Category: Books

Books, Music

Music in Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Part 1)

Aubrey Leaman

You know, when I listened to music I never knew what was down from what was up, or what was up from what was down, or down was what or up what was down…oh, what to do! But you see, later when I met up with the dear White Rabbit (we had a spot of tea, though I don’t much see the point in having only a spot when you can have the whole thing), he explained it this way:

My Dear Alice, he said (he was quite fond of me the poor dear, and even more so when I fixed him up about the spot of tea), I don’t know a fugue-ata from a varicaglia,[1] but I do know Tweedle Dee from Tweedle Dum (I’m afraid I still do not!), the Mock Turtle from the Mad Hatter, the birthday cake from the…where was I?

The fugue-aglia?

Oh, yes! Well, I don’t mind telling you this, though it is strictly forbidden and…
Continue reading “Music in Wonderland: The White Rabbit’s Proof (Part 1)” →

Books

A Love-Hate Relationship With Alice in Wonderland

Aubrey Leaman

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What is it about Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that makes me obsessed with it when I’m not reading it and more calmly apathetic while I am reading it?

Me when I’m not reading it: “Yeeeeessss Alice in Wonderland is the best book ever! I am obsessed.”

Me while reading it: “Yeah, this book is pretty weird and violent.  It’s okay.”

And the cycle continues like Alice falling down a never-ending rabbit hole.

Maybe I’m in love with the idea of Wonderland without being in love with the specific words and stories in the book itself.

Have you had any similar experiences with books? Let me know in the comments!

Books, Classical Music Stories, Music

High Schoolers Tackle The Great Gatsby With Classical Music

Aubrey Leaman

photo_16696_0This week I had the amazing opportunity to visit a high school English class and do a combined literary and musical activity with them.  They had recently finished reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” for class, so I brought in a piece for them to explore in relation to that book.

The piece I chose to play was the first movement of Ligeti’s Cello Sonata (Dialogo).  Before I played it, we made a list on the board of many of the characters from the book.  Then I simply told the students to imagine the music as a sort of movie score as they listened–who might the characters be? What might they be doing?

After playing the music all the way through  (it’s about 4 minutes long), I asked them for reactions.  It started out a little slow, but then things really got rolling.  One student broke the ice by saying he imagined the first chords to be the green light pulsing at the end of Daisy’s dock and that what followed was Gatsby watching that light and thinking about her.  Other students actually said they had the same idea.

Here are some other characters and events some of the students imagined:

  1. Gatsby asking Nick to swim in his pool followed by Gatsby’s death and Nick’s reaction to it all at the funeral.
  2. Wilson finding out about Gatsby’s supposed hand in his wife’s death and preparing the gun that would kill him.
  3. Gatsby and Daisy meeting for the first time at Nick’s house.
  4. Daisy reading Gatsby’s letter after it was too late to take him back.

It was really amazing to hear all of their creative ideas! We barely scratched the surface of this 4 minute piece in the 30 minutes I had with them.

One question I only somewhat rhetorically asked them was how people could imagine such different things in Continue reading “High Schoolers Tackle The Great Gatsby With Classical Music” →

Books

If The Big Bang Theory Characters Were Literary Characters

Aubrey Leaman

Ever wonder which literary character is most like your favorite Big Bang Theory character? Wonder no more.

Sheldon = Sherlock Holmes

Both of these guys are crazy smart and don’t hesitate to make others aware of that fact. While Sherlock uses his powers to solve crimes, Sheldon has devoted his life to science. Of course, Sheldon probably couldn’t solve crimes even if he wanted to because of how high-maintenance he is. After all, I would imagine that being a germophobe isn’t exactly an advantage if you work around crime scenes. Then again, his OCD would keep him searching until the mystery was solved.

Obviously there are significant differences between the two. If I had to choose which one I’d rather hang out with, it would be Sherlock, though he definitely has his quirks, too. Sorry, Sheldon.

Penny = Anna Karenina 
Continue reading “If The Big Bang Theory Characters Were Literary Characters” →

Books, Music

Top 3 Funniest Quotes From The Importance of Being Earnest

Aubrey Leaman

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(Plus a comparison to a Flight of the Conchords song…)

1. “How you can sit there, calmly eating muffins when we are in this horrible trouble, I can’t make out. You seem to me to be perfectly heartless.”

“Well, I can’t eat muffins in an agitated manner. The butter would probably get on my cuffs. One should always eat muffins quite calmly. It is the only way to eat them.”

“I say it’s perfectly heartless your eating muffins at all, under the circumstances.”

2. “You have filled my tea with lumps of sugar, and though I asked most distinctly for bread and butter, you have given me cake. I am known for the gentleness of my disposition, and the extraordinary sweetness of my nature, but I warn you, Miss Cardew, you may go too far.”

3. “Ever since I met you I have admired you more than any girl…I have ever met since…I met you.”

(This last quote is a lot like a line in the hilarious song, “Jenny,” by Flight of the Conchords:

“I meant it was nice to meet you that time that I met you…When was it that we met that time that I met you when I met you?”)

Books

Some Thoughts On Books From Various Authors — Consilient Interest

Aubrey Leaman

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” John Green “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be […]

via Some Thoughts On Books From Various Authors — Consilient Interest

Books, Music

In Medias Res in Music

Aubrey Leaman

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Book 1

 Argument: In a council of the Gods, Minerva calls their attention to Ulysses, still a wanderer.

                                                                                           -The Odyssey

             In medias res is the technique of starting a work in the middle. For example, The Odyssey begins when Ulysses is still wandering the earth after the Trojan War, skipping how he became a wanderer and jumping right into things.

In music, you might hear an in medias res beginning in multiple ways:

1) A loud, fast opening (you are right in the middle of the action!)

2) Conversely, a soft opening which increases Continue reading “In Medias Res in Music” →

Books

Why “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Makes Me Feel Like a Fake

Aubrey Leaman

One of my favorite poems is “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” by Dylan Thomas.  As a poem that focuses on death and hope (or perhaps more accurately, defiance), it fits well with the story in which I discovered it: the YA dystopian/romance Matched series by Ally Condie.  There’s just something about it, particularly in the context of the story…

Here are the first few lines:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Why do I like this poem, though? The Continue reading “Why “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night” Makes Me Feel Like a Fake” →