Category: Conversations

Thoughts on a living a creative life

9/6/2013

Last week my wife shared a web-comic that has since been making the email/web circuit. It's beautifully drawn, but it is particularly significant to me because it incorporates some of Bill Watterson's (Calvin and Hobbes) words given at a graduation in 1990. Just like his strips about a young boy and his stuffed tiger, it is full of meaning and wisdom.

click to see the entire strip

When I left my teaching job, I encountered a lot of misunderstanding from a lot of people. I originally thought people would be happy for me because I had chosen to make the change to focus on what I loved doing. But instead I found that most people didn't know what to make of a person who wanted to be a freelance musician and teacher.

An artist I know once told me--when I was a much-younger and aspiring musician--that I would have to make sure to give myself time to create. I think people who don't create art often underestimate the amount of time it takes. Learning to perform music takes hours (upon hours!) of practice. Writing songs and composing, recording and arranging music takes just as much time. It's very hard to "squeeze" in creative activity around a busy schedule.

Then when we had a child, and I took on the task of adjusting my schedule to raise Elmer, I again encountered a great deal of misunderstanding. Honestly--looking back--our choice made a lot of sense. Anali has a regular job at an office from 9-5, whereas I worked from home and could adjust my own work schedule accordingly. Even so, I was told (and sometimes still am told) that it is "woman's work" and that I shouldn't be doing it. (This isn't to say that Anali hasn't had to give anything up! We both have given a lot to our little guy.)

You'd think in our modern society that has so changed--and is still changing--that more people would understand a non-traditional life. Bill Watterson did not let his commercial success or the allure of wealth guide his career. In fact, because of the difficulty of avoiding the influence of his commercial success he left the public sphere and never returned. Instead he focused on his family and living a life the way he wanted.

I think that's what makes him a success.

"To invent your own life's meaning is not easy but it's still allowed and I think you'll be happier for the trouble."
- Bill Watterson

http://zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-a-cartoonists-advice/

Thanks to Gavin Aung Than (zenpencils.com) for his great artwork!

1 Comment

Recital Recap & Recordings

8/28/2013

1 Comment

The recital this past Saturday went very well. Thanks to everyone who attended! I'm very proud of my students and pleased with the way all of us made some music.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RECITAL PAGE

I have some strong thoughts about how music is used in our society, and I shared some of them with the audience towards the end of the recital. I jokingly referred to it as a "sermon" and I guess it is something like that. I hope, however, that it makes people think.

It is a shame that so much of the music people enjoy is separated from the rest of their life. Making music is a joy that should not be reserved for only the professionals and highly-trained among us. There was a time when music-making was enjoyed by all, whether trained or not, whether wealthy or poor, no matter what class, gender, race. The poorest commoner sang to the love of his life just as frequently as a wealthy man would have serenaded his mistress. Unfortunately, today both rich and poor alike prefer to passively rely on recordings for their musical needs.

So I have issued a call to everyone to engage with music. This first and foremost means to make music, whether singing or playing an instrument. Don't tell me you can't sing: everyone has the necessary tools. A bit of advice: this is best done with other people.

Secondly, however, everyone should listen to live music. It doesn't have to be an expensive concert--there's plenty of inexpensive and free options around if you look. Here's another piece of advice: Go to church. You'll almost assuredly encounter some live music there as well as some people to share it with.

Anyway, I've posted the audio of my 'sermon' on the recital page along with recordings of the music.

I'll end this post with a YouTube video of a flash-mob performance. Maybe someday I can get one of the groups I work with to do one. They look like a lot of fun and what a great way to share music with the community!

1 Comment

Summer Recital & One-Year Anniversary

8/12/2013

0 Comments

It's been a year since I became the organist and music director at St. Mark's. (I was only the band director before). Needless to say, there's been a lot of changes over this past year in my life. However, I really feel good about the changes that we've made and I truly feel that my organ technique has improved a lot.

Thinking about my own growth as an organist (and, generally speaking, as a musician) reminds me about a guiding philosophy that I hold: Everything about music is connected to growth and development. A musician ought to embrace change and have an honest assessment of their own abilities in order to be in a proper state to facilitate their own improvement. A common mistake that I frequently encounter is people too afraid to try new things because they are afraid of revealing that they aren't perfect. Perfection is a fine carrot to dangle in front of your eyes, but there is wisdom in not planning on getting it for dinner.

This is probably true in all fields of work, but I especially see it among the musicians with which I work. Too many people waste their energies in trying to appear to be good at something, when instead they ought to work at actually getting good at it.

By the way, we're having a recital in a few weeks. Save the date!

Saturday, August 24th • 3pm

We'll be featuring the usual crowd of musicians: Jenna and I are doing some neat duets, and she's got some nice solo pieces too. Julia and I are doing a Beethoven duet, and she'll be singing a song. The Mesa Winds have some fun stuff, including a jazzy rendition of "Satin Doll". The Tempe Guitar Trio also has a jazzy number we've been working on. Of course there's more, and refreshments after the recital.

Hope to see you there!

0 Comments

It Might As Well Be Spring / Happy Easter!

4/1/2013

4 Comments

Easter has come and gone, and suddenly I feel a bit more relaxed. Fair warning: I think I need to decompress and ramble. If you came here looking for deep thoughts or vast musical insight, you had better click to another page. (I wonder why you came here looking for those things anyway...)

I think these past five months have been the busiest for me since I left the school in 2010. Not including church services (of which there were many), I've had forty-something concerts, gigs and performances since November. And, of course, each of those performances represents hours of rehearsal, practice and preparation. Anyway, I offer this bit of information up to excuse my absence from the Internet airwaves. Otherwise, I've never liked listening to others tell me how busy they are, and I don't want to start doing it myself. (I know I've just done it but, honestly, I'm finished now.)

Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to talk about my son. (As if that's better than talking about how busy I am).

The church thrift store had two electric organs they were trying to sell. They kindly offered one to me (as if I needed any more stuff in the house). I tried it out for a while, but I think Elmer liked it better than I did. In particular, he liked the large, friendly, colored buttons and the electronic synthesized drum beats. Cue an 8-bit 80's samba.

(Who knew there was a blog titled "8-Bit Samba"?)

Not that he needs any encouragement to put things into his mouth, but Elmer has progressed very well at his recorder playing. He can now play what I call "Elmer See Sharp", otherwise known as "Jamming On the One". Maybe, in time, he'll get good enough to learn a few other notes. He likes it especially when I finger the notes and he blows. Especially when I trill.

Honestly, I can't wait to get him to learn more recorder. I really think it's one of the best instruments made by man. It's supremely portable. It's very easy to play and with only a relatively small amount of effort one can get a very nice sound out of it. With all the seriousness that I can muster at this hour, I think that if I were only offered a few possessions to take with me to some deserted and remote wilderness, one of them would be a recorder.

Elmer also likes to play duets with me. In fact, if he is awake and I am playing the piano he feels that it is his duty to come and assist his father. His specialty is bass notes, but now and then he focuses on high trebles. When I am recording anything, his sense of timing is perfect (...in the ironic sense).

Needless to say, I try to do all my recordings when he is asleep or gone from the house.

But now that I think of it, maybe I can do a whole series of recordings using his own musical invention as a ground. Surprisingly (and perhaps revealing Elmer's vast genius) his compositions tend to sound a lot like the grounds of the music Moses and I created for Sounds of a Sphere.

I have finally upgraded my old workhorse. You probably would be surprised to know that I always had to mic my old keyboard because it didn't have a line out. Needless to say that is an extremely awkward way to amplify a keyboard on stage. So I've finally got a decent stage piano with proper outs. You can see Elmer was the first to try it out. (He let me have a go after he worked it in properly).

Don't get me wrong; I love my old piano. I've had it for many years and have played countless gigs, concerts, recitals with it. It was in my classroom way back when I first was teaching, and many kids played, pounded, puked and everything else on it. It is like a battered but still-servicable old car. I guess I've just decided that it would be more professional of me to have a stage piano that actually plugs into a house's PA rather than has to be mic'd in.

My old beloved keyboard has been moved to St. Mark's. The keyboard I have been using there for the past nine years was on it's last legs and my old keyboard is leaps and bounds better than it.

Elmer and I are glad that the busiest season is over. I know he'll be glad to not be so busy with his father. (Mama is glad to have Father around more too).

Happy Easter everyone!

He is risen!

UPDATED 4-1-13 at 1 PM

I suddenly felt guilty about giving the organ back (Thanks Kerry!) Then I remembered that I have an old keyboard that I've owned for thirty years (I think I was ten when my parents gave it to me). I guess it qualifies as an antique (or at least historic license plates). Anyway I have officially bequeathed it to Elmer. It has plenty of colorful buttons on it and he was greatly amused by it. It is still in great working order. In fact, among all its various sounds, it has a Samba rhythm. I would bet money that it is produced with an 8-bit processor.

4 Comments

Meet the new organist

8/9/2012

0 Comments

I am honored to have been hired as Music Director, Organist and Choir Director at St. Mark's. I have worked there as the Praise Director for almost nine years, but this new position greatly expands my duties there.

The organ might be the first instrument I really wanted to play. It's hard to remember some of these things clearly because I was so young at the time, but I have a strong memory of sitting in the choir loft at my family's old church and being fascinated with the organ. In fact, I used to pretend to be playing the pedals to the point that I remember a choir member turning around and asking me to stop kicking the pew in front of me.

Anyway I now have an good excuse to spend a great deal of time with this wonderful instrument. St. Mark's has a fine organ and I love playing it. Here you can see that, as always, Elmer is helping me practice. (Usually he sits in his little chair that sits behind the bench. At this moment, however, he needed to be held.)

Finally, let me make it known that I was deeply saddened by the departure of John McIlray who served as organist of St. Mark's for more than fourteen years. I have a great deal of fondness and respect for him, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.

0 Comments

Recital Recap

5/17/2012

0 Comments

If you haven't already, go check out the photos and recordings from our Spring Recital! It was a great success and we had the biggest audience yet! I'm very proud of all my students and grateful to all my colleagues for their hard work.

Elmer, of course, made an appearance. He was a big help throughout the whole process of rehearsing and working on the music. I've attached a few photos of his efforts:

And, as an extra note, I've officially hung up my 'shingle':

0 Comments

April Update

4/6/2012

1 Comment

After the concert last night, my busy season is finally winding down. I've laid down my baton for the Pops Orchestra until October. The Sunland Singers also are off for the summer. The Mesa Band has only one more concert in May. Swing Memories has switched to a lighter summer schedule of rehearsals and gigs.

It's been a good second year of The Perry Project. I continue to be surprised and pleased to find new opportunities to meet musicians and make more music. Even though I am done with my busy performing season, I still have lots on my to-do list: I have high hopes for getting some more compositions completed this summer. I have my 4th Perry Project recital coming up on May 12th, where I plan to have another performance with the Woodwind Quartet and Tempe Guitar Trio as well as featuring my fantastic students and other musical friends. I'll be keeping busy at St. Mark's; the Praise Ensemble continues to expand its repertoire and we will also be having our third Taize service on May 13th. I also have a stack of New Guinea tapes that I need to digitize and process.

Amidst all of this music-making is my new son, Elmer. He's a handful, but a pleasant one.

Here's to another great month! Happy Easter everyone!

1 Comment

March Update

3/3/2012

1 Comment

It's been a very eventful and fruitful year so far. Every week has been filled with lessons, rehearsals and performances. I've had twelve concerts already this year--either performing or conducting or both--with many more before the Spring season is over. All my groups have been playing great and I am very proud of them all!

Worship services at St. Mark's are going well too. It has been about a year since I began recording backing tracks for use during the Praise service. As of now I have 85 songs recorded, each one having 3-4 tracks. I've learned a lot about the process and have become more adventurous and creative with my arrangements & compositions. It is something that I definitely enjoy and it really helps fill out the sound of the Praise Band.

And, of course, I can't forget to mention my (our) best composition to date: Elmer Maughan Perry. My son was born on January 21st, 2012 and he has been the greatest blessing God has yet given us (which are many!). He is already in love with music. He loves to listen to us sing and he's got quite a voice himself too. Now, I have to start him on an instrument. The question is, what will it be? Piano? Violin? Guitar? Flute? Trombone? I will be pleased no matter what he chooses to do with music.

Happy Spring everyone!

March Concerts:
Swing Memories 3/3/12 (tonight) 6PM at VFW
Silveridge Pops 3/5 1:30PM at Zaharis MS
Mesa City Band 3/7 7PM at Sunland Village East
Silveridge Pops 3/16 7PM at Greenfield Village
Mesa City Band 3/28 7PM at Sunland Village
Sunland Singers Chorus 3/29 7PM at Sunland Village East

Elmer Maughan Perry

1 Comment

Happy New Year! - Random Musical Thoughts

1/5/2012

0 Comments

Happy New Year everyone! All my various projects began again Monday, Jan. 2nd so I've been pretty busy this week with the various groups. Anyway, have a few random thoughts that I thought I'd share:

1) A friend sent me this You Tube video last week. It's very funny, but also very clever. It is a video of the musical group Mnozil Brass being silly. I highly recommend following one of their related videos to see them doing more traditional performances--they're fantastic. However, it seems that everything they do has a touch of humor to it.

2) Today I changed the guitar strings on both of my work guitars (the ones I use all the time). It's a bit time-consuming, so I often like to listen to music or watch something on TV while I do it. So, I popped in my DVD of Giulio Cesare and watched Act II. This is definitely one of my favorite operas for many reasons. For one, it features male soprano Michael Maniaci. No, he isn't a counter-tenor; he's the closest thing we have to a living castrato. Anyway, he's got a beautiful voice and it's a fantastic aria. If you like opera at all, you should check this out. If you don't like opera, still check it out to see a man singing in fantastic ranges.

3) For the Christmas Eve service at St. Mark's I arranged a ton of Christmas carols and hymns for the praise band to sing. One that I am most pleased with was this pop-rock version of "Hark The Herald, Angels Sing". Here's just a snippet of the piece (mind you, this is just the backing track that I recorded, but it gives a good idea of what was going on).

I think there was something else that I wanted to share, but I can't remember what it was now. Anyway, I think that's enough for one post anyway.

Happy New Year!

0 Comments

October Update

10/5/2011

1 Comment

Well, the Fall season has begun which means lots of rehearsals and concerts not far behind. I've started rehearsals with the Mesa City Band a few weeks ago and just today I had my second rehearsal with the Sunland Singers. It's definitely fun to be involved with a choir again! Swing Memories has been rehearsing every other week during the summer, but starting next week we're back to every Monday. Finally the Silveridge Pops will be up and running by the end of October.

Meanwhile all my other little projects are chugging along. (Sometimes slower than I'd like, but always progressing little-by-little). I've begun getting music ready for the Winter Recital. I've got some neat stuff I'm writing that we'll include: a piece for the Tempe Guitar Trio as well as a few for the Woodwind Quartet. And, of course, my students are working hard on their own pieces as well!

Just to follow up on a previous story: The Happy Birthday 'flash-mob' went really well. We gave her a BIG surprise at the school where she teaches. She had no idea we were coming, and to top off the fun experience, several of her family members showed up from out of state. Anyway, I gave her a framed copy of my ragtime Happy Birthday arrangement. What's more is several of the band members said that we ought to use it at our concerts when we know someone in the audience is having a birthday. It could be a Mesa Band 'signature' piece. Now I just want to touch it up some more... add some more parts... maybe another section...

My one-year mark has come and gone with little fanfare. I have thought about this fact in the past weeks, even if I am only now just writing about it. Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with what has happened since last September when I first put this site together. First of all I have been blessed with lots of musical opportunities; I have met and worked with some great musicians in the past year. I love all the groups which I direct and play with. What's more, I've had the chance to write dozens of compositions and arrangements. I've had the opportunity to arrange and record tons of pieces (67 and counting) for St. Mark's... Anyway, I couldn't be happier with the way things have gone this past year. Most of all, I'm grateful to everyone who has stood with me as I figure out this new phase of my life. I love that my friends and family have been so supportive. (Thanks!)

Anyway, enough looking back. I like to keep looking forward. Here's to another great year!

1 Comment

<<Previous

Thoughts on a living a creative life

Recital Recap & Recordings

Summer Recital & One-Year Anniversary

It Might As Well Be Spring / Happy Easter!

Meet the new organist

Recital Recap

April Update

March Update

Happy New Year! - Random Musical Thoughts

October Update

Chris Perry

Archives

Categories