Stefanie Lubkowski received her bachelor's degree in Music and Technology and Guitar Performance from Connecticut College, in New London, CT. In fall of 2005 she will begin a masters degree in composition at New England Conservatory, where she will study with Lee Hyla. Stefanie's past teachers include Noel Zahler, Yehudi Wyner, and Pozzi Escot. Stefanie has written for various chamber ensembles and electronic media. Her most recent commission was El Hombre de Plata, an electronic tango premiered at the Auros Groups for New Music "Tangothen & Now" concert in Cambridge, MA.
Stefanie's musical interests and ambitions are wide ranging. She enjoys putting her iPod on shuffle and letting it spit out a mix of electronica, 20th century string quartets, Tom Waits, punk rock, 1930s orchestral tangos, Einsturzende Neubauten, early American blues, Beethoven, Johnny Cash, and opera. She hopes that one day her music will be heard on concert stages around the world, independent films, computer games, car commercials, radio (or its future equivalents), and anywhere else music is being enjoyed.
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Monday, August 29, 2005
first week of school
I am in the midst of orientation week at NEC. So far I've attended meetings on financial aid, grad curriculum, and academic advising. Not to mention, the theory placement test. Actually, better not to mention the test. I don't think I passed it, or rather, I have no confidence that I passed the ear training component. I've never been good at it, and despite spending the last two months drilling (and making progress) with a computer program recommended by NEC, I still had trouble. For the analysis, I chose the contemporary piece, Bartok's Line and Point, from Microkosmos Book 4. My teacher had gone over it in my lesson a year or so ago, and I've also analyzed several other Bartok pieces over the years. No problem there.
Unfortunately, no matter how well I did on the analysis, if I bombed the hearing part, I will not be able to take grad theory courses until I pass the test or complete the remedial course. And since I need to take 4 theory classes to meet my requirements, I can't afford to bet on passing the test on the second try. I'll have to take the remedial course. I'm frustrated because I already know most of the stuff in the course. Even the ear training part I understand, it just takes a lot of time and practice for me to master it. And it costs extra money and is worth 0 credits.
Well, I'll give myself until tomorrow to be disgruntled about it, and then I'll just steel myself to accept whatever comes and get on with it.
If I do pass the test, I plan on taking Electro-Acoustic Music I and 20th Century American Composition and Theory. If I don't, I can still take Electro-Acoustic Music, but I will have to substitute either Instrumentation/Orchestration 1 or intro to Ethnomusicology for the theory course. My required courses are Composition Studio and Composition Seminar. Registration is on Friday, and I'll find out whether I passed the test right beforehand.
posted by Stefanie Lubkowski
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
weaknesses
As I prepare for the NEC placement theory exam, I am up against my constant musical nemesis, ear training. I've never been good at it, although slight improvements have been made since my undergrad days, thanks to the help of my sister and some training software I recently started using (MacGamut). I wish I was good at ear training. Not only would I be saved hours of practice time, but it would be incredibly convenient to be able to transcribe from recordings, and do all those other nifty play-by-ear tricks.
Some people have asked me how I can compose without strength in this skill, and how I can look at a score and have at least a rough idea of what it sounds like. But I find that how you hear "inside" your head is vastly more complicated than a direct translation of skills one has for external listening skills. At least, that's the way it is in my head. When I compose (and I don't rely heavily on a keyboard or even midi playback) I do have a satisfactory idea of what it's going to sound like, and when I look at a score, I can get a vague idea. How do I do it? what is actually happening inside my head? I've got no idea, I just know it works for me.
And so, as I make slow, agonizing progress in melodic dictation this week, I ask myself, should composers be good at everything musical? Is that a realistic or necessary goal
posted by Stefanie Lubkowski
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