by Kurt Knecht | Jul 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
In some ways, it’s very ironic. After training for about 33 years to be good at something, the biggest gig you play is on a crappy electronic instrument in a basketball stadium. The graduation ceremony was the only time I was regularly playing in front of...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 22, 2012 | Uncategorized
The third complaint in Bill Blankschaen’s post is a complaint about repetition. I have little problem with what he is trying to say here – though it is expressed in a rather confusing fashion. After complaining about the comical and vain repetitions in...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
The second point from Bill Blankschaen’s post is one that requires careful thinking to untangle. I would say that for the most part, he is accurately and astutely criticizing some of the trendy nature of the music that happens in some churches. This point...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
Many of my FB friends are reposting a link on the “worship wars” in the modern church. You can read it here. The main points are some fairly common complaints. The songs in many evangelical churches are 1. too simplistic 2. trendy and unconnected to...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 18, 2012 | Eliot, gigging stories, kurt knecht, Little Gidding, manatee, Uncategorized
Playing on the circuit in any given town is the closest a religious musician ever gets to the existential despair that flourishes the “bar scene”. You show up and have an intimate experience with people that you barely know. Of course, after...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 16, 2012 | Uncategorized
On any given weekend, I attend 3 to 4 worship services. I attend a conservative synagogue with my wife on Friday and Saturday. I go to my own Episcopal church on Sunday mornings. Lately, I’ve also been filling in for Saturday night and Sunday...
by Kurt Knecht | Jul 13, 2012 | Uncategorized
Sometimes it is difficult for students to grasp the significance of music theory and ear training. At the beginning of each semester, I attempt to impress a few ideas upon the young minds that are entrusted to my care. I begin by asking the class,...
by Kurt Knecht | Jun 23, 2012 | Uncategorized
After the attempted “suicide”, the half-mile foot race chasing a 9 year old to the edge of a lake on private property, the police visits removing kids from campus, a child attempting to break my nose with a little xylophone, the breaking up of innumerable fights, and...
by Kurt Knecht | Jun 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
This weeks review of my musicological readings…One would think that Abraham Moles would win the prize for unfortunately named people that made contributions to music theory, but it turns out that if information theory and computer analysis are your thing, you...
by Kurt Knecht | May 27, 2012 | Uncategorized
Here are this week’s odds and ends in my musicological readings.Heinrich Albert (1604-1651), a German composer, gave me some great advice about continuo playing. When you’re playing continuo, it should not be like “hacking cabbage”. ...
by Kurt Knecht | May 24, 2012 | Uncategorized
I had the occasion this week to talk with some lovely librarians. We were chatting about the things that one normally talks about, and it made me recall with great fondness one of the most brutal teachers I ever had. At the beginning of Dr. Reynolds’...
by Kurt Knecht | May 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
A friend recently asked why some people have a problem with Wagner, and it brought to mind the last time I taught him in a history class. I’m not sure I have a good strategy for teaching Wagner, but I know that the next time I approach him, I’m not...
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