Adopted from: A chat with Gohonzon

This is one small part of this study material called 'A chat with Gohonzon'. I think its a great thing that everyone should embed in our heart.

Gohonzon: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as why are you here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Guidance by Ikeda Sensei

Do you give up the struggle to overcome your own limitations on the first attempt, or do you keep on with it, trying a second time, a third time, and continuing on in the challenge for the rest of your life? That is the only difference between the genius and the ordinary person.

Present effects are due to karmic causes from the past. However, future effects arise from the causes we make in the present. It is always the present that counts. It is what we do in the present moment that decides our future; our past causes do not govern our future as well. Nichiren Buddhism emphasizes that no matter what kind of karmic causes we have made in the past, through the causes we make in the present we can achieve a brilliant future.

Message from Josei Toda

"You can either tell yourself, 'It's too hard, I don't think I'll be able to do it,' or 'Yes, I can do this. Let me at it!' Only a fine line separates the two. But I'll tell you one thing: if you work like crazy, you'll come to display capabilities that you never knew you had--potentials that you always possessed, but never tapped."

Some correct postures which should be used while using a computer to reduce stress and other ill effects

Origins of Christian music

It could be said therefore that we know less about music at the dawn of Christian era than we do about Greek music in the time of Aristoxenes. the first four centuries of our era are still hidden under a thick veil after that we can gradually discern the outlines of a liturgical music as to the sound of which we know nothing until the ninth century when a rudimentrary system of notation that was decipherable allowing for a certain margin of hypothesis first made its appearance .After this progress will be relatively rapid and above all will reveal a remarkable degree of continuity. According to the historians the year 1453 marked a definite severance between the stages of civilisation the middle ages and the Renaissance in reality however this severance was not more noticeable in music than in other spheres of human activities at least not at that time. If there was a break in continuity between two ways of thinking and feelings this happened well before the fall of Constantinople during that confused period which lasted until the end of the barbarian
invasions when Gerco-Roman civilisation collapsed and its successor was not yet strong enough to assert it self.
it is on emerging from this tunnel that modern music begin to develop. we can see the beginning of that evolution most clearly in sacred music for the following simple reasons:
it was not part of the duties of theoreticians who were mostly monks and still less of the Fathers of church to give us information about secular music moreover the first music to b written down was liturgical music which had an all=important part to play. furthermore the popular musicians strolling fiddlers and jugglers whose art was primarily one of improvisation had neither the knowledge required to commit their inspiration to paper nor probably any desire to make them available in this way to possible rivals
but it is clear that secular music existed and that it assumed many forms such as songs inspired by places or trades or magic war-like satirical or drinking songs and more all of which had various origins some dating back to Gerco-Roman antiquity and even earlier and generally inspired by historical events migration and invasions cultural advances and set backs and those vagaries of fashion which in the fourth century aroused the indignation of St. Basil: "there are towns where from morning to evening one can attend all sorts of public spectacles and one is obliged to admit that the more the people hear of lascivious and immoral songs the more they wish to hear" However several centuries will elapse before we have any written record of this secular music . but to return to sacred music in early Church it had primarily a utilitarian function it was found that an excellent method of assisting worshippers to pray together was to base the prayer on a very simple chant very much in nature of a recitation designed on simple rhythmic and melodic lines evangelisation having spread from western asia to the boundaries of country where the Herbrew psalmody had been adpoted many historians think that this psalmody must have served as a model indeed sufficiently characteristic resemblances between the jeweish and Christian liturgies have been found to suggest that they were affiliated not to mention the actual borrowing of forms of acclamation such as alleluia or amen.

International Ensemble - Music Of The Night

8 international musicians will perform Dvorak's "American" String Quartet, Blanc's Septet, music from Phantom of the Opera, and much more...
The musicians are from Hong Kong, South Korea,USA and Malaysia.

Date: 17th August 2008
Time: door opens 7.30pm, concert starts 8pm
Venue: KOMTAR Auditorium A(5th floor, yellow lift)
Ticket: RM15 & RM30

Tickets get from my sister, Phaik Voon.

Besides that, master class also provided free of charge.
But only for clarinet, F horn, Cello, Bassoon, Viola and Violin.
Held in Dewan Sri from 2pm to 3.30pm this coming Sunday.
Anyone interested please bring your instrument along.

How To Take Care Of Your Clarinet

•Remove the reed after playing and store it in a reed case to dry. Put the rest of the clarinet in a safe place. Don't stand it on end, unless you have a clarinet stand, since it can fall over.
• Use your polishing cloth to wipe fingerprints off the ligature and keywork. Then, carefully place the cloth back in your case. Don't use any kind of metal polish or other substance on your instrument , except for key oil. Key oil makes the keys move more easily.
•Pick up the clarinet and take the mouthpiece off. Drop the swab into the top of the barrel joint. Wait for it to come out the bell and gently pull the swab through the clarinet. You may have to do this several times. Then, fold the swab and store it in your clarinet case.
•Get out some cork grease. Grease the corks by rubbing cork grease on them with your fingers. You don't need to do this EACH time you take your clarinet apart, or even very often, as too much cork grease will weaken the corks and make them prone to breaking apart.
•Place the mouthpiece cap over the mouthpiece, then store the clarinet in its case. Put the case in a safe place.
•Regular polishing, swabbing, dusting, and oiling will make your instrument last longer, but obsessive polishing and dusting will wear down the finish on your keywork.
•Use the pointed end of a tissue to absorb moisture in the mouthpiece, but not from within the window under the reed. You can also do this with a mouthpiece brush, which looks like a giant tooth cleaner. Mouthpiece brushes are also not highly recommended as they slowly alter the inner dimensions of the mouthpiece.
•Always unfold your cleaning swab completely, or it will get stuck in the clarinet.
•If your swab gets stuck, Do Not try to pull it out. Take the clarinet to the nearest music store and get professional help.
•Never run a swab of any kind through your mouthpiece.
•Rotate your reeds! This will make them last much longer and help them play better by giving them a chance to dry out.

How To Assemble Your Clarinet

•Prepare the reed. Place the base or stock of the reed into 1/2 to 1 inch of water. The capillary action of the reed will pull water from the base to the tip, despite gravity. As the water reaches the middle of the reed, where the slice begins, take the reed out and quickly wet the end into which you blow.
•Grease the corks if they seem dry.
•Remove the upper and lower sections from the case.
•Use a gentle pushing and twisting motion to attach the two sections, aligning the bridge keys, press on the tone hole rings of the Upper section and hold the bottom of the Lower section, so you don't bend any keys.
•Holding the LOWER section, Continue the same pushing and twisting motion as you attach the bell to the bottom of the lower section.
•Gently attach the mouthpiece to the barrel.
•Attach the mouthpiece and barrel to the Upper section.
•Put the reed against the mouthpiece- the side with the hole. Do not tap the top of the reed and try not to touch the front of the reed because the pores will get dirty and not play as well. Look at the side of the mouthpiece for reed placement. Line the tip of the reed vertically equal to the tip of the mouthpiece.
•Place the ligature (metal or fabric band that holds reed in place) over the top of the mouthpiece, being careful not to chip your reed. Do not over tighten for fear of breaking the ligature, leave it a little loose for best vibration
•Keep your clarinet well polished by using a soft cloth and rubbing it gently. Never use any type of metal polish or liquid on the instrument! It will ruin it.

Classical & Jazz Clarinetist

CLASSICAL
Ernest Ačkun Walter Boeykens Jack Brymer Bruno Brun David Campbell James Campbell
Gervase de Peyer Hans Deinzer Charles Draper Stanley Drucker Emma Johnson Reginald Kell Thea King Howard Klug Karl Leister Andrew Marriner Paul Meyer Sabine Meyer Ricardo Morales Edward Palanker Thomas Piercy David Shifrin Mark Simpson Bernard Walton
David Weber Harold Wright Milenko Stefanović Richard Stoltzman Frederick Thurston Eli Eban
Julian Egerton Ante Grgin

JAZZ
Muhal Richard Abrams George Adams Pete Allen Woody Allen Lloyd Arntzen Georgie Auld
Buster Bailey (1902-1967) Eddie Barefield Alan Barnes Emile Barnes John Barnes Gary Bartz
Alvin Batiste Heinie Beau Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) Han Bennink Derek Bermel BarneyBigard (1906-1980) Acker Bilk (born 1929) Chris Biscoe Andy Biskin Dan Block Hamiet Bluiett Anthony Braxton Peter Brotzmann Pud Brown Sandy Brown Albert Burbank Don Byron (born 1958)

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed made from the cane of Arundo donax, a type of grass.
Clarinets actually comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. It is the largest such instrument family, with more than a dozen types. Of these many are rare or obsolete, and music written for them is usually played on one of the more common size instruments. The unmodified word clarinet usually refers to the B♭ soprano clarinet, by far the most common clarinet.
A person who plays the clarinet is called a clarinetist or clarinettist.
The cylindrical bore is largely responsible for the clarinet's distinctive timbre, which varies between its three main registers. It has a very wide compass, spanning some 3½ octaves. The tone quality can vary greatly with the musician, the music, the style of clarinet, and the reed. The German (Oehler system) clarinet generally has a darker tone quality than the French (Boehm system), which typically has a lighter, brighter quality.
The range of a clarinet can be divided into three distinct registers. The lowest register, consisting of the notes up to the written B♭ above middle C (B♭4), is known as the chalumeau register (named after the instrument that was the clarinet's immediate ancestor). This register is the easiest to play and is the first learned by beginning players. The top four notes of this register are known as the throat tones.
The middle register is termed the clarino (sometimes clarion) register and spans just over an octave (from written B above middle C (B4) to the C two octaves above middle C (C6)); it is the dominant range for most members of the clarinet family and is audible above the brass while playing forte. The top or altissimo register consists of the notes above the written C two octaves above middle C (C6).
Unlike other woodwinds, all three registers have characteristically different sounds. The chalumeau register is rich and relatively quiet. The clarino register is bright and sweet, like a trumpet heard from afar ("clarino" means trumpet and is the root word for "clarinet"). The altissimo register can be piercing(刺耳) and sometimes shrill.

History of Clarinet(M.A)

The clarinet developed from a Baroque instrument called the chalumeau. This instrument was similar to a recorder, but with a single reed mouthpiece similar to that of the modern clarinet and a cylindrical bore. Lacking a register key, it was played mainly in its fundamental register, with a limited range of about one and a half octaves. It had eight finger holes, like a recorder, plus two keys for its two highest notes. At this time contrary to modern practice the reed was placed in contact with the upper lip.
Around the turn of the 18th century the chalumeau was modified by converting one of its keys into a register key to produce the first clarinet. This development is usually attributed to a German instrument maker named Johann Christoph Denner, though some have suggested his son Jacob Denner was the inventor. This instrument played well in the middle register with a loud, strident tone, so it was given the name clarinetto meaning "little trumpet" (from clarino + -etto). Early clarinets did not play well in the lower register, so chalumeau continued to be made to play the low notes and these notes became known as the chalumeau register. As clarinets improved, the chalumeau fell into disuse.
The original Denner clarinets had two keys, and could play a chromatic scale, but various makers added more keys to get improved notes, easier fingerings, and a slightly larger range. The classical clarinet of Mozart's day typically had eight finger holes and five keys.
Clarinets were soon accepted into orchestras. Later models had a mellower tone than the originals. Mozart (d. 1791) liked the sound of the clarinet (he considered its tone the closest in quality to the human voice) and wrote much music for it, and by the time of Beethoven (c. 1800–1820), the clarinet was a standard fixture in the orchestra.
The next major development in the history of clarinet was the invention of the modern pad. Early clarinets covered the tone holes with felt pads. Because these leaked air, the number of pads had to be kept to a minimum, so the clarinet was severely restricted in what notes could be played with a good tone. In 1812, Ivan Mueller, a Russian-born clarinetist and inventor, developed a new type of pad which was covered in leather or fish bladder. This was completely airtight, so the number of keys could be increased enormously. He designed a new type of clarinet with seven finger holes and thirteen keys. This allowed the clarinet to play in any key with near equal ease. Over the course of the 19th century, many enhancements were made to Mueller's clarinet, such as the Albert system and the Baermann system, all keeping the same basic design. The Mueller clarinet and its derivatives were popular throughout the world.
The final development in the modern design of the clarinet used in most of the world today was introduced by Hyacinthe Klosé in 1839. He devised a different arrangement of keys and finger holes which allow simpler fingering. It was inspired by the Boehm System developed by Theobald Boehm, a flute maker who had invented the system for flutes. Klosé was so impressed by Boehm's invention that he named his own system for clarinets the Boehm system, although it is different from the one used on flutes. This new system was slow to catch on because it meant the player had to relearn how to play the instrument. To ease this transition, Klose wrote a series of exercises for the clarinet, designed to teach his fingering system. Gradually, however, it became the standard and today the Boehm system is used everywhere in the world except Germany and Austria. These countries still use a direct descendant of the Mueller clarinet known as the Oehler system clarinet. Also, some contemporary Dixieland and Klezmer players continue to use Albert system clarinets, as the simpler fingering system can allow for easier slurring of notes. At one time the reed was held on using string, but now the practice exists primarily in Germany and Austria, where the tone is preferred over that produced with the ligatures that are more popular in the rest of the world.