Music = Emotions = Life

            Emotions are a huge part of music and how music is interpreted. Think of your favorite music or music group. Got it? Now imagine that without any passion, with no feeling of any kind. It would sound awful, would it not? Music is emotions. Emotions are music. No matter what mood you are in, it is almost certain that you will be thinking or listening to some sort of music, whether it is to cheer you up, pump you up, or even to just escape life, it always creates some type of emotion in human beings.

            I personally believe that without music, life would be pointless. There would be nothing to rely on when everything else has abandoned you. Music surrounds us all whether we know it or not. Without it there would only be silence. Music is an emotional escape and without that escape people would find other ways to escape, for example killing each other. And if everyone killed each other there would be no sound, nothingness. Empty. The world would become a hollow shell that once inhabited an uneducated and primal species. Emotions are part of every human, without them they aren’t human, or just crazy, literally. Music is life and we all depend upon it.

            If you truly stop and really think, just listen, without headphones on, everything you hear can be called music. The cars racing by on the street outside your window. The birds and bees buzzing around and singing their weird song. The tapping of a branch on your window. The waves of a lake, lapping and carefully licking the shore. The silent crash of feet above your room. The beat of sweet neighborhood children jumping rope or shouting a cadence. The screech of your rusty door hinges. The heartbeat controlling your destiny and life. Just listen. It all comes together in a weird song, one that never dies, that will live on with the human race. It’s all there. Listen.

            This goes back to one of my previous blogs, in which I discuss the matter of running out of music. Emotions control us. There is no way to escape the inevitable, we are all prey to this wonderful animal. Take a moment and think, listen, and the answer will become as clear as glass. Music is a part of us all and so long as the human race lives on, so will music. 

Jazz Appreciation

            April is Jazz Appreciation Month. In the past, I have talked about Jazz: its effect on me, the disappointment that it brought, specific groups, groups I am personally involved in, and even jazz improv and theory. Clearly Jazz is important to me, but I don’t know if I’ve talked about how much I appreciate what Jazz has done for me.

            I didn’t really start to love or have as great of an appreciation for Jazz until about 2 months ago. My passion really started to grow when I went to one concert. This concert wasn’t any normal concert, it was with the University of Northern Iowa’s Jazz Panthers and Jazz One. At this concert I got to see what the next step in Jazz involved. I got to see professional musicians; not only the guest artist but the actual jazz bands themselves. It was an amazing concert and my eyes and ears were finally opened, as if I had been blind. After this concert I wanted to go home and spend the next 12 hours practicing, it didn’t happen, sadly.

            What made this concert so great you may be asking? Well, like I said it was professional musicians and seeing pros versus listening to recordings are two incredibly different tasks. It’s just like going to see a professional sports event, a professional Broadway production, a professional, you name it, it’s all the same idea. It’s the experience that inspires and strikes awe into the audience. Let me tell you, this concert was well worth the time and money; the experience was like none I’ve ever had before.

            Details. Right. Like I said before, the Jazz Panthers and Jazz One bands were both playing, but to put the cherry on top of a delicious sundae, a guest artist was brought in. This year the guest artist was Dave Douglas. He is a trumpet player involved in many groups; he has a quartet with Joe Lovano, previously mentioned in my blogs. He has also had many different awards, including Guggenheim Fellowship, an Aaron Copland award, and two Grammy nominations. He has composed many different pieces and highly influenced the jazz improv world. So this was really a treat for me to see and hear him live. Some of the pieces they played were amazing and made me feel energized and unlocked a whole new world in Jazz, I had never known I could feel this way about music. I was truly in awe and inspired after this wonderful experience.

            I walked out a changed man. Before all I had known was high school jazz band, now I know what a real jazz band and what real jazz music can do. The feeling of fear and the unknown had struck me. But along with this fear came an understanding of being fearless and unafraid. I had seen what lies ahead of me and am glad to take on the challenge.

            I finally understand what it means to truly appreciate Jazz. Jazz appreciation month has meant more than it ever has, I can turn on jazz and truly be inspired by the musicians of old, the greats who set the standards. All I have to do is follow their lead. How hard could that be?  

Very High In Pitch

            Altissimo. Weird word right? The definition for this word: Adj. Very high in pitch. It is an Italian superlative of alto, high. Now, to be clear, this is music we are talking about. It is the extreme high of instruments; these so called, “notes” aren’t even notes, meaning, they aren’t in the natural range of instruments. So when a musician plays in the altissimo register, are they even there? If the notes aren’t real, why are the musicians? If they aren’t real notes, how can we hear them? The answer, it would be hard to not hear them. Altissimo notes are like nails scratching a chalk board, except not quite as annoying. Very high in pitch.

            In the recent months, I have been learning the art of squealing; yes, I am learning how to master this technique. So far, I’ve done pretty well. Each time I practice the altissimo register it gets slightly easier and the notes are deciding to show their faces. I have gotten as high as, not the first, but the second D above the staff. That’s pretty high, only slightly annoying.

            What is altissimo though? I have given the dictionary definition. Now it’s time for the actual definition, or so what I’ve been told. The altissimo notes are really just a part of the overtone series.

            Another vague definition, right? What is the overtone series? That’s a tough question to answer. To start off, music is made by vibrations, no matter the instrument, something has to vibrate to create a sound. Within each of those vibrations are multiple notes; meaning, a G also has the same vibration pattern, or something of that matter, as C; meaning the overtone of G is C, but not necessarily the other way around. It’s the same concept as all squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. Ok, now, stay with me. The overtone of C is actually C, not G. In other words, when playing a G a musician can make an altissimo C by adjusting their embouchure; or playing a high C and adjusting embouchure again to create the C above that C. Confusing yet cool.

            The other overtones: F-A# (or B flat), F#-B, G-C, G#-C#, C-C, B-B, etc.

            Got it? No? Ok.

Now, adjusting the embouchure. This is very hard to describe. I know exactly what I have to do on my saxophone to get into the altissimo register but I don’t know about other instruments. The best way I can describe this is that I almost make a clover with my tongue and flex my tonsil chords (this last part is impossible, I know, but there is no other way to describe it). It’s a weird feeling and that is what makes altissimo so difficult, there is no one specific way to form your embouchure, just like there is no one specific way to finger any one note.

Don’t even get me started on fingerings. There are an infinite, or so it seems, number of fingerings for any one specific note. Once a musician gets into the altissimo register, the details get a little sketchy and each person has to figure out which one is best for a certain situation.

A brief summary, altissimo is tricky. That’s the easiest way to put it. Altissimo clearly draws a line between good musicians and not-so-good musicians; those who can play altissimo well are amazing, those who can’t, well, you’ll be able to hear what happens, or not seeing as how your eardrums will most likely be bleeding. Altissimo. Very high in pitch.

Altissimo Notes

Altissimo Notes

No Words

All-State Jazz is a difficult topic for me to discuss. It is an elite group of jazz musicians chosen from high schools all across Iowa. To audition for this elite group, you have to record an etude, which is the one song that everyone has to perform, and at least one song, of your choice, to improvise on. Preparing for this audition can end up taking months; I choose my song in December and took until February to at least get somewhat good at it. I spent almost 3 months of practice and stress, all, it seems, for nothing. My recordings were sent in on March 1st and I didn’t get the results back until March 26th. I thought my recordings were good but, in fact, they were not even close to good enough to make All-State Jazz.

          I love jazz. Every time I play or even listen to jazz, it’s as if the world is right, nothing can go wrong, all the fears and doubts of yesterday are washed away. Jazz is like a cool breeze in the summer, it is much needed and much appreciated by all; yet, there is always a feeling of discomfort on these breezes, as if there is always a looming storm, something to completely destroy everything in its path. In this instance, jazz took a turn for the worse; a tornado came and destroyed everything, tearing me apart as if I were an insignificant ant. I live for jazz but jazz doesn’t always live for me. I just can’t beat the onslaught that jazz brings towards me.

When I looked at the results, it was as if I had been sucked into the middle of a tornado; the world was spinning all around me, my confidence and hours spent on this task had been ravaged in seconds. I am bare and exposed, the storm of jazz took my possessions as if I were being mugged. I felt sick to my stomach and mad that I could not do better. My passion, jazz, was all a big lie, a slap in the face. Am I ever going to be able to recover? What more can I do to be able to improve my jazz skills? The answers…still to be determined. All I can think of doing is to continue to learn more improvisation vocabulary. I clearly don’t know how to develop an idea or know what exactly to play within each key, each song. The feeling of self-disappointment has almost overcome me, like a wave capsizing my ship of confidence. 

 

Words cannot fulfill my disappointment. I feel empty. I have failed myself. 

We Are #1

            We FINALLY did it! The 2015 Happiness Incorporated Combo got best band! The competition we went to was in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was four hours away and apparently we showed everyone up there what it’s like to compete in Iowa. I’m so glad I could be a part of the best band at this competition.

            The funny part is, we had more mistakes and aspects of the music that we didn’t execute as well as we have in the past. Apparently it was played well enough to beat out other bands, which still surprises me. For this performance we must have had better dynamics and musical aspects that were better than the execution of other bands. Listening to several different show choirs, there were definitely bands who were so tight with the group and played every note crisp. The only difference between us and them is that we had better dynamics or we blended better than the others.

            There was one band that I was sure was going to get the best band. It was from some ‘W’ school that I can’t remember the name of nor recall where they are from. But their band executed every note and were confident in all areas (which we lack sometimes, not always, but sometimes). They were so tight and together but the only thing I can think of that separated us from them is the blending and dynamics factor. In this area, I know we are really good. We are the perfect size so we can play loud and still not cover up the choir. If we were any bigger, or had any bigger sound, we might cover up the choir and their amazing tone which is something we don’t want to do. We have a pretty dang big sound as it is right now anyway. But it fits us, it fits the choir. We jam really well with each other.

            I’m not sure what the judges were looking for but we must have shown them the right thing. We were also the first group to go in the varsity division. So we must have just set the bar too high and the other bands couldn't get on our level. That is pretty impressive; if we can set the bar for people, imagine what it will be like when the others are surrounded by us, we are unstoppable.

            I am proud to say that I am part of an award winning combo and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this season has to hold. And Gramps, that one was for you! Thanks for giving me the ability and courage to bring Happiness to everyone.  

Best Band Award Bloomington 2015

IBA Honor Band=Kennedy

            Recordings of music. You hear them all the time. All different genres and playlists. The ones that are good get the attention of many people. But there are also ones that aren’t the best but get the attention of a couple people and suddenly that band is the IBA Honor Band for 2015. Yes, I’m talking about the Kennedy Wind Symphony. Somehow, our quality of music has raised to a level that makes us good enough to represent all the 4A High Schools in Iowa.

            In the past, I have gone on about how the Kennedy Wind Symphony has lacked work and determination. Does the phrase ‘Fake it till you make it’ sound familiar? Cause it seems that, not saying we aren’t good, we struggle through the process of sounding good. Apparently my standards are too high. Partially because of the fact that I made it into All-State Band. The whole experience with that band has dampened, or maybe heightened, the quality of which I want out of the Wind Symphony. In any case, I am stuck with what we’ve got and I am finally proud to say that I am involved in the Kennedy Wind Symphony.

            This whole process of getting into IBA is very time consuming and difficult. First off, we have to prepare music that is almost above our skill level. And then, when we kind of know that music we have to record it; where every mistake and cacked note is heard and there for the rest of time. Recording is such a stressful time. In a real concert, some of these simple mistakes can be covered up by different sections or parts of the music. But a recording is ruthless. It is like having the teacher stare over your shoulder while you are taking a math test; you’re afraid you are doing something wrong when you know you are doing it right, which, in turn, makes you mess up. It is a terrible feeling. Knowing that each entrance and every single minute detail will be heard and judged. Based on how many mistakes and errors the band makes determines who gets to take this great honor.

            Once recording is done, the bands involved send in their recordings to a panel of judges. These judges first listen to the first minute or so of the CD. If they don’t like what they hear, you’re done. With a flick of the wrist the hard work of a band goes into the trash can. They then decide, to those that weren’t that bad, to listen to more of the CD. Based on those tracks, they chose the band. Apparently, our CD made it through the judges and it was just not bad enough to make the band. So, on May 15^th, the Kennedy Wind Symphony will be going to Des Moines to play for this amazing honor, the first time since 1972! 

Jazz Season

            The 2015 jazz band season is officially open! It’s the time of year where there are two or three jazz charts running through the musicians head. It is also the time when mistakes are no longer an option; where the music has to be felt instead of played; where jazz musicians go to be critiqued and ultimately die; where the weak fall and the strong rise up to shatter the knees of the lesser; where you find out, you may not be as good as you think. For Kennedy Jazz One, this is the time of year where we scramble to know the music well enough to not get last. Already we have started the season fast having competed at 2 competitions.
            The first competition was the Triton Jazz Fest at Iowa Central. At this competition there were only 2, 4A jazz bands battling for spots; both of which came from the wonderful school, Kennedy. Yes, at this competition we were the only school from 4A, competing against Jazz Two. In a way, not really a competition, more of a preliminary morale boost. It was a definite win and Jazz One did pull out the victory from Jazz Two. This is the very first, first place that I have received for jazz band in the three years I have been involved. I am proud of our victory but also know it was kind of pointless. After this competition, we don’t know where we line up with the other good 4A schools (for example: Washington, Prairie, Linn-Mar). We got a score and comments, sure, but that doesn’t show us what we have to compete against. It shows us that we are better than Jazz Two, (which, hopefully). In a way, although this was useful with the judges comments, it really doesn’t count. It was definitely a given, nothing we had to work that hard for.            Also at this competition, I received an outstanding soloist award, which, quite frankly, shocked me. I know I am not nearly good enough to have received this award at any other competition. This was just another pick me up that worked for a very short amount of time.            Just tonight we got done competing at the State Jazz Music Festival held at Jefferson High School. This was our first real competition where we got scored and given a rating. Now, because we just got done competing, I don’t know how we did. But based on the advice and critique the clinician gave us, it couldn’t have been good. Basically, he said that our band lacked energy and a sense of a good jazz feel. Not good. We definitely need work on out style and playing it with more passion. Sure, we are good at the technical stuff involved in jazz, but the non-technical stuff is way more important in jazz. For example: accents, phrases, staccatos, beats, etc. Most of these things are written on the page but jazz isn’t always about what’s on the page, it’s about how those dots and squiggles are interpreted by another person. We have a lot of tedious work ahead of us.            To end this not so great night, this clinician talked to me for what felt like 5 minutes about how my solo was crap. I went from the top all the way down to the bottom in a week. Apparently I am just terrible at everything. I try so hard but I just can’t seem to win, (except when there isn’t any competition). Overall, this past night was not a great night as my heart has been broken several times.