The Music Man's Notes

I Fixed The Washing Machine -- And I Have Some Things To Tell You

2011-03-06T08:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, we have a Kenmore washer and it started making the most horrible griding noise ever. Of course, that's when I think, "Oh crap, here we go having to buy a new washer. Now is NOT the time."

Well, as luck would have it, a Google search of "My washer is making a grinding noise" yielded instructions on how to replace the "motor coupling" which is designed to fail so your motor and transmission (yes, a washer has a transmission. I was shocked too) are not destroyed by a malfunction.

Well, it was a wonderful opus on how to take off the cabinet (the metal that is around the bowl) and all of that. When I was confused by the lack of ways to take off the console I started poking around until I found an unwilling store manager who didn't want me to call the corporate office on her. She had a technician call me (he was the only nice person I talked to all day) and he said, "Oh, don't take the cabinet off."

Sweet!

So, without further ado, the easy way to fix the motor coupling on your Kenmore (and many other kinds of washers including Whirlpool.) (There's the coupling right there.)

Unplug the washer. Please.
Pull it out from the wall and tip it back. You want to lean it against the wall so much that it won't fall on you. For everyone this is different, but you just need to feel like you can stick your head under the washer and it won't fall down. Believe me, this is preferable to taking off the whole cabinet and dealing with all of that. When a tech tells you that adds half an hour to his job that means it's going to take you AT LEAST an hour. That's bad.
When you tip the washer back you'll see everything. There's a water pump (it's attached to the side of the motor, the motor, and the bowl. That's pretty much it.
There are two metal clamps that hold the water pump to the motor. They have been annealed on the ends. Just push up the annealed end and it should pop off. Pop off both springs and gently pull the pump away from the motor. DO NOT REMOVE ANY HOSES. It's not worth it. Just kind of push it to the side. It won't go too far, but it'll be fine.
Now you have the motor exposed. It has a rod sticking out of the side which is what you pulled the water pump off of. PLEASE TAKE NOTE what direction the rod is pointing. It's shaped like a flattened oval. So, it only fits on the water pump one way. Be sure you know which way this is. It's very IMPORTANT. If not, you'll fight to get the motor back on and realize you have the rod turned the wrong direction and you'll have to redo this all over again (like I did.)
Remove the electrical connections to the motor. It's just one set of them that are altogether. It's no different that the 17 pin connections for old printers. Just slide it off gently. There may be other wires, but they don't come off and the wires are usually much longer. So, don't bother. Just do the big one.
There are two clamps holding the motor in place. Each one pops on with an annealed end, but is also screwed on. In my case I needed a 1/4 inch socket. Just gently remove the top on first, because it's harder, then pop off the bracket.
Then, place your hand under the motor, because it is HEAVY and will drop, and unscrew the other screw. Gently let the motor down to the floor.
At this point you probably see the broken motor coupling. Something is cracked or out of place. Remove all of that and get ready to start over. If the male ends don't come off the transmission or motor grab a pair of pliers and gently rock them back and forth to get them off.
One of the white plastic pieces goes on both the motor and the transmission. They may not feel like they go on very easily, and that's ok. Take a larger socket, get it on the wrench, and place the socket on the face of the white piece (NOT the prongs) and gently tap it into place. Hammering it will break it.
Now, you have to put this thing back together. Were I you, I'd put the black piece (the center piece) on the transmission end so all you're doing it trying to fit the prongs from the motor side (your side) into place.
Ok, this is where you scoot up to the washer. Pick the motor and gently slide it up to the transmission. Use your knees/legs to help hold up the motor and you GENTLY slide it into position. Be gentle, it may take you more than one try. ALSO remember that you need to have the motor rod turned the right direction so that when you get this done the rod is pointing the right way AND it will fit back into the water pump. That's a big deal.
Once the motor slides back into place (and you'll know because all of the sudden this job felt easy -- just for a moment) hold the motor up with your knees/legs and place the clamps back on. Remember, take your time. Get one on and screw it back in, then to the other. You'll need your knees/legs for leverage because clamping the clamps back on requires more force than you would think.
With everything screwed back on on the motor's end, lay back down under the unit and place the water pump back on the motor (very easy) and replace the clamps. They only go in one place, so you won't get lost.
Guess what? You're done.

That's the easy way. Please do it for any Kenmore or Whirlpool washer -- I bet it works with others too. But, in particular, I was working on a Kenmore Elite Model # 110.24972300. If you don't know your model number it's exposed when you open the lid.

Happy handymanning!

Wow, It's Been A While

2010-07-07T18:54:00.002-04:00

So, I'm still working for genxxl.com and I've been writing all over the place since January. Please come visit us! We always like more traffic! We've got sports, fitness, nutrition, diet, exercise, gossip--the whole nine yards.

I can't believe I haven't been in here since January!

Anyways, Things are really looking up. Work is going well--school is going well--and the Lakers won yet ANOTHER NBA title! What can I say, I'm a sucker for the Lakers!

I think it's been such a crazy year because 2009 had it's own craziness, but that craziness was not nearly as fun as this craziness. There's alot of potential coming to fruition in 2010 and it's a cool thing.

My Band program is growing and expanding--I can finally teach like I need to. Not like I want to--but like I've needed to. It's nuts that I spent so many years doing it without any support and now I've got so much support I don't know what to do with it all.

I'm not even sure what the rest of 2010 will bring, but it's definitely going to be interesting with a new baby coming at the end of September and probably about 200 kids to manage--plus all of my writing duties.

What's happening in your 2010. I'd kinda like to know! :)

Come Visit Me

2010-01-18T07:29:00.003-05:00

I'm working pretty hard with my wife Heather over at genxxl.com.

We've got sports, fitness, nutrition, and a pending redesign. Yes, I'm not here, but I am there!

I'm writing as The General and running a feed on Twitter as genxxlgeneral.

I've Been Working, But Not Here

2009-10-04T21:12:00.001-04:00

So, I've taken on some freelance writing jobs and I'm officially out of time to write here...yeah, no time at all. I'll chime in every now and then to keep things updated, but as of now I'd probably be better off if I just got to work.

Please check back in every now and then to see if I have anything new going on.

Peace...

A day without a perdurable is like a day without sunshine

2009-08-29T22:06:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know, sounds weird, but I like the idea. According to the magic of the internet a perdurable is: Very durable; lasting; continuing long. Like a perdurable truth....something that you can teach your kids or, if you teach school, your students. Something like "Perfect practice makes a perfect performance" or "Anything is possible." (Personally, I like the Adidas slogan 'Impossible is Nothing', but my kids don't really get abstract advertising yet.)

The perdurable for the day: John Wooden says "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

My baby has courage. The FP is 4 we go hiking today and she walked up to 3 different people today who were walking their dogs and said "Can we pet your dog please?" with no trepidation whatsoever.

We've always said our kids were fearless, but this is just the coolest thing...they have little to no fear. It will serve them well.

I wish I was fearless, but you know what? That's what I can wish for my kids to have better than me.

Peace.

Doing More Of My Own Thing

2009-07-09T13:37:00.002-04:00

It just so happens that I'm not with a High School Marching Band Staff this fall. I guess the economy has hit even healthy non-profits so I'm out of work at the present time in the whole marching band area. When I got the word I was NOT pleased and not sure what we were going to do. After a week to reflect I've pretty much landed a freelance gig writing on men's fashion, shoes and fragrances, gotten good feedback from other bands about helping them out, and gotten my materials out to a bunch of local schools so I can pick up some more private students.

At the end of the day I felt alot more free. I was reminded a few years ago that I have unique talents that could be harnessed to enrich kids and produce income for my family. The example that was given to me was a lady who held a camp in the woods one each summer for middle and high schools kids and she cleared more than I make in a year in that one week. That's not bad.

So, everything seems to be falling into place. I was telling my Pastor about this and he came out of the blue with this idea for using this campground that's right here in Metro Atlanta. I mean, I have a good idea in hand, I don't need to have hundreds upon hundreds of kids attend to do well for myself on it, it'll be something I love doing, and I don't have to go to the hills of North Cacalack or Tennessee to do it? That's what I'm talking about!

I guess the thing that makes this the easiest is the idea that I have an entire school year to figure this thing out, prep it, promote it, fill it and do it. Even on the smallest scale I could have 10 kids come to my first event, hold it at a church and do quite well for everyone involved. That's promising.

That's doing your own thing. Everyone forgets that even the biggest started small. I guess we're starting real small.

Getting Back in a Groove.

2009-07-03T23:47:00.002-04:00

So, we reconciled on one more last hoorah at the Dis in August. This should be a fun trip where we're going to be exceedingly organized and be able to do everything we want to do. We found a picnic lunch option at Animal Kingdom, we're taking the kids to Sanaa, Heather's going to have free time at DHS and I'll have free time at Epcot. Quite perfect I think.

I haven't posted for a while here because I started a sports blog called "The MM Sports Link"

Plus, I just started a blog for my Bass Clarinet material called "The Bass Clarinet Guru"

Please check out my other stuff as I branch out into the blogging world.

We've got alot going on at home with the summer rolling along and my attempts to expand my musical teaching pursuits. I'm looking for more private students and multiple teaching jobs with local marching bands. Needless to say, it's busy around here.

Keep in touch!

Peace.

I'm moving all the Sports!

2009-06-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

So, I decided yesterday that I was moving all my sports stuff to a different blog. Basically, everything ishard to find here with my personal stuff and the sports together. So here it is:

The MM Sports Link

I'm also adding it to my blogroll in case there you forget about it.

Enjoy!

Man, I wish I could do this more often...

2009-06-20T21:11:00.002-04:00

So, we had a loss of a job in the family. Not a major one, but still a significant amount of money every month down the toilet. This couldn't be helped. Companies are cutting all over the place. All I can say is, at least I'm a teacher and musician (meaning there's lots of ways to supplement my income.) So, it's a solveable problem. I'm going to pick up some more private students when the school year starts, but I found a ton of writing jobs online that looked fun.

If you can tell from reading my blog you probably realize that the jobs I most wanted related to sports. I actually posted an update on twitter on that said "I wish I could write sports blogs all day." Man, if I knew how to make money on that I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd be like the Sports Guy lite. But, I'm not moving to LA and buying Clippers season tickets! I can't! (I mean, I'm a Lakers fan. That would just be sacrilege.)

So, I'm thinking of actually doing a sports blog, going all the way with it. I also thought about writing on music, but once again, how does one ACTUALLY produce income based on advertising from a website. That has got to be a hard deal. I'll tell you, I don't see how you would do it.

So, we're working it out.

On a happier note, we're going to Augusta for our anniversary next month! We've been to Savannah a few times, but that's just too far when we're going for one night. Augusta seemed like the next best place. Before you even ask, NO I'm not going to play golf or get anywhere near Augusta National. Two things you need to know about me: 1) I don't play golf. 2) I have a high respect for the game and that's why I don't play it.

Not to get off on a tangent here but I can't help it. I was in an instrumental methods class in college. That's the one you take your senior year to LEARN HOW TO TEACH. In that class my professor (also known as college band director) suggested that if we wanted to get connected to people and become influential as music educators we should learn to play golf. ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?! Ok buddy, if you like golf, fine, play it. It takes WAY TO MUCH TIME! I like being at home. That's why I bought a house....to live in it! This is the same person I used to tell at like 9 or 10 at night when I was still in the music building to go home. Constantly. At least twice a week for 3 years. Now I know why he can't teach. He's trying too hard. Being in your office all the time doesn't make you successful...it makes your family lonely.

Alright, back to Augusta. I found this cool B&B near the Riverwalk(the room has a balcony and an antique sleigh bed, how cool!?) and a cool restaurant to eat dinner and a very cool cafe to eat lunch at on our anniversary. I'll report on it when we get back. I've never actually been there, so it seems like Savannah-lite. Heather will be pregnant and possibly feeling it when we go so just a nice light city and a little walking should be nice. I'll give Augusta this, it's so small that you just find a pocket and stay in it and you're cool. Everything is bunched together. It's not like living in Atlanta where it takes 30 minutes to get everywhere. Yuck!

So, if you know how to make money writing a blog, please tell me, I'd totally do it...and like it! Otherwise...peace.

Showtime!

2009-06-15T09:05:00.002-04:00

Your 2009 NBA Champions....The Los Angeles Lakers!

I told my dad last night when we were over for dinner that we were going to win. He knows sports, but he tells me they won't close it out tonight. I remind him that Orlando is probably done. I didn't think they'd lay down...but they'd do a form of it. Guess what? They did. They gave up. The only thing that's heartening for them is this.....

I read a tweet from Rachel Nichols who said that Dwight Howard made Jameer Nelson sit on the bench and watch the Lakers celebrate. They're clearly planning for next year. I don't blame them, but Dwight better work on scoring if he wants that to happen. (Oh, and free throw shooting) Dwight, I feel bad for you because you're going to have to contend with this young Lakers team every year for a while, and LeBron, and Chris Paul, and the Nuggets.

Bill Plaschke says that the Lakers should be able to pay Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. Man I hope so. If so, we can do this 3-peat thing again. Maybe more. We know Kobe's going to sign a new monster contract in 2010 and this nucleus will be together for a few more years. YES! Please just be warming up.

Congrats to Kobe for being named the Finals MVP. Go home and sleep. Until October! I'm tired of hearing how many games you've played in the past 18 months. I'm sure you are too!

Trevor Ariza...I hope the Magic feel stupid for trading you....because you couldn't shoot!

D-Fish....I extolled your virtues on my blog previously and nothing was cooler than to see you and Kobe share that moment right when the game ended. I don't think anybody could have come into the league at the same time as a player like Kobe and done more with such a great player. People say the Lakers fear Kobe. I don't know if that's true, but he definitely respects you. Maybe when Phil retires you'll be the new head coach of the Lakers? Please?

Thank you Dick Vitale for railing against the idea that Phil can't coach and he just wins because he has talent. That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard too Dickie V! I guess Bob Cousy and Bill Russell weren't talented. Or those doofuses from UCLA..Walton and Alcindor. Yeah, they stunk! (Really?!?!?!)

Let's get you to six so we can have the Jordan conversation Kobe.... I just heard John Barry say that the closest thing to Jordan is Kobe. Ok......let's get all the way there!

Ok, I'll do it!

2009-06-12T20:48:00.003-04:00

I've never any of these things before, s I'll do this one.

104 Things About Me:

1. I go by my middle name.

2. I'm a junior....thank goodness I go by my middle name or I'd be "junior this, junior that" all day long.

3. I'm an only child.

4. Even though I'm an only child my Father is 7th of 8 children and my Mother is 1st of 4.

5. Even though I live in Atlanta I don't think it's the greatest city in the world.

6. And I secretly wonder why so many athletes and famous people move here.

7. And I think Chicago is actually the greatest city in the world.

8. I've had asthma since I was 7.

9. It stopped me from having athletic stamina.

10. But it didn't stop me from playing a wind instrument.

11. It's never acted up while I was playing.

12. Except when I played a concert in college where the auditiorium we were playing in was filled with smoke from a fish fry.

13. I briefly considered getting a performance degree and going to a conservatory.

14. As much as I'd like to learn to play other instruments I just haven't mastered the one I'm on yet.

15. I scored over 100% on a District audition in High School.

16. I've played in Carnegie Hall.

17. I've never had any formal training using vibrato, but I've used it without complaint for the past 15 years.

18. I always wanted to learn to play jazz, but I was never allowed to join jazz band in High School or College.

19. I have a 5 octave range.

20. I wore contacts for about 2 years.

21. But they got old really quick.

22. My "thinking face" looks confused.

23. I was a dork in High School.

24. No one's surprised by that.

25. I love Sour Cream and Onion Chips

26. We used to have Charlie's Chips down here, those were my favorite.

27. I ate croutons out of the box when I was a kid.

28. But I liked Cheezits even more.

29. I wasted alot of years not eating things that are really good.

30. I stopped wasting time when Heather taught me how to eat.

31. Especially broccoli. Man am I an idiot?

32. Until this October I had no idea what an Arnie Palmer was.

33. I've probably had a dozen or so since then.

34. When we go out and lamb is on the menu I don't pass it up.

35. Because I know I'll be jealous when Heather orders it.

36. Except at Sanaa at Disney. (I had the Short Ribs)

37. The first time I "met" Heather she was 17 and I was 19. I'm not sure if we ran into each other two years earlier.

38. I didn't actually know I was meeting her since we were at a music camp.

39. I was a counselor and she was a student.

40. We met again two years later.

41. I asked her to marry me the first time we talked on the phone.

42. Here we are 3 kids and nearly 10 years later.

43. I used to be really annoyed by Christians.

44. Especially Christians who kept telling me I needed Jesus because I might die tomorrow.

45. It took 10 years after first hearing that for my Pastor to explain that you need Jesus so you can live tomorrow.

46. I went to a formerly Baptist university.

47. I say formerly because they don't have any ties to the church now.

48. And because I've never seen so many drunk people in my life.

49. I don't drink.

50. I don't smoke either.

51. I've never done drugs.

52. I get tired of people of who don't get that having a wife and children is more important than their crap.

53. I teach.

54. I wish I taught High School.

55. But I'm not crying about it.

56. I've had 26 different Principals and Assistant Principals in 9 years of teaching.

57. I once had to explain to an administrator why Woodwinds are softer than Brass instruments.

58. I've marched the Orange Bowl Parade.

59. I was on the outside of my row. Even my friends from Illinois saw me on TV.

60. I once had to knock a drunk guy down with my instrument marching to a football stadium in college.

61. In my family, I'm the person who gets on the horn and gets stuff done.

62. I thank God everyday that I married Heather.

63. I honestly think she's the only person who would even consider laughing at half the things I say and do(even if it is begrudgingly.)

64. I know I'm not funny.

65. But sometimes I like to pretend that I am.

66. My High School Band went to Midwest the December after I graduated.

67. I went with my Community Band 7 years later.

68. I knew I was good when my Band Director referred to me as a"killer".

69. I wish I liked Hockey more.

70. My favorite sport is Basketball.

71. After that it's Football.

72. Baseball comes in 3rd.

73. I'll follow any sport that looks remotely interesting.

74. We love the Olympics in our house.

75. I participated in the Ceremonies at the 1996 Olympics.

76. And I played in the Cultural Olympiad.

77. I'll never forget when they announced that Atlanta was getting the Olympics.

78. Heather cracks me up.

79. At least once every 2 or 3 days she says something that's so funny it makes weak and I'm on the floor laughing.

80. Actually, Heather makes me weak in the knees.

81. I never really understood the infield fly rule.

82. Heather showed me that Softball is the only women's sport that is as entertaining or more entertaining than it's men's counterpart.

83. I've been a Lakers fan since the 1983 Finals.

84. I've been a 49ers fan since the 1983 NFC Title Game.

85. I've always been a Braves fan.

86. All of this in spite of the fact that I am a native Georgian.

87. For the longest time, MacGyver was my FAVORITE TV show.

88. It recently was supplanted by NUMB3RS.

89. I have no desire to be at work constantly.

90. I wonder why other people do.

91. I hate it when parents refer to watching their kids as "babysitting".

92. Good artistry impresses me, regardless of the field.

93. I still wonder why Pete Rose isn't in the Hall of Fame.

94. My kids are hilarious.

95. Our cats are afraid of thunderstorms.

96. So am I.

97. I hate it when dentists lie and say they are "fun".

98. I love good music.

99. I hate bad music.

100. I hate it when people don't take pride in their work.

101. It makes me feel better when I see someone that does.

102. I am a great seller.

103. Heather's better than me.

104. I love Heather desperately.

The End.

HA! I knew I was right!

2009-06-12T15:58:00.002-04:00

Went out last night to watch Game 4 of the Finals. Had a good time with the company (James from Ramblings of a Beggar) but the game was driving me crazy.

Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) writes Retro-Diaries for games that he enjoyed or puzzled him. I'm not going to steal his idea (that would be crap) but I do want to do something like that. I'll call it 20/20:

8:50 p.m.: Order some chili-cheese fries. Heather says I ordered them because she wouldn't let me eat them...actually, they just sounded good.

What this really means: As James said, we feel manly when we eat Chili Cheese Fries.

8:55: James arrives and we start talking. For 2 guys with 7 kids between them, we've got plenty to talk about.

What this really means: Guys with kids are more interesting than you think!

End of the First half: I look up and we're sucking. Losing by 12. At this point James says "Do you think the Lakers have a comeback in them?" to which I answer "They better!"

What this really means: My stomach is starting to reject my Open-Face Roast Beef Sandwich.

Beginning of the Second half: Still talking

What this really means: Guys with kids have alot going on.

James asks me who makes me crazy on the Lakers: I say "Bynum, because he needs to gain 50 lbs, like yesterday!" James says he was thinking Lamar Odom, because he's so inconsistent. I shoot back with "Yeah, he's just an inconsistent player. I can handle that."

What this really means: Andrew Bynum makes me crazy.

Now James asks me my favorite question: "Why is Derek Fisher getting more minutes than Jordan Farmar?" Jordan's the future, but D-Fish is our 2nd best defender (IMO) and at the end of a game if a shot needs to be made, he'll drill it."

What this really means: Derek Fisher is my only hope right now.

Moments later: The Lakers are within 4, I look up, realize they're within 4 and breathe a sigh of relief.

What this really means: That sandwich is looking up!

Moments after that: Pietrus is just standing in front of Kobe with his hands at his side. It's like they're having a conservation in the middle of the game. Maybe Kobe was smack-talking in French, who knows. Then Kobe jacks up this sideways 3 right in Pietrus' face without Pietrus even making an effort to defend, and it goes down anyways. Kobe more than likely smack-talks some more in French just for emphasis.

What this really means: For all the good he's done, Pietrus is actually a doofus.

All by the last 5 seconds of the second half: We talk, James moves his chair to get a better view and my head is swirling because I can't believe we're going to lose.

What this really means: Sandwich took a nose dive!

5 seconds left: Kobe mauls Dwight and I'm dying because I really think we're sunk.

What this really means: I hate being wrong.

Dwight goes to the line: I'm cringing just waiting for the first free throw to drop so I can ask for our check.

What this really means: You caught the cringing part right?

Dwight misses the first one: I'm thinking "If he misses the second one Derek Fisher is going to make him pay.

What this really means: He's not ready, even is they win this game.

Dwight misses the 2nd: and I'm tapping my foot faster than I ever have. The nervous energy is ridiculous.

What this really means: If he doesn't win a championship his entire career will be defined historically by Free Throws.

The Lakers inbound: The ball goes to D-Fish and Jameer Nelson doesn't bother to play defense. The shot goes down. James remembers what I said earlier and stares at me in disbelief with mouth agape. I love this game!

What this really means: I was right!

Overtime starts: and just hoping for a miracle, because the Orlando Cockroaches(I mean, Magic) just won't die.

What this really means: You caught the cockroach part, right?

31.3 seconds left in overtime: D-Fish drills another 3. I could see it coming. He got hot at the right time. James isn't shocked this time.

What this really means: I was right twice! HA!

Moments later: Pau takes a sick run down the court and dunks with Pietrus leaning into his back. At this point I think there was a language-barrier. Pau with his Spanish accent and Pietrus with his Frenchiness. More than likely Pietrus said something like (insert bad french villian accent)"Hu, hu!!! Why must you dunk on us like theeeeeeeeeeeees!" and Pau said (insert Zorro here) "Because I squash bugs like you for sport! Hahaha!" I'm just sayin'.

What this really means: If I didn't already hate French, I would now. That whole exchange was ridiculous.

The Lakers go up 3-1

What this really means: This series is officially over. Sorry Orlando, better luck when Kobe, Pau and D-Fish retire.

Ok, you got your one....

2009-06-10T18:19:00.002-04:00

I was right, initially, that the Lakers would win this series in 5 Games. I should have stuck with that prediction....... oh well.

But let me tell you this...The Magic shot 62.5% in Game 3 from the field, amazing. Good job. I never said they were a bad team. But, is anybody talking about how the Magic shot an NBA Finals record 62.5% from the field in Game 3 and almost lost? Anybody? Really? If it were me I'd be saying "Uh, I'm glad we won, but no one will ever shoot that well again and we still almost lost. DANG!" I'm not making a homer statement because I'm a Lakers fan, I'm speaking the truth. If the Lakers had done that I'd be HOT right now. No joke. That is totally unacceptable. You needed miracle-level defense to stop the Momba and barely won. Ouch!

I remember being in Orlando during the Eastern Conference Finals and listening to the homer picks like "The Finals is already over, the Magic are SOOOO much better than the Lakers!" I don't care how big of a Laker-hater you are, that just isn't true. So now we'll see if I'm right.

I'm going out with James from Ramblings of a Beggar on Thursday to see Game 4. I fully expect to watch an entertaining game that the Lakers win handily. Not easily. I never said the Magic sucked. But we will win handily. Enjoy your only Finals win Orlando Magic, we all gave you one to be fair. Please don't wait another 14 years to make the Finals again, we do like you, just not against MY Lakers.

Peace

Whew! Two down two to go!

2009-06-08T09:02:00.002-04:00

I watched the entirety of Game 2 last night and I am feeling much better(now that I'm recovering.)

We played a tight game with an Orlando team that didn't even try to win Game 1 and then turned around and did as much right as they could.

They didn't play a perfect game and neither did we, but they allowed themselves plenty of opportunities to get a decent cushion and they continually missed free throws and easy looks.

Then, they almost won the game on an inbounds play that was brilliant (actually, those are Kobe's words, but I agree) and then that opportunity was squandered by Courtney Lee. Reflecting on the game I bet alot of people are going to be saying "Oooh, the Lakers are in for a fight now....oooh my gosh!"

Really, are they really in for a fight? Without Rashard Lewis' outburst in the first half the Magic would have been down an easy 15. Again!

Do they play better in Orlando? Oh yeah. We were at Disney World during Game 6 of the East Finals and I listened to the entire second half on the radio(while charging Heather's Zune in the car) and I've got to tell you, Amway Arena is loud. Half the time I couldn't hear the local announcers. But, can the Magic win Game 3 just because they're at home? I don't know.

I'm, hopefully, going out to see Game 4 on Thursday and I would love for that to be a game to finish a sweep of this series. Orlando is a really good team, better than Cleveland, but they aren't better than the Lakers.

Last year we found out that the Celtics were better than the Lakers in The Finals. This year we're finding out that the Lakers are the best team in basketball. I heard Stephen A. Smith make that comment in April ("The Lakers are the best team in Basketball.") and as good as that made me feel I was curious. What about Cleveland, Boston and Orlando, who were torching the East?

Well, we found out. Boston is nothing without KG (they better thank their lucky stars they didn't lose to Chicago), Cleveland is a LeBron who doesn't know how to close and a bunch of garbage, and Orlando is the most talented team in the East whose only real matchup advantage against LA is Dwight over Bynum.

Last night I heard Mike, Mark and Jeff comment more than once that Stan Van was probably begging the officials to let the players play through fouls in the post so Andrew Bynum wouldn't get into foul trouble because then Lamar Odom would come in and he was KILLING them. Man I hope we can pay him this offseason. I fear that if he leaves it might be like James Posey leaving Boston.

Bynum is part of the future with Pau and Trevor Ariza(who is playing like an animal in the playoffs) but I don't expect him to get it at 21. After he gains 50 pounds of muscle, then I'll be expecting it. In the meantime, Magic fans can enjoy their one matchup advantage as the walk towards another loss in the NBA Finals. I was being nice when I thought we'd win 5 because I thought Orlando would win Game 3 at home. No longer. If you saw how deflated they were after Courtney Lee missed that layup (a hard one, but still, a layup) then you'd know what I mean.

Lakers sweep.

Back from the Dis

2009-06-04T16:33:00.004-04:00

Well, we got back from another great trip to the Dis, and the last one for a while.

We went down Thursday morning and checked into Coronado Springs. It's a pretty resort, but the rooms aren't any nicer than the rooms at any other moderate (we've stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside, those rooms were much nicer.) We made out way out to Epcot and got spend the night in World Showcase. We'd never really gone into the park and JUST done World Showcase, so that was nice, to just walk around and soak it in. We got to see Miyuki make candy art. It's absolutely incredible. She just makes animals out of this starchy sugar in no time flat. You can tell that she's work tirelessly to learn how to do it and worked even harder at being really good at it. We were hoping to get picked for her to make us something cool, but alas, we got there a little late, but it was still a good show.

We had an amazing dinner at the Tangierine Cafe. It's the counter-service restaurant in the Morocco pavilion but it's super-expensive and you get a TON of food. We had exactly what we had the last time we were there Shawarma Combos. Lamb and Chicken cuts with Couscous, Taboulleh, Hummus and bread. Uh, yum!!!!! It couldn't have been better.

The next day was Magic Kingdom all day. We had an incredible lunch at the Crystal Palace. We met all the characters really quickly and the FP even got to walk in the dance party with the characters. It was really cute!

It was also the day that Heather took the FP to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. This time she picked the white all-princess dress. It wasn't princess-specific but she looked so beautiful in it. Heather took pictures of her after they were done in the boutique and you could see a bride in her since she was in a white dress. I took the little kids back for a nap then came back and met the girls for a night in the park. We were bushed, especially the girls, and we crashed when we got back to the room.

Next day was Hollywood Studios...Heather's favorite park. We had a decent morning, but the kids were being crazy. When we got back for nap (I didn't think we'd need one) Heather suggested going somewhere for dinner outside of DHS(we had Hollywod and Vine booked.) I didn't want her to give up her favorite park (but that ended up working out.) So, the JB didn't want to sleep so we went for a walk and starting thinking about where to eat dinner. I made a call into Dis Dining and at first I tried to move our Hollywood and Vine reservation later and found out that Maya Grill(the sit down place at Coronado Springs) was 2 dining credits. Then, on our walk, I found out that Maya Grill was only one credit. So, I took it.

Well, the JB and I had walked to El Centro, the main building where everything(including Maya Grill) is. The front entrance of Maya Grill is right next to the door we came in and out of everytime we went there. I look over and I see a hostess at the desk talking to a guy in a chef's jacket. I walk over and ask if they do specialty desserts. The chef, Marc, responds "Well, you got any ideas about what you'd like?" I come back with "Well, you've got the chef hat on!" Which he did, actually a cap that said chef on it. So he and Alexandra, the hostess, start throwing out the house cakes the bakery has and eventually they say Strawberry Shortcake. Well, now you're speakin' my language! Marc even said he'd cut from the cake a portion for the right number of diners and redecorate it for us. Then we were talking about why we're celebrating Heather and Russian comes up. They say they've got this Russian girl that works outside at the bar right next to the lake. She agrees to come talk to us because they thought it was cool the Heather was learning to speak. So they all conspired with our server, Edwin, who was great to bring the cake in and everything. It thought it turned out very cool, and the cake was very much like the cake we had on my birthday at Citrico's.

The next day was Animal Kingdom and our night out. Animal Kingdom is a short day in our family. We hit the character spots in Camp Minnie-Mickey early and found out that Safari Daisy is only there from like 12-1, after which point she goes to MK and spends all of Donald's money (even though they're not hitched!) We had a great breakfast at Tusker House where Safari Daisy is one of the characters, YAY! Daisy isn't Heather's favorite character, but Donald is mine so I figure Daisy is appropriate, especially in a specialty outfit(which is hard to find since they're park-specific.)

Then we had out night out. We ate at Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge. It's in Kidani Village which is HUGE!!!!, just like everything else at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We parked where the Security Guard told us to go and followed the elevator to the Lobby where we were told to go, then we thought we were going the wrong way down the hall, so we took the steps back downstairs and ended up in the Employee Break Area. They were shocked to see us. But, two guys who worked the kitchen at Sanaa took us ALL THE WAY back to the front where the restaurant is. They were very nice, and they even admitted that they didn't know the door we came out of was there until we came out of it (as Heather said, we passed through the Mystic Portal.)

The meal was incredible. We had a bread course with a Tamarind sauce, a Cucumber Raita, and a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus. Uh, yum! Then we had a selection of 3 salads(Red and Golden Beets, Chickpeas and onions in a viniagrette, and okra and tomatoes) and Heather had a Tomato Soup with Paneer Cheese. Well, after we ate all of that our server (they call themselves Merchants) asked if we were going to try for our entrees. Are you kidding!?!?!?! We're all business about food in this family! Heather had a Lamb Rack with a pilaf that was very cool and I got Beef Short Ribs, Basmati Rice, and Spinach with Paneer Cheese. WOW! Heather's taught me alot about eating and I would have never gotten the Spinach in the past, but this time it put my meal over the top! Oh, then dessert. Heather had a orange infused layer cake with saffron sauce and I had a Chai Cream. Wow!

So, ready to explode we went to MK and hung out. Had some Dole Whips. Went back to the room late and crashed.

The next day we went back to Epcot so the FP could do Soarin' (her favorite ride, and mine.) We made our way back into World Showcase and met Mulan, got Miyuki to make us candy this time (a green tiger) and had some eats in China (I had this cool Beef Noodle Bowl) and then Heather headed off to DHS by herself. I took the kids to Club Cool and tried some Coke products(I love the Kinley Bitter Lemon) and then we went back to the room. By all accounts Heather had the best time of the trip, for her, in DHS. I am so glad she had a good time.

We got Heather at DHS after nap and headed over to Downtown Disney. We had a really great meal at Wolfgang Puck Express. It has got to be the second best Counter-Service value on the Dining Plan because it is SO expensive. We found a lovely set of earrings for a friend of Heather's and then it was sleepy time.

We finished off our trip in Magic Kingdom. We were able to get the FP on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice and I was able to take her on Splash Mountain (and avoid the mega water cannon.) We got back on Buzz Lightyear and we were abl to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Benjamin Franklin room. We drug ourselves back to the car, but not before anice man in the Art of Disney store entertained the CCM for quite a while while Heather waited on me and the FP to come back from BTMR.

All in all, a great trip. Now we've got to put some real space between now and the next trip. Heather docked at the Beach Club on her boat ride to DHS from Epcot and she's in love. Maybe that's where we're going next...

Salon Music for Bass Clarinet

2009-05-24T21:38:00.002-04:00

I remember being at BOA Summer Symposium in 1999 and hearing Timothy Mahr talking about wanting to be a composer. I think he even does clinics on this topic now. His premise was simple: If you want to be a composer, then be a composer! That's it. Just do it. (I think some guy from Oregon might have thought of that one first)

Anyways, I always WANTED to be a composer, but I had these grandiose ideas that I could never get on paper. So, a couple of years ago I gave up the grandiose ideas and went with something I could control...I started writing for myself. In the past 18-20 months I've probably written 100-150 pieces for myself. Some big, many small. All of them for me, solo Bass Clarinet, that's it. (Well, I did write a Concerto for Bass Clarinet, but not this nutbag Corigliano-style piece, something much more neo-classical) So, I've got all kinds of music laying around that's just for me. Then I realized something.....

I can actually do something with this stuff!

Alot of my music is, on some level, extremely difficult. 9 times out of 10 that would be due to range issues, occasionally it would be for some extended technique. I've thought about recording and, the more I write, the more I want to record. It's all my stuff. I'm not being sized up against someone else. Not that that's a bad thing. There are tons of really good Bass Clarinetists out there (you'd be surprised, unless you're on of those people, or know one of them, then you'd know because playing at that level on this kind of instrument speaks for itself.) But it's like being a popular musician, you play YOUR stuff, not someone else's and when you DO play someone else's stuff it's out of respect. I really don't care how my version of "Echange" would stack up against Mike Lowenstern's (his is very good by the way.) I care a whole lot more about MY playing, MY sound, and MY style. I didn't spend four years in college working with a style-meister just to sit here and copy people.

That's my big problem with popular music and ESPECIALLY with Christian music. People copy each other in very eerie ways. I heard a song on the radio today that I was sure was Sheri Carr. All the idiosyncracies were there from Sheri's singing and yet the artist was someone else. Huh? I mean really? That would be like me performing "Echange" and playing it EXACTLY the way Mike Lowenstern plays it, so much so that people think it's him. That's disrespectful to him (because I'm basically misrepresenting myself) and to me (because I'm better than that. Really, everybody's better than that!) Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but at some point you lose yourself in that.

So, by doing MY thing, and doing it well I cultivate a style of playing that is altogether unique. If we didn't have anyone doing this musically we would never change periods, styles, or ideas. All the original ideas in music are not taken, we just have to willing to look for new ones.

That doesn't mean you can't be influenced by people, but it does mean you have a responsibility to yourself to do something more inspired than a straight transposition of something that's already been done. You could even release an album of hymns, but you'd still have to play them YOUR way with YOUR sound.

This means that if you're into contemporary techniques, you should use them, and if you're not...DON'T! Not everyone can do everything. Not every pro owns every piece ever played..they pick and choose their spots. You should pick and choose yours too. That's what I'm doing, fighting my own battles. Fighting an unseen opponent, the radio in your head, will drive you to distraction...

So, I'm the Salon Music for Bass Clarinet guy. Call me Schubert, Chopin whatever but I'm not comparing myself to anyone, just me.

Peace.

D-Fish vs. Mike Bibby

2009-05-20T20:35:00.002-04:00

So, here in Atlanta you can listen to 680 and be bored to death, or listen to 790 and have people talking who are actually thinking of intersting things to talk about. So, the other day they're discussing how much of an effect Mike Bibby has had on the Hawks. Monumental! Then they say, well, would the Lakers be where they are with Mike Bibby instead of Derek Fisher? And they conclude yes!!!?!?!?!

Are you serious!?!?! Mike Bibby is a good player who played well like one time in the playoffs for the Queens...I mean Kings. He's never hit a big shot in his life. D-Fish on the other hand has hit a myriad of big shots. And, I don't care if he's old and has lost more than a few steps. If something needs to be done, he can take care of it. Hit a 3 at the end of the first half to give us the lead, decapitate someone to send a message, whatever. Personally, this argument is stupid. Why don't we just do the Kobe/LeBron Muppet video with D-Fish and Mike Bibby "Hey Mike, have you seen MY 3 championship rings? You know, each one of these cookies represents a championship ring that I myself have won!" Enough said.

You know what else, I'm tired of hearing about how great Chaunvey Billups is and how he's this great facilitator and how Kobe is this selfish little boy. Last night, Kobe scored 41 and had 5 Assists. Chauncey had 18 points and 7 Assists. I'm over it! I'm not saying he isn't a great player, because he is, but he's not Jesus to Kobe's Herod. It isn't like that. Let's get real. MJ had garbage around him except for Scottie and he was NEVER villified for taking over. And this sin't because I'm a Lakers fan, it's because I'm tired of hearing about this mess.

While we're on the subject of mess. Can we talk about officiating? When is Chauncey gonna get called out for flopping!?!?!?! That foul on the 3 that got called on Kobe is one of the biggest flops I've ever seen!!! When will he get called out like everyone else? Yes, Kobe flops, and it drives me nuts, but I'm tired of the Lakers getting a bad rap because everyone's so comfortable calling him out and no one else. When will the NBA be investigated by someone for shaving points and manipulating the outcomes of games. It's getting old. When the Lakers win the NBA Title I want it to be fair and square.

I do have something positive to say, about the Nuggets. Nene and Chris Andersen are MONSTERS! I'll take either one of these guys any day of the week! What I don't understand is why the Nuggets don't funnel everything through these two guys. This series would already be over if George Karl were smart enough to figure this out. But, since he's such a genius I guess he knows something I don't. Or, he's not and he's getting more credit than he deserves. Either way, he's the curse. The Bucks might have had a chance against the Lakers in '01, except he couldn't get them to the Finals. The Sonics could have beaten the Bulls in '96 if he had figured out that Gary Payton could guard MJ. I had forgotten about this until Bill Simmons brought it up the other day in a very nice column he wrote on espn.com. I'm with you Bill! George Karl is a curse, just like Starbury.

You know what, why don't we just start an All-Dirt team while we're at it. I've seen Chauncey do things these playoffs that make me lose all respect for him. So, we'll have a 3 guard lineup with D-Wade, Chauncey and Rajon Rondo on the All-Dirt Team. Who's going to step up and take those 2 spots in the front court? We'll have to see. (In case you can't tell, I like CLEAN, physical Basketball.)

I can't TOTALLY whine about television programming....

2009-05-19T18:24:00.002-04:00

Alright, I don't just latch onto any TV show anymore. It's got to be REALLY cool for me to even consider watching it. Nowadays I catch most of my TV online after the show's already aired. We do watch TV here but it's sporadic on "appointment" TV.... So, when I made appointments to watch "Life" and "Knight Rider" and then both shows get cancelled, I'm not happy. "Studio 60", cancelled. "Committed", cancelled.

So, when I read that "Life" gets cancelled I lament, just like everyone else "Why do all the well-written shows get cancelled?"

Then, I remember that I've missed the ends of the last couple of "NUMB3RS" episodes and totally missed the season finale. Well, about 80 minutes later I'm caught up and realize...THIS is my favorite show! (not of all time, but it's getting there, that's another story.) Not only that, it hasn't been cancelled! It's a juggernaut, it always performs well and it's probably the kind of show that runs until the creator decides it's time to stop. (A situation people can live with.)

There's something oddly believable about this show. The way the characters are written, the way they're acted. You actually learn about the people they've created for this show and you care. It's more like reading a book, where there's time to learn about everyone and everything that's going on. I don't get it completely, but I love it.

The way they move people in and out of the team that the show is centered on is crazy. When I think about it, the team has changed alot since 2005, and not all at once. The young actors they bring in are people I've never heard of but can really act! It's almost like "The Magnificent Seven". All the guys in that movie were younger and relative unknowns when they came on the big screen.

Here you've got Rob Morrow, who most people have heard of before, David Krumholtz (who was the manager with the slicked-back hair in "Ray"), Peter MacNicol (who is pretty famous in his own right ("Sank you Lord!") and Alimi Ballard (the quizmaster from "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch". Do you know how long it took me to figure out that was him!?!?!)

Oh, and did I mention Judd Nelson? He's so very cool that I can't even describe how he makes the show for me. There's something about it that is just so cool you can't help yourself but love him. The best thing about Judd Nelson is that he's been in everything. He was the Executive Producer who lost it on national TV in the opening scenes of Studio 60 and he had his own show "Dear John." He's just great. If wasn't such a funny, laid-back dude he could have easily been the creepy character actor in "The Game." He's everywhere!

Combine all of that with the fact that Bill Nye the Science Guy works at the fictional college where Charlie Eppes teaches and you've got a really cool show.

I guess the best part of the show, in the end, is how the show is written around the relationships of the cast. The way everyone relates to each other makes every second of the show intriguing because you're always learning about the characters. Everything on this show moves on relationships. That's what's so cool. Can't everyone relate to having a crew, a family, somewhere where they fit in? And if they don't, isn't that what everyone wants? Jesus works for that too :o)

I suppose it's not all bad, TV that is. Not ALL of the well-written shows get cancelled and NUMB3RS is still on the air.

You beat us by 30..haha, we beat you by 40!

2009-05-13T20:44:00.002-04:00

The playoffs are in full swing and I'm wondering what's going on. I mean, let's face it...the Cavs and Lakers are on a collision course for the Finals which will probably go 7 games. But, the other day when the Rockets beat the Lakers by 30 I was NOT happy. WTH?????!!!?!?!?!?!?! Who is this Aaron Brooks guy? He needs to jump back and the Lakers needs to step up. Well, they did. We beat the Rockets by 40 yesterday. I know, it's pitiful.

So, what's the deal? Can we just turn the switch on and off game to game? If we're that good we will surely win a title no matter how well LeBron has the Cavs playing (I know, their coach is Mike Brown, but he's not Phil Jackson, ok?) The problem is that I think some of the guys think they can flip the switch DURING games. Um, hell to the no!

We have no business toying with anyone at this point. This is not exactly a "Season lacking in other good teams." Back in the day the Lakers would toy with teams until the finals. The Bulls toyed with everyone, because they had no competition. The Rockets of 94-95 did the same thing. Have we looked around and seen all the goodness in the league this season? Ughhhh! Wake up gentlemen.

If only we had a way to press everybody all the time, they'd never be able to outscore us. I've secretly wondered why the press wasn't used more anyways. I know it's tiring, but come on people, you're whole job is to work out and play a game...how tired can you get?! Then I watched a couple of pros try to it and I realized that most of these guys either don't care or can't do it. You'd be shocked at how much better Mario West looked running a press for the Hawks than anybody on the Miami Heat. However, I let it go but I had no answer for that, then Bill Simmons had a back and forth with Malcolm Gladwell and Part I gives a fabulous explanation for the lack of pressing and a great way to utilize it.

Now, moving on to Urban Meyer. I never had a problem with him until this morning. I read this article and realized that he is a jerky jerk. You mean to tell me that since you just got to Florida then you can tell former PLAYERS that they are either for or against you? Are you serious? Here's what I want to see...Urban Meyer put on some pads and play at Shane Matthews' level. I think you can figure out the rest.

So, I'm over this

2009-05-09T20:18:00.002-04:00

Earlier today I blogged for the first time in a while and breifly mentioned the poor officiating in the NBA. Well, I took the kids upstairs for a bath and saw the end of the Nuggets-Mavericks game 3. The entire time I had the game on the Mavericks were up. With hardly any time on the clock the Nuggets pushed the ball the Melo whilst and after he was obviously fouled he drilled a 3 pointer to win the game. Right in front of the official, the Mavs bench and Mark Cuban. The game ended and the Mavs stormed the court and I was expecting something along the lines of the Melee at the palace a couple years ago.

Fortunately, that did not happen (although it would have been funny to see Mark Cuban getinto it with the official he was CLEARLY looking for.) When is David Stern going to stop the madness??.....when he retires and we get a commissioner who cares that WE care that the officiating sucks. As I said this morning...it drives me nuts. I have the inkling that I'm going to be complaining about this alot between now and the last game of the Finals. Uggghhhh!

Man have I been lazy

2009-05-09T12:41:00.003-04:00

SO, I haven't updated in a while...mainly due to laziness. So, things be going on.

School's soooo close to being out. We'll have end-of-year performance next week and then it's all downhill from there. Needless to say, at this point, I'm over it.

Heather's learning Russian. She's having sort of a midddlife crisis. Which, isn't really midlife since she isn't yet 30, but hey, what can you do!? Alls I can say is this...Russian is hard. Just hearing drives home how insanely hard it is. Yeah...

I watched all or part of every game of the Bulls-Celtics first round series. Somehow, I get nervous thinking of what kind of a springboard that would be for the Celtics (especially since they beat my beloved Lakers in the Finals last year after getting stretched in the first round by another unworthy team, the hometown Hawks.) Now, we've lost game 1 in round 2 to the Rockets and won the next two only to see Derek Fisher get suspended for playing hard, but Rajon Rondo (now known as Bruce Bowen Jr.) doesn't get disciplined for attempting t decapitate Brad Miller. Now, I know, the Lakers also benefit greatly from a crooked league's desire to have only the best and most-marketable teams in the Finals and their every attempt to sway results is so obvious my 4 year old could figure it out if she knew how much of a Lakers fan she is. BUT, I don't want the benefit! I want the Lakers to earn it fair and square! Period, I hate bad officiating. It makes me want to not watch, but I can't help myself.

Now the Nuggets (who were my dark horse way when, and begrudgingly so) are WAY better than I thought they were...the Spurs are old and washed up just like I thought and we clearly have a Lakers-Caves Finals coming. I want 7 games baby!!!! They steal on, we steal one, we win a title on their floor!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Ok, I'm better.

As the school year closes down I'm thinking of what projects I'm going to have my private students working on this summer. I've got an 8th Grader who's sound needs to be repaired. She could do anything if we could fix her tone!!!!

A rising 12th Grade Bass Clarinetist who I want to beat over the head with hard etudes and harder literature.

A rising 10th Grade Bass Clarinetist who needs to learn to be secure and work harder than she is now. Without school to get in the way, I think we cna make inroads.

AND

A rising 12th Grade Clarinetist who has agreed (without seeing the part) to start working on the Corigliano Concerto. Now, if you're not familiar with the piece I would post a video, but all I could find was some video of a kid playing it....AND I want Richard Stolzman darnit! Anyways, Stolzman recorded the piece and you must go purchase the recording immediately!

So, because it's so hard she has no idea what she's gotten herself into, but she is more than technically capable, she just doesn't know it yet! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I feel better now...

Man, is this dude right or what!?

2009-04-20T19:39:00.005-04:00

So Heather was heading out the door for the gym. She asked if I minded if she stayed for a dance class....of course, I had no problem with this. Then, in her "only Heather" cute way she said "nothin' left for me to do but dance!" and added a little shimmy. Then I said "Yeah, you know the words to everything" which she does. Then I said "I bet you know the dance for the video" the Jamiroquai video where Jay Kay is dancing in a room filled with moving tracks. Then she responds with "Yeah, ok" so then I said "I'll find it on YouTube."

So I found it. Only one problem I was talking about the "Virtual Insanity" video and she was talking about "Canned Heat" which is the music for the final sequence of "Center Stage" (by far one her favorite movies.)

Now, I remember when they won Video of the Year at the VMA's for the Jamiroquai video and I remember listening to this song on the radio, but I never knew what it was about. Dude, he wrote this song in 1996 at the latest. Did he ever hit this one on the head!?!? He's talking about genentic engineering, false teachers, governmental oppression, eroding liberties, reliance on technology, the final frontier of prayer, very heady stuff.

Plus, this dude's white. Now, I need to preface this with...I'm white and I know it. White folks don't typically have soul.....this white boy got soul. Dang! And he's talking about serious issues....pretty cool stuff.

Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai

So, it's been awhile.../Have you got it down yet?

2009-04-18T08:11:00.004-04:00

My lovely bride informed me that I haven't updated in a few days. Well, it's been hectic. We had a VERY long spring break (at least that's how it felt) and have been back to school for a week. I've been busy people!

Well, we've had an interesting last couple of weeks. We were in a conundrum over what to do with our Tax Refund money. We were going to Disney, then not, and now we're going again! Heather had this intense feeling that the money wasn't for us. Well I prayed and journaled and read over tat until small group last Thursday when a friend of yours was talking about a mission going to do in Ethiopia working with orphans. apparently, when she got the fundraising info she only had like a week to raise $1700. Bleh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, as she continued to explain that she's not freaking out or anything like that and that she had about half of what she needed I heard God say "Give her the rest of the money!" So there you go, that money wasn't for us!

Then Heather felt as though she should gift a missionary couple who just moved back here after 10 1/2 years in Russia, so we did that. Then she planned to stock up on grains and stuff like that (cuz we're crunchy you know!) and then we still had some left over, THEN we decided to take a shortened version of the trip to Disney we had planned.

It felt good to get so much mileage out of that cash, especially since almost all of it was going to Disney before we did any of this. Yay God!!!

We've only got like 25 days of school, or something like that. People keep counting down. Not the students mind you, the teachers! I really hate that. I mean, I never really did that very much, but when I sold shoes I had an older co-worker who had been in retail for like 40 years and one night we closed together and as we were counting down the last couple of minutes before we figured we'd be released he said "It sucks counting your life away." Needless to say, I don't do that anymore. I'll count down to trips, but not endings. That's crappy. Bleh!

Now, we've got just a few more weeks of school and we've got drama all over the place. Apparently, it's all top secret so I can't tell you, or I'd have to, well, you know... Who knows what'll happen next year.

When were had resolved not to go to Disney I was thinking about getting a new mouthpiece. Even when I knew I had the money for it I couldn't resolve to get the stupid thing. What's up with that? I play a Selmer D (actually 2 of them, but you know that if you've been reading ;o) and I just couldn't bring myself to try something new. I no resolve and no peace about it. I even had an offer from a prominent mouthpiece maker to be one of his first customers of a new line he's making out this new space-age-like plastic rod that I thought would be cool, but I couldn't pull the trigger.

Well, in the meanwhile I hadn't played since the Thursday before Spring Break and I didn't play again until the Thursday after Spring Break, so that's two weeks. But, when I didn't crack the case, I sounded great! I even had a revelation on a note in the "Sopranissimo" (that's my term for notes that only I and a few other freaks play on Bass Clarinet.) I was actually shooting too high for a Double A. Dang people. I mean, now I'm in Lenny Pickett territory everyday (no joke, just watching the video below makes me want to practice that like right now) and I not even "trying" to get up there. I think this is one of those instances where I got behind the right mouthpiece at the right time.

I can hear all the dejectors. "EEEEWWWWWWWWW, factory cut mouthpieces are nasty and inconsistent." Um, yeah, but they're close enough and I don't think Selmer's going under anytime soon since they're owned by Steinway, who, in fact, is the largest instrument company on the planet. Plus, even if they did, there would be 4 gagillion mouthpieces on the market anyways and a million people willing to copy the ones I have. So there, haha you mouthpiece snobs.

Now, I'm not getting down on mouthpiece snobs. If you're a mouthpiece snob, I understand. I teach this unbelievable Clarinetist who's a junior in H.S. and plays on a Richard Hawkins. I don't think she's giving that puppy up, and I don't blame her. Besides, I'm a ligature snob. I have two vintage Harrison/Hurtz gold plated Bass Clarinet ligatures. You think I'm giving those things up? Yeah right! I'm even thinking of getting the Rico "H" Bari Sax version only because they bought the patent from Harrison's widow.

I also have a kid who is younger and just got a brand new Leblanc Rapsodie Clarinet. Very nice horn, it totally heavy like a tank, I love it. It's just like my basses, those babies are rock solid. He's loves that instrument, but it didn't instantly make him better. It's just gonna make it easier to do what I want him to do. No we see the problem.

I ain't never gonna buy nothin' that I feel like is going to "make me better" because I know better. Maybe I'll invest in some different ligatures or different reeds because they alter response, but I'm certainly not going out to get a new horn or whore myself out to a bunch of new mouthpieces. I can play doggone it! I don't need that stuff to make me better. I can handle a slight change in things here and there as an experiment, but I not expecting a miracle.

I keep thinking back to all the work I did in High School to get to where I am. I can't recreate that work with a new ligature, mouthpiece, or instrument. And that's why I couldn't commit to a mouthpiece. Everybody acts like their mouthpiece is going to instantly change the way you play. BALONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is NOT! Learn to how to play and you'll know how to play. The one thing that drives me the most crazy is when people who have professional "cred" act like a particular piece of equipment "allows" them to play things. It does not! Maybe the reason it "allows" you to do certain things is because the confluence of circumstances for YOU means that that piece of equipment "allows" you to play something you're actually not that good at. Heavens no, we wouldn't want to admit weakness would we?

I've been toying with Double A (as I said before) for 10 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in college when I stumbled on this note and now that I need it I've been getting back on it again. (It's happens 3 times in the Smith "Fantasia" and it's the last note and I refuse to play it down an octave.) As soon I got it to speak regularly yesterday I changed reeds, then, I changed mouthpieces and then I changed ligatures and I used the 2 reeds, 2 mouthpieces, and 2 ligatures I had in all combinations I could and kept playing the note to make sure it wasn't a fluke. That's how you know you've got it down. I even played it on a Rovner, by far my least responsive lig, and it still worked. Lenny would be proud.

ahhhh, the search is partially over

2009-04-09T23:11:00.002-04:00

We've been wondering what to do with our tax refund for weeks now. Originally it was paint the house, then they came in way over what we had coming in, then we were thinking one more Disney outing, now we're giving it away! Just gave a missionary some $$$ for their support for a mission to Africa! Pretty cool stuff. Now we're wondering if we're not supposed to go to Disney in the fall and what else we're supposed to do with the rest of this money (since we only gave away a third of it.) I've been told things about bikes and all kinds of other stuff, who knows.) Fun times.

This is one of those times when you're seeking, reading, praying and not sure what to do and then the opportunities are dropped right in your lap. Why can't this stuff happen faster? :o)

so, I didn't make it

2009-04-08T12:24:00.002-04:00

Apparently NABLOPOMO will have to wait. The kids are alot more fun than trying to remember to post everyday. We had a super productive Monday, a nice restful Tuesday, and we're going on an adventure after Heather goes out tonight. Only with kids could WalMart, Office Depot, HHGregg, and picking up a part at a car dealership be fun!

Superior Performances 4.2.09

2009-04-03T12:00:00.000-04:00

Though unfinished, I wish I could write something that is incomplete and this good. Enjoy.

Franz Schubert Symphony Unfinished - 28:19 Complete

The Final Four picks

2009-04-02T20:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, I just keep being wrong lately. I suppose that I can't stop picking now.

UCONN and Michigan St. should be a barnburner. This Sutan dude for Michigan St. is an animal. He posts people up, he's a short range jumper, he can take it to the rack, it's crazy how good he is. I'm leaving out the other great players on their team, but dang, he's good. Plus, I have a strong distaste for UCONN. I mean Thabeet is great, and AJ Price is excellent, but MSU's coming on baby. (Then again, I said that about KU and they got SMOKED!)

Nova and UNC is one of those either UNC kills Nova and or Nova stomps on UN's face. I want to see a Nova/MSU final that I know Nova can win, but dang I'm nervous about UNC and Nova.

Alright, it's a done deal, banking on a Nova/MSU final on Monday Night.

It's Nablopomo time

2009-04-01T19:32:00.002-04:00

Since I've never done "officially" done nablopomo (though I did post the first month of the blog's existence) I suppose I should give it an official shot.

The men's group that I've been meeting with at church once a month on Saturday is having it's first meeting outside of church that I could attend (the first one was when we were on my birthday trip) so that should be cool. Learning about the fundamentals of headship is a big deal to me right now. I've got all kinds of things going on learning about where God wants me with regard to my career but all of that is wrapped up in headship because I'm not going to sell my soul to a school just so I can have the privelege of over-rehearsing and veiling it under the heading of "professional learning" or "getting outside of my comfort zone" or "not being a snob and sitting at home". So yeah, it's complicated. More tomorrow.

Ever talk to God?

2009-03-31T22:52:00.003-04:00

Ever done that before? I mean, it sounds crazy...like, we knew someone who said God would call her name audibly at night and wake her up and talk to her. I don't mean like that.

Prayer journaling is about the best idea ever. Sometimes you sit down and say "What do I do?" and you get a response...Maybe a verse, maybe an answer that leads to another question. Other times you could sit down and you're writing out God's questions. Yeah, I know, then you HAVE to answer, then you get lead to some other verse and some other idea that you weren't really thinking of to begin with.

It's much more edifying to "talk" with God than to talk AT Him. I love it. Now all I have to do is memorize Proverbs 22. Yay!

RIP...my bracket

2009-03-28T07:32:00.002-04:00

Ok, so Syracuse lost and Memphis lost...my title game is toast. A moment of silence for my once promising bracket

...........................

Ok, I'll repick everything because clearly some folks were not as good as I thought they were and other folks were much better than I thought.

Louisville and Michigan St. looks like fun.....for Louisville. They just beat Arizona by 400,000 points. You don't think they sent a message to everybody? I mean dang, I was away from that game for a couple minutes and turned it back on and they were up 25! Michigan St. ate my surging Kansans alive, but Louisville is higher on the food chain here.

Pitt/Villanova will be easy to call. The first hard foul in the lane from Nova and Pitt won't know what to do inside. They're great inside, but not AS good as Nova. Nova in a not-so-big-shocker.

After seeing how OU dipatched my Orangemen I'm starting to wonder if they can beat UNC. Let's make it simple...Blake Griffin is a better player than Tyler Hansbrough by a light year. Enough said. OU in a semi-upset.

UCONN will get run around by Mizzou. Missouri is WAY better than I thought. I don't even like UCONN. Mizzou in a sorta-shocker.

Superior Performances 3.27.09

2009-03-27T12:00:00.001-04:00

Alright, alright, I know I've been on this theme for 4 weeks now, but this is the last and best of the 4. This is the Madison Scouts in 1998 and my personal favorite of their shows. (It's just a me thing, I'd be willing to bet people would actually fight over '95 and '96.) This show has some classical elements in it that are really funny to hear in this setting, yet cool. It's kinda like "A 5th of Beethoven" (If you're old enough to remember that.) (One of the funniest things I've ever seen is a dude dancing to this, in bellbottoms, in the very empty band room...in 1993! Yeah, we were freaks.)

But I digress...

The show literally has a bit of everything and, IMO, closes out the glory days of the scouts. I really wish they could just go back here and do the 4 shows I've shown you over and over. Drum Corps fans (not the technocrats) would be falling out in the aisles if that happened. Alas, I fear the glory days aren't coming back, and it's a shame because, as you've seen, they were great. Enjoy.

I don't get it

2009-03-26T16:28:00.001-04:00

I spent the whole day dealing with random crazy stuff at school and I come home and think..."Hmmm, Gonzaga's gonna beat UNC aren't they?" Now I'm really confused. I'll say this: UNC will probably win, but if Gonzaga wins I won't be surprised.

All the random crazy stuff at school is related directly to people's lack of desire to take action. Just get stuff done, please! Uggh!

That's all.

Easy Sweet 16

2009-03-25T18:50:00.002-04:00

So, I got 15 of 16 games right. I can't believe the Marquette kid stepped on the line...I totally could see an end to end final play like Gonzaga had the other day. Oh well, still, I did pretty good.

The Sweet 16 always gets somewhat clearer and somewhat less clear all at the same time.

For example, there is no reason in the world Louisville should lose to Arizona, however, I'm not in love with Louisville like I was. Granted, I think they'll win but I don't think they'll have an easy time of it.

Pitt and Xavier? Dude, I was lovin' Pitt, but now I'm lovin' Xavier too. Agggghhhh, which way is this gonna go? At the end of the day Pitt just has too much firepower....Fields at the point, Blair and Young inside, how can you pick against that? I'm not going to, but if they lose I won't be surprised.

Kansas and Michigan St. is a little easier for me. I thought Kansas was GETTING hot when I made that pick in my original bracket but now they ARE hot. So yeah, I really like Mich. St. and Tom Izzo rocks but I can't deny Kansas....if they get much farther I may be picking them to repeat.

For me, Nova and Duke is cut and dry. Nova is better than everybody thinks. Duke is good, but not THAT good right now. Nova going away.

I picked UCONN to lose to Purdue way back when and it was really just because I don't really care for UCONN and I didn't think they could hold up without Jerome Dyson...and NOW they are probably guilty of MAJOR recruiting violations. I always thought they were dirty, but now it's coming out.

UNC and Gonzaga is intriguing. I picked UNC originally because I thought they would lose to Syracuse in a barnstormer in the Elite Eight. Then I heard Scoop Jackson today say that the matchup of Ty Lawson with Pargo (Gonzaga's point guard and who's brother is a tough-as-nails NBA player) is not in favor of UNC. If Ty Lawson is not 100% they might lose. I'm torn. I'll decide right before gametime.

Missouri and Marquette is going to look like a track meet. asically, they play the exact same game. That's fine, because Memphis is still gonna win. Sorry Missouri, the curse of Tyus Edny is still upon you.

Syracuse and Oklahoma is easy for me. I love Syracuse and I love them more with every game. Blake Griffin is going to be a rich kid playing pro ball, but he ain't no match for the Cuse. Period.

Hopefully I'm right.....

Round 2

2009-03-21T12:36:00.003-04:00

See that? That's what happened after the First Round (Enola Gay) flew over my bracket the last two days. Ugh!!

How in the world does Wake lose to Cleveland St.? I mean, they once had a coach who signed an extension and the next day got caught with a hooker coming out of a crackhouse. Doesn't that like automatically exempt you from winning meaningful games in the tournament?

Zona had to go an win a game and now they have to play everybody's bracketbuster, so now I have to pick them. Ugh!!!

Tennessee couldn't keep it together against Ok. St. Ohio St. lost to Siena in overtime. Are you kidding? Western Kentucky wins and somehow I get Wisconsin, Michigan, Maryland, Texas A&M and USC right? Well, we'll try again for the 2nd Round.

Louisville creams Siena
Arizona had better beat Cleveland St.
Kansas should beat UD
Michigan St. has no excuse against USC
UCONN smashes A&M
Purdue can take Washington
Marquette spanks Mizzou
Maryland might as well lay down against Memphis
OU will throttle Michigan
Syracuse can easily beat Arizona St.
Gonzaga could play the game in lawn chairs and beat Western Kentucky
LSU will die a grizzly death at UNC's hands
Duke will run circles around Texas
Nova can handle UCLA
Xavier will squeak by Wisconsin
Pitt will hand it to Ok. St

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it...until the bombers fly over again.

Superior Performances 3.20.09

2009-03-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

Again, sticking with the theme. This is Madison's 1996 show "A Dream Corps Fan's Dream Part Dos." I love that back in the day this actually WAS a Drum Corps Fan's dream. Nowadays a drum corps fan's dream is stupid props, bad programming, generic boring playing, and high scoring(but I've already ranted about that enough, for today.) I think just title alone is worth the price of admission because it totally has the audience primed for what you get: Loud, Loud, and Loud, and I'm all for it. Personally, I think this is the year they stopped caring about placement and just did their thing, and I'm so glad they stopped caring. With that said, enjoy!

So far...

2009-03-19T21:41:00.002-04:00

So far I've whiffed on Miss. St. (sorry Starkville) and Butler (stupid, stupid, stupid!) However, I was right about Maryland and Michigan, so that's not too bad. Nova finally woke up...and they better have since they almost gave me a coronary!

I'm not staying up all night for all the games, but suffice it to say, VCU and WKU are NOT going to win. They can't or I'm really in trouble on my bracket. More tomorrow when my bracket gets blown up even more.

Round 1

2009-03-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

I'll work on these games by seeding to make it easy:

1- We all know a 16 has never beaten a 1 and never will. Enough said, they all move on. Let's get over the intrigue of "This might be the year!" Uh, no.

2- A 15 has beaten a 2 a couple of times. I said a couple of times. The only person who's going to correctly pick a 15 beating a 2 is a guy's wife who says she likes Binghamton's colors. That's it. Personally, I'm not buying. 2's move on.

3- Yes, I know, all the 3's move on too. Mizzou is good, I've got Cuse in my title game, I've got Nova in my Final Four, Kansas is the defending champ. I can't argue with that, neither can you.

4- Mississippi State WILL beat Washington! Why? (I know, an upset, stay with me!) Well, Washington is in the Pac-10, you know, the power conference. Right....right??? Ok, the Pac-10 sucks, Miss. State almost won the SEC tournament (granted, the SEC sucks just as bad) but they almost DID something, the new Miss. State is a little honked off (enjoying the Golden Girls reference are we?) and they'll pull off the upset.

5- Upset alert! I know, another one! Wisconsin over Florida State. I know, Tony Douglas is the man and he will be a very rich man one day playing pro ball, but what else is going on at FSU? They beat UNC!? Really? Is that the same UNC with no Ty Lawson and the weakling, I mean, Tyler Hansbrough? Yeah, that win doesn't count. Wisconsin is good and Bo Ryan ain't playin' around. Mark it down folks.

6- My wife is from Dayton, so I have an affinity for the Flyers, but UD gets stuff done. They go to the tournament alot, they win first round games, they make runs, they always play well and I don't see Joe Alexander or Kevin Pitsnogle on the floor for WVU, nuff said.

7- Michigan, Maryland, and USC all moving on? I know, this will probably break me, but I just have a funny feeling about their opponents. Do you mean to tell me that Clemson (yuck!), BC (double yuck!) or Cal (triple yuck!) can get it together to beat Gary Williams (a coach with a title who brought his team around this year) John Belein (the only reason we care about Joe Alexander or a guy named Pitsnogle) and Tim Floyd (who is NOT an idiot.)????? Really. I know that Maryland wasn't great this year and the Pac-10 and big-10 sucked massively this year, but come on, don't you have a bad feeling about picking BC, Clemson, or Cal to win even a moderately important basketball game.

8- Here we've got 3 8's losing to 9's. These are NOT upsets. 8's and 9's are supposed to be evenly matched. Once again, I just have a funny feeling about this. BYU, LSU, and Ok. St. I mean, BYU? No way. LSU, they couldn't even win the sucky tournament of their sucky conference which they won in the regular season (BTW - I love Trent Johnson, just not his team right now.) Ok. St. The only thing I remember about them was Eddie Sutton saying that they could have beaten Ga Tech in a 3 game series after they lost in the Final Four in 2004. There you have it, old reliables! NOT!!!!

Just a quick note about my Final Four. Louisville, Memphis, Villanova, and Syracuse are all programs I LOVE! So, I am slightly biased, but when I read the brackets I have a hard time picking against good ole Jay, or Jim or Rick or Johnboy. I am extremely torn about my final game outcome with Memphis beating Syracuse, but I feel like this is Memphis' second chance just like Duke had in '91, only Memphis will have a different opponent. I just don't see how, if my bracket is right, that they'll let it get away again.

More when the second round comes and my bracket has been bombed by the Enola Gay of the NCAA...the tournament First Round.

Tourney Time!

2009-03-15T21:36:00.004-04:00

Here it is, the only bracket I'm doing this year. I've done 5 million brackets per year in the past and the first one always does the best. Then, I start second guessing myself and mess witht he first one and probably ruin it (before the first round.)

I know the picture isn't very big, but there it is, if you click on it you'll get a larger version.

Game previews to come!

I like this tidbits idea

2009-03-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

So, Heather had "tidbits" the other day, man what a good idea, so I'm stealing it! But I'll be nice and at least change the name of it, let's go with......."Well........"

Well........

- I'm watching Memphis had Tulsa their hat and it pretty amazing. Tulsa had it close for about a second, then Memphis got out front, then I went in the kitchen and the lead was 10, when I came back the lead was 23. Yeah, Memphis is pretty good.

- I saw Villanova's buzzer beater the other day. That's totally the way to play basketball. They kept it tight with Marquette, and Marquette played a great game, and even though they had almost no time at all they waited long enough for Marquette to make a mistake, and it worked!

- I would have liked to have seen the 6 OT World War III between Cuse and UCONN, there's a couple of problems with that. 1) I was 6 OT's, I can't stay up that late, I'm an old man now. 2) I really like Syracuse, always have, but I don't dislike UCONN enough to see if Cuse can hold on. 3) I LOVE Big East basketball, always have, but I don't love it that much. 4) I hate the angry face Jim Calhoun makes, I mean he looks like his face is morphing into a Gremlin. I just can't take it.

- I'm ready for the tourney, but I need to find a bracket I can fill in and post to the blog, if you know what to do, let me know.

- Just once in my adult life I'd like to see a basketball game officiated correctly. The officiating is 10 bagillion times worse in the NBA than it is in the NCAA but the NCAA still sucks really bad.

- I just finished rewriting the part for Claude T. Smith's "Fantasia for Alto Sax and Band." The transposition to Bass Clarinet isn't bad, but it's a complicated piece and moves pretty high on the horn. Plus, there are alot of alternate fingerings at work and I needed a prettier part with all the alternates written in.

- Additionally, I found good alternate fingerings for Altissimo A and Bb, they're going to be a life savers.

- Someone needs to hire me to design Bass Clarinets for them, that's all.

We're getting warm

2009-03-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

I came of age in the land of the warm-up. In High School we would spend whole classes in the warm-up process. Hours upon hours were spent warming up the ensemble. Nothing could be more interesting, or boring, depending on your point of view.
Warming up is the ONLY thing you can do for yourself that is GUARANTEED to make you better. I can, and will, go on and on about what you can do to improve, but none of it is a guarantee, they're just really good ideas. This...this process that not enough people take enough time on is the one common thread that runs through all great wind players.
I'd said if you interviewed some band kids you'd find that most of them are quite bored by the warm-up process and find little value in it, they just know that their director insists on it. I was never one of those people.

Where I come from, the warm-up is the only thing we've got, kind of like when we tell our kids "You'd better be nice to your brother/sister because one day they're going to be the only thing you've got." If you don't have a warm-up, you don't got nothin'.

I can hear the arguments now "But, if you warm up all the time you won't have any time to rehearse!" On the contrary, Bass-Confucius say "If you warm up regularly your band will sound good enough to rehearse." "If you warm up all the time and then you can't get in a warm up at a crucial time then the band will suffer." Bass-Confucius say "If your band warms up constantly and you can't get in a warm up before a big show your band can walk off the bus and win the show (my Alma Mater has done and will continue to do this at least once a season.) "Oh my golly good gosh! I have to get married to a warm up routine as soon as possible or our band is going down the tubes!" Bass-Confucius say "If you get married to a warm up your band will become so inflexible that they won't be able to take a shorter warm up when it is warranted."
To me, these are big "DUH"s if you're a band director, but what if you are just practicing by yourself?

Today, I went up to school to teach a couple lessons. I brought out my short horn (in case you don't keep track, and you should ;o), it's a 1959 Leblanc 400) and didn't have a ton of warm-up time. I felt kind of hamstrung my whole lesson because I didn't get to warm-up AND I was playing a horn that I don't play everyday that I haven't tailored my reeds to. A good 30 minutes of warming up would have solved my problems.

I know, I know, you're thinking "Well, if I played the same horn everyday I wouldn't have those problems." Oh contrare' mon ami! If you play the same horn everyday and you HAVEN'T been doing this then you STILL need a lengthy warm-up. You basically have no idea what the instrument will do from minute to minute, but you are warming up regularly you will become more and more aware of what the instrument will do when you put air in it. Moreover, if you continue to do that and you, by chance, are playing a different instrument one day you won't need AS MUCH time to get acclimated. Even if you're playing a leaky horn you'll be able to isolate the leaks almost instantly as you warm up because the feel won't be right. You see, you can diagnose AND learn control at the same time.

I know, I know, now you're thinking "Yeah, that's cute, I can't play a leaky horn, it won't do anything." Ah, Bass-Confucius say "If you've been hammering your warm-ups, you'll get to the point where you can play anything in any condition in a serviceable way." Now, I'm not saying you'd go out and play a recital or an audition on a leaky or otherwise "broken" instrument, but you could get through a concert or marching band show or a practice session without it being a total wash. Let's say you can reasonably repair your instrument, now you know what's wrong. I've got that problem right now on my 400, and I'll get around to it, but I still have the 430!

Now, what if you don't have a leaky horn and everything's fine? Well, get to it!

What....

You don't know what to do. What kind of stuff you should be playing to warm-up. You're unsure if what you're doing is working, or going to work. I have a solution!

Warm-up the way you did in band. Don't get cute, just do things that work. An example:

(all in written pitch)

Long tones on the C, F, and G scales. No skimping, do them all and really work it.

Equality of tone is highly essential here. If you're not careful you could spend a massive amount of time realizing all the notes you have that are not equal in tone to the notes around them.

5 note segments in all major and minor keys (at a moderate tempo, play each one 3 times before stopping)
- You may slur
- or slur 2 tongue 2
- or tongue 2 slur 2
- or mix them up (play Slur 2 Tongue 2, then Tongue 2 Slur 2, Then tongue 1 Slur 2 Tongue 1 consecutively in one rep.)

You could very easily alter the articulated notes from legato, to staccato, to marcato, to a "swallowed" note that almost ends before it begins. You could get lost in this if you really wanted to.

Chromatic Scale (all slurred from E to C, no fancy pants extended range)

Remingtons (movement in half steps downwards from a tonic)
- I prefer starting on open G, that makes the pattern:
G, F#, G, F, G, E, G, Eb, G, D, G, Db, G, C
- Then change the tonic to C:
C, B, C, Bb, C, A, C, Ab, C, G, C, Gb, C, F, C, E, C, Eb

Playing the remington studies is the easiest way to hear if your pitch and tone are stable. It's also the best embouchure workout there is. Try not opening your mouth the breathe, but breathing through your corners and never really releasing your embouchure until you're done.

Now, I know this is simple stuff, but that's it. Some variation on this stuff will do. Just don't run off with some pretty warm-up, you'll get bored quickly, change is a good thing in these situations.

How long should it take? Well, if you're really working it you could go for a solid hour and not realize it. Seriously! This stuff is important!

You'll start to see a difference when you really start working this out. It's a maturation process that will net a wonderful long term result, but won't necessarily blow you away in the short term. You've got to be patient. I spent 3 years warming up like this constantly, another 4 playing 3 hours a day on my own and the last 9 holding to a warm-up of AT LEAST this level every time I play. No joke. Try it!

Superior Performances 3.13.09

2009-03-13T12:00:00.001-04:00

Alright, so keeping with my theme from last week here's more Madison. This was my first exposure to the Scouts and it was the first Finals that I followed (P.S. - '95 was a good year to start following!) This is a day in the life of a bullfighter, except the bullfighter has the loudest corps in history following him around and he never actally fights any bulls, but you get the idea. The playing is great and for me the simple color palette in the guard works. Plus, you can see how far afield judging has gone that they were in 4th place this season. If they did this show now (as I'm sure they still kinda do) they would barely make finals (as they have for a few years now.) This is still the glory years of the Scouts, so please enjoy!

Sleep, blessed sleep

2009-03-11T20:51:00.002-04:00

So, we're still busted in this house. I don't what the deal is. The JB woke up at 4 and screamed in our faces til 6 this morning. I mean, dang girl, if you're tired, go to sleep!

Heather's working really hard at the gym, so she's really busted too and the kids just sat around after dinner tonight. I mean, busted!

Please pray for recouperative sleep in this house, cuz we need it baby!

In the interest of enjoying music and sleep, try this:

Stop-action tonguing

2009-03-10T21:09:00.002-04:00

So, I was in a lesson today and saw an interesting little article in my student's folder from a big-time Clarinet professor. They had all these articulation exercises written in and one in particular was intriguing...

There were 4 eighth notes each followed by an eighth rest. The instructions written were:

Do this for 5 minutes and move up one notch on the metronome each week, but the music was titled "stopped tonguing." I love this stuff!

So, one can only assume that "stopped tonguing" means stop the note with your tongue and then move on. Ok, I can get down with that. So, how do I do that?

I look at it this way. Tongue the note, release the tongue in order to sustain the note (yes, you are sustaining it, even if the note is mega-short) and then come back and stop the air with the tongue.

That means you're supposed to be doing 3 things to play one note, a note that might even be a half count long. That requires alot of control.

Control implies that you have to sound good, so, if you're having tonal issues (I mean, like you're just NOT HAPPY with your sound, then wait for this.) If you're cool, then control is pretty easy to obtain.

Definitely, just playing nice, easy, open notes with simple rhythms like 8th, 8th rest, 8th, 8th rest, etc... is a good idea. Definitely, set a certain amount of time you will venture to do this. You can do this in minutes (I'll do this for 5 minutes) or you could say "I'll do this for 24 bars." However, you can go two steps farther.

Step 1) Practice something with stopped notes. You could be practicing just about anything and, as a part of working something out, you just stop all the notes in that passage just to get in the groove of stopping notes.

Step2) Try it in an ensemble setting. If you're in a band or orchestra you could use this technique in musically appropriate places. Using the stopped tongue as a device to further separate (not shorten) notes is a great way to use the stopped tongue, cultivate it, and add ammunition to your articulation arsenal.

Stopped tonguing increases pressure in the back of your mouth, so it will feel funny but it's fun to do if you really get into it. Try it sometime!

Progress Anybody?

2009-03-07T12:00:00.003-05:00

Alrighty, for my birthday Heather took me to Disney World. Yay!

I know it's been a month since my birthday but I've been recovering from the trip of trips.

It was a total surprise and I honestly had no idea that's what we were doing. I could sit here and recap the whole whirlwind trip, bit by bit, but that would take forever, since it was the best trip ever! I'll just recap the super-highlights to make you jealous.

We were on a duck hunt, since Donald Duck is my favorite Disney character, and boy did we find some Donalds. We met Frontier Donald at MK and Three Caballeros Donald at the Mexico pavillion at Epcot. There are tons of "Hidden Mickeys" throughout the park, mostly due to over-exuberant cast members, but there at a few "Hidden Donalds" as well, so we were searching for those and going on anything that we wanted as much as we wanted since the kids weren't with us.

We got a last ride on the TTA (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) since it's shutting down when they refurb Space Mountain. The best part of this ride is that you go inside Space Mountain and when the lighting is ideal you can see the whole coaster. Good stuff!

We got drenched on Splash Mountain by a mega water cannon right at the beginning of the ride. As many times as I've been on this ride, this water cannon has never been this robust. Usually it spits a little water, that never makes it to you, when a log goes over the falls. Yeah, that day, it was on "super drench" because we got nailed.

We met Drizella and Anastasia who are hilarious! Let's face it, the best job in the world is being a totally rude obnoxious person all day long and people loving every second of it. Come on, you know you love it. They even had a great conversation with Heather about Cinderella's rodent-made dress. It was priceless.

We toured Epcot World Showcase on a Segway (which is really fun to ride once you learn how to use it.) We finally got on Spaceship Earth together and got a picture of ourselves on the new touch screen on the ride.

We even suffered through the worst ride in all the parks..."Stitch's Great Escape." Yeah, it's bad. I actually hadn't even seen the movie (though I knew what it was about) and after seeing the movie I hated the ride even more because the movie is D-U-M-B DUMB! We even asked the imagineer why certain things actually get made into rides and he really had no words for that. Just goes to show you, all business is politics.

We rode the Tower of Terror together, which we've never done, and Heather loved it, she was laughing every time it took us up to get a glimpse at the park (which is funny, because you then plummet about 10 stories in a free fall before it takes you back up for another go.) We found the 100,000 point target in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (Heather hit it 4 times on our last go 'round.) We hooped it up on Toy Story Midway Mania and a ton more. We're a super team, and kidless we moved like lightning through the parks(actually, even with the kids we move like lightning, so imagine how fast we were this time.) There's nothing more satisfying than knowing you're going to get to do everything you want and then some.

We had some unreal meals. I discovered lamb a few months back and was not disappointed at Citrico's with the lamb rack and the unreal birthday cake. I've still got the white chocolate Donald that was on top of the cake (he was highlighted with gold leafing.) We ate with an Imagineer(who was really sweet and really fun to talk with) and I had a vegetarian lasagna that was to die for at Chefs des France. There was a Mushroom Bisque, a Cobb Salad, this unreal roast beef sandwich at Liberty Tree Tavern, just great stuff! Every meal we ate was off the charts, I could go on and on all day, but then you'd be too jealous and stop reading, and we don't want that.

The one gem that we discovered was the Carousel of Progress. It's a 20 minute ride that moves you from the turn of the centry to present day, chronicling all the household advancements that have been made in that time. The stages are great, you learn alot, and the song "There's a Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow" is a keeper. As we speak it's running through my head. If you ever have the fortune to go, please don't miss this attraction, we feel sacreligious for not having found it sooner.

Needless to say, I had the time of all times with my beautiful bride :o)

I don't know

2009-03-06T20:56:00.002-05:00

So, everybody's really tired right now. I mean, some people SHOULD be tired. Heather has the kids all day and works out like a mad dog. I teach...ooooh.

I have no reason to be tired, but I am. Everybody in our small group is dead tired too. I mean, it's like the spirit of tiredness has decended on us. Yuck! It's no fun being tired all the time, but it is what it is.

So, I hope to get some energy soon and I can continue my diatribes about playing and the like.

Until then,

Peace

Superior Performances 3.6.09

2009-03-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, no great story about this one. Heard it on the radio a while back, and it's really good. The attached videos are a series that includes an interview with Glenn Gould and his performance of Strauss' Burlesque in D for Piano and Orchestra. (For those who are ot in the know, Glenn Gould = Amazing!) Enjoy!

Superior Peformances 2.27.09

2009-02-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, back to my roots. This show threw me off the first time I saw because they don't show all of each finalist on PBS, just the champion. This is the Madison Scouts and "The Pirates of Lake Mendota" and if you're wondering how you have pirates on a lake (unless they were, like, the worst pirates ever) you'd be asking the same question I was asking. Then you find out that Lake Mendota is just outside Madison, Wisconsin. Makes sense now!

Basically, these are the glory days of the Scouts. 1995-1998 produced the best work they have ever done IMO. Wait for the 9:45 mark and you'll see the best sword fight in DCI history and the only reason it works is because they don't REALLY care if they win. This corps has won two championships (their last one 1988) and I've always been told that they aren't super interested in just winning. I like that. Everybody else in Drum Corps got way too interested in scoring and alot of the shows, even winning ones, got boring. It's makes the shows soooooo much crazier when you don't care. One more side note...I've seen a print of the picture the Drum Major took....it's pretty amazing. Enjoy!

Madison Scouts 1997 via Noolmusic.com

Making Thine Ears Sensitive

2009-02-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

I remember, distinctly, being in rehearsal in HS and begin asked (as a part of the group) to sing something in our part. What? I don't sing! That's why I'm in band people! I didn't have any sort of relative pitch and I certainly didn't know how to carry a tune. How am I supposed to make my voice sing the notes you're asking for? Confusing!

Then I get to college and Theory and Sightsinging are taught in the same class period. No problem there. However, the class was slanted towards singers and piano players and there was no instruction in how to enact your voice. I have a really low voice and most people don't so I always found myself uncomfortably singing below other people (which I would not continue to do) or not being able to sing as high as required. Once again, it also didn't help that the class was slanted towards singers and piano players (it also didn't help that there was no actual teaching going on. No one started from the beginning and assumed we all knew nothing and then taught everything. It was more like having someone look down their nose at you every day because you didn't have the training they expected you to have so they wouldn't have to actually teach you anything.) To say the least, I was disheartened.

Then I was taking "Form and Analysis" (not really, they just called it that and the Organ Professor taught it really poorly) and I was struggling because there was no teaching going on and then we were singing stuff in harmony (which I can't do and wasn't taught to do) and was getting nowhere. Then....

I got into Drum Corps. The best part about that is that there are always recordings avialable, the shows are to the point, usually very well written, and easy to listen to over and over. I acquired a few Cd's and started listening. Then I discovered a few shows that I REALLY liked and felt compelled to sing along. I found that I could easily crack my voice and sing in falsetto quite easily (something multiple college professors, with Doctorates, were too lazy to do.) Then, I figured out that, after multiple listenings, I kind of had a pitch memory. Like, I could actually remember what was coming up next and sing it before the note started and be right! Yes!

Then I started thinking...Can I have perfect pitch on my instrument? Not actual perfect pitch, the kind you're born with, just perfect pitch on my instrument. How else do brass players know what note they're gonna play? How else would I know which note was which without seeing someone's fingers or reading the music they were playing? Good idea!

So, I started to just think notes before I played them. I "kind of" knew what everything sounded like, but not exactly, so I decided to start being much more specific with the level of sensitivity I had to pitch. Amazingly, it helped alot. Not only do I have a much better idea of how everything should sound on my primary instrument, but in playing anything, I have a much more acute awareness of how intervals sound and how harmonic progressions sound.

I never realized how close half-steps were until I started listening to how far apart I was playing some of them on certain parts of my instrument. Then I started listening to my private students and they were way off too! Then I have a flashback...

If you were taking lessons where I went to college you took a Fall and Spring jury with the entire wind and percussion faculty. I have no problem with this kind of stuff so I was never bothered by it, but I remember one instance in particular that I took a long time to figure out.

I was asked once "Do you feel like you're playing in tune with yourself?" I had no response for that at the time and no explanation was given. In fact, the subject never came up again. Granted, I did change mouthpieces that summer and that did bring my overall pitch up (I tend to play low, it's a consequence of my open embouchure) but I just didn't hear about it again.

So, I'm teaching someone a couple years ago and it hits me! Dang, all of these intervals are totally out of whack! You aren't playing in tune with yourself dude!

Now I can't stop saying it. It's everywhere! It's as if I can now see radio waves that were not visible before, like I've got X-ray vision. Craziness!

Anyways, how do you make yourself more sensitive to the changing of the tides? I don't know that there's a formula for gaining a more firm grasp on relative pitch, but I do know that there are things you can do...

- don't get discouraged
- if you're not a singer, become a shower singer (you know, like in the Golden Girls when Sophia realizes that Blanche's brother Clayton is gay "He's as a gay as a picnic basket!" "Ma, how did you know!?" "I heard him singing in the shower. He's the only man I ever knew who knew all the words to "Send in the Clowns." It won't be this revealing, but it will teach you about pitch memory.
- if you like singing with the radio, you're in business as this will also teach you alot about pitch memory.
- if you refuse to sing SOMETIMES you won't get any better at this stuff
- if you're ever in a rehearsal situation where you are guessing who's sharp and flat you're doing the right thing
- watch some American Idol and figure out how many of the singers are flat most of the time (hint - it's ALOT!)
- do a full intonation chart for your instrument
- try singing your parts to yourself, then check it against your own playing. You'll be amazed how "off" you are sometimes.

Try it out! Having a good ear is the best way to start moving around and changing instruments. If you have a good ear, picking up something new will be alot easier when you know what things are SUPPOSED to sound like.

Reflecting on Challenges

2009-02-25T21:31:00.001-05:00

Reflecting on my relatively short playing career (16 years of seriousness) I find that I'm constantly learning and never really mastering. I was in a class today and the Director made a good point to his kids "If you think you've mastered this part, you're wrong. Even professionals who make the big bucks [or don't] will be the first to admit that they are still learning." No kidding.

I know that I don't make the big bucks, but I'm a hardcore serious player. I've never really put a Clarinet down for longer than a couple months, and that is always necessitated by a lack of time. I remember being able to do things in 10th Grade that seemed simple in 11th Grade, and then again in 12th Grade. Every day from when I graduated from college to now I've improved a million percent. I'm growing, I know I must be, but it's so hard to tell sometimes.

If you have a bad reed day you feel like you're awful. The only thing you hear is a rough buzzing sound or the sound of swirling spit and you think "Ugggh, I suck!" I don't, but it's hard not to think that.

I would go to auditions in High School and College and think at every one "I SO hope that today's my day" like I wasn't prepared or something. I never thought for one second that I was "the man" or "the guru" (a title given to me by my assistant director.)

I was constantly tinkering with my playing back then, just like I am now. I know when I went off to college I sat down in my first lesson with my Clarinet prof. and he said "So, what do you really want that you don't have?" My response was technique, bottom line, I thought I had none. His response was "Ok." No, "Oh yeah, you really have horrible fingers, etc, etc, etc." Just "Ok"

We talked a little about the state of my playing and I referenced someone who went to my High School AND went to the same college who was like 5 years older than me. I said "I want to be as good as ___________." His response was "You're better than __________ when they graduated from college, right now."

Dang, that's nice. I sort of walked around thumping my chest for a couple days until I was confronted with all the little issues in my playing. Then I came back down to earth pretty quickly. Looking back on it, my teacher was doing the same thing. He's an incredible player, but as I see it now he was totally messing with his playing too. He had, as I feel I do now, a massive understanding of playing, literature, etc, but he wasn't satisfied. How do I know?

I remember hunting for literature and him just pulling things off the shelf. The time he came up with Hindemith's "Acht Stucke" and saying "Let's try this" was pretty interesting. It's a piece for unaccompanied Flute, I guess that says it all. It felt like a challenge "Can you learn this?" I bet it was also a personal challenge "Can I teach you this?"

I loved the challenge. I played many pieces like this and every one had the same caveat attached "Can you learn this?" I guess that's where I'm at now. Can I make this tweak to my sound? Can I slightly change my tooth position on the mouthpiece and make it stick? Can I start opening the first finger completely on Altissimo C# and D? Can I totally eliminate the "spit sound" even if my reed is horrible today or too soft today? Can I learn a tight french vibrato?

Every time I want to make a change it's always spurred by this thought "Man, I suck!" Now, I know I don't, but I can't help but feel that way sometimes. My Director in H.S. used to always advise everyone to keep around them papers and tests you got incredible grades on because sometimes you need to be reminded that you can do this, especially when you feel like you can't. I've got plenty of things like that around me as assurance, but I'm never going to get TOO into them, because if I do I'll get a big head about me.

I guess everyone's in this state of flux. Man, I rock. Man, I suck. Not in a Manic sort of way, it's just that sometimes you're doing great and sometimes you're not. I hope I'm always trending up, that's all. I get concerned that I might be going backwards. Sometimes, just like in life, you have no idea what to do to not be going down. Sometimes you have a pretty good idea what to do but you aren't sure how to enact your ideas, and it's hard not to get down on yourself because you don't know what to do.

It's so hard to fall back to this sometimes, since we're human and prone to stupidity:

Phillipians 4:13(NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Part of the strengthening must be the quest for betterment, but it's still of Him who shows you the way. It's a delicate balance between striving and improving. It's so hard to find the place where you can say "This makes me better and I'm not acting like a raving lunatic to get there."

Things That Bug Me: Playing Really High

2009-02-21T13:32:00.001-05:00

Things That Bug Me: Playing Really High on the Bass Clarinet

I've been blessed with an extensive altissimo from early in my career. Actually, I'll never forget switching back to Bass Clarinet as a sophomore in H.S. and getting my first lesson in playing high. A guy who had just graduated (and was a phenomenal player in his own right) taught me how to play up to a Double C. I kind of held onto that and when I studied ith my first really good private teacher she started every lesson saying "Alright, let's play the "Traumatic Scale". She called it that because it was supposed to go up to Altissimo G every time and lots of her students didn't like that. However, that combination of the Double C and a really good private teacher birthed this altissimo renaissance in my playing.

Within a year I knew how to play up to Double C with techincal proficency and I made fast friends with someone who wrote a couple pieces for me. Back in the day he wrote his first piece for me, a concerto, in Db Major and wrote in some Double Eb's and said "Can you play this? I wrote it in pen." Well, now I'm stuck. So, I figured out Double Eb in short order and worked out some 4 octave scales. At current my Eb, E and F scales (written) are 4 octaves.

I found a fingering chart by Terje Lerstad that went far higher than I could have imagined and began employing the notes that were even higher than Double F in an "eek it out" performance practice. I ended up using a "Triple C" in a gliss from Double C to Triple C on the last note of the Artie Shaw "Concerto for Clarinet". It won me a second place tie with a Clarinet performance major (one year my senior) in a Concerto Competition.

At that point I decided to draw a line in the sand and start to categorize the "pretty altissimo" and the "it-comes-out" altissimo. Pretty went up to double F, it-comes-out went up to Triple Eb. I don't sit around using these notes all the time, but they do come in handy when I want to play something that isn't for Bass Clarinet and I want to play the piece at pitch.

Now comes the hard part. How do I get these notes to come out at all?

Increasing your range on any instrument is a slow progression. Wherever you're starting is good enough. If you can barely cross the break, that's ok. Start where you're at. Regardless of where I started I'd be playing everything the same way. No massive embouchure changes, no serious changes in air flow, nothing crazy. The only thing I would change is the throat shaping I'm using to produce the pitch. Now, from Low Eb on Bass Clarinet to Altissimo G should all be done the EXACT same way. Only above this note do you need different throat voicings to get the notes to speak clearly.

I would recommend playing up to whatever note you can get up to and stopping. Try to make that note and the 3 notes below it sound pretty good. Don't be satisfied with something that's just "alright" really work toward a very solid tone that is beginning to show your unique characteristics...a tone that fits YOUR tonal profile...then move on. Make sure the 3 notes before each successive pitch sound good as well and continue moving up the instrument. Straining, fussing and fighting won't do you any good, but consistent, steady, stoic practice will. Make sure you're playing all these notes up to Altissimo G just as you would play the lowest notes on the instrument, regardless of how high they are.

When you reach the Altissimo (C# just above the staff) then you will need to make sure that you are depressing the half hole lever (which will uncover the actual "half hole") You can't live without the half hole being open from now on. Once again, no straining, no fussing, no fighting, no hootin', no hollerin', nothing. Just play until the note speaks. Passing up the altissimo G you enter a whole new realm. Before I get into how to make these notes speak, I'll list the fingerings that I use to make them go. These may not work for you on your instrument. Personally, I play Leblanc Bass Clarinets, so if you have a Selmer, or whatever, then these may not be perfect for you, but they're probably awful close.

When I say 123 I'm talking left hand fingers.
When I say 456 I'm talking right hand fingers.
R means right pinky and L means left pinky(followed by the note the key plays.)
Reg means register key and T means thumb.
F after the 4 or 5 key means the fork key.
C# after the 123 keys means the banana key that plays low C#.
HH means the half hole is open.
S after the 12 keys is the sliver key.
SK means side keys and 1 is the lowest key and 4 is the highest key(ex. SK1).
A and Ab denotes the left hand A and Ab keys.
When I say LL after the note I'm denoting how many ledger lines it is above the Treble Clef staff (ex. 4 LL = 4 Ledger Lines above the treble clef staff.)
Got it? Cool! Off we go.

Altissimo Ab (4 ledger lines above the staff) T Reg HH SK1
A (4 LL) T Reg HH 2 3
Bb (5 LL) T Reg HH 2 3 C#
B (5 LL) T Reg HH 2
C (5 LL) T Reg HH 2 SK1
C# (5 LL) T Reg HH SK1
D (6 LL) T Reg HH 2 3 C#
Eb (6 LL) Open
E (6 LL) T Reg 1 4
F (7 LL) T Reg 1
F# (7 LL) T Reg HH 2 3 4 6
G (7 LL) T Reg 2 5 REb
G# (7 LL) T Reg Ab 2 5 REb
A (8 LL) T Reg HH 2 3 4 6 REb
Bb (8 LL) T Reg 2 5 REb
B (8 LL) T Reg HH 2 SK1
C (9 LL) T Reg (HH) 2 3 4 5 or (T Reg HH 2 SK1)
C# (9 LL) T Reg (HH) 2 3 4 6 or (T Reg HH SK1)
D (9 LL) T Reg (HH) 2 3 5 6
Eb (10 LL) T Reg (HH) 2 3 5

That's all I've got at current. Terje's fingering chart actually goes higher and, of course, I use alot of fingerings from his chart, so don't think they were my idea! So, what to do...

This is the hardest thing to learn and the easiest thing to remember once you get it. It will be very much like learning to ride a bike. Promise.

If you're using a saxophone-like embouchure then you already have a nice amount of lip on the reed. Don't shy away from that. As you push with your throat and all the funny voicings start to jump out your lip being on the reed will cause a divide in the reed and give you all kinds of harmonics. This is excellent stuff, don't be afraid of it, you just don't have control of it yet. Heck, sometimes I don't have control of it.

When you ascend the instrument all the pressure is going to be coming from the back of your throat. As you increase and decrease pressure the aperture at the back of your throat gets larger and smaller. Sometimes you don't have to do a whole lot to get a speak as you push "a bit" newer, higher notes come out. Occasionally, you'll find a note that only speaks and a specific point, at a specific frequency inside your throat. For me, this note is Double A, for you it could be something else. Whatever you do, DO NOT apply massive pressure to the reed to get what you want. There is already pressure on the reed and you may need a tiny bit more to get a good sound...I can live with that, but do NOT try to do all this with your lip....it won't work. No joke people.

Westward Bass Clarinets!

Superior Performances 2.20.09

2009-02-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

This is just to prove that Jacqueline du Pre was one of the finest instrumentalists of her generation. Keep in mind that she had to stop playing at 28 because she had MS and she was THIS good. Her tone is indescribable, it's certainly not like most Cellos I've heard, almost hypnotic in nature. Enjoy Bruch's "Kol Nidrei"

Does vibrato = tone?

2009-02-18T12:00:00.001-05:00

I don't think that I've ever considered this question thoroughly. For years in High School I constantly heard "The vibrato is NOT the tone, it is an embellishment of the tone." a concept which I still agree with in simplicity. However, how many people use their vibrato as their tone successfully? Could those same people play without vibrato successfully? What is so alluring about vibrato? How do you learn to play with vibrato?

Personally, I never once took a lesson or played one single exercise involving vibrato. One day, my Director said to me "You know, you should try playing with vibrato." I was off.

I went to two people I respected as musicians and said "So, how do you do that?" The first, a supreme Alto Saxophonist said "Don't try too hard, just vibrate your air, from your lip and your diaphragm, don't try to do too much of one or the other." The second, a supreme Bassoonist and Saxophonist, started outlining all these exercises that required vibrating with the metronome. I said "Cool, thanks" then went on my merry way. So, I never practived it, I just started doing it.

Rehearsal was the best place to work this stuff out because I was at the front of the section and no one was questioning me. I furthered that by being tactful and not making the vibrato known until I thought I could do it tastefully. A few months later I was using vibrato all the time. Well, what kind was it? I don't know, my vibrato is probably as broad as you can play it before people would recognize it as slow. Back then the only vibrato title, and still the only, I knew was "french vibrato." Ewwww, the dastardly french vibrato. Too fast, too intense, too much vibrating, not enough sound. Probably the reason I tend to play on the slow end.

So, is it acceptable on Bass Clarinet? Is someone going to yell at you if they catch you using it? Well, I've been jumped all over more than once by sectionmates in an adult band because the vibrato was messing them up. Sorry, that's just how I do. Funny thing, nobody ever complained before. So, you might step on some toes, but the toes you're stepping on are not super sure what's going on, so they may just rebel, that's ok, we're all human.

How do I do this stuff? Well, look at it this way. Vibrato is a slight flucuation of the overall tone and pitch. In order to play with an effective vibrato you have to have a good ear. If you're not sure what "in tune" sounds like, then you are not ready for this. Perhaps doing an intonation chart is a good place to start. Get a sheet of paper and warm-up. Tune the instrument to open G. Now, start at the bottom of the instrument and play chromatically all the way up the horn. Play every note "mezzo mezzo" (if you don't your volume will distort the pitch.) Write down for every note how flat or sharp it was. Now, you have somewhere to start. As you begin to vibrate you'll now what you're doing to certain notes. Without this information you'll be continually vibrating notes that are already out of tune, meaning they are most likely vibrating even MORE out of tune.

Don't attempt to vibrate too much. The vibration comes mostly from your air column, meaning down deep. You've got to be able to have the air column vibrating before the air leaves your mouth. Solely using the lip will sound more like a novelty act than classical music.

Don't attempt to vibrate all the time. The vibration needs to be reserved for notes that sound good vibrated. For example, when "An American Elegy" begins the first note is in the low woodwinds and brass. Just a simple low F I believe. You can't vibrate this note. It doesn't make sense. You've got to use some musical sense. Moreover, you can't attempt to vibrate this note to try to make it sound good. You've good to have another method to enter and sound nice. Vibrato doesn't always equal pretty.

If you are incapable of beginning notes without slapping the note upside the head then vibrato isn't for you. If you cannot "non-articulate" or breath attack a note, then you can't substitute vibrato for poor fundamentals.

If you don't sound fundamentally good, meaning you can't produce a characteristic tone on the instrument, then you cannot substitute vibrato for the tone. Vibrato will only make you sound worse.

So, as you can see, at its base vibrato does not equal tone. However...

I've been messing around with a french-style vibrato for a couple months. Let me tell you something, this stuff really works. Now, I'm 31, so this means I've got 15 years under my belt playing with a vibrato but I've found that with a massive amount of control will allow you to vibrate so tightly (notice I didn't say quickly) that the vibrato and the tone meld into one unit, it's pretty cool. So, a french vibrato is NOT fast and obnoxious, but tight, controlled, and blended.

Does that mean it equals the tone? No, but it does have "refrigerator rights" with tone. There's big difference here. Find it, and a solid french vibrato you will have.

How would I recommend practicing vibrato for vibrato's sake? Play stuff. I tend to stay with the Rose Studies. 32, 40, who cares, as long as it's solid music. Teach yourself how to put the vibrato in there and how to control it. As before, the other best place is rehearsal. When you're tactful no one is going to know you're folling around with a vibrato, but it will improve because you'll be playing it pretty regularly.

So, to answer the question; No, vibrato does not equal tone. It just has equal rights.

How about some basketball?

2009-02-17T18:48:00.002-05:00

Alright, football season is over and now it's time for Basketball!

In case I haven't made it clear, I'm a Lakers guy. Right now, they're the best team in the league, and alot of good that did us last season ;o(

Currently, Kobe is still the best player in Basketball. I'm not a Lebron hater, I just know Kobe's better. Currently, Andrew Bynum is out and we're not suffering. Currently, Phil Jackson is still the best coach of all time. Forget that he had MJ in Chicago, because he had little else beyond Scottie. Currently, we are facing a strong Eastern Conference and a stronger Western Conference. I always get nervous around teams that SHOULD make me nervous. Boston and San Antonio. I never get nervous with teams that should NEVER make me nervous (try Indiana in 2000, or Philly in 2001.)

Why?

Boston because they're our arch-enemies. They're Lex Luthor to our Superman. They're the Joker to our Batman. I respect the Celtics, I hate them, but I respect them. San Antonio is boring, and they play the dirtiest player in the history of basketball, Bruce Bowen. In case I wasn't clear, I AM a Bruce Bowen hater. Mainly because he makes far too much money to do something I could easily do, break all the rules of Basketball and fair play, intentionally injure people, and prove that I have no talent (which I don't.) So yeah, I hate the Spurs AND I don't respect them.

The rest of the pack worries me not. Do you really want me to be scared by LeBron? He can't win a title in Cleveland. The only way that's happening is if Phil starts coaching him. (See the parallel, unreal superstar, nothing around him? That's not a job for Mike Brown, which is a shame, because I kinda like him.) Then there's the whole crab dribble thing. Listen "king", that's called traveling. Just tell it like it is.

Are the Hornets supposed to make me nervous? Once again, Chris Paul, David West, and what? Nothing. The Lake Show always has a million playmakers, not two. The Celts always have a million playmakers, not two. Even the Spurs (who I hate, don't forget) have multiple playmakers. So basically, it's down to 3 teams. LA, SA, and BOS. That's it. Some other teams are really good.

The Magic, Nuggets, Mavericks, Blazers, and Rockets and are all very good teams. Honestly, do we expect these teams to go anywhere? Hmmmm, let's see: Hasn't been anywhere yet, doesn't have enough pieces, their window closed, wasted a number 1 pick, and can't get out of the first round Yeah, I trust them. (wink, wink)

And no, I don't want Shaq back in LA. Did you see Kobe after the All-Star game? He doesn't want any part of that. I think it's clear, Shaq's at fault here. He's the instigator, and probably has been from the beginning. Anybody who has to come up with a new nickname for himself every 5 seconds has got to be hard to deal with. No, he's not a cuddly teddy bear, he's a nuisance, even if he is one of the best players ever (which he is.)

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College basketball is always more complicated. Somebody always comes out of the woodwork at tournament time. Somebody's always sneaking aorund as a 2-4 seed and totally has the best chance at winning it all, but gets no press (see Arizona 1997, everybody knew they were good and no one recognized them until they won title game.)

There will be a ton of mid-majors who come out swinging and give much bigger teams a hard time(see Bucknell.) Someone will always emerge as the next big thing (see Stephen Curry, my favorite player right now.) Some team will look like a juggernaut until they can't hold it together anymore (see North Carolina.)

About North Carolina. Tyler Hansrough will last about as long as I would in the NBA (two seconds) and he's not a finisher. Sean May was a finisher. I knew Christian Laettner was a finisher first hand:

(That's one of the best plays in the history of sports people.) (Did I mention a Duke guy, yep always have been, even when they went to the Final Four in '88 and got destroyed in '90 by UNLV.)

Gregg Ostertag was a better finisher than Tyler Hansbrough. He's not even the player of the year, Blake Griffin or Stephen Curry is. So please, stop talking aobut him like he's the second coming.

When Kansas won the title game last year I realized that I don't dislike Kansas basketball. I dislike Roy Williams. He's got that one championship because he had the perfect confluence of players at the perfect time. They took him to a title, not the other way around. So, please don't tell me that he's going to push them through again this year. He won't, he's not capable.

Rest assured of this: North Carolina will not win a title this year, UCONN is still better than you think, Pitt's even better than that, and UCLA always lurks. Beware the sure thing, it never comes through in college basketball, not since 1976.

Things That Bug Me: Playing Loud

2009-02-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Playing loud....ahhhhhh, the glory days. There was a time when I viewed the Bass Clarinet purely as a volume machine. "How loud can I play this?" was the question settling on me every time I got to rehearsal. Yeah, I could play sensitively, but really, I wanted to just blast somebody out of their chair. That's fun stuff. For the longest time I never considered exactly how I could produce as much tone as I did. I was NEVER once brought down to size for playing with a bad sound, and only occasionally called on the carpet for playing out of balance.

That's the beauty of playing a low instrument, no matter how loud you play (if you sound good) you are bound to blend in. Now, I'm in no way saying that you shouldn't be sensitive to the ensemble or that you should totally abandon musical taste, but what I am saying is you have alot more leeway with volume than you think. The band is built from the bottom and a weakling will never be heard over an orchestra. It's a wonderful position to be in, to be at a seat where you can hear everything and support it at the same time. Honestly, I don't know how you can sit in the Flute section and not be able to drive the group. I'd get bored so quickly my little head would spin around. Besides, those instruments naturally carry. You could sneeze into a Flute and get a sound that will carry to the back of the hall. Put any kind of air into a Trumpet and someone will hear you. Sneeze into a Bass Clarinet and what do you get? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

That's why this is so important. You're going to be overcoming natural tendencies of the instrument. If you're playing Bass Clarinet and you find yourself not being heard. Not able to bring yourself, as Grainger would say "To The Fore", not able to really carry a group, being kept in the background, then you have a world of obstacles to overcome. How do I produce more sound? Am I using the right reeds? Am I using the right mouthpiece? Am I using the wrong embouchure? How do I get more air out of me and into my horn? Read on, this is not about produing a unique tone, this about making sure people hear your unique tone.

Let's start with air. This is always the easiest thing to fix. I'd say most people breathe too shallowly and allow for too little expansion of their lungs. When you sit to play, be sure that your back is straight, and this requires that you lean slightly forward in your chair and over the instrument. (This is also the point at which I recommend you use a floor peg AND a neck strap. No exceptions.) Placing the peg slightly under your chair allows you to lean slightly over the instrument and get your face up over the mouthpiece. This is a much more desirable angle for playing. Doing this also allows your neck to be straight which gives you a clean line from your lungs and through your mouth to blow air. If you're standing you can easily mimic this posture as long as you have a neckstrap that tightens well and doesn't slip (I prefer DeJacques, they can't be beat.)

As far as getting air into your lungs, well, you just have to suck all the air out of the room with every breath. Your lungs have an amazing capacity to expand and to learn to function better than they do now. Even if you have a respiratory disorder (personally, I have asthma) then controlled and methodical use of your lungs will increase your lung capacity and potentially lower your need for medication (it did in my case.) As you continually work your lungs you'll find yourself becoming stronger and stronger. Over time you'll find that you may not be able to hold your breath longer, but you'll be able to broaden your tone because there will be SOME improvement in the amount of air you can take in. I've seen Freddy Martin (a DCI Hall of Famer) do very cool exercises that involve breathing and simple stretching (as I could see, it was to stretch the ribcage.) It's, by far, the best exercise regimen I've seen for wind players. Try combining those things sometime. My wife does Pilates (really well) and there's "Pilates Breathing" involved. But what if, just what if, you could do hard core wind breathing while doing something like Pilates? Nice combo I think. I'm not a fitness professional, but I'll say...anything that stretches your ribcage would be mighty helpful(Heather says a good mermaid should do ya.) The expanse in your ribcage helps an awful lot. Doing this to simple patterns (breathe in 4 and out 4, in 4 out 8, in 4 out 12, etc.) will greatly improve your lung strength.

Forcing the air out of your lungs requires sheer force of will. There's no substitute for desire here. You either want to get the air out or you don't. If it were me and I were trying to come about this on my own I'd play leaning over and squatting (causing me to contract my abdomen.) I knew a girl who was a Flute Performance major as an undergrad and she came back from her first semester of school telling us how her teacher told her to practice like that. I tried it for a while....it works (actually, it forces you to work like a dog to get something out of your instrument. Plus, I probably didn't do it enough.) I've also heard from someone who studied at the same school I went to that her/our teacher had her practice laying on her back. The idea is that you MUST be "wasting your air", moving it as fast as possible. Just remember this, in all of these exercises you should be training your body to push air up from the base of each lung, from your diaphragm (as if you've never heard that before.) People say it all the time, but they leave out the part where you exhale with your diaphragm. Yep, those details will get you every time.

Only one more topic to cover before you go and apply this stuff. Your setup. It really doesn't matter what mouthpiece you're using, and reeds are only slightly more important. I played on a Yamaha 4C and 2.5's all the way through my Sophomore year of college (now, that's NOT a volume-friendly setup.) You can produce a very broad, quality sound as long as your reeds are not too hard for you. The only thing stopping you now is repetition. If you're in an ensemble on a regular basis then you have ample opportunity to learn how to move air into your instrument. You have ample opportunity to experiment with your tone without ruining it for the group. If you only have the outlet of individual practice then you must LIVE with long tones. Stay in the middle of the instrument for as long as possible until you feel you're getting somewhere. It's at this point that you might want to try moving progressively up and down the instrument, being very careful to play as full on the bottom and top of the horn as you do in the middle. You'll discover that it is (obviously) more difficult to maintain a CONSISTENT volume the higher and lower you get on the instrument.

Imagine your sound as a box.

(Go ahead, I'll wait...........)

Now imagine that box in various sizes depending on the volume you're playing. If you're playing, as my Assistant Director in H.S. would say "Prit-ty Darn Loud" then that box is "Prit-ty Darn Big." Now, as you move up and down the horn you have to keep the box the same size, no matter what note you're playing. As an individual this is considered "uniformity of tone." I know, it sounds fancy, but it means just what we talked about.... you tone doesn't make this drastic change with every change in pitch.

This is something that LOTS of people have problems with, but never really know it (Kind of like in Romans 7:7 when Paul says '...For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire.') If I had never heard of Tony Kniffen from my buddy and his whole thing about uniformity of tone I would have no idea I had a HUGE problem with that. This is a two way street people. If you figure something out, share it because you never know who may NOT know what's up unless you tell them. The moral of this story is simple. You don't have to play a volume friendly setup to produce volume. The setup doesn't produce volume, you do. Your instrument doesn't produce volume, you do. Go forth, be merry, and produce......sound that is.

Superior Performances 2.13.09

2009-02-13T12:00:00.003-05:00

This is the finest orchestra in world, in my opinion. The Chicago Symphony is the mack-daddy/big cheese of professional orchestras. They have always had the finest brass section in the world (which I am treating you with in this video) and have a marvelous Clarinet Section to boot. Everybody else is, you know, unreal! Basically, the last chair, inside, 2nd violinist would be playing high 1st part in some other orchestra.

This is a 1993 performance and profile of the CSO playing Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben" with Daniel Barenboim conducting. This is, by far, my favorite work of Strauss (which sucks because I've been called to play it twice down here and haven't been able to.) Even more fascinating is Barenboim's marriage to Jacqueline DuPre and his care for her until her untimely death from MS in 1987. She is also a subject of the movie "Hilary and Jackie." Oh, and she was one of the finest instrumentalists of her generation. Enjoy Barenboim, the CSO and Ein Heldenleben.

So, why did I pick that show anyways?

2009-02-11T19:08:00.002-05:00

So, Cadets 2000 was my music of choice for my birthday trip. If you know me, then you know why I picked it. It's, by far, the best show on the topic, and one of the best shows to ever hit any field. The score is useless, everyone knows Cavies had no business tying Cadets that night (the shame of that is that I really liked Cavies 2000 show), but something really irks me about that tie. It's the beginning of the end.

It's the beginning of the end of demand being judged. Watch the two shows back to back and tell me that the Cavies show has 1/10th the demand that the Cadets show has. Now, tell me the execution on the easier show was so good that it warranted the same score as a show that was nearly as well executed, yet 1000% harder. Come on, I'm waiting. You can't do it. Nor can anybody else. Wait, maybe Cadets so under-performed their show that it drug them down to Cavies level. Ummm, nope.

This was the beginning of the end. The beginning of the Cavies taking advantage of judges who teach middle school chorus, or have no affiliation with musical pursuits at all, except during the summer, and getting them to score them at the top of Box 5 when it's clean, but not hard. And by not hard, I mean NOT hard. Like, Cadets, or BD, or SCV could hold an emergency camp and learn the entire Cavies 2000 show in a couple days. Yes, I'm serious.

Now this trend has hit Bands of America. Demand isn't being judged. All shows are on an equal playing field. Hear that flushing noise? That's demand going down the toilet. If I do "Rite of Spring" and you do "Come to Jesus" (in whole notes) those shows are judged the same. How is that?

People are playing to win. People are trying to win and underserving their students. Directors are trying to make a name for themselves at the expense of their students. If you know about American Marching Bands you know who I'm talking about. The sad part, they haven't won a title yet, and probably never will, especially since their window is closing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but..............

If you but a good product on the field and you happen to win, then more power to you. If you don't, oh well. I've been there, I know. I'm not scarred by it. I don't think any other kid would be either (even if you came up .025 short.)

Tell me that this difference is the difference between kids being underserved by Directors who want to be famous and kids being pushed to the limit for the sake of learning. Please. Tell me this is the new Alpha.

Tell me Phantom ended this madness once and for all and we can get back to putting on a show, not a scoring machine.

So........

2009-02-10T19:33:00.001-05:00

I need to make an addendum to my birthday post. I actually went somewhere alot better than Savannah and I've got music that's even better than "Savannah River Holiday." Can you guess where I was? We'll call it, where's the Music Man?

What is Transformative Learning?

2009-02-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

So, someone e-mailed Heather a while ago with this insane question (from a professor to a Graduate Studies Class) about Transformative Learning. Heather turned to me immediately and said "Can you think of an example of Transformative Learning?" I totally thought of my best musical one right off the bat......

I'm in a lesson in college and we're working on the Rose 32 (I can't remember which one, but that's unimportant.) Anyways, we're talking about how to inflect the melodic line and how to make it sound interesting and how to play it your way without sounding stupid. We go on further and then this example totally rocked my little 19 year old, musical brain 'Are you saying "I'M going to Chicago" or "I'm GOing to Chicago" or "I'm going TO Chicago" or "I'm going to CHICAgo"?' Wow, it IS that simple! There's not a magical, pixie dust formula for all music? Sweet! I still teach and play that way to this day. Not only does it inform me greatly, but it makes every performance of something I'm doing different than the one before. I'm no longer just trying to play, I'm trying to speak elegantly through my instrument. (Dissertation on this to come at a later date :op)

So, after I threw that one out there and felt all good about it I forgot about it; until the other day when I was thinking (and this is probably what the original questionee said) Transformative Learning is the process of walking out faith in Christ. Duh! Why didn't I think of that the other day? So, I found all these transformation verses. I like finding stuff like this since there's so much of the Bible to discover.

2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.(NIV)

That feels nice doesn't it? To me that's a total assurance of my salvation in Christ, having already accepted Christ into my life. Not only that, it's like we're his little kids and He's writing to his friends about how great all His kids are ("You see the depths of my heart and you love me the same", (I did that one from memory too!) If, as it says, each one of us is a letter (and I wish we were a letter-writing generation) then we, like a letter, develop from start to finish. A letter today (a couple paragraphs) isn't like the letters of old. Back in the day that's all people had, heck, we have whole books of certain peoples letters (Beethoven, Mozart, whomever.) Those letters went at length about all sorts of things: good, bad, happy, sad, hot, cold, everything. The letter's transforming from one topic to another, one idea to another, just as we change from one season to another.

I love that word season. The Christians I hang around say it ALL THE TIME. A season is a time when God puts you in places you need to be to place love "on tablets of human hearts." If we weren't assured in our salvation there would be no seasons in our lives, no development, a 21st Century-one-paragraph-letter. At that point God would be casting us aside as He so chose. That is not the heart of God...He wants to develop us, as a letter, to His people and to those who have not yet cast their eyes upon Him and opened their hearts to Him.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (NIV)

The part I like most about this is "...by the renewing of your mind." To me, everyday goes right after that. As God's writing your life, as a letter, He's constantly challenging you, convicting you on things that you'd never had a conviction about before(or changing convictions you already had), showing things you never noticed before, giving you new compassion for those around you, doing all sorts of things that help prevent you from conforming to the world. Our Senior Pastor likes to say He's "depopulating hell". That doesn't mean you're having this major epiphany everyday. (That might be too much to handle.) But, you are seeing things a little bit differently everyday as you become more and more like Him, like what He wants you to be. Not only do I believe you'll be able "...to test and approve what God's will is...", but you'll also be able to accept that His will is higher than yours, that He is sovereign, and that you don't REALLY have control.

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. (NIV)

Here is hope. Hope that when we're done here that there is a place that is so glorious, so incredible, that words do not describe it. Not, cannot...do not. That there is no pain, no suffering, nothing. A place that God made for His people that He's showing us glimpses of daily. Our Senior Pastor at Church once proposed that this is "...our daily bread." Man, that's pretty smart. He's going to transform us, one day *like this....since He's trying to show us daily* into something that is so Awesome (there's that word again) that we cannot even fathom it. Alright! Now that's Transformative Learning! Can I get an Amen!

It's my birthday, na na na na naaa naaaaaaaa

2009-02-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

In honor of my birthday (number 31) I have the only piece that could commemorate my surprise birthday trip.

I actually played this at a conference in college, but we were in Jacksonville. Oh well. Enjoy!

Superior Performances 2.6.09

2009-02-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

Alrighty, I know I've said I don't particularly care for this corps' stuff, but this is the MAJOR exception to that rule. When they leave the whole "these shows are what Cavies base all their ridiculous-not-related-to-the-show-latin/jazz 'park and blows' on" then I'm REALLY happy. This show is called "Methods of Madness" but if you've ever seen "North by Northwest" then you'll see that that's what's really going on. If you get the gist of the movie then you'll appreciate the ending of this show that much more. Extremely well played show...and they came in 2nd! Dang!

This is creeping me out

2009-02-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

So, they've been showing "V for Vendetta" constantly on FX. Heather and I rented it not soon after it came out and it was (and still is) a biting social commentary. However, upon watching it a second time I am reminded of how eerily close we came to allowing this country to become the UK that is portrayed in the film. Thankfully, I don't think we're THAT stupid in this country as to allow a nutbag zealot to take over and force his "religion" (not faith, not Christianity, just a cover really, a bastardization of Jesus' intent for the church that could be used to attain absolute power.) That in and of itself is disgusting...revolting even.

This second watching gives me pause to thank the Lord our Father for His protection over us. No matter how badly anyone wanted to take power in this country only the Lord grants it and he takes it at His will. His will reigns....now if we could only teach that to our "public servants".

Yes, James Bond is the man

2009-02-04T12:00:00.001-05:00

So, I heard this story on the radio a couple months ago. They had this music blogger on and he had done a top ten James Bond theme songs thing and they had him on to discuss it. Well, when he chose "You Only Live Twice" as Number One I knew there was a problem. However, I didn't have a blog back then. Now, I do. So, here goes.

Basically, the James Bond theme song accompanies the credits after the opening sequence of the movie, but it also gives you an idea as to what the movie's going to be about. Sometimes it's really vague, sometimes it's really obvious. It's also become a place where the Broccolis (the producers) can throw in a big name singer or band and get some super cache just from superstar X singing the theme to the movie. Sometimes said band isn't super-super and you may have never heard of them and you discover their music and like them all over again. Sometimes you discover super band X, love the theme, and then generally hate all the rest of their music. Sometimes the theme song is a super pop hit ("Nobody Does it Better") and sometimes you wonder how it got in a James Bond movie at all ("Tomorrow Never Dies")

In my personal opinion the song needs to say something about the movie, be really well written, even better performed, and, if it's really good, require a second listen after you've watched the movie. (BTW - This is NOT my top ten James Bond Movies. That list would come out different.)

10 "Nobody Does it Better"/Carly Simon from "The Spy Who Loved Me"

"Nobody Does it Better" is a total classic late 70's/early 80's power-pop-ballad. Not only does it totally fit the period in which the movie was made (1977) but it was a hit! If you listen closely to the song you can catch on to the whole love - hate - love/hate dynamic that plays out throughout the movie. What can I say, it's a great song! Plus, who doesn't enjoy Carly Simon? (And don't lie. Don't act like...."I'm a man, Carly Simon sucks!" Admit it, you're soooooo vain.)

9 "Diamonds are Forever" / Shirley Bassey

Alright, this song is on here for one reason.... Dame Shirley Bassey. If you don't know who Shirley Bassey is please get acquainted. (I actually listened to recordings of her few years back when I was retooling my sound.) This song is right to the point, totally indicative of what the movie is about, totally hints at the fact that this movie is REALLY funny. It's simple, and wonderful!

8 "A View to a Kill" / Duran Duran

Alrighty, another hit. I remember hearing this song on the radio back in the 80's. Yes, I remember the 80's, and I liked them. (Who are you to judge me!? Please pardon the minor Golden Girls reference.) Anyways, this song is insane. Totally whacked out (much like Max Zorin [and you wondered if I liked Christopher Walken!]), very 80's, and very off the wall. Yet, a major hit.

7 "The Man With The Golden Gun" / Lulu

If you're wondering who Lulu is, I was too. No matter, she's sings the song really well and it has this sort of eastern/70's feel which really fits not only the locale in the movie, but the time period of the movie. Once again, straight to the point. Wonderful song! However, on multiple listenings you start to get more of the lyrics and the multiple parts of the movie they're talking about all at once. My only gripe is that is doesn't end a tiny bit sooner. I really like "We.....Shall....See....." It could totally end right there.

6 "Goldfinger" / Shirley Bassey

Here's Shirley again. Yes, she's the real McCoy. Basically all that needs to be said about this song is the way she says "Goldfinger." Yeah, that's it. She's incredible.

5 "Thunderball" / Tom Jones

Way too many people hate on Tom Jones. Yeah, he doesn't have this massive range, but he has a powerful voice and a voice that was perfectly matched to this song. The song also perfectly matches the movie. Thunderball is pretty grandiose in scale (especially for 1964) and a grandiose song fits perfectly. Besides, who doesn't love that ole Tom can hold the last note of the song for like, a year. Come on, you know you like it!

4 "Live and Let Die" / Paul McCartney and Wings

Hit, hit, hit!!! You can STILL hear this song on oldies stations, sometimes multiple times per day. It's Paul McCartney. It's a perfect play on the phrase "Live and Let Live" (actually, moreso than the movie is.) It's imminently coverable (see Guns N Roses [and yes, their cover is good.]) It moves. It is in the American consciousness. Even if you could care less about James Bond movies you know this song. Yeah, Paul rocks!

3 "Goldeneye" / Tina Turner

Tina Turner is 69 years old people. Have you seen a picture of her lately. The woman is 69 and looks incredible. Moreover, she can SING! Bono and The Edge wrote this song and it definitely carries the feelings of anger and of being sullied by the business that Pierce Brosnan carries of in the movie so well. I would also say that this song has the second best art production for the credits in any Bond movie. Classic stuff.

2 "The World is Not Enough" / Garbage

Garbage is one of those bands I mentioned earlier. The theme song they do is soooooo good, then you try some of their other music and you're like "Dang, I didn't think it was gonna be like that!" The song is basically the premise of the movie....that one phrase...."The World is Not Enough." If you've watched alot of James Bond you know that he had one love in his entire life, and she's dead(putting what her name is aside, we know there was really only one.) That one line is where the entire movie is going. This song is constructed solely around that one line and James Bond's deep-seeded inability to get close to anyone. Then, when he finally does, he realizes he broke his own rules and he gets pushed to the edge and BANG! Yep, that's good stuff people.

1 "You Know My Name" / Chris Cornell

Here we go. This is the definitive Bond theme song, attached to the definitive Bond movie, and the definitive James Bond...Daniel Craig. This has the best Art Direction of any credit sequence of any Bond movie (the playing card graphics are killer.) This song makes sense when you listen to it the first time. Then makes more sense when you listen again after you've watched the movie. The third time you get even more out of it, and the fourth, and the fifth, you get the idea. The song completely parallels what's going on in the movie and is extremely insightful into the persona that becomes (not is, you don't get like that until after you suffer like he does in the movie) James Bond. It's perfectly written and played and sung even better by Chris Cornell. I'd say Soundgarden and Audioslave were exactly the preparation that were needed to write the grittiest, most honest Bond theme that preceeds the grittiest, most honest Bond movie. Enjoy!

Things That Bug Me: Playing Across the Break

2009-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

This one drives me bonkers! The break is viewed by so many as this incredible barrier, a musical firewall, a Macedonian Phalanx

the Western Front of the Clarinet(except it's not all quiet), the Great Wall of Break. Like it's this impossibility that cannot be crossed (you know, like when you see that lady who swam across the English Channel and everyone thought "You're out of your mind!") The word break has such a nasty connotation in musical circles. Clarinetists and Band Directors alike curse its name and try to avoid it as much as possible. It's this fear that causes people to not be able to do anything about it.

That attitude drives me crazy. "Well, it's just hard so I can't do it." or "OK kids, now this is REALLY hard but don't freak out because you'll probably never get it anyways." or "This part doesn't "lay well" because it crosses the break." I've heard all of this and more. It's always the same thing "That's so hard, oh no, I can't do it!" Excuse, excuse, excuse (or in the word's of Bob Harper "Talk, talk, talk! Words, words, words!)

Uggghhhhhhhhhhh, enough already!

*OK, deep, calming breaths*

Let's make sure we're all talking about the same thing. The break is the space between Middle B and C and the throat tones on the Clarinet. This space requires you to put down all your fingers again, press the register key, and start all over again going up the horn. It sounds harder than it really is. Now for the demystification...

Approaching the break is probably the easiest place to trip yourself up. Most people get near any kind of jump that requires crossing the break and they immediately psych themselves out. "Oh gosh, here it comes!!!", then a massive burst of air shoots forth and fingers go down all in a jumble and "SQUAWK!!!!" Yep, it's already all over. Basically, everything was done wrong in this scenario. (Oh, and by everything, I mean, EVERYTHING!)

First thing's first. When approaching the break you need to find other ways to read the music. Is there a sequence going on? Some kind of pattern that allows you to just keep playing without a serious amount of thought? You can quantify the interval ("Hey, that's a Perfect 5th.") Is there something that will make you think more about reading than crossing? ("Hey, this is an arpeggio!" "Hey, this is a scale with a note or two missing!") Something!?!

Second on your list is simply, what notes are you playing? Is it A to C? Bb to B? Bb to C? A to B? Determine which pinky fingers need to be down on your right hand. This technique is called "right hand down" (people teach it all the time, and no, it's no revolutionary.) At this point I would also recommend choosing a right hand fingering for the higher note. Even if you're left-handed the left hand pinky keys are only an escape ladder, not the main elevator.

Third is revolutionary (since I've never heard anyone teach it.) Put your middle and ring finger(and the occasional pinky finger you may need on this hand) on your left hand. This technique is called *Ta-DA!* "left hand down." Now then, you've reduced the number of fingers you need to move to 2. Yep, you went from 5 or 7 to 2. Nice, huh?

Anyways, now we have to figure out if you have good motion on your thumb and left index finger. Your finger should be hooked such that your middle knuckle is, basically, pointing straight up towards the top of the Clarinet. If you do this your finger will be positioned resting against the Ab key and almost over the A key. Now, you don't even have to roll, a simple upward movement of the finger will open the A key rather easily. Your left thumb should be placed on the left side, near the edge, of the left thumb key. Make sure your thumb is pointing across the instrument at a 45 degree angle. Since you don't have to cover a hole you don't need to have a ton of contact on this key. I would say that too many people use this key to attempt to hold the instrument up (but that's a whole other post.) Now, if you're on the edge of the key a simple rocking motion on the thumb key will depress the register key. Remember, it barely has to be touched to open (and to work for that matter.)

Now, for those of you that are like "Well, if you have a double register mechanism then blah, blah, blah and if you have a Single Register Mechanism then blah, blah, blah. Oh, and BTW, I didn't buy horn X because it had this kind of mechanism and I just can't play that.....harumph, harumph, harumph!" I have news for you. *Getting down to a whisper* The horn doesn't play bad, you do...... Please stop spreading the rumor that the instrument makes you do things. If the instrument makes the "hssss" sound when you press the register key, broaden your tone so the expanse of your tone sucks up the "hsss' sound. Period. Done. Easy. It's over.

Moving on...

Regarding that rush of air that preceeded the fingers moving in a jumble (which has now been corrected), you have to keep your air flow consistent and warmer than you would think. If you're using a standard Soprano Clarinet embouchure you can't keep your mouth open enough to allow the air flow at the temperature I'm asking you to use. You've got to back off a little...move towards a Saxophone paradigm. An embouchure that more equal pressure all the way around the mouth. Now, if you don't use a ton of air to begin with then you have a bigger problem than crossing the break. Chances are you don't sound too hot(haha, get it? Hot, warm air?....nevermind.)

As the air speed remains consistent and the air temperature is slightly elevated you can simply move two fingers(index finger and thumb) and you're good to go. The note will speak much better than previously, and if you do this enough your overall tone quality will improve.

I recommend that you design some exercises for yourself so you can practice this. Maybe play Major Scales backwards down across the break. You could just a easily use a 5 note segment or even a 3 note segment. Bottom line: You have to do something or it isn't going to get any better.

There's an excellent example of needing this kind of skill in ensemble practice. Eric Whitacre wrote a lovely piece for Band called "October." I love it! Beautifully written. The parts (especially mine) are all very interesting and have alot going on even though the piece is not a barnburner. Basically, you could play the Bass Clarinet part as an unaccompanied solo and carry it off quite nicely.

Anyways, when you listen to the piece enjoy, it's lovely. At about the 5:30 mark things start to get a little frenetic and some tremolos begin to enter in the upper woodwinds. At the 5:42 mark the Bass Clarinet comes in with the tremolo I'm talking about. When everything stops and all you have is trills and tremolos in the woodwinds, in the background is a tremolo in the Bass Clarinet part. The first from D on the 4th line of the staff to Throat A. Then it changes to Middle C to Throat A. Yep, that means you're crossing the break multiple times per second...then you have to change tremolos, then change back. Oh, did I mention you have to play it loud too?? Yeah, no hiding in the corner on this one. We can heeeeaaaaarrrrr yoooooooouuuuuuuu! You can tell even in this recording that the Bass Clarinet tremolo is slower than every other one in the woodwind section. (It doesn't hurt that I know exactly where it is, but you get my point, it's audible.) Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Now, this is not the only example of these principles in literature, but it is quite extreme. When you're in a community band, like I was, and the 3 adults sitting next to you (one of whom who used to teach you privately) all say "I'm not playing this." and they proceed to play it down an octave then you know there's an issue with this in performance practice on an almost epidemic scale. I implore you, please, work this out. I'll do other posts on other pressing issues, but if you do not have command of the middle of the horn you are sailing a sinking ship.

A Weighty Mouthpiece Issue

2009-02-02T12:00:00.002-05:00

So, I've been thinking. I've been playing a Selmer (D) mouthpiece on Bass for about 10 years now. It totally works. I've got two of 'em to boot! One's kinda old (I wouldn't call it vintage as it doesn't have the model etched on the table) which is really nice (basically, it plays the entire range of the horn without issue(Eb3 to Eb8)) and I have a newer one (got it in 2002) which is "FATTIE!"

Anyways, I keep thinking about other mouthpieces I should try, brands I should give a shot. There's all sorts of pieces that I've considered: a bigger Selmer, one from a new Behn line, a Fobes Debut (I have an original Basso Nova that is so old it has the hand engraved "Basso Nova" on it. Got it from Clark's booth at Clarinetfest in '98. He actually let me stand there and try 30 pieces before I bought), a HUGE Pillinger, and a HUGER Pomarico. I LOVE the "Basso Nova", but something about the Selmers draws me in deeper than the Fobes, but I can't give up on the Fobes. That sucker is one-of-a-kind.

I should speak up for Clark right here. I play a Fobes Nova on Alto Clarinet and it's as big as a howitzer

(no, really, the back end of the mouthpiece is larger in circumference than the shank on the neck) and plays that way too.

I play a Fobes Debut on Soprano Clarinet (he sent it to me free as part of his Debut program. It worked! I love the thing and sing it's praises daily!) It's not a tank, but moves like a spitfire

...and that's a good thing on Clarinet. So, the moral of this story is, Clark rocks!

On Bass, however, I'm about 1000000000000 bagillion times more discerning about my sound. If you read my diatribe on tonal profiling then you'll know that I'm REALLY particular about my sound. I've considered getting everything from something bigger, to something smaller, to something made from rod stock (like the Selmers are); I've considered upgrading on a mouthpiece I currently have (like getting a Fobes San Francisco (which is made from a Zinner blank)), and way too much more to tell. Then, the other day, I'm thinking..."What if I actually use a heavy mouthpiece?" Honestly, a heavy mouthpiece. Like, on "Good Eats" when Alton Brown always says about fruits and vegetables "They should seem heavy for their size." Should my mouthpieces seem heavy for their size...?

I did an unscientific test on my pieces (of which I have many) and I have to say the Selmers seemed heaviest, the Fobes seemed almost as heavy, and my little plastic Yamahas and Brilhart seemed pretty light. Maybe I'm on to something.

I'm going to bring the Fobes out of the dugout and bat the New D, the Old D, and the Fobes 1,2,3. I'll give it about a week, then I'm gong to weigh them. We'll see if I'm remotely right (even if it only applies to me.) Hopefully I'll come up with more questions than answers.

And the inductees are....

2009-02-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

I've been watching the Pro Football Hall of Fame press conference and was reminded of what excellent football players were nominated this year. There's so many who should be going in. Can we get a rule change people, so we can get everybody in who should be in without having to wait for the veteran's commitee?

The class of 2009 is:

Bruce Smith: Is the All-Time Leader in Sacks and is BY FAR one of the best defensive players of his era (that's how I would judge someone, since you can't compare different eras.) I remember watching him growing up and thinking he was just "the man". Yeah, it's confirmed, he's "the man".

Ralph Wilson: Is the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills. He is a founding member of the old AFL and is one of the huge reasons why I have so much football to yap about. (Plus, the stadium bearing his name was the site of one of the best DCI finals in history [who can forget that Planets show Cavies won with? The Cadets show that closed with the Iwo Jima flag raising? A Drum Corps Fan's Dream Part 1? Phantom playing the Rhapsody on themes by Paganini? Santa Clara's non-Nutcracker? ]) And, it's especially sweet that he went in with Bruce. Only Andre Reed, Darryl Talley and Steve Tasker left to go from those incredible Bills teams that went to 4 straight Super Bowls.

Randall McDaniel: Another guy I remember growing up. He was a beastly offensive lineman for a long time with the Vikings. Believe me, if you can remember a lineman's name, he's pretty stinkin' good.

Bob Hayes: The Bullet. He was a 2-time Gold Medalist at the '64 Olympics. He averaged a touchdown every 5.2 catches. Need anything else?

Rod Woodson: Could have easily been Defensive Player of the Year just about every year he was with the Steelers. He was instrumental in the Steelers reaching Super Bowl XXX and is an overall great human being. If you saw him get up and talk at the press conference the first thing he did was thank Jesus. Alright!

Derrick Thomas: For me, is a requirement for the Hall of Fame. When he died it was a shock and a tragedy. He was the first player in the league to start his own charitable foundation and STILL holds the record for most sacks in a single game (7), AND had a forced fumble in 1 of every 4 games he played in. He was undoubtably one of the most feared players of his era and he propped up the Chiefs for a long, long, long time. This is way overdue Derrick, way overdue...

"This American Life" is the Coolest Show on Radio

2009-01-31T12:00:00.002-05:00

Alright, I love the radio. I can listen to the radio and practice. I can listen to the radio and study. I love to just find something going on on the radio and listen. When we've made our recent pilgrimages to Disney I've used the FM band on mp3 player to just find whatever I can get a signal for. (You'd be amazed how many sports talk stations there are in Florida!)

Anyways, back in the day I listened to NPR all the time. Not really for the music (let's face it, whoever program directs NPR stations is required to only like the Haydn Complete Symphonies or the Complete Works of Telman Susato...can we say, BORING!!!) I have only one time turned on NPR during the day to hear music I thought was cool. One time! Yikes! The good thing is that their talk shows don't suck. In fact, they are the best thing on radio. Prairie Home Companion, Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me, Car Talk,(all of which I highly reccommend!) and more. There's some I only rarely hear, can't remember the names of, and I can't find them on NPR's website. It's that colorful!

Out of all those my favorite is, BY FAR, This American Life. Ira Glass has the smoothest voice I've ever heard and his shows are so well put together that it makes sick, like in a "I wish I'd thought of that" kind of way. They do the best storytelling anyone can find.

In honor of this show I thought I'd post links to the podcasts of my two favorite episodes of my favorite show:

The first one is an episode called "Detectives." I remember distinctly listening to this episode in the car on the way to visit Heather where she went to college. It was dark when the show came on and if you're in the car and listen to Act 3 in the dark, it takes on a whole new meaning and significance.

The other is pretty depressing, but it's a really smart commentary about what happens when there is imbalance in a relationship. Alot of it is sad, but they should've been fair and titled the episode "The Decay of Society." That's just me. Act 3 is especially good. Starley Kine talks with her Dad about his marriage to her mother (who completely steamrolled him) and about how she always wanted her parents to get a divorce (isn't that sad!?) Anyways, it's telling and that's what makes it good.

Superior Performances 1.30.09

2009-01-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

I know, this is pretty close to the last one, but I realized that I waited 16 days between the last two, so I figured I should stick with Fridays.

I'm actually posting a link and hoping you'll go there to listen.

This is the final movement of David Maslanka's Symphony no. 2. I actually played this at All-State in H.S. and thoroughly enjoyed: It's also the hardest thing I've ever played. Apparently, he was working on the piece when the Challenger exploded and he tore a great deal of it up and rewrote it. It rocks. I promise. Don't fear the link, it's just a Rhapsody player.

Ooooh, this is a good one

2009-01-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

Heard this one at a men's group and couldn't pass it up.

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a
new voice came over the asking for a carry out at check register 4.
Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and
decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand
a distant smile caught his eye, the new check out girl was beautiful.
She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he
fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock
to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at
him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card,
BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.

Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered
her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted.
When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again,
outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible. He pressed and
she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a baby-
sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she
accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.

That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him
that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and
canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, lets take the kids
with us."

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but
again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda,
brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter
who was just cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out
her son, in a wheelchair, he was born a paraplegic with down
syndrome. Kurtis said to Brenda, "I still don't understand why the
kids can't come with us?" Brenda was amazed. Most men would
run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had
disabilities. Just like her first husband and father of her children
did.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner
and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take
care of him. When he needed to use the rest room, he picked him
up out of his chair, took him, brought him back. The kids loved
Kurtis.
At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was
going to marry and spend the rest of her life with. A year later, they
were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children and since then
they have added two more kids.

So what happened to the stock boy and check out girl? Well, .....
Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner, now live in St. Louis, where he is employed
by the St. Louis Rams and plays quarterback.

Let me add an addendum to this:

Now he's on his 3rd Super Bowl already had his 2nd MVP and is probably going to the Hall when he's done. You know you want to pick the Cardinals now. Come on, admit it. That's a good story.

Peyton or Kurt? Larry or Jerry? Optimist or Pessimist?

2009-01-28T12:00:00.001-05:00

Down here I listen to 790 AM and the midday show is great. Actually, the midday show's always been great, it just changes hosts alot. The other day they posed an interesting question(actually they do that everyday.) Who's better? Peyton or Kurt?

Well dang, I had to think about it. Peyton's been to 2 AFC title games. Kurt's been to 3 NFC title games. Peyton's won 1. Kurt's won 3. Peyton's won 1 Super Bowl. Kurt's won 1 Super Bowl. Peyton's won 2 MYP's. Kurt's won 2 MVP's. Peyton's had a gazillion more chances than Kurt Warner. Peyton's never been a journeyman. He's never had to be cut by the team he took to the Super Bowl and then be the "old guy" who can develop the "kid". Then, be cut again to be the "old guy" again to the "kid" and then take over for the kid and take his team (who has never been to the Super Bowl) to the Super Bowl on his BACK! I'm not saying they don't have other players, but him being in there was what made it for the Cardinals. Kurt IS clutch. Peyton has been clutch ONCE. Dangit, I love Peyton Manning, but he's not AS good as Kurt when you are simply looking at postseason success (which is what most people use to judge professional athletes.) The comparison is almost unfair to Kurt, and yet he still comes out looking like gold.

Hoooooowever, if you take into account a FULL career, regular season and everything, then Peyton Manning is BY FAR the better quarterback. (You see why I'm so conflicted?( Peyton Manning is 3839-5960 for 45,628 yds and 333 TD's for his career! He's only 32! If he's doesn't suffer a major injury he can play probably 4 or 5 more years. Look out Brett Favre and Dan Marino! Kurt's not even close to that. Granted, he hasn't started every year of his life like Peyton, but Peyton's numbers are sick! How can you argue with that? Even before Peyton won the Super Bowl everybody crapped on him, but I was always thinking "But, he's sooooooo good. Give him a break." Who do you choose? Let's call it a pick 'em and call it a day...

Larry or Jerry? Well dang again. Jerry Rice is probably the best FOOTBALL player ever. Regardless of position. He's the man. I would post his career stats, but they may stop your heart right at your computer. (No, really. Ok, here's the link, but I warned you. If you're infirm or have cardiac problems, don't look!)

Is Larry looking like Jerry right now? Ummmm, yeah (Well, except for the coronary part.) What happens if Kurt's no longer throwing him the ball? What happens if he suffers a major injury (which Jerry never had?) Can he make it to more Super Bowls with the Cardinals? I don't know. But yeah, right now, he's looking like Jerry. He'll get a little bit closer if he blows doors on that incredible Steeler secondary.

Then, another interesting question was posed. Barack Obama's got 4 years in office (at least.) Do you have hope that your team could meet President Obama in the next four years? I kind of seized up thinking about it. The Lakers (ummm, yeah, but I don't want to jinx them), they have the best record in the NBA as of today, I'm feeling pretty good.

The 49ers? I'm feeling better because we have a new coach (who doesn't love Mike Singletary?) and the team is being turned over more to football people every year(like, they're about to hire Dan Reeves as the Offensive Coordinator), but the Super Bowl? I don't know *can't you hear the teeth gritting?*

The Braves? Yikes! We went to the World Series 5 times and lost 4(with, perhaps, the best staff in history) (although the Kent Hrbek pulled Ron Gant off first base, so really it should be lost 3, but I'm not bitter, promise.) Do I think we can go back NOW, with all of the parody in Baseball? I don't know *I know, the teeth gritting sound is bad, sorry.* But, you never know. The Arizona Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. The Tampa Bay Rays went to the World Series. The Celtics picked themselves up out of the basement and won The Finals. The Hawks took the Celtics to 7 games in the playoffs. George Mason went to the Final Four. Anything is possible.

So, yes, we have reason to be optimistic. Reality may set in at some point during a particular season, but that doesn't mean that things won't pick up next season. I said last week that Donovan McNabb is not clutch. I may say that again next year and he might prove me wrong, you never know.

I think sports are a venue for optimism. The rare sports fan finds their team to be reprehensibly far behind before the season even starts(you know, Sox fans, Cubs fans, Lions fans), but most are optimistic and ready for next year. I don't get too sucked in because I don't want to get majorly disappointed, BUT, I do think each of my teams has at least an outside chance of meeting the President.

Come on, you know your team has a shot. That's my challenge to you. Who are your teams and how much hope do you have in their chances? I'd be interested to see who REALLY thinks their team has a chance and who completely disagrees and cannot shake the feeling that their beloved team is sunk before the season has even started.

Superior Performances 1.27.09

2009-01-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

Alright, this is The 1999 Concord Blue Devils Bass Drum Ensemble. I discovered them when I got a CD of the Blue Devils percussion line. This is the last track on the CD (like number 22) and discovered it by accident because I actually had time for the whole CD to play through. Yay for me!

Essentially, this is what drum corps members do when they're not busy (in this corps' case) winning titles. These kids won the I&E Bass Drum Ensemble World Title AND marched the corps that tied with Santa Clara for the Div. I championship that season. All that is band nerd code for....they can flat, stinkin' play. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

This is not REALLY about Basketball

2009-01-26T12:00:00.003-05:00

I remember when Albert Haynesworth stomped on Andre Gurode's head. He got 5 games without pay. He even copped to it almost immediately (which I respect.) Now, I don't remember when Kermit Washington essentially broke Rudy Tomjanovich's face (since I wasn't born yet)(apparently, it was determined later that Rudy almost died) but I've seen more than one story on it and Rudy has long since forgiven Kermit, and I think he's even railed against the idea that Kermit should be defined by this one action.

So, now we're onto a new I-hope-it's-not-defining-moment. Chase Buddinger's face was stomped on by an opposing player today.

Do I know the long term ramifications of what's going on? Do I know why it was done? Do I know if Buddinger will ever forgive? Or if the other player will ask for forgiveness? No. I do know this. I hope that we can take a page from Albert Haynesworth, Kermit Washington, and Rudy Tomjanovich. Accept your responsibility, ask for forgiveness, and stand up and say "this one thing does not define me, God does."

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6:14-15

I'm not saying forgiving is easy. But I am saying that it takes a strong person (imagine how strong Rudy Tomjanovich is)(or how hard it was for Albert to say after the fact "What I did out there was disgusting") to forgive. I don't know if Rudy, Albert, or Kermit are Christians, but this sure is a good example of how to deal.

It's Basketball Time!

2009-01-25T12:00:00.004-05:00

Alright, the NFL season is almost over and I've already made my Super Bowl pick, so I figure I can move on to the NBA. I'm not touching college basketball until it's time for the tournament. Let's face it, there's too many teams and too many players for me to even act like I even have a clue what's going on. When they get it down to 65 teams, then I'll have an opinion.

Let's just break it down to the teams that matter today(I almost tried to do a power ranking and then I realized they never take into account age, injury, or mental stamina):

The Orlando Magic... They made 23 3's in Sacramento...hmm, I think they can shoot. You know, you could analyze the heck out of this team, but let's keep it real. Dwight Howard is Superman. Even is he's not perfect every night, his presence still makes a huge difference in the lane. He's big and imposing, and he THREW his dunk into the basket last year at the Dunk competition. Jameer Nelson is turning into the man on the point everyone thought he would be when he took St. Joe's on that undefeated run. Can we say big guy, point guard combo? (Magic and Kareem people!) Oh, and they also have Rashard Lewis just hanging out and creating shots every night. Yeah, no wonder they're REALLY soaring right now.

Hope - That Dwight Howard becomes more like Bill Russell than he already looks.

Fear - That when Dwight can't keep it up Jameer and Rashard won't be ale to step up consistently.

The Cleveland Cavaliers... LeBron, LeBron, LeBron. Ok, a little Daniel Gibson sprinkled in there. Alright, I'll give you Anderson Varejao too. I love Kobe, but LeBron is the MVP today, tomorrow, and the next day.

Hope - LeBron keeps getting better

Fear - LeBron gets attacked by a Tonya Harding fan club member.

The Boston Celtics... As much as I have a distaste for the Celtics, KG can ball. He's not a guy who has to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game, but he's going to the Hall for sure. Ray Allen never really lived up to the major hype he got coming out of UCONN, but I think alot of it was unfair. Did we REALLY think he was going to be on the level of someone like Kobe or LeBron? Paul Pierce is the man on this team. AS much as I just don't like him, he took games into his hands in the Finals and he forced the Celtics to beat my Lakers last year.

Hope -Paul Pierce has the playoffs he had last season.

Fear - Someone else has to have the ball in their hands at the end of games.

The Los Angeles Lakers... Kobe, Kobe, Kobe. He should've already been the MVP at least 2 other times, he's one of the best to ever do it. Pau Gasol isn't the inner presence that can halt a team's offense all by itself, but he's so solid that I'll forgive him. Andrew Bynum is maturing very quickly (I mean, when Kareem's mentoring you all the suck better leave your game immediately.) He's the answer to the fact the Pau can't live in the lane all day.

Hope - Andrew Bynum becomes more like Kareem everyday

Fear - As Kobe transitions the team every so slowly to Bynum we all keep expecting 81 points a night

I think even the casual fan sees these 4 teams as the odds on favorites to win a title this season. There's a problem though..3 of these teams are in the Eastern Conference. If we keep this up until the playoffs someone is going to be genuinely upset before conference final time.

Can't someone step it up in the Western Conference? I know the Spurs are hot right now. They're also getting old. I don't think Shaqavich (yes, he decided folks should call him that because he improved his shooting and he said everyone whose name ends in -vich is a good shooter) is gonna get it done. He's old, out of shape, and has a bad hip. The same bad hip he had in 2003. Maybe Tracy McGrady and Yao can get past the 1st round this season. But really, who's going to bet on that given the fact that poor Tracy's (I actually do feel bad for him) never ben past the 1st round. Ooooh, maybe Portland and Greg Oden. He's the new........yeah, he's too injury prone to know what's he's the next new of. (I know, Brandon Roy's sooo great. Sorry folks, all the LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy in the world ins't makng them the sleeper right now.) DENVER! Melo is great! They dumped Allen Iverson (very smart, I like AI alot, but the train's left the station I'm afraid), picked up Chauncey Billups (HIGHLY smart. You think he's not upset that Detroit traded him? I'd be HOT!), and are playing well right now. Never underestimate the fury of a point guard scorned.

Dark Horse du jour: Denver

Worst move of the Week: The Grizzlies fired Mark Iavaroni. They gave him a year and half with a laughing stock team and they expected more? Are you serious? They must be looking back to '04 they were the 6 seed and thinking "How come we can't do that every year?" Ummm, hello, no Hubie + no White Chocolate (oh yeah, and that Pau guy the Lakers gave you a sack full of shredded newspaper (Kwame Brown) for) = no Playoffs. Now they have to pay out his entire contract (good for him) and find another coach. Well, they really wanted Avery Johnson but he told them "Hell no, I'm not taking that job." Actually, that's what he old his wife just to reassure her, but you get the idea. Now they're stuck with no coach, no good prospects, and a pathetic team. Good job Memphis! Don't you wish you could get Big Country back?

What is a Tonal Profile Anyways?

2009-01-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

Let's define this puppy. A tonal profile is the combination of the characteristic tone of an instrument and the unique qualities of the individual performer.

Alright, the Bass Clarinet has a characteristic tone. This, in and of itself, is a mystery since hardly anybody can teach this correctly. The Bass Clarinet is NOT supposed to sound like a big ole Clarinet. If it sounded like a big ole Clarinet then essentially what you would have is the sound of the left hand keys on an electronic keyboard with the Clarinet patch turned on. Yuck!

Actually, the Bass Clarinet should sound like a strong Ox in the field. A cross between the Bassoon (the double-reediness) and a Soprano Clarinet (the FIRM singing quality). Without the reedy quality (I like to call it "syrup") you've got the wrong bird. I get asked for this all the time "Can we take out the reediness?" Ummm, no! You want me to sound like a completely different instrument? Really? That's weird.

Reediness is inherent in the instrument itself. If you wanted to boil the tone down to one thing it's that. It's GOT to sound reedy. You've got to be able to hear the reed vibrating. It's the difference between a Mack truck and a Ford Pinto. You can hear that Mack Truck coming from a mile away.

Ok, so now you have the strong ox (or the Mack truck, whichever you prefer.) He's just standing in the pasture waiting to pull his weight. He never fails. Ever.

Now then, you have to add to that your unique qualities. Your embouchure, your air flow, your tongue position, the position of the mouthpiece in your mouth, your posture, the shape of the inside of your mouth, the shape of your throat, the expanse of your ribcage. Yeah, yeah, all of it. These things make you unique. They make you sound like you, assuming you are exploiting these traits. If you take alot of mouthpiece in your mouth you get a particular sound, if you keep your teeth high on the mouthpiece you get a particular sound. Creating more expanse in your ribcage gives the sound more girth. Moving these things around will reveal to you all sorts of sounds, many not pretty. The ones you find that are nice can be molded into something you like. The sound you really enjoy. Your sound.

Then there's the other half of your unique qualities. And really I think it comes down to this question:

What other instrument do you want to sound like?

Is it the Cello? The Euphonium? The Contrabass? The Horn? The Tuba? The Viola? Maybe a Tenor voice? Baritone voice? True Bass voice? What?

Make a decision!

Personally, I enjoy the Viola. I kind of feel bad for 'em, having to read in Alto Clef and all. There's something about the raspy woody quality of the instrument that I LOVE, especially a really big Viola. Oversized Violas(17") sound so COOL!!! The sound reminds me of Shostakovich...the 8th Quartet. A piece written in "memory of the victims of fascism and war." I cried the first time I heard it (at a recital in college, and it was played fabulously.) I still can't make it through in tact. It's powerful. Even if you're not into classical music, listen and you will be moved. Personally, I prefer my Borodin Quartet recording, but the Emerson Quartet plays it extremely well.

That's right, the Bass Clarinet is not this boisterous, happy instrument. We fit in during circus marches, but we don't REALLY belong. That's Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Trumpet and Alto Sax land. I mean, you can do that and make it work, but at it's heart the Bass Clarinet is...

a harbinger of gloom, of resolution of wrongs long since past, an old friend you thought long since gone coming out of the ashes of war, the friend who Dmitri Shostakovich asked "In whose hands do you leave me to die?" The Bass Clarinet is the path "In leaves no step had trodden black." (The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost)

This isn't pretty stuff. The instrument isn't pretty. It's gritty. It's harsh. It's intense. It's raw.

The timbre of the instrument is divided. If you are truly allowing to reed to vibrate freely you'll be able to hear two sounds. The pitch and the raspy undertones of the reed. Yes, two pitches. I can whistle two notes at once so this isn't a big deal to me, but if you've never heard or experienced that it might sound really strange. Mongolian throat singers perform in this tradition and do so to great effect. Manipulating the vibrations inside their mouths they can produce multiple pitches. Manipulating the innner shape of your mouth (Yes, you don't have to just use your throat) can produce a very complex tone that will continually reveal different components the more you refine it. Now that's fun!

Man, this is awesome

2009-01-23T12:00:00.001-05:00

Well, our Pastor is big on the word awesome. Actually, he's big on the fact that only God is awesome. I learned over time that he's right. Even our kids correct people when they say something is awesome. Usually with, "God is awesome."

Well, in thought this occured to me and I found the verse I was looking for.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus ..." (Romans 8:1)

The whole point is...God is awesome and He's the only thing in creation that Is awesome because He IS the Creator, yet He is so merciful and loving. How does the song go? "Send your mercies down from heaven, sweetmercies from heaven, new mercies for today, shower them down as we pray" (aren't you proud, I did that from memory!) Everyday, He's raining down on us all that we need. We never want (though sometimes we forget that, oh, and we forget that He provides and all that other stuff too, yeah, I know.) We are never out of His sight. We are never far form His presence. We are resting under His Oak and we've got some pretty smooth shade.

Just one more short thought. When someone says "Dude, that's totally awesome!" (I know you love the faint "Bill and Ted" reference (Come on, you know you like Keanu Reeves)) think about this. When you come to God with your stuff there is no finger pointing, no "haha, we got you" because if you are in Christ you "have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1) Because, heaven knows, we all need grace to make it through the day.

Things That Bug Me 2.0 (Ligatures and the mayhem surrounding them)

2009-01-22T12:00:00.000-05:00

So, I LOVE ligatures. They're, by far, my FAVORITE piece of equipment. Why, you ask? They're not SUPER expensive, they're easy to change out, you can collect them in mass quantities without need for a storage unit, and they're cool lookin'!

I've always been a connoseiur of metal ligatures. ALWAYS. The first ligature I EVER played on Bass with a simple stock metal lig that was in the case of the school instrument I was playing in middle school. When I went back to Bass in High School I had a similar lig and a mouthpiece in a plastic bag that I took to Band Camp just in case I changed instruments at camp (which I did.) Honestly, I never thought any further than that. Ligatures are supposed to be metal, that's it. They're all metal, right? I got an inverted Bonade right after marching season my Sophomore year and played it until about halfway through college. At that point Rovners were all the rage. Now, I'm not knocking Phil's hustle. If you've got a good business and a product people like I'm all for it. Fabric ligatures just never appealed to me. By the time I graduated from college you could look down a line of any section of Clarinets and Saxophones and 98% of the ligs would be Rovners (Once again, not knocking Phil's hustle, I just never got into the fabric ligs.)

After I graduated I didn't play "hard-core-alot" for about a year. By that time I had acquired two GORGEOUS Gold Harrison-Hertz Ligatures. The crappy part is that they are no longer made under that name and are VERY expensive on Ebay.

Now, these ligatures are gold plated and respond like crazy! More than that, they have this robust sound that I can't explain. It may only make a difference to me, but it makes a DIFFERENCE! I've also acquired a Rovner MarkIII and a Bois (both of which are not horrible, but not robust like the Harrison.) I was really liking the Bois until I ran into reed issues (because it's like 20 degrees here and SEVERELY dry), and I discovered that, for me, the Harrison hits 'em outta the park every time. I played fairly regularly in ensembles for about 6 years and always stuck to the Harrisons. One has Gold that's still very bright and relatively untarnished while the other has a much darker finish and has a band that's been silver-brazed back together. They were (and still are) my work horses.

So, why is the metal ligature so responsive for me? I've always read and heard that metal ligatures are more responsive and that Gold plating makes ligatures even more responsive. Conversely, I've also heard that fabric ligs dampen sound and provide less response. Yet, people who produce fabric ligatures tout the robust sound of their ligatures and responsiveness. Maybe it's just a personal thing. I see and hear great response from kids who use fabric ligs all the time. Maybe, it's because I was brought up playing a certain way and it's hard for me to give up the feel of the olden days.

I'm gonna keep it real. I'm a monster (my high school band director likes the term "killer", as in "If you're sitting next to a "killer" then you might not be able to hear yourself.) I like playing that role. I've always been the beast. I've brought down whole brass sections. One time, the whole band. I've overthrown fascist dictators with my sound (well, not really, but it sounded good when I wrote it.) You get the idea. I can play REALLY loud. I can't remember a time when I didn't just blow my brains out in every rehearsal and performance. Everyday I'm searching for that sort of sound, just more refined and mature, but still BIG. I have this attachment to metal ligatures and the days of old when I did that everyday in rehearsal.

Nowadays I'm not in rehearsal everyday, in fact, I haven't been in a full-on band rehearsal of a group I'm playing in in a year and a half. I sit in the rehearsals of the band I tech and that's nice(because I get to work up a little bit of a sweat, but not too much), but I'm not "in charge", I'm trying to teach an upperclassman how to be "in charge". Which brings me to another point.

The sort of domineering tone I'm talking about is the kind of thing that can turn a band in the right direction. It can turn your section in the right direction. We always here that Bands are built from the bottom. Well, if you're playing Bass Clarinet, you're in the bottom of the band. You can't get much lower. On the other hand, Orchestras tend to be built from the top. The First Chair is taking the lead in everything. Pushing the section along. It's a different style of playing.

Playing Bass Clarinet is a combination of those two things. That "domineering tone" keeps the rest of your section in line. They can hear what you're doing and they follow you. If you're REALLY good, other people in other sections will follow you. Now, you control time in the group to a certain extent. In the case of a disaster you have a good chance of dragging enough people along that you can avoid a crisis(i.e. completely stopping in the middle of a performance.) Leading from the front is always a good thing. Besides having a certain amount of control over time you can control phrasing, overall expression, and expression of different melodic components in the music. While you're ducking in and out of the texture all the melodic components of the music get to shine around you. Now that's fun.

Back to ligatures. You may be asking "Do you make your students play on metal ligatures?" Nope. I don't intervene unless they have MAJOR issues that I think may be corrected by a small equipment change. 99% of the time you change you, not your stuff(Like in that new movie "Bride Wars", in the trailer Kate Hudson says "You don't alter Vera to fit you, you alter yourself to fit Vera!". When you get to a point where you know what you're doing then I think you can tinker with your stuff and look for something that fits the tonal profile you want. My point...you can affect your tonal profile with ligatures, even if people don't think so. Then again, tonal profile is a whole other post.

What's the word people?

2009-01-21T17:29:00.002-05:00

What's the Word people?

I think it's great when people know what they want. In fact, I hope my kids grow up to be people of action who know what they want and are willing to get after it to get things done. Hoooooowever, I'm not sure that everything that we want is really worth wanting. I was talking to the TT yesterday and we were discussing the whole issue of kids making All-State and recognition of private teachers and the like. (Private teachers don't get mentioned in the program, just the school the kid goes to) Now, TT can teach. Straight up. The boy can teach (he's not really a boy, he's older than me, in fact, he graduated from H.S. when I was in 6th Grade.) Anyways.

The man can teach. He had a private student make All-State. Now, we do what I would call "low tier" music jobs, meaning that we aren't high profile H.S. band directors. Someone else who is vaunted around these parts as a "really good teacher" also had a kid make All-State, but below TT's student. Now, TT says "How come no one recognizes that my kid just beat his kid?"(Vesides the fact that some people don't audition well, or have bad days, or are lazy, or whatever) TT wants to receive more acknowledgement of his accomplishments as an educator, but at what cost?

People always say "The squeaky wheel gets the grease" and that's fine, but dang, I could only be so squeaky. Would I like to be hearalded more universally for my musical ability? Yeah. Am I going to go running around like a maniac (and seeming like I don't feel blessed to have the job I have) trying to get recognized? Nope. This reminds me of 2 things: 1) "You can't always get what you waaahaaant" and 2) "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it" Would I like to be doing something a little bit different from what I'm doing now? Yeah. Am I going to go crazy trying to make MY time work because I want it NOW? No. I don't know, I'm just not wired that way. Plus, the big thing for me is...it's more about the kid than it is about me. Yeah, you're teaching them, but ultimately when you tell them "Go do this" they actually have to go do it. I would say the same thing for myself. I had NO private teacher my Junior Year in H.S. and I was still first chair All-State. I had to buck up and do the work.

So, now TT is trying to figure out ways in which he can do something that would be more fulfilling to him professionally and, at the same time, garner a little more attention. I understand that, but I'm fulfilled professionally already. I have a job. That may sound harsh, but I like being able to support my family. (A side note to this is: TT knows this and would never think that I'm in the same position he's in. He's single. I'm married and have 3 kids. He knows I wouldn't dare take his line of thinking nor can I afford to.) Nonetheless, at what point do we seem ungrateful for our blessings? At what point do you stop and say "Where is God in this?"

Upon further meditation I found this: Isaiah 27:11 ......For this is a people without understanding, so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor

Right about now I'm REALLY hoping I have understanding. Can you imagine all the time you spent apart from God and all the times He wanted to grant you favor, yet you had no understanding? Even so, you most likely received some measure of grace in that time. Now you understand and how much more does God expect of you? Of us? Grace is beautiful but it is not the only abundance in God's economy. Is He not also calling us to greater understanding and greater knowledge. Greater wisdom and greater compassion? Wow!

Hope, not fear

2009-01-20T18:35:00.002-05:00

President Obama today called on us to choose hope over fear. I would have said something stronger like "Hope in spite of fear", but I'm not the President, am I?

The Word says (1 John 4:18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. Now, I'm not saying Barack Obama is the second coming (because he isn't). And, I don't blame him for playing down the savior tag alot of folks are giving him. BUT, I think he's not just saying that. I think he's actually humble enough to know he can't do it all and it isn't going to happen overnight. To me, that's the closest thing we can get to love from our President. He's loves this country so much that he's not going to try to delude us with a false sense of hope, as if he believed he was the second coming. Like he thinks he has all the answers and it's his way or the highway. He knows better. I love that!

Yeah, I voted for him and this is why.

I just could tell he is a man of action. If something needs to be done, he's on it. No pussyfooting around. I love that. He's not going to fix things overnight, but by golly if he isn't gonna try.

I loved the way Bill Clinton spoke (and still do), but dang, Obama makes Clinton look like an amateur. You can feel the intense genuine quality of his heart's desire for the nation pouring out of his mouth. If you're not inspired on some level I don't know what to say. My hope is in the Lord of peace. The Lord who provides. The Lord who sustains. TheLord who protects us. The Lord who gives every perfect gift. The Lord who hears our prayers. Is Obama an answer to prayer? I have no idea. I can tell you this......

God puts people in places where He wants them. So, for right now, this man of action is asking us to hope because he ascended to office on God's shoulders. I really think he's that serious. I'll hope in the Lord and not fear as MANY have been telling us to do for so long. I just can't do that. How am I suppose to lead my family (learn to, anyways) if I'm constantly afraid of an unseen evil. I'll fear the Lord, for in that is wisdom. Wisdom to follow His ways and do so in His time. Wisdom to know His time is perfect. Since He's, you know, perfect.

On a lighter note:

I am VERY impressed with the Marine Band. They played very well in tune all day even though it was 4 million degrees below zero. That's not easy people. Plus, Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, and Anthony McGill (playing his good setup outside and playing so beautifully). Personally, I would have never taken my horn out in that weather (I've got a plastic one), but he killed it anyways. It was great to see such fine musicians performing in front of the world. So often, the arts are pushed into the background and here they were right up front for all of us to enjoy RIGHT before an immensely historic event. Very cool. Maybe that Secretary of the Arts thing has a chance.

How to Play the Bass Clarinet Efficiently and Effectively 1.0 (or How to Play Fast Notes, aka, Acquiring Technique 1)

2009-01-19T06:39:00.005-05:00

Well, here comes the diatribe. Things That Bug Me are just little things that probably only get on MY nerves. This series is about EXACTLY what to do in order to play better. If you've found this and you're looking for help...you're in the right place. If you're a "non-bandy" person don't stop reading! Almost everything I'm going to say is about how to process new information and quickly get better at processing that information more quickly. You never know, you might be able to apply some of this stuff to something you do that isn't even musical. Now, on with the help.

I love this zinger. It makes me want to laugh every time. "This passage just doesn't lay well on the big instruments." If you've ever heard that before you are not alone, and the person who told you this is wrong.

Granted, if you are not a technically well-developed player you probably won't have the best time learning said passage (or learning it at all.) But, if you start developing your technique now it will get smoother and silkier with time. By the way, this is not just for kids. If you are an adult amateur, do this stuff, we welcome you along for the ride.

People who have stellar technique have literally trained every muscle in their fingers, mouth, throat, and abdomen so that every note speaks perfectly, sounds good, and comes out quickly, and they had to start somewhere. Working slowly is the most tedious work you could ever do. It doesn't feel super fun. It's not like riding a roller coaster. However, if you get yourself to the point, mentally, where you know this is REALLY going to help long term: It will get fun really fast.

If you've ever been in a school band or orchestra program you are highly aware of the intense emphasis that is placed on Major Scales. Now, somebody who's reading this is thinking "Bleh, I spit the name of all Major Scales (especially the one's I don't like, you know, the hard ones.)" I know, scales are not "fun", but let me tell you, if you have these scales in your hip pocket you'll feel like a million bucks. So, step one, scales.

1. Find a print out of all 12 major scales for the instrument. On Bass Clarinet this shouldn't be hard. You can even use a Clarinet print out. By the time you learn to play them as high as I would recommend you won't need the print out anymore. Highlight the first 5 notes of each scale in only the lowest register. This is a 5-note segment. You play the pattern 1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 three times. Slur the whole thing. You're done! (Actually, you're not quite done.)

2. Get a sheet of paper and a metronome. If you don't have a concrete metronome use this one. Start the metronome at 60. If you are VERY new play the pattern in 8th notes. If you are a little more developed play the pattern in 16th notes. Play through it a couple of times at 60. If you're ok, move up to the next metronome marking. When you get to a marking that you just can't handle, that's ok. Write down the FASTEST marking you could play the pattern correctly at. Move on to the next key.

3. Stop using alternate fingerings!!! You think I'm serious about this? I am. Do NOT use the right hand fork key. Do not use chromatic F#. When possible, use the sliver key. Avoid, at ALL costs, these ALTERNATE fingerings. They're alternate for a reason! The original fingering is technically more proficient in the long run. Fancy stuff is fancy (and occasionally helpful) but it's not solid like the original.

4. Rinse and repeat. Do this in ever major key. Don't fret about not playing the last 3 notes of the scale (or more if you're playing more octaves.) What you may not realize is that you're covering every fingering combo you need to play these scales.

5. Rinse and repeat again. This is the most valuable thing you can do to improve your technical response on the instrument.

6. Now you have a written record of where you started and where you've been in each key. If you're thinking "Man, this guy is a genius, why didn't I think of that?" know one thing...I didn't think of it either. I learned it from Bob Chesebro at Furman University. The man's a genius, and no, I'm not exaggerating.

7. Do NOT move on the minor scales. If you do not have Major Scales, as I said before, in your hip pocket then playing minor scales will mess with your ear.

8. Always play these segments with the fullest, most robust, billowing tone you've got. If you're thinking "But I don't sound very good." or "My tone doesn't billow." Fine! Now's a good time to learn! You're only 9 notes at a time in one segment. Voila, easy tonal practice time. Besides, every time you play your tone is improving if you're really thinking about sounding better.

9. Do NOT use the extended range on your instrument (if you have it.) I'll never forget this as long as I live. I was at another school talking with a fellow Bass Clarinetist. They popped up and said "Look, I can play the C Scale 3 octaves!" I said, "That's so cool, show me!" They proceeded to play the scale starting on super low C, using the extension, and playing up to thumb C. Now, I thought they were going to play it straight and play up to double high C...I was wrong. The point is...The extended range on your instrument is cool, but using it to practice is worthless. If you're really good, you ever need to practice it. You just put your hands on the instrument and keep going. Really. I promise. When I got my extended horn in 1998 I just took it out of the box and started playing it. No trip to the shop. No tutorial. Just "grab and go"

10. Don't get hung up on a particular scale. Everybody's got a scale or two that they just don't agree with. I never liked F#. If, at this point, I have a "bad" scale. That's it. Whenever you encounter your "Little Scale of Horrors" just do what you can do and move on. It WILL get better, it just isn't today. No big.

The simplest application of all of this is EASY sightreading. Read anything! Who cares? Don't try crazy hard stuff. Just do things that look simple and are in about every key. Don't get all technique happy and try to play something that's out of your league. Start slow. You'll get there soon enough. Virtuosic technique is a process and you're on step one. Enjoy the ride!

The "HAHA, I knew it:!" post

2009-01-18T18:23:00.005-05:00

So, the Eagles just failed to convert on 4th and 10 and I have felt this smart few times in my life. I told someone this morning at church "I picked the Cardinals. Do you trust Donovan McNabb?" When the questioner had no rebuttal I knew it in my gut. I can't make this up, even though I didn't blog last year, I REALLY thought the Giants were going to win the Super Bowl....it was like they were a team of destiny. Say hello to your new team of destiny *Celine Dion accent* "Open Curtain. He are, the Arizona Cardinals." (As a reference, Celine Dion describes in a TV biography that when she fell in love with her Husband, Rene, that she wanted to say (in her best "I am the Greatest Singer in the World" accent) "Open curtain, here is the man I love" Sorry, that's funny)

As soon as the Eagles failed on the conversion I immediately called my Dad to say "The Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl baby!" Now, my Dad is 65 years old. He was 15 when the "Greatest Game Ever Played" was played. He remembers all the old-schoolers and reminds me on occasion how tough those guys were, just to keep me in check. He knows how much I love the 49ers (and, consequently, Joe Montana) but he'll remind me about guys like Sammy Baugh, Roger Staubach, Bart Starr, Dick Butkus, and the like. He's pretty much seen it all. His response was "Well, there you go son." When someone who's seen that much football has nothing to say you know something's up.

Bill Simmons (aka, The Sports Guy) mentioned in his weekly article something that was funny in regards to Kurt Warner (who calls on the name of Christ after every game and I LOVE it!) Someone told him "You don't bet against God and puppies." Well, I don't think God cares who wins the Super Bowl, but if He did, and He was a Cardinals fan, you need some sort of biblical point of view for "Don't bet against God and puppies." Job 9:4 "Who has hardened himself against God and succeeded?" There you go, your Super Bowl XLIII Champions, *Celine Dion voice again* "Open Curtain, the Arizona Cardinals!" Yes, I'm making the pick now. No, I don't care if I'm right about the AFC Title game. It doesn't matter. You thought the Giants were a team of destiny? I think we've found a 9-7 team that has an equal destiny (and a Hall of Fame Quarterback.)

Memory Verse 2.0

2009-01-17T10:38:00.006-05:00

We were newly commissioned for a memory verse. The funny part is that when we asked what our new one would be this Thursday our Pastor hadn't thought of a new one. He even thought some of us wouldn't attempt it. Well shoot. I'm all about the memory verse. Hiding the Word in your heart is MAMMOTHLY good idea. Just knowing it alone serves you quite well. A lady in our group, responding to the question "Why do you memorize verses?", said "Because you may not always have this" (holding up her Bible.) Yikes! Imagine being in a place where you can't even have your Bible on hand for fear of retribution or persecution. Imagine being in a place where you Bible has to be hidden such that NO ONE will find it. Even in that instance, you basically don't have a Bible. Wow! That one blew me away. God even says:

Proverbs 4:20-23(NIV)

20 My son, pay attention to what I say;
listen closely to my words.

21 Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;

22 for they are life to those who find them
and health to a man's whole body.

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

Alright, this is just me, but I find that "do not let them out of your sight" means "keep them within your heart" since you never know in what instance you won't ACTUALLY be able to see them on paper. I guess you could take that one further and practice writing your memory verse down when you think you've got it. You could (with years and years of work) manage to recreate in writing (if you had to) a fairly complete biblical account. Messiaen knew enough scripture(Revelation 10:1-2, 5-7) to write to "Quartet for the End of Time" That'd be nice if you lived or worked in some spiritually barren place where heaven only knows what happens to Christians. Yeah, I gotta start doing that. BTW - Here it is:

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (NIV)

14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Off to some private time to try and write this thing down.

Peace

Superior Performances

2009-01-16T21:14:00.002-05:00

So, I remembered a couple of things. I said I would work on getting a recording of myself up (which I am now researching). I've gotta get some kind of microphone (nothing too high tech, besides, anything sounds better than an old tape recorder) and work up something that doesn't make me sound like a kid. The cool thing is that you can download Audacity and record using their open-source software and do whatever you like to it. If you're a techno marvel you can even edit the program itself. Nice! I'll get there, eventually...

Another thing was that I'm a better Clarinet player than I give myself credit for. I guess this requires some backstory:

I started playing in 6th grade (like a ton of people who start an instrument) on Clarinet. Thennnnnnnnnn, I saw a Bass Clarinet on a poster in the band room in 7th Grade and I was like (insert dorky voice here) "I wanna play that." So, they let me play it. Only, the Bass Clarinet has tiny little vent hole on the first finger called the "half hole". If you don't cover it, you sound like a dying/severely wounded farm animal. Guess what genius here never did for all of 7th Grade. Yeah, you guessed it, I sounded like a sick dairy cow (like the one in those Calfornia Cheese commercials, you know, the Grandma cow that's remembering her horrible childhood in the snow(probably Wisconsin, yeah those California jerks defaming the image of that stout Midwestern cheese tradition) and the grandcows are trying to snap her out of her trance, yeah, like that.) Then in 8th Grade I figured out I didn't want to sound like Grandma Cow anymore and I got instantly better.

In 9th Grade I decided to switch back to the Clarinet because "Bass Clarinet is boring." Like I said, I'm an idiot. Big surprise here, I sucked. I wasn't the worst Clarinetist in a very large band, but I was close. Then in 10th Grade I got the chance to switch back to Bass and jumped at it. The rest is history.

The last time I touched the Clarinet seriously was in 1993 to take a District Honor Band audition on both Clarinet and Bass Clarinet. I attached an intense feeling of inferiority with playing the Clarinet and avoided serious study until 2005 (when I took on private Clarinet students.) I never felt like I belonged in the fold of a Clarinet section. Even when I was the monster Bass Clarinetist and all the other Clarinet players respected me I was like "Dude, I don't belong here." In 2005 I encountered a Clarinet section that totally took me in and I began teaching private Clarinet students there. So, I began really "playing" Clarinet again. A year later I got this smooth Selmer Signet "Mazzeo" System Clarinet. It plays better than my R13 (which is the Gold Standard in Professional Model Clarinets. It's like a tank really.)

Now I'm pretty good. I like that. I feel accomplished.

On to the Superior Performance. Santa Clara Vanguard 1999. They were behind all season and jumped in Finals and tied Blue Devils for the title. Yeah, this show is incredible. The commentary is from the PBS broadcast. Everybody loves Steve Rondinero and Mike Cesario. Enjoy.

It's time

2009-01-15T17:50:00.003-05:00

Well, the time has come. Time to decide who's goin' to the Super Bowl. Ever since the games ended this past weekend I've had no idea which way to go. I think I've got it...sort of.

Here we go:

Philly is getting 4 points against Arizona. This is pretty simple from where I'm sitting (although it took me 5 and a half days to come to this conclusion.) Something's wrong with Brian Westbrook. He's the best player on the Eagles and the most impactful, including Donovan McNabb. Let me remind you that this is the Eagles 5th NFC Title game with the Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb configuration and they have only won one previously. Who did they beat? The Falcons. They were supposed to beat the Falcons back then and got no credit for it, because they really shouldn't have. Then, they got waxed by the Patriots in the Super Bowl, McNabb is puking in the huddle, he throws back to back interceptions, and he basically has the worst game of his life. Is ole Donovan clutch? Nope. Is he great? Yep. Just..........not when the chips are down. It's a shame too, because I really like him, but I know better than to think he'll come through when his team DESPERATELY needs it.

On the other hand...

Kurt Warner has been to 2 Super Bowls and won one. (Granted, he almost lost it and was saved by one of the best tackles in the history of football.) He's been the MVP twice and doesn't have horrid games in the manner or frequency of Donovan McNabb. Kurt's clutch. Ole Donovan just ain't. (Even though his little "phone call" thing looked cute, it wasn't. I really think he thought people would laugh. I can assure you, I like Donovan, and I wasn't laughing.) Does he think that stunt will make him a better clutch player? Hasn't he figured out that that's the only thing lacking in his game....mental stamina? Isn't there a better way to work on that than by acting like a turkey on the Giants sideline? Even if Anquan Boldin has his legs crossed like LDT did last week, it doesn't matter. Larry Fitzgerald plays the other side. The new Edge is a little honked off right now. (You think he's playing angry?) Yep. Jim Johnson is Hall of Fame Defensive Coordinator (he sits alongside his peers Dick LaBeau and Monte Kiffin as sheer genuises in the sport), but he don't have enough to contain Kurt Warner when the Eagles offense just won't be able to score. Without Brian Westbrook the Eagles are sunk. In this equation, when you divide by or subtract Brian Westbrook things don't turn out well for you. Yep, I'm taking to dog again.

Cardinals 30 Eagles 13

Alrighty...

Pittsburgh is getting 6 points against Baltimore. This game is going to be like a real "War of the Worlds". Two monster armies clashing. Even as I write this I have no idea who I'm going to pick. I'll have it figured out in a minute. The players you have to put into this equation are so beastly, so good, so respected (and yet so hated by their opponents) that you never know who's going to come out on top. From where I'm standing I'm looking for the X Factor. Who is the X Factor for each team and for the whole game? Big Ben? Willie Parker?(Who, consequently, gave his dad a new car(with his Super Bowl Ring in the trunk) after they won their last one) Troy Polamalu? James Harrison? What about for the Ravens? Joe Flacco? Ray Lewis? Ed Reed? (The Major Wright of the NFL) Bart Scott? Who is it? Who's the one factor that just makes you cringe when you want to pick against his team? Who makes you fear that pick even though you have no money on it because you know he'll make you look like a fool for picking against him? Who is this animal? Who do I speak of that makes all people picking this game cower in fear? Drum roll please............................. Hines Ward.

Hines Ward is the reason Pittsburgh will win. He'll pancake block someone, make a few crucial 3rd down slot catches and catch a much needed touchdown (or two)...and, if need be, he'll throw a touchdown too. Maybe he'll even take a reverse in for a 4th down conversion or a score. Yep. Hines is the man. There you have it. He wasn't the MVP of the Super Bowl for nothing. He didn't break some dude's collarbone by accident (well, it was an accident, but you get the point). Hines is a Hall of Famer. No amount of Ed Reed can stop him. No Bart Scott bounty can contain him. Not even Ray Lewis snarling and showing his teeth will prevent Hines Ward from winning this game for the Steelers. You get the idea.

Pittsburgh 24 Baltimore 10

So, I figured out how to work with someone yesterday. Basically, it was a revelation. A colleague that I work very closely with as a music teacher (we'll call him the Tennessee Tornado) and I had a discussion about how to approach your boss and tell them that it makes you VERY uncomfortable when they say "I need to talk to you...tomorrow." Yikes! Are you kidding? I'm a worrier and I can't stand it. I wouldn't have slept had I not dealt with this. Anyways, TT advised me to approach, and in a very kind way say "I'm sorry, I'm a worrier and I just can't take it." This was met with the warmest response imaginable and the assurance that A) It's not a huge deal, and B) To not worry so much (in a kind, nurturing sort of way.) It never occurred to me to look deeper into how someone relates to those around them (especially at work) based on their work ethic and family situation. Let's say you are unmarried and don't have any children, yet you long for that AND you work like a dog, then you will work to create some kind of family around you, at the place where you are the most. Work. That's all. There's nothing wrong with that. If only I had figured it out sooner.

God promised to multiply Abraham and Issac (Gen. 22:17, Gen. 26:24). In my opinion, God's promises are far-reaching. Sooooo, multiplication means different things, for different people, for different times in God's economy. Some people are multiplied by their "children" around them if they don't have children of their own. This may seem like little consolation for someone who is biologically childless, but there IS a promise of multiplication. They are given an avenue to use their innate parental instincts to impact those around them. Just because they are not dealing with their biological children does NOT mean that they do not have "children" in this world. Duh!!!!!! Like I said, I wish I could have figured this out sooner.

In conclusion, I'm a dummy, I went 3-1 last weekend, and the Cardinals and the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.

Peace

Old and Set in One's Ways and Yet Youthful

2009-01-14T21:26:00.003-05:00

It's official. I'm old. (I know, I'm only 30, but stick with me here.) So I've played around with different setups on my horn for about 5 years now. I have THE setup and then I have all these other ligatures and reeds and blah, blah, blah. Every time I try something that isn't THE setup, I can play it, but it doesn't "zip", and it drives me nuts. I've been playing THE same setup since 1999 (yes, I know that's 10 years, or 1/3 of my life, I get it), but dang man, I'm really old and crochety when it comes to my playing.

I find myself saying things that were said to me in lessons when I was in school. I find myself repeating Band "Directorisms" to kids just to prove to them that the
"ism" isn't going away(This is always in response to the question "Why do Directors always say that!?") The part that's most unnerving...I know them verbatim! I'll say something and the kid will look back at me and say "Mr./Ms. So and So said that exact same thing today." Yikes! It's like I'm the Band "Directorism" Whisperer.

I'm still using the same Rose book that I got in 8th Grade. Yep, it's well-used and filled with notes from multiple teachers. I'm constantly referencing them and saying "YOU see that right there, so and so wrote that in there because it works." Like I'm an expert on Rose's arrangements or something (though I will say, I studied with a monster interpreter.) I'm turning 31 next month and I don't feel "old" but just settled in. I can only hope that I don't turn out like Job, getting called out by a kid. Elihu tells him:

Job 32(NIV)
6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: (Speaking to Job)
"I am young in years,
and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
not daring to tell you what I know.

7 I thought, 'Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.'

8 But it is the spirit in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

9 It is not only the old who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.

Man, that had to sting a little. It makes you wonder how sanctimonious you're being with your students or your kids.

On the other hand, I feel like I'm kind of in the middle. I can tell a 15 year old (a sophomore in H.S.) "Dude, I'm twice your age" and that resonates. They think, "Man you're old. OK, you must know SOMETHING." On the other hand I turn to a teacher with 35 years experience and they say "I'm almost twice your age" and I think, "Yeah, but I've got a brain too dude!" So, I'm Music Man in the Middle. Woo hoo!

Maybe Paul said it best to Timothy:

1 Timothy 4 (NIV)
12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Hmm. Someone's always watching your progress, AND, someone's always hearing you. Yeah, God thinks he's soooo funny.

Monday Madness

2009-01-13T19:56:00.002-05:00

Well, I can say three things for sure.

1. I have no idea who I'm picking in the AFC and NFC title games.

2. Having American Idol and Biggest Loser on at the same time make TV watching difficult in this house. Whom are we supposed to choose?

3. Weird news is not hard to come by. An attorney was arrested for giving his client a piece of candy in court. Yes, you heard right. Check out the story here. Yes, our lawmen in uniform have nothing better to do. This only further increases my mistrust of such people....that includes the lawyers. I mean, really, who wants to be represented by a lawyer who gets arrested in court over candy?

In cheerier news...

One of my students made All-State today. YAYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!! This kid spent their whole freshman year getting yelled at in rehearsal, their whole sophomore year in a musical growth spurt(which will show your improvement, but also makes you very awkward), and now it's "All-State here we come!" I can't attest to work ethic better than with this child. Literally every time I say "Work on that." the response is always "OK." Very matter of fact, no excuses. When something doesn't go well the response is always "Yeah, I know, that sucked, I'll work on it." To all this I say..."No wonder you made All-State!" Granted, the Bass Clarinet doesn't offer alot of competition, but it doesn't offer alot of opportunity either. You have to take it where you can get it. I was told today that I "got one." Nope, this kid got one today (all I do is beat 'em in the head with a stick) (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.) Complete with statewide recognition and two days off school in March to go to Savannah and play all day. I'm jealous.

Well Darn!

2009-01-12T18:48:00.002-05:00

Tony Dungy retired today.

I know what you're thinking...oh my gosh, more football. Wait just a second!! For the record, Tony Dungy is a strong man in Christ and he feels it's time to devote more energy to his family and ministry. Wow, you don't hear that everyday! Tony has something BETTER to do with his life. From everything I've read he's involved in a prison ministry and works in a mentoring program with at-risk youth. Well dang, Tony has something BETTER to do with his life. Personally, I'm sad to see him go. He said about Super Bowl XLII that he thought the hallmark of the game was NOT that he and Lovie Smith were the first African-American coaches to coach in the Super Bowl. No. He found the crowning achievement was that he and Lovie are both strong Christian men, doing it with Christian values. Well dang. Tony has something BETTER to do with his life. Maybe all the coaches who sleep on cots in their offices should take notes. Somehow, I have the feeling Tony wasn't doing anything like that. Tony proved that shirking your responsibilities as the leader of your family is not "part of the game". He has something BETTER to do with his life and is, obviously, working hard to walk out his faith. I know Tony's not reading, but if he happens to....good journey to you brother, we all appreciated the ride.

In related news, I heard a great story on NPR the other day on the way to work. (Yes, I listen to NPR when I'm not listening to sports radio; prefer 790 AM down here.) The story revolved around friends (one Israeli and one Palestinian) who both contribute to a blog about life in and near Gaza. In case you've been living under a rock, Israel has invaded a section of Gaza and sparked what is being termed a full on war between the Israeli Army and militants firing rockets into Israel. Basically, people are having to live around gunfire, air raids, mortar attacks, and infantry incursions. Palestinian civilians do not have air raid sirens to warn them of air strikes and hundreds my have already died (no one's account sounds reliable.) Whilst living with that these two friends have crossed boundaries that are taboo on both sides to chronicle what's going on. Reading what they write we must remember that even though we should stand with Israel...God is a God of peace, not war. Do I know the solution? Nope. But God does. Prayer works!

This cannot wait

2009-01-11T16:22:00.002-05:00

Two things swirling around in my head:

Had a great talk with Heather yesterday about being a leader in the household, etc. Very informative conversation. It just occurred to me...I never knew that most of the time that she wasn't emotionally invested in the "small things". She never said, I never asked, I just always assumed that they were a big deal to her. Instead of saying "Hey baby, do you REALLY care if we go to Applebee's or Chili's?" "No, I mean, REALLY care." "No, really." I just assumed that it was a huge deal and threw off the leadership robe in order to "please" when pleasing just wasn't necessary. In fact, I would have been "pleasing" if I had just stepped in and made the call so we could move on with our lives. Dang I'm stupid!

Less important, but still a little frustrating...

I didn't pick the Giants so they could run easy-to-defend and obviously-not-going-to-work running plays on 4th down that would be topped off with pathetic direct snaps. I mistakenly assumed that they would play like they did last year. Yeah, Reason #1 why I don't gamble on sports. Vegas is fickle, but professional athletes are even more fickle. Doh!!! Just imagine how good it felt when I actually got the Arizona pick right yesterday! Oh well, there goes 4-0 this weekend.

Memory Verse 1.0

2009-01-10T17:11:00.004-05:00

So here's the scoop. Since we wanted more accountability on being in the Word we were commissioned to our first Memory Verse....verse....verse....verse(can't you hear the echo of importance?) Now, I know I can memorize music..."This one time, at Band Camp, I memorized all my show music the night before in like, 2 hours." Memorizing words on the other hand, yeah. Not so sure if I can do that, and I KNOW that memory verses are good for you and da da da, but dang, I'm not sure if I can do that. Anywho....

I used Bible Gateway to pull up the exact passage (very cool feature) and I had left it up on the laptop. This was especially important since I didn't have it ready for small group this past Thursday, but I was saved by....wait for it.....the BCS title game. What can I say, Pastor's like football too. I figured I should bang it out or I'll be the bad student in the group, and if anyone who's known me for a long time is reading, they know I'm totally NOT the bad student.

Here it is:

2 Peter 1:5-10

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, (NIV)

I am happy to report that, not only, is it good advice, but that I memorized it in about 20 minutes. Yay me!!!

Things That Bug Me (about Bass Clarinetists, Teachers, and Band Directors) 1.0

2009-01-10T14:09:00.004-05:00

I'm a Bass Clarinetist, a really serious Bass Clarinetist. I've got 3 of them for goodness sakes! Basically, that's like saying "Yeah, I'm a total freak."

There have always been things that bug me about the way people approach MY instrument (I know I didn't invent it, but it's mine). I've heard everything from "I need harder reeds....no you need really hard reeds." to "This (name the brand) doesn't play well in so and so register" blah,blah, blah. I've also heard, "You can't do this and that, this doesn't "lay well" on a bigger instrument" and my personal favorite "Why would you do that on THAT ?!" Anyways, Things That Bug Me is dedicated to my rantings about how the Bass Clarinet is, generally, poorly taught, misunderstood, and poorly received.

My biggest gripes about my equipment are always about reeds. Most kids start in school using soft reeds, a 2.5 typically. Well, at some point they run into a Band Director whose whole mission in life, it seems, is to get them to play on harder reeds. It never fails, you always hear from someone "You need harder reeds so you can sound better and play in tune." Woo hoo! You mean all I have to do to play in tune is use harder reeds? How hard? 3, 3.5? Ok! I can do that Mr. Whoseewhatzit!

Now that the kid has the harder reeds they spend the next few weeks wondering why their instrument isn't responding like it did. Then they either A) realize it must be the reeds, but they brush that off because their Director told them they HAAAAAADDDDD to have those harder reeds, yet they don't sound better and they aren't really learning because they spend all their time paying a setup that is not tenable, or B) assume their instrument is broken (which is probably partially true, but if their setup didn't suck they'd be able to play throgh the 5000 micro-leaks on ther horn.)

Now the kid is in a quandry, do I stick with reeds that aren't working, beg my Director to get my instrument to the shop, or do I go back to the softer ones that I could play on? Hmmm. They're stuck and they don't know why. I do. (Just one aside here: It's a rare day when you find a teacher who's more insterested in how you sound and how comfortable you are than they are in the "way to do things." I had teachers of the former persuasion. They didn't care what I was doing as long as I could play well. Let's all take a note, because that's the only reason I got to where I am now.)

That Director looked at the Bass Clarinet and said (insert heavy hillbilly accent)(and yes, I can say that because I'm actually from the South. It's like when people pick on your siblings....they can't do that, that's YOUR job!) "That's just like a regular Clarinet." True, except for one thing...it ain't as high! Soprano(Regular) Clarinet players tend to need to change reed strengths relatively early on to help support to strength in their embouchure. It's a necessity, you can't play Soprano Clarinet but one way, and that dropped chin does all the work for you. A Soprano Clarinet embouchure is POWERFUL! You start running into intonation issues on OPEN NOTES!!!, and it only gets worse the higher you go, so you need the POWER!

Hooooowwwever, on the Bass Clarinet, you don't start having major intonation issues until you get much higher on the instrument. Well, if that's the case, using a harder reed to account for like 4 notes makes no sense, and those 4 notes aren't THAT hard to play........ And we all wonder why alot of kids who play Bass Clarinet can't play high notes very well and we have these never ending conversations from, of all people, ADULTS!, about which instruments "play high notes better." WOW!!!!! If you're a non-band nerd and you're confused, you should be, cuz this ain't hard.

The Bass Clarinet is rivaled only by the Saxophone in its ease. Ever walk down the hall of an Elementary School with a Bass Clarinet in your hand? I have. All the kids say the same thing "Wow, that's a big Saxophone!" (Except for that one kid who paid attention when you told them it's actually a Bass Clarinet and they go around correcting everyone.) I digress. From the mouths of babes to our ears. It's a big stinking Saxophone!!!!!!! Armed with this knowledge the instrument got a wholeheckuvalot easier.

Every Saxophone player I've ever met is always referencing the "embouchure wheel" from Larry Teal's The Art of Saxophone Playing. The embouchure wheel implies that no one point of your mouth is holding a majority of tension. Hmmmmmmm....that ain't like the "regular" Clarinet. All of their tension is held in the wrinkled upper lip (which flattens your chin).

Ever notice how a Saxophone, even with the clearest tone, has the slightest hint of breathiness, raspiness, reediness (I like to call it syrup)? Ever notice Soprano Clarinets just don't unless it's intentional? Hmmmmm........ I think we're on to something. The reediness comes from a reed/mouthpiece combination that is generally freer than that of the Clarinet. Saxophone players tend to play softer reeds because the instrument is quite responsive and you don't want to kill that responsiveness with insanely hard reeds, unless you're, you know, insane. Now, I'm not saying this is universal, or that no sax player uses hard reeds, or that all Clarinet players use hard reeds, but this is a good generalization.

Approach the Bass like a Saxophone. A little softer reed than you might think. 2.5's are fine! I played them from my Sophomore Year of High School to my Junior Year of College. I was first chair in every ensemble I played in during that time (I know, I'm a show off, but you get the point, I didn't suck.) Use a reed that isn't wearing you out after 5 minutes. Don't feed so much tension into the instrument, I doesn't like that and it doesn't need that to play in tune. Because the instrument is so low it settles into pitch better than a higher instrument. Open up a little bit, don't be shy. The instrument likes LOTS of air. I mean, I love me some Dr. Pepper, and air is the Bass Clarinet's Dr. Pepper..... can't get enough. Don't be afraid of some syrup. If you sound reedy, COOL!, it's probably a neat sound. The Bass Clarinet is not supposed to sound EXCLUSIVELY like a big Soprano Clarinet.

Now I know what you're thinking. "Yeah, if you're so good, post some sound clips or something and prove how great you are, dude!" Ok, I promise to figure that out so at least you'll have some entertainment to go along with me ranting like a maniac.

Now we have Alpha and Omega. Two different instruments that are very simlar. A(Clarinet) = B(Bass Clarinet. B = C(Saxophone), BUT, A does not equal C. A and C are related by marriage though. That marriage spawned my instrument, the Bass Clarinet.

Superior Performances

2009-01-09T21:14:00.004-05:00

So, I was spurred to do some kind of "musical awakening" post every week, but I didn't know what to do, then I thought of Superior Performances. Basically, it's something that I thought was just great. Following is the very first superior performance.

This is Spring High School's 1993 BOA Finals performance. At the time, they set the scoring record, were revolutionary, and were the first band from Texas to win a championship(to date, only 3 bands from Texas in 30 years have won, hmm, are we trying to say something here?)
They played the Hindemith "Symphony in Bb" and close with the "March from the Symphonic Metamorphosis" (which is in my top 10 all-time favorite musical works), also Hindemith. People don't do stuff like this anymore, mostly because playing difficult music isn't in vogue(which is code for "actual teaching isn't in vogue, but trying to win is.") I've played these pieces multiple times sitting down. Now imagine them...playing it backwards in high heels in 7th position.....or that's how it must've felt.

This is the first show I ever saw another band do and I went "Dang, they're good." Back then props were considered kitschy garbage that was a complete freaking waste of resources, hence there aren't any of note here. Nowadays this show would make Finals only because the playing is so incredible. Otherwise, they'd be blown away by some band that's playing music this group could have learned in a day and who has some stupid green balls rolling around the field or some crap like that.......because apparently props=general effect. Can you tell I have issues? {Note to non-bandlike people: I only rant because I hate when people underserve their students and get rewarded for it.) The demand that this show places on the performer would not be appreciated today by alot of people who are into band. That's an absolute shame and it shows how little some people understand the term "Marching BAND". You know...band...playing...but moving too. Yeah, playing.

This show is hard, you can tell, and if you ever meet someone who was in this group you need to shake their hand and give them a "Well done, Bravo!" They deserve it.

Spring H.S. Band, you may take the field in Grand National Finals Competition! (Thanks Chuck)

Football Night in Georgia

2009-01-09T18:36:00.003-05:00

Florida won, big surprise. I saw the first half of the game last night and I have to say that I was bored stiff. I got SO tired of Sam Bradford looking to the sideline for a play change on EVERY down. It was so pervasive that Fox almost instantly had a graphic up listing how long it took between snaps. When you're constantly approaching 40 seconds on every single play you've got to get moving. I know Sam Bradford is the Heisman trophy winner, but is he simply a product of his system? He can't read defenses at all? That's how it looked. It seemed as if the coaching staff at OU doesn't trust him to read defenses. It was odd...and annoying. Oklahoma, obviously, ran out of gas at some point. The Florida defense looked fantastic during the game, but one player stood out over all the others.

#21 Major Wright, is a Sophomore Safety for Florida and he is a ball hog. Given the way Ed Reed is playing in the NFL, I'd say this kid is the Ed Reed of college football, and could be the new Ed Reed on Sundays. I felt like everytime I turned around the Florida defense was making a play and #21 was in the picture. He was cleaning peoples clocks, breaking up plays, and generally causing mayhem in the Secondary. I was beyond being impressed. It's not everyday that you see the SAME player in on EVERY single play, but that's how it looked. Everybody gives Tim Tebow props left and right for being a high energy guy and having a motor that never stops. That's great (he deserves it). But.... Can we get some love for #21. He's an animal, and I love it. So, count me in, my new favorite college football player is Major Wright. What a show he put on last night!

OK, official NFL playoff picks.

SATURDAY

Tennessee is a 3.5 point favorite over the Ravens. I see the game going this way...Kerry Collins vs. Ed Reed. Ed Reed is the Major Wright of the NFL... ;o)... and he will make life difficult all day for Kerry Collins. The longer Kerry Collins stands in the pocket, the longer the Baltimore DLine has time to get to him. Maybe the Ravens are a team of destiny.

PICK: Baltimore 21 Tennessee 7

The Carolina spread got a little bigger! The Panthers are 10.5 point favorites over Arizona. As much as I'd like to see Kurt Warner keep winning I just don't know if the Cards can keep up with Carolina, who is a very hot team right now. Hoooooooowever, Carolina's defense isn't this stellar-all-world unit. To the tangent. Vegas is hating on Kurt Warner like you wouldn't believe. Let's face it, he's the show in Arizona, and that's fine. We must be forgetting what he is CAPABLE of. I'm not saying he was his 1999-2001 self all these years since, but he WAS that and IS playing like that right now. When Joe Montana went to the Chiefs (which should've been a cold day in hell) everyone jumped all over him like he forgot to play football, he didn't win a Super Bowl in KC, but he didn't all of the sudden start sucking.

Steve Young became the heir apparent to Joe Montana in San Francisco and I bet all kinds of people were jumping up and down saying "Ewwwwww, he played in Tampa." Come on people. Give credit where it's due. Ok, let's say Kurt Warner throws for 350 yards. That's good for at least 4 touchdowns. Throw in one on the ground. Oh, and they have one of the best kickers in the league. Since we see where this is going let's just add to the manifesto. Reason #2 I don't gamble on sports. Taking the underdog and sweating it out on gameday is like getting that menacing Charlie Horse in the middle of the night. You can't scream or you'll wake up the whole house and you can't wake up your wife because she'll be too groggy to know that you're writhing in pain and trying to not scream. If you win the pick no one will believe you made it...if you lose it no one will understand how bad that Charlie Horse hurt.

PICK: Arizona 44 Carolina 31

SUNDAY

The Giants are 4.5 point faves over Philly. Simple math. New York + Eli Manning - Tiki Barber = Super Bowl. Philly + Andy Reid - TO = No Super Bowl. Super Bowl * No Super Bowl/Eagles away from home = Eagle frustration all day. Enough said.

PICK: Giants 24 Eagles 7

Sooooooooooooo, Pittsburgh is getting 6.5 points on the Bolts. I don't have a fancy equation for this one, but suffice it to say that Pittsburgh is like, really good. San Diego's on a roll, but apparently LDT has ripped a groin muscle from the bone. (This reminds me of that scene in "Clue" where Madeleine Kahn {Mrs. White} is explaining to everyone how one of her husbands died, "He was always a rather stupidly optimistic man. I mean, I'm afraid it came as a great shock to him when he died. But he was found dead at home. His head had been cut off and so had his . . . you know . . ." and then all the guys in the room cross their legs at the same time! Yeah, that was me when I found out about this injury. Now, if you're San Diego your best player is walking around with his legs crossed, your coach is a much better coordinator than he is a coach, and you have an angry Quarterback. At least they have Darren Sproles and Quentin Jammer...that ain't enough. To oppose you, the Steelers have the Defensive Player of the Year (James Harrison), one of the top two defensive backs in football (Troy Polamalu), the player with the best hair in football (Troy Polamalu) and a whole defense filled with angry monsters who want to run you over and stomp on your still beating heart. Yep, I'm going with the Steelers.

PICK: Pittsburgh 24 San Diego 3

Enjoy the show!

BTW - Check out this article about a High School football coach who doesn't punt on 4th down. You heard right...he don't punt! The kicker is....he won a state title doing it.

John Smoltz to the Red Sox

2009-01-08T16:58:00.002-05:00

Alrighty, I'm a Braves fan. Always have been. I remember when they beat the Indians in '95, a triumphant day in this city. It almost felt like getting the Olympics. "The Games of the 26th Olympiad are awarded to...the city of...Atlanta." I remember watching that on TV and I remember Marquis Grissom catching the fly ball that ended the '95 World Series. I remember Sid Bream limping to home plate in '92 "Braves win, Braves win!" God bless you Skip...

John Smoltz was instrumental in giving this city some respectability in terms of sporting achievement. He was there for all of it. Worst to first, a title, he won a Cy Young in '96, became a near Hall of Fame closer when he was needed in the bullpen, all of it! You can tell how little we've done ANYTHING by who my teams are...The Lakers, The 49ers, and The Braves. I don't know why I didn't cast them out with the Hawks and the Falcons, but I stuck with them. Probably my Dad. "You gotta root for the ome team son" For the record, I have stuck with the 49ers (who suck right now) and the Lakers (even when Kurt Rambus was the coach) (Although, I did take great pleasure in hearing some Pacers fans tell me they were going to kill us in the Finals, only to see their cute little Pacers get torched by my beloved Lakers.) (And, for the record, yes, I hate the Celtics. It's a requirement. What can I say.)

So, John Smoltz, a surefire Hall of Famer and beloved Brave wo ahs the most wins in the postseason in the history of Baseball, finally had to go. I can't blame him for taking a 1 year contract that has a total worth of $10 million (w/incentives). Plus, I can't blame Frank Wren for saying no to that when John's 42 and has a bad shoulder. But come on. Couldn't he have just retired. That's what I wish. Heather even said so. Coming from a fan of another club (the Reds) that says alot.

Now, we move on. Apparently, Derek Lowe's in town looking for a 4th year on his current contract offer. If the Braves give it to him he'll be a great addition, but he's not John Smoltz. It's almost like Smoltzy belongs to Atlanta...*sigh*

Since I'll be watching the BCS "title" game I should comment on it. This is pretty simple stuff. Oklahoma has 1 loss. Florida has 1 loss. Utah has none. Boom! Your National Champions are the 13-0 Utah Utes. Records don't lie. No amount of arguing about who plays in what conference and blah, blah negates the fact that Utah didn't lose any games. Period. Plus, this is the 2nd time this has happened to THIS program under this system. They went 13-0 under, yep, Urban Meyer...who coaches Florida. What a tangled web they weave! So, enjoy the game if you're gonna watch it. I have this to say to you...don't be surprised if some AP writers get a brain and vote Utah #1. That would make my college football year. Seriously, just one person smart enough to give them a first place vote.

Oh, Florida 35 Oklahoma 13, Florida will cover the spread, but make no mistake, that does not make Florida the National Champ. Runner-up for sure.

All kinds of stuff going on

2009-01-07T18:39:00.005-05:00

I was actually right about the NFL playoff games on Sunday! I'd say that's pretty impressive considering I was dead wrong about both games on Saturday. Currently I'm 2-2 for the playoffs, that's not bad. I'll make my "picks" later this week for the upcoming Divisional Playoffs.

Until then...

The Giants are currently a 4.5 point favorite over the Eagles (My initial reaction was "huh?") Had this line come out the last week of the season I bet it would be 7. Did a pretty good win at Minnesota impress Vegas that much? Let's start my own manifesto. Reason #1 why I don't gamble on sports...... Vegas is fickle, but professional athletes are even more fickle. My, my, what a difference a couple weeks makes.

Carolina's a 10 point favorite on Arizona. Really? Really? I mean, they're a really good team, but 10 points good? Do we see why I don't gamble? How on earth could you put money on that and expect the Panthers to win by 10 points? I suppose if you really like drowning yourself in the sauce for 3 hours praying that Carolina runs it up on the Cards then this game (and the spread) would be for you. Honestly. Is Arizona's defense that bad? What? Did Kurt Warner forget how to throw? Did Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald forget how to catch? Really? This kind of line is almost disrespectful to Kurt Warner (a two-time NFL MVP who has been to two Super Bowls). I'll save the tangent for the post where I "officially" pick the games.

In other news, Heather and I are reading through a chronological Bible this year. The readings are really well laid out and the chronological part is very helpful. It's amazing that Genesis, Chronicles and Job all fit together. Then Chronicles continues to be sprinkled throughout a good part of the early Old Testament. I just think its great. Honestly, I can't imagine an easier way to read through the Word. Plus, the chronology takes out alot of confusion. BTW - For those of you who don't know...I came to Christ in January 2006 and was previously totally unchurched. Basically what that means is I don't know nothin'. This oughta help.

Some final notes and a video:

As it says in my header I'm a Bass Clarinetist. Since I don't play "professionally" (meaning I don't have a full-time orchestra job and I don't solo for a living) I have time to mess around with all kinds of cool things to learn. I write for myself and about 5% of it is actually good, but I typically tend to not play Bass Clarinet music since it's either A) Really, really, hard and crazy weird modern (Don't get me wrong, I like crazy weird modern music, but that can't be the only show in town, you know what I mean Vern?) or B) Middle School level stuff.

So, right now I'm working on the Fantasia for Alto Sax by Claude T. Smith. For those of you who are not band nerds...Claude T. Smith (1932-1987) is a thorn in the side of many a musician who has played his music. His credits include some of the most intensely difficult pieces you can imagine. (I should say right here that I LOVE his music, I've actually played Festival Variations and Eternal Father and I just couldn't get enough of them, but I still have to keep it real. This mess is HARD!) Even MY parts are hard...trust me, if the Bass Clarinet part is hard, other people are having some serious problems. He wrote many commissions for Military groups at whose expense he was (essentially) attempting to determine what impossible music sounds like, or at least that's how it feels. The parts aren't impossible, but playing them all together FEELS impossible.

Now we have the Fantasia for Alto Sax. It's not impossible, but you wouldn't know by listening to it. Now try playing it up a 4th on Bass Clarinet. Woo hoo! I know, I'm a glutton for punishment. Enjoy this performance by Kenneth Tse.

Maybe I should start picking...

2009-01-04T09:06:00.005-05:00

Well, since it's playoff time and I started the blog yesterday I suppose I should start picking NFL playoff games for everyone else's amusement. If I were really serious I'd be using the "Sport Guy's Manifesto" but let's face it. He's the best sportswriter going and even though I understand the manifesto I'm not smart enough to actually employ it in making picks. I'm not a betting man at all, but since I'm not actually betting money it's kinda fun to pick against the spread.

Baltimore's getting 3.5 points AND visiting Miami? It's not as if Miami is the "worst playoff team ever". (Consequently, that team beat the Falcons yesterday.) Miami's a good team with a good quarterback. Then again, Baltimore's a good team with a good rookie quarterback and an even better defense. OK, Baltimore SHOULD be the favorite. Baltimore -3.5

Philly's getting 3 points and visiting Minnesota. OK, this one I get. I can see how the Eagles are favored. They start Donovan McNabb, Minnesota starts Tavarus Jackson (who is filling in for Gus Frerotte). That alone says it all. Otherwise I'd say the teams are pretty even. Bryan Westbrook - Adrian Peterson. Fred Gibson - Bernard Berrian. You get the idea. That leaves us but one question...Is Donovan McNabb worth 3 points, on the road, in the playoffs. I'm going with what I know. He took the Eagles to 4 straight NFC title games. So, yeah, he's worth the 3 points. Philadelphia -3

And just in case these picks are actually correct I have to admit that I would've taken Atlanta and Indy yesterday which makes me 0-2 for the playoffs. Yeah, yeah, thanks alot Darren Sproles! If you didn't have enough proof of how good LaDanian Tomlinson is look no further than his former backup (Michael Turner, who had like 1700 yards for a playoff team this year) and his current backup (Darren Sproles, who just won a playoff game for a .500 team against a 3-time MVP quarterback.....in OVERTIME.) Dang. Can we say 1st ballot HOF? And while we're at it jus a random thoght that nobody will agree with me on. If LDT is goingto the HOF on the first ballot and he hasn't even made it to a Super Bowl then we need to give Terrell Davis more love. He WON two Super Bowls for Mike Shanahan and John Elway. For me, that's enough said.

Welcome!

2009-01-03T21:35:00.004-05:00

Welcome to my blog! My wife, Heather, has been blogging for a while now and I thought the other day "You know, if I'm the Music Man, maybe I should have some Music Man's notes." So, here they are! We just got back from Disney World last week and spent Christmas with my parents here at home. BTW - yes we're Disney people. Basically, every time we're in Orlando, we think "Hmm, maybe we could move here and get all our friends and family to move down here too." Then we realize that's completely unrealistic and let it go until our next trip when we'll......you guessed it...go through that all over again. We're freaks but at least we know it.

To start off I guess I'll go with my most recent musical discovery. I'm a marching band tech so an occupational hazard is knowing what's going on in the "marching arts". However, I don't get too into it because it just takes up so much time as it is. So, about a month ago I just stumbled on Phantom Regiment's 2008 show "Spartacus!". I had heard how good it was but never took the time to watch it. So, I watched it and loved it, the video quality isn't great, but you'll love it anyways.

Then I was lead to their 2006 show "Faust". It's nearly as good and definitely what we need to be seeing from Drum Corps. I could go on a whole tangent about how the American Band Movement is suffering because not enough groups perform material like this and blah, blah, blah, but in order keep readers I'll save that for another day. Both shows are taxing emotionally, but that's what I love about them I'm an "all in, all the way" kinda guy, so I can appreciate how much it takes just to get through those 11 and a half minutes on the field. Enjoy the videos!