When Music and Life become One

Hi guys, sorry for the unexplained absence... I currently still in the middle of exams! Gah! No one likes exams. So far I've completed two written exams and submitted my folio of creative work (for Poetry class) and so I only have a small amount of sight reading (the exam literally goes for five minutes, so it's really short but very difficult!) and a prac exam (flute) in just over a week, and then I'll be on holidays free to blog as much as I want!

Here's a preview of what I tend to see for most of the day... (kept small for reasons....)

Andante et Scherzo by Ganne. Here's a recording if you're interested. =D

My life is a music stand.

xxx Lilly

What is in my Bag? 2013

I thought I'd jump on the Bandwagon and complete a What's in my Bag post, as my inspiration for posts is a bit thin at the moment. Both Sary and The Green Fairy recently completed their 'What's in my bag' post as well. It's kind of silly of me, but I really love finding out what people carry around with them on a day to day basis. I think it really gives insight to themselves as a person and their personality.

I have an annoying habit of emptying out my bag after each day of being out and about or at class, so generally my bags are totally empty unless they're in use! Of course that's boring, I'm not going to take pictures of my empty bag, so here's a 'What I generally bring with me to each day of class/being out and about'.

- Wallet, keys, bottled water, train ticket and phone. These include my ID, Uni student/access card, bank card and my many coffee loyalty cards, money (when I'm not totally broke) and any receipts I haven't dealt with yet. I frequently bring bottled water with me as I tend to drink heaps of water each day, about three litres. Also, my flute playing each day is very dehydrating as well, so it's important for me to carry water around with me.

Here is some of the trinkets I cart around with me. Kindly note the ancient phone and .mp3 player.

-Diary, notebooks and text books, sheet music and other uni related books. My bag is mainly weighed up with many books, as I prefer to not take my laptop to school with me but I can't avoid taking notes (that would be unwise in my lectures on Chromaticism and Counterpoint Theory!). I also like to bring a book or novel to keep me occupied on long train rides or when I have a long lunch break and don't want to be studying...

-Pencil case with pens, HB and 2H pencils, a small Flash drive, a rubber and a sharpener. Again, this is obvious as I need to take notes, but I'm also constantly editing and making notes on scores and so I need quite a few writing materials on hand. All contained within a cute black fluffy pencil case! XD (from Smiggle a few years ago)

One of my notebooks, a folder for loose notes, my diary and current re-read, Poe

- Lip balm, eye shadow palette, perfume, compact brushes, mascara and eye liner  This tends to be what I bring to uni, if I'm going out somewhere a little less ho hum I'll bring some more make up but often I tend to keep things simple. If I want to wear foundation or BB cream I will apply that before I leave the house and not worry about touch ups. I also tend to pack one of my Lush solid perfumes with me, as they are not able to leak everywhere, a problem I've had with a few other bottles of liquid perfume in the past. They can melt in very hot weather though.

- My umbrella. Melbourne weather, in case you didn't know, seriously sucks. The phrase 'Four seasons in a day' is often quipped, paired with rolled eyes and a 'no longer funny' expression on many locals. The weather often changes three or more times in one day so if you don't have an umbrella you will most likely get soaked with rain. And no one likes that.
I actually have two umbrellas; one expensive one that is frilly, black with two white parallel stripes. It has plastic bamboo look for the handle. Of course I would like real bamboo, but that would probably not be quite as long lasting due to the water. I also have a small black compact umbrella that has a protective sheath (no laughing) keeping my books and other possessions dry when I want to put it away in my bag. This umbrella is smaller and cheaper than my other one, but is more suitable for everyday because I don't have to worry about it taking up my entire arm for a day.
Oh, and I recently purchased a lovely lacy black parasol from  Kirjoittannut Bella Vampira but sadly the weather of late has not been appropriate for such folly sun-related activities. XD
xxx Lilly

Emilie Autumn and Green Hair

Greetings, mortals!
A brief catch up? Well, uni is going well, on Monday I'll be in my second week of 2nd year, and beginning my private lessons on flute as well. Things have certainly been getting busy!
Oh, and, did you notice? I'm twenty now! Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! XD
Now it's time to celebrate my Un-Birthday!

So what's been happening in my rather uninteresting life?

(A month later when I remember that this post was unpublished)

We earlier I dyed the side parts of my hair green! I used Stargazer product. (Review may be in the start...)
Also, I purchased my first ever piece of clothing from the wonderful Australian brand Gallery Serpentine! A pair of adorable bloomers! XD

And just on Friday night I saw Emilie Autumn and the Bloody Crumpets live! =D The show was amazing. I could be more critical of her show (remember I am a classically trained musician and a dancer so I am very aware of what goes on on stage!) but I think that can wait. I purchased a poster of Captain Maggot (Signed) and EA's Fight Like a Girl CD.

So actually things have been quite busy for me lately. Moar posts soon!

Now I'm enjoying my token 70% cocoa chocolate mini eggs for Easter. I tend to not care much about Easter but good quality chocolate is always appreciated.

xxx Lilly

Goths at Folk Festivals 2012 editions Part 1

Hello dear readers. Sorry for not posting again- I'm now at the beginning of my SWOTVAC week which means that exams are literally next week. I'm no longer able to afford the luxury of wasting time reading blogs and watching YouTube videos until I'm completely finished with my exams. That should be in about 2.5 weeks! So soon! I can't believe how fast my first year of university have flown by! I'm been so busy with assignments, homework and music preparation. If you weren't already aware, I've now completed 1/3 of my Bachelor of Music. Recently I had to choose my major. At the moment I've decided to major in Music Performance, but I may decided to change that if it becomes too demanding- I tend to suffer from jaw problems relating to my flute playing, and so I haven't been physically able to complete enough practice. Also, this year at uni has really opened my eyes to what is required and expected from a professional musician. I've really had to examine and change my music related habits.

Anyway, if you will remember a post or two of mine from way back in 2010 in this blogs humble beginnings, I posted about Goths (me, specifically) and their reaction and interaction with folk festivals. Particularly this post. Now, my writing style has certainly developed since then; some of it just makes me cringe. I'm tempted to go back and edit things, but it's more honest if I just keep it all the same, maybe adding some obvious tangents if I want to.
The festival in question is held every two years, and in a month or two I shall be returning once again this year in the first week of December. While I won't be repeating myself again about the features, this time I shall intend to capture and document the life of a Goth (again, me) at a folk festival, and everything that involves. It's very different to a Goth festival, to say the least. I may also be heading to a few more in the near future, depending on my plans to celebrate the New Year.

Earlier this year, in March about a week after I turned nineteen, I attended the Port Fairy Folk Festival. While I don't remember much about the festival now, something exciting did happen... At 0.25 seconds into this video, you'll see me noodling around on a whistle that was on sale. I was so excited when I found this video. One of my sister's friends had noticed it while browsing through YouTube. This gives you just a glimse of the variety of characters found at folk festivals. Each festival is different, and has it's own mix of interesting music and folks (pardon that pun. I literally didn't even notice until a few mintues after! It is staying though! XD)

I can't believe all of the attention my Tumblr has been receiving lately. I've gained at least 17 follows in the past week alone! Please go and observe my activities there, and if you like what you see then please follow me! XD

More posts on these topics will follow in the near future.

xxx Lilly

A rather hasty update

I'm suprised that I'm still getting hits on my blog, as my posts have almost ground to a hault. The reason, suprising, is that I'm fully commenced into my Bachelor of Music at Melbourne University. The amount of work is greater than at highschool, and there are different expectations regarding our learning that take some getting used too. I'm keeping my head above water at the least. Also, I've been getting more ill lately, and that, I believe, is due to the large amounts of stress due to change, and the wonderful Melbourne weather that we all love and predict. =/

I thought I'd share one of my current favourite songs, from the soon to be released film The Devil's Carnival. I only saw Repo! last weekend, but I've been looking forward to this film since I saw that snoozeathon of a teaser trailer. That footage isn't in the film, FYI, but this one is I assume. =)


While there's many things I like to fix in her voice, I love the atmosphere of this song and the relationship created between the charachers.

Oh and here's a cool little anecdote; Last week in concert class, a girl performed a Rachmaninoff concerto in C minor from memory with orchestral piano. She played for about 30 mins straight and even broke a string on the Steinway!!! It was so incredible.
Anyway, goodnight all, and please comment about what you'd like to see from this blog in the future. I'll make it happen!
xxx Lilly

University

Tomorrow, Orientation week is starting for me. I am actually terrified, because Melbourne Uni have ruined my timetable so nothing is being displayed properly. Of course I only worry about the unimportant things. =/
Anyway, I am about to start my Bachelor of Music. I am excited because hopefully this is the gateway into my career as a classical musician. As you know I've been studying music essentially full time since I was seven. While I've attended normal schools, my main focus throughout school has been to improve my ability as a musician. This has meant taking extra, out of school classes, preparing for exams, doing hours of practice each day (For the next 4 years I'm going to be doing 4 hours of practice a day!) and listening to as much music as I can. But, I do it because I love it. There really hasn't been anything like music in my life. Dance, art and writing all come close, but I havent put in the dedication, time and money in the same way as with my music.

Anyway, I probably should go and... do more practice. =/ That's my life from now on.

xxx Lilly

P.S Please, I know that you read my blog, so comment! I want to hear about what you have to say and what I should write about. I check my stats every day and reply to all comments. =D