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Man With Sign, September 26, 02023
The morning is darkly overcast, a foreboding cloud cover that promises but does not deliver rain. It — perhaps unfortunately — suits my rather grim mood as I make my way to Roosevelt Circle, arriving at 7:30 and setting up after a few words of greeting with Craige. Today I hold up 2021 IPCC REPORT: "CODE RED" FOR HUMANITY.
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https://youtu.be/h4L3uwIxP9w
#ClimateChaos #ClimateChange #CitizenActivism #HindustaniMusic
From where I stand, or rather lean, the responses are positive. I get and return a lot of waves, smiles, and salutes. Craige tells me later that he noticed quite a few hostile ones, but I didn't see them; perhaps they came when I was concentrating on practice with my eyes shut?
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Today I sing through as many arpeggiated versions of a complete cadence (I-IV-V-I) as I can invent. My only constant stipulations are to remain entirely within the three respective triads, and to avoid repeated notes. While the governing rules of these exercises are simple, they require care and attention to execute.
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As I go through the multiple possibilities I am struck by the differences in affective qualities between the various inversions of the triads. While this is ground that has been thoroughly covered by centuries of Western music theory, there can be no substitute for the direct harmonic experience of each of the different forms in context; it is a continually-renewing immersion in the range of possible tensions and resolutions.
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My voice is raspy and fatigued, but it gradually improves as the muscles get warmed up. By the end of the hour (though I'm still a little hoarse and froggy) I'm able to sing an ascending/descending sequence spreading the cadence over two octaves and a fourth, from the bottom C to the high F. Those low notes may not be audible on the video, but I promise you they're all there.
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At 8:25 Craige and I join voices in duet on "Underneath The Pines," our raggedy blend reflecting the morning's bleak chill, the lyrics evoking a powerful nostalgia for the daydreams of a mythic summer afternoon. His modal harmonies are coming into ever-clearer focus, and giving the song added heft.
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And then it's time to close. We pack up, head our separate ways. I've got students all day today, (which presents a challenge to my frayed vocal muscles) and I hope to get some time to prepare for my class tomorrow at the Conservatory. Add some postcards to voters (supporting Issue 1 in Ohio, if you're wondering), and a mid-day dog walk, and the time'll just fly by.
That's all I've got today. See you tomorrow.
Man With Sign
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