The Clements Blog
The Clements Blog is regularly updated with news and opinion covering music theory, classical music, and more. If you have already subscribed to Clements, please feel free to comment on the subjects and opinions we write about here.
Latest post: Violin Strings made from... Spider Silk!
The strings of a violin are today usually made from a synthetic core wound on the outside with metal. Now violin strings have been made from a radically different material: spider silk!
Read more: Violin Strings made from... Spider Silk! | 1 comment
Silence is Golden
An interesting workshop has been announced, to take place at the Trappist Monastery in West London on 1st April. The workshop, led by Mark Anon, is a day for singers and instrumentalists to study the use of the rest in music.
Read more: Silence is Golden | 1 comment
...and now some new Mozart has been discovered too
Just a few weeks after we reported the news that an unknown piece by Brahms had been discovered, another new piece by one of the great composers has been found. This time it's music by an 11-year-old Mozart that has been unearthed!
Read more: ...and now some new Mozart has been discovered too | 0 comments
Long-lost Brahms music discovered
An exciting piece of recent news has been the discovery of an unknown piece of music by the great composer Johannes Brahms. The two-minute piece, Albumblatt, for solo piano, was written by Brahms in a visitors book to thank his host for dinner!
Read more: Long-lost Brahms music discovered | 0 comments
Do we really need conductors?
Is a conductor just there out of practical necessity - to start each section of music off at the same tempo, and to keep the numerous performers from diverging at their own speed? Or is the conductor's job to impose a single musical vision over the interpretations of the performers? Perhaps most intriguingly: is there any fundamental reason why an orchestra must have a conductor at all?
Read more: Do we really need conductors? | 4 comments
Music and Comedy
One of the great things about the richness of classical music is the opportunity for comedy it provides. Maybe musicians are just funnier people, but some classical musicians have taken matters to another level entirely.
Read more: Music and Comedy | 1 comment
Virtuoso Performance: The Trombone
When you think of a 'virtuoso', you might imagine a violinist or a pianist. One instrument you might not imagine is the trombone, which is more commonly associated with comic effects, circuses, and marching bands. Given sufficient musical talent, however, any instrument can be performed in amazing ways, and the trombone is no exception!
Read more: Virtuoso Performance: The Trombone | 2 comments
Prince William and Kate Middleton: Music for the Royal Wedding
It is, of course, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate (or Catherine!) Middleton on Friday, and music will be playing a big part in the proceedings - so here's a quick run-down of what's being planned...
Read more: Prince William and Kate Middleton: Music for the Royal Wedding | 0 comments
Concerts and Opera: A New Dimension
It was recently announced that a new 3D film featuring possibly the world's greatest orchestra, the Berlin Philhamonic, would be shown in cinemas. Opera in the cinema has been successful in attracting audiences however, it's worth asking: what do cinema and 3D technology actually add to the opera or concert experience?
Read more: Concerts and Opera: A New Dimension | 1 comment
The YouTube Symphony Orchestra: Grand Finale
After just one (intensive!) week of workshops, rehearsals and concerts by 101 musicians from 33 countries, the YouTube Symphony Orchestra of 2011 has played its 'Grand Finale' at the Sydney Opera House.
Read more: The YouTube Symphony Orchestra: Grand Finale | 1 comment
Clements Comic Relief Special: Musical Spoofs
Today is Comic Relief day and BBC Radio 3 are broadcasting a special programme, 'Donald Macleod's Unbelievable Spoofs'. We get to hear of such dubious characters as Pietro Gnocchi, the Bolgnese opera composer Lasagne Verdi, and Pietro Raimondi.
Read more: Clements Comic Relief Special: Musical Spoofs | 4 comments
Words and Music - Mind your English
One of the tricky things composers have to deal with when setting texts in English is that so many of its words are short, sharp and hard. However, English isn't completely hopeless for singing in...
Read more: Words and Music - Mind your English | 0 comments
Anna Nicole - the Real Deal?
It has been an funny old week for opera fans. Anna Nicole, the new opera by Mark-Anthony Turnage has opened at Covent Garden in London and is receiving mixed reviews...
Read more: Anna Nicole - the Real Deal? | 4 comments
If music be the food of love ...
What is it that makes us love music so much? Well, a group of Canadian scientists think they have found an answer.
Read more: If music be the food of love ... | 1 comment
Resolutions
How are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Well, if you're still looking for ways to get your 2011 into shape, Clements Theory has a few musical suggestions for you (and none of them is 'do more practice'!).
Read more: Resolutions | 2 comments
How musical are you, really?
Obviously you must be pretty musical or you wouldn't be on this website, but what if there was a way of finding out if you had an undiscovered talent? Well, now there just might be...
Read more: How musical are you, really? | 1 comment
Silent Night?
John Cage's 4'33'' is one of the most famous and notorious pieces of modern music. Composed in 1952 it consists of three movements, but no notes - only the instruction 'tacet', silent.
Read more: Silent Night? | 2 comments
The Return of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra!
Ever wondered if there was a way to find great musicians from around the world and bring them together to play in one orchestra? Well there is - the YouTube Symphony Orchestra!
Read more: The Return of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra! | 2 comments
Mark-Anthony Turnage and the Beyoncé Connection
When Mark-Anthony Turnages's new orchestral work Hammered Out was given its first performance at this year's BBC Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall it was clear Turnage had gone further than ever before in his homages to modern pop music. Because, as many members of the audience quickly recognised, Turnage had based sections of his piece on Beyonce's hit 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)'.
Read more: Mark-Anthony Turnage and the Beyoncé Connection | 3 comments
Words and Music - Endless Possibilities
Singing may be the fundamental origin of all music. It is even possible that prehistoric humans may have sung to each other even before the development of language. Today there is no doubt that you can pick almost any style or genre of music from around the world and you will find music written for the voice, from traditional chant to rap, from opera to jazz scat.
Read more: Words and Music - Endless Possibilities | 0 comments
Extended Instruments
Every performer is familiar with how their instrument should sound: from knowing which end to blow down to how to produce a really clean tone with all the notes in tune. Yet what happens if you don't do what you're 'supposed' to do, and experiment with something different? Could the results be interesting, and even fun?
Read more: Extended Instruments | 4 comments
Posted by Clements on Monday, 23rd April 2012 at 10.27am