I dunno how much I'll actually keep up with this blog, but I thought to share my love of classical music and why I love it. I'll begin with baroque. Technically there is a distinction between Baroque and Classical. Classical is the style which Mozart falls under. Most classical music retains strong baroque influences, however.
Baroque music is generally contrapuntal, which means that the focus of the music is on intertwining melodies. Much more is that Baroque follows a very strict logical order, but also manages to convey a lot in the music while sticking to this structure.
My favorite pieces are those which convey a strong emotion. In these pieces there is usually an overarching theme which can be heard without paying close attention to the counterpoint. It's very engaging to hear it a first time, and then go back and listen to the melodies playing against one another.
Here's a choral example from Bach, Mass in B Minor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRqsdRwnqJc
Another example from a choral piece (though this movement is mostly instrumental):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LLFfFXaUA
St. Matthew Passion was written shortly before Bach died, and is considered to be his most mature composition. The beginning is my favorite, it immediately sets the tone for the entire work (which is quite long).
My next example is opera and isn't strictly baroque, but is Mozart. Mozart falls under the category of classical, but had very strong Baroque influences. I encourage you to listen first, get an idea of what might be going on, then read the subtitles for what's going on:
(the actual aria begins around 1:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzTnHblXWR0
The thing I think is interesting about that aria is how conveyed in the music alone is a very imperial tone. You get the impression the person has a very high opinion of himself, and indeed this is true in the story.
Another example from Mozart, the overture to Don Diovanni, another Mozart piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnbxpvfISkc&feature=related
You get an inkling of what sort of themes might be conveyed in Don Giovanni from the overture alone. I find that fascinating. Don Giovanni was technically a comedy, but also melodramatic in some parts. This is most noticeable in the end, which I'll give you here. Notice how the music underlying the powerful moral pronouncement of the commendatore closely resembles the overture in many parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jATcM8X29zc&feature=related
Finally I'll leave with the fugue. The fugue is a type of composition which was perfected by Baroque composers. A fugue is where a (generally simple) melody is played over itself. It's best conveyed by example, but witness how intricate a fugue becomes once the melody begins playing over itself. Here is a very popular fugue by Bach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRa3REdozw&feature=related
That's it for now, I hope you enjoy!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
First Semester of Graduate School.
So I'm more or less over the ridiculous excitement of being accepted to my top pick, and now I'm actually living the grad student life. This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. I didn't always do science related topics, but I always expected I would stay in academia for a long time and be able to work with great minds; maybe even contribute something great myself.
So I'll answer a few questions that some people have asked me, and also I have asked myself out of reflection.
What was it like? Was it what I expected?
1. What was it like?
Graduate school at Rice (a least in the CAAM department) has so far been a wonderful experience. The level of work is very high, and expectations are also very high, but I perform my best under this sort of pressure.
It would be pretty standard for me to have 40-80 pages worth of homework to turn in every other week, on top of this I have research and grading. 10-12 hour days for weeks on end is not unusual, but it doesn't stress me out (unless I'm falling short on a deadline).
The homeworks are also very challenging, in several instances I would receive a homework assignment with 6 problems on it. Each problem would take me a little more than a day of continuous work to complete.
The professors in the CAAM dept genuinely want you to learn, but expect you to do most of the work. Where many classes of this sort will present theories and practices that are simplified for the purposes of instruction, this was not done in any of my classes. The result was an incredible opportunity for learning, but also a vastly increased workload.
2. Was it what I was expecting?
In a way, yes. At least intellectually I knew that graduate school would be hard, but I had no experience with this level of work in my life. I of course have done a lot of mathematics on my own, but in the absence of deadlines I could pursue it at my leisure.
The actual level of work took me by surprise at first, and I had to quickly learn to manage my time and my stress to succeed. I spent the first month constantly behind on deadlines (turned in many late assignments). For every assignment I turned in (often taking me many days to complete) it seemed there were two more being given to me, and then I would receive e-mails informing me of papers to grade.
So yes it was what I was expecting, but I was in no way prepared for it. I learned how to manage the workload, and did really well after the first month.
General Remarks
So I'll answer a few questions that some people have asked me, and also I have asked myself out of reflection.
What was it like? Was it what I expected?
1. What was it like?
Graduate school at Rice (a least in the CAAM department) has so far been a wonderful experience. The level of work is very high, and expectations are also very high, but I perform my best under this sort of pressure.
It would be pretty standard for me to have 40-80 pages worth of homework to turn in every other week, on top of this I have research and grading. 10-12 hour days for weeks on end is not unusual, but it doesn't stress me out (unless I'm falling short on a deadline).
The homeworks are also very challenging, in several instances I would receive a homework assignment with 6 problems on it. Each problem would take me a little more than a day of continuous work to complete.
The professors in the CAAM dept genuinely want you to learn, but expect you to do most of the work. Where many classes of this sort will present theories and practices that are simplified for the purposes of instruction, this was not done in any of my classes. The result was an incredible opportunity for learning, but also a vastly increased workload.
2. Was it what I was expecting?
In a way, yes. At least intellectually I knew that graduate school would be hard, but I had no experience with this level of work in my life. I of course have done a lot of mathematics on my own, but in the absence of deadlines I could pursue it at my leisure.
The actual level of work took me by surprise at first, and I had to quickly learn to manage my time and my stress to succeed. I spent the first month constantly behind on deadlines (turned in many late assignments). For every assignment I turned in (often taking me many days to complete) it seemed there were two more being given to me, and then I would receive e-mails informing me of papers to grade.
So yes it was what I was expecting, but I was in no way prepared for it. I learned how to manage the workload, and did really well after the first month.
General Remarks
- Overall I had a very positive experience.
- The professors are helpful, but demanding.
- I feel like for once I'm being challenged to do better and better.
- I managed to impress the professor I was eying as a possible advisor, and I'm already in his research group doing work.
- I feel like my knowledge in numerics has increased tenfold, and I feel much more confident in tackling advanced problems.
So there we go. I wasn't ready for graduate school, but I managed to figure it out and did very well. I loved it, and am looking forward to next semester!
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