variations by Sor,

Giuliani, Ponce, Torroba, Turina, Villa-Lobos,

Brouwer, or equivalent repertoire

 Études by Carcassi, Sor, Brouwer, or Villa-Lobos, or

equivalent repertoire

 

These are the requirements for the audition for Northwestern.  Even if I want to study composition, I still have to pick a primary instrument, so I still have to do the audition for guitar.  When I started classical lessons about 5 months ago, my teacher had me start from scratch, all the way back at Grade 1.  I’m only three pieces into Grade 4 after 5 months, which is pitiful.  I have 2-3 months to learn the requirements above, which are all easily Grade 8.  My teacher decided we put the grade levels on hold and I should just focus on learning these pieces, as I don’t have much time.  However, I’m learning a guitar arrangement for Bach’s Prelude (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqZNcul42Z4) and even though it’s the easiest piece I could find, it’s still hard for me to get clean.  The main reason being my left hand technique is far behind my right hand technique, and all the finger independence and chord/position switches required is pretty hefty for my hands, sadly.  This is why playing classical makes me feel horrible about my skills as a guitarist.

I apologize for having to postpone Rylynn.  I am simply running out of time and I need to get myself into gear.  If you read all this, I hope you can understand.

I Hate Playing Classical Because It Makes Me Realize How Much I Suck At Guitar

Title.

Kingdom Hearts II – Sora – Yoko Shimomura

Hope you enjoy!

Yay another KH cover ^^!  I was kind of proud of myself theory-wise for this one, because I modulated my way from D Mixolydian to E Major to play Roxas’ Theme (which is the parallel major of E minor, the original key of Roxas).

 

Explanation: The 1st time the main theme comes (part at 0:06) I play C natural in a progression that targets the D Major chord, hence Mixolydian (G relative major).  The next time it comes back at 0:43, I play C#, making it D Major.  Then at 1:19, I add G#, and play an A chord at 1:25, hinting at A Major, and then at 1:40 I use a sequence idea up a whole step, keeping A in the bass, effectively forming my B7 chord which rockets me into E Major (since it’s the V7 of E).  Then I play Roxas’ theme, and use the A chord at the end of that section to bring me back to D Mixolydian since A is the V of D.  And of course, the ending.  Oh, I also kept some rhythmic motifs throughout the piece, like the bass rhythm in the main theme.

The Current Status of “Morning Prelude”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iuTb5p5Xn4

I composed an original piece called “Morning Prelude”, and I’ve finally begun to make some more progress on it.  I really think this is some of my best work so far (well, my work so far hasn’t been the greatest so that doesn’t really say much).  I’m not sure I want to release this yet because I still don’t think I’m done with it, but I want to release this here as an update and a little insight to what I’ve been doing lately.

Hope you enjoy!

From my previous version, I’ve added a new section at 0:50 and a fugue-like section starting at 1:06, and I’ve changed the instrumentation of the part at 0:35 to an Oboe lead instead of the Piccolo to emphasize that it’s a different section and voice, responding to the Piccolo.  I also added a harp in the background to emphasize (what I think) is an interesting chord progression.  Though, I haven’t analyzed it and I don’t know what chords they were, they sounded pretty intriguing to me, and I hope they do for you!

Edit: I have decided to leave it as it is for now.  My guitar teacher says that the curse of a composer is that he/she will always want to return to their pieces and edit it because there’s always something you aren’t quite satisfied with.  I have decided that while there are things to be changed, I need to move on to other new compositions.

A Question to the Air

Should I take the SAT Subject Tests instead of retaking the SAT Reasoning test (added score of 1810)?

 

I am applying to the following colleges:

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology… yeah..)

Western Washington University (WA State)

Tufts University (Near Boston, Massachusetts)

Northwestern/Bienen School of Music (Illinois)

 

MIT is the only one that requires SAT Subject Tests (2 to be specific).  The deadline for submitting these scores is January 1st (Regular Decision) and the only test I can take before then is in December.  The only problem is that I got an 1810 on my last regular SAT Reasoning test, and I signed up for a retake this December (they don’t allow you to take a Reasoning test and subject tests on the same day).

To get into MIT, I have to take the subject tests, hands down.  But if MIT doesn’t like my 1810 for the Reasoning Test (and they turn me down), then there would be no point in taking the subject tests, because MIT is the only school that requires it.  Furthermore, if the other 3 schools don’t like my SAT Reasoning Test either, then I would have wasted my time taking the subject tests because I didn’t improve my SAT Reasoning score, and neither of those 3 are even going to care about my subject tests.

 

The reason I feel obligated to retake the Reasoning test is because I don’t have any extracurricular activities or anything that will stand out other than playing guitar at home.  I get the feeling that the only thing that will carry me into college is a good GPA and standardized test scores.

My Next Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsD6uEZsIsU

I’m thinking of finally getting some more fingerstyle up on my channel, because I’ve done a lot of video game and anime covers recently.  When I started playing acoustic guitar, I actually started off with all these insanely difficult songs by Antoine Dufour, Andy McKee, Don Ross, and a bunch of other CandyRat artists.  I could never play them to the extent that I wished, though recently, I felt like I’ve improved in my expression and technique in order to play these a lot cleaner than I did in the past.  So, I’ve decided I want to start sharing some of these, and I am currently relearning “Rylynn” by Andy McKee.

 

I haven’t played these songs in so long, and I’m amazed why I ever stopped.  The emotions you can get out of playing these are absolutely awe-inspiring.  And they use the guitar’s polyphonic capabilities to their full.  I feel like there’s so much to play and nothing feels empty while playing these songs.

 

Anyway, I hope if you reading this, that you enjoy these when I do start posting them.  Have a good day! ^^

 

Kingdom Hearts – Traverse Town – Yoko Shimomura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyPvZzcd6FQ

Hello!  I’m sorry I haven’t uploaded in so long, I haven’t even posted a single blog post since my “Those Who Fight” video, so I apologize for that as well.

Here’s a redone version of Traverse Town!  I did this one a month ago or so but it was pretty simple and some parts were missing the swing feel.  Once I heard lonlonjp’s arrangement I had to learn it!  ^^  Though I did make a few changes here and there, and I added a new little section it that’s supposed to be a climax, but I think I didn’t really develop the theme enough to climax that early, nor was the emotion intense enough!  But anyway, I hope you can find some way to enjoy it!