Shy Boy and Friend WOW Audience with The Prayer

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT3PyW5bIqc

I got a little shiver and the start of a tear when I watched this. Another lesson for us that we can find inspiration in places we might not expect. Each of us has a special voice. Part of the beauty of life is to find that voice and express it the best we can to help lift others up.

Check out what Simon says at 5:20 and the response at 5:34. Beautiful. From a musical standpoint I think the male singer will have to be very careful not to blow his voice by bringing so much weight to the voice (no reference to his physical size) in trying to simulate an older singer’s voice. (Male singers usually do not fully mature to full voice until late twenties). But I love the story. It’s inescapable. Bravo!

Continue reading “Shy Boy and Friend WOW Audience with The Prayer” →

Derek Paravicini – Savant Pianist

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak2jxmhCH1M

Lesley Stahl profiles British musical savant Derek Paravicini, whose computer-like memory for music is matched by his creative abilities to play it in any style.

This is so inspiring I wanted to share it with you. It’s partly about music and overcoming obstacles, but also about human connections and communication through music.

Jeff Zaslow and Reaching for the Best

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/04/opinion/greene-zaslow/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Great article by Bob Greene about Jeff Zaslow, the author who helped Randy Pausch write “The Last Lecture”. If you haven’t read the Last Lecure, I highly recommend it.

Bob Greene’s article talks about doing your best at all times. He says it’s not often that it pays off, but it’s an admirable endeavor.

“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problem.” – Ghandi

165 Million Year Old Cricket Song

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2012/8210.html

Excerpt:

The love song of an extinct cricket that lived 165 million years ago has been brought back to life by scientists at the University of Bristol. The song – possibly the most ancient known musical song documented to date – was reconstructed from microscopic wing features on a fossil discovered in North East China. It allows us to listen to one of the sounds that would have been heard by dinosaurs and other creatures roaming Jurassic forests at night.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9PlgoXXhk

CDS Zaia closing Feb 19, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Macau, China – Just announced to the cast and crew of the Cirque Du Soleil show Zaia that it is closing in Macau and last performance date will be Feb 19, 2012. Official announcements are currently being made by Cirque publicly. Zaia opened as a resident show at the Venetian Macau resort and casino in September 2008.

Continue reading “CDS Zaia closing Feb 19, 2012” →

Q&A: How to play AAC audio files on website?

Email question received:

no problem getting my site to play mp3 files, but what do you do if you’ve got an AAC file that you want people to hear.

************************

Response:

Hey there, great question! What I found is that Adobe Flash supports AAC, so you could use a flashplayer to stream your AAC music files. From what I read it appears there are some other players also but they only support internet explorer. I’m assuming that you want your solution to be cross platform. It also looks like Orbis may have some players but you have to purchase them.

Continue reading “Q&A: How to play AAC audio files on website?” →

Acoustic Treatment for Audio Mixing Room

As part of my Critical Listening class with Berklee Music Online I’ve been spending a lot of time tweaking my audio mixing room. The point is to level out the environment at the listening position for an audio response that minimizes comb filtering and nodes that cancel out frequencies. If the problem is not minimized, at least knowing the frequency problem areas can give you crucial information so you don’t over adjust in the final mixes.

Continue reading “Acoustic Treatment for Audio Mixing Room” →

Kung Hei Fat Choy 2012

The entire company of Zaia wishes you a Happy Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

I had my noodles at the local Chinese restaurant and let off bottle rockets into the water of Macau. Happy to report no rockets hit me this year.