September 2022 Gruber Update!

Tl:dr – New releases coming, jazz articles coming, Always here to answer questions and help solve your music problems!

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Hey everyone!

We got a new puppy! This is Lizzie. 3-pound, 4-month old yorkie puppy.

New Moniker – Christopher John

I released my first track with Little Symphony Records!  LSR is a boutique record label based in Canada that specializes in online distribution and “Neo-Classical music.”  I’m very happy to have joined their community.  As much as I like to work independently, I felt I was hitting a ceiling with my creative output because I wasn’t part of a music community and creative ecosystem.

In order to keep stylistic consistency with LSR and neo classical music, we decided to release this music under the moniker “Christopher John” (please follow if you’re a Spotify user!).  New releases and sheet music are coming soon!

Jazz Articles – Rhythmic Relationships

In September, I start teaching my first course at the University of Toronto. The course is called “Advanced Ear Training,” and is an elective available for 3rd-year, 4th-year, and Masters students. In my experience, rhythm is notoriously neglected in music pedagogy. So, I’ve been busy redesigning this course from scratch to provide students a framework for practicing and listening to rhythm.

Because of this, I’m late updating my article on playing fast runs. The GOOD news though, is that I’ll have enough material to start an article on rhythmic relationships.

Rhythmic relationships at the piano is one of the pillars I base my practice and problem solving around (along with spatial relationships, directional relationships, functional relationships, and active/passive relationships).  Writing about rhythmic relationships is a massive undertaking, but designing this course has forced me to start writing down and exploring ideas. I hope to have something to show you by the end of the month!

How Can I Help!?

I started “Gruber” in 2015 as an outlet for electronic music and exploration, including chiptunes, Pico-8, and MilkyTracker. With all this piano content, I realize that my focus has shifted considerably the last couple of years and many of you might only be interested in Pico-8 or MilkyTracker.  But I’m still here to help!

How can I help your practice?  Feedback on music?  Questions about theory? Always here to answer questions and help solve your music problems. Please let me know!

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Thanks for reading everyone!

Chris

Gruber

Christopher John

Donnelly

Connelly

Wooooch

Cheese