'Concert'

Queens day. 30-04-2010.

Today I had a concert. For Queens day I went to Amsterdam. There I went to the 'Museum Plein". There I saw different artist performing. Artists such as: Alexandra Burke, Esmé Denters, RIO, Direct, Stromae and a lot more. This was really cool!! I had so much fun!

I really liked it a lot. Some artists I liked more than others.

I saw the songs:

Get me out of here - Esmé Denters

Alors on dance - Stromae

Bad Boys - Alexandra Burke

One Heart - RIO

..... - Direct

I really had a great time. Although this wasn't a real official concert, I did see them perform. This was the first time that I saw such famous artists perform. I never saw great artists perform in real life. This was a real cool new experience.

Other opinion

Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPvehX2aWb8

What do I think about the fact that he burns his guitar in the end?

I think it is amazing! I really think that it gives something extra when he just burns en smashes his guitar into so many pieces, just after he ends his guitar performance. He is an amazing guitar player and he smashes the guitar he seemed to love so much. In the start I do get confused by this transformation, but I do get al exited about it. If I was in the audience I would start screaming and shouting even more.

I really didn't expect him to ruin his guitar, but I think the only reason why I except it, and think it is cool, is because he is a very good guitar player. If somebody who was really bad in playing the guitar and then would smash his guitar I wouldn't be interested, but because he is so good I become more interested. I begin to find him more interesting, exiting and unpredictable.

David Bowie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrOtpP40INs&feature=related

The inspiration and the elements that David Bowie used from other important artist in that time.

Sid Barret

The first inspiration from David Bowie was Sid Barret from the Pink Floyd. How he had walked away, and how he slowly became mad. This was a huge starting inspiration for David Bowie.

But this was only one character. David Bowie was searching for success, he did this by finding new people and important people in the music would, who he could let himself be inspired by.

The Velvet Underground

In 1971 he went to New York, and David Bowie started to use elements from The Velvet Underground. He started a band. He thought the sound from the Underground was amazing, a mix of rock and avant-garde. With inspiration from the Underground he started with making a rock band with a difference --> 'Hype'. This was the turnings point in Bowies career. He started to make rock music like he had never done. That is why one of the main elements David Bowie had taken from the Velvet Underground was his cool-streetwise rock.

Andy Warhol

Pink Floyd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO6zOZHpPkk&feature=related

(While Syd Barett was still their lead singer.)

What did the Pink Floyd have in common with the Beatles?

The Pink Floyd was a unique group, just like the Beatles. They did their own thing and they were creative on their own way. One of the reasons I think they came very far in the music world is because they didn't use a lot of other artist. They did their own amazing thing that people seemed to like very much. This is also a thing that the Beatles did, I believe. This makes the two groups so unique.

What did they have in common with the the Velvet Underground?

Just as the Velvet Underground the Pink Floyd had periods that they were also very into rock. And just like the Underground Pink Floyd manipulated their stage presentation with the active power of their music.

2 clipssss.

The Who, My Generation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr81olQ1ibk

I liked this clip. It starts with the Who group joking around with the presenter. I'm nog offended, even at some moments I thought it was fun as well. Because they start really funny and relaxed I think it is more fun to watch. More fun and more relax. Because of the jokes made you are already paying attention with a big smile on your face. I think this is very fun and well done. The good thing is that when they start singing they are immediately again serious enough to play the song well and still get the crowed exited. In overall I liked the song, only when the lead singer makes some weird sounds in-between when he sings "generation" I don't like. I think it is unclear and the first couple of times you think he is making a mistake. Further the fact that they started breaking their instruments at the end of the song also didn't make any sense to me. I didn't think that it gave any extra's to the performance, I didn't got exited, I just thought it added nothing to the show.

In overal I did like it.

Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPvehX2aWb8

I didn't like this clip at all. When it started he was talking very soft and I couldn't understand everything clearly. Because of this he didn't get my attention at all. Finally he did got my attention when he really started to play the guitar very good. He even started to do tricks while playing his guitar. I think this was really cool, but I don't know why I still wasn't very interested. I think maybe because he is playing too long. Half way the clip I know that he can play the guitar really good, and I loose my attention.

This isn't really my type of clip and music. I do like good guitar solo's, but this one took way too long so it lost my attention completely.

Also here he had to break his guitar in the end, again I don't know why this is necessary.

I didn't really have a clear reaction, I just got annoyed at some point by the sound and in the beginning I was bored by his talk.

Of the two clips I liked the one from the Who's more because they started with grabbing my attention and I liked that song more.

Religion Rap!

Today during test week we had a history project. We had to make a rap about the christianity. We were all divided into groups and I was with Sophie van Stokrom, Nijs, Rober Unger and Nold Jaeger. We had a lot of fun. We had to make 3 couplets and a chores. We had to put all our knowledge from the christianity into our rap. I never actually made a rap before. Well a Sinterklaas poem, yes, but a rap? no. haha. It was a lot of fun. We got a beat on which we had to rap and we needed to do it in front of the whole class.

Finally there were chosen three groups that had the chance to record their rap. My group was chosen. With real equipment we had to rap, one by one. We didn't have enough time to finish the whole song we only did the first couplet and the chorus, but they do want us to come back later to record the song and to participate with 80 DB. I think that would be a lot of fun.

Through today I really noticed that I like rapping a lot! Maybe I will one day, just for fun, make a rap myself.

I hope you like reading my blogs so far!

Bye bye xxx

Mila

Klassiek and Unplugged

Together with my music class we participated in a music 'concert' in my school. It was loads of fun. One time we had to perform in front of an audience. We performed to songs:

Blackbird - the Beatles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjkxSS_Ednc

Because - the Beatles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE5f4hVMCew

our main song was 'because' we also practiced that song the most. During our performance also that song went the best. We were guided on the piano by Mr. Weisser, on the guitar by Andrew and Mr. Derx. Our other song 'blackbird' didn't really went good and we were very false.

But participating was a lot of fun. We are also participating with the next performance on my school : 80 DB I hope that that also will become a lot of fun.

The King of Rock 'n Roll

During my music class we watched a documentary about Elvis Presley. We all know Elvis Presley, but before I watched this documentary I didn't know anything about him. I never listened to his songs, or how he became so famous. By watching this documentary I did became to know much more.

I also became to know one song from Elvis Presley that I even listen now today. It makes me really happy:

Tutti Frutti - Elvis Presley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1se7jv7IC70

Here in very short something about Elvis and Rock 'n roll.

Elvis Presley , the king of Rock 'n Roll.

Rock 'n roll started during slavery. It was known as black music, as race-music. In those days America had a disease. A disease of racism. Black people weren't tolerated thus there music wasn't too. Until one day, when Elvis showed up. A white man, singing black music.

Elvis was a white kid that has his whole like been really attracted to black music. He came from Mississippi. Even in that time (when there was racism, from whites to black) he as a white man went to black churches. He went to Mephis and he went making black music. (1950's) This was something completely new. A white man singing black music. In that time white people first had to except that a white guy was singing black music. Through the great music, great singer and the humor Elvis put in his performances through his helper Bill people soon started to except it. Elvis actually opened the world for black music and Rock 'n Roll was really born. Elvis Presley, He was a revolutionary figure.

Playing test.

During my music class we worked on a song. 'funkytown' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LARjYfqDbXQ)

It was a very fun song. We were divided into different groups and we had to play it using all different music instruments. I was playing the drums, but in my group also 3 people played the piano and one boy was singing.

A couple of weeks ago we had to perform it to our class. We had to grade each other. Here is how I thought about grading the other groups:

1. What did you find interesting or remarkable?

I really notices the different way all the groups were playing. The group of Andrew and Jelle was playing all kinds of music loudly through each other, my group was all doing a little bit and the group of Aisha was with a large piano solo.

2. Was it difficult to judge other people? Could you be objective?

Yes, I thought it was hard. Because I also didn't want to give bad grades. Firstly I filled in everything very positively. Later when I had to hand it in I noticed that I graded too high, thus I lowered my grades a bit. I did try to be as objective as possible.

3. Did you listen and watch more closely than you usually do?

Yes, I really payed attention to everybody individually and how they played together.

I listened if there were made any mistakes and if the rhythm was ok.

4. How did it feel to have "power" over grading?

Because it are your peers you don't want to grade them too low. In overall I do like grading. You don't really need to do a lot, you just need to sit and pay attention for a while. You don't have to perform and you are not being graded.

5. Do you think that you were fair in your grading?

Yes I think. First I wasn't fair because I was too positive, but when I looked at my grades again I changed them. I started to think if the rubrics actually said what they were doing. This wasn't the case thus I made the grades lower.

6. Do you think that your classmates were fair to you and your group?

Yes I think so. In the end we got a grade I think we deserved. I was really happy with my grade. The rubrics my peers and me used was a rubric where there was mostly looked at the effort put the your music. Personally I put a lot of effort in my work. I tried really hard to be a good drummer, although this didn't go good the whole time.

7. Did the rubric work well? Was it easy to use? Was it accurate in determining the success level of each group?
Yes, I think the rubric worked well. Maybe because it was a rubric that my group made, haha. But I did think the rubric was good. Because it was not only based on how well you play, but also on how motivated you are and how much effort you had. This I think was very good because the level of music experience in our class differs a lot and this way a group with less children that know how to play an music instrument also got a chance to get a good grade.

Zwolle

With our (a part of) music class we went as an excursion to Zwolle. We went to watch an Opera piece of Mrs. Weisser. We had a really fun trip! We left school a little early to go to the train station to Zwolle. With the whole group we went watching the opera. The wife of mrs. Weisser helped us to reach the opera and afterwords we could ask questions to the musicians and to other helpers like for example we could ask questions to the girl who made the decor. After that we went to a pizza restaurant with the whole group. That also was really fun. I had a great time!

About the opera: Before I went to see this opera I went to two other opera's. These only didn't have a very serious subject. This opera did. I really thought that the singing was beautiful! The acting also was really good, but opera just isn't my music style that is why at a certain moment it began to get a bit bored. But at the end I did have my attention back to the story through the acting at that point.

It was a very fun trip!