So You Can Multitask Standing on Your Head?

The Whittaker Library staff thought James Clear has a better take on time management!  Read it here:-

The Myth of Multitasking: Why Fewer Priorities Leads to Better Work

 

by James Clear

A Librarian whose Book Collection inspires her to Craftwork

In New York Public Library, there are Special Collections.  Very special, actually.  And one of the librarians there is committed to encouraging creative artists to derive inspiration from the books there.  Jessica Pigza has even written a book about her ideas.

Here is Jessica's website - Handmade Librarian.  

How do the Whittaker Library's collections inspire you?

Technology is Great! But there are Negatives, say Scientists ...

Tom Chatfield writes a feature for the Guardian newspaper:-

Why reading and writing on paper can be better for your brain



Meanwhile, iPads can even disturb your sleep, it seems. It's to do with your melatonin levels.  Gillian Mandich writes for the Huffington Post:-

Using an iPad Before Bed May Be Wrecking Your Sleep and Your Health

Are you a harpist? Karen Loomis Writes about the Lamont and Queen Mary Harps

On the Academia.edu network, Karen Loomis has posted an article about two famous Scottish harps.  You can read the article HERE.
 

The Lamont and Queen Mary Harps

 

Originally published in The Galpin Society Journal Vol. 65 (2012): 113 – 29.

 

Contributors: Karen Loomis, David Caldwell, Jim Tate, Ticca Ogilvie and Edwin J. R. Van Beek.

Promoted to Glory - one Trombone Score!

All music librarians are accustomed to receiving donations of music - the excitement is in the discovery of something rare, useful, or just plain unusual.

A tatty copy of Solos and Duets for Trombones with Pianoforte Accompaniment (Salvation Army Instrumental Albums No.15, dating from 1933) falls into the latter category.  Presumably someone just couldn't bear to throw it away.

Separated from its stated pianoforte accompaniment, all we have is the trombone part.  It's really not much use to us!  But isn't it interesting to speculate where it has been all these years, and where it might have been played?

Colour and Sound combine in the Red Poppy Ladies Percussion Group

We've just been sent a poster promoting concerts in Inverness (28th February), Edinburgh (1st March) and Glasgow (3rd March).  The Red Poppy Ladies Percussion Group presents ....
 

... Mulan, the Musical.

 

• Find out more about the concerts (Eden Court - Queen's Hall - Glasgow City Halls)
• Find out more about the group HERE

If You're a Competitive Violinist, enter the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition

2015 Tibor Varga International Violin Competition, in Sion Valais

Details:- www.varga-sion-concours.ch

Arranging Folksongs (As You Do!)

Karen has been musing about folksong arrangements.  Hardly surprising - her research has focused on other peoples' arrangements for long enough!!

Read her thoughts here.

More about Eddie Redmayne in the International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance

Did you see The Theory of Everything, the film for which Eddie Redmayne has just deservedly won his Globe award?  (Read about it in The Telegraph, here.)

There's plenty in the media today about the film and Eddie's acceptance speech, but staff and students at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland also have access to the International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Test, where you can find out more about Redmayne's impressive acting - and the award-winning film.

SEARCH HERE.  You can find articles about Eddie Redmayne, or the film, or indeed Stephen Hawking himself, the subject of this film.

How to Get Out of a JISC Mailing List

The eager beavers amongst us eagerly sign up to mailing lists, with the best of intentions. However, sometimes we change our minds. 

And then can't work out how to get out of the list(s)! 

How to unsubscribe from a Jiscmail list

1. If  you don’t think a particular Jiscmail list is for you, then go to Jiscmail, log in (there may be an institutional login for your institution and then you would enter your usual institutional user name and password).
2. Go to Subscriber’s Corner.
3. Click on the list you want to leave - you won't offend anyone!
4. Click the Unsubscribe button.

And if you have forgotten your login?

This is the unsubscribe page with instructions for what to do if you’ve forgotten your password.  (It assumes you know your own email address!):- CLICK HERE.

Come and Talk about Your Scottish Music Research!

Time to remind everyone about Musica Scotica again! 

Musica Scotica 2015: 800 years of Scottish Music 

(Musica Scotica's Tenth Annual Conference)

• Saturday 25 April 2015 and Sunday 26 April, 2015
• The venue will be the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art
• 2 Castle Street, Glasgow G4 0RH

Call for Papers for the 2015 Conference:- http://www.musicascotica.org.uk/conferences.shtml

See you there?

No Longer a Secret! The Lyric's Secret Theatre Project

Here's another intriguing article on the Guardian Culture Professionals website:-

"Diverse, daring and prepared to fail: how Secret Theatre rewrote the rules

 "The Lyric’s Secret Theatre project is reaching its finale. It may not have changed the face of British theatre, but it has opened up dramatic new ways of working ... " Read the article HERE.

What Wolfie Wants ( Piano App Teaching Kids With Technology)

An interesting article in the Guardian Culture Professionals Network may be interesting to our budding piano and class teachers -

How We Made the Wolfie Piano App

Gorki Theater Lecture and Q & A in Glasgow

 I would like to draw your attention to a public Q&A session with Jens Hillje, co-director of Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, on dramaturgical practice and the work of the Gorki Theater.
 
Thursday 19 February 2015, 5:30pm
James Arnott Theatre, Gilmorehill Centre, University of Glasgow
 
Since the beginning of the season 2013/2014, Gorki's new artistic team around co-directors Shermin Langhoff and Jens Hillje have turned Berlin's smallest state theatre into a unique social site. Productions by Gorki directors like Yael Ronen, Nurkan Erpulat, Falk Richter and Havan Savas Mican are examining questions of cultural, ethnic and sexual identity from the most diverse perspectives. In 2014 this innovative approach was rewarded with the Theatre of the Year award.
 
Theatre Studies at Glasgow University is delighted have Jens Hillje come to Glasgow, his first “official” trip to Britain since becoming artistic director at the Gorki. The Q&A will be led by Anselm Heinrich.
 
The event is generously supported by the Goethe Institut Glasgow and I think there is hospitality (?).

Sad, Angry, Upset, Procrastinating?

The Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is adding to its stock of self-help books - bibliotherapy, you might call them.  Dr Jane Balmforth, the Conservatoire's student counsellor, recommended these titles.

Students needing a bit of support, or staff seeking to support them, may like to check our catalogue to see if there's something there to help them.  Sixteen titles and rising ...

Jane Balmforth further suggests...
If you require out of hours support please contact one of the following agencies:

• Samaritans: 0845 790 9090
• Breathing Space: 0800 83 85 87
• SANEline: 0845 767 8000 Open 6pm - 11pm every day
• NHS Direct: 111
• Your GP
• You can access help in a crisis from your local Accident & Emergency Department (24 hours)

Isn't it About Time? (Don't Put Off Reading This Book!)

The Whittaker Library staff are all of a-flutter, pleading to be the first to read this book about procrastination.

There's only one problem.  Whoever borrows it has to sit down and read it, because if they procrastinate, no-one else will ever see it ...

Isn't It About Time?

How to stop putting things off ... and get on with your life

By Andrea Perry

• Andrea Perry's consultancy website - HERE.
• Whittaker Library copy of her book - HERE.

This book is one of many that we're ordering, to support our student and staff in a more holistic way. We call it bibliotherapy .... see what has arrived so far, HERE.

Slide over, Sibelius - Handwritten Scores have their own Appeal

We've spotted this blogpost by a librarian at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.  James Luff writes from the Jerwood Library of the Performing Arts:- 

The Delights of Handwritten Scores

James posts lots of images of intriguing scores, so his posting is well-worth visiting.

Simon McKerrell Invites You to a Webinar about Scottish Music (17th February)

RCS Alumnus Simon McKerrell is now a lecturer at the University of Newcastle.  His research is into 'Understanding Scotland Musically' - he has written various articles, organised a conference, has a book shortly to be published and another co-authored one on the way.

If you'd like to talk about  'understanding Scotland musically', and to share your views with Simon, then he is organising a webinar to which you are invited.  (Webinar = Seminar on the Web).

Full details here.  Quoted from Simon's Understanding Scotland Musically Website:-

Webinar 17th February 2015, 3pm

"There will be a webinar to discuss the project for anyone who is interested at 3pm on February the 17th 2015. You can join the meeting, which will become live at that time simply by clicking on this link. 

"Participants in the webinar will receive several draft articles dealing with Scottish traditional music that are not currently available to the public for comment and feedback."

• Understanding Scotland Musically - the website 
•  http://www.musicalmeaning.com/home

What Did You Do on National Libraries Day?

National Libraries Day was on Saturday 7 February 2015.  Libraries aren't just places to borrow books - though that's an important function.  They're also places to access sheet music, orchestral or choral materials, plays, electronic information, audio, DVDs... not to mention internet access for an academic or public library community, or just somewhere to sit and read quietly. 

Consider joining the Library Campaign to support UK public libraries.

The 24:7 Student? E-resources make it easier

 G is for Gesamtkunstwerk (Stephen Moss, A to Z of Wagner) 

 

RCS students working on their essays for Music in History 3 will already be very familiar with the term, Gesamtkunstwerk, introduced by Richard Wagner.   (It's not an easy word to spell!)

Gesamt - Together (Total)

Kunst - Art

Werk - Work

Depending on the spelling you use, of course, your search results will vary.  And almost inevitably, you'll arrive at Wikipedia.  Do we like Wikipedia?  Well, it's a good enough starting point, so long as you approach it with a questioning mentality. Do you know who wrote the article, for example?

Doing a web search using the spelling given here, however, takes you to a great page in the Guardian newspaper - G is for Gesamtkunstwerk, from Stephen Moss's A to Z of Wagner.

Online Resources Whenever and Wherever Needed

So now we know what we're looking for! Students and Staff of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland have access to premium online content on websites like JSTOR (back copies of scholarly journals), Oxford Music Online (Grove Dictionary of Music) and RILM (abstracts of music articles etc).  We also have streamed music and videos.  You'll know about Naxos and Alexander Street Press Classical Music Library, but did you know Alexander Street Press also offers Classical Music in Video?  We get that, too.  The link takes you to Wagner operas.  So don't just listen - look!

Find Wagner operas: http://tinyurl.com/o6x7vyh

All this content is stuff that we subscribe to on our users' behalf -it isn't universally available, but is paid for by your library so you can use it freely.  Take a look at our e-resources page on the RCS website or on Moodle/Mahara.  There are loads of e-journals, too.  (If you're in the RCS buildings, you'll get the resources directly, but off-site you'll need to login as an RCS members.)

Gesamtkunstwerk is correct, not Gesammtkunstwerk, Gesamtkunstwerke, Gesamkunstwerk ... do use the proper German spelling for best results searching our online resources.

While You Were Away ...

During Bridge Week, our students are so busy pushing the boundaries that they don't make it into the Whittaker Library quite as much as usual. 

Don't for a minute think we've been resting while you were away!  

• We've added new stock, we've blogged, and we've tweeted.  
• We've ordered new books to support our students in their personal lives as well as their studies - watch this space, because we'll tell you when they arrive!
• We've thought about useful online web resources for essay assignments coming up, 
• And we've talked about National Library Day.  (Send us your shelfies on Saturday!)

Mind you, we've been part of Bridge Week too, because we've hosted the Human Library every lunchtime.  The only remaining question is this forthcoming performance about a sad librarian.  We hope we didn't provide the inspiration?!

Seeking Commentary on Modernist music? Try JSTOR

Students who are signed up to "Music in History 3" at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will be familiar with the list of suggested works for their forthcoming essay about Modernism in music.

24:7 access to our online, web-based resources!

Have you looked online for commentary in JSTOR?

For example, you can read Julian Rushton's review of the String Quartet by Jonathan Harvey.  A great way to find your way around the piece!  Click HERE.  (Direct access from within the RCS for our staff and students - please use your institutional login if you're off-campus.)

Use the Advanced Search for best results, and make sure you choose the option for "only material I can access".  (That avoids the frustration of getting links to material that the RCS doesn't subscribe to!)

We subscribe to lots of other premium online resources, too:  Oxford Music Online (Grove Dictionary of Music), RILM (abstracts of music articles etc), lots of electronic journals, and streamed music and videos. 

The RCS Library and IT website has pages for electronic databases and electronic journals.  Take a look today!  It might just save you a chilly trip to the library while you're writing your essay. 

Ways to Do Opera and Write Plays? Guardian Culture Professionals Address the Issues

The Guardian Culture Professionals Network is a great blog to follow - there's always good material there.  This week:-

• "There is no Traditional Way of Doing Opera", says English Touring Opera's chief. 
• And for the theatrically-minded, "Playwrights in Search of Characters"

These are just two of the subjects raised - there's also tech talk about 3D printers, virtual reality in film, and more.  Take a look!

Is My Copying Legal?

CILIP, the UK librarians' professional organisation, has plenty of helpful info about copyright to help you keep things legal.  Visit their copyright pages HERE: Copying Guidance January 2015.

Heiner Goebbels Talk at Glasgow University

Free Arts Managment Training

A free online course on arts management offered by the Goethe institute and featuring the director of the Tate Modern.  Well worth checking out!

Mark Rylance as Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Photograph: Tristram Kenton

http://vimeo.com/116533810

http://Goethe.de/mooc

Visit The Human Library, 2-6 February 2015 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

The Whittaker Library has a "human library" this week - it's one of the events organised by our students during Bridge Week.  If you are passing by, do come and "borrow" a human for a conversation as part of LGBT History Month.  There are 6-8 people available to chat with.
No date stamps will be used, and we ask you to treat the human books with the same respect you'd show our conventional book stock!

Do You Research, Study or Play Scottish Music? Conference 25-26 April 2015 (CFP)

Scottish musicians, you still have a month in which to submit an abstract for the next Musica Scotica conference, this year in Glasgow at the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art.

Full details on the Golden Pages conference listings - HERE.

Don't miss it! 

Are you a Lutenist? Digitised Lute Scores for Rare Breed of Musicians

Not many folk play lute, but those that do will be ecstatic to learn that Cambridge University Library has digitised some rare early English lute music, and it's free to access!

Their website announces,

‘Crown jewels’ of English lute music go online

Handwritten copies of scores by composers of English lute music have been digitised in a programme to make a precious legacy available to professional and amateur musicians around the world.

Read more here.