Cat Rescue!

Tanzi the cat

I know this blog is supposed to be about clarinets, but I can’t help talking about one of my greatest passions: the welfare of our companion animals. 

Yesterday, my friend Eldred and I drove to Traveler’s Rest, NC to pick up a cat that he is adopting. 

Tanzi is a very sweet nearly nine year-old that people left behind when they moved away from the area. They took their two other cats and left this one. It’s true that I don’t know the whole story, but it does upset me when people choose to give up their animal (especially an older one) to a shelter or other animal organization. 

As a society, we have failed miserably at dealing with animal overpopulation. There are about four million animals euthanized in shelters in this country every year. Over half of the dogs and nearly 3/4 of the cats have to be killed, most of whom are adoptable. Yet people continue to breed dogs and cats for money or just because they want to see the miracle of life.

My two youngest cats came from our local county animal shelter. They are the healthiest and most well-adjusted animals we have ever had. I made the decision to adopt them from the shelter after getting to know the wonderful people and cats there when I was looking for my young cat Trigger who went missing in 2006. All of the cats I met at the shelter were adoptable and most of them were not so lucky, but I felt good that I was able to save two. 

Please consider adopting an animal from a shelter or your local rescue organization, or donating to your favorite animal charity. Here are links and information on the animal organizations my husband and I donated to this holiday: 

ASPCA

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was the first humane society to be established in North America and is, today, one of the largest in the world. Our organization was founded by Henry Bergh in 1866 on the belief that animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans, and must be protected under the law. Headquartered in New York City, the ASPCA maintains a strong local presence, and with programs that extend our anti-cruelty mission across the country, we are recognized as a national animal welfare organization.

Catman 2

Conceived in 1996, Catman2 is managed by Dr. Harold Sims, a retired college biology professor and his wife, Kay, a retired school social worker. The cats live in a large shelter adjacent to the Sims’ home in Cullowhee, North Carolina.

Jackson County Animal Shelter

Our local animal shelter where we found our kitties.

Latest Greatest Practice Tools

In my never-ending quest to carry as little as possible with me, I’ve started using my iPod Touch to substitute for other devices such as a metronome, tuner, and recorder. I’ve got a 2nd generation and the battery life is pretty horrible sometimes, but the apps are getting better and better, and this iPod can truly function well as a practice buddy.

That said, I have mixed feelings about recommending my students use their phones as their tuners and metronomes, because I know how distracting these devices are. I’m not sure a cell phone belongs in the practice room with some of my students, as addicted as they seem to text messaging and such. 

Assuming that you use self control or turn of the internet and phone functions on your iPod touch or iPhone, here are my favorite practice tool apps for these devices:

1. Clockwork: Metronome with a bell sound for accented beats. Easy controls with all the control of accents and divisions of the beat that I need. Love it so much, that it inspired me to buy a real metronome with a bell sound. I also have the Tempo app by Frozen Ape which also works well. The nice thing about Tempo is that all the stuff you select is on the home screen.

1. iStrobosoft: Virtual strobe tuner by Peterson. I have to use a cheap little thumb tack microphone to use it, and I think that the Peterson site sells a hook up that you attach to your instrument. Regular hookup microphones don’t work. It’s just as good as my Peterson V-SAM virtual strobe tuner - actually a million times better, because it isn’t broken!!! The Cleartune tuner app also works nicely for a different look. 

1. Amazing Slow Downer: This app slows down the speed of sound files so that you can practice your music at a reasonable practice tempo. I’ve been doing this kind of thing for years and years with the Amazing Slow Downer Mac app, Quicktime Pro, and SmartMusic, but having a super customizable easy-to-use tempo (and pitch) adjuster on my iPod is wonderful. You need to use headphones with this to hear the music as you play, but a cheap pair of foam headphones will allow you to listen to the music and your clarinet sound. 

1. iTalk lite: I use my iPod Touch to record rehearsals almost as much as I use my Zoom H2, which is a far superior recording tool. iTalk allows me to get a decent enough recording that I can hear balance and tone and other stuff, and the iTalk software can send the recording to my computer. Alternately, you can also use Voice Memos on your iPod, which sends the recording automatically to iTunes when you sync. I just started using Voice Memos when I lost my iPod Touch for a month, and I had to use my iPod classic to record with a Belkin TuneTalk Stereo. The Belkin device fits on my iPod Touch as well, and probably records better than the thumbtack microphone. Not sure, but I will vouch for the Zoom as being my quality recording device of choice!

Also, there are some fun applications to develop your ear training skills as well. I’ve been using a couple of them to pass the time when I’m stuck somewhere. Might as well practice my intervals and chord qualities while I’m waiting at the doctor’s office - it’s as fun as most games.


Update: Here's another app I'm using right now to track my practice time. It's called Musician's Practice Journal, and it has a color coded graph that shows practice time from day to day. It motivates me when I'm tired in the evening after teaching to get my practicing done. (Monday, January 31, 2011 - 07:38 PM)

Hanukkah Music - Take Three

Today, the extended clarinet choir at WCU (21 players) performed my latest version of Hanukkah Music at the annual School of Music “Sounds of the Season” concert. You can hear our live performance complete with audience participation (lots of coughing, footsteps, and a baby screaming) here - scroll down to the bottom of the page.

I wanted to round out my two part piece by adding a third Hanukkah standard: Rock of Ages. To keep it fresh, I added some early polyphony in fourths, polytonality, and a Renaissance dance section with finger cymbals and drum. We celebrated the Festival of Lights by having clarinetists wear strings of lights. The new LED strings of lights really put out some light! (Hope to have a photo up soon.)

Anyway, we had a good time playing this, and the concert is all for a good cause: music scholarships for music majors at Western Carolina University.

Goodbye Orange Cat

Not about clarinets, but important to me:

Our cat Austin went missing last Monday, and my husband and I and our other cats are in the process of grieving for the big orange problem child we had for twelve years. It’s very quiet in our house without Austin’s monkey meows and amplified purrs....

Richard MacDowell in Cullowhee

I’m probably going to get into trouble for posting this photo (doctored up courtesy of my husband Odell and Photoshop), but I think it’s really funny. Check out the tattoo on the hand.

Anyway Richard MacDowell’s visiting as guest artist at WCU this next week, and I’m really excited to have him here to play and work with my students. Here’s a link to some videos of his teaching: 

http://cml.music.utexas.edu/LIPS/LIPSclarinet.htm.

And here’s some information on the concert and masterclass he’s doing at WCU.