Music: Re-Energizing my Digital Presence

This is becoming a recurring theme.  I'll get excited about a new piece of technology, a new app, etc and it gets my blogging juices flowing.  However, the enthusiasm always seems to hit the proverbial mid-semester roadblock.  Is it a crime to say that education sometimes gets in the way of things I would like to do on a more regular basis?  It is no secret that I would trade the 20+ credit semesters for the chance to go backpacking for a month in Central Pennsylvania.  Nearly 3.5 years removed, it is difficult to imagine what I did with all of my spare time as I coasted through high school.  Recently, I've been looking for a project, something that I can work on and perhaps share digitally.  I think I have my answer.

A few months ago I learned about the Educational Gaming Commons at Penn State. Essentially, the plan is to provide a physical space that embraces gaming in academia. I talked with the staff working on the project at the 2008 TLT Symposium and I learned that they had a significant interest in the Guitar Hero and Rockband games.  At that moment something clicked in my head; People didn't just care about music, they wanted it to be part of their lives, they wanted to feel connected to it!   Since then, we've talked a fair amount about trying to get Penn State Musicians into the Gaming Commons to use the facilities.  There are some interesting possibilities there, but as I said earlier, I needed a self-project.

This Fall I will be giving a Senior music recital at Penn State.  If there is one thing that I will take away from college it is that one needs to be engaged on multiple fronts to have success.  It is one thing to prepare in the practice room, but what if I engage myself in other ways?  What if I write?  

And so my friends I bring you "Euphonium Hero".  A recital that currently had no date, a loose program, and a blogger.  One of the things I would like to share here will be music that I am writing in Logic to accompany me as I play my rendition of Øystein Baadsvik's "Fnugg".  Fnugg is an extremely innovative piece that has generated somewhat of a youtube following  outside of the Tuba community.