Frases

"En el sollozo, el sufrimiento no es un vestido que el cuerpo adopta. El sufrimiento humano excede las aberturas. Desborda las salidas. Encuentra salida."

P. QUIGNARD, Sur le jadis

"Considerando entonces a la Belleza como mi provincia, mi siguiente pregunta se refería al tono de su más alta manifestación -y toda experiencia ha mostrado que este tono es uno de tristeza-. La Belleza, de cualquier clase, en su desarrollo supremo, invariablemente mueve a las lágrimas al alma sensitiva. La melancolía es pues el más legítimo de los tonos poéticos."

E. A. POE, Filosofía de la composición

¿Qué es la muerte?

¿Qué es la muerte, después de todo? Un mal momento, un pasaje, el paso de poco a nada. Cuando alguien preguntó a Cércidas, el megapolitano, si aceptaría morir: "¿Por qué no?", respondió; "ya que después de mi muerte veré a esos grandes hombres, Pitágoras entre los filósofos, Hecateo entre los historiadores, Homero entre los poetas, Olimpo entre los músicos".

VÍCTOR HUGO, Nuestra Señora de París

In darkness let me dwell

In darkness let me dwell; the ground shall sorrow be,
The roof despair, to bar all cheerful light from me;
The walls of marble black, that moisten'd still shall weep;
My music, hellish jarring sounds, to banish friendly sleep.
Thus wedded to my woes, and bedded to my tomb,
O let me living die, till death doth come, till death doth come.

My dainties grief shall be, and tears my poisoned wine,
My sighs the air through which my paintings heart shall pine,
My robes my mind shall suit exceeding blackest night,
My study shall be tragic thoughts sad fancy to delight,
Pale ghosts and frightful shades all my acquitance be:
O thus, my haplest joy, I haste to thee.

Anonymous

Included in the 1606 song collection "Funeral Tears" by J. Coprario.
The first stanza was used by John Dowland for his musical composition.

Autumn

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not,
but sit
Beneath my shady roof, there thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe;
And all the daughters of the year shall dance,
Sing now the lustry song of fruits and flowers.

-William Blake


Autumn Equinox 22nd September 2017

Top Ten Practice Tips

Practive everyday: help your long-term memory and improve your learning curve.
Have specific goals: create specific, attainable goals before you practice.
Begin with the basics: go over technique first. Always have a warm-up plan.
Focus on the tough stuff: spend your time on what you cannot play. Turn fear into confidence.
Write it down: get the most from your practice log. See your goals and accomplishments.
Slow it down: muscle memory. Never make mistakes. Learn it right the first time.
Break it down: identify musical sections. Don't always start at the beginning. Help memorization.
Use a metronome: always work on improving your time. Don't stretch time for the Tough Stuff.
Practice away from your instrument: visualize yourself playing successfully. Hear the music in your mind.
Accentuate the positive: use positive language in the practice room. Focus on solutions, not problems.

by Molto Music Publishing Company.

16 Habits Of Successful People

Create a routine
Write a routine for the morning and the night. And add some inspirational phrases to help you go through the day.

Wake up earlier
This might be one of the hardest things in the list but in the long run, it can be very beneficial. The body and mind are ready to start to work and be more productive. So instead of going into the social media, start you day with positive mind and energy!

Make your bed
This seems to be the stuff that your mother would always tell you everyday. I know. But having a tidy and clean space is very important to increase your motivation.

Workout
This make you feel more confident, relaxed and motivated for the new day. And you stay healthy.

Get inspired
Look for some inspirational phrases, books with happy thoughts, inspirational boards and pieces of art.

Set goals
Diary, weekly and yearly. It doesn't have to be like a To-Do list.

Simplify your closet
Get rid of all the clothes you wouldn't wear or don't make you happy anymore. Afterwards it will be easier to dress up.

Simplify your makeup
Let you natural beauty come out.

Get a "Work Zone"
Create in your bedroom or anywhere else at your home a place where you can work peacefully and without any annoying noise.. Set the mobile phone off or use the "Do Not Disturb".

Always have a bottle of water and drink it
It is very important to be hydrated throughout the day.

Give plants some love too
If you can afford it or you have enough space, put some little plants like decoration. It always give a better image to your bedroom.

Planning and packing
Always do it the night before so you don't forget nothing.

Learn things
Don't go to sleep without having learnt something.

Time for yourself
Give yourself some whims or fancy presents.

Pamper yourself
Relaxing baths and care routines for your whole body.

The Importance of Reading

Reading is something that has been done since the Humanity knows how to write. But unfortunately, not all the people in the world knows how to read. In fact, there're still a lot of countries where the majority is illitirate. This makes me feel so sad for them... But somehow I am grateful to life because I am able to read and to know the meaning.

That's something very important because thanks to books, people all around the world and through History has been able to change the future, regardless of if the result has been glorious or fatal. But it has change things. Why? Because words may change everything in matter of minutes, depending on how you use them.

Also it's culture what you learn from books. So you will be able to think for yourself without being cheated. It opens your mind which is very relevant to avoid some troubles which are happening right now. Some books may inspire you and guide through a stage of your life, or your whole life.

So, read a lot! And be always open minded. Don't judge before trying to love very hard. And remember that the world is very huge and there can be a lot of ways of seeing the same thing, so don't be bossy and violento just because someone doesn't agree with you. Be patient and never lose hope.

Having a Healthy Life

Hello again!

This post is very important for you (or that's what I think) because I am going to talk about things you should do or start doing if you haven't done yet. Many of you may think that this is going to be useless, but believe me: it's not.

I am going to talk about some tips which are related to a healthy life. So here are some tips:

1. Drink a lot of water. This helps you to maintain the balance of body fluids, which means that your digestion, your circulation, transportation of nutrients, skin, hair and whole body improves. Be aware that we are 60% of water...

2. Eat natural food + fruits and vegetables. Altough you don't do well on eating fruits or green food (I understand you, because for me it's still very hard to follow this tip), think that afterwards your body will be grateful by showing you a better skin look, a stronger and healthier hair, a better sight or whatever. Of course it's not compulsory to give up with meat, because it gives you a lot of proteins and things that vegetables may not give you. So don't forget to have a balanced diet. Even sometimes you can give to your body some sweet things like chocolate, sweets or things with a lot of fats and calories. Having a little amount per month it's not a bad thing. So enjoy your meal!

3. Do sport/exercise/move your body. I think everyone regardless of age, weight, type of body or whatever should do exercise. Even if it's just walking 30 minutes daily, or running through the park of your city etc. But do exercise, because if not your body will get used to sedentarism and that's very bad for your whole metabolism. And afterwards it can carry a lot of diseases and problem healths which you may regret. So move your ass and start doing your daily exercise today, not tomorrow or next week, tomorrow.

4. Have a healthy mind. Not everything related with "healthy life" involves physical stuff, but also mental things. It's very important to maintain a positive, good and happy mind. Sometimes I believe that it's even more relevant than having a good body or eating a diet with a lot of vegetables. If your mind it's unhealthy or doesn't have the motivation which needs for keep going on then the effort that you may do with other things is useless. I'm saying this because many people nowadays do what it's supposed to be done in life, or says what the majority thinks, or shows the things that are trendy at the momento and in truth that person doesn't enjoy those things. So what I want to clear up is that, you, dear reader, you are the only master of your life and the responsable of your happiness. Don't waste your life following stereotypes that you don't like or ways of life that you don't agree with. Follow your dreams, achieve them, listen to your heart, wear clothes that make you happy and comfortable with, experience new things, learn, love the life your are having and be always grateful.

Lament of Culloden

 The lovely lass o’ Inverness,

Nae joy nor pleasure can she see;

For e’en and morn she cries, ‘Alas!’

And aye the saut tear blin’s her e’e:

‘Drumossie moor, Drumossie day,

A waefu’ day it was to me!

For there I lost my father dear,

My father dear and brethren three.

‘Their winding-sheet the bluidy clay,

Their graves are growing green to see;

And by them lies the dearest lad

That ever blest a woman’s e’e!

Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord,

A bluidy man I trow thou be;

For monie a heart thou hast made sair,

That ne’er did wrang to thine or thee.’

by Robert Burns.

100 Irish Ballads

Hey again!

I know it is my second post on the same day. But I can't wait for it.
Recently I "discovered" a book full of partitures and lyrics songs based on the 100 Irish Ballads. I am saying "discovered" because I knew about its existence, but I hadn't bothered until now.

To all the lovers and amateurs and musicians I really recommend you this book. It's really interesting!

Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Hi there! And Happy New Year.

This is the first time in the year that I write on my blog. And, as I am a musician, I wanted to start it with a book related with that theme. Of course, not with normal, mediocre and boring book but with a very interesting and learning book. I think all the people who want to be considerated as real musicians or love to make good music should read this book.

The writer is a very famous director, violinist and musician who, honestly, I wasn't very concerned about his existence. But they recommend me to read this book and I felt like if I have had my eyes closed until the time I started to read it.

I am using that expression ("eyes closed") because it says such crazy and true things that you might not have seen them before. It make you realize how things are in a realistic and propper way. There can be differences and diverse opinions, but I think it isn't so far from reality what Nikolaus says. Also it has a pedagogic content.

The original title of the book is Musik als Klangrede (German) and in English "Baroque Music Today: Music As Speech".

I really recommend it!