I looked at my disorganized room with dread. I knew I had a big job ahead of me, but I also knew I had to clean it soon before it just kept getting worse. My room accumulates more and more mess as the weeks progress. I usually try to clean a little bit on Sundays, but sometimes I just get too busy.
When I actually got around to cleaning, I put on some music and got right to work. I decided to go around and do the easiest first. I collected and threw out all garbage. Then I tackled specific areas. I organized all of my school books/papers/notebooks and backpack first. That cleared enough room so I could gather up my scattered music folders and put them onto a shelf. I then went around and gathered all writing utensils and put them in my pencil cup or art drawer. I cleared random papers off my desk and put my necklaces back on hooks. I made a stack of items that belonged somewhere else in the house and put them downstairs. My mind went on a bit of autopilot; I just kept cleaning and cleaning until I was finished.
I stepped back to look at my room once I was done and felt refreshed. I could walk easily around my room without the fear of breaking something or making a bigger mess. Now that everything was in its place, I was more willing to keep it clean. It's easy to put away things as you use them, not all of them at once. I'm glad I chose to organize my room because now my room is less cluttered and my mind is less cluttered as well. I know where everything goes and I can be at peace not having to worry about a looming mess.
I didn't know that I could clean as fast as I did. I thought I would have to meticulously put items into categorical piles and then find a place for them, but it turned out that just by doing a few small tasks at a time got my room to clean. Having a deadline also helped my pace quicken. I wanted to finish with enough time to pack up my things and head over to see Harry Potter 7 pt.1, so my excitement carried me forward. Seeing the movie became a sort of reward for my hard work. I found by cleaning my room that incentives, time limits, and taking small steps help me to tackle larger projects.
Music that tells a story or goes with a story amplifies the experience of that story. The melodies become representative of specific events, characters, or moods. Even if there aren't words or a movie in front of you while listening to the music, a story is still played out. When I listen to Ein Heldenleben, I don't even see an actual picture of people and events taking place. I just have a feel for what's happening. For example, I can tell that the repeating and heroic melody represents the hero and how it's played and in what context shows the mood and events taking place at that point of the music.
I find this fascinating. Without being told that a rising melody links to rising action, heavier orchestra means something more serious, or that tempos show a pace; my brain can still understand the flow and events of the story. Is there an archetypal application to music where different aspects of the music evoke different emotions? I can conclude that with many pieces, a major key, fast tempo, and light articulation is more on the bright side than a minor key, slow tempo, and winding melodies. There are of course some exceptions, but certain things in music tend to be archetypal.
Much like authors use word choice, structure, and organization to shape their writing; composers and musicians carefully pick out a key signature, articulation, dynamics, and instruments to provoke different listening experiences from the audience. Not only musicians and music theorists enjoy music. Even people who have no idea how musical notation and keys work can get the same emotional experiences from music.
What I'm finding with Ein Heldenleben is that the music not only shapes the story, it is the story. The very specific choices of the musical aspects in this piece show the parts of the story. It's a musical equivalent of a book or movie. I feel like this piece of music would be too complete to go along with a movie. The music takes care of all the action and emotion. The movie would be accompanying the music; not the other around.
I am very excited to play this piece in the spring. Every person in each section matters in the story; it can not be complete while missing any piece of the orchestra because everything is so intertwined and connected. Strauss has composed a truly fantastic and brilliant example of how music is the story.
This is a good interpretation (the best I could find on Youtube). I recommend the recording of Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (I own this one and I love it).
Voldemort is the ultimate villain throughout the Harry Potter series. His brutal quest to ultimate power was not meant to be stopped. He connived and killed his way to the title of the "Dark Lord" and didn't stop at that. He wanted to become the most powerful, feared, and unstoppable wizard. His quest would end with him obtaining the Elder wand.
Like Voldemort, Edmund is on a quest for power. He wants to inherit/ take control of his father's land even though he is a bastard and his younger (legitimate) brother is in line to inherit. He gets rid of his brother Edmund by framing him in plotting his father Gloucester's death. He even betrays his father by telling Cornwall that Gloucester was on his way to help Lear against Cornwall's wishes. This gets Gloucester the punishment of being blinded by Cornwall.
Voldemort also had family problems when he was younger. he was conceived under a love potion, his dad left before his birth, and his mom died soon after. After growing up in an orphanage and later going to Hogwarts, he later goes on to murdering his father and grandparents for never wanting to care for him.
This connection between Edmund and Voldemort being ruthless (even to family) in their climb for ultimate power shows how issues with family at a young age can lead to serious problems growing up. Edmund and Voldemort were never loved by their family. Edmund was cast off as the bastard and had to watch Edgar get most of the attention and chance for inheritance, while Voldemort was tortured by the knowledge that his family abandoned him. The power they both search for could be to fill the void left by the lack of love from their parents.
