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| Author |
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| 25 new of 256 responses total. |
remmers
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response 207 of 256:
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Jun 24 19:16 UTC 2001 |
I dipped a little farther back in time and added a 1901 piece to
my ragtime MIDI page: Detriot composer Harry P. Guy's "Pearl of
the Harem", subtitled "Oriental Rag Two Step". The alternating
8th note bass line motif in the first half of the first strain
establishes an Oriental mood, changing to traditional ragtime
boom-chick bass in the second half of the strain. I've heard
that the piece was originally intended for banjo duet and
later arranged for piano solo.
http://jremmers.org/midi/
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remmers
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response 208 of 256:
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Jun 24 19:20 UTC 2001 |
Joe's #206 slipped in. Yes, I thought of doing thumbnails but
was feeling lazy. I'll add them at some point.
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oddie
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response 209 of 256:
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Jun 25 07:44 UTC 2001 |
Sorry for the drift, but regarding the thumbnails (#206), wouldn't it be
better to make an actual smaller version of the image rather than using
the width= and height= options in <img>? I always thought half the point
of thumbnails was to avoid wasting time loading big images you don't
want to see and concentrate only on the ones that interest you...
NetPBM toolkit provides a nice way to do this (I don't know whether it's
on grex...)
djpeg pic.jpeg | pnmscale -xysize 100 100 | cjpeg > picthumb.jpeg
or
djpeg pic.jpeg | pnmscale -xysize 100 100 | ppmquant 256 | ppmtogif >
picthumb.gif
(gif file might or might not be smaller size, I don't know...)
again, sorry for the drift
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remmers
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response 210 of 256:
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Jun 25 10:09 UTC 2001 |
Well, yeah, the techie discussion might be better elsewhere,
but on the other hand, it's nice to know that people are
actually reading this item. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking
to myself here. :) (And yes, I was planning to do the
thumbnails as smaller images, to save bandwidth.)
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oddie
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response 211 of 256:
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Jun 25 22:13 UTC 2001 |
I read it. It's interesting. I just don't have much of anything to add...
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micklpkl
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response 212 of 256:
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Jun 26 01:45 UTC 2001 |
I've really enjoyed your MIDI files, John. I usually play them in WinAMP, and
the three of them now are usually in random play while I work. It's just like
having a professional pianist at the next desk! I'm very impressed that these
are first takes. I know there is software available (I have it around here
somewhere) that will let you play with the voices in the MIDI file --- change
the piano voice to banjo, for example. I'm dying to see how "Pearls of the
Harem" would sound. :)
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remmers
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response 213 of 256:
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Jun 26 20:56 UTC 2001 |
View hidden response.
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remmers
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response 214 of 256:
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Jun 26 21:04 UTC 2001 |
(typos, sorry. Here's the cleaned up response...)
Thanks, Mickey.
For a change, I've recorded something that probably everyone
reading this item has heard -- Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer",
published in 1902. The piece didn't enjoy large sales at the
time but became a hit 70 years later when it figured prominently
in the soundtrack of the movie "The Sting".
It's been speculated that Joplin originally wrote the tune for
a mandolin or banjo ensemble (such groups were common at the
time) and only later arranged and published it as a piano solo.
There's no proof of this, but the general style of the piece and
the fact that it is dedicated to "James Brown's Mandolin Club"
lend credence to the theory.
See http://jremmers.org/midi/entrtanr.mid for my performance.
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edissler
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response 215 of 256:
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Jun 28 06:29 UTC 2001 |
Sorry about backtracking. Now that you have read John's report on the
2001 Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, and have seen pictures from it,
three concerts from the fest can be heard at:
http://www.kcmw.cmsu.edu/
The concerts are the "2001 Kickoff Concert," "Cradle of Ragtime," and
"Legacy of Scott Joplin." Although I haven't listened to them in
their entirety, I believe they are the complete concerts. (KCMW has
archived complete Joplin Fest concerts in the past.)
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remmers
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response 216 of 256:
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Jun 28 16:07 UTC 2001 |
Thanks for the pointer, Anna. Of those three, I attended only
the Kickoff Concert, so this will give me a chance to fill in
some blanks.
In past years, the Kickoff Concert has featured the music of
various composers from the ragtime era such as Scott Joplin.
This year's kickoff was a significant departure from tradition,
devoted exclusively to the works of David Thomas Roberts,
perhaps the finest contemporary composer of ragtime music and a
major influence on other contemporary composers and performers
of ragtime. I recommend this concert highly, especially if
you're acquainted only with the ragtime of the past -- as emcee
Scott Kirby pointed out, it will likely change your view of
what ragtime music is about.
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remmers
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response 217 of 256:
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Jun 28 21:08 UTC 2001 |
In honor of Mickey's home state, I've recorded David Guion's
"Texas Fox Trot". This extraordinary rag was published in 1915
when the composer was still in his teens. The title misleads;
it's a slow, moody piece that alternates between minor and
major modes, quite unlike anything else from the ragtime era.
It sounds like it could have been written last year.
http://jremmers.org/midi/txfoxtrt.mid
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remmers
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response 218 of 256:
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Jun 28 21:16 UTC 2001 |
A technical point: The software I'm using appears to lose
pedaling information when it converts from Disklavier to MIDI
format. I don't know if that's the fault of the software or
a limitation of the MIDI format. At any rate, the result is
that some passages come out sounding staccatto and disconnected
that were not played that way. On much ragtime that's not
too noticeable, but it is on "Texas Fox Trot", where I use
the sustaining pedal extensively.
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scott
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response 219 of 256:
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Jun 28 23:56 UTC 2001 |
The sustain pedal would fall under the "continuous controller" MIDI messages,
and probably varies enough from manufacturer to manufacturer to be difficult
mapping to begin with... and then most consumer MIDI sound sources probably
wouldn't know what to do with it if it was in the data stream.
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remmers
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response 220 of 256:
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Jun 29 00:04 UTC 2001 |
Ah, so you're suggesting that it may be a limitation of playback
software rather than the conversion or MIDI itself.
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scott
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response 221 of 256:
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Jun 29 03:12 UTC 2001 |
Maybe I should download one and see what my lil' Yamaha box does with it?
I can actually edit MIDI events, so it would be possible to see any controller
data.
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scott
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response 222 of 256:
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Jun 29 12:18 UTC 2001 |
...but it will have to wait until I can get my MIDI cable back. :(
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scott
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response 223 of 256:
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Jun 29 19:17 UTC 2001 |
OK, I checked out the Texas Fox Trot midi file. It does indeed have sustain
pedal data. Sounds nice on my sound box, too.
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remmers
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response 224 of 256:
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Jun 29 21:13 UTC 2001 |
That's good to hear. So the problem is likely the playback
software I'm using (standard Windows products).
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scott
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response 225 of 256:
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Jun 29 21:55 UTC 2001 |
What's your sound source? I'd expect that sound-card MIDI voices wouldn't
be smart enough to respond to controller events.
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scott
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response 226 of 256:
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Jun 30 01:02 UTC 2001 |
After more curiosity-inspired research I've demonstrated that my trusty Yamaha
QY70 does indeed follow the sustain pedal. John is rather sparing of sustain,
so I had to edit out the "sustain off" events to even hear much of a
difference. Next I'm going to move it back into the PC domain to see how my
sound card handles it.
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remmers
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response 227 of 256:
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Jul 6 21:21 UTC 2001 |
On Tuesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 12, Nan Bostick will be
presenting two ragtime-related lectures at the Detroit Opera
House, as part of the Learning at the Opera House summer
program. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Tuesday, July 10, 7 to 9 p.m. - Seminar on Jerome H Remick
(major music publisher during the ragtime era, based in
Detroit), followed by a sing-along of Remick hits led by
Mike Montgomery.
Thursday, July 12, 7 to 9 p.m. - Seminar on Harry P. Guy
and the Detroit ragtime scene with Arthur LaBrew.
(Detroit composer and bandleader Harry Guy was a major
figure during the ragtime era. He wrote "Pearl of the
Harem", which you can hear at
http://jremmers.org/midi/prlharem.mid )
Nan is from California and is one of today's leading
researchers on ragtime. Detroit ragtime is one of her
specialities. She's also a very entertaining speaker and a
fine piano player. Her lectures are always illustrated with
plenty of music, played by herself and/or friends. If you
have any interest at all in ragtime music, you'll probably
find these presentations entertaining and enlightening.
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remmers
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response 228 of 256:
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Jul 25 16:34 UTC 2001 |
I've added another piece to my ragtime MIDI page, Charles
Johnson's "Golden Spider Rag" (1910). Listen to it at
http://jremmers.org/midi/gspider.mid
Also, I've written brief "liner notes" for the selections
on the http://jremmers.org/midi/ page.
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remmers
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response 229 of 256:
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Jul 25 19:10 UTC 2001 |
And another: James Scott's "Prosperity Rag" (1916). Hardly
anybody seems to play this piece, but I've loved it ever since
I sight-read it for the first time a few years ago. Recently
I decided to work it up for public performance. The first
strain has much in common with the composer's better-known
"Grace and Beauty".
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remmers
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response 230 of 256:
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Jul 25 19:11 UTC 2001 |
The URL for "Prosperity Rag" is http://jremmers.org/midi/prsprity.mid
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remmers
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response 231 of 256:
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Jul 27 20:49 UTC 2001 |
I received an updated flier in the mail today for the Sutter
Creek Ragtime Festival, in which I'll be performing in a
couple of weeks. It appears there's an event billed as
"The Piano Duel of the Century" in which I'm to be involved.
Quoting from the flier:
The Festival will end on Sunday afternoon with a
rip-roaring "piano cutting" contest at the Sutter
Creek Auditorium starting at 1:30 p.m. The
special "Granny Nanny" (Bostick) vs. "Hot Rod"
Tommy (Brier) Piano Dueling Concert is a new
addition to the festivities and promies to
include great ragtime and lots of shtick.
The incomparable Elliot Adams, pianist with the
Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble, has agreed to assist
"Granny Nanny" in Sunday's affair. "Hot Rod"
Tommy ramains undaunted by her call for
reinforcements. But John Remmers, guest
performer from Ann Arbor, Michigan, feels Brier
is being "put upon" and will be lining up on
Brier's side to equalize the odds. Carmichael's
Alan Ashby, Azalia, Oregon's Keith Taylor, and
other surprise guests are expected to join this
not-to-be-missed Festival finale.
Guess I'll find out when I get there just how the "script"
is supposed to go. But I must say I'm glad I'm on Tom
Brier's team rather than the opposing side. He is a
*fantastic* pianist.
The festival kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday, August 10
and goes through Sunday. The performers will play at
various free venues around town; admission is charged
for the Saturday evening concert and Sunday's "duel".
If you're going to be in that part of the world on that
weekend and feel like dropping in, I'd be delighted to
see you. Details are on the festival's website:
http://www.ragtimemusic.com/scrf/
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