Nonfiction

Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time

Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time

  • Downloads：6377
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-30 03:19:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Natalie Hodges
  • ISBN：1942658974
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Reviews

Jackie Sunday ，

Natalie Hodges started playing the violin at age three and after numerous performances and awards， she has altered her path in her mid 20s and decided to take a step back from her career as a soloist。 This is her story。With support from her mother and three other siblings， Natalie has been surrounded by music and the love for her violin just about all of her life。 It wasn’t uncommon for her to play five to six hours a day – sometimes until 2 a。m。 – when she was growing up。 She was inseparable fr Natalie Hodges started playing the violin at age three and after numerous performances and awards， she has altered her path in her mid 20s and decided to take a step back from her career as a soloist。 This is her story。With support from her mother and three other siblings， Natalie has been surrounded by music and the love for her violin just about all of her life。 It wasn’t uncommon for her to play five to six hours a day – sometimes until 2 a。m。 – when she was growing up。 She was inseparable from her violin。 However， she started to question after practicing complicated pieces over and over again why she would continue to make mistakes in the same place of the music especially on stage。 She began to have doubts in college about her ability to continue as a soloist。 It didn’t help when a teacher told her she didn’t have much of a chance。 Her mother （pegged as a Korean Tiger Mom） was a Harvard graduate in English and went to law school。 She became a prosecutor and administrative law judge。 She spent a lot of time helping her children to excel in academics and classical music。 When Natalie asked her “When you quit （violin her senior year in High School）…how did you know？” She said， “I think you just know， if and when it is time。 For you， the important thing is that you don’t regret and the important thing is that you choose。” Natalie discovered in her college years that it wasn’t easy to leave something that you’ve surrounded yourself with。 “Why keep trying to love something that doesn’t love you back。” She now had a sense of “empty time” in her life and had to go through some adjustments。It’s a short book with 179 pages but it takes some time to digest and could be one of those books that you’d want to read over again to pick up some other thoughts that may have been missed。 She reveals personal thoughts on prejudice with a Korean mom and relationships with her father。 This is an interesting book especially for musicians like her that try to make sense out of their performances。 Natalie said after a while， “I began to experience a unity of body and mind…I felt them working together in a rhythmic tandem。” Through interviews and research， she has now taken music to a new level through science --- letting go of control and trusting your body with a connection to others。After reading this book， I had to google Natalie Hodges with one of her violin performances; it was pure joy。 I’m sure her talents have touched a lot of people。 。。。more

Mary Jeneverre ，

For every musician， this book is a must read。 It helps with performance anxiety and gives an excellent perspective on how music is performed scientifically。 Insights include information only a performer could understand。 Outsiders can take a peek of how one thinks during one's performance。 It really should be recommended reading for all classical musicians。The author shares insights about improvisation versus rote performance for a classical musician。 She shares an example of a performer who exc For every musician， this book is a must read。 It helps with performance anxiety and gives an excellent perspective on how music is performed scientifically。 Insights include information only a performer could understand。 Outsiders can take a peek of how one thinks during one's performance。 It really should be recommended reading for all classical musicians。The author shares insights about improvisation versus rote performance for a classical musician。 She shares an example of a performer who excels in improvisation and even shares the YouTube link。My favorite chapter is Symmetry Breaking because the author talks about tiger mom， excelling beyond expectations， racism， implicit bias and most of all her mom。 I also felt sad for her story about her dad， but it's part of her narrative that she shared with the world。 As a Korean-American musician， she shares her insights living between two worlds in the US。 Readers are hungry to read about this world that so many diverse voices are anxious to share with all。 For a debut novel， this book is amazing in rhythm， cadence and insights。 I can't wait to see her upcoming novels and look forward to hearing her tell more stories to the world。Some of my favorite phrases: "a slow Baroque-style fugue unrolled itself from her fingertips。。。" （P 77）; immigrant credo: to be able to give your children what you did not have yourself （p。 82）。I met the author during a book conference in early October 2021。 I think I assisted in opening up all the books so she could sign them for attendees。 Then， she helped me with a pile of donated books and walked me to my car。 I told her I would read her book before 2021 ended。 I finally got some quiet time to read it。 I absolutely love it and will keep it in my book shelf to read annually。 I read and reread some passages that I couldn't let go。 No one knows that I used to play numerous instruments， including the piano。 I started playing at 5 and ended it around 17。 This book really put in words how I felt leaving that musical part of me。 Had I read this book during my high school years， I probably would not go through so much angst。 This book is healing me and I feel a little sad that it took two days for me to read it。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Uncommon Measure: A Journey Through Music, Performance, and the Science of Time&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0