Compose fifth page of Vespers: II. Psalm 109: Dixit Dominus, and begin creating a back-up for the Music History (markalburgermusichistory.blogspot.com) text by taking computer snapshots of the site (the "Grab" function in the MacBook), placing the resulting tiff files in a landscape word document, re-saved as a pdf, to be shown in the slideshow mode -- and pleased to find that the process can be done fairly quickly, such that three chapters / blog-entries are done before departing for Diablo.
Sure enough, the Internet connection at schule is dicey again (ethernet doesn't seem to be up, and the wireless is its notoriously slow self -- at least from this perspective), so the new resource comes in handy.
First dictation -- three bars of high C's in progressively longer durations in 4/4 -- and musical words and retrogrades on the boards, which are played.
Long lunch at China Garden: generous portions, reasonable price in the new draconian reality, power for the PC substitute, internet access. More of the website back-up, helping Crystal P. navigate the markalburgerworks.blogspot.com site via phone, and logistics re the St. Mary's concert (alas we are frozen out of Mahler/Adams and go with a backup of Schumann/Zemlinsky, which will work).
Evening class has again c. 70 hopefuls (30 beyond the official cap of 40), but cumulative faculty wisdom has determined that all cannot be accepted, so only enrolled students are allowed seats, with perspectives standing about. The classroom door is (pretty much) secured, roster is called quickly (a decided departure, as this is usually done to the accompaniment of video at a leisured pace, allowing for various musical asides as appropriate), a determination is made that there are 15 available extra seats beyond enrollment, and the rest are bade a fair farewell.
Sometimes a few hours changes everything, and the ethernet connection is blazing by now, so we proceed through the introductory material (somewhat capriciously styled as Prehistoric Music) apace.
Quiz for next week is
Music Notation
C Major Scale
C D E F G A B
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 (8)
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Five Ways of Producting Sound
Aerophone - Wind
Idiophone - Solid-Body
Membranophone - Drum
Chordophone - String
Electrophone - Electricity
Listening Identification/Description
Richard Strauss - Thus Spake Zarathustra: I. Introduction
Alan Hovhaness - Symphony No. 50 ("Mt. St. Helens"): III
Tanzania - Zaramo - Mitamba
California - Yurok - Women's Brush Dance
Out late with the usual suspects over economical coffee and other libations, at a place with ample video monitors; then home for page 5 score-preparation of Psalm 4.
