I used to listen to Dr. Greenberg’s audio courses while driving and doing housework. This summer I started back up with Fundamentals of Music. I pretty much finished reviewing that one, although I used a couple of the lectures to help me fall asleep, so I might be a bit vague on those.

Today I started up again with Bach and the High Baroque. This is a longer course than Fundamentals, but not as long as the survey of western music class. It’s 32 lectures. I plan to listen to them during the day rather than while falling asleep, so that I can be sure not to miss anything.

I listened to lectures 1 and 2 today while cleaning the aviary. One thing that struck me was the talk about Bach’s extended family of musicians – how the relatives would get together and, after singing some serious hymns, would then do spoof versions of popular songs. I think the adjective Greenberg used was “ribald”.  Bach also had a close relationship with “his prince” — he worked for him for 6 years — composing music for someone who loved his work. I tend to think of Bach as a lonely genius, and it’s nice to have that image replaced. I do remember that he loved his wife and children, and was devastated at the death of his first wife, and of one of his daughters. He created music especially for his wife and children, for them to play and learn from.

Klavierbuchlein

Look, this one actually shows the fingering notation in Bach’s own hand!

Here’s an article about copyright filters, with the forceful title “This Music Theory Professor Just Showed How Stupid and Broken Copyright Filters Are –Automated takedown systems don’t work, stifle free expression online”

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/xwkbad/this-music-theory-professor-just-showed-how-stupid-and-broken-copyright-filters-are

YouTube’s Content ID is the most expensive automated filter system of its kind, yet these kinds of stories are not just common, but comical. Like the time another professor uploaded a ten hour video of white noise, only to have it flagged five times for copyright infringement.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/aug/10/adele-vocal-cord-surgery-why-stars-keep-losing-their-voices

In spite of all my preparation, I still missed my first class. There were 2 parking areas I had scoped out ahead of time, thinking that they would have vacancies (because now there are parking garages on campus). Nope. I drove around for about half an hour, getting more and more upset. Barely avoided a couple of fender benders. Finally I got off campus proper. On the way in, I had noticed some parking by the athletic fields; I checked that out. By permit only. (What kind of permit?) Still further away there was some parking on the side of the street on Martin Ave. I parked there and it looked safe and legal, but I had no idea how far from campus I was.

I went home and checked Googlemaps. It’s about a mile. OK, that’s a  possibility. Would be difficult walking a mile in the rain / snow though.

Another possibility is to get up at 5 am, drive in at 6, and be in the parking lot at 6:30 — then sit there and wait to see when the lot starts filling up. The problem with this idea over the long term is that 1) I am unable to drive in the dark and 2) if I wait too late to make the drive, I’ll run into work traffic.

A third possibility is public transportation. When I sat in on a class 5 years ago there was a free shuttle bus that came from a nearby shopping center. The free shuttle bus has been discontinued (because of the new parking garages), but it’s possible that there is a bus with a similar route.

In the meantime, my car’s brakes were acting up this morning. So my lovely husband has volunteered to take me to / from campus til my car is fixed. This will mean getting there early and leaving late, but that’s fine!

What a disaster! Well, it could have been much worse (brakes failing in the parking lot, having an accident). And it was Lecture 1 that I missed. Would have been worse to miss, say,  Lecture 17 on the history of Diminished and Augmented Chords.

I feel ashamed and humiliated — “If I were a better driver or was able to think faster on my feet I could have found a way to make it to class. How did all the other students do it? I’m so incompetent.” But then — I thought of one of the students who had spoken at orientation on Friday. He talked about how much he had grown over the past 2 years; when he had his first performance lab he got partway through and then could not remember the rest of the lyrics of the piece he was performing. He had to walk off the stage. But he came back, and the next attempt was better.

I finally found the classroom locations. It’s right on the registration page (where you sign up / pay for classes). There’s a scrolling sidebar on the left, and you have to make an additional click to reveal the location.

That is the only place I’ve been able to find it!

If you search online for HCC  + location of classes, first it directs  you to the catalog (which tells you the campus only), then reassuringly says there is a notice in the lobby of each building.

Classroom locations for each class are published in our Schedule of Classes brochure. Specific room numbers are posted in each building lobby on the day of class and can also be found on our daily class schedule for classes that have started.

I had held out hope for the daily class schedule webpage, but I just found out it is for “Continuing Education” only — non credit classes.

I’m just grumbling. Back in the old days you received something in the mail. That you could hold in your hand as you wandered around campus. While clutching your map. IN YOUR HANDS. None of this online stuff.

I remember finding the Physics building on the PSU campus — ALL the way down the N-S road from the dorm, then turn right and go east for a few miles. It took me a very long time before I dared to go diagonally. When I did finally head out into that unknown territory, I found a small Sweetgum tree that had unusual colors in the fall — instead of the usual reds / yellows it turned a sort of magenta-pink. Pinkest tree I had seen before, or since.

Anyway, here I am awake SEVERAL HOURS earlier than usual, just grumbling. I wonder what will be this semester’s Pink Tree.

Pink tree (and other colors too!) available here. I’ve purchased trees through this artisan and they are beautiful.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/253919900/bashful-spring-beaded-wire-tree?ref=listing-shop-header-2