Brendan Burns

Moving Sale

2006-08-29T19:54:00.000-04:00

This blog has moved: http://www.brendanburns.com/blog

While My Uke Gently Weeps

2006-05-15T13:01:00.000-04:00

Check out his right-hand technique. Rarely do you see such versatility from someone without a pick:

Frisell

2006-04-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

I used to have this performance on VHS, but lost it throughout the years. But now, thanks to youtube, we all can share:

Bireli Lagrene & Sylvain Luc

2006-04-09T21:15:00.000-04:00

I don't know who these guys are, but I should:

Metheny, Goodrick & Burton

2006-04-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

Go Ted Go:

Pat Metheny Group Listener Network - Podcasts

2006-04-07T18:45:00.000-04:00

Song X Podumentary
Celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the historic recording SONG X
featuring Pat Metheny, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette & Denardo Coleman
Join PAT METHENY as he recounts Ornette Coleman's influence on his playing and the fascinating story that led up to the amazing SONG X recording session & recent reissue of this modern jazz classic.
Pat Metheny Group Listener Network - Podcasts

It's pretty cool

eJamming

2006-04-07T13:17:00.000-04:00

"Say you’re putting a band together and you can’t find a killer bass player in your town. Or you’re sitting there sequencing a great piece of music but your drumming sucks and you’re no Eddie Van Halen on guitar. Or your old band mates now live in Seattle, New York and Nashville and you’d kill to play together again. What’s the answer?"
eJamming

BERKLEE | BPC Calendar

2006-04-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

This sounds interesting:
BERKLEE | BPC Calendar: "Saturday, April 8, 7:30 p.m.
Water Music Presents
What is Jazz? The Christian McBride Band, The Charlie Hunter Trio, DJ Logic and Bobby Previte
A multifaceted evening, featuring some of the mainstays of the Ropeadope label, including The Christian McBride Band, The Charlie Hunter Trio, DJ Logic and Bobby Previte, celebrating their new 3-CD set, Live at Tonic, due out in April. Expect a concert that will take everyone in the audience on a wild excursion through many genres.

Tickets: $25, $20, reserved seating
Purchase tickets for this show online through Ticketmaster"

Netflix: Search Results

2006-04-01T16:36:00.000-05:00

Netflix
Valerie clued me into this: Netflix has a whole load of Guitar instructional tapes from Tuck Andres to Frank Gamble, all availble to rent.
It's stuff you couldn't get at your local blockbuster.

Guitar Player - The complete electric guitar package

2006-03-28T14:39:00.000-05:00

Guitar Player - The complete electric guitar package
GuitarPlayer.com is really making some progress. They've got the same lessons from their magazine, but online they have audio files to download!
Pretty cool Stuff.

YouTube - Simpsons Unplugged

2006-03-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

Dailymotion - Share Your Videos - ACDC - Highway To Hell :: ACDC, Highway, To, Hell, video

2006-03-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

This is a must see video for any guitarist working on rhythm.
It's all in the head bop:
ACDC - Highway To Hell

uh huh

2006-02-17T17:51:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to be practicing, but I did this:
http://www.vexatori.de/zib/spstudio.html

Hendrix Videos

2006-02-12T18:48:00.000-05:00

The Wind Cries Mary, Hey Joe, Like A Rolling Stone, All Along The Watchtower, Foxy Lady. Voodoo Chile, Wild Thing, Johny B Goode, Rock Me Baby, Purple Haze, Hear My Train Comin', Red House, Fire & Woodstock

PistolWimp - Beatles: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

2006-02-05T09:35:00.001-05:00

One more:
PistolWimp - Beatles: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

2006-02-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

Some Beatles Videos on the net:
Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever
Revolution
Hey Jude
Don't Let Me Down

FAZED - Video Viewer

2006-02-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

A quick video of Stanley Jordan and his famous rendition of "Eleanor Rigby:"

FAZED - Video Viewer

liveplasma & Pandora

2006-01-30T14:31:00.000-05:00

liveplasma music, movies, search engine and discovery engine

I really don't know how cool these things are. I heard an article on Pandora once. I thought they had cool jobs for those with a music degree.
Personally, I'm rarely looking for new music. I have trouble keeping up with the music I allready have.

Jazz Composers Alliance

2006-01-30T14:25:00.000-05:00

Jazz Composers Alliance
I used to go see the Jazz Composer's Alliance often when I was at school at Berklee. It's a great ensemble with excellent players and composers.
Their next Show is at the The Arsenal Center for the Arts on Feb. 25th 2006.
Here is their press release:

Jazz Composers' Alliance Orchestra in Concert
at the Arsenal Center for the Arts
Saturday, February 25, 2006

The Arsenal Center for the Arts and the Jazz Composers' Alliance present a program of new music for the 18-piece JCA Orchestra by composers Darrell Katz, David Harris, Hans Indigo, Ken Schaphorst, Warren Senders and Norm Zocher, on Saturday, Feburary 25, at 8 pm, at the Arsenal Center for the Arts. The Arsenal Center for the Arts is located at 321 Arsenal Street in Watertown, MA, next to Panera Bread. Tickets are $15/adults and $10/seniors & students. Tickets on sale February 11 at the Arsenal Center box office at (617) 923-8487, online at www.arsenalarts.org and at the door.

The Jazz Composers' Alliance Orchestra has been a fixture on Boston's creative music scene for almost two decades. Combining dedicated musicianship, innovative programming and fresh compositional ideas, their concerts are musically diverse and exciting events. After several years of intensive recording, the Orchestra has released four new CDs since 2003, including the critically acclaimed "In, Thru and Out," (Cadence), "The Death of Simone Weil," and "Celebration of the Spirit." (C.I.M.P.), all of which feature the widely varied writing of the JCA resident composers.

Drawing on influences that span the history of jazz and encompass the world's musical traditions, Katz, Harris, Indigo, Schaphorst, Senders and Zocher bring together a huge palette of sounds, structures and conceptions to make the JCA Orchestra's concerts unique "big band" experiences. Many of the band's featured soloists are bandleaders and composers in their own right, which means that JCA Orchestra performances highlight the artistry of some of New England's most creative musicians, including Hiro Honshuku (flute), Jim Hobbs (alto sax), Phil Scarff (tenor sax), Mike Peipman and Gary Bohan (trumpet), Bob Pilkington (trombone), Rick McLaughlin (double bass), Norm Zocher (guitar), and Rebecca Shrimpton (voice).

This project is funded in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and by the Aaron Copland Foundation.

06 Update

2006-01-29T20:16:00.000-05:00

I'ts been a while since I've used this blog. I'm thinking of bringing it back into business. I plan to integrate it with my "links" page on my website.
I picked up a new computer a week or two ago and it's speed and capabilities are allowing me to do more now than I could with a 1999 Gateway, using Windows 98. Now I have a "blog" button on my firefox browser and I can use Picassa to instantly send up pictures through "Hello." It's a pretty cool thing. I used to have to go through so many steps to publish things on line.
So that's what's about to happen. I had a lot of fun using this blog before, hopefully I can keep it going again.
Comments and Suggestions are welcomed.

Check it out

2005-03-13T17:19:00.000-05:00

AustrianJazz Guitarist: Wolfgang Muthspiel

The Jazz Loft Project

2005-03-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

From 1957 to 1965 legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith made approximately 3,000 hours of reel-to-reel recordings and nearly 40,000 photographs in a loft building in Manhattan’s wholesale flower district where major jazz musicians of the day gathered and played their music.

The Jazz Loft Project is devoted to preserving and cataloging Smith’s tapes, researching the photographs, and obtaining oral history interviews with all surviving loft participants.

check it out

February Phew

2005-02-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

Behind the Beat is an amazing website showcasing artists talking about their own music. They have all sorts of artists talking about their latest albums and they edit together to sound like a radio interview. Awesome, awesome, awesome!

My NEC audition was this past Friday. Things went pretty well. I nailed the singing portion and was very comfortable for the audition. I didn't do so well on the ear test though. It's been a while since I've been tested and think that hurt me. But who knows? I'll find out in April what my September plans will be. I was very excited to be there and enjoyed the preparation for the audition. It has built some good momentum for me.

Right now, I'm working on some Wayne Horvitz music. I'm going to try to get some stuff ready for Thursday's Herrell's gig. Listening to an organ player has got me excited about pedals again. I've brought my wah-wah out of the closet and I'm thinking of picking up a whammy and an octave pedal soon.

I'm thinking of putting up a practice blog. I keep journals of performances and practice routines occasionally, and since I do it on the computer anyway...... I also think it may help out the teacher/student relationship. I think some of my students would appreciate to see what I'm working on, or at least what a practice journal looks like. I also think it would help students to see how things can improve over time. I think it will help me as a student of guitar as well. It can show me what I'm working on and what is working and what is not.
I think I've convinced myself right now. I'll see if BrendanPractice.blogspot.com is open. Ooh, PracticeBurns.blogspot.com sounds better.

American Mavericks & Simpsons

2005-02-20T22:46:00.000-05:00

American Mavericks was a 13-week radio series that told the story of the distinctly American music that grew along with the country. Interviews with composers and performers and discussion with San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas highlight this celebration of musical inspiration and creativity. In tandem with the radio series, the program incorporates a Web component that contains extensive streaming audio, extended interviews, and opportunities to participate in the creativity of the maverick composers: Charles Ives, Henry Brant, Harry Partch, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich and more.

Plus, you can play Harry Partch's instruments! Check it out.

Simpsons: Here's a video of Dan Castellaneta & Harry Shearer on Conan O'Brien. They run through their more popluar voices.

Flash Interactive Musical Fun

2005-02-11T15:42:00.000-05:00

All Hail Bobby McFerrin.
Valerie & I had the pleasure to see Bobby perform a few years ago at Symphony Hall. He did a solo show that was fantasic.
On his website he has two songs (Just Enough & Don't Worry Be Happy) where you can play the role of the mixer. You can add and subract 6 tracks of Bobby singing and create your own version of the tune. Quite fun to play around with and astonishing to listen to both single and multi-tracks.

Drum Jam:
A flash interactive game where you can create your own drum-solos, record them, play them again and record new ones with the old ones playing in the background. All you have to do is move your mouse. It took me a little while to learn how to use it (read the directions).
fun stuff.

JamPod, Overheard & Ear Training Update

2005-02-10T20:34:00.000-05:00

JamPod
from their website:
Design Goal: To build a small guitar amplifier module that plugs into the top of any Apple iPod music player, that lets a guitar or bass player practice along with songs on the iPod, through the iPod's own earbuds.
Find out more at dvforge.com ($50)

Two blogs of overheard conversations:
in New York: overheardinnewyork.com

Guy, 20s: Umm...the half & half curdled when I put it in my coffee.
McWorker: You want a napkin?
Guy, 20s: No, I want another coffee. The half and half curdled.
The McWorker pours him a new one and yells to someone way in the back: There's something wrong with the cups!
--McDonald's, Flatbush Ave & Snyder St

& in the Office: overheardintheoffice.com

Guy #1: Can I look down your pile? The pile under your desk?
Guy #2: Uh...
Guy #1: Wow, that came out wrong.
120 Morehead Street Charlotte, North Carolina

Ear Training Update:
My favorite ET program of the previous post is: Teroria
There are several flash exercises on intervals, chords & scales.
There are also drills on key signatures and reading notes.
Not bad and it's free.

I'm putting together an Ear Training CD (it's going to be Singing Training for me), and I'll make the mp3's availble allong with some other updates starting in March.

Ear Training

2005-01-27T18:09:00.000-05:00

I've got an audition for placement in a Master's Study program at New England Conservatory (Contemporary Improv) coming up next month, and in preparation I'm fine-tuning my ear-training skills.
A quick search for ear-training software showed an incredible amount of downloadable software resources.
I've only tried a few so far, but I'll be back with some recommendations.
Until then check out this link.
And let me know if you have any suggestions or comments.

Pics by Me

2005-01-22T20:12:00.000-05:00

I'm using my verizon page to host my Personal Pics:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3nthd/

Jazz Sale

2005-01-21T19:40:00.000-05:00

Ornette Coleman's Notebook (shown below), as well as Charlie Parker's saxophone and Benny Goodman's clarinet are up for auction in NYC. I thought Ornette's notebook was cool:

Also, a quick link to site about the life and times of saxophoist Paul Desmond.

Knuckle Cracking Myth

2005-01-19T14:28:00.000-05:00

The Claim: Frequent Knuckle Cracking Can Lead to Arthritis
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Published: January 18, 2005 in the New York Times
THE FACTS Like the wail of a cellphone in a dark theater or the shriek of fingernails on a blackboard, the sound of another person's knuckles cracking can be an annoyance. It can also have consequences for the person doing the cracking, though studies show that urban legend notwithstanding, arthritis is probably not one of them.
The loud "pop" of a cracked knuckle is caused by synovial fluid, the thick lubricant that surrounds every joint. When the fingers are stretched or bent backward, the bones of the joint pull apart. This creates bubbles of air in the fluid, which subsequently burst.
The largest study to explore a link to arthritis was published in 1990 in The Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. It looked at 300 healthy people over 45, 74 of them habitual knuckle crackers.
The rates of arthritis of the hand were similar in both groups, though the knuckle crackers, on average, had reduced grip strength. Knuckle cracking was also associated with higher rates of swelling of the hand, manual labor, smoking and alcohol consumption.
A smaller study in 1975, published in The Western Journal of Medicine, came up with similar results.
The authors of the 1990 study speculated that manual labor was not the source of the problems because the habitual knuckle crackers did not have higher rates of surgery or trauma to their hands than those who left their knuckles alone.
THE BOTTOM LINE Knuckle cracking will not cause arthritis, though it may lead to other problems.

Music Plagiarism Project

2005-01-13T16:09:00.000-05:00

Started by law student Charles Cronin, The Music Plagiarism Project documents some of the more famous music copyright disputes with reference files of music clips, reduced scores and excerpts that superimpose the debating melodies to illustrate the cases. Commentaries, historical notes and excerpts from the rulings are also included.
Some of the noteworthy:

Michael Bolton's 5.4 million loss to the Isley brothers
George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" vs. "He's So Fine" by Ronald Mack
Several suits against corporate jingles
John Lee Hooker suing ZZ Top for ripping of "La Grange"
ZZ Top suing Chrysler Corp. for using"La Grange"
And my favorite: John Fogerty plagiarism of himself

Fender Player's Club

2005-01-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

This site was recommended to me. I haven't fully explored it, but it looks pretty cool.
Lessons from beginner to advanced:
FenderPlayersClub.com

FFF Friday

2004-12-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

Frogger & Other 80's games (the only ones I'm good at).

Fluttr
A quick scan from their Feature article in the globe today.

Far Side
oh, how I miss the far side

Shredder Wednesday

2004-12-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

I have great admiration and respect of Satch, but I found this particularly funny.
Joe Satriani performing the National Anthem:

Quicktime Video
Real Stream

All kidding aside, Steve Vai has some great lessons on his website: Vai.com
Here's his main Lesson page.

Beethoven Online & The Wayback Machine

2004-12-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

From the New York Times:
The world's largest collection of Beethoven manuscripts and letters has gone digital. The Beethoven House in Bonn, his birthplace, has scanned more than 5,000 handwritten letters and manuscripts and posted many of them for access on its Website.
(note: It can be a little hard to navigate through because it looks like it bounces between German and English)

Browse through 30 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago:
The Wayback Machine
BrendanBurns.com through the ages: click here

The Nature of Pat Martino

2004-12-14T14:09:00.000-05:00

Some words and pictures of wisdom from Pat Martino
The Nature of the Guitar
more at his website: PatMartino.com

Pi 10k

2004-12-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

"This experiment attempts to convert the first 10,00 digits of pi into a musical sequence.
Select ten notes, and your corresponding selection translates into an integer. The first note you select will equal '1', the second will equal '2' and so on. As your computer cycles through the digits of pi, the corresponding note will play."
Click here

Kubrick & Krantz

2004-12-10T14:45:00.000-05:00

An interpretation of Stanley Kubrick's 2001 - A Space Oddessy (click here)

A quick article from Wayne Krantz on finding your own sound. (click here)

Psychic Action Figure Scientist Wayne Horivitz

2004-12-05T16:24:00.000-05:00

Wayne Horvitz, a great composer, improviser, band leader & producer is sharing some of his scores on his website: waynehorvitz.com

Mind Reader Software: click here

Action Figure Comics: click here

The Science of Music: Exploratorium

Time, Focus, The Brain, Sleep & Practicing

2004-12-02T17:49:00.000-05:00

An article I wrote on the considerations of Time, Focus, the Brain, & Sleep for practicing.
click here

GuitarBot

2004-11-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

Percy Grainger: "Too long has music been subject to the limitations of the human hand and subject to the interfering interpretation of a middle-man: the performer."
GuitarBot to the rescue!

The Beatles Meet Metallica

2004-11-23T11:20:00.000-05:00

Beatallica - worth a listen

Aaron Copland on Composing

2004-11-21T17:44:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from Aaron Copland – What to Listen for in Music
Pg. 24
Chapter Title: The Creative Process in Music.
Most people want to know how things are made. They frankly admit, however, that they feel completely at sea when it comes to understanding how a piece of music made. Where a composer begins, how he manages to keep going—in fact, how and where he learns his trade—all are shrouded in impenetrable darkness. The composer, in short, is a man of mystery to most people, and the composer’s workshop and unapproachable ivory tower.
One of the first things most people want to hear discussed in relation to composing is the question of inspiration. They find it difficult to believe that composers are not as preoccupied with that question as they had supposed. They layman always finds it hard to realize how natural it is for the composer to compose. He has a tendency to put himself into the position of the composer and to visualize the problems involved, including that of inspiration, from the perspective of the layman. He forgets that composing to a composer is like fulfilling a natural function. It is like eating or sleeping. It is something that the composer happens to have been born to do; and, because of that, it loses the character of a special virtue in the composer’s eyes……
Someone once asked me, in a public forum, whether I waited for inspiration. My answer was: "Every day!" But that does not, by any means, imply a passive waiting around for the divine afflatus. That is exactly what separates the professional from the dilettante. The professional composer can site down day after day and turn out some kind of music. ON some days it will undoubtedly be better than on others; but the primary fact is the ability to compose. Inspiration is often only a by-product.

Memory & Sleep

2004-11-19T15:25:00.000-05:00

The following is an excerpt from James McGaugh's Book Memory & Emotion:
Robert Stickgold and his colleagues reported that human subjects improvement on a visual discrimination task occurred only after the subjects had had a night's sleep and that, most interestingly, the improvement varied directly with the amount of slow-wave sleep during the early hours of sleeping and with the amount of REM sleep occurring in the few hours before waking. These findings strongly supposed Heine's hypothesis that processes occurring during sleep, and not the passage of time, are responsible for the consolidation of the memory of the visual discrimination training. They also found that, with no additional training, further improvement in performance occurs after a second night's sleep; but that improvement requires the first night's sleep. Sleep also promotes the consolidation of motor skills. Jan Born and his colleagues found that eight hours of sleep following practice on a finger-tapping motor skill greatly improved subsequent performance on the task. These findings may well have important practical implications. Born and his colleagues suggest: "In generalizing these observations to skills of everyday life (such as learning a musical instrument or sport) we would conclude that sleep is required to achieved optimum performance on any of these skills." The fact that my high-school and college band and orchestra rehearsals were typically scheduled early in the morning of the school day may help explain (one reason among a great many) why it is that I didn't not become a professional musician. However, in developing such a skill it is clear that, although sleep may be necessary, it is clearly not sufficient!
The findings of these animal and human studies are clear and consistent: sleep promotes memory consolidation.

Tab Resources

2004-11-18T10:39:00.000-05:00

Some Places to get Tabs Online (leave more in the comments)
Olga
Guitar Noise
Fresh Tabs
Tab Crawler
Chordie
Heart Wood Guitar
Google (just type the name of the song or artist and "tab" or "chord" and sift through the results)

Drum Machines, Strings & Backwards Lyrics

2004-11-17T18:16:00.000-05:00

36 Vintage Virtual Drum Machines: click here

How many strings do you need?

Backwards Lyrics & Audio for
Stairway to Heaven,
Imagine,
I'm So Tired,
Kiss, Kiss, Kiss,
My Name Is,
Pokemon Rap,
Empty Spaces,
Another One Bites The Dust,
Hit Me Baby One More Time : click here